Literary Notes: What is inshaiyya? The informal essay in Urdu.

Many of us can call to mind the confusion when we think of the debate on inshaiyya, which raged for quite some time in 1970s and 1980s. It even spilled over into 1990s.

In fact it had become quite chaotic in those days as two literary groups were fighting over what inshaiyya really was and who really pioneered the genre in Urdu. While an inshaiyya is simply an informal essay or a light essay - sometimes called personal essay, as well - some argued that it was a kind of a new genre pioneered by a specific writer of a specific literary circle, just to glorify a fellow writer (for certain reasons, of course).

As put by J.A. Cuddon in his 'The Penguin Dictionary of Literary Terms and Literary Theory', an essay is a composition, usually in prose, which may be of only a few hundred words or of book length and which discusses, formally or informally, a topic or a variety of topics. An essay is said to be the most flexible and adaptable of all literary forms, adds Cuddon. Some critics, however, feel this definition is rather vague and can easily be applied to some other genres.

The flexibility or fluidity - or vagueness, if you would prefer the term - of the genre essay has been tested to its limits in Urdu and in addition to formal essays, a large number of informal essays have been written. Known as inshaiyya, this informal essay or light essay had been a front for battle of wits for decades.

An essay is called mazmoon in Urdu, which is an Arabic word. The Arabic root from which the word mazmoon has been derived means: to contain, comprise or include. In Urdu, mazmoon also means a subject, that is, a branch of knowledge or discipline. So the word mazmoon means a piece of writing that contains information or views on a particular issue or topic. It was French writer Montaigne who is credited with pioneering the genre.

Interestingly, the English language had borrowed the word 'essay' from French, which in turn had borrowed it from the Arabic word 'sa'i' or 'as-sa'i' (sometimes spelt essai), literally meaning 'attempt' or 'try', though some believe it was derived from a Latin root.

The word inshaiyya is derived from the Arabic word insha, which literally means writing, creation or composition. In Urdu, the word insha is used to denote 'belles-lettres' as well. Both inshaiyya and mazmoon are in fact essays. The only difference between a mazmoon and inshaiyya is that an essay or mazmoon is formal. It is more serious and has logical sequence like...