Reported by Saeed Qureshi
The much-awaited launching ceremony of the Book “The Evolution of Mankind” English version finally came off on the evening of May 25, 2017, at Crystal Banquet Hall situated in Plano, Texas. It was quite a colorful and dignified evening with an impressive galaxy of guests including families and children. Snacks and Tea were served to the guests. The proceedings were conducted by Mr. Azad Khan of Radio Azad, a showbiz celebrity and gifted Radio and TV anchor.
“The Evolution of Mankind” Urdu version is authored by Muhammad Akhtar Chishti who arrived here from Pakistan to participate and grace the unique occasion. This voluminous edition (674 pages) has been translated into English by Saeed Qureshi a member of the community and a senior journalist. The English version consists of 547 pages.
The credit of getting this book edited, published and publicized goes to another journalist and columnist Mr. Shah Alam Siddiqui and his daughter Urooj Alam Grundmann. Without their assistance and collaboration, this book would have remained confined to merely in Urdu form.
But I want to pay my heartfelt, sincere and warmest tribute to the esteemed Khaliq Qureshi Sahib who was solely instrumental in financing this praiseworthy project. Originally this book was written in Urdu, the national and official language of Pakistan. He is the one who motivated Saeed Qureshi to translate it in the English Language. It took Mr. Chishti over 6 years to write and publish this book in Urdu. The book became the most sought-after its publication. Its popularity can be gauged from the fact its Urdu edition was sold and that it is kept by most of the libraries in Pakistan.
In one of his visits to Pakistan Mr. Khaliq Qureshi saw this book and went all the way to the residence of Mr. Chishti in district Sialkot to meet him and compliment him on writing such an amazing book that narrates as to how the human beings and progeny of Adam spread over the earth particularly after the deluge of Prophet Noah that covered the earth as mentioned in Quran and Bible. Notwithstanding the scientific theories about the evolution of mankind, this book reflects the theological perspective and religious belief of the Jews, the Christians, and the Muslims.
At his expense, Mr. Khaliq Qureshi invited the author Mr. Chishti twice to Dallas. This is the second visit of the author to grace the inauguration ceremony of this wonderful book.
Mr.. Khaliq Qureshi wanted this book to be translated into English in order to broaden its scope and sphere of readership. He entrusted this onerous yet crucial job to Saeed Qureshi, a journalist and columnists for over two decades both in Pakistan and the United States. This scribe (Saeed Qureshi) took almost 18 months to render the Urdu script into the English version. A such the English version of the book Evolution of Mankind was launched and introduced on the evening of May 25.
Among the worthy guests who graced this unique occasion by their presence, inter-alia, were Dr. Harbans Lal, Dr. Amir Suleman the founder of the famous literacy Association: “Urdu Ghar”, Syed Iqbal Haider a poet and formerly a TV celebrity in Pakistan, Syed Ijaz Yunus a poet laureate of Dallas, Farooq Khan, a humanist and an excellent English poet, Javed Samuel a wonderful socialite and friend and his gracious wife.
Besides those who attended the launching ceremony were Mr. Andrew; the son-in-law of Mr. Khaliq Qureshi. Mr. Suleman a worthy and senior community member and his noble wife also graced this unique assemblage. They were recently married.
The promoter and financer of this splendid project Mr. Khaliq Qureshi, its author Muhammad Akhtar Chishti and the translator Saeed Qureshi were given the honor to be seated on the stage. They expressed their feeling and views about the book and how they surmounted the bottlenecks to bring this unique book to its present form.
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