Published in The Tribune dated 05 June, 2011

Urdu Book Review

In Ghalib’s parlance

By

Amar Nath Wadehra

Ujaalon kay safeer by Mahinder Partap Chand
Amrit Parkashan. Pages: 172. Price: Rs. 200/-

“Jo achchay log hotein hain, garazmandon say jhuktay hain/Surahi sar-nagun hoti hai tab paimana bharta hai” (Good people bow before the needy/the jug tilts in order to fill up the goblet”.

Although it has lost royal patrons, and there is little scope of it fetching a lucrative career for anyone, Urdu commands a loyal following in India – cutting across all social, linguistic, and religious stratifications, as evidenced by this collection that showcases the works of various writers and poets.

Altaf Hussain Hali – one of the finest ever Urdu poets – was born in Panipat in 1837. Chand describes how Hali lived in penury and walked to Delhi in search of a living. There in the company of Ghalib, Shefta etc he learnt the art and craft of Urdu poetry. Hali used to hold women in great esteem, as epitomized by this qita, “Afsos duniya mein bahut tum par huye joro jafa/haq talphian tumnay sahee be-mehriyaan jheli sawa/aksar tumharay quatl per quomon nay baandhi hai quamar/dein ta kay tum ko yaq kalam khud lau-e-hasti say mita dein” (You have suffered a lot of physical torture, suppression of your rights and have even faced nations bent upon wiping out your very existence at one stroke). Another qita says, “Tum sakht say sakht imtihaan deiteen raheen per rayigan/kein toonay jaanein tak fida kehlayee phir bhi bewafaa/go sabar ka apnay na kucch mila tum ko inaam yaan/per jo farishtey say na ho voh kar gayein tum kaam yaan” (You kept on suffering ordeals in vain; you even sacrificed your life but was dubbed as unfaithful; although your patience fetched you nothing you did what even angels could not have).

A writer once remarked that the Mughal rule was remarkable for its three gifts to India – Ghalib, Urdu language and Taj Mahal, in that order. Ghalib was admired even by Hindu poets like Labhu Ram Josh, Malik Ram, Kalidas Gupta ‘Raza’  etc. Literature on Ghalib has kept him alive in the collective consciousness of even those Indians who may not be familiar with Urdu language, but have read his works in Devnagari and other scripts or heard his ghazals/nazms on TV, radio and other electronic media. This volume highlights several quirks in his character: Mirza used to abuse Quateel as ‘Faridabad ka Khatri Baccha’ (Quateel’s real name was Deewali Singh Bhandari; he belonged to Gurdaspur district’s Batala town and not Faridabad). Ghalib, reputedly, was arrested on charges of gambling only once. However, Malik Ram says, Ghalib’s trysts with prison had other hues too. The great poet was arrested twice for visiting prostitutes. The first time, in 1841, he got away with paying a fine. The second time, in 1847, he was fined as well as jailed. This volume has quite interesting trivia, viz. Ilahi Baksh Khan Maroof’s daughter Umrao Jaan was Mirza Ghalib’s wife.

Ralph Russell, a British Army Officer who had come to India during the Second World War, fell in love with Urdu. He did graduation course in the language and wrote about half a dozen books on Ghalib and his works. Other non-Muslim admirers of Ghalib were Naresh Kumar “Shaad”, Prithvi Chand, Gyan Chand Jain, Ghanshyam Singh “Khar”, Maulvi Mahesh Prashad etc. Allama Kais Jalandhari (Amar Chand) was another poet of substance.

Dr. KC Yadav, a noted writer, describes Haryana as the real cradle of Urdu literature. Going by the quantity and quality of Urdu literary output of the region this is a credible claim. For example, Jawant Singh Verma ‘Tohanvi’ authored Urdu versions of Ramayan and Hakeekat Rai’s saga. One may also recall Haryana’s famous poet Shefta’s couplet “Shayad issi ka naam mohabbat hai Shefta, hai aag si jo seenay kay andar lagi huiyee”.  However, other places like UP’s Lucknow, Agra and Bareilly may like to contest it. But, one fact cannot be gainsaid – Haryana’s contribution to Urdu literature has been enormous indeed.

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