ناول ''جہنم جاگتا رہتا ہے'' : تحقیقی وتنقیدی جائزہ
ڈاکٹر محفوظ احمد ثاقب
سلیم اختر ڈھیرا چنیوٹ سے تعلق رکھنے والے اک نوجوان ادیب ہیں ۔ پیشے کے حوالے سے معلم ہیں اور ہائر ایجوکیشن کمیشن میں اپنی خدمات انجام دے رہے ہیں۔ ان کا بنیادی مضمون انگریزی ہے تاہم اردو ادب میں خامہ فرسائی ان کا جنونی مشغلہ ہے۔ اس سے قبل بھی موصوف اردو ادب کے افق پر اطالوی لوک کہانیوں پر مشتمل '' کہانی آوارہ ہوتی ہے'' کی شکل میں کرنیں بکھیر چکے ہیں۔ موصوف کی اس کتاب نے جنگل میں آگ کی سی تیزی کی طرح اپنی مقبولیت کا لوہا منوایا ہے۔ یہ امر قابلِ ستائش ہے کہ اس کتاب پر سینکڑوں تنقیدی نگارشات بھی پیش کی گئیں۔
زیرِ تبصرہ ناول '' جہنم جاگتا رہتا ہے'' ایک انگریزی ناول '' نو لونگر ایٹ ایز'' کا ترجمہ ہے۔ یہ انگریزی ناول ایک معروف افریقی ناول نگار چنیوا اچنبے کا ہے جس کو پہلی بار 1960ء میں شائع کیا گیا۔
مترجم سلیم اختر ڈھیرا نے زیرِ نظر ناول '' جہنم جاگتا رہتا ہے'' کو عکس پبلی کیشنز لاہور سے پہلی بار دسمبر 2022ء میں شائع کروایا۔ یہ ناول غیر مجلد ہے۔ سبز رنگ کے دیدہ زیب ورق کے ساتھ سلور رنگ میں بحرفِ جلی '' جہنم جاگتا رہتا ہے'' کندا کیا گیا ہے۔ کتاب کے سرِ ورق پر کیلی گرافی میں اک نوجوان کی تصویر چسپاں ہے جو دونوں ہاتھوں سے سر پکڑ کر انتہائی فکر اور پریشانی میں مبتلا ہے۔ پہلی نظر میں یہ تصویر قاری کو حیرت اور تجسس کے دریا میں برد کردیتی ہے کہ آخر جہنم کے جاگنے کے ساتھ اس تصویر کا کیا تعلق ہے؟ مگر ناول مکمل پڑھنے کے بعد قاری نہ صرف یہ جاننے...
Islam's entrance into the world created another part in human advancement and altered course of the history. Islamic Culture was progressively overwhelmed on the history and development in light of showing Quran, truth be told, heavenly Quran has impacted all social illicit relationships and individuals' lives. The part of Quran in history and its impacts on societies and social orders particularly, on workmanship which can be viewed as a critical achievement of human progress. Spread of Islam religion and the development of Islamic craftsmanship caused a sort of religious meeting and social association with be set up between various kinds of expressions particularly, music and Islamic customs. By and large, this paper features the interconnection between Islamic practices and story. This article demonstrates that there are different types of stories in Quran which have been produced by Islamic culture identifying with the Quran.
The process of aging presents various alterations in physiological, behavioral and neurochemical events. Memory has been given the special consideration in age-related neurological disorders. Decrements in memory function occur in aging possibly due to oxidative stress-induced damage to brain. The brain is particularly vulnerable to the deleterious effects of oxidative damage. Age-related increases in ROS are believed to trigger biochemical cascades that lead to neurodegeneration. The most commonly used biomarker to investigate the oxidative damage is the measurement of malondialdehyde (MDA). Superoxide dismutase (SOD), Glutathione peroxidase (GPx) and Catalase (CAT) are the main endogenous enzymatic defense systems of all aerobic cells. Any factors that reduce the activities of antioxidant enzymes may lead to accumulation of ROS and subsequently oxidative damage to biological macromolecules. Age-related memory impairment is also correlated with a decrease in brain and plasma antioxidants. Decline of numerous neurotransmitters in the brain can be associated with aging. In the light of above discussion this study is divided in two parts. In part (I) we investigated the age-related neurological changes that could be involved in neurodegeneration in aging. In part (II) we investigated different parameters that could be helpful in delaying the onset of aging process. In the 1st chapter of part (I) we investigated the relationship between the oxidative stress and memory decline during aging, we have determined the level of lipid peroxidation, activities of antioxidant enzymes and acetylcholine esterase (AChE) in brain and plasma as well as biogenic amine levels in brain of young (4-5 months of age) and old rats (18-22 months of age). The results showed that the level of lipid peroxidation in the brain and plasma was significantly higher in older than in the young rats. The activities of antioxidant enzymes such as SOD, CAT and GPx displayed an age-dependent decline in both brain and plasma. AChE activity in brain and plasma was significantly decreased in aged rats. Compared to the young control group short-term memory (STM) and long-term memory (LTM) was impaired significantly in older rats tested by Morris Water Maze (MWM) and Elevated Plus Maze (EPM). Moreover, a marked decrease in biogenic amine noradrenaline (NA), dopamine (DA) and 5-hydroxytriptamine (5-HT) levels was also found in the brain of aged rats. Findings of the study suggest that in addition to increased oxidative stress, decline of antioxidant enzyme activities, altered AChE activity, and decreased biogenic amine levels in the brain of aged rats may potentially be involved in diminished memory function in aging. Effect of age on behavioral and neurochemical deficits were further studied in male and female rats to study the sex related differences. Data analysis revealed that aged female rats exhibited a greater decrease in memory and anxiety compared to aged male rats. Ambulatory activity was comparable in both groups. Data analysis also revealed a significant decrease in plasma tryptophan (TRP), brain 5-HT, 5-HIAA, 3,4-Dihydroxyphenylacetic acid (DOPAC) and NA levels in aged male rats compared with aged female rats. The levels of brain TRP, DA and plasma antioxidant assay levels were found comparable in both groups. This study further aimed to explore the areas of the brain which are more affected during aging and participate in memory function such as changes in hippocampus and striatum. Results of hippocampal region showed that aged rats exhibited learning and memory impairment. Moreover, an augmented increase in level of anxiety was also observed in old rats. A marked decrease in 5-HT was observed in hippocampal region of aged rats than rest of the brain as shown in chapter 3. DA levels were also significantly decreased but comparable to the rest of the brain. Similarly, levels of 5-HIAA and DOPAC were also found to be decreased in aged rats. Results of behavioral tests for striatal region showed that aged rats exhibited a significant impairment of memory. Neurochemical results showed that there was a significant decline in striatal dopamine levels while its metabolite DOPAC was significantly increased in aged rats. Hence aging has a significant negative influence on cognitive functions. The present findings of behavioral deficits and altered neurotransmission in hippocampus and striatum of aged rats suggest a relationship between aging, brain neurotransmitters and behavioral deficits assessed in these specific regions. In part (II) the study was further aimed to explore the long term effect of antioxidant treatment on aging. Different antioxidants such as combined Vitamin E and C (VEC), Curcumin (CUR) and Walnut (WAL) were used in the present study to explore the effects of these antioxidants against the aging induced behavioral, biochemical and neurochemical deficits. The study was further aimed to investigate the effect of VEC, CUR and WAL on brain antioxidant enzymes activities and level of oxidative stress during aging. Effect on brain neurotransmitters levels following the antioxidants VEC, CUR and WAL administration were also investigated. The results of the present study revealed a greater improvement of memory in aging following antioxidants treatment for four weeks compared to young control rats. Antioxidant supplementation significantly produced anxiolytic effect on both young and aged rats. The decreased brain levels of MDA in both young and aged rats were also observed. Data also demonstrate a significant increase in brain SOD, CAT and GPx activity in aged rats treated with VEC, WAL and CUR. The results of neurochemical estimations showed that 5-HT, 5HIAA, DA and NA levels in brain of aged rats were significantly increased by VEC and WAL supplementation. Our findings suggest that the improvement of age-related decline might be accomplished by improving dietary intake or supplements of the antioxidants which may prevent the detrimental effects of aging. The importance of the environment in the regulation of brain, behavior and physiology has long been documented in biological, social and health sciences. Therefore the present study investigated the effect of environmental enrichment (EE) on the behavior of young and aged rats. Results showed that long-term exposure of rats to EE significantly enhanced memory function in both young and aged rats. Results also revealed that the older rats exposed to EE exhibited a greater improvement of cognitive performance compared to young EE rats. A significant decrease in anxiety was observed in both groups. Aged rats exhibited more anxiolytic effects following EE. Biochemical analysis revealed that MDA content was significantly decreased in brain of enriched rats. EE treatment also significantly enhanced the activities of brain antioxidant enzymes SOD and CAT in aged EE rats and also exhibited a significant increase in the levels of brain neurotransmitters 5-HT, DA and NA in aged rats. Our results indicate that EE induces more beneficial effects on different behaviors of rats during aging and suggests that EE not only induces memory enhancing effects in aging but also improves general health of rats. The study suggests that antioxidants and EE both improve the memory by increasing the neurotransmitters in brain and may be effective in prevention of neurological changes associated with aging. The finding of the present study may help to develop drugs with an enhanced therapeutic and smaller side effect profile.