Parveen Shakir: A Brief Life Sketch
By Prof. Makkhan Lal for New Age Islam
19 December 2021
Parveen Shakir is considered to be one of
the most respected Pakistani writers of Urdu language. She gave birth to a new
genre of Ghazals and Nazms; writing in the light of the female experience,
which was never in use before her. Parveen wrote Ghazals and Nazms full of
fascinating vocabulary that mesmerized everyone and that stirred the souls.
Parveen is known as one of the leading women writers who used the words ladki,
ladaka, ladli etc. in her works, which was rarely or almost never used in
Ghazals and Nazms.
Parveen Shakir started writing at a very
young age. She wrote both customary/traditional Ghazals as well as Nazms (free
verses). Her writings are multi-faceted and covered a variety of subjects, but
the most noticeable themes in Parveen's poetry are love, affection, feminism
and social customs, traditions, sex discriminations and female humiliations.
However, the feminist ethics of Parveen Shakir are more than poetic skills. Her
dilemmas and concerns represent an educated, urbanized middle-class trying to
harmonizing ideas between tradition and modernity. Parveen Shakir said during
an interview, "The philosophy of love is the foundation of my poetry and
that is why I always consider and try to understand the triangle of God, the
Universe and the Humans."
The poetry of Parveen Shakir was well
appreciated, and after her untimely death she is now considered as one of the
best and among the most prominent modern poets in Urdu literature. There is no
doubt that Shakir gave the most beautiful feminine touch to Urdu poetry. While
writing her first book, Khushbu she was just a young girl, still unmarried and
relatively restricted and restrained. Her later books reflect the coming change
in her life - her struggle, as she confronts like many women in Pakistan with
similar issues -- an unequal/mismatched marriage, early motherhood, omnipresent
in-laws (house), work and family-life balance, and indeed at the end divorce.
Shakir believed that she was not understood correctly by her own family, by her
in-laws and indeed in the marriage itself. Especially, her passion for Urdu
literature, Ghazals and Nazms was particularly not understood. In fact, even
her name and fame, her reputation as a talented poet and a brilliant civil
servant could not save her from the ubiquitous patriarchy, social stereotypes
and outdated customs and traditions. In the preface of Sadberg, Parveen writes:
My crime is
that I was born in a tribe where having a thinking mind is a crime. But the
mistake made by the tribesmen was that they did not bury me in the ground as
soon as I was born (and now it is not that easy for them to pin me in the
wall!)…. But they is not oblivious to their mistake, so now here I am and this
blind well of my compulsion, taking rounds of which my feet have turned to
stone and my eyes water --- because like other girls, I refused to wear a
head-to-toe burqa! And the end of the those who defy is never good!
With every
refusal, one more nail got embedded in my body. but those who hammered nails in
my body left my eyes unharmed…. maybe
they knew that extinguishing them would make no difference in the inner light
or perhaps they needed a deef and dumb witness to enjoy their deeds. I wonder why this testimony still hasn't
rocked my eyes!”
Shakir was an exception in many ways; her
authority over Ghazals and Nazms was no less than that of any eminent poet of
her time; though she was very young in age. Many people tried malign her in and
out of literary circles. Due to this, various rumors were spread. Nevertheless,
she continued to write and touched new heights of fame. She received attention
and praise from established literary dons and great poets. She was indeed a
darling of the common public. The great literary giants and poets like C. M.
Naeem, Faiz Ahmad Faiz, Ahmad Nadeem Kazmi, Zia Mohiddin, Munir Niazi, Fahmida
Riaz, Kishwar Naheed, Amjad Islam Amjad and Ahmed Faraz praised Parveen Shakir
for her literary contribution and styles. Ghazal singers like Ghulam Ali, Abida
Parveen, Tasavvur Khanam, Tahira Sayyid, Tina Sani and indeed, the emperor of
ghazal singing, Mehdi Hasan himself, adopted Parveen’s Ghazals and lent their
voices to her notes. Besides, her outstanding performances in mushayaras around
the world, he made television appearances, gave interviews and did programmes
and discussions with great legends of the Urdu literature.
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Parveen Shakir was born on 24 November 1952
in Karachi, Pakistan. She was the second daughter of Syed Shakir Hussain and
Afzal-Un-Nisha. His father was a resident of Bihar and had moved to Karachi in
1945 in search of a job; two years before the partition of India. Her mother
was from Patna, India and after marrying Shakir Hussain, her mother also moved
to Karachi. Her father, Syed Shakir Hussain,
worked as a clerk in the telephone and telegraph department of Pakistan. Her
family lived in the Rizvia colony, one of the new settlements built before and
after partition to rehabilitate the displaced persons who migrated to the city.
Parveen Shakir's mother describes her as sensitive and very stubborn as a baby
girl. Parveen was very stubborn and also very dear to her parents, that's why
she always had her way in everything.
Parveen Shakir was indifferent towards domestic works and largely
incompetent, but always far ahead in studies and intellectual works. These
small little things about Parveen Shakir help us understand her personality,
her independent and enthusiastic nature; sensitivity and stubbornness all come
into her writings when she talks openly about love, romance, desires of mind
and body from a woman's perspective. Given the age, context and the time she
was writing, Shakir's writings actually challenge rules and stereotypes about
women and even influenced social systems and cultural traditions and beliefs.
After matriculating from Rizvia Girls High
School, she enrolled in Sir Syed Girls' College in 1968 and graduated in 1971
with a Bachelor Degree of Arts. After this Shakir enrolled as a post-graduate
at the University of Karachi and studied English and earned Master's degree in
1972 And
started working as a lecturer at Abdullah Girl's College. At the same
time, Shakir started writing a column also for the daily newspaper 'Jang' in
the name of 'Gosha-e-Chashm'. In 1980, after three years of marriage, he got
her second M.A. Degree in English Linguistics from the University of Karachi.
Gradually, Shakir started getting tired of
teaching. This was because the students were not interested in learning
English. Parveen Shakir says that while teaching in class, sometimes she felt
as if she was talking to the walls. She thought of getting rid of this
situation. In 1981, Shakir took the examination of Civil Senior Service of
Pakistan (CSS, equivalent to the in India) and came second in the Merit List of
successful candidates. The status of Parveen Sahkir as a poet can be understood
by the fact that when she appeared in her Civil Service Examination in 1981, a
question in the examination was on her own Ghazals and Nazms. In 1983 she was
selected to continue training in the Customs and Excise Department. However,
Shakir excelled in the civil service examinations and wanted to join the
Foreign Service. But this could not happen. Pakistan's then Martial Law
Dictator, General Zia-ul-Haq, prohibited women from working in the Foreign
Service. Parveen Shakir always felt sad about it. Later in an interview to
Pakistan TV, he said with a very heavy heart and full of disappointments:
"I wanted to go to the foreign service
and got selected. This was my first choice and I achieved it as well. But that
era was not right. In 1983 the General Sahib who ruled over us issued an
Ordinance that the posting of khawatin (women) would not be out of country at
all… I was Khatoon (woman); it was my crime that they could not forgive. I had
to come to my second choice, Customs "
In Parveen Shakir craving to study and get
knowledge was such, that even after joining the CSS, she kept it alive. In
1991, she was awarded a Fulbright Scholarship to participate in the Harvard
University Program. During the Fulbright Scholarship, she taught South Asian
literature at Trinity College through the Hertford Consortium for Higher
Education. Courses on politics and culture of Pakistan and Bangladesh
separately at St. Joseph's College. At Harvard University, Parveen Shakir
served as a sub-editor of the non-academic activities’ newspaper ‘Harvard News
and Views’. On her return to Pakistan in 1993, she was promoted to the position
of Deputy Director in Customs and Customs Inspection Department.
-----
When Shakir was a student at Sir Syed
College, one of her teachers, Irfana Aziz, inspired her to write Ghazals and
Nazms. Aziz asked her to write a Ghazal on the occasion of Pakistan's Defense
Day (6 September 1967). She was not yet 15 years old. Shakir composed a Ghazal called
'Subhe-e-Watan' (Morning of the Nation) and was awarded the first prize for
this. Irfana Aziz offered Islah (reforms, suggestions and corrections) and also
introduced her to the notes and meters – specifics of Nazm and Ghazal writing.
Irfana Aziz helped Parveen become a better poet. After a few years Shakir came
in contact with Ahmed Nadeem Qasmi
(1916-2006) and took him as her mentor. It is necessary to mention here that
Ahmad Nadeem Qasmi was considered to be a veteran of his time in the field of
Urdu literature. He was counted as a great poet, story-writer, novelist and
indeed legendary editor. He edited many prestigious magazines during his
lifetime. Qasmi became her true guru and Shakir saw Qasmi as a father figure
and affectionately called him "Ammo" and even dedicated her first
book to him; the first poem, a long Nazm, is also dedicated to him.
Parveen Shakir was a well-educated,
self-reliant and financially independent person who could not accept
subordination of anyone. She was also disturbed by social stereotypes,
traditions and inconsistencies. She always took a clear stand regarding the
social and economic status of women in society vis-à-vis customs and
traditions. As a result, her personal life in a conservative society was full
of turmoil. If we try to understand her
personal life journey then the best way I to read her Nazms and Ghazals in the
order the collections were published. As one goes through Shakir’s five
volumes, one is struck by the autographical tone of much of her poetry. One
also feels that poems have been arranged in the books in almost the
chronological order of their composition. Thus, one may read in them the growth
of the “girl” into “lover”, a “wife”, a “mother”, and a “working woman” facing
a hostile world. Shakir did not hesitate to write on a range of experiences
within the marital love – on sexual intimacy, pregnancy, childbirth,
infidelity, separation and divorce –
which no male poet has ever written about it in Urdu literature.
In a TV interview, on a very personal
moments (which Shakir's very close friend Rafaqat Javed has also mentioned in
her book, "Parveen Shakir Jaisa
Maine Jana"), Shakir in a very choked voice said, "Life did not do
justice to me” (Zindagi Ne Mere Saath Insaaf Naheen Kiya). After all,
why did she say that? We need to know.
Born in a middle-class family, Parveen
Shakir inherited everything that is part and parcel of that stratum of society.
Along with the love of parents, the freedom to read and write, pursue a career
also came social stereotypes and fetters. By the age of twenty, Shakir had
gained considerable fame in the world of Urdu Ghazals and Nazms. She was called
regularly in Mushayaras. When she moved towards youth, tide of emotions also
followed. Her first love in student life was with a tall and handsome boy
studying in her senior class. But after sometime she fell in love with a
government official and the same person was the inspiration behind Shakir's
first book, Khushbu. Shakir was madly in
love with this person. She wanted to marry him. But this could not happen.
Although both belonged to Muslim religion, their sects were different. Shakir
was Shia and he was Sunni. Their social status was also different from each
other. Parveen Shakir's grief and pain through all this trauma is not only
visible in the poems of her first book Khushbu but also can be seen in the introduction "Daricha-e-Gul" of
"Khushbu". Parveen writes:
“On the crumbling threshold of the
fleetfooted moments, holding on to the arms of the wind, a girl stands and
wonders: what should she tell you? Years ago in the still hours of some night,
she had prayed to God that he should reveal to her the girl inside her. I am
sure, God must have smiled, at least once, at the simplicity of this prayer
(Girls of tender age don’t know that no greater calamity than self-knowledge
befalls those who dwell on earth), but he granted her request. And so at an age
when others wish for the moon, she received the magic world that would let her
into the thousand gated city of the self.”
Parveen Shakir's first book Khushbu can be
described as a book of pure love and collection of poems of all colors
associated with love. Khushbu is not only expresses love, disinterest,
detachment, despair, giddiness, etc. with much disinterest; one can also fine
physical desires in a very simple language and in extremely civilized manner.
All of this was a big thing in the then Islamic society and that too by an
unmarried girl. Before Shakir, her seniors Fahmida Riaz, Kishvar Naheed, and
others, were writing Nazms and Ghazals on the lines of women's liberation
movement inspired by Kate Millett and the likes in the west. They tried to rope
in Shakir to write in the same way but Shakir very politely declined (see
Nazms, Masala and Tanqeed and Takhaliq). Once she was asked about her beliefs
and about her certain Nazms in the context of the Women's Liberation Movement,
she replied "Yes these are on the same line but not of the militant
types." Parveen Shakir spoke of women's rights and freedom but always
staying inside decently defined social boundaries. Shakir never adopted the
language of Fahmida Riyaz, Kishwar Naheed, etc.
Parveen Shakir's first collection of Nazms
and Ghazals Khushbu was published in 1977. It became an instant sensation and
received much critical acclaim and public love. The second print of the book
came out within sex months of publication. Shakir received the prestigious
Adamjee Literary Award for this. In Khushbu she is a young passionate girl who
has a lot of aesthetic sense and also eyes for beauty. She loves her femininity
completely and never tries to hide it. She tells herself and wants to convince
the world that a young girl's innocence and feelings are worth expressing and
knowing. Parveen Shakir's biggest contribution to Urdu poetry is that she
revealed how a woman loves a man with all her heart and passion. No other poet
had expressed so deeply before and was so comfortable with her feelings for a
man. But h feelings never crossed the lines of love and went into lust. There
can be an innocent sexuality wrapped in sobriety! A latent sadness is also felt
during Khushbu's romantic and lighthearted journey. It finally comes to the
forefront when she is disappointed in love. She feels that his feelings are not
fulfilled and she is surprised at the entire love affair issue not knowing
clearly whom to blame.
The world of her dreams is slowly
shattering and with this she realizes the bitter realities of life. The
difference of personality and social status is having a big impact in their
relationship. There was more disagreement and sadness than this only. This is
where the real poetess is born. Khushbu is a beautiful love story written in
poetry and woven with tender emotions. Parveen Shakir always took a very clear
stand regarding love. In a TV interview, when Shakir was asked whether love is
required to do poetry. Her answer was:
When a person learns how important it is to
love someone and to be loved by someone, that person becomes civilized; love
teaches patience and empowers a person to bear and makes a person perfect ...
When existence found intuition for love, poetry was born.
During all this Shakir was undergoing
severe depression due to refusal of marriage with her loved one. Dr. Naseer Ali, her cousin, treated and cared
for her. He was Shakir's cousin in a relationship and marriage between cousins’
siblings is common in Islam. They married in September 1976. Parveen Shakir was
twenty-four years old at that time and by then she had become a very well-known
figure in the world of Urdu literature. Signs of trouble started appearing in
their marriage right from the beginning. Shakir's mother-in-law and other
members of the family wanted Shakir to stay at home and take care of the
family. Nearly three years after marriage, on 20 November 1979, Parveen Shakir
gave birth to a beautiful son whom she named Syed Murad Ali. She used to fondly
call her son by the name 'Geetu' and dedicated to him her third book
Khudkalami. Parveen Shakir has always had these deep hurt feelings that Nasir
Ali visited to meet Shakir and see the son's face on the third day of his
birth. It is certainly very sad and hurtful thing for any wife and the
first-time mother.
Khushbu's sensitive girl has grown quite
mature over the years and had become a strong woman. For her, love and feelings
are not everything in the world anymore. She had seen a lot of fame, criticism,
jealousy, rumour-mongering and had been victim of malicious campaign, and
indeed had felt deeply the hypocrisy in the society. She had experienced
workplace harassment that reinforced her belief in feminism. Most importantly,
she was now a married woman. Khushbu's shy girl has become a confident married
woman writing fairly openly on sexual and marital bliss. Later, the Nazms and
Ghazals of "Sadbarg" give a strong feeling that the shadows of grief
and mourning are taking away her happiness. The dream was shattered; the sorrow
was deeper than ever.
Shattered marital life is seen in the role
of "Sadberg". Parveen herself writes in the role of
"Sadberg" (which appeared in 1980):
“When the time of celebrations came in
the life, not only only Sandrilla's shoes were missing, there were neither that
dream, nor that garden, nor that princess. All the fairies of good colors had
left for their gloomy countries. With blood-stained palms the princess rubbing
her eyes was left alone in the forest— and the evening in the forest never
comes alone! Wolves are her best friends! There is only one way to save the
princess, she has to tell the story for a thousand nights….and so for only 27
nights have passed.
There is no skill to conquer the bounty
of a perpetual lier; and there would be
no better one than the wind, who kisses the flowers early in the morning and
wakes them up and at dusk snatches its petals with her greedy nails--- There is
no problem in paying the cost with life, but it surely hurts to get scattered
petal to petal to petal--- Since the wind does not have a house, so it cannot
see a roof over someone's head. !
The Ghazals and Nazms of “Sadberg” show
that those were not of the happiest times of Shakir's life and an atmosphere of
despair and gloom is seen all around. After the birth of her son, there was a
hope that Dr. Nasir and Shakir's relations would improve. Alas! this could not
happen. Despite Shakir's efforts, her marital life continued to deteriorate for
years. In fact, Parveen Shakir and Dr. Naseer Ali were people from two
different worlds; both had different world views about the life. In such a
situation, they thought it was appropriate to separate and in 1987, they
separated from each other with mutual consent. Parveen Shakir had unbridled
love with his son Murad. She could not even think of a life without Murad. She
took the responsibility of bringing-up Murad without any demand from Dr.
Naseer, without any condition, and also accepted the condition stipulated in
divorce, stating that if Parveen Shakir married another man then son Murad
would be taken from her and given to father. Dr. Naseer got remarried within a
year of divorce but Parveen Shakir remained unmarried for the remaining years
of her life. Son Murad was such a big part of his life, it can be understood
from the many Nazms written by Shakir for his son.
On the one hand, where daily life was going
through a lot of trouble, her third collection Khudkalami came out which
presents Parveen Shakir as a strong image of a self-supporting, independent,
functioning and tenacious woman as well as an affectionate, dotting mother. All
her sufferings faded into his son's eyesight. Her Nazms and Ghazals in this volume
provide a beautiful description of a woman's pregnancy and feelings of being a
mother. She is very happy to bring a new life to the world and loves her child
completely. The pain of motherhood is a new feeling. Some of the scenes and
Ghazals in this collection reflect the struggles of his professional life. She
seems to be trying to reconcile the increasing responsibilities in difficult
times and feels divided between her professional life, domestic duties and
motherhood. Poet inside her does not get time for herself. Referring to her job
in customs, she writes:
Numbers
devour my day like vultures,
Words
come to see me late at night.
In 1986, Parveen Shakir was appointed as
the Second Secretary in the Federal Bureau of Revenue in Islamabad. She left Karachi,
the city of her birth, and moved to a new life in the capital. The last
collection of his poetry was "Inkar". It emerges as a reflection of
her entire life. She did not abandon her love poetry but now she started
writing openly on various political issues including government flaws.
Parveen Shakir wrote in daily newspaper
Jang in the early 1970s and 80s. She
continued to publish her ideas in newspapers in the 1990s. She commented on a
myriad of topics ranging from literary, cultural and political in her column,
Gosha-e-Chashm (The Corner of the Eye). In these columns she did not hesitate
to criticize the government. From time to time in addition to other things, in
her columns, she started pointing out the shortcomings to the government in
very satirical manner. For example, in an article (published May 22, 1994)
while discussing the corruption in banks in relation to payment of salaries of
employees she says, “she is happy to note that other things also, like
democracy, are handed in parts.” She had had millions of admirers who
understood this satire very well. In another article (published in April 1994),
she wrote about the invitation to a women's studies conference. It was the
first conference of its kind organized by the private sector in Pakistan. She
used this opportunity to comment on the inefficiency of the government.
Satirically said, if the government had held the conference, first a minister
would have been found to inaugurate the programme. And once all the
preparations were completed, this occasion would be canceled due to change of
government.
Parveen Shakir's fifth book
"Kafe-Aina" was compiled by her sister Nasreen and friends after her
death.
Shakir continued to write poetry throughout
his life and won various awards and recognitions. Se was recognized and honored
for her talent and her contribution to Urdu literature. The prestigious awards
he has received include: Best Poet Award, USIS, Karachi, 1970; Adamjee Literary
Award, 1978; Gold Medal - Best Poet of the Year, Sir Syed Girls College,
Karachi, 1979; Allama Iqbal Hijra Award, 1985;
Zahoor-e Nazar Award for Urdu Nazm, India, 1986; Faiz Ahmed Faiz
International Award for Poetry, Delhi, 1989; President's Pride of Performance
Award, Pakistan, 1991; Posthumous awards to Shakir include: APNS 12th
Journalism Award, 1995; Shield of
Recognition, Karachi Women's Peace Committee, 1997; Golden Women of
Pakistan, Ladies Forum, 1997.
On the morning of December 26, 1994,
Parveen Shakir had breakfast with her son Murad and left for office. Her car
was hit very hard by a passenger bus at the Faizal intersection, very close to
her house. The car driver died on the spot. Shakir was rushed to Islamabad
Hospital where she later died. She was 42 years old. Parveen Shakir used to say
during her life time that she would not live beyond 42 years of age and this
proved to be true as she went on a journey of eternity one month after her 42nd
birthday. Her best friend and well-wisher and indeed a great patron, Mrs.
Parveen Qadir Agha, in her book Teardrops, Raindrops: A biography of Parveen
Shakir, writes that "Parveen's dressing table was full of make-up items,
but 15 days before her death, her table was almost empty and makeup had almost
stopped. As if she was ready for the journey of eternity. "
The road on which the accident took place
was named "Parveen Shakir Road" in honor of Parveen Shakir. The
Pakistan Post and Telegraph Department released a commemorative postage stamp
of Rs 10 in 2013 to honor Parveen Shakir on her 19th death anniversary.
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(Prof. Makkhan Lal, a well-known archaeologist
and historian, taught in Banaras Hindu University and Aligarh Muslim University
before moving to Delhi as the founder Director of the Delhi Institute of
Heritage Research and Management. He was also the first Charles Wallace Fellow
in the Cambridge University. He has recently published Parveen Shakir’s poetry
in Hindi in two Volumes)
URL:
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