Meena Kumari Betrayed Her Pain And Smouldering Pathos Through Her Poetry
By
Sumit Paul, New Age Islam
31 March
2023
Meena Kumari's Death Anniversary Falls On March 31:
A 'Tragedy Queen' Who Wrote Poetry
"Har Naye Zakhm Par Ab Rooh Bilak Uthti
Hai / Honth Agar Hans Bhi Padein, Aankh Chhalak Uthti Hai."
(Every new
wound breaks down the soul / Even when there's a streak of smile on the lips,
eyes well up with tears)
"Aaghaaz Toh Hota Hai Anjaam Nahin Hota
/Jab Meri Kahani Mein Woh Naam Nahin Hota"
(Though it
begins, it never ends / When that name doesn't figure in my story)
Meena Kumari
-----
The pain
and pathos expressed in the aforementioned couplets will suggest that some
seasoned poet penned them. Meena Kumari 'Naaz' wrote them. Reams have
been written on the acting prowess of the 'Tragedy Queen' but still not much
has been written on India's Emily Dickinson or Sylvia Plath.
Let me
descant upon this facet of Mahjabeen's persona as everyone knows her as a very
profound actress. Neglected and tormented by the Poet laureate husband Sir Ted
Hughes, Sylvia Plath expressed her angst through her poetry. Likewise,
extremely sensitive and silent Meena Kumari betrayed her pain and smouldering
pathos through her poetry.
Though
Kamal Amrohi thought that she had no sense of poetry and Khwaja Ahmad Abbas
also didn't give much importance to her as a poet despite admiring her acting,
there were takers like Sampooran Singh Kalra ' Gulzar ' who appreciated her as
a poetess of sensibilities (Shayara-E-Jazbaat): Jab Bhi Utheen
Samandar-E-Dil Mein Jazbaat Ki Laharein/ Takra Ke Saahil Se Mismaar Ho Gayeen (Whenever
the waves of feelings surfaced on the sea of heart/ They got demolished after
hitting the sea-shore).
A kind of
unfulfillment and loss marked her poetry- Dil Tod Diya Us Ne Ye Kah Ke
Nigaahon Se/ Patthar Se Jo Takraye Woh Jaam Nahin Hota. French poet Charles
Baudelaire used to say that poetry that subtly reveals a poet's entombed
desires can be called good poetry despite being subjective in nature. Meena
Kumari's deep-buried subjective poetry, exhumed by yet another poet like
Gulzar, has the elements of quality poetry (Meyaari Shayari).
Just ponder
over this couplet: Kahin Koi Taara, Kahin Koi Jugnu/ Jo Meri Raat Thi Woh Aap
Ka Savera Hai (Somewhere some star, somewhere a glow-worm/ What was my
night, was your morning). Meena Kumari had no pretensions to being a poet. She
believed in William Wordsworth's definition of poetry that it was a spontaneous
overflow of powerful feelings.
"Utar
Aaya Khud-Ba-Khud Kaaghaz Pe/ Talatum-E-Sog Jo Utha Dil Mein" (That descended on a sheet of
paper/ When the tempest of pain pierced through the heart).
The
wistfulness is obvious in her poetry: An-Kahi, An-Suni Si Kuchh Baatein/
Soone Din Aur Ye Sunsaan Raatein ( Some unspoken and unheard words/ Forlorn
days and destitute nights). Her poetry was not always immersed in self-pity,
she had pragmatism as well: Ye Na Socho Kal Kya Ho/ Kaun Kahe Iss Pal Kya Ho.
She gave away her notebooks and desultory poems and Nazms to Gulzar, who
compiled and got them published into a Deewan (collection). Parveen
Shakir's couplet articulates Meena Kumari's life and poetry: Ik Dard Ka
Fasana Hai Meri Sukhanvari/ Likhti Hoon Aur Ro Deti Hoon (My poetry is a saga
of pain/ I write and break down). Yes, Meena Kumari's entire oeuvre was a saga
of sorrow. By the way, Meena Kumari loved white. She called it, ' Mera
Pasandeeda Rang ' (My favourite colour). No wonder ' Gulzar ' always wears
white! Tere Rang Mein Rang Gaya/ Tu Jahan Gaya, Tere Sang Gaya.
----
Meena
Kumari's Death Anniversary falls on March 31
URL: https://newageislam.com/islam-women-feminism/meena-pain-smouldering-pathos-poetry/d/129452