July
07, 2006
Chatty
Columns of a Remarkable Young Woman
I have but a nodding acquaintance
with her, but by the time I finished reading her
book ‘Assalamalaikum America’ (Peace
Be Upon You, America) I felt I knew a lot about
the personality of the high-achieving author, far
above her thumb-nail sketch appearing on the flap
of the dust cover.
Columnists do not usually mention aspects of their
personal lives while talking about the subjects
of their columns. But, Tasnim Sana Khan loves to
talk in a light and entertaining vein even on serious
topics and weaves randomly into her account some
personal anecdotes too. Her intent is not self-projection
but an illustration of the point she is making.
There is just no hypocrisy about Sana, she has nothing
to hide, no ax to grind.
But, she has a lot to say about a variety of subjects
holding an interest for her Pak-American readers.
Her book carries a selection of 74 of her columns.
She has been writing regularly a weekly column for
ethnic weeklies, Pakistan Link and Urdu Times, for
some 15 years now.
An inescapable impression about her that I gained
on going through her 274-page book is her uncanny
ability to maintain a balance between conflicting
demands. She balances her love of the land of her
birth with that of her choice and naturalization.
For instance in her column on “The Search
for Peace on the Globe” she is quite critical
of American bombing of certain Muslim countries,
and says: “We have always prayed for the welfare
and security of Pakistan as much as of the US as
the latter is now our state too”.
Similarly, she balances the demands of her job as
a teacher with that of a dedicated wife, mother
of two young children, and a homemaker. The secret
of her success in this particular instance lies
in the unflinching support of her husband. Matter
of fact, she wouldn’t have been able to pursue
her itch to write but for the encouragement of her
husband.
She nurtures nostalgia for her exciting school and
college days in Karachi and for the company of her
numerous girl friends that keep nudging her to visit
that city. But, she balances that urge with the
need of her presence in California by cutting short
her visits and that too only when her commitments
here admit of her foreign travel.
She is able to maintain such a delicate balance
because of the subtlety of her intellect matched
by an emotional attachment to her family.
One wonders how she manages to accommodate the time
in her already very busy schedule for thinking about
the subject of her choice, collecting the requisite
data, and then composing her column. But then, it
is a well-known fact that only a busy person has
time to take on an additional task. Sana has that
distinguished faculty. Even as a student, she had
made her mark as a debater, master of ceremonies,
and participant in students’ associations
and their extra-curricular activities.
On arrival in California as a young bride, she could
have confined herself to being just a good housewife.
Not, Sana. She joined a local college to acquire
additional qualifications and became a teacher.
She now aspires for a PhD in child psychology.
Let us now turn to the contents of her book.
Her simple language, straightforward and chatty
style, directly impresses you. Her direct and informal
way of saying things endears her to the reader and
often strikes a sympathetic cord in his/her heart
too particularly as Sana’s voice reflects
her honesty and deep conviction.
Sana is a born humorist. Be it wit, satire or irony,
it comes out of her pen quite naturally. But, she
appears wary of hurting anyone’s feelings.
For, her sole aim is to entertain the reader. Therefore,
she confines within parenthesis any comment with
the slightest possibility of offending anyone. That
is perhaps her way of putting handcuffs on a likely
offender. One has to pause and then read her parenthetical
comment to fully enjoy the underlying satire.
Bulk of her columns carry humor. Her witty observations
brighten the contents even when she is talking about
some serious issue. Her column on the uniform of
Gen. Musharraf is a good example of this.
She puts in sharp focus the oddities that have crept
into the life style of South Asians who in their
zeal for the American way of life have embraced
avidly even those facets of local culture that are
looked on askance by the locals themselves.
Her essay on blank verse (Azad Shaeri) is as entertaining
as it is a serious critique of this kind of poetry.
It is a worthwhile addition to the existing literature
in Urdu on the subject.
Her columns on Pakistan’s educational system
are fairly serious in content. But, even in them
you find some sprinklings of humor. Being a teacher
herself, she points out the innate weaknesses of
our system and has offered certain suggestions to
remove the faults. At least four of her columns
are about this topic and all of them reflect her
anguish over the faulty, outdated system that does
not encourage the questioning minds of students.
The system suppresses the spirit of enquiry - the
motivating force behind the rise and fall of nations.
Her columns on the late Hakeem Saeed and Parveen
Shakir are emotionally charged; they couldn’t
be otherwise. They sadden the reader too as they
come straight from the heart of Sana.
Her more interesting columns deal with the amusing
aspects of life in America and figure mostly in
the first half of the book.
Her work has been published by Welcome Book Port,
Karachi, and is priced at $15.00. It is scheduled
to be launched on July 15 at a function in Village
Restaurant in Anaheim, California. - arifhussaini@hotmail.com
