It was a pleasure recently to hear three incredible couplets from a colleague and a friend. It is always nice to chat up with learned people, you get to hear some very fresh poetry. So here they are for all of you to read and comment on...
Faarigh hain kash ma kash se jahaan ki shikasta dil
kab pahunche haath shaane ka cheeni ke baal ko!
the incredible thing about this couplet is the mixing of different discourses in two lines. 'Shikasta' is a word for 'broken', the broken heart is free of the troubles of the world. The word 'shaana' is used for the shoulder as well as for the hair. A hair is also what a crack in the cup looks like and in the popular idiom the crack in the cup is also called 'baal padhna'. Cheeni means bone china. What the poet means to say is that a broken heart is comparable to delicate china ware and celebrates the fact that this 'baal' or crack cannot be straightened by the comb and that the 'worldly comb' can never reach it. The couplet is also interesting in presenting the old debate between aestheticism and realism. The comb that straightens the hair can be compared to mundane, dry reality that cannot touch or appreciate the intricacies of the cracks in chinaware.
The second one is by a poet called 'Nasikh', was a known wrestler and later became a poet.
Aaram se wahi hain jo pheren khuda se moonh
dekho hai murgh e qibla numa izteraab mein!
The second line proves the first line. Seemingly atheistic, the couplet actually talks about the plight of the people who stick to the right path and are always baffled (izteraab) like the weather cock(murgh e qibla numa). The interesting fact is that the weather cock always has to face adverse winds in order to stick to its north south position. It would be a lot easier for it if the weather cock could also go with the changing times.
and finally a beautiful one with a sweet (literally) image:
rashk e sheereen hai mera sheereen dehn o farhaad
thook dewe wo jahaan howen bataashe paida!
Is sher mein sheereeni koot koot ke bhari hai. Look at the play on sheereen/farhaad. The image of the spit of the beloved is aptly compared to the bataasha (the sweet wafer that the christians eat at communion). This is also of the tradition of scoring a point over the legendary lovers, as the poet claims that even sheereen is envious of the sweetness of his beloved.
Tuesday, August 24, 2010
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poochte hain woh ke ghalib kauh hai...
- aahu e khutan
- Senior assistant professor at Zakir Husain Delhi College (Eve.) of the Delhi University
Tuesday, August 24, 2010
Three new couplets by classical ustads
It was a pleasure recently to hear three incredible couplets from a colleague and a friend. It is always nice to chat up with learned people, you get to hear some very fresh poetry. So here they are for all of you to read and comment on...
Faarigh hain kash ma kash se jahaan ki shikasta dil
kab pahunche haath shaane ka cheeni ke baal ko!
the incredible thing about this couplet is the mixing of different discourses in two lines. 'Shikasta' is a word for 'broken', the broken heart is free of the troubles of the world. The word 'shaana' is used for the shoulder as well as for the hair. A hair is also what a crack in the cup looks like and in the popular idiom the crack in the cup is also called 'baal padhna'. Cheeni means bone china. What the poet means to say is that a broken heart is comparable to delicate china ware and celebrates the fact that this 'baal' or crack cannot be straightened by the comb and that the 'worldly comb' can never reach it. The couplet is also interesting in presenting the old debate between aestheticism and realism. The comb that straightens the hair can be compared to mundane, dry reality that cannot touch or appreciate the intricacies of the cracks in chinaware.
The second one is by a poet called 'Nasikh', was a known wrestler and later became a poet.
Aaram se wahi hain jo pheren khuda se moonh
dekho hai murgh e qibla numa izteraab mein!
The second line proves the first line. Seemingly atheistic, the couplet actually talks about the plight of the people who stick to the right path and are always baffled (izteraab) like the weather cock(murgh e qibla numa). The interesting fact is that the weather cock always has to face adverse winds in order to stick to its north south position. It would be a lot easier for it if the weather cock could also go with the changing times.
and finally a beautiful one with a sweet (literally) image:
rashk e sheereen hai mera sheereen dehn o farhaad
thook dewe wo jahaan howen bataashe paida!
Is sher mein sheereeni koot koot ke bhari hai. Look at the play on sheereen/farhaad. The image of the spit of the beloved is aptly compared to the bataasha (the sweet wafer that the christians eat at communion). This is also of the tradition of scoring a point over the legendary lovers, as the poet claims that even sheereen is envious of the sweetness of his beloved.
Faarigh hain kash ma kash se jahaan ki shikasta dil
kab pahunche haath shaane ka cheeni ke baal ko!
the incredible thing about this couplet is the mixing of different discourses in two lines. 'Shikasta' is a word for 'broken', the broken heart is free of the troubles of the world. The word 'shaana' is used for the shoulder as well as for the hair. A hair is also what a crack in the cup looks like and in the popular idiom the crack in the cup is also called 'baal padhna'. Cheeni means bone china. What the poet means to say is that a broken heart is comparable to delicate china ware and celebrates the fact that this 'baal' or crack cannot be straightened by the comb and that the 'worldly comb' can never reach it. The couplet is also interesting in presenting the old debate between aestheticism and realism. The comb that straightens the hair can be compared to mundane, dry reality that cannot touch or appreciate the intricacies of the cracks in chinaware.
The second one is by a poet called 'Nasikh', was a known wrestler and later became a poet.
Aaram se wahi hain jo pheren khuda se moonh
dekho hai murgh e qibla numa izteraab mein!
The second line proves the first line. Seemingly atheistic, the couplet actually talks about the plight of the people who stick to the right path and are always baffled (izteraab) like the weather cock(murgh e qibla numa). The interesting fact is that the weather cock always has to face adverse winds in order to stick to its north south position. It would be a lot easier for it if the weather cock could also go with the changing times.
and finally a beautiful one with a sweet (literally) image:
rashk e sheereen hai mera sheereen dehn o farhaad
thook dewe wo jahaan howen bataashe paida!
Is sher mein sheereeni koot koot ke bhari hai. Look at the play on sheereen/farhaad. The image of the spit of the beloved is aptly compared to the bataasha (the sweet wafer that the christians eat at communion). This is also of the tradition of scoring a point over the legendary lovers, as the poet claims that even sheereen is envious of the sweetness of his beloved.
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