Writer and poet in Pashto Gulrahman Rahmani has a fan following in Afghanistan and Pakistan that belies his youth. His life story.
His ancestral village is Kooz Kolak in Chak district of Maidan Wardak province. His father, a maulvi, moved to Kajkalay village in Sayedabad district when the Soviets occupied Chak district. But in 1986, his father, who was the mullah in the local mosque and manager of the madrasa, was killed in heavy bombardment, and the family moved back to Chak district. Rahmani was only a few months old, the youngest of 10 siblings – four boys and five girls.
At six, his father’s friend admitted him in the Al Jahad primary school located in the district’s Shahkalandar. “I was very happy to join school.” By the time he reached class seven, one of his brothers had graduated in Science and another in Shariah studies. Only his eldest brother dropped out of high school because of financial problems.
Rahmani had to take the family’s goats to graze after school for a few years until he reached middle school. “The quietness and beauty of the mountains were good places to think and let your imagination go,” he recalls. In class seven, he started searching among his father’s books for reading material. “I found a novel called Tom Sawyer by an American writer called Mark Twain. I learned a lot of things from the story; I wondered if one day I too would write a story.”
But his first piece of writing was not prose but poetry.
Spring! Come, come to my side
Break my autumn beaten thirst
The gray winds of fall have vexed me
Come any more to me, I am waiting for you.
One of his teachers Mustafa Hamas helped him write the 10 couplet-long poem. He recited it before the school. Rahmani recalls that he was very nervous, and could not read the entire poem.
People’s poet
By the time he reached class 11 at Omar Farooq High School he was presenting his poetry at moshaeras (poetry competitions). In school he was appointed the culture secretary. “The school had a weekly called Orwatulwosqa and two more publications; I was in charge of all of them, over and above a manager for each. We used to have a drama also every week. There was a lot of work, which would make me late for class. Invariably the Maths teacher would become angry and say the stage and poetry were not important and I should come on time to his class.”
Rahmani’s first published poems were in a collection called Sanda (wailing). “I was 19 years old when Sanda was published. It was published by Germans – their office (a public space for culture) was like a haven for us. We would hold literary sessions there, and enroll in courses.” In class 11, he read out his poem When I and You were Children before literary aficionados in Kabul to much critical acclaim. His friend Mohammad Alem Azizi and he would go from Chak district to Kabul to attend literary sessions much to the disapproval of Rahmani’s family who were convinced he was wasting his time and their money.
When he finished from Omar Farooq High School in 2004, Rahmani set himself four goals: higher studies in literature, journalism – work with a radio station, publish a book and become a lecturer in the university. His good marks in school ensured that he was accepted in the faculty of agriculture, which was not his first choice, and he dropped out after six months. “I did not like formulas so I myself got my dismissal and became a teacher and in charge of cultural affairs in Chak asylum for six months, after which I became head of administrative department of Maidan Wardak culture and information department in Maidan Shar. I started working with the weekly called Mili Hadaf (national goal).”
His writings appeared regularly in the weekly despite his relatively young age. This triggered a completely unexpected chain of events. “I saw my writings in Hewad (newspaper); however the name of the author was not mine. When I found the person he would not accept that he had plagiarised my work. We got Bakhtar News agency to be the mediator. The agency concluded that the writings were mine – I was very happy because though he (plagiarist) had qualifications in literature, he had stolen my writings.”
Step by step
A year later, Rahmani got admission to the Pashto department in the education faculty of Nangarhar University. He was a quiet student, and much to the surprise of his classmates he topped the class in the half-yearly exam. “When the teacher in charge of exams came to the class with the results and called out my name, everyone was astonished that I had topped. ‘This boy was so silent and no one knew him, how has he got the first position in the class?’ they wondered,” he says.
Soon he was working as an assistant for a weekly called Tanda (fresh), and also as a journalist, but not on a salary, for Nangarhar Killid Radio. He went back to university after a year, and became the in charge of news at Muram (goal) radio where he got a good salary, and in his third year started work with Safa, a newly established radio. “Studies, running the weekly and radio made me so busy that I used to only come home once a year,” he says.
By the time he graduated from the university, he had published 10 books, and was a voracious reader. For a year he continued to work with Safa radio, and also UNAMA after which he wrote an admission exam and was selected to join Pajhwok Afghan News in Kabul. Simultaneously he completed his masters in 2014. “I am working with Pajhwok, in charge of translation department, and in the news agency,” he says.
Rahmani is now trying for his fourth goal of lecturer in the literature faculty of Kabul University. He has published 26 books, including six translations. His novel, Mad for Liberty, was judged the best book in 2014 by the Ministry of Culture and Information. Also, Martyrs of Love has similarly been awarded. He’s one of the most famous contemporary writers in Pashto with fans in Afghanistan and neighbouring Pakistan.
