Mehfil-e-Naat, Manqabat: Urdu poets and devotional poetry in praise of Prophet, Ahl-e-Bait

Apart from 'mushairas', there are poetic meets like 'Mushaira-e-Tarah' or Mehfil-e-Na'at-o-Manqabat that are held in cities, towns. 

Poets who compose poetry in praise of Prophet Muhammad, recite the couplets in Naatiya Mushaira. 

Simiarly, there are poetry meets where poets render their compositions in praise of Hazrat Ali, Imam Husain. 

Most of these events aren't reported in 'mainstream press'. However, they are a common feature in most towns. 

These genres are such that not just poetic talent is tested but they should also be aware of historical events and could deal with the terminology, even the delicate use of language that has be kept. One of the couplets recited: 

Main ne naam Muhammad ka liya, khud Toofaa.n 

Chal diye le ke safeena mera saahil ki Taraf 

[Zeeshan Ali Shauq]

Ye aur baat hai ki saaya nahi tha unka magar 

Hasan, Husain parchaaiyaa.n hai.n Mohammad ki

[Javed Iqbal]

Jab azeezo.n ne meri timardaari chhoR di 

Dard-e-ulfat ne Nabi ke, kar diya achcha mujhe 

[Qaaim Husain Qaaim]

This post is just to give a glimpse about the Indo-Islamic culture and poetry sessions held in most cities in India. This report published in Roznama Sahara mentions that Anjuman Baqaa-e-Mahfil-e-Naat--Manqabat organised a session. Mutahir Husain Nausha presided over it.

Craft of Urdu Ghazal, Nazm: Meter, Prosody and charm of couplets vis-a-vis poetry sans meter

Shams Ur Rehman Alavi

When you write 'ghazal' or even a nazm, it's not just radeef & qafia [rhyming system], but 'beher', 'wazan', the meter too you need to be aware of.

The entire ghazal has to be in one particular 'beher' [among many] & all couplets in the ghazal will be in accordance with this pattern. For ages, 'faaylun, faaylaat' has confused young writers.

To some, it comes naturally. You remember 'dohas'--the laghu [1] & guru [2] or even in lyrics [movie songs], the 'dhun'. Classical masters, bards who never studied, knew it well, it came naturally to them. Others learn it.

Initially, it appears too tough & master poets tell you basics, correct the mistakes. If one knows the system, it's good. If you don't know, try to learn. In many languages, poetry is no longer dependent on prosody. But it is also true that this art is the reason Urdu couplets and ghazals have tremendous reach, quotability and are remembered.

Don't dissuade: Knowledge of Prosody is not for patronizing, rejecting

Everyone is free to write. And, knowledge of prosody must not be used to deter and dissuade anyone. As the 'ustaad-shagird' system has weakened in recent decades, unfortunately, some senior poets, don't help, rather their command over the subject becomes a ruse to reject others.

I remember, I was sitting with veteran poet, Kausar Siddiqui, when he was asked by a young boy about 'arooz'--prosody. He instantly took out a piece of paper and started explaining the system of 'beher'. There are ways to easily make you understand when a teacher is around. How the words are broken, where you can take liberty, how much is allowed, etc.

There are arguments in favour and against this system. Debate has been going on for decades. 

But it is still believed that if you want to write literary ghazal or even a nazm, (except Nasri Nazm), there has to be meter. But apart from that, there is another aspect.

For example, a youngster has a superb potential, he has imagination. He writes a ghazal or nazm, the master poet says, 'it is kharij az bahar' or simply junk, this is patronizing. Rather than telling, correcting and asking him to keep writing and learning, he tries to impress him with his knowledge of a 'lesser known art'. 

The youngster gets disheartened, reads lot of books, but is still not able to learn, even the names of the 'behers' are so tough, he gets disheartened. In case, he tries to read Dr Naresh, understands a bit, then may watch Bhatnagar Shadab sb's videos, but there is a greater chance that he may get overwhelmed.

However, if he decides that there is no need to learn this craft and he starts writing in Hindi, presenting the same compositions in devnagari, he is hailed as a poet. In Hindi poetry, there is no such issue. The 'chhand' was was shunned long ago.

Uniqueness of Urdu poetry: A tradition of centuries and focus on art, language

It's not that 'arooz' is something that should scare us. It's an asset. When it comes to Urdu poetry, it is the uniqueness. And, Urdu has an extremely tough system about judging poetry because of a long history, tradition, three hundred years of master poets who took inspiration from Bedil and Hafez etc.

Anyone who knows 'arooz' naturally feels that the youngster who doesn't know it, is just not 'mauzoo.n' for poetry, and that it's junk. This is also an extreme view. I remember Ustad-i-Shahar Ishrat Qadri sahab in Bhopal, would instantly tell youngsters--go write prose.

'Aap ke bas ka nahi, aap rahne dijiye', he would say. He felt there were too many poets and there was need to focus more on prose. Then, you see those who know arooz, try to patronize, else dissuade others while on other hand give 'crash course' to son or preferred 'shagird', telling them the ways how to ensure that their ghazals follow rules, but reject others. 

You must not patronize, decide or control what others write

Most basic thing in life is that, one must try to learn and if someone asks you something, share your knowledge, help them out.  Lekin aap izhaar par 'qaid' bhi nahi laga sakte. If someone writes, he-she is satisfied, adhering to meter or not, it's fine.

They seek your help, you should give them the necessary tips. Every ghazal or nazm may not be literary as per your standards. But everyone has the freedom to express themselves. You can't hold others at gunpoint--write in meter or I'll not consider you a poet unless you prove yourself in this format.

If someone is writing, it's their choice. 'Paband shayri' ya 'azad', whatever they do, it's their choice. Don't give gyan, unless asked. And if asked, don't discourage but make person realise what he can do, best. Not 'Gyan ka Ghamand' or becoming a 'pir tasma-pa' unknowingly.

Similarly, if someone ready to provide you tips, you must be thankful and treat them respectfully. Lot of Hindi knowing youth are now learning arooz, practicing daily on FB. This is a topic that needs our attention, discussion and it may go on a bit longer.

Post-Script: 

Not just ghazal, either it's Azad Nazm or Nazm-i-Muarra, all genres in Urdu poetry have 'beher'. The sole exception is 'Nasri Nazm' which many accomplished Urdu poets still feel is 'prose'--that is scattering sentences [prose] to turn it into a 'Nazm'. Many purists even believed that Nasri Nazm of only those people are worth consideration who can write ghazals, nazm in meter. However, there is a change in opinion now. 

Bekal Utsahi too bids adieu: Famous Urdu poet was named 'Utsahi' by first PM Jawaharlal Nehru

Famous Urdu poet Bekal Utsahi is no more.

He was undergoing treatment in a Delhi hospital where he passed away on December 3.

Bekal Utsahi was 87. He belonged to Balrampur (UP).

An ambassador of communal harmony, ganga-jamni culture, Bekal Utsahi used the Purbi language and expressions from Awadhi, Hindi and Braj in his poetry.

Apart from Ghazals and Nazms, he also wrote dohas and 'geet'. Mohammad Shafi, who later became 'Bekal' belonged to a Zamindar family.

He had interest in poetry from an early age and wrote rebellious poetry during the British rule.

One of his couplets:

Azm mohkam ho to hoti hain balaae.n paspaa
Kitne tuufaa.n palaT deta hai saahil tanha

He went to jail. For almost seven decades, he wrote poetry. He attended Mushairas across the world. Bekal was widely respected and was listened with respect in Kavi Sammelans too.

Apart from literature, he was also active in other fields. He was a member of Rajya Sabha [Upper house of Parliament]. Government of India honoured him with 'Padma Sri'.

How Bekal Warsi became Bekal Utsahi

Seeing his passion while reciting his poetry, first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru had termed him 'Utsahi' [Utsah=Enthusiasm]. In the mushaira, Bekal was reciting the verse 'Kisan Bharat Ka'.

Nehru was impressed with his poetry. Hence, 'Utsahi' became a part of his name since then. And, Bekal Warsi became Bekal Utsahi.

Sample his couplets:

Bech de apni aan, apni zabaan, apna zameer
Phir tere haath mein sone ke niwaale honge

and

Kal raat unko dekha thaa Urdu libas me
Koi ye kah raha tha ki agla chunaao hai

&

Ulajh rahe hain bohat log meri shohrat se
Kisi ko yuu.n to koi mujhse ikhtelaaf na tha

and

Ek din aisa bhi aayega honT honT paimaane honge
Mandir masjid kuchh nahiiN honge ghar-ghar mein maikhane honge

&

Dharm mera Islam, bharat janam sthan
Wazu karoo.n Ajmer mein, Kashi mein snaan

Bekal wrote Hamd, Naat and in other genres too. He rendered poetry in his inimitable style. In the last mushaira at Lal Quila, he had said, "it could be my last presence here".

In his own words:

Sunahri sarzamii.n meri, rupahla aasamaa.n mera
Magar ab tak nahiiN samjha, Thikaana hai kahaaN meraa

[Photo courtesy: Inquilab.com. Edition December 4 2016, Mumbai]

Love poetry, Learn Urdu: Multi-lingual Urdu poetry website brings poetry in three scripts on same page to help you learn Urdu

BESTGHAZALS.NET

When BestGhazals.Net was initially started as a blog, the aim was to put up the best and representative poetry of famous Urdu shayars.

Also, it was the first site to have poetry in three scripts viz. Urdu, Roman English and Hindi [Devnagri], on the same page.

It was an amateur blog, not for profit, but the aim was just to present selected Ghazals and Nazms on the internet.

Works of 150 poets on the Website

There wasn't a regular and constant effort on it. Still, it now has nearly 300 ghazals and nazms.

It features around 150 Urdu poets. The plan was to put up 'standard poetry'. Literature or Adab was the first consideration, [not ghazals that have been sung and are easily available elsewhere]. But the tough or the 'over the top' modernist poetry was avoided. Over the years, it got its own domain. There were millions of hits in the initial years.

Love poetry, Learn Urdu online

The reason I started this blog was that those who can read a bit of Urdu and want to learn the language, wouldn't have to go ask someone for pronunciation, but will see it right there either in Hindu or Roman English.

In fact, if you have know the Urdu alphabets and also can read basic Urdu, you can improve your Urdu, by seeing the same words in Roman or Devnagri scripts. If you can't read the Urdu [nastaliq] script, get a Urdu primer and give it a try.

I was asked by many friends that I should post Urdu in text. But when the blog started, everybody didn't have Urdu fonts. Even today, many people who are used to reading in  Urdu in Nastaliq, find it difficult to read the Arabic font. And, many other sites are using Urdu fonts.

Not just Mir, Ghalib and Iqbal

Most poetry websites feature the poetry of Mir Taqi Mir, Ghalib and Iqbal. I intended to present works of poets from the era of Wali Dakni to the progressive movement and the modernist poets too. Hence, you can find not just Aatish and Nasikh, but also Majaz and Jazbi, Shakeb Jalali and Irfan Siddiqui too.

The meanings of tough Urdu-Persian-Arabic words are also given to help the reader. The progress of the website hasn't been too fast. However, it is quite satisfactory. Only the poetry that will evoke interest from an ordinary reader, and that can later develop in him, the taste for Urdu poetry, is being posted here. The blog will keep growing, steadily, ever.

Do visit BESTGHAZALS.NET

Remembering Syed Amin Ashraf: Selection of couplets of the prominent Aligarh-based Urdu poet

By Shams Ur Rehman Alavi

A few months have passed but literary world is still in a state of mourning due to the demise of prominent Urdu poet Syed Amin Ashraf.

Ashraf, 80, was a leading Urdu poet, who avoided popular 'mushairas' and this is perhaps the reason that he didn't get the fame which he deserved.

But his command over language and idiom, had made him one of the foremost 'shayars' of the era in the country.

shahar-dar-shahar shab-e-taar* ka pheraa hoga

ham na honge, to andheraa hi andheraa hoga

[Syed Amin Ashraf]

Syed Amin Ashraf was born in Kachhauchha Sharif in UP, on June 20, 1930. A professor of English in Aligarh Muslim University (AMU), Urdu poetry was his first love. Though he began writing poetry in the decade of fifties, his first collection of poetry [divan] was published only in 2000.

This suggests how Ashraf sahab was indifferent towards publication of his own poetry.

In fact, he was the most important poet in the region. But he mostly remained confined to literary magazines and attended only select gatherings and 'mushairas'. Eminent Urdu writer Rashid Anwar Rashid recently wrote in Ajkal that, 'Only after Shaharyar's demise, Syed Amin Ashraf got recognition as the most important poet in Aligarh'.

Rashid is not off the mark. It is true that Shaharyar was a legend in his own right but his association with movies, particularly, his lyrics in Umraojan, made him a household name. Besides, Ashraf, wasn't a person who was interesting in pushing himself ahead. 

Some of his couplets:

halqa-e-shaam-o-sahar se nahiin jaane walaa

dard is deeda-e-tar se nahiiN jaane walaa

dekhtaa huuN muntashir shiiraaza-e-kaar-e-jahaaN

saa'at-e-naa-aafriida ki jhalak hai aur maiN

agar hazaar baras kii bhii zindagi hotii

to aarzuu yahii hotii ki aur jee lete

Ashraf sahab was aware of his literary standing. He said it it numerous couplets. In literary journal Kitabnuma, Dr Iffat Ara, wrote an obituary and she has also made a selection of his well-known 'ash'aar'.

munavvar aur mubham iste-aare dekh leta huuN

maiN sote jaagte, dilkash nazaare dekh letaa huuN

nasha-e-she'r uRaaye liye jaata hai mujhe

jaise rahvaar-e-sabaa, taKht-e-SulemaaN jaise

mauj-e-nasim ban ke ravaaN kuu-ba-kuu hue

ham bhii shariik-e-qaafla-e-rang-o-buu hue

Human beings don't get everything they wish for in life. An emotional, yet 'wazadar' person, he kept his pain to himself though it occasionally gets visible in his poetry. He did have a contended life and happy marital life. Yet, those who knew him, were aware about what he pined for and what kept him sad.

Jo milna hai vahi mil kar rahega

savaal-e-besh-o-kam bhii be-sabab hai

Amin Ashraf retired in 1990. It was only in later years that he took interest in publishing his works. Because of his command over Persian, one finds an enchanting quality in his couplets. Some of his couplets remind you of the legendary Irfan Siddiqui.

Ameen Ashraf maiN khud na-aashna lekin ye shohrat hai

butaan-e-shahar mein ek yaar-e-jaani main bhii rakhtaa huuN

koii sabab hai jo rahtaa hai Khauf-e-naadiida

muhiib saaya sa larzaaN hai farsh-e-jaaN par bhii

A 'qalandar' in the true sense, he lived life on his own terms.

ye maana aib bhii haiN saikRoN, kis meN nahiiN hote?

ameen ashraf, magar tujh sa qalandar ho nahiiN saktaa

[aib=weaknesses]

A couplet from the 'naat' genre:

Ye dil diwana hai uska, jo diwana Muhammad ka

AzaaN koii kahe, ruuh-e-Bilaali aa hii jaati hai

After his first collection 'Jaada-e-Shab' was published in 2000, the second divan 'Bahar Eejad' came out in 2007 and Qafas Rang appeared in 2011. He had a large social circle and not just because of poetry but also for his innate humane qualities that he would be remembered for a long time.

Yehi voh rishte haiN jo saath saath rahte haiN

Khud apnaa sayaa hai, yaadeN bhii haiN, muqaddar bhii

After his death in Aligarh on February 7 this year, across India programmes were held to pay homage to the poet. As per his wishes, his mortal remains were taken to his hometown and buried in the hospice premises of Sufi saint Makhdoom Ashraf Jahangir Samnani RH.

Syed Ameen Ashraf is no more. But his legacy lives on. He will always be remembered as a poet and an extraordinary human being. He always encouraged youngsters and treated everybody with respect. An extremely humble and modest person, he enriched classical Urdu poetry with his own experiences and unique idiom.

[*shab-e-taar; dark night, darkness]

[Some couplets have been obtained from Dr Iffat Aara's article in Kitabnuma. Thanks are due to her. Photo courtesy Ibn Sina Academy of Medieval Medicine and Sciences]

Poetry on Vehicles: Reading a Ghazal painted on auto-rickshaw on Indian street

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You may have often seen couplets or rhyming catch-lines written behind heavy vehicles, particularly, trucks and buses on the roads.

Sometime back I had seen this loading auto with almost a 'ghazal' painted on its back.

I was in a hurry and didn't have camera.

But I took out my cell phone, chased for a while and managed to take a snap of the loading auto that had these Urdu couplets written in Hindi [devnagari] script.

The quality of photo taken from cell phone camera is perhaps not too good. Still, its readable:

Aye mere ham-nashiiN kahiiN aur chal

is chaman meN apnaa guzaara nahiiN

This is the first couplet or opening lines of the Nazm. Quite an emotional line and you marvel at the auto-wala sahab's literary taste. The second couplet has the same 'qafia' and 'radeef' and it goes like:

baat hotii phuuloN* tak to sah lete ham

ab kaaNToN pe bhii haq hamaara nahiiN

Hmm. Janab appears to be a 'choT-khaye' person. After all, this sentiment comes when you ladylove breaks your heart and goes away. Only then you get so bitter. Then comes the third she'r:

tadbir se bigDii huii taqdiir banaa le

apne pe bharosa hai to ek daaoN laga le

Till now, it appeared that everything was lost. But now, it seems there is still hope. Let's make a fresh move.

Try your luck and perhaps, you may still win. Who knows! The feelings are intense. He has taken pains not just to remember but also get the words painted from an artist, it shows how important are these lines to him.

By now the verse has taken the format of Nazm. The last and lone line says, 'laDegii taqdir, banega muqaddar'.

Hmm. Is this the line from poetry or the auto wale uncle's own emphatic line! His own conviction reflected in this line. Later I found, the ghazal has a few more couplets. I am not sure who wrote the lines.

There may be one or two mistakes in writing here. However, it is just an example. For many auto-rickshaw or truck drivers, their life revolvers around their 'gaadi'. The way they get it painted or have catch-lines painted on them, reflect their personality.

A newspaper has a Sunday column where readers send interesting catch-lines written on the back of trucks or buses. An auto I often spot has this line written 'Zakhmi Sher'.

Another auto-rickshaw of which I am posting photograph here has this written, 'Sher ka peechha bachche nahiin karte'.

Similarly, there are caste-specific, regional and religious assertions also on auto-rickshaws. Some have names of 'deities' painted in bold, others have 'Jai Mata Di'. Chalo Vaishnav Devi' or 'Namaz ki Pabandi karein' printed on them.

Similarly, there are messages like 'Jai Bhim' or other messages with socio-political meanings. In our own little way, everybody wants to share what they feels strongly about and express themselves.

That's true for everyone--from the street to social networking sites. I have written posts on auto-rickshaws and road-rollers in the past. Expect more on auto-rickshaws in future as well.

[*guloN in original]

Shauq Jalandhari: Spreading the fragrance of Urdu poetry in Eastern India

Renowned Urdu poet Samuel Daniel 'Shauq' Jalandhari is instrumental in keeping Urdu poetry scene alive in regions not considered traditional homelands for the language.

For decades, 'Shauq' Jalandhari was the driving force behind literary and cultural activities in Chhattisgarh, once the eastern part of Madhya Pradesh.

In the last six decades of his poetic career, Shauq Sahab has got many awards and has been termed Pasban-e-Adab, Abru-e-Ghazal and Shaharyar-e-Ghazal.

Pune-based literary journal Asbaq recently published a special issue dedicated to Shauq Sahab's life.

For a long period, he remained associated with the All India Christian Urdu Writers Association [also termed as Anjuman Masihi Musannifin-e-Urdu].

Former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee also honoured him for his contribution towards literature. Poet Nazir Fatehpuri pays him tribute in his long Nazm [the first letter of each couplet adds to Shauq sahab's name], two couplets from which I am producing here:

Shaharyar-e-Ghazal, paasbaan-e-Adab
Aabruu-e-sukhan ka milaa hai laqab.....

...Ibn-e-Maryam ke shaidai tujhko salaam
Zakhm-khurda ko marham hai tera kalaam

Urdu poets enchant audience at the annual 'Jashn-e-Jamhooriyat' mushaira in Lal Qila

Pt Anand Mohan Zutshi 'Gulzar' inaugurating a mushaira in Delhi

One of the most awaited Mushairas is the annual poetic soiree held on the occasion of Republic Day in the historic Lal Qila.

This year the Mushaira Jashn-e-Jamhooriyat was held just a few days prior to January 26.

Chief Minister Sheila Dixit inaugurated the event while Deputy speaker Shoaib Iqbal, Delhi Urdu Academy's chairman Prof. Akhtarul Wasey, Secretary Anees Azmi were also present.

This year many important poets didn't attend the event. Though the standard of poetry rendered from the stage was not extraordinary, still the mushaira was held successfully. The audience sat till 3:30-4 am and enjoyed the poetry.

Read a selection of couplets recited in the mushaira. Octogenarian Pt Anand Mohan Zutshi Gulzar Dehlvi's couplets had set the tempo:

maiN ajab huuN Imaam Urdu kaa
but-kadoN meN azaan detaa huuN

aajkal do jurm haiN maiN ne jinheN apnaa liyaa
ek Muslim-dosti hai, ek Urdu ka jihaad
[Pt 'Gulzar' Dehlvi]

Many important poets were missing, however, poets like Rahat Indori, Waseem Barelvi, Nawaz Deobandi got fulsome praise.

do gaz sahii magar ye merii milkiyat to hai
aye maut, tuune mujhko zamiindaar kar diyaa
[Rahat Indori]

saudaa uruuj hii kaa na tuu apne sar meN rakh
suuraj ke Duubne kaa bhii manzar nazar meN rakh
[Waqar Maanvi]

miyaaN ye maut bhii Allah ka inaam hai varnaa
musalsal zindagii se aadmi uktaa gayaa hotaa
[Tabish Mehdi]

tamaam umr kisii bewafa ke saath rahe
mere chiraaGh hamesha havaa ke saath rahe
[Wasif Farooqi]

sulah ke vaaste bazid kyuuN ho
teer baaqii nahiiN kamaan meN kya
[Salim Siddiqui]

kahaaN kii dostii kin dostoN kii baat karte ho
miyaaN dushman nahiiN miltaa koii ab to Thikaane ka
[Waseem Barelvi]

jin pe luTaa chukaa thaa maiN dunyaa ki daulateN
un vaarisoN ne mujhko kafan naap kar diyaa
[Nawaz Deobandi]

afvaah thii ki merii tabiyat kharaab hai
logoN ne puuchh puuchh ke biimaar kar diyaa
[Rahat Indori]

begunaahii ki sazaa kuchh bhii voh de sakte haiN
mohtasib unke, qalam unka, adaalat unkii
[Matin Amrohvi]

qayaamat tak na maange-gaa voh paani
taGhaaful ne jise tere Dasaa hai
[Dr Tabish Mehdi]

puuChhte kyaa ho ki ruumaal ke piichhe kyaa hai
phir kisii roz yeh sailaab dikhaaenge tumheN
[Rahat Indori]

pahle to uskii yaad ne sone nahiiN diyaa
phir uskii aahaToN ne kahaa jaagte raho
[Mansoor Usmani]

Besides, traditional romantic poetry was also read from the stage. Eminent poet Muzaffar Razmi Kairanvi, who represents the classical school along with 'Gulzar' Dehlvi, also rendered his 'shayri' that was appreciated.

Several poetesses also participated in the event. Waseem Barelvi presided over while Mansoor Usmani conducted the proceedings.

Read reports of successful Mushairas held in India in recent past at this link

Delhi's egoist poetic voice falls silent: Urdu poet Shuja Khawar passes away

By Shams Ur Rehman Alavi

Shuja Khawar, who was probably the most distinct poetic voice in Urdu to have come up from Delhi in the post-independence era, bid final adieu to his admirers and poetry lovers.

ek uskaa saraapa* hai ki bas meN nahiiN aataa
kyaa haalat ho gayi, mere andaaz-e-bayaaN ki

[*figure, beauty]

It's not pure emotion but Shujauddin Sajid was worthy of being called the poet laureate of Delhi. This is not an exaggeration. Nusrat Zaheer in his editorial page column wrote an obituary titled 'Miyaan, Dilli Khamosh Ho gayi...', the words spoken to him by Farooq Argali at the graveyard.

Truly, it's a huge loss for the Dehli's culture as well as poetry.

raat usne dasht-e-jaaN ko gulistaa.n kar diya
hamne bhi har usuul ko qurbaan kar diyaa

But the reality was that Shuja never compromised on his principles:

thoRaa sa badal jaaye to bas taaj ho aur taKht
is dil ka magar kyaa kareN, sunta nahiiN kambaKht

Shuja reciting his couplets in early years.

The 'Qalandar' poet cared little about name or fame. It is not that he wasn't aware of tricks of the trade.

haalat use dil kii na dikhaai, na bayaa.n ki
Khair usne na ki baat, to hamne bhi kahaa.n ki

hue mahruumiyo.n ke jab ham aadi
to us zaalim ne chilman hi haTaa di

poNhchaa huzur-e-shaah, har ek rang ka faqiir
poNhchaa nahiiN jo, thaa vahii 'poNhchaa huaa' faqiir

Shuja Khar (Third from right)

After years of illness and solitude, he was once again getting back to the centre stage of Urdu poetry.



Despite the fact that I loved his poetry, I couldn't post his works except one ghazal. Now I intend to put up his ghazals selected couplets soon at my poetry site Best Ghazals.

Mahlaqa Chanda: Forgotten Urdu poetess before Ghalib, her tomb gets facelift in Hyderabad

,

By Shams Ur Rehman Alavi

Mahlaqa Chanda had already compiled her first collection of poetry and attained fame when legendary Urdu poet Mirza Ghalib was just a year old.

Recently I had the opportunity to visit Mahlaqa's tomb which remained neglected for long.

It was heartwarming to see that the tomb is being renovated at a time when Mahlaqa's poetry is once again drawing attention.

Mahlaqa's couplets represent the prevalent poetic taste of the era:

ham se kare hai yaar bayaaN apnii chaah kaa
haazir haiN ham bhii gar ho iraada nibaah kaa

Mahlaqa was a devout Shia and her devotion towards Hazrat Ali is visible in innumerable ghazals.

paiGhaam sabaa jaa ke mere yaar se kahnaa
betaab huuN us Ghairat-e-gulzaar se kahnaa

Chanda's divan has numerous such asha'ar. For example:

Mahlaqa's tomb

The truth was that Mahlaqa was an extraordinary artiste. Ironically she was even termed a tawaif in the sense of prostitute, which is a grave injustice to her.

Mahlaqa was a poetess, a celebrity classical singer and renowned danseuse of her era.

They briefly stayed at a place, Devalia, before shifting to Burhanpur, and later settling in Aurangabad where Mahlaqa was born.

Her intellect and literary taste were widely regarded. She was renowned for her mastery on dhrupad apart from khayal tappa.

A prominent personality, she lived in Khasa Mahal with hundreds of khadims at her disposal.

Mahlaqa's estate was spread over Syedpalli, Chanderguda, Chandapeth, Ali Bagh and several other areas.

Mushairas in Delhi: Poets and Urdu couplets

Almost every day there is a grand 'mushaira' somewhere in the country apart from numerous small ones in the towns, however, Delhi being the capital plays host to a number of important mushairas.

The major mushairas in the national capital recently were organised by Urdu Academy, Anjuman Farogh Urdu and Aalami Urdu Trust-Ghalib Institute. It is still not rare to hear couplets that stay with your for sometime and can lift your mood instantly.

Eminent poet Shahid Meer is always a hit among the poetry aficionados and here he struck chord with auidence when he recited in his unique style.

KhamoshiyoN ko rakha hai mizaaj meN shaamil
Ham is tarah bhii hue ehtejaaj* meN shaamil [ehtejaaj: Protest]

Veteran Zubair Rizvi's ghazals and nazms were intense:

visaal paa gaye sab murshidaan-e-kuu-e-juunuuN
malaal ye hai ki dahliz-e-aashiqaaN bhii gayii

Saleem Shahzad's couplets were also liked, especially when his ghazal reached this couplet:

hamaari raah meN hai gar-che Kufa-o-Farat
pukaartaa hai magar shahar-e-Alif Layla bhii
[Kufa=Al-Kufah City, Farat=Euphrates river]

And what would you say about Iqbal Ash'har's couplet:

Use bhii Shah ne musaahib bana liya apna
Ek aadmii se tavaqqo thii lab-kushaii kii
[He, who was expected to speak up, also became the ruler's stooge and sewed his lips]

For decades Shahpur Rasool has been among the most innovative poet.

mujhe bhii lamha-e-hijrat ne kar diyaa taqsiim
nigaah ghar kii taraf hai, qadam safar kii taraf

Sironj-born Khalid Mahmood, who is today a big name in Urdu poetry, recited a beautiful ghazal. Andjustice can't be done to it by producing just a couplet here.

baRaa naadaan hai, bahkaa huaa hai
ye bandaa Khuld ka bigRaa huaa hai

Another veteran poet who is a master in his own right, Bashar Nawaz, avoid popular gatherings but whenever he does attend a mushaira, his presence brings gravity to the programme.

yahii chehraa, yahii aaNkheN, yahii rangat nikle
jab koii Khwaab taraashuuN, terii muurat nikle

Shams Ramzi, about whom Shair recently published a special issue, is a critic and poet in equal measure. One couplet alone can give you an indiaction of his poetic calibre.

farishto! aao merii darsgaah meN baiTho
bayaan-e-rutba-e-insaaN karnaa chaahtaa huuN

However, romanticism isn't dead either though Urdu poetry touches contemporary issues.

basii huii hai yeh kaisii khushbuu mujh meN
shaayad aa kar baiTh gayaa hai tuu mujh meN
[Shams Ramzi]

hazaaroN taare haiN terii hatheliyoN meN magar

tuu mere ghar se magar chaaNd kyuun churaata hai
[Shaista Yusuf]

ham to mustaqbil kii khaatir jab bhii sanjiida hue
zindgii ke masle kuchh aur pechiida hue
[Shahbaz Nadeem]

And a couplet that challenges the self-styled master poets' [read veterans or asaatiza] poetic imagination:

kohna-mashqi hi hasiiN sher kii zaamin to nahiiN
shaaKh-e-kohna pe bamushkil gul-e-tar lagtaa hai
[Irfan Jamali]

Some couplets evoke thunderous applause but are later forgotten. Others are jotted down and travel though emails and SMSs across the globe. You may not like the couplet which I find astonishing or a ghazal which you like may not appeal to me, as it depends on one's mood, mental state and certain other factors, however, poetry regales and relaxes at the same time.

Just a couple of months back, legendary Makhmoor Saeedi rendered a ghazal which brought tears to the eyes of the audience. And today Makhmoor is no longer with us. A few weeks back he also departed, leaving Delhi and Urdu poetry poorer.

bujh gayii dil ki roshnii raah dhuvaaN dhuvaaN huii
subah chale kahaaN se the, shaam hameN kahaaN huii

[Makhmoor Saeedi]

Tarahi Mushairas: A glorious tradition of Urdu poetry

Shams Ur Rehman Alavi

Who hasn't heard of Mushairas in the sub-continent? But what about Tarahi mushairas!

While Mushaira is an event where poets recite their compositions in front of a large audience, and the rendition continues for hours, sometimes even after midnight, Tarahi mushairas are slightly different.

They are mostly for the master poets and the aficionados of poetry. Tarahi mushairas are still held in most parts of the country. They don't get publicised because they are for the most passionate poetry lovers.

While success in mushaira depends on several factors including the style of rendition, Tarahi mushaira tests the poet's real talent and his ability to churn out asha'ar and ghazals. Ahead of the Tar'hi mushaira, the poets are given a 'misra' [a line of a couplet] and they have to compose the 'ghazals' in accordance with the 'qafia' and 'radif'.

For example a recent Tarahi mushaira that was held in Muzaffar Nagar in Uttar Pradesh (UP) where the poets had been given the follow misra-e-tarah: Jab voh milaa to chashm-e-basirat chali gayee. 

Nearly twenty-odd poets attended the mushaira and recited their ghazals [each having five or six couplets with one of them having this misra and the rest having the similar ending]. Of course, the couplets have to be in meter and it shouldn't be mere tukbandi.

A selection of the poets' one couplet each from their ghazals recited on the occasion is here:

hamne jise bhi dekhaa hai tirchhi nigaah se
taarikh hai gavaah uski hukumat chalii gayee
[Ghalib Kairanvi]

Mehfil meN ek shamaa ne bujhte hue kahaa
ab roshni luTaane ki quvvat chalii gayee
[Shamsheer Saifi]

Tuuti huii kamaan hai, shaamil huuN jang meN
kahtaa hai kaun merii shuja'at chalii gayee
[Bismil Dudhedvi]

Ro ro ke kah raha tha voh maa.n kii vafaat par
Lo aaj mere haath se jannat chalii gayee
[Rahi Deobandi]

roshan na hotaa kaise voh kanaan* ka kuaaN
jis meN aqeel chaand si surat chalii gayee
[Aqeel Shaad]

*Canaan: The place mentioned in Hebrew Bible also where Yusuf AS [Joseph] was thrown into a well by his brothers.

While the institution of Mushairas is as strong as it was in the past and in certain respects more colourful, attracting large audience, there is a feeling that serious poets often stay away from the public mushairas.

However, in Tarahi mushairas, the emphasis is still on nuances of poetry, language and depth of expression. They are not too popular but the 'nashists' [sittings] are held almost in every city or town that has substantial population of Urdu speakers.

Homosexuality in Urdu poetry: Tolerance in medieval India and Islamic societies in the past

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For once, the Shankaracharya and the Shahi Imam are on the same side as also the BJP and the Muslim leaders. They are all opposed to the court's decision terming consenting homosexual relationship among adults as 'no longer criminal'.

Barely a handful of MPs have openly hailed the verdict. But it's interesting how tolerant people were towards homosexuality in the past. In Islamic world, from Iran to India,  such relationships were common and were completely acceptable in the society as well as among the Ulema [clergy].

Gar aan turk sheerazi be-dast aarad dil-e-maara
ba khaal hindosh bakhsham samarqand o bukhara ra [Hafiz]

Translation: If that Turk lad listens to my heart's cry, I can forsake the cities of Samarqand and Bukhara against the black mole on his face.

Poets like Hafez and the great Mir Taqi Mir openly wrote about their homosexuality. The divans of Urdu poets of 18th and 19th century are full of couplets that would outrage even some of today's 'self-styled liberals', but in those days even the orthodox Ulema were either lenient or indifferent.

They were ready to accept that everybody need not necessarily be like us and society should not impose its views on everyone. In present scenerio, it seems strange as an intellectual like Mushirul Hasan avoids commenting on the decision, for fear of enraging others.

Eminent religious scholars were less judgmental then and often took umbrage behind the extensive legal case including the requirement of witnesses that are needed to hold someone guilty of unnatural acts as per Shariah.

Either it was medieval homosexuality that is evident in couplets from the era of Aarzoo and Mir Soz or the pederasty in Firaq's shaayri and Josh's memoirs, the tolerant society openly accepted it. However, today it is unthinkable.

Contemporary Urdu poetry has just one openly gay poet Iftikhar Nasim 'Ifti'. However, in the past it was not considered outrageous. Poets openly wrote about their relationships.

Turk bachche se ishq kiyaa thaa rekhte kya kya maiNne kahe
rafta rafta Hindustaan se sher meraa Iran gayaa
[Mir Taqi Mir]

Above I quoted a coulet of the legendary Persian poet Hafiz. It was no different in India. Mir Taqi Mir celebrated his relationship:

Mir kyaa saade haiN biimar hue jiske sabab
usii attaar ke launDay se davaa lete haiN

Or

Us Mughal-zaade se nibhii har baat kii takraar khuub
bad-zabaanii kii bhii usne, to kahaa bisyaar khuub

His divan is full of such references, often termed as 'ibtizaal' [literary decadence] and deleted from concise collection of his poetry. Like poets of that era, Mir had homosexual relationships with boys and later got married also, as per the tradition of the times.

But he never faced any opposition then. There was no disapproval from the Ulema then. Were they less religious or less cultured? Certainly not. But they did respect every person's right to lead his life as per his wishes.

Or at least leave them to their own ways rather than worrying about what they do in their bedrooms. I feel if a person is truly religious or spiritual he would be more compassionate and would avoid finding faults with others.

In Urdu ghazal, the gender of the beloved is often not clear. However, there are hundreds of couplets in divans of the classical poets where the lover is clearly a male or a boy.

The great poet Khwaja Haider Ali Aatish wrote:

Zuleikha ko dikhaaye aasmaaN tasviir Yusuf kii
Ye dil diivana hai jiskaa pari-paikar hai voh laRkaa

Mir Soz said:

Hai chaal qayaamat, hai husn ya sharaara
chaltaa hai kis adaa se Tuk, dekho Khudara

and Aarzoo wrote:

fareb-e-khush pisraaN khurdan Aarzoo rasm ast
za-rooe tajruba guft eeN chuniiN pidar maaraa

One of the greatest poets of the sub-continent, Mir Taqi Mir, who is termed Khuda-i-Sukhan, wrote numerous couplets celebrating gay relationships. In fact, so explicit is Mir, that one may think twice before quoting them.

Not more than a fraction of their poetry is explicit or obscene. In fact, a majority of the asha'ar treats the subject subtly and with sensuousness like the following couplet of a gahzal where the usage 'kya kya kuchh' is unusual and fresh. The poet yearning for his beloved dreams of the pleasures of sexual union.

wasl uskaa Khudaa nasiib kare
meraa dil chaahtaa hai kya kya kuchh

In these couplets Mir falls sick owing to his excessive longing for his beloved boy [yaani maiN shauq kii ifraat se biimaar huaa] and Mus'hafi describes the feelings in terms of waves [lahroN se saara daryaa aaGhosh kar diyaa].

The legendary Urdu scholar SR Faruqi terms some of them as 'international literary gems' and extraordinary couplets. It is noteworthy that Faruqi doesn't even use words like 'good' and 'fine' generously.

The recent court verdict has 'shocked' a large number of clerics and even litteratuers. The Victorian law that criminalised not just gay relationships but also any other form of sexual activity [even any other sexual position among man and woman except missionary posiion] other than the order of Nature, has just been reinterpreted by the Delhi High court.

Even today in sub-continent, many homosexuals succumb to family pressure and marry, thereby destroying the life of a woman also. Pakistan-born Iftikhar Nasim has been brutally honest about his life and the difficulties he faces when he decided to 'come out' rather than living a 'false life'.

Read selected couplets of Iftikhar Nasim here.
Read his famous poem Mere Baba. In this verse the poet seeks answers for his alternate sexuality in Urdu, Hindi and Roman scripts here.

[UPDATE: This post was written in 2009. Now, in 2013, the Supreme court has said that the law stands and homosexuality that had been de-criminalised, is a criminal act.]

Verse for Humanity in the Times of Terrorism

Lately I have been posting less poetry on this blog. Going through a collection of verses, I had recently stopped at this Nazm. The language is simple and the poem has barely six lines.

In English, these lines may at first glance seem too ordinary. But for a poet like Fazal Tabish, who is known for his complex poetry, it is an unusual verse. Specially for a writer who considered humanism as supreme ideology, there must have been some reason that he chose to write these six lines, which is neither in the traditional format of ghazal nor the rhyming Nazm, which he was immensely capable of.

nahi chuni maiNne ye zamin jo vatan Thahri
nahi chunaa maniNne voh ghar jo khaandaan banaa
nahi chunaa maiNne voh mazhab jo mujhe bakhsha gayaa
nahi chuni maiNne vo zabaaN jismeN maaN ne bolnaa sikhaaya
aur ab maiN in sab ke liye tayyar huN
maarne, marne par

Fazal Tabish

I didn’t choose the country where I was born
I didn’t select my family, my clan
I was given no option to decide upon my religion
And I didn’t choose my mother tongue either
But for all of them I am ready
To kill...

Read this Nazm in Urdu and Hindi scripts.
Why did he write it in the first place. He could express the feeling in umpteen ways. Yet the divan ends with this prose-poem. He passed away long back. Though communalism, regionalism and casteism had begun gripping the nation, those were still the times when everything was not lost.

Fazal uses no flowery language here. May be it is because he had seen that the so-called educated, the learned, the ones who can play with the words and decipher complex poetry, are capable of greater damage by twisting words.

Perhaps, he felt that there will be times when even the simplest of questions will become the hardest to answer. In his divan, 'Roshni kis jagah se kaali hai', it is the last Nazm that has no title.
Read more of his ghazals.

Selected couplets of famous poet Munawwar Rana: Urdu Shayari

In Mushairas, Munawwar Rana is one of the most popular poets across the country. A native of Rae Bareli, Rana grew up in Kolkata. His simple language, the idiom of North India and the generous use of Hindi words, are among the reasons for his popularity.

Rana has attained wide acclaim for his couplets on 'maa.n' (Mother). They have been compiled and published by people in many scripts. His poetry is available in Urdu, devanagari, Bangla and other languages.

There has been criticism of his poetry. But the fact remains that he connects with the crowd.

Here are ten selected Urdu couplets:

hum kuchh aise tere diidaar meN kho jaate haiN
jaise bachche bhare baazaar meN kho jaate haiN

naye kamroN meN ab chiizeN puraani kaun rakhtaa hai
parindoN ke liye shahroN meN paani kaun rakhtaa hai

mohaajiro yahii taariiKh hai makaanoN kii
banaane waalaa hameshaa baraamdoN meN rahaa

tujhse bichhDaa to pasand aa gayii be-tartiibii
isse pahle meraa kamraa bhii Gazal jaisaa thaa

kissi bhii moD par tumse vafaa-daarii nahiiN hogii
hameN maaluum hai tumko yah biimaarii nahiiN hogii

tujhe akele paDhuuN koii ham-sabaq na rahe
maiN chaahtaa huuN ki tujh par kisii ka haq na rahe

talvaar to kyaa merii nazar tak nahiiN uThii
us shaKhs ke bachchoN kii taraf dekh liyaa thaa

farishte aake unke jism par Khushbuu lagaate haiN
vo bachche rail ke Dibbe meN jo jhaaDuu lagaate haiN
kisii ko ghar milaa hisse meN yaa koii dukaaN aaii
maiN ghar meN sabse chhoTaa thaa mere hisse meN maaN aaii

sirphire log hameN dushman-e-jaaN kahte haiN
ham jo is mulk kii miTTii ko bhii maaN kahte haiN

Munawwar Raana

Read these couplets at Best Ghazals and Nazms in Urdu and Hindi [devanagri script]

Selected couplets of Mirza Ghalib: Legendary Urdu poet's most quoted Urdu 'ashaar'

Mirza Asadullah Khan Ghalib, one of the greatest poets of India, sub-continent and the world, was born on December 27, 1797. Here is a selection of 25 couplets of Ghalib. People are entitled to their own preferences and there are hundreds of other 'ashaar' that can be termed the best of Ghalib's couplets.


meherbaaN hoke bulaa lo mujhe chaaho jis waqt
maiN gayaa waqt nahiiN huuN ki phir aa bhii na sakuuN

jaate hue kahte ho qayaamat ko milenge
kyaa Khuub, qayaamat ka hai goyaa koii din aur

ragoN meN dauDte phirne ke ham nahiiN qaayal
jab aaNkh hii se na Tapkaa to phir lahuu kyaa hai

kii mere qatl ke baad usne jafaa se toba
haae us zuud-pashemaaN ka pashemaaN honaa

koii mere dil se poochhe tere tiir-e-niimkash ko
yah khalish kahaan se hotii jo jigar ke paar hotaa
bandgii meN bhii voh aazadah-o-khudbiiN haiN ki ham
ulTe phir aaye dar-e-kaaba agar waa na huaa

zindagii yuuN bhii guzar hii jaatii
kyuuN teraa raahguzar yaad aayaa

pakDe jaate haiN farishtoN ke likhe par naahaq
aadmii koii hamaaraa dam-e-tahriir bhii thaa

zikr us parii-vash ka aur phir bayaaN apnaa
ban gayaa raqiib aakhir, thaa jo raazdaaN apnaa

mohabbat meN nahiiN hai farq jiine aur marne kaa
usii ko dekh kar jiite haiN jis kaafir pe dam nikle

hamne maanaa ki taGaaful na karoge lekin
Khaak ho jaayenge ham tumko Khabar hone tak

maiN ne chaahaa thaa ki andoh-e-wafa se chhuuTuuN
voh sitamgar mere marne pe bhii raazii na huaa

aataa hai daaG-e-hasrat-e-dil kaa shumaar yaad
mujh se mere gunah ka hisaab aye Khudaa na maang

hai pare sarhad-e-adraak se apnaa masjuud
qible ko ahle nazar qibla-numa kahte haiN

niiNd uskii hai dimaaG uskaa hai raateN uskii haiN
terii zulfeN jiske baazuu par pareshaaN ho gayiiN

ranj se Khuugar huaa insaaN to miT jaataa hai ranj
mushkileN mujh par paDiiN itnii ki aasaaN ho gayiiN

is saadgii pe kaun na mar jaaye aye Khudaa
laDte haiN aur haath meN talwaar bhii nahiiN

jab maikada chhuTaa to phir ab kyaa jagah kii qaid
masjid ho, madarsa ho, koii Khaanqaah ho

mai se Garz-e-nishaat hai kis ruu-siyaah ko
ek guuna be-Khudii mujhe din raat chahiye

zindagii apnii jab is shakl se guzrii Ghaalib
ham bhii kyaa yaad karenge kii Khudaa rakhte the

dekhnaa taqdiir kii lazzat ki jo usne kahaa
maiN ne yah jaanaa ki goyaa yah bhii mere dil meN hai

apnii galii meN mujhko na kar dafan baad-e-qatl
mere pate se Khalq ko kyuuN teraa ghar mile

siikhe haiN mahrukhoN ke liye ham musavvarii
taqriib kuchh to bahar-mulaaqaat chaahiye
(musavvari=art, painting)

unke dekhe se jo aa jaatii hai muNh par raunaq
woh samajhte hai ki biimaar kaa haal achchhaa hai

chand tasviir-e-butaaN chand hasiinoN ke khutuut
baad marne ke mere ghar se yah saamaaN niklaa

Read five selected Ghazals of Mirza Ghalib in Urdu, Hindi [devanagri] and Roman English scripts at Best Ghazals.

Immortal Couplets of Moin Ahsan Jazbi: Famed Urdu Poet's Life and Poetry

Moin Ashan Jazbi

Renowned Urdu poet late Moin Ahsan Jazbi never cared for fame or critics' attention.

Though his Nazms and Ghazals were more popular than many of the well-known poets, he preferred to remain in the background. Jazbi had a tough life, especially because of stepmothers' harsh treatment.

Jazbi suffered financial problems and remained unemployed for long. A reflection of these frustrations, as well as the lack of love [which he mentions openly in interviews, publicly and in his poetry] are visible clearly in his couplets.

It was after he got a job in AMU that he got financial security. He wrote less than his contemporaries but his couplets have more poetry and lyricism, as well as the poetic strength to survive time. Once he settled in life, he took great care of his stepmother, who had made life hell for him in his childhood.

Moin Ahsan Jazbi was born in 1912. A close of friend of Asrar Ul Haq 'Majaz' Lakhnawi, he initially kept 'Malaal' as his pen name but later changed it to Jazbi. Among the last of the poets of Progressive Writers' Movement, along with Wamiq Jaunpuri, he nurtured young talent till his old age.

Jazbi He passed away in 2005. Read Moin Ahsan Jazbi's eight immortal couplets here. In order to read them in Urdu script and Devanagri Hindi, CLICK HERE:

na aaye maut Khudaayaa tabah-haalii meN
yah naam hogaa Gham-e-rozgaar sah na sakaa

tere karam kii bhiik le aisaa haqiir Gham nahiiN
jaa O sitam-sh'aar jaa, aarzuu-e-karam nahiiN

tuu giraa degii mujhe apnii nazar se varnaa
tere qadmoN pe to sajdaa bhii ravaa hai mujhko

ho na ho dil ko tere husn se kuchh nisbat hai
jab uThaa dard to kyuuN maiN ne tujhe yaad kiyaa

jisko kahte haiN mohabbat jisko kahte haiN Khuluus
jhopDoN meN ho to ho, puKhtaa makaanoN meN nahiiN

terii nazar meN rah ek raaz ban gayaa thaa
gir kar terii nazar se afsaanaa ho gayaa maiN

aah kii dil ne na phir shikva-e-bedaad kiyaa
jab se sharmiilii nigaahoN ne kuchh irshaad kiyaa

daastaan-e-shab-Gham qissa tuulaanii hai
muKhtasar yah hai ki tuu ne mujhe barbaad kiyaa

Past posts on Jazbi:
1. Jazbi's famous nazm 'Maut' in Roman and Devanagari scripts
2. Obituary and the circumstances when he wrote Maut
3. Read his ghazals, couplets and poetry in Urdu, Roman and Devanagari scrips AT THIS LINK

Remembering Urdu poet Akhtar Shirani: The Poet of Romance

Great Urdu poet Akhtar Shirani passed away this month nearly 60 years ago.

But his unrequited love affair, letters purportedly written by him and the mystery of 'Salma', still evoke tremendous interest among readers.

Shirani was among the most popular poets of his generation. His famous romantic Nazms include 'Aye Ishq kahiiN le chal', 'Jahaan Rehana rahti thi' and Salma.

Along with Majaz, he is also often referred to as Keats of Urdu poetry.

tum afsaana-e-Qais kyaa puuchhte ho
idhar aao, ham tumko lailaa banaa deN[Akhtar Shirani]

He is referred to as 'Shahzada-e-Ruman' [Prince of Romance] and Shaaer-e-Husn-o-Javaani [Poet of youth and beauty]. After failing to get his lady love, Akhtar had drowned himself into liquor and died at an early age (43).

He was the son of the renowned scholar Mahmood Sheerani who taught at Oriental College but unlike his father, Akhtar lived a bohemian life. Even sixty years after his death, publishers in India and Pakistan continue to cash in on his 'colourful life'.

A periodical in India claims that in the special issue it would name the woman who was referred to as Salma. Another publication in Pakistan prints some 'hitherto hidden' letters of correspondence for the first time and a weekly boosts its sales with a special report claiming that he didn't die but had committed suicide.

The truth is that contrary to popular perception, Akhtar's life was not at all as colourful. One of his couplets:

baad az gham-e-judaai-e-Salmaa mere liye
yaad-e-zubuur-o-maatam-e-shaivan hai aajkal

The man who used to gift away a note of Rs 50 to a pan walla because of the latter's tehzib of giving paan, spent the latter part of his youth and the last years in utter distress. He may have initially turned to liquor to forget Salma.

But his son's (Javed Mahmood alias Zuboor) sudden demise, the suicide of close friend Mirza Shuja Khan Shaivan, the incident of his son-in-law Naziruddin Shirani getting drowned in the Yanas river and that his daughter became widow at a young age, broke him.

His strained relations with his father also added to Akhtar's frustration. Shorish Kashmiri wrote that it was better not to see Akhtar. In his poetry he looks like a Greek God and in real life he is merely an 'echo of apology'.

If you come across him in real life and someone tells you that he is the great Akhtar Sheerani, you will feel cheated, said Shaukat Thanvi. Thanvi vouches for the fact that Shirani was never seen in 'Aalam-e-Hosh' [he was always drunk].

Akhtar was in Tonk, Rajasthan at the time of partition and was seriously ill. Rumours spread that he was killed along with his entire family while crossing the border. Jang published an article titled "Where is Akhtar Shirani?". Another paper published a letter of Dr Ahmar.

But as news reached Shirani, he said:

laao to qatl-naama meraa maiN bhii dekhuuN
kis kis kii mohar hai sar-e-mahzar lagii huii

Akhtar passed away in September in 1948. He was brought to hospital in an unconscious state. The photographs of Akhtar on his hospital bed were published in papers. Mukhtar Tonki writes in Aiwan-e-Urdu that stories were fabricated even after his death. It was said that his body was found on the street and taken to mortuary with nobody identifying it, that he committed suicide et al.

In 2004, weekly magazine 'Lahore' published letters to 'unravel' the truth about his mystery love and death. And later Takhliq also printed similar story. Munshi Abdul Baseer wrote the Nazm in which each stanza's letters alternately added up to 1948 and the corresponding Hijri year.

aye ishq kahiiN le chal is paap kii bastii
nafrat-gah-e-aalam se laanat-gah-e-hastii se
nafs parastoN se, is nafs parastii se
duur aur kahiiN le chal
aye ishq kahiin le chal....

The Nazm 'Jahaan Rehana rahtii thii..' is quite long as well. It starts with the following lines:

voh is vaadii kii shahzaadii thii aur shaahaana rahtii thii
kaNval ka phuul thii, sansaar se be-gaana rahtii thii
nazar se duur, misl-e-nikhat-e-mastaana rahtii thii
yahii vaadii hai voh hamdam jahaaN Rehaana rahtii thii...

The Nazm 'Salma'

bahaar-e-husn ka tuu Ghuncha-e-shaadaab hai Salma
tujhe fitrat ne apne dast-e-rangiiN se saNvaaraa hai
bihisht-e-rang-o-buu ka tuu saraapa ek nazaaraa hai
terii suurat saraasar paikar-e-maahtaab hai Salma
jism ek hujuum-e-resham-o-kamKhwaab hai Salma
shabistaan-e-javaanii ka tuu ek zinda sitaaraa hai tuu
is duniaa meN bahar-e-husn-o-fitrat ka kinaaraa hai tuu
is sansaar meN ek aasmaanii Khwaab hai Salma...

Daud Khan, who became famous as Akhtar Shirani, was born in 1905 in Tonk, Rajasthan and just two years after his father's death, the poet of romance also passed away in Lahore on September 9, 1948.

aye vaae Akhtar huaa ham se judaa ab=1367 H
lagaa haaye teer-e-qazaa kaa nishaana=1948 AD

You can read ghazals of Akhtar Shirani in Urdu, Hindi and Roman scripts here.

Killings, bloodshed across Muslim world: Who are the killers, Who are getting killed?

maiN yah kiske naam likhuuN jo alam guzar rahe haiN
mere shahar jal rahe haiN, mere log mar rahe haiN

koi aur to nahiiN hai pas-e-Khanjar-aazmaaii
hamiiN qatl ho rahe haiN, hamiiN qatl kar rahe haiN

[Translation: To whom shall I name these deaths, the burning of my cities, who is behind the scene responsible for our cries]

These are couplets of renowned Urdu poet Obaidullah Aleem's ghazal, which I've posted in Urdu, Hindi and Roman scripts Here.

The second photograph below is from Qahtaniya village west of Mosul in Iraq inhabited by Yazidis*, where a series of suicide bombings killed 400 persons this week.

Country, region, religion, sect, followers of different spiritual leaders, they are all baying for each other's blood. Is it not Iraqi blood? Today blasts and murders are happening from Syria to Indonesia. This is really mindless violence.

It is in this context that I have quoted the couplets here. The family of Obaidullah Aleem, a poet born in India, had migrated to Pakistan long back. It was the sectarian clashes in Pakistan that may have prompted him to write these lines.

Ironically, Aleem belonged to the Ahmadiyya sect, that believes in Mirza Ghulam Ahmad Qadiyani as prophet, though their split branch, Lahoris, believe him as a mujaddid or reviver, but both sects were declared un-Islamic in Pakistan.

I admit that I earlier I was also biased against the sect. 

But the kind of persecution they have braved, is also unparalleled. 

Recently I heard another ghazal of Aleem in his own voice. 

And the melancholy, the intense sadness, in his voice really touched me.

It is saddening how this intolerance has made a mess of so many countries in the entire Muslim world.

It's a long ghazal [read it in any of the three scripts Here] and many of its couplets are not found in the ghazal that starts with the couplet:

kuchh ishq thaa kuchh majbuuri so maiN ne jeevan vaar diyaa
maiN kaisaa zindaa aadmii thaa, ek shaKhs ne mujhko maar diyaa

maiN rota huuN aur aasmaan se taare girte dekhtaa huuN
un logoN par jin logoN ne mere logoN ko aazaar diyaa
When he read the second couplet, the lack of applause form audience was palpable. Unlike other Muslim sects, the beliefs of Ahmadiyyas or Qadiyanis do disturb mainstream Muslims as they don't believe in the finality of prophetood, which is the cornerstone of traditional Islamic belief.

Also, the apparently aggressive campaigns of Ahmadiyyas towards spreading their belief and getting new 'converts', perturb us [though followers of any new movement or sect are generally more zealous]. 

More so, because Ahmadiyyas have come from within Muslims, which make us a little more uncomfortable compared to those belonging to other religions. Beliefs are a personal matter. We have our beliefs, they have theirs. 

Difference in beliefs doesn't give the right to any society to deny the right to a peaceful and dignified existence to any group. Any such society will head towards doom. Iraq, Kurds, Sunnis, Shias, Yazidis, Ahmadiyyas, Deobandis Barelvis... I am flying off tangent!

But what we are witnessing in Iraq is a catastrophe of colossal propotions. I must admit that I always felt that the Ahmadiyya persecution was more a propaganda than reality but recent interaction with some people especially an acquaintance's personal account of the way they are treated, was disgusting.

In a government office where he was transferred and joined after posting, some persons mistook him as a Ahmadiyya though he is a Sunni Muslim. I don't want to reproduce what he told me, at this blog.There is an outstanding post at ATP about the Pakistan's dilemma regarding their only Nobel laureate, Dr Abdus Salam. Click to read.

[*The micro-minuscule Yazidi sect, the followers of whom speak Kurdish, was targeted. This semi-pagan sect has mysterious beliefs and pay obeisance to Sheikh Adi, the supreme creator and Malek Taus. They also show an unusual reverence for Shaitan.]

Photo: The US military helicopter blasts dust as it lands at the site of bombing

Confusion over couplets: Six famous Urdu ash'aar that are quoted in conversations

This is one of the most quoted line 'is ghar ko aag lag gayee ghar ke chiragh se'.

Few people have an idea about the first line. The couplet reads as:
1.
dil ke phaphole jal uThe siine ke daaGh se
is ghar ko aag lag gaii ghar ke chiraaGh se

In most of the collections and articles, this sher is not attributed to any poet. I have learnt that the poet was Pandit Mehtab Rai Tabaan. Does anybody think otherwise?

The problem is that with every passing year we are losing Urdu litterateurs who could settle such debates. The generation of poets, writers and literature-loving readers, who had thousands of 'ashaar' on the tip of their tongue, is nearly extinct now.

2. There is another line: lamhoN ne Khataa kii hai, sadiyoN ne sazaa paaee hai

I have been told the shaaer was Muzaffar Razmi and the full couplet is:

yeh jabr bhi dekha hai tariiKh ki aaNkhoN ne
lamhoN ne Khataa kii thii sadiyoN ne sazaa paaii

3. Regarding the lines, 'zamiin khaa gaii aasmaan kaise kaise'

It is Amir Minai's sher:

hue naamvar be-nishaan kaise kaise
zamiiN kha gaii aasmaaN kaise kaise

And I have seen people getting confused when referring this couplet as they often recall Aatish's sher and end up mixing them both to churn out a third version. Aatish's sher is here:
4.
zamiin-e-chaman gul khilaati hai kya kya
badalta hai rang aasmaaN kaise kaise

5. A person quotes a couplet and writes the name of poet as 'Shaad'. One person who uses the book feels it is Naresh Kumar Shaad and the other feels it is Shaad Azeemabadi. That's how mistakes crop up. I was going through KC Kanda's book. He has done great translation but the mistakes are aplenty. The couplet:

waqt kii sa'ii musalsal kaargar hotii gaii
zindagii lahza-ba-lahza mukhtasar hotii gaii

It is Asrar-ul-Haq Majaz' couplet and in the book it is attributed to someone else.

6. Like the following couplet:

nairangii-e-siaasat-e-dauraaN to dekhiye
manzil unheN milii jo shariik-e-safar na the

It is commonly known that the above mentioned sher belongs to Pakistan's famous poet Mohsin Bhopali. Anyway. That's all for those who are obsessed with Sher-o-Shairi. I have earlier written posts on Well-known Couplets, Little-known poets and plan to continue this series after a long gap. The earlier posts are here, here and here.