Dr Lubna Zaheer
“Ghazali Education Trust” needs no introduction regarding the education of deserving and underprivileged children in the society. The institution has been engaged in this good work for the past several years. About 800 schools established in different villages and backward areas of Pakistan are working under the supervision of this institution. Syed Amir Mehmood, who is the head of this organization, is a well-known reference himself. Mr Aamir was educated from universities of Pakistan and the UK. He has dedicated his life to equip the Pakistani children, belonging to the deprived sections, with the best available education.
A few days ago, I received an invitation to attend an event of Ghazali Education Trust. In general, the gatherings and ceremonies organized by the trust discuss topics based on education and related issues. However, this time it was the celebration of Amir Mahmood ‘s book “Hangam-e-Safar”. Noorul Huda organized the event. Mr Aamir is not a regular writer. Some time ago he was on a trip to different countries and later started writing a short account of his journey on Facebook. Now the same account is in front of us in the form of a book. This travelogue has been printed by Jamhoori Publications under the supervision of Farrukh Sohail Goindi. Mr Amir later revealed that after reading his writings on Facebook, it was Goindi who encouraged the latter to continue writing and publish the book.
Farrukh Sohail Goindi, Najam Wali Khan, Salman Abid, Bina Goindi, Farrukh Waraich and others were present at the ceremony. Everyone expressed their opinion about the book in their own way. They appreciated the style of the book, did some critical review and also gave some great tips too. Farrukh Goindi is a literary figure and is also known for publishing books. He had also traveled to multiple countries. Mr Goindi explained very well what makes a good travelogue and proved that “Hangam-e-Safar” meets this criterion.
My humble opinion was that a travelogue is a personal treasure of any person. Every tourist or traveler writes and describes it from his own point of view. So even an ordinary writer should be allowed to write in his/her own style what he/she has seen and felt. This means that instead of examining the travelogue on a strictly scholarly and critical scale, the writer should be at least spared from it.
As far as the book is concerned, “Hangam-s-Safar” is really a good travelogue. Mr Aamir has written about various cities and places. Various places including Istanbul, Oslo, Paris, Rome, Athens, Cordoba, and Florence have been mentioned. Reading the book gives an idea of how deep his observations are. He has described the details of various places very beautifully and meticulously. The reader gets to read interesting information about the countries or cities they traveled to. For instance, he writes about Oslo that “While walking around the city, pointing to a factory, Nazar Abbas said that all the wastes of the city are collected here and by burning them, hot water is provided to all parts of Oslo. He further informed that these wastes are now being procured from the UK due to reduction over the past several years.
Personally, I also love to travel and have traveled some destinations as a tourist. If we go outside Pakistan, we definitely compare it with Pakistan. I think we all do. Aamir Sahib also kept remembering Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) during his travel in Iceland. He writes, “While sitting in business class on an Iceland’s airline, I missed my country’s national airline. For the past 15 years, I have tried to prefer to fly with PIA, but fact is that every time there has been a decline in quality, services and attitudes. Our airports and national carrier are the first introduction and face of Pakistan. Favoritism, nepotism and bribery have left nothing behind.”
Such depressive words usually make us sad. But what should be done that more or less the situation of all national institutions is the same. Anyway, congratulations to Mr Aamir for publishing such a book. Readers who are interested in knowing about different countries and cities of the world must read this book. Readers will definitely will like the travelogue written in a simple style.
— The author is an academician and political analyst
Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of Lahore Mirror
