Sufi singers still sing this kaafi by the eighteenth-century Sufi saint Bulleh Shah, though few pause to take in its assertion of a faith that is moored in Islam yet willing to celebrate Holi:
Holi khelungi keh Bismillah.
Nam nabi ki ratan chadi, boond padi Illalah
I will take the name of Allah and play Holi
Like a gem bearing the Prophet’s name, every drop cries out Allah Allah
Using verses from the Holy Quran, Bulleh Shah goes on:
Rang rangeeli ohi khilave, jis seekhi ho fanaa fi Allah.
‘Alastu bi rabbikum’, pritam bole
Sab sakhiyan ne ghunghat khole
‘Qaloo bala’, yun hi kar bole, ‘La Ilaha Illallah’
Only he may play with these colours who has learnt to immerse himself in Allah
The beloved asked, ‘Am I not your Lord?’
All the maidens flung back their veils
‘Yes, you are,’ they said. ‘There is no Lord save Allah’
Then there are the numerous Urdu poets who have written with passion and verve on this most fun-filled of all Indian festivals. Here is Nazir Akbarabadi, the people’s poet from Agra, waxing eloquent in a long nazm:
Aa dhamke aish-o-tarab kya kya jab husn dikhaya Holi ne
Har aan khushi ki dhuum hui yuun lutf jataya Holi ne
What delights and cheer can compare with the beauty of Holi
Every moment has joy and celebration when Holi displays her delights
Gauhar Jaan, the courtesan singer, went so far as to sing ‘Mere hazrat ne Madine mein manayi Holi’ (My Lord celebrated Holi in Medina) and Abida Parveen has immortalized Shah Niyaz’s kalaam:
Holi hoye rahi hai Ahmad jiyo ke dwaar
Hazrat Ali ka rang bano hai Hassan Hussain khilaar
Holi is being played at the doorstep of our beloved Ahmed
Hazrat Ali has become the colour and Hasan and Husain the players
The Urdu poet, forever willing to speak up for syncretism and multi-culturalism, has written vast amounts of poetry on fairs and festivals, on religious figures and celebrations. Of these, the occasion of Holi always elicited not only much enthusiasm but also a fair amount of levity and good humour. Among the minor dialects that feed major languages, a bit like tributaries that meet and merge with big rivers, there has been a tradition of writing ribald and often risqué verses involving sisters-in-law, women from the neighbourhood and other ladies who would be considered beyond the pale of social interactions on most occasions but, come Holi, suddenly become the object of intense fascination. Perhaps inspired by Krishna frolicking with the gopikas in Mathura, much of this sort of poetry derives its spirit and substance from the idea of unconditional and exuberant surrender to love.
Several Hindi films have tweaked and merged tranches of folk songs to produce some memorable lyrics such as ‘Arre ja re hat natkhat na chhu re mera ghunghat…’ in V. Shantaram’s Navrang or Harivansh Rai Bachchan’s ‘Rang barse…’ that was picturized with such devastating effect on his son in Silsila, or ‘Holi khele Raghuvira…’ in Baghbaan.
In conventional Urdu poetry, prodigious amounts have been written on Holi, which might be somewhat chaste compared to the more boisterous verse offerings in the dialects but are by no means any less infectious in their enthusiasm. What is more, this tradition dates back several hundred years to the earliest Urdu poets from across the length and breadth of Hindustan writing in praise of Holi. Let us begin with Wali Uzlat (1692–1775), the poet from Surat in Gujarat, who wrote:
Baad-e-bahar mein sab atish junun ki hai
Har saal avati hai garmi mein fasl-e-Holi
The breeze of spring fans the fires of passion
Each year the harvest of Holi comes before summer
Then there’s Faez Dehelvi (1690–1737) exclaiming:
Aaj hai roz-e-vasant ai dostaan
Sarv-qad hai bostaan ke darmiyan
Today is the day of spring, O friends
Like tall and graceful tress in the pleasure garden
Another poet from Delhi, Shah Hatim (1699–1783) draws our attention to the fun and frolic in the festivities:
Idhar yaar aur udhar khuban saf-ara
Tamasha hai tamasha hai tamasha
A friend here and a sweetheart there
It’s entertainment, entertainment, entertainment
Mir Taqi Mir (1722–1810), the pre-eminent classical poet, describes the occasion in his ‘Bayan-e-Holi’ thus:
Holi khela Asif-ud Daula vazir
Rang-e sohbat se ajab hai khurd-o pir
Asif-ud Daula and his vazir play Holi
The young and old are coloured in the strange colours of companionship
And elsewhere:
Jashn-e Nauroz Hind Holi hai
Raag-o rang aur boli tholi hai
Holi is the festival of Nauroz for Hind
It’s a day of songs and colours, slang and idiom
Nazir Akbarabadi (1735–1830), who has written lyrically on fairs, festivals, bazaars and common people, has this to say about Holi:
Jab phagun rang jhamakte hon tab dekh baharein Holi ki
Aur daf ke shor khadakte hon tab dekh baharein Holi ki
Pariyon ke rang damakte hon tab dekh baharein Holi ki
Khum, shishe, jaam, jhalakte hon tab dekh baharein Holi ki
When the month of Phagun spreads its colours, see the spring of Holi
And the sound of the drums ring out, see the spring of Holi
The colours of fairies dazzle, see the spring of Holi
Wine barrels, glasses and goblets tinkle, see the spring of Holi
Then there’s Rangin Saadat Yaar Khan (1756–1835), the poet from Lucknow known to write in a women’s voice:
Badal aaye hain ghir gulal ke laal
Kuchh kisi ka nahin kisi ka khayal
The red clouds of gulal have amassed
No one is bothered by the state of the others
Ghulam Hamadani Mushafi (1751–1821), one of the most respected names among the eighteenth-century poets, waxes eloquent about Holi and the coming of spring:
Daal kar ghunchon ki mundri shakh-e-gul ke kaan mein
Ab ke Holi mein banaana gul ko jogan ai saba
Putting earrings of flowers in the ear of the flowering branch
O soft breeze, turn the flower into a devotee on this Holi
And also:
Mausam-e-Holi hai din aaye hain rang aur raag ke
Hum se tum kuchh mangne aao bahane phaag ke
In the season of Holi come days of colour and song
Come to ask me for something in this month of Phaag
Coming to more recent times, here is Kanwal Dibaiwi (1919–1984) wants to give in to his friends’ urging to play Holi and immerse himself in the gaiety around him and wash away the stains of communal ill will:
Hum ko lazim hai ki nafrat ki jalaein Holi
Doston aao chalo aisi manaein Holi
It is necessary for us to burn the Holi of hatred
Friends, come let us celebrate such a Holi today
And, finally, for all those whose faith is imperilled by the ‘other’, who speak for exclusion rather than inclusion, here are Saghar Khayami’s (1936–2008) words of caution:
Nafrat ke taraf-dar nahin sahib-e-irfan
Dete hain sabaq pyaar ke Gita ho ki Quran
Tyauhar to tyauhar hai Hindu na Musalman
Hum rang uchhalein to pakaiyen vo siwwaiyan
Ranjida padosi jo utha dar-e-jahan se
Khushiyon ka guzar hoga na phir tere makan se
The supporters of hatred are not people of discernment
Both the Gita and the Quran give lessons of love
Festivals are just festivals, and neither Hindu nor Musalman
If we play with colours they too will cook siwwaiyan
If your neighbour leaves this world in sorrow
Happiness will never pass by your house again
Is it not sad, then, that these joyous, inclusive an
d liberal voices are stifled by the strident illiberal ones? My faith is not shaken by a few drops of coloured water; is yours? Gulabi Eid Mubarak, doston!
8
DIWALI: THE NIGHT THAT
DISPELS DARKNESS
SELDOM, IF EVER, DOES A poet fall victim to bigotry, prejudice and narrow-mindedness; a propagandist or publicist might but not a poet. And the Urdu poet in particular has always been known for his liberalism and eclecticism. Even in matters of religion or religious occasions, he has always spoken for ‘qaumi yakjahati’ and ‘muttahida tehzeeb’, on communal harmony and commingling of cultures. Hindu and Sikh poets have written with passion on Eid and Milad-un-Nabi and also produced vast amounts of soz, marsiya, naat, manqabad just as Muslim poets have waxed eloquent on Holi, Diwali, Janmashthami, Gurparab, Christmas, Basant Panchmi, Raksha Bandhan, not to mention large numbers of heart-warming poems on Ram, Krishan, Shiv, Guru Nanak, Buddha, Mahavir and Isa Masih.
Diwali has received more than its fair share of attention from the Urdu poet because of its message of peace and promise of light. Given the sheer numbers of nazms and ghazals - either directly on Diwali or bearing references to the lamps of Diwali - what follows is, at best, in the nature of a sampler. Let’s begin with Nazir Akbarabadi, who is urging us to go about collecting all the kheel, batashe, diye, mithai needed in ‘Diwali ka Samaan’:
Har ik makaan mein jala phir diya Diwali ka
Har ik taraf ko ujala huwa Diwali ka
A lamp is lit in every house on Diwali
Light spreads in every direction on Diwali
Then there’s Ale Ahmad Suroor who is intoxicated by the light from countless lamps that can lift the heaviest of hearts:
Ye baam-o dar, ye chiraghaan, ye qumqumon ki qataar
Sipaah-e noor siyahi se barsar-e paikaar
This roof and ledge, this light, this line of lamps
The inky blackness fleeing from the army of light
Nazeer Banarasi links the religious significance with the seasonal change heralded by Diwali:
Meri saanson ko giit aur aatma ko saaz deti hai
Ye Diwali hai sab ko jiine ka andaz deti hai…
Kaii itihas ko ek saath dohrati hai Diwali
Mohabbat par vijay ke phool barsati hai Diwali
Diwali gives a song to my breaths and an instrument for my soul
This Diwali teaches everyone how to live life…
Diwali repeats many histories at once
Diwali showers the flowers of victory on love
In ‘Yeh Raat’, Makhmoor Saeedi tells us why we wait so eagerly for this one night:
Phir ek saal ki tareek raah tay kar ke
Mata a-i noor luttati yeh raat aayi hai
Ufaq se tabaan ufaq roshni ki arzani
Yeh raat kitne ujalon ko saath layi hai
Crossing the dark passage of a year
This night comes spreading effulgence
Spreading brightness on the horizon
This night comes bringing so much light
Arsh Malsiyani reminds us of the story behind the celebrations:
Raghubir ki paak yaad ka unvan liye hue
Zulmat ke ghar mein jalva-e-taban liye hue
Tarikiyon mein nur ka saman liye hue
Aai hai apne saath charaghan liye hue…
Woh Ram jo ki qaate-e-jaur-o-jafa raha
Yeh raat yadgaar hai us nek zaat ki
Carrying the pious memory of Raghubir
Bringing radiance to the house of cruelty
Bearing the gift of light for darkness
This night comes with the illumination of lamps…
Ram who was destroyer of tyranny
This night is a reminder of his being
Harmatullah Karam too slips in references to Kaikeyi’s defeat and Ram’s victory in the Ramayana being narrated by the lamps:
Raat Diwali ki aayi hai ujalon uss ko
Neend mein kab se yeh nagri hai jaga lo uss ko
The night of Diwali has come, O brightness
Waken this city that has been slumbering for so long
Kaif Bhopali looks back with nostalgia at a multi-cultural past:
Woh din bhi hai kya din thhe jab apna bhi taalluq tha
Dashahre se Diwali se basanton se baharon se
Those were the days when we too were linked with
Dussehra and Diwali, with seasons of basant and bahar
Elsewhere, if not direct references to the festival, ‘Diwali ke diye’ find mention in different ways:
Iss tarah palkon pe aansu ho rahe thhe be-qarar
Jaise Diwali ki shab halki hava ke samne
Gaanv ki nichi munderon par chiraghon ki qatar
Tears were growing restless upon the eyelashes
Like lamps quivering on the low ledges in the village
In a soft breeze on the evening of Diwali
And yet, where Urdu is concerned, stereotypes persist: that it is a language of Muslims, for Muslims, by Muslims! The richness and variety of its poetic culture, not to mention its Catholicism, is overlooked in favour of the popular tropes of the shama-parwana-bulbul. Makes you wonder!
9
ON NANAK, THE MARD-E-KAMIL
THERE ARE LOVE JIHADS AND there are love jihads. Mine is a labour of love to present the range of concerns contained within Urdu literature. I am on a self-appointed crusade to demonstrate how Catholic and diverse the concerns of the Urdu poet are, and how Urdu poetry is not poetry by Muslims for Muslims. Like the other essays on religious figures who appear and reappear in Urdu poetry, here’s looking at the figure of Guru Nanak.
Let us begin with the most famous and most-cited nazm by Sir Muhammad Iqbal which deserves to be quoted in its entirety to savour its reverence for the Guru who is called a ‘mard-e-kaamil’ (perfect man):
Qaum ne paigham-e-Gautam ki zara parva na ki
Qadr pahchani na apne gauhar-e-yak-dana ki
Aah bad-qismat rahe avaz-e-haq se be-khabar
Ghafil apne phal ki shirini se hota hai shajar
Aashkaar us ne kiya jo zindagi ka raaz tha
Hind ko lekin khayali falsafa par naaz tha
Sham-e-haq se jo munavvar ho yeh woh mahfil na thi
Barish-e-rahmat hui lekin zamin qabil na thi
Aah shudar ke liye Hindostan hham-khana hai
Dard-e-insani se is basti ka dil begana hai
Barhaman sarshar hai ab tak mai-e-pindar mein
Sham-e-Gautam jal rahi hai mahfil-e-aghyar mein
But-kada phir baad muddat ke magar raushan hua
Nur-e-Ibrahim se aazar ka ghar raushan hua
Hind ko ik mard-e-kaamil ne jagaya khwab se
Our people paid no heed to the message of Gautam
They didn’t recognize the worth of that jewel of supreme wisdom
Oh you unfortunate ones who have remained heedless of the voice of truth
Like the tree that remains unaware of the sweetness of its own fruit
It was he who made manifest the secrets of life
But still Hind stayed proud of its imaginary philosophy
It wasn’t an assembly that could be lit with the lamp of truth
The rain of mercy fell but the earth was not deserving
For the Shudra, Hindustan was a place of sorrows
And the Brahmin was intoxicated with the wine of conceit
The lamp of Gautam was burning in the assembly of others
But after a long time the temples have been illuminated
The light of Abraham has lit the house of Aazar once again
Once again the call of unitarianism has rung out from Punjab
A perfect man has again awakened Hind from deep slumber
Lest it be forgotten, the same Iqbal who is vilified as the founding father of Pakistan and early proponent of the two-nation theory also wrote the ‘Hindustani Bachon ka Qaumi Geet’ which, in a kinder, gentler time, was recited in school assemblies. Today, those who wish to
weed out Urdu words from the popular domain might do well to occasionally hum this sweetly lyrical ballad to the homeland:
Chishti ne jis zamin mein paigham-e-haq sunaya
Nanak ne jis chaman mein wahdat ka geet gaaya…
Mera watan wahi hai, mera watan wahi hai
The land in which Chishti delivered the message of truth
The garden in which Nanak sang the song of Oneness
That homeland is mine, that homeland is mine
The pairing of Chishti and Nanak seems natural to the Urdu poet and occurs in several instances. In much the same vein as Iqbal, there is Afsar Meeruthi in ‘Watan ka Raag’:
Chishti ne jo dii thhi mai woh ab tak hai paimanon mein
Nanak ki taalim abhi tak gunj rahi hai kaanon mein
Bharat pyara desh hamara sab deshon se nyara hai
The wine that Chishti had poured is still in our goblets
The teachings of Nanak are still echoing in our ears…
Our beloved Bharat our nation is the loveliest of all nations
And here’s Arsh Malsiyani singing in the same refrain in ‘Mere Pyarae Watan’ (My Dear Country):
Sufi tere har daur mein
Karte rahe paighambari
Chishti o Nanak se mili
Faqr-o-ghina ko bartari
In every age your Sufis
Have appeared as prophets
From Chishti and Nanak we have learnt
The superiority of asceticism and freedom
Then there is Tilok Chand Mehroom who paints a luminous portrait of Guru Nanak in ‘Tasweer-e-Rehmat’ (The Portrait of Mercy):
Teri tauqir se tauqir-e-hasti hai, Guru Nanak
Teri tanvir har zarre mein basti hai, Guru Nanak
Teri jagir mein irfan ki masti hai, Guru Nanak
Teri tahrir auj-e-haq-parasti hai, Guru Nanak
Teri tasvir se rahmat barasti hai, Guru Nanak
Zuhuristan-e-rahmat hai ki yeh tasvir hai teri
Koi naqsh-e-haqiqat hai ki yeh tasvir hai teri
Ayaan suh-e-saadat hai ki yeh tasvir hai teri
Dil-e-muztar ki rahat hai ki ye tasvir hai teri
Teri tasvir se rahmat barasti hai, Guru Nanak
To honour you is to honour all existence, Guru Nanak
Your luminosity illuminates every particle, Guru Nanak
Your estate endows the intoxication of enlightenment, Guru Nanak
Your writings are the summit of worshipping truth, Guru Nanak
Divine mercy streams down from your portrait, Guru Nanak