CHINAR SHADE : NOOR MOHAMMAD “ KITAB’ OR MUNSHI NAVAL KISHORE OF KASHMIR

( NOOR NOHD KITAB )

( NOOR MOHD ON RIGHT WITH HIS FATHER KHWAJA GH. MOHD BHAT )

( TAREEKH E KASHMIRI KI ROZANA DIARY )

NOOR MOHAMMAD ' KITAB’ OR MUNSHI NAVAL KISHORE OF KASHMIR

Those who lived in downtown or had to pass through this area of Srinagar city never failed to notice a spacious shop at Maharaj Ganj (Banday Kochha near Budshaw’s Tomb) selling books. This shop had a huge board that read something like this.

‘GHULAM MOHD. NOOR MOHAMMAD TAJRAAN E KUTUB “

Rooted in Kashmir, this shop sold books in Kashmiri, Urdu, Persian, and Arabic. It sold books on literature, religion, philosophy, poetry, and many other subjects. About forty years ago, from this very shop, I purchased” Dast e Tah e Sang,” a poetic collection of Faiz Ahmed Faiz. The book remains with me to this day.

Established by Khwaja Ghulam Mohammad Bhat , a resident of Pandhaan ( Nowhatta, Srinagar city ) sometime at the fag end of the 19th century ( 1890) , it was his son Noor Mohammad ( 1905-1965 ), who turned this small shop into an enterprise of excellence with his diverse interests and initiatives . He was educated. He could read and write English, Urdu, Persian and Kashmiri. Before 1947, he regularly travelled to Lahore to procure books, magazines, novels and other texts that he sold from this shop. In Lahore, he would often buy books from Taj Company, a reputed book house during pre-partition days. Later, he shifted to Delhi and UP to procure books.

I have been told by some elderly Pandits that Khwaja Ghulam Mohammad Bhat, father of Noor Mohammad was a simple and god-fearing person. He was a follower of a Faquir named Sona Mout who lived in the house of Shridhar Joo (Conservator of Forests) at Rehbab Sahib, Nawa Kadal in downtown Srinagar. Later, Noor Mohammad also became a follower of Sona Mout. Sona Mout had many followers amongst the Kashmiri Pandit community.

As a person, Noor Mohammad was a simple man who loved poetry and literature. He remained a guide to many upcoming writers and poets and an affectionate and helpful human being. He had cordial relations with almost all local writers, poets, leaders and intellectuals, more particularly with those who resided in downtown, Srinagar. In this category, I would include poet Rehman Rahi, poet Fazil Kashmiri, poet Ghulam Nabi Firaq, poet and journalist Ghulam Nabi Khayal and many more.

For more than 50 years, his publishing house published books in Kashmiri. From this shop, You could get a copy of the Holy Quran in Kashmiri, a book on verses (Shrukhs) of Nund Reshi and a book on verses( Vaakhs) of Lal Ded. You could also get poetry books that had poems of Mehjoor, Dina Nath Nadim, Rehman Rahi, Ghulam Nabi Firaq, Amin Kamil, Ghulam Nabi Khayal, Pitamber Nath Dhar Faani, Fazil Kashmiri, Moti Lal Saqi, Mir Ghulam Rasool Nazki, Rasa Javidani and many more. By all accounts, Noor Mohammad could be aptly called as ‘Munshi Nawal Kishore' of Kashmir.

He published some quality books that dealt with criticism of the works of various Kashmiri poets and writers.

I have been told that he would give books free to people who could not afford them. This shop and the connected publishing house provided immense support to the promotion of Kashmiri literature. The shop had some rare books on history, poetry, literature and Islamic theology jurisprudence. The shop also sold stationery items. You could also get novels, short story books and poetic collections of almost all Urdu writers of the subcontinent.

In Kashmir, he also remained an active member of the core group that started a movement against Maharaja’s rule in the state. After some time, he got disillusioned and focused on his business only.

A prolific writer himself, I am informed that Noor Mohammad has also written some books in Kashmiri on varied subjects. People started calling him Noor Mohammad "Kitab", a nickname that he loved personally as it reflected his contribution.

In view of his immense contribution in promoting the Kashmiri language, The J&K Academy of Art, Culture and Languages brought out a special issue of Sheeraza in his honour.

Presently, the shop and the allied business activity are being efficiently managed by Zaffar Mohammad Iqbal son of Noor Mohammad with a zeal and passion that is no less by any standards. And in an interview with Majid Maqbool, Mohhamad Iqbal said this:-

“When the shop was opened, there was no radio, print, or electronic media in Kashmir, and the literacy rate was very low. My grandfather wanted to contribute to society by publishing and selling books to help create a book-reading culture. Ghulam Mohd and Noor Mohd would collect manuscripts of Kashmiri poetry and other literary writings written in Kashmiri by travelling across the valley. They would go from village to village to look for talented and unpublished poets and writers, seek their manuscripts in Kashmiri and Urdu, which they would later get published in book form and keep their books available at the bookshop. My father had a good hold on English, Farsi, and Kashmiri because of the influence of his father. My father was also a writer, having written several books in Kashmiri—one of his best-known works is Tareeq-e-Kashmir (History of Kashmir), written in 1952. After the partition of 1947, Noor Mohd got their own press to print books in Kashmiri. The printing press was set up in the central area of Srinagar city in Lal Chowk. It was the first steam printing press in Kashmir, which was brought from Delhi to publish books in the valley. At that time no newspaper or any other publisher had their own press in Kashmir. We were the first publishers in Kashmir and subsequently published about 250 books in Kashmiri alone. We also published a Kashmiri-language translation of the Holy Qur’an and other Islamic literature, some copies of which are still preserved in our bookshop.”

( LIST OF SOME BOOKS PUBLISHED )

Gyanpeeth awardee Kashmiri poet Rehman Rahi Informs this:-

“I would take books on rent from this shop and read them. This is the shop from which I took my first book on rent. That first book was authored by Tirath Ram Ferozpuri. When I went to return this book, I was confronted by Noor Mohammad himself who sought to know as to what I had learnt from the book. I started narrating a long tale. Not satisfied with my reply, he asked me a straight question as to what was the author’s point of view in the book. This question made me speechless. I had nothing to say in reply to this serious query. For the first time in my life, I felt that I was advised by somebody to dive deep into the contents of the book to read it. I felt I was advised so as if all these books were seriously linked with my existence or living. Till that time, I was a perfunctory reader of books. His advice changed my outlook towards books. It was a lovely advice and a turning point for me. From that day onwards, I started treating Noor Mohammad as my guide and teacher. I started borrowing new and newer books from the shop and he kept asking me new and newer questions each time I went to return these books. This way, he made me an excellent lover of books and literature. Noor Mohammad was a product of renaissance in Kashmiri language. An intellectual, with whom I remained quite close for about 15 years. During the early days of our friendship, I was always eager to meet him and talk to him. Later, he would always seek me. If I did not see him for three or four days, he would come to my house to know my welfare. He was an intellectual who could discuss literature, politics and social issues with clarity. We would also discuss some intimate family issues. He would always keep himself updated on many issues that were close to him. Even when he could afford to live a rich lifestyle, he loved simplicity. "

( Avtar Mota )