Dreams Don’t Die

Description

Authored by Shahid Siddiqui and translated by Lubna Umar, this is a story of what dedication and hard work can achieve in the context of social justice.

Imtisal, a dynamic recent graduate, left her picturesque village in the mountainous Potohar region for the bustling city to attend the Teachers Professional College (TPC). This co-educational institution is renowned for training future educators. In the city’s crowded, noisy, and smoky environment, Imtisal stayed in the TPC hostel. There, she learned about the widely admired Professor Saharan Roy. Unlike his colleagues, Professor Roy was known for his captivating smile, long dark hair, and composed demeanor. His energetic and unconventional teaching style enchanted students, making them feel as if time itself had become irrelevant.

Professor Roy developed a unique style of interactive learning that impressed many students and made him a legendary figure among students, colleagues, and society. He aimed for social change through collective action. His teaching method used simple metaphors to explain complex concepts, likening teaching to making pots: envisioning the outcome, shaping it with skill, and infusing it with life. He believed a good teacher should be knowledgeable, communicate effectively, and respect students’ self-esteem, values he instilled in future teachers.

Imtisal, who joined the Teachers Professional College after Professor Roy had left, sought to connect with him through his former students. Roy, deeply concerned about his country’s state during the 2007-2009 lawyers’ movement, supported it both intellectually and socially, participating in protests while encouraging but not forcing student involvement.

Imtisal finally met Professor Roy at an academic conference. He emphasized the importance of interactive learning, exchanging ideas, using varied teaching techniques, and aiding the underprivileged. Roy highlighted the disparity in access to modern facilities between urban and rural populations, advocating for educational support for rural areas despite their talent and dreams.

Imtisal, from a small village in North Punjab, dreamed of teaching at a primary school in her area. In a dream, she saw herself at her old village school, sitting with other students in a circle, with Professor Roy in the teacher’s chair. He asked her to read a passage, encouraged her despite her stammering, and then entrusted her with his dreams before vanishing.

Inspired by Professor Roy’s values, Imtisal chose to educate marginalized children in her village instead of working for an NGO in Islamabad. Initially distressed by the poor conditions of the school, she gradually improved it with her students’ help, fostering cleanliness, punctuality, dedication, and dignity of work. Her colleagues, impressed by her approach and work ethic, supported her efforts in the education and socio-moral development of the children.

The novel, written in a captivating style, explores themes of inequities, social injustice, illiteracy, unplanned urbanization, and political instability. These themes overshadow the protagonist, Imtisal, and Professor Roy, sometimes blending their roles into the central themes of the story.

The setting for Imtisal’s teaching endeavor was a modest two-room building, overflowing with books but lacking in furniture. Despite criticism from her students about the mismatch between the place and her style, she shrugged it off, likening it to the wealthy who may not deserve their status. Professor Roy, known for his activism, was arrested and tortured by the police during a protest for judicial restoration. Imtisal, upon hearing of his maltreatment, visited him in prison, finding him physically and mentally broken. Despite his innocence, he suffered greatly before his release. Professor Roy, realizing his academic dreams through his students, passed away peacefully, having instilled values of social justice and equity. Imtisal continued her mission to educate marginalized children, embodying Roy’s legacy of pro-poor development and rule of law.

Originally written in Urdu, the novel has received literally and social recognition post-publication. Importantly, it has been translated into regional languages such as Punjabi and Sindhi. It is a thought-provoking and motivating story of a passionate, enlightened and committed teacher who employs education as an effective tool to bring about change at individual and societal level. Set in the context of the lawyers’ movement (2007-2009) in Pakistan, the novel candidly deals with the themes of social justice, development, hegemony and resistance. Owing to the foregoing, it is recommend particularly to students of literature, sociology and political science.