Award-winning Urdu novelist Khalid Jawed believes that journalism poses the greatest threat to real literature

Jamia Milia University lecturer Jawed just won the JCB prize for "The Paradise of Food." It came with a trophy and a cash award of Rs. 25 lakh.

on Dec 21, 2022

Award-winning Urdu novelist Khalid Jawed

The author of "The Paradise of Food," also known as "Ne'mat Khana," claimed that even when literature raises political, social, and moral issues, readers shouldn't be "served everything up on a platter like newspapers."

"Journalism poses the largest threat to serious literature. Reporting is done in the guise of literature, and then the reporting is turned into a book. The social reality is described in its current state. For the past 25 years, this has been taking place "said Jawed to PTI.

Jamia Milia University lecturer Jawed just won the JCB prize for "The Paradise of Food." It came with a trophy and a cash award of Rs. 25 lakh.

The book, which Baran Farooqi translated, spans 50 years and follows the tale of a middle-class Muslim joint family. The narrator, who finds himself at odds with both his family and the outside world, tries to make a place for himself.

Aakhri Dawat, Maut Ki Kitab, and Ek Khanjar Pani Mein are some of his other best-selling books.

The 62-year-old author, who calls serious literature perceptive, contends that serious aesthetics are at the heart of literature and that audiences today have not been adequately "trained" to understand the works of renowned authors.

The training of a reader has, regrettably, come to an end, said Jawed.

The well-known Urdu writer claimed this is a "terrible period" for the entire literary landscape and added that he is not a fan of popular literature that, like other popular things, only provides "immediate delight" and nothing else.

"It has an impact on Urdu literature as well. It is simple to comprehend because of the way it is written. But one must always be sceptical of what one quickly understands "He issued a caution.

The limitations of works on Islam were another topic he covered. He claimed that unlike Hinduism, it lacks a foundation for storytelling and has a rigid code of conduct.

In response to a query on best-selling writers like Amish Tripathi and Devdutt Patnaik

When asked if he was working on a new book, Jawed, who frequently writes about the existential struggles of man, responded, "Kisi topic ne mujhe chuna nahi hai abhi toh. (No subject has chosen me as of yet.)"