Remembering 06 December 1992: "Doosra Banwas "
Kaifi Azmi's poem written in the aftermath of the Babri Masjid demolition revealed the contradictions in the movement that led the demolition.
Ram banwaas se jab laut ke ghar mein aaye,
Yaad jangal bahut aaya jo nagar mein aaye,
Raqsse deewangee aangan mein jo dekha hoga,
6 december ko Shri Ram ne socha hoga,
Itne deewane kahan se mere ghar mein aaye?
Jagmagate thhe jahan Ram key qadmon ke nishaan,
Piyaar kee kahkashan leti thi angdayee jahan,
Mod nafrat ke usee rah guzar mein aaye,
Dharam kya unka hae, kya zaat hae, yeh janta kaun?
Ghar na jalta tau unhe raat mein pehchanta kaun,
Ghar jalane ko mera, log jo ghar mein aaye,
Shakahari hae mere dost tumahara khanjar.
Tumne Babar kee taraf pheke thhe saare patthar
Hae mere sar ki khata zakhm jo sar mein aaye,
Paun Sarjoo mein aabhi Ram ne dhoye bhee na thhe
Ke nazar aaye wahan khoon ke gehre dhabbe,
Paun dhoye bina Sarjoo ke kinare se uthe,
Ram yeh kehte hue aapne dwaare se uthe,
Rajdhani kee fiza aayee nahin raas mujhe,
6 December ko mila doosra banwaas mujhe.
(Acknowledgement: Zafar Iqbal)
A rough translation:
That evening when Lord Ram returned to his home
He remembered the jungles where he had spent his years of exile
When he must have seen the dance of madness that December 6
It must have crossed his mind
From where have so many demented ones landed on my home
Wherever he had stepped and his footprints had shone
The river waters where thousands of stars of love meandered
Instead now took turns of violence and hatred
What is their religion, what is their caste, who knows?
Had the house not burnt, who would have known the faces
Of those who came to burn my house
Your sword, my friend, is vegetarian.
You threw towards Babar all the stones
It is my head's fault that, instead, it bleeds
Lord Ram had not even washed his feet in the Saryu waters
When he saw deep blots of blood.
Getting up without washing his feet in the waters
Lord Ram left the precincts of his own residence, bemoaning,
The state of my own capital city no longer suits me
This December 6, I have been condemned to a second exile
Related link: Review of PV Narasimha Rao's book 06 December 1992
Ram banwaas se jab laut ke ghar mein aaye,
Yaad jangal bahut aaya jo nagar mein aaye,
Raqsse deewangee aangan mein jo dekha hoga,
6 december ko Shri Ram ne socha hoga,
Itne deewane kahan se mere ghar mein aaye?
Jagmagate thhe jahan Ram key qadmon ke nishaan,
Piyaar kee kahkashan leti thi angdayee jahan,
Mod nafrat ke usee rah guzar mein aaye,
Dharam kya unka hae, kya zaat hae, yeh janta kaun?
Ghar na jalta tau unhe raat mein pehchanta kaun,
Ghar jalane ko mera, log jo ghar mein aaye,
Shakahari hae mere dost tumahara khanjar.
Tumne Babar kee taraf pheke thhe saare patthar
Hae mere sar ki khata zakhm jo sar mein aaye,
Paun Sarjoo mein aabhi Ram ne dhoye bhee na thhe
Ke nazar aaye wahan khoon ke gehre dhabbe,
Paun dhoye bina Sarjoo ke kinare se uthe,
Ram yeh kehte hue aapne dwaare se uthe,
Rajdhani kee fiza aayee nahin raas mujhe,
6 December ko mila doosra banwaas mujhe.
(Acknowledgement: Zafar Iqbal)
A rough translation:
"The Second Exile"
That evening when Lord Ram returned to his home
He remembered the jungles where he had spent his years of exile
When he must have seen the dance of madness that December 6
It must have crossed his mind
From where have so many demented ones landed on my home
Wherever he had stepped and his footprints had shone
The river waters where thousands of stars of love meandered
Instead now took turns of violence and hatred
What is their religion, what is their caste, who knows?
Had the house not burnt, who would have known the faces
Of those who came to burn my house
Your sword, my friend, is vegetarian.
You threw towards Babar all the stones
It is my head's fault that, instead, it bleeds
Lord Ram had not even washed his feet in the Saryu waters
When he saw deep blots of blood.
Getting up without washing his feet in the waters
Lord Ram left the precincts of his own residence, bemoaning,
The state of my own capital city no longer suits me
This December 6, I have been condemned to a second exile
Related link: Review of PV Narasimha Rao's book 06 December 1992
9 comments:
Introspective and sad. I heard Kaifi recite this Nazm at a couple of mushairas.
Hullo! Thanks for this post. I was unaware of this composition by Kaifi saab. I also wrote a piece today about 6 Dec.
Best, rama
That was very apt Nazm...As always,your translation of it comes very good...
As Rama points out at his blog, it is exactly 14 years since 1992. I wonder if this exile also came to end, or perhaps, it continues.
Dear Bhupinder,
i wonder if you this, though this post is a little personal.
It was evening, around 5 pm Indian time. I was still a student, and you had probably started working.
We were sitting in my drawing room, and I was rushing back to our living room to check the TV news. I came back to inform you that the Babri Masjid had been demolished. I was surprised at what had happened.
You remarked that "they" would probably have done this by now. You were not surprised, and this is what surprised me most.
one other thing.
Vajpayee had also written a poem, which went something like this, kitne mandir masjid dhayee (How many temples and mosques have you razed).
this was recited by Maheep Singh (perhaps the Hindi scholar) during a TV discussion immediately afterwards. Maheep Singh remarked, that perhaps Vajpayee would not be able to recite the poem any longer.
I don't remember that particular conversation, but I remember being at Rajesh's place perhaps a day before or in the afternoon (6 Dec 92 was a Sunday) and I remarked that it would be demolished.
Perhaps feeling sorry for my looking so shattered, Rajesh tried to reassure by saying that "they won't". I wonder if he remembers that conversation too.
I don't think that, in this case, I am happy to have seen my premonitions turned into reality.
On Vajpayee- the Janus- faced,his poetry and pretensions of being a moderate, the less said the better.
Bhupinder: I may not exactly remember the sequence of events, but I am sure I never imagined such a turn of events. May be it was just my wish…
I do remember distinctly my being inclined to give PV, the ‘benefit of doubt’, though I won’t be that generous now…
About Vajpayee, His Guru I would also be as dismissive as you have been…
Despite the intensity of the Ram Janmabhoomi movement, I think the years of Congress rule did put many into complacency. It was unimaginable that in the land of Gandhi such violent hatred on basis of religion existed.
Post a Comment