Taufiq Rafat

Taufiq Rafat
Born(1927-10-25)25 October 1927
Sialkot
Died2 August 1998(1998-08-02) (aged 71)
Lahore
OccupationAuthor

Taufiq Rafat (25 October 1927 – 2 August 1998 ), was a Pakistani author and poet, active in English language. His work influenced other Pakistani poets and he is credited with the introduction of the concept of a "Pakistani idiom" in English literature.[1][2] He translated several works from Punjabi literature into English, including the epic of Puran Bhagat by Qadir Yar and the poetry of Punjabi Sufi poet Bulleh Shah, which was published by the Oxford University Press.[3][4][5]

Born and raised in Sialkot in 1927 in a Punjabi family,[6][7] Taufiq has been called as Ezra Pound of Pakistan for his modernist style that includes a naturalist view.[8] Rafat conducted poetry workshops, which influenced many younger poets.[9] After surviving a stroke in 1984, he stopped writing. Taufiq died fourteen years later in 1998 at the age of 71 in Lahore.[6]

Poetry

Children Understand Him

Here the poet describes the life of Old Man. A young grandfather of three grandchildren (2 sons, 1 daughter) of his son. The metaphor here is used 'Otherwise he is a Dry Stream Bed' which means once his (old man/grandfather) life ran like a river or stream but now it is dry. It means when he was in his youth, he used to live like other young men. Further is written 'Living on Memories' which means He is now living on memories. And further it is written that 'And the hospitality Now given, revoked Of his sons and daughters' which means when the guest arrive, he (old man/grandfather) sent to his room because of many causes such as because he may bore new guests on stories of his life and wherever he will go, children will follow him. Further, here is 'From man-roar, and friendly' which means They (grandchildren) give friendly punches on his (grandfather)'s chest. 'And damp kisses on scrubbed cheeks, They sail to the harbour of his knees' which means that he (old man) gives damp kisses to their grandchildren, ever that are dirty. And grandchildren feel safe on his (old man) knees.[10]

Translations

In 2016, his translation of the classical Punjabi poet Bulleh Shah was published by Oxford University Press.[11]

References

  1. ^ Zubair, Fatima (1 November 2020). "Pakistani idiom: Exploring works of Taufiq Rafat, Kaleem Omer and Shoaib bin Hassan". The News International. Retrieved 6 December 2025.
  2. ^ Hashmi, Alamgir (1993). "Major Minorities: English Literatures in Transit". In Granqvist, Raoul (ed.). Major Minorities: English Literatures in Transit. Amsterdam: Rodopi. ISBN 978-90-5183-559-5.
  3. ^ Fahmida, Riaz (1991). "Pakistani Literature in English". In Zaman, Niaz (ed.). Other Englishes: Essays on Commonwealth Writing. Dhaka: University Press Limited. p. 48. ISBN 978-984-05-1157-0.
  4. ^ Aslam, Irfan (17 August 2014). "Qadiryar's Puran Bhagat and Taufiq Rafat". Dawn. Retrieved 6 December 2025.
  5. ^ "Masterpiece: Taufiq Rafat's translation of Bulleh Shah launched". The Express Tribune. 14 May 2015. Retrieved 6 December 2025.
  6. ^ a b Ahmed, Khaled (18 October 2023). "Remembering Taufiq Rafat (1927–1998)". The Standard. Retrieved 6 December 2025.
  7. ^ Zia, Atifa Binth e; Raza, Dr. Amra (11 February 2022). "Cultural Ceremonials and Fiestas: A Punjabi Flavor in Rafat's Poetry (1947–1983)". Khoj. 43 (2): 1–9.
  8. ^ Hussain, Jam Sajjad (9 November 2009). "Taufiq Rafat - the Ezra Pound of Pakistan". The Nation. Retrieved 6 December 2025.
  9. ^ Lal, Malashri; Kumar, Sukrita Paul (2007). Interpreting Homes in South Asian Literature. Pearson Education India. p. 257. ISBN 978-81-317-0637-4.
  10. ^ "Critical Analysis, Summary and Themes of Children Understand Him by Taufiq Rafat". School of Literature. Retrieved 10 February 2025.
  11. ^ Shāh, Bullhe (2015). Rafat, Taufiq (ed.). Bulleh Shah: A Selection. Oxford Pakistan paperbacks. Karachi, Pakistan: Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-940288-5. OCLC 927190615.

Poems

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