Getting into girl's gharara

[Adult rating]

The immensely loveable Suha Mujaddidi was a unique Urdu litterateur in the sense that he was just 4 feet and too fair. Unless somebody knew him, they mistook him for a 10-11 year-old boy.

Owing to his tremendous talent and knowlege he was fondly called Maulana Suha but another aspect of his life that attracts me was his colourful personality. Once on a visit to Lucknow, the group of litterateurs went to renowned tawaif-turned-radio artiste Gauhar Jaan's kotha.

Upon seeing her teenaged daughter, Soha rushed towards her and in a fraction of secod entered into her gharara (lehanga). There was no light and the mom-daughter screamed...'Haai bhutna ghus gaya hai'. Everybody was laughing and when after sometime the mom-daughter were explained they were also giggling.

Another eminent cleric was part of the group and though I wouldn't name him, the fact is that any scholar can be colourful. In those pre-partition days Aalims could be quite funny and interesting. One doesn't need to make a serious or arrogant face if he is a scholar.

Suha was married to a tall and huge Pathan woman and Suha was an exponent of 'gaali' (Urdu laced with Persian expletives). He often hurled choicest and newly-invented gaalis. When angry, his amazonian wife, often lifted him and make him sit on the high loft. He would beg not to repeat the mistake and when brought down, again abused.

[Though in a list of Indians who gave innovative 'gaali' Suha can't find a place easily. Nizam, Abdul Rab Nishtar and Hamidullah Khan were on the top of an oral list compiled and reproduced often in Urdu books of the past].

Khair, Suha was a complex and interesting personality. He often begged women for 'bosa' (kiss). Often tawaifs and someother elder women who were equally colourful and charmed by his boyish looks obliged him. He never cared for princes, rajas and nawabs and spoke his mind, even abused the mighty nawabs.

Example:

A Nawab--Maulana mehfil mein khalal mat paida kijiye
Suha--Mehfil ki to MKC*
Nawab--Mualana mere viqaar/vaqaar ka to khayaal rakhiye, aap ki zubaan...
Suha--Aap kee viqaar ki MKC aur aap ki bi MKC aur.....
Nawab--Haaieen.......(shell-shocked)
Suha, moves out leaving everybody stunned

But then the rulers of the erstwhile princely states who played host to him were also aware of his literary stature. Ironically, Suha died in misery. In a government hospital waitinf for medicines and proper medical care. The literary world cried and there was a feeling of outrage.

Bhopal Nawab Hamidullah Khan faced lot of criticism and embarrassment. The last rites were conducted by the state. But few remember Suha today. His Sharah-e-Ghalib was a pioneering work in that era. Ah! They were scholarly, they were social, lovable and also had all traits--positive and negative--which humans have.

Zameen kha gayee aasmaa.n kaise kaise

(*MKC is the Urdu variant of moth*r fu**er)