Yousufi Sahib does not like to talk about his personal life. At best he would share his bio-data with you! In an interview given in 1995 (published in the book Mushtaq Ahmed Yousufi - Chiragh talay se Aab-i-gum tak by Tariq Habeeb) he says: "If an author has to say something he should say it in his writings. If he cannot do that, then he is useless and not fit for an interview! How can you judge my writings by knowing what I wore on Eid and what are my favourite dishes? 

"Okay, if you insist, let me tell you that I was born on August 4, 1923 and it was a premature birth! My ancestors were Yusufzai Pathans settled in Jaipur. When my father visited Peshawar and introduced himself as a Pathan Yusufzai, everyone laughed. He returned to Jaipur and stopped calling himself a Yusufzai or a Pathan. However, he gave the family a new name - Yousufi!" 

How did he seriously start writing? "My first article, 'Sinf-i-laaghar' was published in Savera. I had first sent it to Meerza Adeeb for publication in Adab-i-Lateef but it was not found suitable for publication. Subsequently, my articles were published in Afkar, Funoon and Adabi Dunya." 

Profession? "Banking never came in the way of my literary activities. Literary people are generally not welcomed in professions like banking, insurance, engineering, etc. But by the time they discovered I was a writer, I had already reached a high position in the bank. They could do nothing to stop me." 

He disclosed that his fifth book is ready but he has kept it away. He will fine tune it before it goes to the printer. "Even if it is not printed in my lifetime, it would not make any difference since I don't agree with what people say whenever a writer passes away - that a vacuum has been created which cannot be filled! There is no such thing," remarks Yousufi. 

What do others have to say? Ibn-i-Insha, himself a great Urdu satirist and humourist, wrote about Yousufi Sahib: "...if ever we could give a name to the literary humour of our time, then the only name that comes to mind is that of Yousufi!" Another scholar, Dr Zaheer Fatehpuri, wrote, "We are living in the 'Yousufi era' of Urdu literary humour..."The Yousufi era started from 1961 when Yousufi Sahib's first book Chiragh talay was published. So far 11 editions of this book have appeared. It has a foreword titled 'Pahla pathhar' written by the author himself plus 12 satirical and humorous articles. 

Let me quote some lines at random from this book. (For the sloppy translation in English, the writer of this piece is solely responsible). 

"...it's better to write one's own foreword (meaning foreword on one's own book) for then, others are saved from telling lies... there is another advantage: the foreword writer picks up the pen after reading the book!" 

Penning his own sketchy sketch Yousufi informs us about his date of birth: "I have reached the stage in life when in case someone wants to know my date of birth, I confuse him by providing him my telephone number!" 

About his likes and dislikes: "I like Ghalib, Hawkes Bay and okra (bhindi). I like the smell of newly printed currency notes. For a pet I like dogs. The first dog I had was for chowkidari. It was stolen! Now I have a dog for a different reason. That is, dog is man's best friend! Mussalmans have a logic behind their dislike for dogs... they do not like animals which they cannot eat!... I love music, therefore, I don't listen to the radio... I don't like emotional men and unemotional women..." 

Yousufi Sahib's second book was Khakam ba dahan which was published in 1969 and dedicated to his wife, Idrees Fatema. So far 14 editions of this book have been printed. It has eight articles, in addition to a foreword written by the author. 

A few lines from this book: "...No sooner had I received the salary, I bought grocery and other items for the household so that the dog I had brought home could guard these items. For us parents I pointed out the advantage of having a dog by submitting that after all it was an Englishman's dog... even an illiterate person in our country gives an English name to his dog and always calls him or reprimands him in English, therefore, it was obvious that because of this dog our children would learn English!" 

Yousufi's third book was Zarguzasht which was published in 1976. It has 11 articles in addition to the foreword, 'Tuzk-i-Yousufi'. 

His fourth book, Aab-i-gum, was published in 1990. Dedicated to his children, Arshad, Sarosh, Rukhsana and Seema, it runs into 404 pages and has five articles, in addition to the foreword. 

We are lucky indeed to be living in the Yousufi era! 

Profile:

Born in Tonk State in Rajasthan in 1923. Son of Abdul Karim Khan Yousufi, chairman of the Jaipur Municipality, and later Speaker of the Jaipur Legislative Assembly. Education: Intermediate, Rajputana and Central India Board of Education; B.A., Agra University; M.A. in Philosophy, Muslim University, Aligarh. LLB, Aligarh. 

Banking career: Joined Muslim Commercial Bank in 1950, became Deputy General Manager. Joined Allied Bank Ltd in 1965 as Managing Director. In 1974 he became President of United Bank Ltd. In 1977 became Chairman of the Pakistan Banking Council. Awarded Quaid-i-Azam Memorial Medal for distinguished services in banking. 

Books: Chiragh talay (1961), Khakam ba dahan (1969), Zarguzasht (1976) and Aab-i-gum (1990). First two won Adamjee Prize, while last one got the Hijra Award as well as Pakistan Academy of Letters Award for best book, 1990. Awarded Sitar-i-Imtiaz 

Source: DAWN