Saturday, October 21, 2017

Poetry of Anwar Nadeem


By
Professor Sarva-Daman Singh
Director, Institute of Asian Studies, Brisbane, Australia

Anwar Nadeem’s poetry charms, as it challenges the reader to explore himself or herself, to turn the light of comprehension inwards, to chase one’s own true self. He invokes the blessings of God, whose names are indeed beyond any count; and at whose feet all distinctions disappear, human aspirations seek fruition and fulfilment; hope stirs.

Hindi and Urdu are two sides of the same coin, unidentical twins, made so by the infusion of Sanskrit in one; of Persian and Arabic in the other; by the adoption of Devanagari script by one; and of Arabic by the other. The grammar necessarily stays identical; syntax remains similar; the verbs are almost always the same. To the great credit of the poet Anwar Nadeem, he seeks to bridge this divide for the benefit of both. The Urdu of Nadeem is like a river in free flow; its broad bosom indicative of its rich maturity and inclusive capacity. And his poetry in his own words is like a kiss on the gentle face of Mother Earth. His poems are pearls of words chosen from Hindi and Urdu alike, with a musical cadence all their own, with an indescribable, untranslatable delicacy of phrases characteristic of his ability to give voice to the entire gamut of human emotions, Hindi and Urdu, do not belong to the Hindus or Muslims, but equally to both; and any artificial coinages will stifle both.

Nadeem is a keen and concerned observer of the human predicament; of the march of history will all is trials, which ‘cannot be unlived’; but from which we can pick up the pieces and strive for a better world, I which we do not just survive, but live with a purpose, with some passion to confront and confine, if we cannot entirely eliminate, suffering and despair caused by selfish greed and intolerance of difference. There is so much pain in life which cannot stay mute and must express itself; which engenders so much pessimism. Yet, hope is also everlasting; and a healthy sense of humour sustains it. The world is not perfect; but should we sit on our hands and do nothing? The poet is the voice of human conscience castigating the world for its insensate hatreds and eruptions of intolerant violence. Pride is like a little river that never meets the sea, and blights our understanding; constricts our sympathies; dries up the flow of compassion. Anwar Nadeem frets at the ineffectiveness and impotence of his protest, as it is hard to accept the unjust and painful realities of the world. The poem Main aur Meri Bātėin tells us that he has been speaking for years; people just listen and go their way! There are moments when he tires of his tirades against the insoluble issues of our lives:

Tum nahīṅ ho
Isī liyé tum khamosh ho
Main hūṅ
Kyoki main bol rahā hūṅ!
Main bol saktā hūṅ
Main bol rahā hūṅ
Isiliye ki main zindā hūṅ!

Mainé bolné ké liyé manch nahīṅ dhūndā
Tum sunné ké liyé méré pās nahīṅ āyé
Hālāṅki main boltā rahā
Aur tum méri bāto se mahrūm rahé
Chāho to yé samajh lo aur khush raho ki
Tum mere khyālāt sé mahfūz rahé!
Main tumhāré sāmné boltā rahā
Aur samajh liyā ki mainé tum se har bāt kah dī
Magar abhi ék māmūli si bāt
Ek ghair māmūlī lafz ke sāth
Mujhé tum sé kahni hai
Aur vahī māmūlī si baat
Ek ghair māmūlī lafz ké sāth
Main tum sé kab kahūngā
Mujhé nahīn mālūm!

Main sach bolūn
Aur tum kadvé ghūnt piyo
Is sé bahtar hai ki
Āvaaz déin us hawker ko
Aur gol gap’pé khāéin!

Main pichhlé pachās saal se bol rahā hūṅ
Aur samajh rahā hūn ki log mujhé pasand karté hain
Hālānki log meri majbūri samajhté hain!

Main do, char, das, bees, logon ke darmiyān boltā rahtā hūṅ
Magar Kyon?
Mujhé un logon sé muhab’bat hai nā
Magar yé muhab’bat
Mujhé khamosh rahnā kab sikhāyégī?

Log aksar mérī bāt
samajh nahīn paté
phir bhi sunté rahté hain
isliyé nahīṅ ki unhai kuchh samajhnā hai
bas yon hi sunté rahté hain
mumkin hai sunté rahnā unki ādat ho
vo mujhe pasand karté ho, aisā bhi nahīṅ
jab aur jahān chahté hain, alag ho lete hain
shāyad isliye ki
mai unké kām kā ādmi nahīn hūn!

The world resounds with the words of religion; with the messages of many messiahs. They inform our understanding of life, and influence and regulate our conduct. But their main precept is love and compassion, and certainly not divisive conflict; universal brotherhood and not sectarian strife. The Rasuls or prophets seek to contain the ocean in a well of their revelations; and every revelation takes us forward to perfection; but the sword is by no means its instrument of dissemination. Hatred, intolerance and violence amount to a travesty of true religion, whatever its name. Rama, Krishna, Buddha, Mahavira, Muhammad and Nanak were all prophets of love, justice and human fraternity. The truth in its entirety cannot be contained in a single revelation. It is dynamic; it evolves; it expands; and the Divine Voice cannot ever fall silent. The messengers of God come to right the wrongs of every age. Anwar Nadeem is most succinct when he asks: “Who is it that comes close to me early in the morning to say, ‘where shall I find the final word, for I speak to every age.” Truth is the story of our spiritual evolution that knows no bounds and brooks no cessation. We cannot silence the voices that will go on expressing the Truth. Any prohibitions on free, exploratory and constructive speech detract from the scope of our certitude.

Poem entitled “Tauhīn” (Insult) tells us that ‘God is one and Muhammad is his prophet’, which is a message for our hearts! But there are those, alas, who have sought to write it on the sharp edges of their swords which, they do not realize, is an insult the great Prophet”

Allah ék hai
Aur Muhammad uské rasūl hain
Is paighām ko
Dilo méin samānā thā!
Magar afsos
Kuchh logo né
Isī sachchāī ko
Talvaar ke nage badan par
Likh kar
Apne Khudā
Aur rasūl kī tauhīn kī hai!

In the same vein, poem “Jai Shrī Rām” says: ‘If you come with a sword in hand shouting Shri Rām, I shall not be able to join you and say Jai Shrī Rām. But if you come to me with the pious name of Ram illustrating the values he embodied, come with me, I shall not only be with you, I shall lead you!”

Tum agar
“Jai Shri Rām” ke khayāl ko talvār bana ke ayé ho
To āgé badho
Sar hāzir hai
Qalam kar lo!

Talvār kė sāmné mėri zabān sé
Ye tīn shabd Jai Shri Ram
Kabhi nahiṅ nikléingé

Lékin agar
Tum “Jai Shri Ram” ke pāvan mantra ke sāth āyė ho
To galé lag jāo
Phir méré āgé nahīn
Méré pīchhé pīchhé chalo
Tāki  main apnė dėsh kī sarhadon ké us pār bhī
Sārī duniyā kī ālūdā fazāon ko
Rām ké mubārak nām kī gūnj sė
Bhar dūn!

Poem Bāl Gopāl kī Azmato ko Salām is a paean of praise to Krishna, who was a saviour of the victims of oppression and tyranny; and who was a source of inspiration to poets Hindu and Muslims alike. As he himself said, he would come again and again. The last word is never spoken! Krishna’s message of love, fraternity and good behaviour, respect, sympathy and compassion is not for Hindus alone. These are universal values to be realized and expressed in our beliefs, thought and action.

Mirī muhabbat, mirī aqīdat, miré tasav’vur kī chand kaliyān
Abhī khilī hain, mahak rahī hain, miré Krishnā! Qubūl kar lé

Safīr-é-Shujā’at, anurāg vālā
Vo zulm-o-sitam ké liyé āg vālā
Vo basī bajaiyā, sharārat kī dhārā
Vo chitchor sāré jahāṅ kā dulārā!

Usī ké janam kī ghadī ā rahī hai
Badī khūbsūrat fazā chhā rahi hai
Chalo āj kar léin usī kā nazārā!

Bālpan kī hado sé javānī talak
Har zamānā tahay’yurma’ābī kā hai
Jab zabāṅ kholtā hai to lagtā hai yé
Har ishārā taghy’yurma’ābī kā hai
Bāl Gopāl kī azmato ko salām

Islām ko sapné méin basāyé hué “Hasrat”
Rakhté thé Kanhaiy’yā ké ravaiy’yon sé aqīdat

Vo shāir-darvésh-sifat tāj nagar kā
Hāsil thī usé méré Krishnā kī muhab’bat
Bāl Gopāl kī azmato ko salām

Kyā khūb thā Gopāl ké bachpan kā tamāshā
Mākhan ké bahāné sé banā chor Kanhaiy’yā
Mūṅh khol ké duniyā ko dikhāyā thā ajūbā
Māsūm sharārat méin rasūlo ka ravaiy’yā !

Dekhā hai sadā āp né sūraj ko ubharté
Ham ne to haméshā yahī mahsūs kiyā hai
Dhartī ko adhéro sé karégā yahī āzād
Gopāl ké kirdār kī tasvīr hai sūraj

Bastī bastī, dwāré dwāré, jhāṅkī Krishna Kanhaiyā kī
“KhalqKhudā kī dékhan āī” Mīr kā fikrā yād karo

Ék yahī paighām sunahrā, Bhārat Varsh ké darshan kā
“Krishnā, Krishnā” kahté kahté apné man ko shās karo

Zamīn-o-ākāsh kī hadoṅ méiṅ jahāṅ bhī dékho méin doltā hūṅ
Tamām fikr-o-amal kī girhaiṅ, azal sé ab tak méin kholtā hūṅ
Bahut savéré, vo kaun méré qarīb āké, yé kah gayā hai
“Méiṅ harf-e-ākhir kahāṅ sé lāūṅ, méiṅ har zamāné méiṅ boltā hūṅ”
Jhalkiyāṅ fikr-o-nazar kī ashtamī kī rāh méiṅ
Anvar-é-khastā kī kāvish Krishna kī ik chāh méiṅ !
Pésh karké rūh mérī ho chukī hai shādmāṅ
Dil ko sab kuchh mil gayā āp kī is vāh méiṅ !

We should light lamps of love and hope, and never forget that we all belong to one race (Āo Phir Ék Khwāb Bunei). The poet’s ears are straining to hear the voices of love and justice, but the only visible sight is that of fires of hatred.

Kyo sāṅséi tan ko chhūtī hai
Kyā maqsad hai in sāṅsoṅ kā
Kuchh dér kā chintan détā hai
Sāṅsoṅ ké maqsad kā idrāk

Sāṅsoṅ ké tilismī ghéré sé
Sapnoṅ ké tohfé milté haiṅ
Tārīkh kī rachnākārī méiṅ
Yé tohfé rang jamāté haiṅ

Duniyā ko sajāné vāloṅ né
Duniyā ko mitāné vāloṅ né
Har daur méiṅ sapné dékhé haiṅ
Tābīr unhī ké sapnoṅ kī,
Tārīkh murat’tib kartī hai

Méiṅ sādhū vaṅsh kā shāir hūṅ

Jo kahnā hai, vo kahtā hūṅ
Kuchh sīdhé sādé shabdoṅ méiṅ
Is tāzā varsh ké mauqé par
Kuchh apné man kī bātoṅ ko
Kahné kī gharaz sé āyā hūṅ !

Har sāl ké bārah māsé méiṅ
Kuchh chāṅd sitāré khilté haiṅ
Kuchh bigdé kām saṅvarté haiṅ
Tūfāṅ bhī shor machāté haiṅ
Kuchh chāléiṅ tedhī padtī haiṅ

Kuchh log yé samjhé baithé haiṅ
Sab kuchh hai unhī ké hāthoṅ méiṅ
Kuchh log muqaddar ké qāyal
Thak hār ké sāṅséiṅ lété haiṅ

Phir bhī yé sadāqat raushan hai
Har kām nīyat par nirbhar hai
Bas rūh kā ék ujlā jazbā
Bharpūr irādā bantā hai !

Tum dékh chuké is duniyā ko
Hālāt kī bigdī sūrat ko
Āfāq pé tum ko chhānā hai
Tārīkh banāné vālé tum !

Ab rāh nikālo jīvan kī
Kuchh haṅsté gāté sapnoṅ kī
Kuchh āṅsū poṅchho ghurbat ké
Kuchh rāhéiṅ raushan hone do
Āfāq pé tum ko chhānā hai
Tārīkh banāné vālé tum !

Lo dūb gayā bārah māsā,
Kyoṅ us kī kadvī bātoṅ ko
Sīné sé lagāyé baithé ho
Ut’tho ki abhī to chalnā hai
Āfāq pé tum ko chhānā hai

Har sāl ké sundar mauqé par
Urdū kī ghazal kā iktārā
Saṅsār méiṅ har dam gūṅjé hai
Paighām sé apné bāṅdhé hai !

Agar koī charāgh phir
Jalā sako to bāt hai
Nahīṅ to ziṅdagī hai kyā
Bahut aṅdhérī rāt hai
Hamī né apnī zāt ko uthā liyā hai dosh par
Hamāré iṅtzār méiṅ yé sārī kāynāt hai
Yahāṅ vahāṅ, idhar udhar
Sabhī sé mil chuké magar
Jo ajnabī hai āj tak
Hamārī ék zāt hai !

Agar koī charāgh phir
Jalā sako to bāt hai
Nahīṅ to ziṅdagī hai kyā
Bahut aṅdhérī rāt hai

Ut’tho ki abhī to chalnā hai
Āfāq pé tum ko chhānā hai
Tārīkh banāné vālé tum
Āfāq pé chhāné vālé tum !

Anwar Nadeem is saddened by the painful reality of caste distinctions and discrimination; the use of platitudes without substance; and the hypocrisy of appearances at variance with actual attitudes when members of one’s own family seek to bridge the painful gulf of separation. The poet invites us to demonstrate our spinal fortitude with the courage of our conduct and candour. Hypocritical espousal of equality from a distance will not suffice!

Two autobiographical poems, one of which provides the title for a collection of his poetry, Yė kaun mėrė qarīb āyā, illustrates the poet’s own progress in the pursuit of this ideal; his inter-communal marriage and its experience highlighting the hollowness of social divisions, bringing communities together. The love of a Jāt girl and a Pathān poet sanctified in wedlock serves as an example to a society torn by painful divisions. To a son born of this union, the exemplary love of his parents for each other should be the greatest legacy despite the puzzlement which has marked his growth to maturity and manhood. He opened his ears and eyes to a scene of cultural and inter-religious harmony in his parents’ home, remained free from religious rituals and narrow doctrinal constraints; and grew up to be a scholar and intellectual in his own right.

Hamāré māzi méin janm lékar, vo ék ladkā javān huā hai
usé yé gham hai ki usné kaisé ajīb logon méin ānkh kholī

Koī batāyé ki bāp térā vafā ké naghmé sunā rahā hai
Koi batāyé ki téri mān bhi prém nagari méin gāmzan hai

Koi batāyé ki téri hasti kuchh æsé rishton ko chū rahi hai
Ki jin sé pahlé milan kī kir’néin fazā ko raushan na kar saki thīen

Kahān ijāzat milī thī ab tak ki jāt ladki kī ārzūéin
Pathān hāthon kā sāth lékar vafā kī rāhéin gulāb kar déin

Kahān pathānon ki sarzamīn se vafā kā parcham uthā ké niklā
Muhabbaton kā amīn-é-khushtar, latīf jazbon ka ék paikar

Kahān salāmatravi kī daulat milī hai æsī kahāniyon ko
Kahān qabīlé ké dāyaron méin kisī ne æsā qarār dékhā

Hamāré māzi méin janm lékar, vo ék ladkā javān huā hai
usé yé gham hai ki usné kaisé ajīb logon méin ānkh kholī

Usé to mālūm hai ki jāton ké dil kī dhadkan méin bāp uskā
Ajīb dilkash muqām lékar, misāl-é-ulfat banā huā hai

Tamām dānishkadon méin uskī azīm mān ki misāl ab tak
Jalā rahi hai jidhar bhi dékho, muhabbaton ké chirāgh paiham

Yé kam nahīn hai muhabbaton kī azīm daulat ka ék varsā
Kisī kī hastī ko ābrū dé, kisī kī rāhon méin phūl bhar dé

Magar yé chhotī sī bāt, Anvar! Samajh kā his’sā banégī kaisé?

Hamāré māzi méin janm lékar, vo ék ladkā javān huā hai
usé yé gham hai ki usné kaisé ajīb logon méin ānkh kholī

There are poems of patriotism, tributes to Mother India and Mahatma Gandhi; and an invitation to Pakistan to live with India in a spirit of peace and good-will, being cognizant and appreciative of our shared history and socio-cultural values. A beautiful poem (Jīné kā Hunar) describes how a river sustains life, cradles culture, and nurtures history. The poet looks at the river Gomati quietly flowing across the city of Lucknow, the silent witness of many upheavels, of so much joy and pain, inseparable ingredients of laughter and song, of life itself with all its cries of anguish and delight, of poetry reciting ‘saddest songs’, side by side with lifting laugher!

Tahzīb ké sāré galiyāré
Parbat, sahrā, jangal ké

Āj talak ābhārī haiṅ!

Insān ké nāzuk zahnoṅ par
Tārīkh ké raushan panoṅ par

Dariyā kī ajab fankārī hai!

Yé bahtā pānī dhartī ko
Har daur kī chābukdastī ko

Jīné kā hunar sikhlātā hai!

Saṅsār ké jitné dariyā haiṅ
Sāhil pé un hī ké ziṅdā haiṅ

Jazbāt ké sundar tāj mahal!

Dariyāoṅ kī sārī jaldhārā
Lagtī hai haméshā banjara

Sadiyoṅ ké safar kā darpan hai!

Ham Gomti vālé sunté haiṅ
Jo gīt vafā ké bunté haiṅ

Vo dūr talak chhā jāté haiṅ!

Kuchh mandir rāj gharānoṅ ké
Tārīkh ké raushan his’soṅ ké

Āsār hamārī nagarī ké!

Ham Lakhanpur ké bandé haiṅ
Ham haṅsté gāté phirté haiṅ

Jīne kā hunar sikhlāté haiṅ!

A powerful poem, Vābastagī refers to the poet’s curiosity to know the world and understand its ills. He reads, he listens, he sees, and he writes with the conviction that someday his message will spell something useful to the world.

Main akhbār barsoṅ se padh rahā hūṅ
Khabaréin roz hi suntā hūṅ
Kitābéin aksar chhūtā hūṅ
Kabhī padh bhī létā hūṅ
Aur apnī khulī āṅkhoṅ sé
Zindagi kā sach samajhné ki koshish kartā hūṅ !
Apni or badhné vālé
Kisī māmūlī ādmī ké chéhré ko
Dévtā samajh lénā, mérī purānī ādat hai !
Aur apné sé khichné vālé
Dāman bachāné vālé
Kisī bhī aflātūn sé
Kosoṅ dūr bhāgnā méri fitrat hai !
Kuchh logoṅ kā khayāl hai
Samāj né mujhé apné sé alag kar diyā hai
Kuchh log samajhté hain
Main apne samāj sé kat ké rah gayā hūn
Méré bāré méin āp yahī yād rakhéingé
Main haméshā likhtā rahā hūn aur sochtā rahā hūn
Mumkin hai mérā qalam, mérī shāirī
Kabhī méré samāj, mérī duniyā ké kām āyé !


The custodians of customs, the guardians of religion, the dividers of humankind stifle love and its free expression. The lovers of true life have no time for the speculative, elusive, nebulous hopes of heaven. They belong here, and can teach you to live and love!

A great poem, Shabdāvali (Vocabulary) talks of time, interminable, bearing witness to the vicissitudes of humanity; the transience of all human expressions; the dashing of hopes; the taste of defeat and despair; and also humanity’s ever recurring dreams. We make of our lives what they are. People are who they are because of their history. The past is of course gone, and is yet always with us!

Vaqt, ék rishtā-é-tanzīm sé vābastā hai
Vaqt, tasvīr-é-azal aur abad kī manzil
Vaqt, mohtāj kisī nām kā hotā hī nahīṅ
Vaqt, tārīkh ké awrāq méiṅ chhuptā hī nahīṅ
Vaqt, tahzīb kī jāgīr méiṅ ruktā hī nahīṅ
Vaqt, fankār ké hāthoṅ sé saṁbhaltā hī nahīṅ
Vaqt, tahrīk kī talvār sé martā hī nahīṅ
Vaqt, dīvār-o-dar-o-bām sé dartā hī nahīṅ
Dīn ké shīshmahal, izm ké kālé parbat
Vaqt ké ék ishāré pé bikhar jāté haiṅ!

There are poems which comment on the harsh quotidian concerns of daily life (Kirāyé kī Chhat); and on the contentment of happy human relationships mocking want and social injustices (Jī Bahltā Hai).

The poem Pratīkshā pays a tender tribute to woman, who embodies the capacity to wait for love. Her sense of respect transforms this earth into paradise; and her beauty and bliss put even paradise to shame. She raises a man from the animal plane to human; and beckons to heaven with her ideals and dreams thereof. Who has seen heaven or hell beyond this earth? It is here and here alone that the heavenly fragrance of feminine grace will suffuse our lives.

The poetry of Anwar Nadeem reflects all the colours of life’s rainbow; and echoes his consuming concern for human fellowship transcending the narrowness and intolerance of all creedal considerations. Love, charity and compassion provide the sole basis for human harmony and fulfilment!