Kub Yaad Mein Tera Sath Nahi – کب یاد میں تیرا ساتھ نہیں

This book was my fill for the love of legendary Faiz & his life. It is not exactly focused on Faiz but the element of Faiz is reflected in every page.
یہ ان بڑے لوگوں کی زندگی کی داستان ھے جو اپنے عمل، ذات، دردِ دل اور محبتوں میں کہیں درجہ بلند پایہ تھے۔
It is a collection of memories, of circumstances, of life with all its beauty & tragedy. It has a section dedicated to the poetry written by Alys herself along with her recollection of the cruelty, savagery, brutality & pain inflicted upon the countries like Palestine, Beirut, Vietnam & Campuchia. It is also an intimate insight into her own life with Faiz, their daughters, grandsons & granddaughter, her parents & in-laws along with countless friends & acquaintances.
یادیں۔۔۔ بس یادیں۔۔۔ لگتا ھے یادوں کے بکسے میں کافور کی گولیاں ڈال دی ھوں تاکہ یادیں ھمیشہ محفوظ رہیں۔ ھمیشہ تازہ، ھمیشہ میٹھی۔
It had some flaws, as sometimes it was difficult to make sense of the place, time & people that were included in the scene or who is being addressed. I also think the translations ruined the essence of Alys’s poetry which radiated intensity but in Urdu doesn’t quite felt right.
However, I enjoyed this book a lot. It shattered my heart & soul reading the eyewitness accounts of how prosperous, beautiful & rich countries like Beirut were turned into piles of junk & destruction, how humanity was butchered & the resilience of the people in such times.
The bitter days of Faiz’s imprisonment, of finding momentary happiness in the days of misery & affliction, of being hopeful & optimistic even in the times of great distress, of being together despite everything, of acceptance, of strength, familial bondage, everlasting friendships & of facing every hardship with bravery.
It is always great to read about the lives of such great people starting from their childhood memories, their own learning procedures & the history of how they became what they are now. The retrospection of their travels, adjustment, self-imposed exile & their life in Lahore, Karachi, London, Beirut, Moscow & all the other countries was worth-reading & perfectly enlightening.