Rahman Abbas, renowned Urdu Novelist and Sahitya Akademy Award Winner, writes:
Mapping the Heart’s Topography
The poems within The Jaipur Diary function as a profound meditation on the architecture of the human spirit/Soul. They are the reflections of a consciousness that recognizes the heart as a cryptic topography—a "mysterious place" harboring a singular core of private histories defined as "moments." Because the heart serves as the primary chamber from which these verses germinate, Naheed Akhtar posits the heart as a historian. However, this is not a dry chronicler of dates and events, but a living archive of the intangible. Upon engaging with this collection, the reader is compelled to enter a state of self-interrogation. The poems do not merely describe emotion; they act as a catalyst, prompting fundamental inquiries into the nature of one’s own heart, its quietest pleasures, and its most enduring wounds. The Jaipur Diary serves as both an invitation and a warning: while the heart is indeed a historian, it is a historian who doubles as a poet—one who has navigated the complexities of existence with an unapologetic intensity. Throughout these pages, Naheed explores the "paradoxical labyrinth" of human existence, a space where certainty and uncertainty coexist in delicate tension. Rather than engaging in abstract philosophy, the "historian" of this collection prioritizes the phenomenology of lived experience—the raw "pulse-beat" of being.
The collection’s imagery seemingly centers on magnanimous mirrors within the heart that do not merely reflect, but absorb and refract reality into new frameworks for understanding life. This refractive quality expands the interpretation of desire beyond a simple binary of want and lack. As seen in the "kaleidoscope of longing," Naheed presents desire not as a void, but as a multifaceted prism of light and shadow. As the collection unfolds, it morphs into a sophisticated "kaleidoscope of desire," exploring the dichotomy of the human soul through evocative metaphor. Despite the heavy themes of love, passion and loss, these poems maintain a rigorous poetic discipline. The games of daily life—the mundane interactions and routine struggles—are elevated through form and intentionality. Naheed transforms poetic reflection into a "fermented elixir," a distilled essence that enriches the reader's existence with the nuanced beauty of sense and sensibility.
Furthermore, the poet’s technical mastery is evident in her handling of metaphors involving time, the city, and the avian imagery of wings. Her use of spatiality—the specific "crafted use of places"—anchors the ephemeral nature of memory into a tangible landscape. Perhaps most impressive is her command of "unexpressed silences." Naheed understands the power of the lacuna; she knows how to say more within the brevity of a few words than most can achieve in volumes. By navigating the boundaries between the poetic and the prosaic, she constructs artistic structures capable of conveying the "unconveyable." Ultimately, The Jaipur Diary is more than a collection of verse; it is a significant contribution to contemporary literature. It offers a memorable gift to its readers and stands as a testament to the enduring power of the written word to map the uncharted territories of the human heart.
Rahman Abbas, Mumbai
Renowned Urdu Novelist- Sahitya Akademy Award Winner
