The functions of travel literature?
06 March 2013
Travel literature is really an attempt at preserving culture, tradition, history, built heritage, scenery etc as it exists at the time of the writer's observation. Things, culture and people change. It is necessary to preserve what is and a travel writer does just that. For this particular reason, a travel writer has to be precise and truthful. One must never succumb to the temptation of fictionalising the narrative as it happens in Urdu. Example: there used to be a paar vala mela in Shahdara. All old Lahoris were to be found there when it took place, I think, in April (perhaps to coincide with Besakhi). It is no more; it was last held sometime in the 1980s and then we went totally Islamic under the ***** Zia. My great regret is never having been to this mela. That should have been the purpose of any travel writer.
Labels: Travel Literature
posted by Salman Rashid @ 13:20,
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