The Hidden Garden by Gopi Narang (phonics books txt) 📕

touch. Those who wrote Tazkirahs found the use of idiom a distinguishing feature, but the reality is that the idiom is only one of the components in the totality of things. There are many inventive avenues that are open to a poet. Mir makes use of all the options to create poetic meaningfulness and to paint compelling images of ordinary as well as extraordinary aspects of existence. He shows real craftsmanship in effectively presenting the most intricate human emotions. Mohammad Husain Azad rightly wrote about this in his book Aab-e Hayaat: ‘Mir might have borrowed the conversational style from Soz, but the latter mainly dealt with the way people talked. Mir filled this talk with content and context and gave it depth and dignity and thus made it inventive for sharing it in an assembly.’1

The above discussion leads to the question: How do we add content into a conversation? Doesn’t customary conversation already contain content? Does it mean that this conversation lacks meaningfulness? On the surface, it seems that Azad made up a story to distinguish Mir from Soz. This has been a matter of some debate among people who have written about Mir. Even if we agree that Mir was influenced by Soz, his poetry is totally different.

Mir was aware and even conceited about his creativity. Tazkirah-e Khush Ma’rka-e Zeba narrates an interesting incident that happened at the Royal Court in Lucknow. One day, Nawab Asif-ud Daula asked Soz, who was the king’s teacher, to recite some poetry. Soz recited two or three ghazals. The Nawab showered praise on his teacher. Whatever the king does, courtiers join him. So there were a lot of wah wahs. This irritated Mir who was present there. He took it as an affront. After a while, Mir cornered Soz and asked him how he could recite ghazal upon ghazal when a master-poet like Mir was present in the assembly. Soz respectfully answered, ‘This humble person is no less a poet, Sir, and like you I too belong to Delhi.’ This further infuriated Mir and he told Soz, ‘The right place for your poetry is not the King’s Court or the majestic presence of Mir, but a backyard kitchen where young girls giggle and chatter while they do their bubbly cooking in earthen pots.’ This incident shows how deeply proud Mir was of having perfected his multifaceted style which was different from the raw conversational craft of poets like Soz. And he was not apologetic about this.

kya tha rekhta pardah sukhan ka

so thahra hai vohi ab fan hamaara

I picked up Rekhta

as a veil for my poetry.

To make a confession,

that is my artistry now.

Al-e Ahmed Suroor’s assessment that when we compare Soz with Mir we realize the extent of Mir’s grasp and artistry is quite correct. Soz deals with cold ash. But in Mir’s poetry the ash turns into molten liquid that touches one’s inner self. Mir called conversational language guftaar-e khaam (half-formed language), but when he forges it in the fire of agony within his heart, it turns into great poetry.

be soz-e dil kinhon ne kaha rekhta to kya

guftaar-e khaam pesh-e aziizaan sanad nahien

Many poets use Rekhta

without adding a piece of their burning heart.

The half-baked conversational language

is not a measure of poetic creativity.

There is a hidden fire in Mir’s compositions. Neither the way he speaks, nor his style has the feel of ordinary. He draws his essence from the depths of the ground he walks on. That is how he separates himself from other poets of his time who suffered from lack of substance and perfection. The following couplets are a proof of these assertions:

Mir shaay’ir bhi zor koi tha

dekhte ho n baat ka usluub

Mir was a wonderful poet.

You should have noticed

his superb creative mannerism.

a’jab hote hain shaay’ir bhi main is firqe ka aa’shiq huun

k be dharke bhari majlis mein y asraar kehte hain

People consider poets strange beings.

I’m a poet who belongs to that tribe.

They speak about things that are surreptitious

in assemblies openly and courageously.

shart saliiqa hai har ik amr mein

ai’b bhi karne ko hunar chaahiye

Sleek mannerism is a precondition

for accomplishing every piece of work.

Perfection is needed even for doing

a wrong thing.

kis ka hai qimaash aisa guudar bhare hain saare

dekho n jo logon ke divan nikalte hain

Who has any competence?

Look at the people, full of crap.

Those who publish their divans

day in, day out.

The following Mir couplet about the centredness of nazar (discriminating look) is based on his habitual deep insight. It is wonderful in many respects.

qalab yaa’ni k dil a’jab zar hai

is ki naqqaadi ko nazar hai shart

The centre of my being,

also called the heart,

is as precious as gold.

To discern it,

you need an eye

that can place a jewel.

To give a few examples of excellent couplets by Mir is a challenging task because each couplet is memorable and can easily be added to a list of quotable quotes.

qadr rakhti n thi mataa’-e dil

saare aa’lam ko main dikha laaya.

The wealth of the heart

commanded little recognition.

I showed it to the whole world

but there was no true buyer.

ek do hon to sehr-e chashm kahuun

kaarkhaana hai vaan to jaadu ka

If it were one or two,

I would call it the allurement of eyes.

There is a whole world of wizardry here.

iltefaat-e zamaana par mat ja

Mir deta hai rozgaar fareb

Don’t be misled

by the kindness of the world.

Mir, this world is full of traps.

ustukhwaan kaamp kaamp jalte hain

i’shq ne aaag y lagaaii hai

My bones burn and shiver.

What a fire love has ignited!

hairat-e husn-e yaar se chup huun

sab se harf o kalaam hai mauquuf

Due to a feeling of wonder and awe

caused by the beloved’s beauty

I have been rendered speechless

in the assembly of friends.

khush n aaii tumhaari chaal hamein

yuun n karna tha paaemaal hamein

I am a victim

of your manner of walking.

You should not have crushed

me in this manner.

shahr-e khuubi ko khuub dekha Mir

jins-e dil ka kahien rivaaj nahien

I went through the city of beauty

in great detail.

There are no takers

for a commodity like a heart.

us ke iifaae a’hd tak n jiye

u’mr ne ham se bevafaaii ki

I did not live long enough

to see her fulfil her promise.

Alas,