The Taste of Words: An Introduction to Urdu Poetry by Mir, Raza Read Free Book Online

fragrant breath
    Won’t cease in the ways of love until their death
    Solace will never dilute my passion
    Love’s impatient heat has left me ashen
    My love’s transparent, unblemished and clear
    Each word of yours I find lovely, my dear
    With your Wali, if you share but a word
    His rivals writhe as if pierced by a sword!

Mirza Sauda
    The eighteenth century marked the beginning of a prolonged renaissance in Urdu poetry, and was kicked off by the triumvirate of Sauda, Dard and Mir. Mirza Sauda (1713–81) was Mir Taqi Mir’s contemporary, and one of the early exponents of what came to be called the ‘Delhi School’ of poetry. Mir’s senior in age, he tends to be eclipsed by his more illustrious counterpart even though he made an invaluable contribution to the decentring of the hegemony of Farsi as sole crucible of classical poetry. His language tended to be more decorous than Mir’s, still imbued with Persian rhetoric. He did write—in the fashion of poets of his time—a volume of Persian poetry, but was known principally for his Rekhti work, and also for his mischievous satires. His satires were often composed on the spot, derided those in power, and sometimes led to financial losses. One story goes thus: A rich man’s son once approached Sauda in public to become a tutor. Sauda asked him to recite some of his verses. The expectant pupil recited some verses of high quality, which Sauda immediately recognized as plagiarized fare. Sauda asked the man, ‘What is your takhallus?’ Replied the young man, ‘
Ummeedwaar
’ (hopeful). On the spot, Sauda declaimed: ‘
Hai faiz se kisi ke shajar unka baardaar
/
 Is vaaste kiya hai takhallus “ummeedwaar
”’ (‘With another’s labour, his tree is fruitful, / Perhaps this is why his nom de plume is “hopeful”’). The shamefaced youngster exited hastily; Sauda had won bragging rights, but lost a potential patron.
    I have chosen a single haunting ghazal that, to my mind, exemplifies Sauda’s serious work. 1 Unlike Mir’s accessible rhythms, Sauda affected a style of verbal flourish, perhaps owing to his felicity in writing
qasida
s (panegyrics).
Hua so hua
    Jo guzri mujh pe mat us se kaho hua so hua
    Balaa-kashaan-e mohabbat mein jo hua so hua
    Mubaadaa ho koi zaalim tera gireban-geer
    Mere lahu ko to daaman se dho, hua so hua
    Pahunch chukaa hai sar-e zakhm dil talak yaaro
    Koi siyo, koi marham karo hua so hua
    Kahe hai sun ke meri sar-guzasht vo be-rehm
    Ye kaun zikr hai, jaane bhi do, hua so hua
    Ye kaun haal hai ahvaal-e dil pe ai aankhon
    Na phoot phoot ke itna baho, hua so hua
    Diya use dil-o-zeest ab ye jaan hai ‘Sauda’
    Phir aage dekhiye jo ho so ho, hua so hua
This too will pass
    Share not my fate with that heartless one, this too will pass
    How the love-afflicted were undone, this too will pass
    My tormentor, lest someone espy your stained garments
    Wash off my blood from your red shirt-front, this too will pass
    The wound has lanced my body; its pain has reached my heart
    Call the surgeon to stitch it, someone! This too will pass
    On hearing of my sorry fate, my heartless love said:
    Don’t harp on this tale, don’t spoil the fun, this too will pass
    Do not trouble your eyes on seeing my poor fortune
    Why do those tears so copiously run? This too will pass
    I sacrificed my love, my heart, my will—just life remains
    Who can divine poor Sauda’s fate? None, this too will pass.

Khwaja Mir Dard
    Another member of the ‘Delhi school’, Dard (1721–85) was a Sufi, and also one of the first proponents of a very direct authorial voice in the ghazal. 1 Mystical in bearing, he had a passion for music, which is reflected in the rhythms of his poems. His ascetic manner did not help him financially, as he refused all attempts by local noblemen to patronize him in any way. In his own eyes, Dard was truly a man of God. Representing the transitory phase between Persian and Urdu, Dard wrote most of his prose in Persian—a tome titled
Ilm-ul