Bahadur Shah Zafar: Remembering The Last Mughal And His Poetry
By
Sumit Paul, New Age Islam
24 October
2023
I often
visit Burma (now Myanmar) to teach Theravada Buddhism (also prevalent and
practised in Sri Lanka). Whenever I go to that country, I make it a point to
visit Bahadur Shah Zafar's tomb in Rangoon and feel sad for the 20th and last
Mughal emperor who passed away in exile. October 24 is Zafar's birth
anniversary.
Bahadur Sha Zafar/ File Photo
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He was also
a pretty good poet whose poetry was perfected by Ghalib's coeval Mohammad
Ibrahim Zauq. It's often said that he was arguably the most versatile Mughal
because he could write poetry in Persian and Urdu.
He was an
excellent music composer, a revered Sufi, a distinguished theologian, a
brilliant calligrapher, an epicurean (he cooked as well and wrote a book on
rare Mughal cuisine which is no longer available), a great connoisseur of art
and poetry and also a sartorial expert! But he wasn't an able ruler and a firm
leader of men because he wasn't shrewd and manipulative like his predecessors
and other Mughals. Yet, what a dismal fate befell a gentle soul! His sons were
decollated, he was stripped of all powers and banished to far away Burma where
he breathed his last like a commoner.
"It's fate that flings the dice and when it flings/ Of kings makes
peasants and of peasants makes kings."
John
Dryden's immortal lines articulate the miserable life of an emperor who was a
witness to a dynasty that ruled for more than three hundred years. As for his
poetry, despite being an accomplished poet writing in Persian and Urdu (he also
wrote a few Ghazals in Chagatai and it's strange that after only his
great-great grandfather Babar, Zafar also knew Chagatai and wrote in it), he
was never considered a very good poet by Momin and Ghalib. Zauq himself was not
very happy with the emperor's poetry. It's said that had Zauq concentrated less
on perfecting Zafar's (humdrum) poetry, he'd have been as great as his
contemporary Mirza Ghalib.
In his list
of the seventeen greatest Urdu poets of 19th-century Delhi, Sir Syed doesn't
mention Zafar. It's believed that even Ghalib, who took over as Zafar's Ustad
(master and mentor) rather late in life, didn't consider him a particularly
good poet. A deeply devout man, Zafar believed in the divinity of Allah:
Kiski Himayat
Dhoondhein Hum Aur Kis Se Marham Chahein 'Zafar'
Rakhte Nazar
Hum Apne Khuda Par, Voh Hi Humara Haami Hai
(Whose
favour shall I ask and whom should I ask for a cure, Zafar/ I've faith in my
god. He alone is my benefactor). He was a liberal man with latitudinarian
elements of a Sufi embedded in his persona. Born to a Hindu mother, he'd
celebrate the Hindu festivals of Holi, Dussehra and Diwali with as much fervour
as he did the two Eids.
The entire
life of Zafar was a saga of pain, pathos and failures. His life depicts Fani
Badayuni's proverbial Misra: Naakaamiyan Saath Raheen, Jab Tak
Saansein Chalti Raheen (Failures accompanied till I breathed my last).
"Na
Kisi Ki Aankh Ka Noor Hoon, Na Kisi Ke Dil Ka Qaraar Hoon/ Jo Kisi Ke Kaam Na
Aa Sake Ma'in Vo Ek Musht-E-Ghubaar Hoon." Whether or not he really penned this couplet
is a debatable issue, but it underlines Zafar's abject helplessness. By the
way, one must listen to this Ghazal in the voice of Rafi for the film
Laal-Qila (1960). The music of S N Tripathi and voice of Rafi will transport
you to Rangoon!
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A regular columnist for New Age Islam, Sumit Paul is a researcher in
comparative religions, with special reference to Islam. He has contributed
articles to the world's premier publications in several languages including
Persian.
URL: https://newageislam.com/islamic-personalities/bahadur-shah-zafar-mughal-poetry/d/130959
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