Ali Akbar Natiq

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Ali Akbar Natiq
Native name
Punjabi: علی اکبر ناطق
Born (1974-12-22) December 22, 1974 (age 49)
Punjab, Pakistan
Pen nameNatiq
OccupationWriter, poet
LanguagePunjabi, Urdu
NationalityPakistani
EducationM.A
Alma materBahauddin Zakariya University
Notable works
  • Naulakhi Kothi
  • Kamari Wala

Ali Akbar Natiq (born 22 December 1974) is a Pakistani poet, novelist and short-story writer. Acclaimed as one of the brightest stars in Pakistan's literary firmament, Natiq has published many books.

Early life and education[edit]

Ali Akbar Natiq was born at village 32/2L, in Okara District, Punjab, Pakistan.[1] His ancestors migrated from Faizabad, near Lucknow, to Firozpur district in Punjab at the turn of the 20th century, and then during the partition of India in 1947, they immigrated to Pakistan, coming from Firozpur via Sulemanki Headworks, and settled in Okara.[2][3]

Natiq studied up to matric in a high school in his village and passed FA exam from Government College, Okara. After that, due to poor economic conditions, he started working and got his BA and MA degrees privately from Bahauddin Zakariya University, Multan.

Natiq started working as a mason and skilled at building domes, minarets and mosques. Meanwhile, his studies of Urdu literature and history also continued. He also read the Arabic books which his father had brought from Iraq and Kuwait where he went on work.[4] Whenever he got free time from work, he was busy studying. In 1998, he also stayed in Saudi Arabia and the Middle East for some time as a laborer. He learned a lot in this journey.

Career[edit]

His first collection of poetry "Beyaqeen Bastiyon Mein" appeared in 2010, followed by a book of short stories "Qaim Deen" published by Oxford University Press in 2012. All two books have received UBL and Oxford Awards. Penguin Random House India published the English version of the aforementioned collection of the short stories titled "What Will You Give For This Beauty?".[5] His story "Mason's Hand" has been featured in international literary magazine Granta in its special issue on Pakistan in 2011.[6][7] In 2013, he published another book of poems "Yaqoot Ke Warq", from which selected poems were translated into German.[8] His first novel "Naulakhi Kothi" was launched at 6th Karachi Literature Festival.[9] The novel is being translated into English and is expected to be published by Penguin India and America. In 2015, after being inspired by Natiq's book Qaim Deen, Indian actor and theatre director Danish Husain adapted four of his short stories in his play "Ek Punjab Ye Bhi" which opened during the Prithvi Theatre Festival at Prithvi Theatre, Mumbai.[10][11] Natiq next published second book of short stories named "Shah Muhammad Ka Tanga" in Urdu. This book has been translated into Hindi and English in same name from Delhi by Jagarnath Publishing, India. Beside poetry and fiction, Natiq also wrote a book with a critical account on poetry of famous poet Allama Muhammad Iqbal and a book aiming at discussing the critical aspects of the art of versification.

He was former professor of Urdu at Uswa College, Islamabad and a former assistant professor at University of Lahore, Department School of Creative Art. On 16 July 2018, the American daily newspaper The New York Times published his article on the topic of democracy in Pakistan. He originally wrote the article in Urdu language, which was translated by Basharat Peer in English.[12] His second novel "Kamari Wala" was published in 2020.

Writings[edit]

  • Naulakhi Kothi (Novel) (نو لکھی کوٹھی), 2015
  • Kamari Wala (Novel) (کماری والا), 2020[13]
  • Qaim Deen (Short Stories) (قائم دین)
  • Shah Muhammad Ka Tanga ( Short stories) (شاہ محمد کا ٹانگہ)
  • Fakeer Basti Main Tha (فقیر بستی میں تھا)
  • Sabz Bastion Ke Ghazaal (سبز بستیوں کے غزال)
  • Be Yaqeen Bastion Main (Poetry) (بے یقین بستیوں میں)
  • Yaqoot Ke Warq (Poetry) (یاقوت کے ورق)

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Literate, NOS, The News International". 2014-02-22. Archived from the original on 2014-02-22. Retrieved 2020-12-09.
  2. ^ "Reading books helped me create a society of my own". The News International. 14 January 2018. Retrieved 3 July 2022.
  3. ^ Rajni George (21 January 2015). "Beauty, At a Price". Open. Retrieved 14 July 2022.
  4. ^ Charmy Harikrishnan (15 January 2015). "Ali Akbar Natiq is the powerful new voice from Pakistan. A trenchant critic of religious heads, he is also a mason who makes exquisite mosques". India Today. Retrieved 15 July 2022.
  5. ^ "Possessed of dark irony and a searing moral vision, Ali Akbar Natiq is a storyteller of exceptional talent and manifest power". penguin.co.in. Retrieved 25 June 2022.
  6. ^ Ali Akbar Natiq (2 March 2011). "A Mason's Hand | New Voices". Granta. Retrieved 25 June 2022.
  7. ^ "Ali Akbar Natiq was one of Granta's New Voices in 2011. His story 'A Mason's Hand', was published by the magazine". Granta. 4 March 2011. Retrieved 25 June 2022.
  8. ^ "Natiq's Urdu poems translated into German language". Lyrikline.org. Retrieved 25 June 2022.
  9. ^ Salman, Peerzada (9 February 2015). "Book launches enliven last KLF day". Dawn. Retrieved 9 December 2020.
  10. ^ Alaka Sahani (3 December 2015). "Message in Texts: Thespian Danish Husain adapts the works of Pakistan writer in his new play". The Indian Express. Retrieved 12 July 2022.
  11. ^ "Danish Husain's latest production, which will be staged at Prithvi Theatre, is inspired by Ali Akbar Natiq's Urdu short stories". The Hindu. 2 December 2015. Retrieved 12 July 2022.
  12. ^ Ali Akbar Natiq (16 July 2018). "Opinion | Where Democracy Is a Terrifying Business". The New York Times. Retrieved 25 June 2022.
  13. ^ Book Corner Showroom Jhelum – Kamari Wala. Retrieved 2020-12-09.
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