Former broadcaster Ishrat Fatima expresses having distress hearing a junior call her ‘too old’ to continue a job. In an unfeigned session on ‘Podcastan’ hosted by veteran actor Tauseeq Haider, she shared the experience of being mocked by juniors.
The host inquired from her: “Loug ye bhi kehty hain ky dosron k liye jagah choro?” (People also say that you should make room for others). She nodded her head and further Tauseeq Haider said: “to is py aapki kia rayee hai?” (So, what’s your opinion on this?)
She politely added that: “abhi kuch arsaa pehly takleef dy soorat-e-haal hoi mery saath. Pehly to mein complement dugi , sukriya addah kru gi un logon ka jinhon ny mery ooper column likhye, unhon ny mujy paigamaat diye, or mery ooper videos bnai boht positive meri hosla afzai ki, mera dil bhara even minister saab mery ghar aye. Magar kuch loug aisy bhi thy , kuch videos aisi bhi thi joky kuch bhi nhi jaanty thy koi homework nhi kia or aky baith gaye ek ek ghanty ki videos bna di mujh py to mujhy bari hairat hoi hai.” (Just recently, I went through a painful situation. First of all, I would like to compliment and thank those people who wrote columns about me, sent me messages, and made videos about me in a very positive way. They really encouraged me, and I was deeply touched. Even the minister came to my house. But there were also some people and some videos made by those who didn’t know anything at all, who did no homework whatsoever, yet sat down and made hour-long videos about me. That really surprised me).
Further she stated: “Loug jo hai mujy umar ziyada hony ka bol rhy. To umar ziyada ho jati hai to mein ny roti nhi khani!” (People are saying that I’ve gotten older. So, if someone gets older, does that mean I should stop eating bread?)
Then she shared one of her colleague's experiences by mentioning: “mery ek colleague mein unka naamnhi loon gi, 60 saal ky hogy retire hogy phir young bachy jo thy udhr 30 30 saal ky unhon ny unka jeena mushkil kr dia. Unkay samny bas kabhi face idhr kr kay kabhi udhr kr kay apas mein taunt kr rahay hain ky ‘lokii mardy vi nai, lokii jaan chaddhy vi nai’ to ek din boht arsay ky baad wo sahab ek nzam likh kr laye ap Yaqeen karain meri ankhon sy ansoo nikal rahay thy. Us nazam mein dard tha, jo unkay burhapay ka mazaak uraa rahay thy. Agar wo merit py kaam kar rahay hain or karna chahty hain to kon rok sakta hai. Rizq to Allah ny hi dena hai.”( One of my colleagues, I won’t mention his name had turned 60 and retired. Then some younger people there, around 30 years old, made his life difficult. In front of him, they would keep exchanging taunts with each other, turning their faces here and there, saying things like, ‘These people neither die nor let others live peacefully.’ One day, after a long time, that man brought a poem he had written. Believe me, tears came to my eyes. There was so much pain in that poem the pain of people mocking his old age. If someone is working on merit and still wants to work, then who can stop them? Sustenance is given by Allah after all).
Earlier, Ishrat Fatima shared her painful life experience on having dark colour. In the heartfelt conversation, Tauseeq Haider inquired from her “hum ny suna hai ky ap bachpan mein roti thi or ehtijaj krti thi Allah sy apny kaaly raang py, ap kehti thi ky mein gila krti hu Khuda sy .” (We heard that during your childhood, you used to cry and complain to Allah about your dark complexion. You would question God and express your disappointment about it). she politely replied that: “waqai krti thi” (Yes)
Continuing, the host said: “to aaj ap fakhar krti hain, ya aj bhi gila hai?” (“So today, do you feel proud of it, or do you still have complaints about it?)
Ishrat Fatima stated: “Nhi fakhar nhi hai, fakhar boht bari cheez hai, mein shukar aadah krti hoon.” (No, I wouldn’t call it pride, pride is a very big thing. I am simply grateful)
Telling the reason behind this, she proudly explained her husband's positive contribution. She added: “is ki Wajah ye hai ky Saqib ny mujy boht hosla dia hai, Saqib ny mujy matlb mein apko milti hu jab Zindagi mein to mein face dhoti hoon, ek lipstick lgati hoon or ek kajal. Ye mera total makeup hota hai.” (The reason for this is that Saqib has given me a lot of confidence and encouragement. When I meet people in life, I simply wash my face, put on a lipstick and a little kajal, that’s my entire makeup routine).
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Talking about her late daughter she further added: “Ap Yaqeen karain jo meri pehli beti thi wo foot ho gai thi , to jab wo paida hoi thi to meri behan meri pass khari hoi thi, to mein ny us sy sab sy pehly poocha ky uska rang kaisa hai, ye mera pehla sawal tha. Aur wo nhi rahi, mein ab bhi jab qabristan jati hoon, uski kabar py to mein us sy mafian hi maangti hoon, ky shayad mein tumahri achi maa nhi thi is liye Allah ny wapis ly lia.” (Believe me, my first daughter has passed away. When she was born, my sister was standing beside me, and the very first thing I asked her was, ‘What is her complexion like?’ That was my first question. She is no longer with us, and even now, whenever I visit the graveyard and go to her grave, I ask her for forgiveness. I feel that perhaps I was not a good mother, and that is why Allah took her back). This leaves Tauseeq Haider in tears.
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Moreover, she stated: “pata nhi hamary muashry mein boht kuch is trha ki cheezain hain joky nahin honi chahiye. Loug dil dukhaty hain, loug hassi uraty hain, loug kehty hain ky gira ky aagy barh jaye aglay bandy ko koi farak nhi parta usko chot lagay ya usko kuch bhi ho, matlab hum bas naam ky musalman reh gaye hain shayad.” (“I don’t know, but there are so many things in our society that really should not exist. People hurt others, people make fun of them, people believe in pushing someone down just to move ahead themselves, without caring whether the other person gets hurt or suffers in any way. Sometimes it feels like we have remained Muslims only in name).
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It is worthy to mention that Ishrat Fatima served 45 years of her career at PTV and Radio Pakistan as a newsreader and radio presenter.