Faiz Ahmed Faiz' poetry: Selected Urdu couplets

Until my teenage I hadn't read much of Faiz and only a few of his couplets I could recall. Of course, he was one of the most important names in Urdu poetry and his popular Nazms like:

bol ki lab aazaad haiN tere
bol ki zabaaN ab tak terii hai....

yeh daagh daagh ujaala, yeh shab gaziida sehar
voh intezaar thaa jiskaa yeh voh sehar to nahiiN' ...(in the context of partition)
&
nisaar maiN terii galiyoN ke aye vatan ki jahaaN
chalii hai rasm ki koii na sar uThaa kar chale...

...were known to most of us. But I could never find his divan in those days though works of Jigar, Josh, Firaq and others were easily available apart from Mir, Ghalib and other masters. Of his generation, poets like Majaz, Makhdoom Muhiuddin, Kaifi Azmi, Ali Sardar Jafri and Janisar Akhtar achieved great popularity but Faiz went on to attain international fame.

It was after reading his Nazm 'Raqeeb Se', that I fell in love with his poetry. It was an overwhelming experience to read the Nazm, every time I read it. Raqeeb is your competitor in love.

And here the poet recalls how both of them had fallen in love with the same woman, and only they can understand each other's pain and passion. How failure in love becomes an inspiration for the poet to understand the pain of others and it becomes a mission for him to fight for the poor and underdog. I have written a post on this Nazm in the past also.

Here are some of the oft-quoted couplets of Faiz:

na gul khile haiN, na unse mile haiN, na mai pii hai
ajab rang meN abke bahaar guzrii hai

guloN meN rang bhare, baad-e-nau-bahaar chale
chale bhii aao ki gulshan kaa karobaar chale

zindagii kyaa kisii muflis kii qabaa hai jis men
har ghaDii dard ke paivand lage jaate haiN

chaman meN Gaarat-e-gulchiiN se jaane kyaa guzrii
qafas se aaj sabaa be-qaraar guzrii hai

terii suurat se hai aalam meN bahaaroN ko sabaat
terii aanKhoN ke sivaa duniaa meN rakhaa kyaa hai

ham parvarish-e-lauH-o-qalam karte rahenge
jo dil pe guzartii hai raqam karte rahenge

huii hai hazrat-e-naaseh se guftguu jis shab
voh shab zaruur sar-e-kuu-e-yaar guzrii hai
viiraan hai maikadaa khum-o-saaGar udaas haiN
tum kyaa gaye ki ruuTh gaye din bahaar ke

uTh kar to aa gaye haiN terii bazm se magar kuchh dil hii jaanta hai kis dil se aaye haiN

voh baat saare fasaane meN jiskaa zikr nahiiN
voh baat unko bohat naagavaar guzrii hai

dil meN ab yuuN tere bhuule hue Gham aate haiN
jaise bichhDe hue Kaabe meN sanam aate haiN

duniyaa ne terii yaad se begaanaa kar diyaa
tujh se bhii dil-fareb haiN gham rozgaar ke

tumhaarii yaad ke jab zaKhm bharne lagte haiN
kisii bahaane tumheN yaad karne lagte haiN

kab Thahregaa dard-e-dil kab raat basar hogii
sunte the voh aayenge, sunte the sahar hogii

aaye kuchh abr, kuchh sharaab aaye
uske baad aaye jo azaab aaye

tum aaye ho, na shab-e-intezaar guzrii hai
talaash mein hai sahar, baar baar guzrii hai

Faiz Ahmed Faiz was born in Sialkot (Punjab, Pakistan) in undivided India in 1911. He achieved remarkable fame and emerged as most outstanding voice among the poets of Progressive Writers' movement. He was jailed in Pakistan and also spent years in exile. He passed away in 1984.

A few more couplets:

dil naa-ummiid to nahiiN, naakaam hii to hai
lambi hai Gham kii shaam magar shaam hii to hai

raat yuuN dil meN terii khoii huii yaad aaii
jaise viiraane meN chupke se bahaar aa jaaye

jaise sahraaoN meN haule se chale baad-e-nasiim
jaise biimaar ko be-vajah qaraar aa jaaye

mataa-e-lauH-o-qalam chhin gayii to kyaa Gham hai
ki khuuN-e-dil meN Dubo lii haiN ungliyaaN maiN ne

zubaaN par mohar lagii hai to kyaa ki rakh dii hai
har halqa-e-zanjiir meN zubaaN maiN ne

Apart from the above mentioned ghazals and Nazms, I specially love his verses on Palestine, the nazm he wrote on his return from Bangladesh, Sar-e-Vaadi-e-Sina, Karbala-e-Beirut etc. Faiz's poetry is now easily available in Hindi. Every poetry lover must have a collection of Faiz. Get it if you don't have one.

Read Faiz' popular ghazals and Nazms in Urdu, Hindi and Roman scripts at Best Ghazals and Nazms

Will BJP form the next government at the Centre?

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has smelt the scent of power. The party leaders are already believing that LK Advani is the next Prime Minister and there are talks as to which leader would get the particular portfolio.

One can't fault the BJP leaders even if they are daydreaming. The thumping victory in Karnataka that has taken the Saffron dream beyond the Vindhyas has come as a major boost and the Congress' magic seems on the wane despite Rahul's efforts to capture the lost votebank.

For the BJP the next elections are a great opportunity to pursue its agenda. It hopes to get much more seats alone than it got in the past and thus dictate terms unlike the last reign when allies called the shots.

Inflation is one issue that can take LK Advani to the ramparts of Red Fort in August 2009. Fuel hike and unchecked price rise will surely work to the advantage of BJP that hopes to gain from anti-incumbency at the centre.

But all is not well for the BJP either. The party has lost it in UP and the Bihar unit is in a bad shape. If BJP plays its cards well, it can hope to get, at best, 200 seats, which will also be a miracle.

Much will depend on the role of Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), which is likely to secure anything from 20 to 35 seats. The party is aware of its limitations and that's why Advani's last hoorah would require a wider acceptability. The BJP is now planning to seriously approach Muslims and Christians.

But both the parties have their own problems. What works for the BJP is that it has an ideology whether semi-fascist or right-wing unlike Congress that now seems bereft of any ideology. It doesn't allow state leaders to grow. And Congress is not going to get rid of its culture of sycophancy and Gandhi family's dynasy rule in near future.

For the BJP, it is important to win as it still has both the pan-Indian leaders Advani and Atal Bihari Vajpayee around and they can seek votes. After 2008 elections, they will be too old and there is no second line of leadership.

Arun Jaitleys, Rajnath Singhs, Sushma Swarajs and Ravishankar Prasads may talk well on TV but have hardly any following. The era when hardworking RSS activists worked for the party is also gone. Now its no longer frugal lifestyle, rather flashy cars for even organisation leaders, who just join the Sangh to get to the party positions.

BJP is trying to woo all sections. It may have messed up Rajasthan but Karnataka win has given them hopes to go further down South. The party wants Muslim vote as well. The only problem with it is its 'niyat'.

It doesn't like Muslims much and in states where it has been at the helm, its regional leaders have taken extra care to ensure that Muslim institutions get damaged, which doesn't behove a national party.

In states, the local leaders still retain the old anti-Muslim bias inherited from the days of Ram Janmabhoomi movement and the Rath Yatra. Their friendly cadres of VHP, Bajrang Dal and Shiv Sena remain wary of Muslims.

Though there is still sometime before the elections, one thing is most certain. BJP is going to gain, just the question is 'how much'. If they succeed in making price rise a national issue, they will strike chord with common man. Once price rise becomes the issue, everything else takes the backseat.

Inflation is hurting the Indians. And if 'mahangai' becomes the 'mudda' and the BJP gets to the power with lesser allies, it will have to thank P Chidambaram. Does the Fin Min ever go out buying vegetables or grocery? There is a rage, which Congress doesn't seem to either read or it doesn't know how to tackle the situation.

[Photo: Advani, eyes set on Red Fort]

A Samosa-seller's nap under a tree shade

See the photo on the left, a middle-aged samosa seller, with a stylish cap and the 'khizab' dyed oranged* beard sits under the shade of the tree and dozes off. Another samosa-seller sits under the same tree with the skull cap on.

The elder one seems to care least for the world around that moves at a frantic pace. I saw him reach the park with the samosas.

These samosas are not stuffed with potatoes. Rather they are filled with 'daal' and 'qeema'. The cost is same, Rs 2 each. Some kids who are playing in the park buy them. Two kids buy one samosa and each share half of it. That's the joy of childhood (especially in poor India where kids don't order bugers and pizzas on phone and this is an area close to a poor Muslim ghetto).

If somebody has Rs 5, he will give you 3 samosas. It's zohr time, the muezzin's call. Now the youths playing cricket have gone to the mosque. The 20-30 children who were watchig the game, have also left. The samosa-seller doesn't seem to be a person who will offer namaz five times or may be can't leave the samosas outside.

The other samosa wala mutters something and then sits on the other side of the same tree. Both know each other but there is no business talk. It's their routine. They seem quite content with their world. For them it's life as usual. I don't have camera, take snap from my cell phone camera.

No maddening pace, mobile phone calls, tasks and targets, boss' harassment or frustration over lesser salary hike. I return an hour later. The two are still there. The kids are back. They have sold more samosas. I also buy a few and talk to the elder one who is more like a hero. He has brought more daal samosas because meat is getting costlier. But there is no complaint in his voice.

They are quite happy with their lives. Who can pass a judgment on them. If somebody says they lack enterpreneural skills, don't try to improve in order to keep pace with the world to increase their earning, that's all useless. The make it at home and sell it, making rounds in by-lanes. No need to rent shop or worry about electricity bills et al. They are satisfied. Perhaps more than many of us.

Earlier, I had done a post on Chacha Miyan, the samosa-seller.
(*Khizab, the henna or mehndi is more used among Muslims to dye the hair)

After Cancer Hospital, Imran Khan building University: What about Indian cricketers?

It was Imran Khan's dream to build a Cancer Hospital in his mother's memory and we were all witness to the hardships he faced and the years he spent in collecting funds for the project, which he ultimately turned it into reality.

But Imran didn't stop with that and his next dream project was to establish a world class university in Pakistan where students of remote areas could study and get higher education. The University is now ready to start functioning.

The Namal University has been established in a picturesque location by the river side and amid mountains. It is already an associate institution of Bradford University and the idea is to develop it as the Oxford University of the East.

May be this sounds far-fetched but with the kind of faculty and the passion of this man, nothing seems impossible. But, it will surely be a place of learning of high standard, where the people of remote areas would get education, and they will also get scholarships.

What drives Imran Khan? Surely it is his love for his country, his people and his passion to do something good. Every honest person gets a feeling that the people who have given you so much love and respect, should also get something back from you.

Though as a politician, Imran Khan, may not have made a mark for himself as yet, he has shown his concern for the people and that he didn't join politics just for the heck of it. This is a lesson for everybody in this region of South Asia where health and education are two most neglected sectors.

Can't our heroes who earn millions ever think of such a project. I am nobody to put any onus on Gavaskars, Tendulkars, Kapils and the rest who have earned millions to pay back in some form. They may be doing charitable works but has anybody thought about humanitarian works at such a scale.

The celebrities do have an advantage over others. If they go out asking for money for a good project, innumerable people come forward to extend support in all possible ways from providing land to financial support. Shouldn't Indian cricket stars emulate Imran Khan?

The fallen hero of Indian cricket, Azharuddin got enormous respect until he got involved in a betting scandal. Couldn't Azza have better gone for a similar initiative. He didn't lack money and has the celebrity status.

But after his unceremonious exit from Indian team, Azharuddin, didn't go for establishing even a college or supporting an orphanage. What he did? He opened a Gym. Had Azhar got a little concern or vision for the society, he would have gone for something like Imran and that way the disgraced cricketer could have redeemed himself.

Alas, that's the difference!

Branding the Bangladeshi migrants as terrorists: Illegal immigration or a humanitarian crisis of displacement due to poverty and unemployment?

Am I hated because I am poor?

In the wake of the Jaipur blasts the entire nation is still sad and our hearts go out to the families who have lost their members in this madness.

We don't know who the real perpetrators are and in most of the recent cases of bomb blasts, the police haven't been able to catch the culprits.

But there is a clamour for deporting all the Bangladeshi migrants. Earlier, we used to hear names like Jaish, Lashkar and Hizbul Mujahideen. 


Now, with India and Pakistan cosying up, the name of Bangladesh-based HuJi is the first organisation on which the needle of suspicion is pointed after such an activity.

But should the entire Bangladeshi populace be blamed for this? The politicians are the first to create the hysteria. How can so many Bangladeshis be deported for the wrong-doing of a few persons and even this is not clear if the Bangladeshis were indeed responsible.

Aren't they humans? Is it just because they are poor? And is it urban India's prejudice and contempt for the poor that gets manifested in such demands. They are human beings, who toil hard to earn their bread.

BLAME THE POOR

In urban India, it is quite common to hear that yeh jhuggi jhopdi wale', as if those who live in slums are responsible for every menace including petty crimes and making the cities look ugly. 

The same upwardly middle-class and upper-class that can't manage without a domestic help and whose household comes at a standstill is the first to blame them for every ill, just because they are poor.

Barely a couple of days week, a girl Arushi Talwar was murdered in Noida and the murder mystery is yet to be cracked. But initially every channel and paper screamed, 'Nepali servant suspected to the killer' (and not that 'Servant suspected to be the killer').

HATE THE 'OUTSIDER' SYNDROME

Why it has to be a Nepali? Couldn't they have just said it, 'servant' or 'domestic help'. The word Nepali shouldn't have been used. But did anybody object? It is clearly racist and in no civilised society, it ought to be allowed to paint an entire group as criminal.

Is it that he was 'the other', an outsider and more so, a poor person. Later it was found that he was also murdered along with Arushi.

This reflects the hollowness of our society. Are all Nepalis criminals? Or, all Bangladeshis terrorists? Of course, the latter are mostly Muslims and have a different religion, which makes them even more an anathema for a large section of populace.

If Bangladeshis are infiltrating and living illegally, there should be a proper policy or they should be identified and given work permits, licences and allowed to live here. But you can't treat a poor person in this way just because he is desperate to feed his family and comes this far to eke out a living.

We all know that India is a target of terrorists. They attack mosques and temples, they kill Hindus and Muslims and Sikhs and Christians alike. And they ought to be caught. But that should happen. Unfortunately we don't see the real culprits arrested. We just hear jingoistic rhetoric and hysteria.

WHERE WAS MR ADVANI BORN?

And who asks for the deportation? India's former deputy prime minister Lal Kishenchand Advani, who himself had left the land of his birth [now Pakistan] came to this country! Unfortunately the fiery speeches do little to help anybody's case or nab the culpirts.

In 1984, two guys killed Indira Gandhi and we had statements like 'A tree falls, tremors are felt' that gave virtual license to mob to kill innocent Sikhs. We must not lose sanity. A story 'The Usual Suspects' in The Daily Star of Bangladesh written by Naeem Mohaiemen starts with the quote:

"They let us cook rice-daal for them, let us raise their children, trust us with the keys to house-home-jewelry. And then they turn around and vote for people who call us terrorists and want to cut us into pieces and bury us inside the ground." -- Bangladeshi taxi driver in Delhi.

GROSS GENERALISATIONS

Round up the usual suspects. Calling Abdul, Rahman, Rahim, Karim, Salim. All you "illegal" Bangladeshi immigrants within our borders. Report to the newest detention centers. It's not who you say you are, it's what we say you are.

Bangladesh has emerged as the all-purpose "Nondo Ghosh" [joto dosh] for Indian intelligence agencies. Attack on train station? Defused bombs? Bicycle bombs? Bag bombs? It must be the ultra-efficient, tentacle-spreading spectre of "terrorist organisations based in Bangladesh."

There is enough to write on the issue. We, Indians, also go to other countries looking for jobs. I think there has been enough of hysteria. There must be a proper system to deal with unchecked migration--either permit system or certain other visa.

The situation is similar in Assam, where every Muslim, even those speaking Bengali and ethnic Assamese, are termed as foreigners and outsiders or 'settlers'. But poor can't be termed criminals and exploited. We must understand the humanitarian aspect. That's all I want to say for the moment.