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

remind one of the stand-offs between Shakespeare and Ben Jonson, with Mir standing in for Shakespeare).
    In deference to Mir’s exalted status, I have chosen to translate three of his poems here, all ghazals. The first one marked
my personal entry point into his poetry, when I listened enthralled to Lata Mangeshkar’s rendition of ‘
Dikhaai diye yoon ke bekhud kiya
’ in the 1982 movie
Bazaar.
I would draw special attention to Mir’s poignant maqta
in this poem, which summarizes the essence of existential angst as depicted in romantic Urdu poetry.
    The second ghazal, which I initially did not take to, mystified me because many Urdu poets themselves regard it as the finest ghazal ever written (Ghalib listed it among his favourites, especially the sher that went ‘
Naazuki us ke lab ki kya kahiye / Pankhudi ek gulaab ki si hai
’). 3
    The final ghazal is also very celebrated, having been immortalized by the likes of singers such as Begum Akhtar, and also demonstrates Mir’s sly asides at religion, which paved the way for a familiar anti-religious iconoclasm in Urdu literature. Mir’s playful yet hard-hitting asides at religious orthodoxy (for example he says ‘
Dekhi hai jab se us but-e kaafir ki shakl, Mir / Jaata nahin hai jee tanik Islam ki taraf
’; ‘Ever since I saw that infidel statue, Mir / My heart is not even mildly inclined toward Islam’) set the tone for future poets to bring about an antagonistic and dialectical relationship between love and religion, a tradition that endures in Urdu poetry even today.
1 Faqiraana aaye
    Faqiraana aaye, sadaa kar chale
    Miyaan khush raho hum dua kar chale
    Jo tujh bin na jeene ko kahte the hum
    So is ahd ko ab vafaa kar chale
    Koi na-ummeedaana karte nigaah
    So tum hum se moonh bhi chhupa kar chale
    Bahut aarzoo thi gali ki teri
    So yaan se lahu mein naha kar chale
    Dikhaai diye yoon ke bekhud kiya
    Hamein aap se bhi juda kar chale
    Jabeen sajda karte hi karte gayi
    Haq-e bandagi hum ada kar chale
    Parastish ki yaan tak ke ai but tujhe
    Nazar mein sabon ki Khuda kar chale
    Kahen kya jo poochhe koi hum se Mir
    Jahaan mein tum aaye the, kya kar chale?
I came like a beggar
    Entering like a beggar, unfulfilled I went
    Said a prayer for you mister, now be content
    A promise I made not to stay alive without you
    Now I leave the world to honour it, adieu
    Any sign from you would confirm hopelessness
    So you left sans a goodbye, hiding your face
    To reach your street, was all that to me mattered
    I arrived, but left defeated, blood-splattered
    ’Twas portrayed as a selfless quotidian act
    But it tore me asunder from you in fact
    My head prostrated before you on the ground
    The essence of servitude, my love had found
    So devout, O idol, was my faith in you
    That in other eyes, I made you a God too
    How should I respond, they ask me as I leave
    In this stay on earth, Mir, what did you achieve?
2 Hasti apni hubaab ki si hai
    Hasti apni hubaab ki si hai
    Ye numaaish saraab ki si hai
    Naazuki us ke lab ki kya kahiye
    Pankhudi ek gulaab ki si hai
    Baar baar us ke dar pe jaata hoon
    Haalat ab iztiraab ki si hai
    Main jo bola kaha ke ye aawaaz
    Usi khana-kharaab ki si hai
    Mir, un neem-baaz aankhon mein
    Saari masti sharaab ki si hai
My life, like a bubble, is transient
    My life, like a bubble, is transient
    This show, like a mirage, evanescent
    Exquisite, those lips that lie in repose
    Delicate as the petals of a rose
    Again and again I go to that door
    In a state of panic, need I say more?
    I spoke and everyone guessed that this sound
    Belonged perhaps to that wretched, cursed hound
    Those half-lidded eyes of that love of mine
    Mir, they bear all the headiness of wine.
3 Ulti ho gaeen sab tadbeerein
    Ulti ho gaeen sab tadbeerein, kuchh na dava ne kaam
kiya
    Dekha? Is beemari-e dil ne aakhir kaam tamaam kiya
    Ahd-e jawani ro-ro kaati, peeri mein li aankhen
moond
    Yaani raat bahut the jaage, subah hui, aaraam kiya
    Na-haq hum majbooron par ye tohmat hai mukhtari
ki
    Chaahte hain