Taufiq Rafat is acknowledged as the finest Pakistani poet writing in English. He was born in Sialkot in 1927. Educated in Derra Dun, Aligarh and Lahore, he has been writing English verse for the past 45 years. His work has featured in three Oxford University Press collections of Pakistani English poetry, First Voices (1964), Pieces of Eight (1970), Wordfall (1976) and has been anthologised widely abroad in such publications as Poems of the Commonwealth, and Mentor’s Modem Asian Literature. His poems have been set in second-ary schools and College English courses in Africa, Australia and the United States, as well as in the intermediate English syllabi in the Punjab and Sind Universities in Pakistan.

His recent books include English verse renditions of the celebrated Punjabi poets Bulleh Shah and Qadir Yar’s Puran Bhagat; both volumes have received acclaim at home and abroad. He is now work-ing on a fourth book Lullabies of the Punjab, and is also in the pro-cess of writing his first novel in English.

This book brings us to 1978, and will be followed in due course by another volume called: Half Moon Poems 1979 — 1984.

ISBN: D8304 – Hardback
Publisher: VANGUARD BOOKS
ISBN: D8304
Publisher: VANGUARD BOOKS

Qadiryar (1802-1891) is not nearly as well-known as his great predecessors Baba Farid, Shah Hussain, Sultan Bahu, Bulleh Shah and Waris Shah. The fame he enjoys rests on his si harfi Puran Bhagat which has been translated for the first time into English verse by Taufiq Rafat. Puran Bhagat for all its virtues is a serious poem with no vignettes of rural life which interlard the epic romances, and which endeared these poems to the masses. Its affinity to the Phaedra legend will be found very intriguing. But these are academic considerations. In its own right, however, Qadiryar’s Puran Bhagat deserves to be recognised as a masterpiece. We hope that this translation will draw attention once again to this long neglected poem. To the reader of English however, Puran Bhagat will be a revelation. The sheer sweep and power of the poem will hit him like a tidal wave. We doubt if he will be able to put down the book till he has read the last line. This particular translation has had one end primarily in view—unobstructed narration. Such native wisdom as Qadiryar infused into the narrative, is an organic part of it, and cannot be isolated as memorable quotes. But this becomes irrelevant when one is confronted with this memorable poem.
ISBN: Z1485
Publisher: VANGUARD BOOKS