1
Sukoot-e shaam mitaao bahut andheraa hai
Sukhan ki shama jalaao bahut andheraa hai
Dayaar-e ghum mein dil-e beqaraar chhoot gaya
Sambhal ke dhoondne jaao bahut andheraa hai
Ye raat wo hai ke soojhe jahaan na haath ko haath
Khayaalo door na jaao bahut andheraa hai
Laton ko chehre pe daale wo so rahaa hai kaheen
Zayaa-i rukh ko churaao bahut andheraa hai
Shab-e siyaah mein gum ho gaee hai raah-e hayaat
Qadam sambhal ke uthhaao bahut andheraa hai
Guzishta ‘ahd ki yaadon ko phir karo taaza
Bujhe chiraagh jalaao bahut andheraa hai
Thee ek uchti hui neend zindagi us ki
Firaq ko na jagaao bahut andheraa hai
1
Let not the quiet of dusk grow, it’s too dark
Let the flames of words glow, it’s too dark
Left behind in pain’s country, my impatient heart
Be careful when you trace tomorrow, it’s too dark
Such a dark night! A hand cannot see a hand
Don’t go too far, dear thoughts; don’t go, it’s too dark
With her tresses spread around, she lies asleep
Steal the flame of a face in glow, it’s too dark
It’s a dark night, I cannot find life’s trail
Move with care when you wish to go, it’s too dark
Light up the slumbering memories of past now
Bring the silent lamps back to glow, it’s too dark
His life was a slumber; he slumbered only in parts
Let Firaq be asleep; let him be so, it’s too dark
2
Raat bhi neend bhi kahaani bhi
Hai kyaa cheez hai jawaani bhi
Ek paigham-e zindagaani bhi
Aashiqi marg-e naagahaani bhi
Is adaa ka teri jawaab naheen
Mehrabaani bhi sargaraani bhi
Dil ko apne bhi gham the dunya mein
Kuchh balaaein theen aasmaani bhi
Dil ko sholon se karti hai sairaab
Zindagi aag bhi hai paani bhi
Ishq-e naakaam ki hai parchhaaeen
Shaadmaani bhi kaamraani bhi
Khalq kyaa kyaa mujhe naheen kehtee
kuchh sunoon main teri zabaani bhi
Dil-e badnaam tere baare mein
Log kahte hain ek kahaani bhi
Zindagi ain deed-e yaar Firaq
Zindagi hijr ki kahaani bhi
2
A night, slumber, a tale too
Pure bliss, bubbly life’s ale too
Love, the message of life but
It’s a sudden death’s wail too
Just no match to ways of love
A kind and unkind veil too
A heart and the pain of the heart
Curse of divine scale too
A heart, wet with blazing flames
Life is water, fire’s trail too
Shadows of a love that failed
A pleasure, a victory’s trail too
The world treasures my tale now
Now, let me hear its tale too
For my ill-reputed heart
The world sure has a tale too
Life, a look of love, Firaq
But a parting’s sad tale too
PROGRESSIVE POETICS
The Progressive Writers Movement that brought together a group of poets in the 1930s marked a clear rejection of romantic ideals in poetry and poetics. Contemporary Indian and world events provided the progressive poets their immediate context. It lay in the general decadence of the socio-political condition of India and the world during the 1930s, India’s struggle for independence, the dawn of a new India following its ‘tryst with destiny’, and the prospects of India emerging as a nation state with adequate space for social, economic and political justice. In literature, it chronicled the major marks of a historical period in turmoil and a political order in disarray. The movement sought its inspiration from the Soviet writers and their ways of negotiating with contemporary crisis. The philosophers of the movement made a radical statement in their manifesto against the prevailing decadence in life and literature. They gave a clarion call for reason against sentimentality, realism against romance, and freedom against subjugation. At the social level, they rejected the feudal order and decadent morality; at the political level, they sought recourse to leftist ideology; and in the domain of literature, they made an organized effort to refute and resist the centuries-old romantic-spiritualist tradition, which they considered to be a way of escaping the stark realities of contemporary life. Aiming at socio-political rejuvenation, they called for dismantling all retrograde institutions surviving under the unchallenged authority of tradition and coercive power. Being anti-imperialist in nature, they fostered the spirit of decolonization, called for India’s independence, and brought people face-to-face with the general human condition characterized by insecurity, oppression, loss and despair at all levels. Thus, the Progressive poetics disengaged from clichés of all sorts and romantic exuberance of all kinds. Charged with Marxist ideology, it resisted social, political, cultural and literary establishments and stereotypes. With a clear commitment to a certain kind of poetry, the Progressive poets and writers sought their inspiration from diverse quarters—indigenous and foreign, as also literary and extra-literary. Even though they firmly believed in their sacrosanct manifesto, some of them saw it failing in the face of art. The movement, however, continued propagating the gospel of art for life’s sake, parallel to another group of poets who came together under the banner of Halqa-i Arbab-e Zauq, the circle of connoisseurs, who advocated the idea of art for art’s sake.
25
Asrarul Haq Majaz
Asrarul Haq Majaz (1909–1955) was born in Rudauli, a qasba in Uttar Pradesh. After his early education at home, he moved to Lucknow, then Agra for further education, and finally to Aligarh from where he got his bachelor’s degree. It was during his stay at Aligarh that the Progressive Writers Movement had started taking root in the imagination of the socially conscious poets and writers. Impressed by the aims of this Movement, he joined it with enthusiasm. He also wrote the taraana, the anthem, for Aligarh Muslim University which is sung there with great fervour. Later, he worked for the All India Radio, Delhi; the Ministry of Information in Maharashtra, Bombay; Harding Public Library, Delhi; and Naya Adab, Lucknow. A depressed alcoholic, Majaz suffered a mental breakdown and died in a tavern in Lucknow, the city whose name he had appended with his own to be called Majaz Lucknowi.
Majaz was deeply moved by the decadent socio-political order of his times. He thought that the Progressive Writers Movement would provide a panacea, but realized later that literature could not survive with slogans or lofty ideals alone; it had to be artistically mature. He then came to address more perennial issues in his works than topical ones. He reflected upon universal human sentiments, combined the personal with the social, and the social with the political, in an artful manner to make his poetry and prose appealing and lasting. Majaz also wrote romantic poems. Although he had begun traditionally—by composing ghazals, he moved on to nazm, or the regular poem, later, which gave him greater scope to engage with the issues of contemporary relevance and personal dilemmas. His works are collected in Aahang, Shab-e Taab, and Saaz-e Nau, an anthology of stories.
1
Barbaad-e tamanna pe ataab aur ziyaada
Haan meri mohabbat ka jawaab aur ziyaada
Roein na abhi ahl-e nazar haal pe mere
Hona hai abhi mujh ko kharaab aur ziyaada
Aawaara-o majnoon pe hi mauqoof nahi kuchh
Milne hain abhi mujh ko khitaab aur ziyaada
Uthhenge abhi aur bhi toofaan mere dil se
Dekhunga abhi ishq ke khwaab aur ziyaada
Tapkega lahu aur mere dida-i tar se
Dhadkega dil-khaana kharaab aur ziyaada
Hogi meri baton se unhein aur bhi hairat
Aaiga unhe
in mujh se hijaab aur ziyaada
Ai mutrib-e bebaak koee aur bhi naghma
Ai Saqi-i fayyaz sharaab aur ziyaada
1
Let the lovesick be distressed, a little more
Yes, more returns for my love, a little more
Let not the wise ones shed tears on me
I am destined to be ruined, a little more
Not only lovesick shall I be called
I shall get other catcalls, a little more
Many more tumults shall rise from my heart
I shall dream of tumultuous love, a little more
Some more blood shall then drop from my eyes
My spoilt heart shall then beat, a little more
She would be much more surprised at my words
She would then grow shy with me, a little more
Fearless singer! Sing me another song
Generous Saqi! Pour me a drink, a little more
2
Jigar aur dil ko bachaanaa bhi hai
Nazar aap hi se milaanaa bhi hai
Muhabbat ka har bhed paanaa bhi hai
Magar apna daaman bachaanaa bhi hai
Jo dil tere gham ka nishaanaa bhi hai
Qateel-e jafaa-i zamaanaa bhi hai
Ye bijli chamakti hai kyun dam ba dam
Chaman mein koee aashiyaanaa bhi hai
Khirad ki ataa‘at zuroori sahi
Yehi to junoon ka zamaanaa bhi hai
Na duniya, na ‘uqba kahaan jaaeeye
Kaheen ahl-e dil ka thhikaanaa bhi hai
Mujhe aaj sahil pe rone bhi do
Ke toofaan main muskuraanaa bhi hai
Zamaane se aage to badhiye Majaz
Zamaane ko aage badhaanaa bhi hai
2
My heart, my soul, I must also save
But our two glances must also meet
Love’s each secret, I must also get
My esteem too, I must also keep
My heart, the victim of all the pains
Time’s poor victim, it must also be
Why this lightning? So now and then
Isn’t there a nest? There must also be
The call of reason must get a heed
But the wild times must also live
Not here, not hereafter—where then?
A lovers’ home, there must also be
Let me shed tears on this riverbank
But in the tides’ grip, I must also be
Go ahead of the times, Majaz, go
The world and the time must also move
26
Faiz Ahmad Faiz
Faiz Ahmad Faiz (1911–1984), poet, academic, army personnel, journalist and political activist, was born in Sialkot and educated in Lahore. After learning his Urdu and Persian, he studied English and Arabic for his master’s degree. He started his career as a lecturer in English but relinquished his job during World War II to join the British Indian Army. He attained the rank of Lt Colonel and received an MBE for his war-time services. After the Partition of India, he worked as editor of the daily, The Pakistan Times and the weekly, Lail-o Nahaar. He was also imprisoned in connection with the Rawalpindi Conspiracy Case. Later, he spent several years in Lebanon editing Lotus, an international leftist magazine. He returned to Pakistan at the fag end of his career in 1984, and died the same year in Lahore.
A torchbearer of the Progressive Writers Movement and a committed Marxist, Faiz was one of the few poets to strike a delicate balance between arts and ideas and emerge as an icon. He was a votary of free expression, democratic values and a world order based on socio-political justice. The stages of his development show how his craft matured—from romanticism to social realism, and then to a deeper awareness of the larger human predicament. Faiz exploited the traditional symbols of Persian and Urdu poetry to add new implications to them and broaden the frontiers of meaning. He blended tradition with modernity and evolved a rare sense of the musical, which distinguished his poetry and attracted a huge mass of readers and musicians to his works. Faiz has remained a potent influence on his contemporaries and on younger generations. He received many awards, including the Lenin Peace Prize, awarded by the Soviet government. Collections of his poetry include Naqsh-e Faryaadi, Dast-e Sabaa, Zindaan Namah, Dast-e Tah-e Sang, Sar-e Wad-i Seena, Mere Dil Mere Musaafir and Saare Sukhan Hamaare. Faiz is the most frequently translated of the Urdu poets in English, apart from many other languages from all over the world.
1
Aai kuchh abr kuchh sharaab aai
Us ke baad aai jo ‘azaab aai
Baam-e meena se aaftaab utre
Dast-e Saqi mein maahtaab aai
Har rag-e khoon mein phir charaghaan ho
Saamne phir wo benaqaab aai
Kar raha tha gham-e jahaan ka hisaab
Aaj tum yaad behisaab aai
Na gaee teri gham ki sardaari
Dil mein yoon roz inquilaab aai
Is tarah apni khaamshi goonji
Goya har samt se jawaab aai
Faiz thee raah sar ba sar manzil
Hum jahaan pahunche kaamyaab aai
1
Let some clouds gather, let some wine flow
Then come what may when I’m all aglow
Let the sun descend the wine vessel
On Saqi’s palm, let the moonshine glow
Let each vein aglow with lamplight
Let the lover’s face without a veil show
I sat to count all life’s loss and gain
Your memories came, all in a row
Though many upheavals I would know
My silence resounded, as it did
Each direction sent back an echo
Faiz! My path is surely my goal
I meet success wherever I go
2
Bedum hue beemaar dawaa kyun naheen dete
Tum achhe maseehaa ho shafaa kyun naheen dete
Dard-e shab-e hijraan ki jazaa kyun naheen dete
Khoon-e dil-e wahshi ka silaa kyun naheen dete
Mit jaaegi makhlooq to insaaf karoge
Munsif ho to ab hashr uthhaa kyun naheen dete
Haan nukta waro laao lab-o dil ki gawaahee
Haan naghma garo, saaz-e sadaa kyun naheen dete
Paimaan-e junoon haathon ko sharmaaiga kab tak
Dil walo garebaan ka pataa kyun naheen dete
Barbaad-i ye dil jabr naheen, Faiz kisee kaa
Wo dushman-e jaan hai to bhulaa kyun naheen dete
2
The sick are miserable, why don’t you give them a cure
You are a good messiah, why don’t you give them a cure?
For the sad nights of parting, why don’t you give a reward?
For the slaughter of wild hearts, why don’t you bring a gift?
When will you give verdict? After the living will perish?
If a real judge, why don’t you pronounce a doomsday?
Yes, my friends, let our lips and hearts stand witness
Yes, my music makers, why don’t you sing to a fine tune
How long would the hands be ashamed for not meeting their vows
Brave hearts, why don’t you ask to catch them by their collars?
Faiz, why should anyone be wrecked and ruined in love?
If that’s an unkind love, why don’t you simply abjure?
27
Moin Ahsan Jazbi
Moin Ahsan Jazbi (1912–2005) was born in Mubarakpur, a qasba in Azamgarh, Uttar Pradesh. He received his education in several places that include Jhansi, Lucknow, Agra, Delhi and Aligarh. He got his MA and PhD degrees from Aligarh Muslim University. He began his career as an assistant editor of Ajkal (Delhi) but resigned later to take up a faculty position at Aligarh Muslim University, where he stayed all through.
Like other poets of his time, Jazbi too was influenced by the Progressive Writers Movement. He wrote poems on the common themes of suffering that had engaged the attention of every writer during that time. Realizing the limitation
s of such writing, he saved his poetry from turning propagandist, as he came to believe that poetry had to be written with a greater sense of discrimination, and not merely to raise an issue. His revised the traditional modes of thought and expression in his ghazals to make way for the expression of a new consciousness in a new language. Farozaan and Sukhan Mukhtasar are his two collections of poems. These are put together in Kulliyaat-e Jazbi.
1
Marne ki duaa‘ein kyun maangoon, jine ki tamannaa kaun kare
Ye dunya ho yaa wo dunya, ab khwaahish-e dunyaa kaun kare
Jab kashti saabit-o-saalim thee, saahil ki tamannaa kis ko thee
Ab aisi shikasta kashti per saahil ki tamanna kaun kare
Jo aag lagaaee thee tum ne us ko to bujhaaya ashkon nein
Jo ashkon ne bhadkaayi hai us aag ko thandaa kaun kare
Dunya ne hamein chhodaa Jazbi, hum chhod na dein kyun dunya ko
Dunya ko samajh kar baithhe hain, ab dunya dunyaa kaun kare
1
Why should I pray for death, why should I worry for life?
Be it this or that world, why should I care for any?
Who wished to reach the shore, when the boat was all intact?
With a shattered boat now, why should I care for the shore?
The fire you started once, tears have put that fire out
But the fire raised by tears, who would put that fire out?
The world deserted me, Jazbi, why shouldn’t I desert the world?