The Best of Faiz (Faiz Ahmed Faiz)/translated by Shiv K. Kumar.

New Delhi, UBSPD, 2001, xx, 200 p., $10 (pbk). ISBN 81-7476-330-
9.

"Poet, journalist, translator, film-maker, broadcaster, Marxist

activist and recipient of the Lenin Peace Prize, Faiz Ahmed Faiz
grew into a legend in his lifetime. With his death in 1984, his
admirers all over the world felt as if a literary era had come to an
end. According to Edward Said, a celebrated orientalist, Faiz is
‘the greatest of contemporary Urdu poets’.

"Being a liberal humanist, Faiz’s poetic vision recognized no national

barriers. His poetry, musical and multiversant, has lent itself readily to such
renowned ghazal singers as Begum Akhtar, Mehdi Hasan, Iqbal Bano and
Noor Jehan.

"In The Best of Faiz, Kumar has presented an English translation of the
best of his poems, with parallel Roman script, to enable even non-Urdu
readers to enjoy poetry that articulates the entire range of human
emotions. Here is a book for all lovers of poetry to read and preserve."

(Excerpts from Masterpieces of Urdu Ghazal - From 17th to 20th

Century, by K.C. Kanda)
Ghazal originated in Iran in the 10th century A.D. It grew from the Persian qasida,
which verse form had come to Iran from Arabia. The qasida was a panegyric
written in praise of the emperor or his noblemen. The part of the qasida called
tashbib got detached and developed in due course of time into the ghazal. Whereas
the qasida sometimes ran into as many as 100 couplets or more in monorhyme, the
ghazal seldom exceeded twelve, and settled down to an average of seven. Because
of its comparative brevity and concentration, its thematic variety and rich
suggestiveness, the ghazal soon eclipsed the qasida and became the most popular
form of poetry in Iran.

The ghazal came to India with the advent and extension of the Muslim influence
from the 12th century onwards. The Moghuls brought along with them Iranian
culture and civilization, including Iranian poetry and literature. When Persian gave
way to Urdu as the language of poetry and culture in India, the ghazal, the fruit of
Indo-Iranian culture, found its opportunity to grow and develop. Although the
ghazal is said to have begun with Amir Khusro (1253-1325) in Northern India,
Deccan in the South was its real home in the early stages. It was nursed and
trained in the courts of Golconda and Bijapur under the patronage of Muslim
rulers. Mohd. Quli Qutab Shah, Wajhi, Hashmi, Nusrati and Wali may be counted
among its pioneers. Of these, Wali Deccany (1667-1707) may be called the
Chaucer of Urdu poetry. Wali's visit to Delhi made in 1700 acquires a historic
significance. This visit was instrumental in synthesizing the poetic streams of the
South and the North. Wali's poetry awakened the minds of the Persian-loving
North to the beauty and richness of Urdu language, and introduced them to the
true flavor of ghazal, thus encouraging its rapid growth and popularity.

In its form, the ghazal is a short poem rarely of more than a dozen couplets in the
same metre. It always opens with a rhyming couplet called matla. The rhyme of
the opening couplet is repeated at the end of second line in each succeeding verse,
so that the rhyming pattern may be represented as AA, BA, CA, DA, and so on. In
addition to the restriction of rhyme, the ghazal also observes the convention of
radif. Radif demands that a portion of the first line -- comprising not more than
two or three words -- immediately preceding the rhyme-word at the end, should
rhyme with its counterpart in the second line of the opening couplet, and
afterwards alternately throughout the poem. The opening couplet of the ghazal is
always a representative couplet: it sets the mood and tone of the poem and
prepares us for its proper appreciation. The last couplet of the ghazal called makta
often includes the pen-name of the poet, and is more personal than general in its
tone and intent. Here the poet may express his own state of mind, or describe his
religious faith, or pray for his beloved, or indulge in poetic self-praise. The
different couplets of the ghazal are not bound by the unity and consistency of
thought. Each couplet is a self-sufficient unit, detachable and quotable, generally
containing the complete expression of an idea.

Some poets including Hasrat, Iqbal and Josh have written ghazals in the style of a
nazm, based on a single theme, properly developed and concluded. But such
ghazals are an exception rather than a rule, and the traditional ghazal still holds
sway. However, we do come across, off and on, even in the works of classical
poets, ghazals exhibiting continuity of theme or, more often, a set of verses
connected in theme and thought. Such a thematic group is called a qita, and is
presumably resorted to when a poet is confronted with an elaborate thought
difficult to be condensed in a single verse. Although the ghazal deals with the
whole spectrum of human experience, its central concern is love. Ghazal is an
Arabic word which literally means talking to women.
Faiz Ahmed Faiz: Life and Ghazals
Faiz Ahmed Faiz was born in 1911 at Sialkot and was educated at Lahore, where
he studied English literature and philosophy. He began his career as a lecturer in
English at Amritsar. After the second World War, he turned to journalism and
distinguished himself as the editor of The Pakistan Times. He was charged with
complicity in the Rawalpindi conspiracy case and was condemned to four years'
imprisonment in 1951. The jail term gave him a first-hand experience of the harsh
realities of life, and provided him with the much-needed leisure and solitude to
think out his thoughts and transmute them into poetry. Two of his books, Dast-e-
Saba and Zindan-Nama are the products of this period of imprisonment.

As a poet, Faiz began writing on the conventional themes of love and beauty, but
soon these conventional themes get submerged in the larger social and political
issues of the day. The traditional griefs of love get fused with the travails of the
afflicted humanity, and Faiz uses his poetry to champion the cause of socialistic
humanism. Consequently, the familiar imagery of a love-poet acquires new
meanings in the hands of Faiz... This turning away from romance to realism, from
Eros to Agape, is beautifully suggested in his poem (a nazm), "mujh se pehli si
mohabbat meri mahboob na maang."

In the matter of diction and style, Faiz may be called the inheritor of the tradition
of Ghalib. His admiration for Ghalib is also reflected in the title of his first
published work, Naqsh-e-Faryadi, which comes straight from the opening line of
the first ghazal of Diwan-e-Ghalib. Although he has written poems in a simple,
conversational style, he has a marked preference for polished, Persianised diction,
the diction of the elite rather than of the commoners. But because of the
universality of his thought and sympathetic vision, and because of his perfect
handling of the ghazal, his poetry is read and admired in both parts of the Indian
sub-continent.

Faiz is a "committed" poet who regards poetry as a vehicle of serious thought, and
not a mere pleasurable pastime. He does not accept the maxim of "art for art's
sake". An admirer of Karl Marx and a poet of the people, Faiz was honoured by
Soviet Russia with the prestigious Lenin Award for Peace and his poems have
been translated into the Russian language. His poetical collections include
Naqsh-e-Faryadi (1943), Dast-e-Saba (1952), Zindan-Nama (1956) and Dast-e-
Tah-e-Sang (1965).

Faiz passed away in 1984.

Some of Faiz's ghazals
 Donon jahaan teri mohabbat mein haar ke

 Gulon mein rang bhare baad-e-naubahaar chale

 Hum parwarash-e-loh-o-qalam karte rahenge

 Du'aa (Prayer) -- A nazm for Pakistan's Independence Day, 1967

 mujh ko shikwa hai meray bhai keh tum jaate hooay

Donon jahaan teri mohabbat mein haar ke

Woh jaa raha hai koi shab-e-gham guzaar ke

Viraan hai maikada khum-o-saaghar udaas hain

Tum kya gaye ke ruth gaye din bahaar ke

Ek fursat-e-gunah mili woh bhi chaar din

Dekhe hain hum ne hausle parwardigaar ke

Duniya ne teri yaad se begaana kar diya

Tujh se bhi dilfreb hain gham rozgaar ke

Bhule se muskra ke diye woh aaj Faiz

Mat puchh walwale dil-e-nakarda kaar ke

Gulon mein rang bhare baad-e-naubahaar chale

Chale bhi aao ke gulshan ka kaarobaar chale

Qafas udaas hai yaaro saba se kuchh to kaho

Kahin to bahr-e-Khuda aaj zikar-e-yaar chale

Kabhi to subah tere kunj-e-lab se ho aaghaz

Kabhi to shab sar-e-kaakul se mushakbaar chale

Bara hai dard ka rishta yeh dil gharib sahi

Tumhare naam pe aaenge ghamgusaar chale
Jo hum pe guzri so guzri magar shab-e-hijraan
Hamaare ashk teri aaqbat sanwaar chale

Maqaam Faiz koi raah mein jacha hi nahin

Jo kue yaar se nikle to sue daar chale

Hum parwarash-e-loh-o-qalam karte rahenge

Jo dil pe guzarti hai raqam karte rahenge

Asbaab-e-gham-e-ishq baham karte rahenge

Viraani-e-dauraan pe karam karte rahenge

Haan talkhi-e-ayyaam abhi aur barhe gi

Haan ahl-e-sitam mashq-e-sitam karte rahenge

Manzur yeh talkhi yeh sitam hum ko gawaara

Dam hai to madaawa-e-alam karte rahenge

Maikhana salaamat hai to hum surkhi-e-mai se

Tazzain-e-dar-o-baam-e-haram karte rahenge

Baqi hai lahu dil mein to har ashk se paida

Rang-e-lab-o-rukhsar-e-sanam karte rahenge

Ek tarz-e-taghaaful hai so woh unko mubaarak

Ek arz-e-tamanna hai so hum karte rahenge

Du'aa (Prayer) -- A nazm for Pakistan's Independence

Day, 1967

aayeh hath uthein hum bhi

hum jinhein rusm-e du'aa yaad nahin
hum jinhein soz-e muhabat ke siwa
koi buth, koi khuda yaad nahin

aayeh urz guzarein keh nigar-e hustee

zehar-e imroz mein shirenya furda bhar de
wo jinhein taab-e garaan bary-a iyaam nahin
un ki pulkoon peh shaub-e roz ko hulka ker de
jin ki aankhoon ko roz-e subh ka yaara bhi nahin
un ki raatoon mein koi shuma munawar ker de
jin ke kadumoon ko kisi reh ka sahara bhi nahin
un nazroon peh koi raah ujagar ker de

jin ka deeN pariw-e kizb-o riya hai un ko

himet-e kufr mile, jurat-e tehqiq mile
jin ke sir muntazar-e tegh-e jafa hein un ko
dust-e qatil ko jatuk deenay ki taufiq mile

ishq ka sir-e nihaaN jaan tapaaN hai jis se

aaj iqrar karein aur tapish mit jaa'e
hurf-e haq dil mein khatakta hai jo kante ki turhaaN
aaj izhar karein aur khalish mit jaa'e

mujh ko shikwa hai meray bhai keh tum jaate hooay

le gaye sath meri umr-e ghuzishta ki kitaab
is mein tau meri bohut kimati tusweerien thein
is mein buchpun tha mera, aur mera aihd-e shabab

is ke badle mujhe tum de gaye jaate jaate

apnay ghum ka yeh dumakta hua khoon rung golaab
kya karoon bhai, yeh aizaz mein kyoon ker pehnoon
mujh se le lo meri sub chaak qamizoon ka hisaab

aakhri baar hai, lo maan lo ik yeh bhi sawaal

aaj tuk tum se mein lota nahin mayoos-e jawaab
aa ke le ja'o tum apna yeh damukta hua phool
mujh ko lota do meri umr-e ghazishta ki kitaab

(Faiz had written this upon the death of his brother.)

 BEFORE YOU CAME

Before you came things were just what they were:

the road precisely a road, the horizon fixed,
the limit of what could be seen,
a glass of wine no more than a glass of wine.

With you the world took on the spectrum

radiating from my heart: your eyes gold
as they open to me, slate the colour
that falls each time I lose all hope.

With your advent roses burst into flame:

you were the artist of dried-up leaves, sorceress
who flicked her wrist to change dust into soot.
You lacquered the night black.

As for the sky, the road, the cup of wine:

one was my tear-drenched shirt,
the other an aching nerve,
the third a mirror that never reflected the same
thing.

Now you are here again - stay with me.

This time things will fall into place;
the road can be the road,
the sky nothing but the sky;
the glass of wine, as it should be, the glass of
wine.

(translated by Naomi Lazard)

Ham keh thehare ajnabi itni mudaraton ke bad
Phir banenge ashna kitni mulaqaton ke bad

Will we who remain strangers after all kindnesses are over

Become familiar after all these meetings are over?

How many seasons of rain will have to fall over

Scarred leaves before their greenness comes unbloodied to mind?

The instant when pain of love ceased brought only numbness.

Mornings are merciless after the merciful nights are over.

How I wanted, but how my fractured heart did not allow,

Flirtatious complaints after the supplications were over.

And what you came so willing to give up all for, Faiz,

Was utterly unvoiced when all the talking was over.
Be Near Me
You who demolish me, you whom I love,
be near me. Remain near me when evening,
drunk on the blood of the skies,
becomes night, in its one hand
a perfumed balm, in the other
a sword sheathed in the diamond of stars.

Be near me when night laments or sings,

or when it begins to dance,
its steel-blue anklets ringing with grief.

Be here when longings, long submerged

in the heart's waters, resurface
and when everyone begins to look:
Where is the assassin? In whose sleeve
is hidden the redeeming knife?

And when wine, as it is poured, is the sobbing

of children whom nothing will console -
when nothing holds,
when nothing is:
at that dark hour when night mourns,
be near me, my destroyer, my lover,
be near me.