Jagannath Azad's verse 'Bharat ke MusalmaaN'

In the aftermath of partition, when Muslims who had remained in India were feeling increasingly insecure, Urdu poet Jagannath Azad (son of renowned poet Tilok Chand Mahroom) had written this legendary Nazm.

In those turbulent days, Azad's voice of love and sanity had caught everybody's attention. He had seen the horrors of partition but this had strengthened his belief in humanity even more. Read this Nazm:

Bharat ke MusalmaaN

is daur meN tuu kyoN hai hiraasaaN aur pareshaaN
kya baat hai kyoN hai mutazalzal tera iimaN
daanishkada-e-dahar ki aye shama-e-farozaaN
Aye matla'-e-teziib ke khurshiid-e-darakhshaaN
Bharat ke MusalmaN

bharat ka farzand hai begaana nahiiN hai
yeh des tera ghar hai tuu is ghar ka makiiN hai
taabinda tere nuur se is ghar kii jabiiN hai
kis vaste afsurda-o-dilgiir-o-haziiN hai
Bharat ke MusalmaN

meraa hi nahiiN hai yeh gulistaan hai teraa bhi
har saro gul-o-lala-o-riihaaN hai teraa bhi
is Khhak ka har zarra-e-tabaaN hai teraa bhi
is bahar ka har gauhar-e-darakhshaan hai teraa bhi
daaman meN uTha le ye sabhi gauhar-e-darakhshaan
Bharat ke MusalmaN

mahaul ho to taza hawa tujh ko gavaara
darkaar hai tahziib ko phir teraa sahaara
kar aaj naye rang se dunia ka nazaara
chamkega phir ek baar tere bakht ka taara
ho jayegi taariikii-e-mahaul gurezaaN
Bharat ke musalmaN

gulzaar-e-tamanna ka nikharna bhi yahiin hai
daman-e-gul-e-maqsuud se bharna bhi yahiin hai
har mushkil-o-aasaan se guzarna bhi yahiin hai
jiina bhi yahiin hai marnaa bhi yahiin hai
kyoN manzil se bhatak jaaye woh insaaN
Bharat ke musalmaN......

Its a long poem but I reproduced some stanzas to pay
homage to a great poet. Azad died this month two years ago
after battling with cancer for long. He was 86.

Brijnarayan Chakbast's classic Urdu ghazal 'Zindagi kya hai..'

As a child some of the couplets I was too familiar with because I had heard elders recite them regularly were of Pt Brijanaryan Chakbast, whose name was taken very respectfully in Urdu-speaking houses.

He belonged to a Kashmiri Brahmin family that had settled in Faizabad. He spent most of his life in Lucknow, where he had a thriving practice of law. He was associated with Home Rule movement. Chakbast lays emphasis on character building.

A contemporary of great poet Allama Iqbal, Chakbast is one of the most important poets on the classical Urdu literary firmament. The following ghazal is quite long and I am reproducing a few couplets:

dard-e-dil paas-e-wafa jazba-e-iimaaN honaa
hai yahi aadmiyat aur yahii insaaN honaa

zindgi kyaa hai, anaasir meN zahuur-e-tartiib
mau kyaa hai, inhiiN ijzaa ka pariishaan honaa

sar meN saudaa na rahaa paaoN meN beRi na rahii
merii taqdiir meN thaa be-sar-o-saamaaN honaa

safha-e-dahar meN meher-e-yad-e-qudrat samjho
phool ka Khaak ke tuude se numaayaN honaa

kal bhii woh kal hai jo hai farda-e-qayaamat zaahid
aur phir uske liye aaj pareshaaN honaa

gul ko paamaal na kar laa'l-o-gohar ke maalik
hai ise turra-e-dastaar-e-ghariibaN honaa

hai meraa zabt-e-junuuN josh-e-junuuN se baRh kar
nang hai mere liye chaak girebaaN honaa

The ghazal in Urdu script is available at www.urduindia.wordpress.com
Another ghazal:

bahaar aaii taraqqi par hai sauda dam-ba-dam meraa
baRhaa jaata hai Khud zanjiir kii jaanib qadam meraa

likaa ye daavar-e-mahshar ne merii fard-e-asiyaaN par
ye woh banda hai jispe naaz kartaa hai karam meraa

rahii hai ek tark-e-aarzuu ki aarzuu baaqi
isii par Khatm hai afsaana-e-dard-o-alam meraa

Monk starves to death: Is it suicide?

An elderly Jain monk killed himself of starvation in Bhind in Central India and thousands gathered from cities nearby and other states to attend the 'great event'.

After he died, the body was taken around in a decorated vehicle around the town and it was near-celebration. The monk Kshamasgar had stopped taking food earlier and then quit water also.

As news spread, the people kept pouring in. Had it been an ordinary person sitting on hunger strike police would have taken him away, booked and forced him to eat because it is almost a suicide.

However, the debate over this Jain tradition 'santhara' continues. It is also known as Sallekhana. Often elderly females who become 'useless' to family are urged by family members to go for that--the Tehelka had done a story on that in extreme detail.

However, the tradition continues for thousands of years in India. Jains being the rich merchants and due to their clout in media and politics no body speaks on this practice. The Women Commissions often speak on the issue when females do it or girls are turned Jain sadhvis at the age of 8 or 10 and have to live a full life of asceticism.

But none dares speak. After VHP is dominated by Jains. While in most communities and small sects, at least a couple of voices of dissent are heard about practices, not a single voice from within Jains is heard on the issue.

While Hinduism got rid of Sati and even worshipping in existing Sati temples is now made a crime, the Jain community continues such practices and there is support for Sallekhana among the adherents

Indian government, media's obsession with America, Britan: World has 218 more countries other than US and UK

Israel attacked Palestinian Prime Minister's office and damaged it. The airstrikes are getting fiernce. In Gaza buildings, power stations, bridges were destroyed.

Strangely, this action which Israel calls 'collective punishment' has failed to attract our attention in India.

Indian government and media seem detached. What I am worried is that newspapers are not just concerned, they may take sides, but they should report.

Its a big humanitarian crisis for Palestinians. Unfortunately in India, we have seen how during the cold war everything wrong was attributed to CIA and US while there could be nothing wrong about Russia [USSR] then.

In those days, the journalists and writers who went to Russia and returned would write romantic details about the country like a girl who held spade or worked in factory and in the evening went for a date and during the night read literature--epitome of civilised society.

Similarly, once Israel was eternal enemy for us. So much that we didn't play sports with them. Remember how it was only after Rajiv Gandhi's intervention that we could play Israel in the Davis Cup. As long as Yasser Arafat was there he bonhomie remained though since Narsimha Rao's times we got to see Palestine getting off our national consciousness.

Now that everybody in India's middle and upper-middle class have found their Eldorado in US and software revolution has eclipsed all, politics, morality, international affairs, we give a damn to all. We just don't care what happens in the world except US and to an extent UK.

Just to remind that there are 220 countries in this word!

Na kisii ke dil ke nuur huuN...Not Bahadur Shah Zafar's ghazal

It is surprising how the ghazal....na kisii ki aaNkh ka nuur huun.....is often mentioned as Bahadur Shah Zafar's ghazal. I think it is because the meloncholic mood of this ghazal is similar to a popular ghazal by Zafar and it does reflect the similar pain which poet-King who was exiled might have undergone.

Also, various versions of these ghazals got in circulation. Probably for their convenience some singers even mixed these ghazals and several forms of this ghazal with changes in order and sequence of words came in circulation.

Muztar Khairabadi (1865-1927) was born in Khairabad in 1965. His mother Saeedunnisaa was a poet who gave him initial 'islaah'. Interestingly Muztar took 'islaah' from Amir Meenai but still chose the style of Dagh Dehlvi. He spent his life in Tonk where he was sessions judge.

He is considered a giant among Urdu poets. His son Jaan Nisaar Akhtar and grandson Javed carry the legacy. Scores of his couplets are spread across Urdu world and used in daily conversation.

Muztar ki qaadirul kalaami ka aalam tha ki muqaddame ka faisal filbadih manzuum sunaa dete the ie entire verdict of case in poetry, extempore. It is well-known that once Dagh had mistakenly recited Muztar's ghazal that was in the same style at a mushaira because he probably got confused.

The ghazal of Muztar Khairabadi:

na kisii ki aaNkh ka nuur hai, na kisii ke dil ka qaraar huuN
jo kisii ke kaam na aa sake maiN woh musht-e-ghubaar huuN

meraa rang ruup bigaR gayaa mera baKht mujhse bichhaR gayaa
jo chaman KhizaaN se ujaR gayaa maiN usii kii fasl-e-bahaar huuN

pa'i fatiha koii aaye kyuun, koi chaar phuul chaRhaaye kyuuN
koi shamaa la ke jalaaye kyuuN, ki maiN bekasii ka mazaar huuN

na maiN muztar unka habiib huuN, na maiN muztar unka raqiib huun
jo palaT gayaa woh nasiib huun, jo ujaR gayaa woh dayaar huuN

Muztar Khairabadi

Iroically even the maqtaa has been tampered with and people put Zafar after playing with it. Here I have posted only four couplets. For reading complete ghazal in Urdu script. Click at www.urduindia.wordpress.com