Majaz Lakhnawi: Heart-Throb Of Urdu Poetry
By
Sumit Paul, New Age Islam
20 October
2023
"Mujhe
Saaghar Dobara Mil Gaya Hai
Talatum Mein
Kinara Mil Gaya Hai
Meri Baada-Parasti
Par Na Jaao
Jawani Ko
Sahara Mil Gaya Hai "
Asrar-ul-Haq
'Majaaz' Lakhnavi/Rudaulvi (1911-1955)
(I've got
the goblet once again/ Got to the shore in the raging tempest/ Don't dwell upon
my fondness for drinking/ My youth has got a support)
"Kufra
Kya, Taslees Kya, Ilhaad Kya, Islam Kya
Tu
Bahar-Soorat Kisi Zanjeer Mein Jakda Hua
Tod
Sakta Hai Toh Tod De Pahle Sab Qaid-O-Band
Bediyon
Ke Saaz Pe Naghmaat-E-Aazadi Na Ga "
'Majaaz'
Lakhnavi
(What's
sacrilege, what's Trinity, what's atheism and what's Islam?/ You're after all,
manacled by all isms/ Break free of all bonds and bindings, if you can/ Don't
play the song of freedom on the instrument of chains)
The
aforementioned quatrains reveal the poetic contradictions in one of the finest
Urdu poets of the last century, Asrar-ul-Haq ' Majaz' Lakhnawi. October 19
is his birth anniversary.
Though
drinking proved to be his undoing, 'Majaz' had a rare kind of sensitivity all
aren't endowed with. Only a poet of Majaz’s calibre could write, "Tere
Maathe Pe Ye Aanchal Bahut Hi Khoob Hai Lekin/ Tu Iss Aanchal Se Ek Parcham
Bana Leti Toh Acchha Tha" (Though this veil on your head looks good/
It'd have been better had you turned it into a flag). This couplet shows his
respect for women and their rights. He was in favour of women raising their
voices in unison: Aawaaz Jo Taa'reef-O-Tarane Ke Liye Bani Hai/ Wahi Aawaaz
Takhreeb-O-Ta'ssub Ke Khilaaf Bhi Uthti Hai (The voice meant for praising
and singing/ Is also raised to register violence and discrimination).
Known as
Keats of Urdu poetry, 'Majaz' had an enigmatic persona which endeared him to
young girls of Aligarh and Lucknow.
Ismat
Chughtai wrote of him, "Asraar Ki Shakhsiyat Mein Beshumaar Asraar (the
plural of 'sirr'; mysteries) Nihaan Thay. Aise Logon Ki Jaanib Tabeea't
Yoon Bhi Raaghib Hoti Hi Hai" (Asraar had many mysteries in his
persona. People feel naturally drawn to such mysterious individuals).
'Majaz' was
a progressive poet who also had pronounced elements of romanticism and
revolution in his approach to life and poetry: Ishq Ka Zauq-e-Nazara Muft
Mein Badnaam Hai/ Husn Khud Betaab Hai Jalwe Dikhane Ke Liye (Love is
unnecessarily defamed for being voyeuristic/ Beauty is more than eager to
flaunt its blandishments; in nuce, if love is a voyeur, beauty is also an
exhibitionist!).
One of
Majaz's most beautiful couplets is: Dafn Kar Sakta Hoon Seene Mein Tumhare
Raaz Ko/ Aur Tum Chaho Toh Afsana Bana Sakta Hoon Main (I can entomb your
secret in my heart and also make a story, if you want).
Like all
great poets and writers, 'Majaz' also had a premonition of death just like the
great Keats also wrote: Time to glide into the ethereal sublime. By the way,
Keats shuffled off this mortal coil at the age of 26! This epiphanous quatrain
of 'Majaz' is indicative of the tip-toeing of the Grim Reaper: Zindagi Saaz
De Rahi Hai Mujhe/ Sehar-o-Ejaaz De Rahi Hai Mujhe/ Aur Bahut Door Aasmanon Se/
Maut Aawaaz De Rahi Hai Mujhe (Life gives me the instrument/ It also drops
epiphanies/ From the far away skies/ Death beckons me).
He passed
away at the age of 44. But his poetry stays with us and shall continue to stay.
By the way, the nom de plume 'Majaz' means 'competent' in Arabic. 'Majaz' was
more than a competent poet. He was the heart-throb of Urdu Sukhanvari
(poetry).
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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/spiritual-meditations/majaz-lakhnawi-urdu-poetry/d/130936