Bashir Badr - III

Most of the visitors to my blog are not into poetry, and some are not versed with hindi/urdu. But I love poetry, and when I come across lines that make me stop, think and admire them, I like to record it, for myself, and for any others who share my enthusiasm.

So, some more selections, from Bashir Badr ...

Yeh dil ki raakh kured mat, use muskura ke hava na de
Yeh chiraag phir bhi chiraag hai kahi.n tera haath jala ne de

Mai.n ghazal ki shabnami aankh se, yeh dukh ke phool chuna karoo,n
Meri saltanat mera fan rahe mujhe taajo-takht khuda na de

Do not prod the ashes of my heart, do not fan it with a smile
The lamp is still a lamp, it might burn your hand!

With the dewy eyes of my poem, let me pick the flowers of sorrow
Let my art be my kingdom, I do not pray for crown and a throne

Again, this is so tender – yeh chiraag phir bhi chiraag hai.n – but it is not utter despair – there is a sense of hurt, but along with a pride – kahii.n tera haath jala na de.

BaDe shauk se mera ghar jala koii aanch tujhpe na aayegi
Yeh zabaa.n kisi ne khariid li, yeh kalam kisii ka ghulaam hai

Yahaa.n ek bacche ke khoon se jo likha hua hai use paDho
Tera kiirtan mahapaap hai, mera sajda karna haraam hai

Set my house on fire, with pleasure, you will not be in the least risk
My voice has been bought out, my pen has become a slave

Read here what is written in a child’s blood
Your singing hymns is a grave sin, my bending in prayer is illegal

These are the lines that I found most powerful and moving, and impressed me most. They are very unfortunately still true, or perhaps truer, decades after they were originally written. The goriest of crimes go unpunished, since the witnesses are bought out, or wiped away, by money or power. There are so many crimes against children, the innocent beings, on whom we rest our hopes of a better future – of what use is the religion, any one them, if we cannot protect their childhood from such trauma.

Khuda hamko aisee khudaaii na de
Ki apne siva kuch dikhaaii na de

Ghulaami ko barqat samajhne lagei.n
Asiiro.n ko aisee rihaaii na de
[asiir = bandi]

May the Lord not reward me with such greatness
That I am unable to see anything but myself

That they consider slavery a blessing
May He not give such a release to prisoners

Ab kise chaahei.n kise dhoondha karei.n
Wo bhi aakhir mil gaya ab kya karei.n

Dil, muhabbat, diin, duniya, shayari
Har dariiche se use dekha karei.n

Now who should I want, who should I seek
I’ve found her [/it/him] at last, now what do I do

Heart, love, religion, world, poetry
Let me look at her [/it/him] through every window

I think here again, the two couplets say two very different things, though it is not a stark contrast. But I loved them both. In the first one, the poet conveys that the longing is better than achieving – it keeps you motivated. In the second, he talks about looking at his beloved from every window[way of looking at things] he has.