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December 11, 2001
ARTICLES: A poem a day, everyday
Did anyone know when Shahryar Rashed, son of Noon Meem Rashed — that at once celebrated and controversial doyen of the Urdu vers libre — breathed his last? Fewer still are likely to know that Shahryar in his own right was an excellent poet, writing in English. Since his birth in 1948 (most likely in Pakistan) and until his death in 1999 (probably in Europe where he lived for most of his adult life), Shahryar’s life — at least for many in Pakistan — was shrouded in mystery and went unnoticed even by the literati. Now, thanks to Alhamra Publishing’s poetry calendars, those who might find his writing stimulating, can dig up more on him.
The year 2002, to many of us, is a mixed bouquet: There are hopes for better times ahead and fears about what may yet go wrong. Nobody knows what lies ahead. So if you’re among the ones suffering from that anxiety, try Alhamra’s year long prescription of a poem a day, everyday. The catch is that you’ll just have to turn a new leaf to swallow your potion for the day.
Poetry calendar, they are both titled — one in English and Urdu each — and come in a desktop, self-supporting stand-alone, format. Each one contains verses by 208 — one of those magic numbers you’ll have to crack for yourself — poets, with each of the 365 leaves imprinted with a poem. There is no order to how the poets or their particular poems are selected; and until you turn the leaf of a particular day, you don’t know who or what you are going to get. However, for the enthusiasts, there are two indices at the back of each calendar that list the names of the poets in alphabetical order complete with the dates on which their poems are to be found.
The English calendar contains poems by both contemporary and classical poets — renowned as well as the lesser known — from England, the US, and translated poems by celebrated non-native poets from around the world, including a few from the subcontinent. As a handy reference to the life and times of the selected poets, the indices give the years of birth and death — the latter, where applicable — followed by the poet’s name. No significant poet of any standing is given a miss.
Unlike the English calendar, one may find a bone or two to pick in the Urdu one. My short list stands completed with the following rather obvious observations:
The calendar contains both ghazals and nazms and should have been titled more appropriately than Ghazal calendar. Where indices are concerned, the publisher should have perhaps added short notes on the lives and works of the lesser-known poets, if indeed not all. This is of particular importance to the Urdu reader, as information about Urdu poets is not as easy to come by as their counterparts writing in English.
Alternatively, some footnotes (with a credit line to their author) would have been in order in cases where some verses of a particular ghazal have been edited out, as, for instance, in a ghazal by Dagh, which runs:
Lutf woh ishq mein paaye hain ke ji jaanta hai;
ranj bhi aise utthaae hain ke ji jaanta hai.
The verse:
Tum nahin jaante ab tak ye tumhare andaaz;
yoon mere dil main samaaye hain ke ji jaanta hai,
has been edited out for no reason even though there is no lack of space on the page.
Unlike its English counterpart, the Urdu calendar, besides containing spelling and typographical errors, does not adhere to any standardization when it comes to the poets’ names. Firaq Gorakhpuri, for instance, is listed as Raghupati Sahai Firaq Gorakpuri (his full name), while Gulzar is listed only by his pen name and not as Sampooran Singh Gulzar.
That said, both the calendars are anthologies of sorts in a ‘made simple’ mode. The good side to this very useful endeavour is that there is always the next year in which to set right what you messed up the last time round.
Alhamra English poetry calendar 2002 Alhamra ghazal calendar 2002
365 poems; 208 poets (each edition)
Published by Alhamra Publishing, Saudi Pak Tower, Jinnah Avenue, Islamabad
Website:
www.alhamra.com
Rs295 each edition
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