Khayal – The Polymath and the Polyglot

With the passing away of Ghulam Nabi Khayal, one of the important pages from the socio-cultural and literary folio of Kashmir has fallen apart. He belonged to that rare group of individuals called “public intellectuals” and combined in the versatility of his personality a reputed journalist, an established translator, an incisive critic, a sensitive poet and a profound essayist. Not only was he a polymath who wrote qualitatively on a number of different subjects but he was also a polyglot. He was one of the few Kashmiri authors to have written and published trilingually in Kashmiri, Urdu and English. 

In an era of specialisation where human expertise is narrowing down to the point that our super-specialists humorously claim to know “everything about nothing”, Khayal presented the epitome of epistemological integration and at the same time mastered such diverse genres as culture, folklore, history, literature and much more. The author of over thirty scholarly books and the winner of Sahitya Academy Award, Khayal embodied the values of simple living and scholarly grace. Whatever themes he chose to write upon, he chalked and walked a path of his own, throwing scholarly and insightful flashes onto the subject and strongly questioning the existing narratives and paradigms. His book “Khayal E Qalam”, an anthology of essays bears witness not only to his literary and stylistic prowess but to his academic depth and scholarly acumen as well. 

The writer got to share the stage with Khayal on a number of occasions and each time the freshness and originality wasn’t lost on me. Unlike the timid and opportunistically prudent, he preferred to state and stay with the truth, irrespective of its cost and consequences. No wonder, he not only corrected but sometimes also lashed out on the authors who he found disloyal to history and digressing from facts – be it in the field of Iqbaliyat, Kashmir history or socio-cultural repertoire. True to the duty of an intellectual, and “public intellectual” in particular, he staked his interests and sacrificed his perks but didn’t let powers dictate a narration to his pen. 

A remarkable lesson of optimism emerges on knowing that he trained himself in Persian in a state of imprisonment during the reign of Bhakshi Ghulam Muhammad – and what kind of learning it was? He went on to translate the “Rubbaiyat E Khayam” and the standard of translation is such as to secure for itself a place in the translator marvels of the world. On reading the translation, one is left astounded and fails to decide between the beauty of Khayam’s original and the subtlety of Khayal’s translation. But one can’t miss lamenting the fact that the book has been out of print and absent from market for a long time now. True to its place of merit, the work needs massive reprint and public appreciation in view of the fact that it brings together the academic and literary skills of Khayal and is a sublime addition and tribute to the Kashmiri language & literature. 

Human capital and the intellectual treasure of land and culture not only preserve its mores, supply the culture with its theoretical and ideological columns and supports but also by their very mode of existence become emblems and ambassadors of culture and civilisation. We are in no doubt regarding the fact that Khayal had carved for himself a niche where he had become, a reference of and synonymous with Kashmir, and all it has to offer in its literary and cultural diversity and excellence. Essayist, Editor of “Koh E Maraan” and a scholarly figure Suhail Salim, who got to see Khayal Sahad during the last few years and particularly the last days of life recounts that Khayal Sahab always welcomed his guests, the younger ones in particular, with his heart and library open; one of the best personal library Salim recounted he has seen in Kashmir. Khayal, he says, was particularly interested in the translation of works to and from Kashmiri and showed special concern for authentic texts on the history of Kashmir in Urdu. Here it is pertinent to mention that the West celebrates its heroes by working out their ideas and by giving life to the statues their intellectual elders have carved in their minds. In the East, to the contrary, we idolise the individual himself, decorate him with a garland of praises and turn a blind eye to his call. I wish that not be the fate of Khayal and may his wisdom and intellectual zest find its heirs and promulgators.      

• The author of the obituary is a Srinagar-based columnist 

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