Mir Taqi Mir
Mir wrote more profusely than Ghalib and much of it, like Kabir and Insha, in simple words. There are a number of ghazals in the long behr, but the most memorable ones are in the short.
His stress on feminine beauty (or, in other words, formalism) unlike in Ghalib, lead the late Ali Sardar Jafri to observe that Mir had one foot in modern and another in what in Urdu poetry is derisively called kanghi choti ki shayari.
Some of Mir's sheyrs are hauntingly simple and touching:
I took to Mir Taqi Mir after I had (I trust) picked some finer nuances of Urdu poetry- but I did not read Mir in the same manner in which I read Ghalib and Faiz, whom I devoured in states of frenzy, torment and tempestousness.
Mir brought calmness.
He was Beethoven, not Mozart. Chekov, not Dostoevesky.
Ghalib's certificate of greatness that he gave to Mir may also have led me to Mir, though. My first copy of Diwan e Ghalib is dated 24 Nov 1991. That of Diwan e Mir is over a year later, 14 June 1993.
The "Low Tradition" that Mir represented consisted, among others, of Kabir and Ibne Insha in contrast to the "High Tradition" represented by the Trinity of Mirza Ghalib, Allama Iqbal and Faiz Ahmed Faiz- that often chose more Persianized and more philosophical idiom.
Here are a few random selections, that have been marked on my copy of the Diwan, whose pages are now turning brown on the sides, much as my own hair is turning gray on the edges.
Technorati Tags: Urdu Poetry, Mir
His stress on feminine beauty (or, in other words, formalism) unlike in Ghalib, lead the late Ali Sardar Jafri to observe that Mir had one foot in modern and another in what in Urdu poetry is derisively called kanghi choti ki shayari.
Some of Mir's sheyrs are hauntingly simple and touching:
nazuki uske lab ki kya kahiyeAnd my favourite ghazal (rendered memorably by Mehdi Hassan- and according to me the finest ghazal ever sung):
pankhadi ik ghulaab ki si hai
yeh jo mohlat jise kahain hai hum
dekho to intzaar sa hai kuch
dekh to, dil ke jaan se uthta haiMir could cast aspersions at the mullah, but is rarely as caustic or as direct as, say, Ghalib or Iqbal could be.
ye dhuan sa kahan se uthta hai
gor diljale ki hai ye falak
shola ik subha yaan se uthta hai
khana e dil se zeenhara se na ja
koi aise makaan se uthta hai
yoon uthe aah us gali se hum
jaise koi jahan se uthta hai
mazhab se mere kya tujhe, tera dayar aurHe employs a mesmerizingly mystic, almost surrealitic imagery in these couplets:
main aur, yaar aur, mera kaarobaar aur
bikhre hai zulf, us rukh e aalam faroz par
varna, banaav hove na din aur raat ka
uske farog e husn se, jhamke hai sub main noor
sham- e- haram ho yaan ke diya Somnath ka
***
I took to Mir Taqi Mir after I had (I trust) picked some finer nuances of Urdu poetry- but I did not read Mir in the same manner in which I read Ghalib and Faiz, whom I devoured in states of frenzy, torment and tempestousness.
Mir brought calmness.
He was Beethoven, not Mozart. Chekov, not Dostoevesky.
Ghalib's certificate of greatness that he gave to Mir may also have led me to Mir, though. My first copy of Diwan e Ghalib is dated 24 Nov 1991. That of Diwan e Mir is over a year later, 14 June 1993.
raikhte ke sirf tumhi nahin ho ustad GhalibThe dramatic shift in the times may also have played a part. The ferocity of hatred post Babri Masjid demolition lead one to Mir and Kabir. Nida Fazli started writing dohas at that time. Poetry sought to become a balm on the times, and we turned to Mir and Kabir.
suna hai agle zamane main koi Mir bhi tha
The "Low Tradition" that Mir represented consisted, among others, of Kabir and Ibne Insha in contrast to the "High Tradition" represented by the Trinity of Mirza Ghalib, Allama Iqbal and Faiz Ahmed Faiz- that often chose more Persianized and more philosophical idiom.
***
Here are a few random selections, that have been marked on my copy of the Diwan, whose pages are now turning brown on the sides, much as my own hair is turning gray on the edges.
haath daman main terey maarte jhunjla ke na humAnd finally, a self description, note how bombastic, arrogant and loud (nevertheless lovable) when Ghalib sound when he declares:
apne jaame main agar aaj gharebaan hota
mir bhi dair ke logon hi ki si kehney laga
kuch khuda lagti bhi kehta, jo musalmaan hota
khula nashe main, jo pagdi ka peych uski mir
samand e naaz ko ik aur taaziyana hua
dekhiyo panj e mishgaan ki tuk aatash dasti
har sahar khaak main milte hain dur-e-tar kitne
hum mast ho kar bhi dekha, aakhir koi maza nahin
hoshiyari ke barabar koi maza nahin
hain aur bhi duniya main sukhanwar bahut achcheas compared to Mir who submits much more subtly, softly:
kehte hain ki ghalib ka hai andaaz i bayan aur
Mir dariya hai, sune sheyr zabaani uski
allah allah re tabiyat ki ravani uski
***
The reason for this Proustian excursion into Mir today? Mohib's insightful post on a beautiful couplet by Mir that is also his epitaph.Technorati Tags: Urdu Poetry, Mir
4 comments:
Interesting read, thanks for the post.
You might be interested in the recent post at my blog, avval to maiN sanad huN, phir ye merii zubaaN hai.
Thanks !
Thanks, just read your post. You surprise me everytime with you nuanced appreciation of Urdu poetry.
Keep on the momentum !
Dear Sir.
Thanks for this excellent post. You might be interested to learn that I am currently authoring the first full-length biography of Mir to appear in English.
Look forward to your book, Rehan !
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