Saghar Siddiqui: Remembering A Mendicant Poet
By Sumit Paul, New Age
Islam
8 August
2024
Gadaa Hoon Magar Ana Abhi Zinda Hai
Main Maangta Nahin, Log De Dete Hain
Saghar Siddiqui
(Though I'm
a beggar, my self-respect is still intact/ I don't ask for alms, people give
me)
Saghar
Siddiqui indeed lived like a mendicant and died unsung and homeless in Lahore.
He died fifty years ago on July 19, 1974 and was born on August 14, 1928 in
Ambala (India).
A couple of
Urdu newspapers in Pakistan perfunctorily mentioned on July 19 that it was his
50th death anniversary. Known as a Saint poet, Siddiqui was found dead on a
street corner of Lahore at age 46. His dog also died a year later, reportedly
at the same spot. "Dil Jab Bhi Logon
Se Ghabrata Hai / Sag Ke Gale Se Lipat Ke Ro Leta Hai" (When the heart
is disenchanted with humans/ It hugs the dog and cries; sag: dog in Persian).
Whole life,
he wrote poetry on waste papers and in the fading light of street lamps: Qandeel Ki Roshni Kaafi Hai Likhne Ko / Qalam
Zulmat Mein Tez Daudti Hai (The light of a lamp is enough for writing/ Pen
runs faster in the darkness).
Saghar
Siddiqui's sporadic couplets reveal his sadness: Zindagi Jabr-e-Musalsal Ki Tarah Kaati Hai/ Jaane Kis Jurm Ki Pai Hai
Saza Yaad Nahin (I've spent life like a continuous struggle/ I can't recall
the wrong that I committed) and "Yahi
Agar Zindagi Hai / Maut Iss Se Behtar Honi Hi Hai" (If this is life/
Death has to be better than this). Elsewhere he wrote, "Maut Kahte Hain Jis Ko Ai Saghar/ Zindagi Ki
Koi Kadi Hogi" (What's known as death/ Could be a chain of life). Ghar Na Chaukhat/ Na Kisi Ke Aane Ki Aahat /
Har Soo Khamoshi/ Kyon Bojh Banta Hai Kisi Par/ Jaa, Duniya Se Hat (Neither
a home nor a threshold/ No tiptoeing of arrival/ Silence everywhere/ Why should
you become a liability/ Erase yourself from the world). He scribbled this on
the back of a packet of cigarettes before dying.
But a
Pakistani professor of mine told me that he heard this poetic ramble at a
mushaira in Faisalabad (erstwhile Lyallpur) and the poet passed it off as his
own because Saghar would pay the rent with meagre amounts earned by selling his
poems to magazines.
Sometimes,
he'd have to sell his poetry to other poets for a few rupees. He would use the
waste paper spread around to light fires to stay warm during winter nights.
Some of these poems were re-sold by these people as their own work. Throughout
his life, he remained uncared for.
A critic
wrote about his life, "Ek Aisi
Zindagi Jise Saaya Bhi Mayassar Na Hua" (A life that didn't even get a
shadow). He was deceived by all.
Government
of Pakistan never provided any help to him. "Jis Ahad Mein Lut Jaaye Faqeeron Ki Kamai/ Uss Ahad Ke Sultan Se Kuchh
Bhool Hui Hai" (When even a mendicant loses all that he has/ The ruler
of that reign must have made a mistake). This applies to the current dismal
scenario in India. It must be mentioned that Laal Mori Pat Rakhio Bhala Jhoole Laalan De - This Dhamaal song is very popular in Pakistan
and is often sung by various singers at the country's Sufi shrines especially
at Lal Shahbaz Qalandar's shrine.
Julien
Columeau, a French writer in Pakistan, wrote a semi-fictional Urdu novel Saghar
based on Saghar Siddiqui's life. Such a relentlessly tragic life defies the
boundless benevolence of a god or Allah if at all it does exist.
Lastly, his
famous couplet underlines the sanctimony of not just a religious and pious
Muslim but also of the entire community: Hooron
Ki Talab Aur Mai o Saghar Se Hai Nafart/ Zahid Tere Irfaan Se Kuchh Bhool Hui
Hai (Lusting after the Houries in
Paradise and hating wine and goblet/ Oh abstinent, your Wisdom seems to have
got it all wrong). 'Beghar Ne Duniya Ko
Ghar Samajhne Ki Bhool Ki Thi ' (The homeless mistook the world for his
home and made a mistake). Great Urdu poet Ali Sardar Jafri poignantly said when
Saghar Siddiqui breathed his last.
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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.
New Age Islam, Islam Online, Islamic Website, African Muslim News, Arab World News, South Asia News, Indian Muslim News, World Muslim News, Women in Islam, Islamic Feminism, Arab Women, Women In Arab, Islamophobia in America, Muslim Women in West, Islam Women and Feminism