Brief Notes on Short Story Writing in Balochi

For centuries, poetry has been the leading literary genre in Balochi. Balochi literature shares this characteristic with other literatures in what Widmark⁴ calls "the Persianate cultural space" and defines as "the transnational domain constituted by a number of societies in which elements of linguistic and cultural influence can be traced to the legacy of Persian language and culture". Widmark proposes the term "poeticised communities" for such societies.⁵

Ahmadzadeh discusses the dominance of poetry over prose in Kurdish and finds that nationalism is not easily fostered in such a poeticised culture. He remarks that Kurdish poetry, especially classical poetry, "did not easily possess distinguishing elements useful for the construction of a separate Kurdish identity."⁶

The extent of the dominance of poetry over prose becomes clear when one reads the Baloch literary historian Muhammad Sardar Khan Baloch's work A Literary History of the Baloch in two volumes.⁷ Comprising more than 1,000 pages, this work is entirely devoted to classical poetry. There is not even any mention of modern poetry, let alone prose.

Many parallels can be drawn between the development of prose fiction in Balochi and in other Iranian languages such as Persian, Kurdish, and Pashto. Some factors that are recognized as catalysts for the development of modern fiction writing, whether in the form of novels or short stories, have been identified in the discussion of how these genres emerged in Persian, Kurdish, and Pashto.

One important factor that is highly stressed is the socio-political changes that have taken place in the region from the 19th century onwards, including the modernization of social and political institutions and questioning of absolute monarchy, as well as the emergence of a nationalist discourse.⁸ These socio-political changes, however, have had a far greater impact on Persian literature than on Kurdish, Pashto, and Balochi literature. The pace of modernization has been slower in areas where these languages are spoken, and particularly so in Afghanistan and Pakistan, and the nationalist discourse has not enjoyed any state support, at least when it comes to Balochi. Another complication is that these three languages are spoken in several countries and have been used only to a limited degree in state administration and/or education during the last century.

The importance of journalism, and not least oppositional journalism, in the emergence of short story writing is stressed by a number of scholars.⁹ One reason for this is that newspapers and magazines were suitable outlets for short works of fiction. Shakely quotes a Kurdish intellectual, Barzinji, who holds that the short story genre in Kurdish "is directly connected to the founding of Kurdish newspapers and magazines."¹⁰ Behbahani¹¹ also finds that "several social and historical landmarks, most notably in education and journalism, had a direct effect on the development of the new and basically imported literary genres of fiction". It should also be noted that the introduction of modern printing techniques was a prerequisite for the production of newspapers and magazines.

Another important factor in the emergence of fictional prose writing is that students were sent abroad to study, which led to contact with, among others, the French, English, and Russian cultures and literatures, where the novel and short story were already established genres. The translation of works from these languages into Iranian languages must be seen as an important catalyst in the development of these genres in the target languages as well.¹²

Bo Utas's comprehensive article on genres in Persian literature up to 1900 makes no mention of short stories.¹³ In fact, Mohammad Ali Jamalzadeh, who published his first collection of stories Yeki Bud, Yeki Nabud in 1921, is considered by many to be the first Persian writer of short stories.¹⁴

During its 100 year history, the Persian short story has developed from plot-centred chronological narratives, similar in structure to folk tales, to modernist and post-modernist stories, often including complex flashback techniques and psychological portrayals of the characters. The works of several authors also convey strong ideological messages, be they leftist, nationalistic, or religious.¹⁵ Yavari summarizes some of the trends in Persian fiction in this way:

Almost a century old, modern Persian fiction has remained receptive to external influences and follows trends and styles as they appear elsewhere, stream of consciousness techniques and magical realism being cases in point. From a fictionalized remembrance of the nation's idealized past, to a portrayal of imbalances and injustices, and to the depiction of the hardships of war and revolution, Persian fiction has remained a vehicle for change as well as testament to its painful process.¹⁶

Shakely dates the emergence of Kurdish short story writing to the 1910s, approximately the same time as the Persian short story emerged. Shakely finds, as already mentioned, that journalism was decisive for the development of the Kurdish short story, and that journalism served to develop Kurdish politics and ideology as well as language and culture. He also finds that the translation of stories into Kurdish has been a decisive factor in the development of short stories from a genre that was "unsophisticated both in form and content" to one where "content became more profound and styles became more artistic."¹⁷

Widmark dates the beginning of Pashto short story writing to the 1910s as well, but he notes that "the development of Pashto prose fiction gets off to a slow start" and "it is not until the late 1940s that Pashto short stories and novels are beginning to be published on a more regular basis, both in Pakistan and Afghanistan." Common themes in Pashto prose literature are "social ills, the situation in the rural areas, and traditional backwardness".¹⁸ Widmark also points out that the "utilitarian function" and ideological colouring of literature, including short stories, are prominent, as has also been noted for Persian and Kurdish. Literature should, according to the writers themselves, be a catalyst for sociopolitical change. At the same time, Widmark notes that the literature exhibits very strong local attachment.¹⁹

Widmark points to the lack of previous research on the subject when he describes Pashto literature in general and modern fiction writing in particular. He argues that not only has literature written in Dari (the Afghan variety of Persian) been marginalized in the academic discourse, but Pashto literature has been overlooked and excluded to an even larger extent than Dari literature. Widmark also mentions the lack of government attention to this language.²⁰

The same observations about marginalization and a lack of previous research regarding Pashto certainly apply to Balochi as well, which makes the task of presenting an overview of Balochi short stories a genuine challenge. Nevertheless, we will attempt to address the topic by presenting the most important writers and the most common trends in Balochi short fiction writing. This presentation should by no means be seen as the final word on the topic, but rather as a starting point for serious research on modern Balochi fiction.²¹

The writing of short stories in Balochi began in the early 1950s, almost half a century later than in Persian, Kurdish and Pashto. Until very recently it was limited to Eastern (Pakistani) Balochistan, where Balochi journalism had already started in the 1930s, spurred on by one of its forerunners, Mohammad Hosayn Anka.²² These early journalistic forays were nationalistic and anti-colonial. It should be remembered that in the 1930s Eastern Balochistan was under British dominion, and there was strong support among Baloch intellectuals for a revival of the Kalat state. This was a Balochi-Brahui Khanate that ruled major parts of Balochistan before being subdued by the British in 1839. It was never formally abolished,²³ but joined a common "Muslim" state.

As has already been mentioned, newspapers and magazines were ideal places for publishing short fiction. In fact, the first two short stories in Balochi, Béwapá (Untrustworthy) by Mohammad Hasan Kalakothi, and Sharábi (The Drunkard) by Abdul Gafur, both written in 1951, were published in magazines, as were numerous stories following later.²⁴

During the 1950s and 1960s a number of new writers of short fiction emerged. Among these pioneers, Hakim Baloch, Nasim Dashti, Naimatollah Gichki, Sayad Hashmi, and Murad Sahir are represented in this volume. Prominent writers of stories in the Eastern Balochi dialect include Sher Mohammad Mari, who was also a politician, Gulzar Khan Mari, and Surat Khan Mari.

The themes of stories by these early authors were often of a local character. As has been reported for Pashto, the utilitarian function of the short story can clearly be seen. Most of the stories from this early period are plot-centred and chronologically structured, but there are also some examples where flashback techniques are employed. In most stories from this period an omniscient narrator is present and tells the story. The writers often want to convey a message and depict injustices in society, and in doing so they indirectly call for social and political reforms.

In 1970 one of the contributors to this volume, Hakim Baloch, edited and published the first collection of Balochi stories by several authors, Gechén Ázmánk (Selected Short Stories),²⁵ which is divided into two sections. The first contains translations of Russian, French, and English short stories by Chekhov, Gorky, Maupassant, Sartre, Hemingway, and Somerset Maugham, among others. This indicates that, like with the other Iranian languages under discussion here, the translation of short stories into Balochi has been an important catalyst for Balochi short fiction writing. The second section is in Balochi, with contributions by, among others, Sher Mohammad Mari, Gulzar Khan Mari, Murad Sahir, Nasim Dashti, and Naimatollah Gichki.

From the 1970s onward, a new generation of authors appeared on the scene. Of these, Munir Ahmed Badini, Ghaws Bahar, Gohar Malik, and Ghani Parwaz are represented in this volume. Among other authors of this generation, Mubarak Ali, Saba Dashtyari, and Abbas Ali Zaymi can be mentioned.

The writers belonging to the second generation are, as a rule, better educated than those of the first generation. They developed the short story genre by trying out new techniques and also by bringing in more varied and sometimes less locally anchored themes. Their stories still, however, mostly centre around conveying a message and use chronological narration. One author whose stories are less ideological, though, is Munir Ahmed Badini.

Since the 1990s, a large number of new authors have emerged. Among the first of these third-generation writers of short fiction who have appeared on the scene are A. R. Dad, Younos Hussain, Munir Momen, Nagoman and Hanif Sharif, all of whom are represented in this volume. Other important writers who debuted at approximately the same time are Nazir Ahmad, Hasa Bijjar, and Makbul Naser. These were followed by a growing number of younger writers, some of whom are already well established as writers of short fiction, and some of whom are just beginning their careers. In this volume, works are presented by Altaf Baloch, Noroz Hayat, Sajid Hussain, Habib Kadkhodaei, Mehlab Naseer, Sharaf Shad, and Shah Ibn Sheen. There are also other young writers, both men and women, who will be introduced in coming anthologies.

The overwhelming dominance of writers from Eastern (Pakistani) Balochistan is worth noting. Of the twenty-one authors represented in this anthology, only one, Habib Kadkhodaei, comes from Western (Iranian) Balochistan. All the others are from Eastern Balochistan. It is also noteworthy that several of the younger writers have had to leave their country and now live in exile, though not all of them write on the theme of exile.

New trends in Balochi short story writing include their increased readability, which can be attributed in part to Nagoman's simplification of the language in his short stories. Another trend that has gained momentum is the separation of the characters in the stories from the author's own ideology along with a weaker urge to convey a message to the reader, something for which A. R. Dad is a prominent spokesman. Munir Momen and Hanif Sharif, among others, are known for using a very poetic language in their stories, and Hanif Sharif also writes on taboo subjects that have not previously been addressed in Balochi literature. Humour and satire are strongly present in the writings of Sajid Hussain and Habib Kadkhodaei, among others. The growing number of women writers has also added a female voice, where women's issues are no longer discussed only in a male-oriented discourse.

Taj Baloch notes that "with a history of less than a century, Balochi fiction has taken a good start."²⁶ One of the reasons why it, seemingly, has been somewhat slow to develop, may be the low readership. Taj Baloch points out that the main audience consists of the writers themselves.²⁷ One of the reasons for this may be that, with a few exceptions, the language of the stories is somewhat elevated and detached from the spoken language. An increasing interest in learning to read and write Balochi, together with the development of a standard written language with a unified orthography, will hopefully increase the audience for short stories in Balochi and thus also stimulate further development of the genre.