“KHUDA KE fazal se sab intezaam kar denge, ghazal pe aaye toh matle main kaam kar denge!” (By the grace of God the needful would be done; if required the first couplet of the poem would suffice to convey my thoughts.)
THE POETS that one got a chance to hear till about Thursday midnight at the Independence Day poetic symposium organised jointly by UP Urdu Akademi and State’s culture department were largely young and relatively lesser heard.
Yet, when they stood up to recite their verses there was hardly any evidence about their lack of exposure or the requisite experience on stage.Right from Muzaffarnagar’s Khalid Zahid who began lyrically with a ‘natiya kalaam’ (devotional verse) “jisne nabi ka naam aqeedat se le liya, ta-umr us zubaan se khushboo nahi gayee” (those who remember the God sincerely are bestowed with divine sweetness for life), the newer poets struck the right chord among the august audience that had packed the auditorium to capacity.
Afzal Manglorvi from Roorkee took off in style after the devotional verse. His “na woh hamare, na woh tumhare, jo log karte hain bas garaz se, hamare mooh par hamari batiyan, tumhare mooh par tumhari batiyan” (they are neither mine, nor yours, who say something to me and something else to you), was very well received.
{{/usCountry}}Afzal Manglorvi from Roorkee took off in style after the devotional verse. His “na woh hamare, na woh tumhare, jo log karte hain bas garaz se, hamare mooh par hamari batiyan, tumhare mooh par tumhari batiyan” (they are neither mine, nor yours, who say something to me and something else to you), was very well received.
{{/usCountry}}There was sheer rhythm in the poetry of Tasneem Abidi from Karachi, Pakistan: “khwab rukhsat huey aankhon se, khatak baaqi hai, dil ke zakhmon pe chhidakne ko namak baaqi hai; aankh chhin sakti hai par, khwab nahi chhin sakte, abhi zanjeer-e-tamanna mein khanak baaqi hai” (dreams have betrayed the eyes leaving a pang, there is enough salt to rub into the wounds of the heart; one may be deprived of sight but the chains of desire will continue to resound).
Khalid Nadeem Badayuni’s “tum khushboo na hum sandal rahe hain, hawadis ke bas jungle rahe hain, hamare paanv zakhmi hain magar, hum tumhare saath phir bhi chal rahe hain” (I have seized to be the fragrance and you the sandalwood that you were…my feet are bleeding, yet I have continued to walk in step with you) had the audience on its feet. He took them into a trance with “Na lagna, tum hamare mooh na lagna, hum apne waqt ke pagal rahe hain” (don’t match wits with me, I have been a renowned maverick).
There was a note of complaint in the verses recited by Hamid Ali Akhtar from Delhi. “Kaise beeti raat na poochh, muflis se har baat na poochh, kitna barsa jaakar dekh, badal se auqaat na poochh, zakhmon pe marham bhi rakh, sirf mere halaat na poochh” (ask not the travails of the night, or all details from the vagabond. See, how much it rained, don’t ask the cloud its worth, nurse also the wounds, don’t just pay lip service).
Iqbal Ashar (Delhi) struck an emotional chord with “muddaton baad mayassar hua maa ka aanchal, muddaton baad hame neend suhani aayi”.