“As One Lamp Lights Another” is a collection of poems in English by some seven (7) descendants of Lady & Sir Sh. Abdul Qadir of Lahore, Punjab, to whom jointly it is most respectfully dedicated. Whether or not there be any discernible commonality in the contributions featured in this collection, they all spring from the same fountain or, if you prefer, they may all derive their light from the same “Lamp”. As Allama Iqbal wrote in his tribute to Sir Sh. Abdul Qadir:
شَمع کی طرح جَلیں بزم گَہِ عالَم میں
خود جلیں، دیدہِ اَغیار کو بِینا کَر دیں
“Sham’a kee tarah jalayn bazm-gahay aalam mayn
Khod jalayn, deedahay aghyaar ko beena kar dayn.”
Sir Sh. Abdul Qadir, Punjab’s leading patron of the Urdu language and literature of his time, founded Punjab’s first Urdu literary journal, the “Makhzan” (مخزن), providing a platform to several renowned Urdu littérateurs, including poets of the time (prominent, among others, Allama Iqbal, Hafeez Jallundhri, and Abdul Lateef Tapish), who acknowledged their indebtedness to that patronage.
Lady Abdul Qadir was a leading light in promoting the education of females and effectively inducting them into the society and economy of the Punjab — curiously, she, more than her husband, was responsible for the education of their (five sons and no daughters) family.
Unfortunately, all but lost is the bi-lingual poetry of Riaz Qadir, their fifth and youngest son, and the only first-generation poet in English among their descendants — the most prolific, and quite possibly the best. Regrettably, the poetry of his very talented late daughter Saadia Qadir is also lost to us. Consequently, the contributors in this collection are only 3 second-generation descendants (Basharat Qadir, Asghar Qadir and Khurram Qadir), 2 third-generation (Junaiyd Qadir and Raabia Qadir Zia) and 2 fourth-generation (Ghazal Qadir and Mekyle Ali Qadir). The contributions, however, are arranged in the reverse order, beginning with the youngest and concluding with the eldest.
Mekyle Ali Qadir, (fourth generation) born on the 14th October 2000, grandson of Asghar Qadir, is the youngest.
Ghazal Qadir, (fourth generation) born on the 2nd November 1997, shy self-effacing daughter of Junaiyd Qadir and grand-daughter of Basharat Qadir, is the younger of the only two female contributors.
Raabia Qadir Zia, (third generation) born on the 25th April 1982, the (only) daughter of Khurram Qadir, is the elder of the only two female contributors.
Junaiyd Qadir, (third generation) born on the 10th July 1975, son of Basharat Qadir, having tried his hand at various occupations, is currently a teacher by profession.
Khurram Qadir, (second generation) direct grandson of Lady & Sh. Sir Abdul Qadir, born on the 17th November 1950, also having tried his hand at various professions, settled down with a sense of belonging in the field of History, where, with his various publications he has attained international academic acclaim. He continues with his ground-breaking research in the field of History.
Asghar Qadir, (second generation) direct grandson of Lady & Sir Sh. Abdul Qadir, born on the 23rd July 1946, has a long and distinguished career with international renown in the fields of Mathematics and Physics, and has also dabbled in Economics at the highest level. He is our most cerebral contributor and has provided English translations of two of his own Urdu poems, together with a quatrain of his uncle Riaz Qadir, and a couplet of Zauq’s.
Basharat Qadir, (second generation) direct grandson of Lady & Sir Sh. Abdul Qadir, born on the 23rd October 1944, is a lawyer by profession, and is our oldest contributor. In addition to his original poetry, he has also contributed a few adaptations as well as some translations. Regrettably, some of the adaptations and most of the translations are fragments.
I am indebted to my sister Shirin Ikram for first stimulating my interest in English poetry, and to my former teacher T. Lloyd G. Mullen for developing and honing that interest. I am very deeply indebted to my father Manzur Qadir, for introducing me to Urdu and Persian poetry and poetics, and for whatever “understanding” thereof I may possess — however, I and I alone bear the entire responsibility for any and all my limitations and deficiencies in that “understanding”. My Adaptations and Translations, collectively, are dedicated in all humility and with the utmost respect, to my father — to whom I owe everything.
Finally, my thanks are due to all the contributors for providing their poetry for publication in this modest volume — and especially to my brother Asghar Qadir and my cousin Khurram Qadir, for their invaluable help with the process of editing and formatting the document, and the former for goading me on.
Basharat Qadir