Surkh Phoolon ki Sabz Khushbo by Khurram Sohail
In connection with 60th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Japan and Pakistan, Rawalpindi Arts Council in collaboration with the Embassy of Japan organised a book launching ceremony.
Ambassador of Japan Hiroshi Oe was the guest of honour of the ceremony along with Naheed Manzoor. The book ‘Surkh Phoolon ki Sabz Khushbo’ compiled by Khurram Sohail is a journey of creativity between two individuals of two countries and of two different parameters, it explores how Urdu flourished in Japan before the partition of India and how it earned its popularity later.
The book explores how Japanese characters transformed themselves in Urdu and how Urdu made its way into the Japanese language through short stories and popular readings.
Addressing the ceremony Hiroshi Oe said: “The book launch represents our efforts to continue promoting bilateral relations in various fields at different levels.” He said that this year marks the 60th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Japan and Pakistan. “In our efforts to enhance ties between the two nations, Embassy of Japan has been holding various cultural events throughout the year,” he added.
Naheed Manzoor, in her welcome address, said that the role of Rawalpindi Arts Council in promoting art and culture is unforgettable and the collaboration of Japan embassy is a unique example of its trust on this Council. She also congratulated Khurram Sohail for highlighting impact of literature on each other of both the countries in his book.
Toshikazu Isomura, counsellor of Japan Embassy, said that there can be no precious gift than a book on 60th anniversary of diplomatic relations. Apparently this seems to be a simple work that compiling the works of the writers and then publish them, but those who are associated with this work know how difficult this work is.
Only those who have a vision can do this and Khurram Sohail has aptly done this effort. Khurram Sohail shared his experience while collecting of material for compiling the book. He said that he developed interest to do this while he was exposed to Japanese culture. As a journalist he has written two other books namely ‘Sur maya’ and ‘Batoon ke Piyali main Thandi Chai’.
Explaining the title of the book he said that since the colour of the Japanese flag is red and ours is green so if a Japanese person speaks Urdu it seems that there is green smell coming out of red flowers. He said that Japan is the only country in the world who honours their writers by printing their pictures on their currency notes.
(TheNews)
