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| The Awadh Punch |
Rarely does one come across a serendipitously discovered book worthy of going straight to one’s personal Five Foot Shelf. Though sometimes I buy books from bookstores at the whim just to show my (unannounced) support for them in this Amazonian world, but the discounts by online retailers are often too sweet to ignore.
Wit and Humour explores the world of cartoons and satire in the late
19th and early 20th centuries. As per the description on
the dust jacket, “The Avadh Punch, a
weekly from Lucknow, under the stewardship of its formidable editor, Munshi Sajjad Husain, was published
from 16 January 1877 till its closure in 1936. Virtually the first Indian
newspaper to publish cartoons as we know them today, it provided a platform for
some fo the greatest comic writers in Urdu literature”. Soon “after the Punch appeared on 17 July 1841 in
London, Hindi and Urdu magazines began imitating its style. Yet, none of the
journalists deserve serious consideration as a satirist till we come to Sajjad
Husain”. The six chapters by MushirulHasan cover the satirical landscape of Urdu literature; outline the rise of
Punchis; a broad coverage of writers of the bygone era; and finally the eclipse
of Avadh Punch. Appendix-I reproduces eight of Wilayat Ali Bambooque’s writings and Appendix-2 majorly covers ‘Plates’
from “A Selection From The Illustrations Which Have Appeared In Avadh PunchFrom 1877 to 1881”.
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| 25-Nov-1909: On Syed Hussain Bilgrami's return to India (Courtesy: Niyogi Books) |
The fact that satirical cartooning was in existence in
India more than 100 years ago came as a surprise – being ruled by the British
still being able to ridicule themselves without invoking charges was an
achievement in itself. Sajjad Husain
was the founder of The Avadh Punch. Brief
outline is given about Munshi Nawal
Kishore, Abdul Halim Shara, Mir Taqi Mir, Ghalib, Muhammad Iqbal, Maulvi Nazir
Ahmad, Akbar Ilahabadi and Syed Ahmad amongst others. Almost every page of
the book is delightfully plastered with cartoons or caricatures with apt
descriptions, adding a spoonful of ephemeral visual delight to the literary
one. The second chapter traces the beginnings in Lucknow and the themes which
were written about – not just concerning colonial rule in the then undivided
India but even international ones like plague, discovery of medicines, and international
wars. The importance and historic value of this book can’t be overstated – it makes
accessible to the general reader the literary gems of a past expressed in
a now-dying language. The commentaries not only make for a hearty laugh but
even a witty undertaking to relive the times when printed word was gaining
ascendancy.
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| 16-Nov-1905: Swadeshi movement and the boycott of foreign goods. (Courtesy: Niyogi Books) |
That Avadh Punch led a spate of similar ones (Punjab Punch, Calcutta Punch, Indian Punch,
Delhi Punch, Rajputana Punch, Meerut Punch, Gujarat Punch etc.) which comes
as a surprising indication of how well people took to satire (tanz) in repressed times. When Sajjad
Husain “suffered strokes in 1901 and 1904,
Avadh Punch’s closure seemed imminent, though it took eight more years for the
curtain to fall”. Another reason attributed to the decline is “growing ‘illiberal' outlook reflected in its
vocal opposition to social reform, to women’s education and to the abolition of
purdah”.
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| 1-Jan-1881: "Celebrating New Year - Mr. Avadh Punch celebrates the success of the newspaper" (Courtesy: Niyogi Books) |
Appendix 1 (Portraits by Wilayat Ali Kidwai ‘Bambooque’)
will leave one not only bemused but in awe of the man himself, whose “satire was up to date” and “as a humorist Bambooque was unequalled”.
The portraits are of: Patwari, Chaukidar, Revenue Agent, Hon’rary
Magistrate, ‘England-Returned’, Assessor, Title-Hunting Association of Noisy
Jee-Huzoors, and Hon’ble Mr. Gup in the council. His sharp observations and
astute commentary gnaw on the threads of societal hypocrisy, exposing the
underlying air of nothingness. For those ‘England-Returned’ he writes, “disdainful of grammar, devoid of euphony and
destitute of sense the phrase ‘England-Returned’ well suits the types. For the
England-Returned is the disappointment of foolish friends. He is the
personification of false hopes, the embodiment of extravagant expectations and
the incarnation of utterly vain delusions”. He continues, “the England-Returned is still the Secretry
of the United Bar Recreation Association. He awaits the approach of Club-time
with the impatience of a lover, and is the first to reach the Club to show that
a neglected genius, if foiled of nobler purposes and loftier ends, by a
malicious and misjudging world, can yet shine at badminton and ping-pong”.
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| 13-Nov-1890: "Avadh Punch expressing its preference fot eh bill introduced by Charles Bradlaugh" (Reform Bill) (Courtesy: Niyogi Books) |
A must-read book and must-have too, to peruse over a
lazy Sunday when the pace is slow and thoughts numb. Editing however could have
been better – in lot of places the cartoons and descriptions are on pages
separated by dozens. The surrealism makes it one of my favourites and feels
like the past, the history, the times bygone have all come together to make us a
witness.
(Watch out this space for an upcoming review of "Empire of Books: The Naval Kishore Press and the Diffusion of the Printed Word in Colonial India" by Ulrike Stark)
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