The poetry of this age, characterized by a move towards the age of enlightenment, expressed a sense of acute emotional and physical dislocations which was borne by the poets in their bid to reconcile with their times. Their discontent was born out of the conditions that contemporary history brought forth in terms of conflicts, invasions, battles and acquisition of political power ever since the death of Aurangzeb in 1707. The poets lamented in metaphoric and symbolic ways the fallout of what in physical terms may be identified as the invasion of Nadir Shah (1738–39), the seven expeditions of Ahmad Shah Abdali (1748–67), the Maratha expansionist activities following the death of Aurangzeb in 1707, the arrival of Warren Hastings as the first Governor-General of India (1773), and the attack by Rohilla chieftain Ghulam Qadir (1788), all of which have stayed on as the terms of reference of eighteenth-century India.
4
Mirza Mohammad Rafi Sauda
Mirza Mohammad Rafi Sauda (1713?–1781), son of an aristocrat father who had migrated from Kabul to India for trade, was born in Delhi. He was well provided for to meet the needs of a decent life and lived in comfort. Not attracted by the mercantile interests of his family, Sauda nursed his passion as a poet under the patronage of poet Shah Hatim. Although he received patronage at the Mughal court, he took umbrage against the royal whims. He chose to leave Delhi when the city fell prey to Maratha attacks after the death of Aurangzeb and went to several places in Uttar Pradesh. At the ripe age of sixty, he arrived in Lucknow where Nawab Asifuddaulah patronized and rewarded him with an annual stipend of rupees six thousand.
Sauda wrote in Persian before coming to Urdu and expressed his maturity of thought and linguistic finesse in both languages. John Borthwick Gilchrist (1759–1841), the famous linguist and Indologist, acknowledged rather profusely that he learnt his Urdu from Sauda’s divaan. The Persian literary tradition helped him acquire a tone and tenor which he adopted to his benefit for his poetry in Urdu. He looked at life sportingly, enjoyed his vigour and optimism and relished the pleasures of life in full measure. His ghazals hold close to the tone and tenor of panegyric which he brought to its height. Marked for his vitality of imagination, precise turns of phrases and compact expressions, he practised various forms of poetry like panegyric, satire and elegy, and emerged as one of the canonical poets in Urdu. His works have been put together in several divaans and kulliyaat.
1
Naseem hai tere kuche main aur sabaa bhi hai
Hamaari khaak se tuk dekh kuchh rahaa bhi hai
Tera ghuroor mera ijz taa kuja zaalim
Har ek baat ki aakhir kuchh intihaa bhi hai
Jale hai shamma se parwaana aur main tujh se
Kaheen hai mehr bhi jag mein kaheen wafaa bhi hai
Khayaal apne mein go hoon taraana sanjaan mast
Karaahne ke dilon ko kabhi sunaa bhi hai
Zabaan-e shikwa siwaa ab zamaana mein haihaat
Koee kiso se baham deegar aashnaa bhi hai
Sitam rawaa hai aseeron pe is qadar sayyaad
Chaman chaman kaheen bulbul ki ab nawaa bhi hai
Sambhal ke rakhyo qadam dasht-e khaar mein majnoon
Ke is nawaah mein Sauda barahna paa bhi hai
1
A fine breeze blows there, gentle draughts glide too
But does your lane bear my ashes’ pride too?
How long your pride, how long my modesty!
Isn’t there, my love, an end to your pride too?
The flame burns the moth; I burn in your flame
Why doesn’t the world look at the lover’s side too?
Engrossed in my thoughts, I sing my own song
Did you ever hear how my heart cried too?
Why complain, why bother, it’s all long gone
Is there someone to get in love’s stride too?
Why this caging of free birds, O hunter!
Can’t you hear the bulbul’s note, can that hide too?
Take care, wild lover, in this desert of thorns
Sauda, barefoot stands by the wayside too
2
Jo guzri mujh pe mat us se kaho hua so hua
Balaa kashaan-e-mohabbat pe jo hua so hua
Mubaada ho koee zaalim tera garebaan geer
Mere lahoo ko to daaman se dho hua so hua
Pahunch chukaa hai sir-e zakhm dil talak yaaro
Koee siyo koee maraham dharo hua so hua
Kahe hai sun ke meri sarguzasht wo berahm
Ye kaun zikr hai jaane bhi do hua so hua
Khuda ke waaste aa darguzar gunah se mere
Na hoga phir kabho ai tund khoo hua so hua
Ye kaun haal hai ahvaal-e dil pe ai aankho
Na phoot phoot ke itnaa baho hua so hua
Diyaa use dil-o deen ab ye jaan hai Sauda
Phir aage dekhiye jo ho so ho, hua so hua
2
Don’t mention what befell me; whatever happened, happened
To the love-stricken one; whatever happened, happened
Lest a tyrant hold you guilty for not a fault, my friend
Just wash my blood from your garb; whatever happened, happened
My wound has found a way, has reached the heart, my friends, at last
Sew up the wound, put a balm; whatever happened, happened
That heartless one tells me on hearing my tale of woe
What a story to bring up now; whatever happened, happened
For God’s sake, just pardon me my sins, O fretful one!
It won’t ever happen again; whatever happened, happened
What is this, why do you cry on the demise of dear heart
Don’t shed tears; whatever happened, happened
I gave my heart and faith to her, now I give my life Sauda
Just see what happens now; forget whatever happened, happened
5
Siraj Aurangabadi
Siraj Aurangabadi (1715-1763) is the popular name of Syed Sirajuddin. He was born in Aurangabad, Maharashtra, a place named after the Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb. An embodiment of uncontrollable passion and impatience with the world around him from the very early years of his life, Siraj turned into a dervish. He abandoned home, wandered in the wilderness, wrote verse, and had to be brought back home in a tattered condition. He had to be kept under strict watch for several years until he achieved a semblance of normalcy and transformed into a Sufi, acquiring a high status in the realm of mysticism.
In the early years, Siraj, the impetuous soul, began by writing verse in Persian during his frequent bouts of deviation from the normal ways of life. He also wrote in Urdu with equal felicity. He composed his verse feverishly and lost much of it, as one overpowered by the raptures of imagination would often do. He would soon complete his divaan of over five thousand shers. Apart from the ghazal, Siraj also practised other forms of poetry, including the long narrative forms like mathnawi and qasida. After the decline of the Deccan kingdoms, when Aurangabad became the literary centre, Siraj emerged as a major link between the old and the new styles of the Deccan school of poetry. Divine love is the central concern of his poetry and he spent all his life trying to unravel the mysteries of divinity in direct and metaphorical terms. His divaan represents his metaphysical concerns and mystical preoccupations that arose from his awareness of the physical and the transcendental, the secular and the religious. His poetry is a way of primeval engagement with the self, executed with rare lyric grace.
1
Tumhaari zulf ka har taar Mohan
Hua mere gale ka haar Mohan
Tasawwur kar tera husn-e araq naak
Meri aankhein hain gauhar baar Mohan
Dam-e aakhir talak hoon kaafir-e ishq
Hua taar-e nafas zunnaar Mohan
Birah ka jaan kundan hai nimat sakht
Dikha us waqt per deedaar Mohan
Hamaare mushaf-e dil ki qasam kha
Kiyaa hai zulm ka inkaar Mohan
Gul-e aariz koon tere yaad kar kar
Hua hai dil mera gulzaar Mohan
Siraj a
atish mein hai tere firaaqon
Bujha sa mehr seen ek baar Mohan
1
Of your lock, each hair, O Mohan
Like a garland, I wear, O Mohan
I think of your fluid beauty
Teardrops roll to sear, O Mohan
Till my end, I’m a lover, no less
My breath a Brahmin’s thread-wear, O Mohan
Parting is pure gold, hard to grip
Just come, I’m in despair, O Mohan
I swear by the book of my heart
When worries ensnare, O Mohan
Remembering your blossom-cheeks
My heart sees spring fair, O Mohan
Siraj is all aflame in parting
Be kind, hear his prayer, O Mohan
2
Jaan-o dil seen main giraftaar hoon kin ka un ka
Banda-i-be zar-o deenaar hoon kin ka un ka
Sabr ke bagh ke mandwe se jhadaa jiun phool
Ab to laachaar gale haar hoon kin ka un ka
Hauz-e kausar ki naheen chaah zakhandaan ki qasam
Tashna-i sharbat-e deedaar hoon kin ka un ka
Lab-o rukhsaar ke gul qand seen laazim hai ilaaj
Dil ke aazaar mein beemaar hoon kin ka un ka
Muudatein huin ke hua khaana-i zanjeer kharaab
Basta-i zulf-e girah daar hoon kin ka un ka
Tashna-i-marg koon hai aab-e suraahi dam-e tegh
Bismil-e abru-i khamdaar hoon kin ka un ka
Naahaq us sang dilee mein mujhe dete hain shikast
Main toh aaeena-i sarkaar hoon kin ka un ka
Gulshan-e wasl main rahtaa hoon ghazal khwan-e firaaq
Andaleeb-e gul-e rukhsaar hoon kin ka un ka
Main kahaa rahm patangon pe kar ai jaan-e Siraj
Tab kaha shamm-e shab-e taar hoon kin ka un ka
2
I’m a prisoner by heart and soul—of whom? Only him
A worthless being of no riches—of whom? Only him
Like a flower fallen from the bower of patience
Now I’m a helpless garland—for whom? Only him
I don’t wish for the river of paradise, I swear
I only crave for a kind look—of whom? Only him
Only a fare of a fair face may bring me cure
I’m sick of heart, O my heart—for whom? Only him
Ages have gone by since the house of chains was ruined
I’m chained to the locks of love—of whom? Only him
For one close to death, a wine drop is a dagger’s slash
I’m slain by the eyebrows—of whom? Only him
What’s defeat, I don’t compete with the hard-hearted
I’m only the mirror of love—of whom? Only him
In the grove of union, I sing a dirge of our parting
I’m a bird of the blossom-cheeks—of whom? Only him
I said, be kind to the helpless moths, O Siraj
Then said: I’m a lamp in night’s gloom—of whom? Only him
6
Khwaja Mir Dard
Khwaja Mir Dard (1721–1785), a descendant of respected Sufi migrants from Bukhara to India, was born in Delhi where he spent all his life, despite the invasions of Nadir Shah and Ahmed Shah Abdali, as also the Maratha conquest of north-west India. Keenly interested in music, both vocal and instrumental, he mastered his art to perfection and also hosted soirees of music. As a Sufi, he was respected equally by the royalty and the nobility, but bothered little about their praise and plaudits. This Sufi poet and theologian of eighteenth-century Delhi is an important representative of the Naqshbandi-Mujaddidi lineage of Sufism. He also became the leader and theoretician of the Muhammadi path and fashioned himself in the image of the Prophet Muhammad, appointed by God as His messenger on the earth.
Dard had mastery over the Arabic, Persian and Urdu languages. His close reading of the Holy Qur’an, Traditions of the Prophet, jurisprudence, and religious literature defined the nature of his poetry. His expertise in music further defined his assured tone and tenor in poetic expression. Effortless in his expression and direct in his addresses, he emerged as a renowned mystic poet, both in Persian and Urdu. He is, by turn, an impassioned advocate for poetry and humble apologist for art. He considered poetry as a gift among the many other gifts of God to mankind. Poetry, to him, was an inspired speech addressed both to the human and the divine. He differentiated between two types of speech, or kalaam: one of them being internal, or nafsi, and the other being verbal, or lafzi. He believed that a poet negotiates between two types of speech: the external, or zaahiri; and internal, or baatini. This reflection on language, speech and expression underlines the modes of Dard’s poetic apprehension and expression. He has to his credit a collection of Urdu ghazals, a Persian divaan, a prose discourse called Ilm-ul Kitaab, a collection of mystical sayings called Chahaar Risaala, and a book on the Muhammadi path of Sufism.
1
Tohmatein chand apne zimme dhar chale
Jis liye aai the so ham kar chale
Zindagi hai ya koee toofan hai
Hum to is jeene ke haathon mar chale
Kya hamein kaam in gulon se ai sabaa
Aik dum aai idhar, oodhar chale
Dosto dekha tamaasha yaan ka sab
Tum raho khush hum to apne ghar chale
Shamma ki maanind hum is bazm mein
Chashm-e tar aai the, daaman tar chale
Dhoondte hain aap se us ko pare
Sheikh sahib chhod ghar, baahar chale
Hum na jaane paai baahar aap se
Wo hi aage aa gaya jeedhar chale
Hum jahaan mein aai the tanhaa wale
Saaqiyaa yaan lag rahaa hai chal chalaao
Jab talak bus chal sake saaghar chale
Dard kuchh maloom hai ye log sub
Kis taraf se aai the keedhar chale
1
I put on myself many a blame, before I left
I only did for what I came, before I left
Is this a life, or a rough storm I suffer?
In life’s term, I was life’s claim, before I left
Gentle breeze! What’s my business with blossoms?
I left in a flash, as I came, before I left
I watched all the games of this place, dear friends
Let me bless you all the same, before I left
I lived here like a lamp, as long as I lived
With tears I came but earned shame, before I left
Poor priest looks for him beyond himself
He left his home for a new aim, before I left
I couldn’t ever go beyond you, but only you
Crossed my path only to claim, before I left
I had come to this world alone, nothing in hand
I carried the world, all the same, before I left
Saqi! This is the time to leave, hurry up please
Fill my cup, let me drink, be aflame, before I left
Dard! Can you tell me, who we are—you and me?
From where I came, what’s my aim, before I left?
2
Jam’a mein afraad-e aalam ek hain
Gul ke sab auraaq-e barham ek hain
Howe kab wahdat mein kasrat se khalal
Jism-o jaan go do hain per hum ek hain
Nau-e insaan ki buzurgi se tuk ek
Hazarat-e Jibreel mahram ek hain
Daal hai us per hi Qur’an ka nuzool
Baat ki fehmeed main hum ek hain
Muttafiq aapas main hain ahl-e shuhood
Dard aankhein dekh baaham ek hain
2
In all, all the beings of the world are really one
Petals are so many, but the flower is really one
How can this medley ever disrupt unity
Body and soul are two, the two are really one
Of mankind’s supremacy over all others
That’s a truth Gabriel knows; the truth is really one
Qur’an’s revelation is a sure proof of this:
&nb
sp; In getting the truth, we all are really one
All the believers surely agree with each other
Dard, the eyes are two but the two are really one
7
Mir Taqi Mir
Mir Taqi Mir (1723–1810) is the nom de plume of Mohammad Taqi, who was born in Agra of a Sufi father. Mir’s father advised him to adopt the way of ishq, or love as a way of life. Mir migrated to Delhi, already ravaged by chaotic events, for a living after his father’s death, where he would meet his ends with difficulty even though he received some patronage from the nobility. Trying to find his patronage and source of sustenance, a proud Mir kept moving from one court or nobility to another for twenty-five years. It was at the ripe age of sixty that he reached Nawab Asifuddaulah in Lucknow; where he lived till his death with the memories of Delhi as a lost home. Mir lived in a period of great political crisis. Both the literary centres had failed him and he spent his life wondering if there would ever be a resolution for him. It is reported that his grave in Lucknow is untraceable as a rail line has been laid over the spot.