'Yaqeen Raizah Raizah' is the title of the collection of poetry in Urdu and Punjabi by a "No-poet" Dr Inayatullah, an acknowledged social scientist. I categorised him as "No-poet" because as he himself informs us that after making an attempt to become a poet in his college days he remained unconcerned with literature till many years after retirement.
The footages of the demolition of Babri Mosque, like a flash flood stimulated the poetic part of his being, which started with a single word and culminate in a full-fledge poem. The inspiration didn't die down with that poem rather lasted for another three year.
Then occurs an unbelievable phenomenon, he stops writing poetry - strange and unnatural. The man was not simply writing poetry but it is being published in reputable literary journals, which is a proof of his recognition.
What made him to give up writing poetry? He willingly shares the reason with the reader. He said, "a feeling arose in me that instead of gaining insight from other fields of knowledge I made it a means for self-projection and used the poetry for the same purpose. It means that the habit of begging for acclaim has not changed; only the bowl has changed. To transform my own-self or the society through poetry appeared farce. Resultantly all the sources which used to energise poetry dried down. Then the poetry left me not ever to come back".
I don't believe him. He may never write poetry again but poetry will remain "in" him as long as the aesthetic part of his personality is alive.
Dr Inayatullah has acknowledged the help and appreciation he received from Zia Jalandhri, Ahmad Faraz, Zamir Jaffry, Partau Rohela and Ahmed Salim. There are 29 poems, (serious and thought provoking), four hilarious / satiric in Urdu, ten ghazals and nine compositions in Punjabi.
As a social scientist Dr Inayatullah is well aware of our economic, political and cultural deprivations. His deep feelings on these issues are fully reflected in his poetry as are in his prose writings.
I find myself in agreement with Dr Hilal Naqi as he wrote, "after reading his small collection "Yaqeen Raizah Raizah" (Belief fragmented) my belief in life is saved from being fragmented. Dr Inayatullah's observations and experiences have taught us the art of viewing figures and images through broken mirror".
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Book : Yaqeen Raizah Raizah
Author : Inayatullah
Publisher : Irteqa Institute of Social Sciences, Karachi.
Pages : 123
Price : Rs 150/-
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