RMIM Archive Article "154".


From the RMIM Article Archive maintained by Satish Subramanian

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# RMIM Archives..
# Subject: Sahir and Majrooh, the poets - Part 3
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# Posted by: tewary@boulder.nist.gov (Dr. Vinod Tewary)
# Author: Dr. Vinod Tewary
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---------------------------------------------------------------- Sahir and Majrooh-The Poets by Dr. Vinod Tewary ---------------------------------------------------------------- If you want to characterize Sahir in one word, it would be "talqhiyan" or bitterness. The title of his first book was, ap- propriately, "Talqhiyan". Sahir is bitter about the social in- justice, about the capitalistic values, about the bourgeois so- ciety, about the war, bitter about love, treatment of the women, and about himself, and his feudal ancestors. He writes about him- self: "Main un azdaad kaa betaa hun, jinhone paiham ajnawee qaum ke saaye kee himayat kee hai. Ghadar kee sait-e-naapaq se lekar ab tak har karrhe waqt mein sarkaar kee qhidmat kee hai." (azdaad: ancestors; paiham: always; sait-e-napaaq: evil moment) Ability to make such bold, explicit, direct, and hard hitting statements, about himself as well as others, with intellectual honesty and total conviction, is what elevates a poet to the lev- el of Sahir. In the preface of the "Talqhiyan", he wrote: "Duniya ne tazurbaato-hawaadis kee shakal mein jo kuchh mujhe diyaa hai, woh lautaa rahaa hoon main." (tazurbaato-hawaadis: horrible experiences) Some of Sahir's poems have been used in films as poems-not as songs. "Tang aa chuke hain kashmashe zindagi se ham" was recited by Rafi in Pyasaa. In the film "Kabhie-kabhie", Amitabh Bachchan, in his effective thick voice, recited "Kabhie kabhie mere dil mein qhayal aata hai, ki zindagee teri zulfon ke naram saaye mein ghuzarne paati to shaadab ho bhee saktee thee...." A very good poem reflecting Sahir's leftist views, and his faith in technology, is recited by Balraj Sahni in "Sone kee chidiyaa": "Aaj kee raat bahut garam hawaa chaltee hai, aaj footpath par neend naheen aayegi..." Pyasaa also had one of his famous poems "Sanakhwane tasdeek-e- mashriq kahaan hain" in which this line was changed to "Jinhe naaz hai Hind par woh kahaan hain". A very good song, but a con- siderable poetic sacrifice for the purpose of simplification. Another famous poem "Tajmahal" has been musicalized and sung by Rafi in the film Ghazal. Since the song, understandably, does not contain the complete poem, it naturally fails to be as effective as the original poem. Incidentally, Sahir had not seen Tajmahal before he wrote that poem. (He probably never saw Tajmahal). "It would be too depressing to see a royal exploitation of a very hu- man feeling," he said in a press interview. If you have not read these poems, get those movies tonight. You will enjoy some beautiful verse. Pyasaa also contains some lines from "parchhaiyan" recited by a nurse: "Jawaan raat ke seene pe doodhiya aanchal machal raha hai kisee khwaab-e-marmaree kee taraah....." Indeed "parchhaiyan" - a powerful, anti-war expression, is one of Sahir's most beautiful creations. It may be counted as one of the treasures of Urdu poetry. It is a long poem that you must read if you enjoy progressive poetry. Here are a few lines (not included in Pyasaa): Lead line: "Tasavvuraat kee parchaaiyan ubhartee hain" "Sooraj ke laho mein lithree hui, woh shaam hai ab tak yaad mujhe, chaahat ke sunahre qhwaabon ka, anjaam hai ab tak yaad mujhe.... us shaam mujhe maloom hua, jab baap kee kheti chhin chhin jaaye mamtaa ke sunahre qhwaabon kee anmol nishaani biktee hai us shaam mujhe maloom hua, jab bhaayee jang mein kaam aaye sarmaaye ke qahwaa-khanon me bahnon kee jawaani biktee hai..." Feel the power of these lines: "bahut dinon se hai yeh mashghala siyaasat kaa ki jab jawaan hon bachche to qatl ho jaayen bahut dinon se hai yeh qhabt hukm-raanon ka ki door-door ke mulkon me qahat bo aayen" (mashghala- hobby; siyasat-governments; qhabt-craze; qahat: des- truction) Notice the use of the word Hukm-raanon (those who issue orders) instead of "king". The use of this world, conveying Sahir's dis- like for monarchy, is simply brilliant. This line, refers to the warrior adventurist kings who attack far-away lands. In particu- lar it refers to Alexander, the so-called Great. It may be the first in Indian literature which puts Alexander at his place. The European historians glorified all Europeans, including Alexander. The effect of this cultural onslaught and brain washing has been such, that even many Indians regard Alexander as a hero. Sahir would not have it. Some body who travels all the way from Greece to India just to satisfy his ego, killing thousands of human be- ings, is plainly a villain according to Sahir. In a recent poem entitled "Sipah-salaar", Javed Akhtar has expressed a similar disapproval of Alexander. ===================================================================
From the RMIM Article Archive maintained by Satish Subramanian