Pashto Poet Darwesh Durrani's quest for Creating hope of despair

About the Author:

Name: Obaidullah Darwesh
Poetic name: Darwesh Durrani
Profession: Professor English Literature
Books Published: He has published 7-books mainly in Pashto poetry and prose
Literature; almost all his books have won either the provincial or federal literary
awards.

About this Book:

Title: Daa Boti Ba Lawang Shi”
Year of publication” 2009
Sonnets: 80
Poems: 20
Published by:

About the reviewer:

Barkat Shah Kakar:
Reviewed by Barkat Shah Kakar
Faculty Member Department of Pashto
University of Balochistan-Quetta
bshahkakar@yahoo.com
Cell # 0301-3702415

‫بوري مور د خپل زويي توره د خرڅلؤ دپاره راكړه‬

‫چي دا يوسه تر بازاره او څراغ درسره راوړه‬

Years earlier, a British official, Mounstuart Elphinstone, had led a mission to

Afghanistan. At one point Elphinstone argued with an old tribesman, stressing the
benefits of social stability under firm government rule. “We are content with discord, we
are content with alarms, we are content with blood, “the old man told him but “we will
never be content with a master”. This is one of the representing quotes indicating the self
image of an ordinary Afghan in the very beginning of the nineteenth century.
This self image of the Afghans is artistically manipulated in the cold war era and a
continued series of wars and miseries are coming to happen now under the banner of war
against terrorism. The space for series of good and bad wars was created through various
means which has rendered sheer miseries, restlessness, migration, death, famine, poverty,
unemployment and overwhelming violence especially in the Pashtoon areas of
Afghanistan and Pakistan.

The series of the unholy and merciless wars has dried the tears of the average person in
this part of the world. The writers and poets have especially abandoned admiring their
beloved’s tresses, the golden dusk, the rosy lips and peaceful spring. The canvas of
poetry and art is contended with the blood and woe.

One of the significant roles of the Pashtoon writers has been their holistic perspective of
contextualizing the political economy and social impacts of such imposed wars. The
writers artistic ally questioned the moral legitimacy of wars on their land. The literature
produced in this period witness a strong resistance to the war.

In the wake of the three decades wars, the poetics and literary work of Professor Darwesh
Durrani has been outstanding. Through his unique diction, simplicity, deep thoughts and
rigorous practices he has consistently earned his recognition as poet in literary and
popular domains of the Pashtoons in Afghanistan and Pakistan.

In the leading scenario of Pashto poetry he has established new standards of diction and
has stimulated an environment for the thoughts contained by a holistic picture of reality.
Having an innate sensitization and profound cognition of the tragic ends of the imposed
wars, he has artistically sketched situation concretely. His fourth account of poetry
recently published is, “Daa Boti Ba Lawang Shi”which is an outstanding addition to the
anti-war literature produced since 1979. It caters 80 sonnets along with 20 poems. The
crosscutting themes embedded in this piece of work is the deconstruction of the social
and cultural frameworks for regenerating peace and stability in Pashtoon areas.

The allegories and simple statements create a mindful impact on recognizing the
dichotomy of good and bad wars. War can not be an option at all. Therefore it becomes
necessary to see the reality with new and fresh eyes. At this edge of history it is
imperative to have vivid vision which could be instrumental to see through the fog of the
historically and socially constructed stereotypes which binds Pashtoon and wars as
complementary entities. Professor Darweesh contextualizes the historical conditioning of
the people of this part of the world who are trapped in the imposed wars. In one of verse
of a sonnet he narrates that, 'our long-lasting wars have shaped a classical conditioning of
our minds, and therefore we pull out swords even if we would have to confront with the
waters of the flood”.

‫موږ جنګ ځپلو ته سېلب هم يو لښكر ښكاريږي‬

We, the survivors of war perceive the flood as a battle.
‫توره مي واخسته او مخ ته د اوبو يم روان‬
 Pulling out our swords while confronting waters

Professor Darweesh is a representative poet of Pashtoon society who pursues

reconciliation and harmony. His poetry at one hand questions the inherent contradictions
of the Pashtoon society while on the other hand he envisions a new self image of
Pashtoon which is emancipated from various stereotypes. As a sword breaker, anti-war,
peace idealist his work establishes his image as a person who wanders in the mountains
and streets for taking swords back from the people and making them part of the normal
life. In one of his verses he has artistically illustrated the fact that how the young
generation is motivated to become fuel to the wars waged on their territories.

‫زمو ږ ځلمي چي جن ګ ته هڅوي نور ورته‬

‫وايي‬

Motivating our youth towards war, they “caution.”

‫چي هسي كه مو ك ښي ښوو ې نو توري به‬
‫مو زن ګ شي‬

The sword gets rusted, If not often used.

The demolition of the selected spaces and infrastructures of education, socialization and
development is one of the common fundamental questions raised. As a major slot of the
intelligentsia, progressive politicians and skilled professionals have been targeted and
murdered in the wake of wars; now such spaces are aimed to be destroyed

‫تر څو به دوى په كلي كلي ګرځي دا به وايي‬

For how long will they stroll our villages and spellbind the folk?
‫چي دا مېنه دي ورانه شي او دا كلى دي ړنګ شي‬

Wishing smash of this hut and blow of that village.

Professor Durrani not only mourns over the ruins but is greatly concerned with the
normative socialization of wars. The complex phenomenon of youth’s idealization of war
as a religious duty and their utmost subscription to the violent activities and suicide
attacks he has illustrated.

‫په حال پوره نه دى خبر څوك يې راوګرځوئ‬

Contended with faith, unmindful of the reality
‫ځي او بې ځايه ښندي سر څوك يې راوګرځوئ‬
Not to be convinced, he intended to blow his body.

The unprecedented wars have almost paralyzed the cultural processes in the areas
therefore a dogmatic and stagnant world view superimposed by the ideals of polemic
ages has given birth to diverse spaces for the unholy wars. The war has become an
enterprise and there are traders who sell and take miseries and restlessness.
 ‫زموږ هغه زخمونه جوړ نۀ دي دى بيا روان شو‬
We still lick the old wounds for they went
‫چي ترې راوړى يې ؤ شر په هغه خوا روان شو‬
To bring new vices from the evil traders

Durrani's stimulating thoughts and alluring diction is full of sentiments of regenerating

pulses of hope in the hearts of the readers. He prays for an infinite peace and harmony. In
one of his verse he narrates.

‫چي بيا نه توره پورته شي نه سر په وينو رنګ شي‬

Neither swords up again, nor a head wounded
‫باداره! دغه جنګ دي د وطن اخيري جنګ شي‬
Be it the last war of the wars of our motherland

The Poems in this account contain various themes, while the leading poems are
representing the stories of the very unfortunate Afghans who have been prone to the
unprecedented series of wars. The poem “The empty Throne” unfolds the story of the
wife of a young daily wager who loses his life in a war. The very inspirational poem “Da
Zara Za also contain the saddening story of a woman, whose father was taken for
fighting the enemies of God, after his martyrdom then she get married and the warlords
comes and motivate her husband to help in fighting the persons who betrayed the holly
movement and turned as enemies from within. For the greater cause of independence, her
husband also becomes fuel to the war and after some years when her only son puts step in
the adolescence the warlord again comes and make request for taking the young person
for serving the greater cause of protecting faith and land this time from the new enemies,
the young person is taken to the war and he blows himself in the war, so now she is
sitting with the unmarried widow of her son, she cries that it is not the tragedy that she is
living with a young unmarried widow of her son but she says, “if we sustained changing
our enemies after every battle there is the probability that there will be widows all around
us”. Similarly the poem “The Leader” is a great allegoric piece in which the leader
betrays the whole Lashkar and makes them prisoners in the city whom had shown a
symbolic defeat. The Poem “My Lute” sketches the changing patterns of the social
behaviors. The young maid is shown idealizing the man with gun rather than lute.

This master piece will surely open new windows of comprehending the issue of the
continued series of wars. With its emphatic and simplest diction this Piece of work could
be rated as a new chapter in the pacifist literature of Pashto.
The End