Arab poet who writes on Bollywood, translates Urdu poems

Sharjah - "It is important to carryout literary comparison between Arabic works and that of the Indian sub-continent."

AT the age of 30, the Sharjah based Nouzad Jaadan has published five books including 'The Founders of Indian Cinema' which is the first Arabic book written by an Arab on this subject.
"There are other books on the subject but all of them of them have been translated from foreign languages to Arabic."
Nouzad, a media staffer in the Directorate of Public Works in Sharjah is also a researcher with a special interest in poetry from the Indian subcontinent.
'The Founders of Indian Cinema' is a short book profiling 15 notable figures of Indian cinema.
"Within months, I will publish a book of translated Urdu poetry into Arabic; and I am already done with the translation of the Bengali novelist, Sarat Chandra's 'Devdas' - your equivalent of Majnoon Laila or Romeo and Juliet."
Why this interest in Indian, Urdu, Bengali literature?
The Syrian writer who came to the UAE in 2012 after two year stay in Turkey says that beside going with his father as a ten-year old to the Aleppo cinema to watch Bollywood classics such as Dharam Veer, there is an educational angle to this.
"It is important to carryout literary comparison between Arabic works and that of the Indian sub-continent.
"Many societies, especially medieval Europe have developed through widening their knowledge base. We must apply something positive to humanity; if not for anything, at least to nourish the soul."
He says he has come to appreciate despite not being much conversant in Urdu, but the little he knows, he has come to appreciate it the same way he appreciates Arabic poetry. Urdu poets also use the name of the poet in the last stanza among other details.
"Since Iam not conversant in the Urdu language, I act as a middleman for languages such as Urdu, English to Arabic. It is painstaking, but it adds value to the knowledge base."
The Arabic books he has written tackle societal problems with focus on Syria, his country battered by war.
The titles include; Khazaanat Turaabiyya (Dust Cupboard); Haetwiyyaat Taalibul Maq'ad Al Akheer (The Walls of the Seat of Last Student); Saeedan Jiddan (So Happy); Aghaani Baeiu Al Madhallaat (The Songs of Umbrella Seller).
His message to the publishing houses; "They should lend us a hand to promote peace. Literature adds to peace in the society."
afkarali@khaleejtimes.com

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