Omer Tarin
Encyclopedia
Omer Tarin born March 1967, is a well-known Pakistani poet in English
, research scholar, and social activist. In some editions of his works, the name is written as Omar Tarin.
) family, or clan, of the Hazara region of the North-West Frontier (now Khyber Pakhtunkhwa), while his father was posted as a senior civil servant and administrator in Peshawar.. From his maternal side, he is related to the Hayat family, of the Khattar
tribe of Wah
, in North Punjab. He was educated at the Burn Hall School
(now Army Burn Hall College
), Abbottabad
and the Aitchison College
, Lahore
, Pakistan, prior to graduating from the University of the Punjab
, Lahore. He later obtained various higher degrees in English and History
/Postcolonial Studies from Pakistan and the United Kingdom
respectively.
and research scholar and involved himself in literary and academic pursuits. He has published four volumes of poetry
in English so far, widely reviewed in Pakistan and abroad, as well as several poems published in anthologies and collections worldwide. His volumes of poetry are : A Sad Piper (1994; 1996 UK), The Anvil of Dreams (1995), Burnt Offerings (1996, 1997) and The Harvest of Love Songs (1997, 2000; and UK ed 2003). Since 2004, he has not published any new volumes of poetry although he has been publishing poems independently from time to time . In recent years, he has also been involved in various literary and historical projects of an academic nature, chiefly focussing on the colonial
history of South Asia
, in particular North-Western Pakistan. Recent academic publications include works on military history
/campaigns
on the Frontier and some work on Rudyard Kipling
and Kipling's India
. A number of these works are available or referenced online, and were published in the Kipling Journal, UK and the Journal of the Indian Military Historical Society, also the UK. He has diverse academic and literary interests and is a Fellow of the Royal Asiatic Society
, UK, The Tolkien Society (UK), associate of the Kipling Society, and the Indian Military Historical Society (IMHS).
In addition to his literary and academic interests, Omer Tarin has also long been involved in limited social activism, especially in relation to environmental, forests and wildlife
conservation, in his native area. He also makes occasional comments on various aspects of global politics and environmental issues in the media, from time to time.
, transcendental
tradition of the great Sufi and Bhakti
poets of the South Asian subcontinent
, such as Hazrat Baba Farid 'Ganj Shakar', Baba Bulleh Shah
, Rahman Baba
, Kabir Das and even Guru Nanak, in addition to that of the classical Sufi poets and writers of Islam
such as Rumi, Hafiz
, Saadi
and Attar-- in terms of its essential lyricism, its engagement with 'human' issues, problems and challenges; as well as in the experimentation with form and content, in ways that have certainly not been attempted by other poets here today. He has also a fascination with Japan and Japanese
culture and esoteric, or meditative practices, which find reflection in his works. In the words of Tariq Rahman
, a noted Pakistani scholar and literary critic, "a certain force of vitality" and creative 'intensity' is to be found in Tarin's writings that unveils the depths of the poet's knowledge, wisdom and deep understanding of the cultural heritage
of his own society as well as Western
and other world literary-symbolic traditions One of Tarin's early poetic mentors, to whom he owes a great deal and to whom he himself paid tribute, was the late Taufiq Rafat, one of the pioneers of English poetry in Pakistan/South Asia, an important scholar of Punjabi
Sufic poetry in his own right and his indelible influence is quite manifest in Tarin's own poetical development.
Tarin's poetry reflects certain basic, recurring qualities such as a broad, universal humanity; a mystical regard for nature, life and the universe; a sense of the frailty of human existence and a continued concern with the central issues of life/death and immortality; which also inform his style
, and the system of symbolism
and images that consequently arises from this, via which "...new patterns emerge in our perception of the world, of creation, of ourselves and our motivations".
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
, research scholar, and social activist. In some editions of his works, the name is written as Omar Tarin.
Background
Tarin was born in 1967 to the Tarin (or TareenTareen
The Tareen are a prominent Sarbanri Pashtun tribe residing in Afghanistan and in Pakistan. They are one of the largest Pashtun tribes.-History:...
) family, or clan, of the Hazara region of the North-West Frontier (now Khyber Pakhtunkhwa), while his father was posted as a senior civil servant and administrator in Peshawar.. From his maternal side, he is related to the Hayat family, of the Khattar
Khattar
Khattar , is an upper caste Pushtun tribe in Afghanistan and Punjabi, in Punjab, it is variously classified asJatt and Khatri caste in India.-Origins:...
tribe of Wah
Wah
Wah is a city in the Rawalpindi District in Punjab, Pakistan. It contains a garden which is said to have been built by the Mughal emperor Akbar in the 16th century. Wah Cantonment is nearby....
, in North Punjab. He was educated at the Burn Hall School
Burn Hall School
Burn Hall School is a missionary school for boys situated in Srinagar, India, the summer capital of Jammu and Kashmir. The school was established by the Mill Hill fathers/missionaries of Ireland....
(now Army Burn Hall College
Army Burn Hall College
Army Burn Hall College is situated in Abbottabad, Pakistan. There are separate wings for boys and girls. The girls section is located on Mall Road near the city center, the boys branch is in Mandian. Originally these were Junior Burn Hall and Senior Burn Hall Schools respectively...
), Abbottabad
Abbottabad
Abbottabad is a city located in the Hazara region of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, in Pakistan. The city is situated in the Orash Valley, northeast of the capital Islamabad and east of Peshawar at an altitude of and is the capital of the Abbottabad District...
and the Aitchison College
Aitchison College
Aitchison College, Lahore, is one of the most prestigious educational institutions of its kind in South Asia. Established in 1886, it has retained its character over the years, maintaining the public school tradition of providing an education that uses academics, sports and co-curricular activities...
, Lahore
Lahore
Lahore is the capital of the Pakistani province of Punjab and the second largest city in the country. With a rich and fabulous history dating back to over a thousand years ago, Lahore is no doubt Pakistan's cultural capital. One of the most densely populated cities in the world, Lahore remains a...
, Pakistan, prior to graduating from the University of the Punjab
University of the Punjab
University of the Punjab , colloquially known as Punjab University, is located in Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan. The University of the Punjab is the oldest and biggest University of Pakistan. The University of the Punjab was formally established with the convening of the first meeting of its...
, Lahore. He later obtained various higher degrees in English and History
History
History is the discovery, collection, organization, and presentation of information about past events. History can also mean the period of time after writing was invented. Scholars who write about history are called historians...
/Postcolonial Studies from Pakistan and the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
respectively.
Career
After a short time in the civil service of Pakistan, Tarin resigned to become a full time university lecturerLecturer
Lecturer is an academic rank. In the United Kingdom, lecturer is a position at a university or similar institution, often held by academics in their early career stages, who lead research groups and supervise research students, as well as teach...
and research scholar and involved himself in literary and academic pursuits. He has published four volumes of poetry
Poetry
Poetry is a form of literary art in which language is used for its aesthetic and evocative qualities in addition to, or in lieu of, its apparent meaning...
in English so far, widely reviewed in Pakistan and abroad, as well as several poems published in anthologies and collections worldwide. His volumes of poetry are : A Sad Piper (1994; 1996 UK), The Anvil of Dreams (1995), Burnt Offerings (1996, 1997) and The Harvest of Love Songs (1997, 2000; and UK ed 2003). Since 2004, he has not published any new volumes of poetry although he has been publishing poems independently from time to time . In recent years, he has also been involved in various literary and historical projects of an academic nature, chiefly focussing on the colonial
Colonial
Colonial or The Colonial may refer to:* Colonial, of, relating to, or characteristic of a colony* Colonial history of the United States, the period of American history from the 17th century to 1776, under the rule of Great Britain, France and Spain...
history of South Asia
South Asia
South Asia, also known as Southern Asia, is the southern region of the Asian continent, which comprises the sub-Himalayan countries and, for some authorities , also includes the adjoining countries to the west and the east...
, in particular North-Western Pakistan. Recent academic publications include works on military history
Military history
Military history is a humanities discipline within the scope of general historical recording of armed conflict in the history of humanity, and its impact on the societies, their cultures, economies and changing intra and international relationships....
/campaigns
Military campaign
In the military sciences, the term military campaign applies to large scale, long duration, significant military strategy plan incorporating a series of inter-related military operations or battles forming a distinct part of a larger conflict often called a war...
on the Frontier and some work on Rudyard Kipling
Rudyard Kipling
Joseph Rudyard Kipling was an English poet, short-story writer, and novelist chiefly remembered for his celebration of British imperialism, tales and poems of British soldiers in India, and his tales for children. Kipling received the 1907 Nobel Prize for Literature...
and Kipling's India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
. A number of these works are available or referenced online, and were published in the Kipling Journal, UK and the Journal of the Indian Military Historical Society, also the UK. He has diverse academic and literary interests and is a Fellow of the Royal Asiatic Society
Royal Asiatic Society
The Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland was established, according to its Royal Charter of 11 August 1824, to further "the investigation of subjects connected with and for the encouragement of science, literature and the arts in relation to Asia." From its incorporation the Society...
, UK, The Tolkien Society (UK), associate of the Kipling Society, and the Indian Military Historical Society (IMHS).
In addition to his literary and academic interests, Omer Tarin has also long been involved in limited social activism, especially in relation to environmental, forests and wildlife
Wildlife
Wildlife includes all non-domesticated plants, animals and other organisms. Domesticating wild plant and animal species for human benefit has occurred many times all over the planet, and has a major impact on the environment, both positive and negative....
conservation, in his native area. He also makes occasional comments on various aspects of global politics and environmental issues in the media, from time to time.
Poetry
Omer Tarin's poetry holds a noteable place in Pakistani poetry in English. It has a certain erudite grace, a universal, humanitarian quality and passionate involvement that raises it above the general run of much of the work recently published in Pakistan and South Asia, generally. It seems to be deeply influenced by the mysticMysticism
Mysticism is the knowledge of, and especially the personal experience of, states of consciousness, i.e. levels of being, beyond normal human perception, including experience and even communion with a supreme being.-Classical origins:...
, transcendental
Transcendence (religion)
In religion transcendence refers to the aspect of God's nature which is wholly independent of the physical universe. This is contrasted with immanence where God is fully present in the physical world and thus accessible to creatures in various ways...
tradition of the great Sufi and Bhakti
Bhakti
In Hinduism Bhakti is religious devotion in the form of active involvement of a devotee in worship of the divine.Within monotheistic Hinduism, it is the love felt by the worshipper towards the personal God, a concept expressed in Hindu theology as Svayam Bhagavan.Bhakti can be used of either...
poets of the South Asian subcontinent
Subcontinent
A subcontinent is a large, relatively self-contained landmass forming a subdivision of a continent. By dictionary entries, the term subcontinent signifies "having a certain geographical or political independence" from the rest of the continent, or "a vast and more or less self-contained subdivision...
, such as Hazrat Baba Farid 'Ganj Shakar', Baba Bulleh Shah
Bulleh Shah
Bulleh Shah was a Punjabi Sufi poet, a humanist and philosopher.-Early life:Bulleh Shah is believed to have been born in 1680, in the small village of Uch, Bahawalpur, Punjab, in present day Pakistan. His father, Shah Muhammad Darwaish, was a teacher and preacher in a village mosque...
, Rahman Baba
Rahman Baba
Abdul Rahman Baba is popularly known as Rahman Baba , was a Pashtun Muslim poet from Peshawar in modern-day Pakistan who remains the most popular poet among the Pashtuns...
, Kabir Das and even Guru Nanak, in addition to that of the classical Sufi poets and writers of Islam
Islam
Islam . The most common are and . : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...
such as Rumi, Hafiz
Hafiz
Hafidh |f.]] ḥāfiẓa), literally meaning 'guardian', is a term used by Muslims in modern days for someone who has completely memorized the Qur'an.-Overview:...
, Saadi
Saadi (poet)
Abū-Muḥammad Muṣliḥ al-Dīn bin Abdallāh Shīrāzī better known by his pen-name as Saʿdī or, simply, Saadi, was one of the major Persian poets of the medieval period. He is not only famous in Persian-speaking countries, but he has also been quoted in western sources...
and Attar-- in terms of its essential lyricism, its engagement with 'human' issues, problems and challenges; as well as in the experimentation with form and content, in ways that have certainly not been attempted by other poets here today. He has also a fascination with Japan and Japanese
Japanese people
The are an ethnic group originating in the Japanese archipelago and are the predominant ethnic group of Japan. Worldwide, approximately 130 million people are of Japanese descent; of these, approximately 127 million are residents of Japan. People of Japanese ancestry who live in other countries...
culture and esoteric, or meditative practices, which find reflection in his works. In the words of Tariq Rahman
Tariq Rahman
Tariq Rahman was born on February 4, 1949 in Bareilly in India. The family migrated to Pakistan in 1951 where his father, Sami Ullah Khan, became instructor of mathematics, later rising to the head of the department, at the Pakistan Military Academy at Kakul, near Abbottabad...
, a noted Pakistani scholar and literary critic, "a certain force of vitality" and creative 'intensity' is to be found in Tarin's writings that unveils the depths of the poet's knowledge, wisdom and deep understanding of the cultural heritage
Cultural heritage
Cultural heritage is the legacy of physical artifacts and intangible attributes of a group or society that are inherited from past generations, maintained in the present and bestowed for the benefit of future generations...
of his own society as well as Western
Western culture
Western culture, sometimes equated with Western civilization or European civilization, refers to cultures of European origin and is used very broadly to refer to a heritage of social norms, ethical values, traditional customs, religious beliefs, political systems, and specific artifacts and...
and other world literary-symbolic traditions One of Tarin's early poetic mentors, to whom he owes a great deal and to whom he himself paid tribute, was the late Taufiq Rafat, one of the pioneers of English poetry in Pakistan/South Asia, an important scholar of Punjabi
Punjabi language
Punjabi is an Indo-Aryan language spoken by inhabitants of the historical Punjab region . For Sikhs, the Punjabi language stands as the official language in which all ceremonies take place. In Pakistan, Punjabi is the most widely spoken language...
Sufic poetry in his own right and his indelible influence is quite manifest in Tarin's own poetical development.
Tarin's poetry reflects certain basic, recurring qualities such as a broad, universal humanity; a mystical regard for nature, life and the universe; a sense of the frailty of human existence and a continued concern with the central issues of life/death and immortality; which also inform his style
Style
Style may refer to:* Style , an aspect of literary composition* Style , in art and painting, either the aesthetic values followed in choosing what to paint or to the physical techniques employed* Architectural style...
, and the system of symbolism
Symbolism (arts)
Symbolism was a late nineteenth-century art movement of French, Russian and Belgian origin in poetry and other arts. In literature, the style had its beginnings with the publication Les Fleurs du mal by Charles Baudelaire...
and images that consequently arises from this, via which "...new patterns emerge in our perception of the world, of creation, of ourselves and our motivations".
Further reading
- A. Rahim, Ed.(1999) "A Select Bibliography of Pakistani Literature in English" ed A Rahim, Islamabad.
- Ian Hamilton, Ed. (1994). Section on Pakistani English poets/writers in "The Oxford Companion to 20th Century Literature".
- "Poetry International" (Asia section), Ed by Prof Edwin Thumboo, Vol 7/8, SDSU Press, CA, USA, 2003. http://www.sdsupress.sdsu.edu/2003/poetry/international
- Review of Pakistani Literature in English in the "Journal of CommonwealthCommonwealthCommonwealth is a traditional English term for a political community founded for the common good. Historically, it has sometimes been synonymous with "republic."More recently it has been used for fraternal associations of some sovereign nations...
LiteratureLiteratureLiterature is the art of written works, and is not bound to published sources...
", 1997 - Alamgir Hashmi, "Pakistani Literatura in 1993 and 1994" pub in Revista Alicantina de Studios Ingleses , No 13 (2000)
- Dr Tariq Rahman "Review of Pakistani English Poetry", The News on Friday, The News International, Islamabad ed, 6 December 1996.
- Dr Tariq Rahman "A History of Pakistani Literature in English", Lahore: Vanguard Books, 1991.
- O Tarin "Taufiq Rafat: In Memoriam", in "Pulse' Weekly, Islamabad, Sept 30th- Oct 6th 1998, np.
- Luminita Karim, Weekly Poetry Review, Daily 'The MuslimMuslimA Muslim, also spelled Moslem, is an adherent of Islam, a monotheistic, Abrahamic religion based on the Quran, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God as revealed to prophet Muhammad. "Muslim" is the Arabic term for "submitter" .Muslims believe that God is one and incomparable...
", Islamabad, 28th Oct 1994 - B.King ed (1996) "New National and Postcolonial Literatures" OxfordOxfordThe city of Oxford is the county town of Oxfordshire, England. The city, made prominent by its medieval university, has a population of just under 165,000, with 153,900 living within the district boundary. It lies about 50 miles north-west of London. The rivers Cherwell and Thames run through...
: Clarendon Press. - Prof Eric Cyprian, "Poems of Considerable Merit"; A Critical Review of Omer Tarin's "The Anvil of Dreams" in daily "The Nation", Islamabad, 16 July 1995, np.