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October 10, 2004
AUTHOR: Loyal to ghazal
THE death of Tabish Dehalvi signifies the exit of the last of the Urdu poets of the classical vintage from the scene of contemporary literature.
Born in 1911 in Delhi in a family of scholars and poets, Tabish Dehalvi was a much respected poet in the mould of Fani Badayuni. Besides Tabish, the other three pillars of the classical Urdu ghazal who existed in the turbulent first half of the 19th century were Asghar Goondvi, Hasrat Mohani and Jigar Moradabadi. His youthful days had also seen the twilight of the Nizam’s Hyderabad.
Tabish Dehalvi was proud of his ancestor, Moulvi Zakaullah, a historian whose unflinching loyalty to the British rulers had made him unpopular with the nationalists. Moulvi Enayatullah was his maternal grandfather. Tabish Dehalvi participated in the first mushaira in 1933 with the senior poets of his time. His family had migrated to Lahore in 1947 and finally settled in Karachi in 1949.
Tabish Dehalvi as Masood Tabish was in the ascendant in the post-1947 period as the country’s prominent newscaster along with Shakil Ahmed and Anwar Behzad. The masses would be glued to hear the sonorous voice of Tabish presenting Urdu news bulletins. He could justifiably claim that he had announced many ‘breaking news events’.
Until his collection of poetry, Neem Roz, was published in 1963, his mettle as a poet was only a subdued affair. It was in the 70s that Tabish Dehalvi came into the limelight as a legitimate successor to Fani Badayuni.
His poetry echoed the pessimistic drone in the style of a maestro and the enthusiasts of ghazal — who consider it to be a genre to coax readers to enjoy mirthful moments with the sweetheart — were treated to an altogether different fare.
It can be reliably said that Tabish Dehalvi’s first collection of poetry, which appeared in 1963, was one of the first collections from any Karachi poets in those days. His other collections were Chiragh-i-Sahra (1982), Ghubar-i-Anjum (1984), Taqdees (hamd, naat and manqabat poetry, 1984), Mah-i-Shikasta (1993) and Dhoop Chhaoon (1996).
His poetry collections from the first to the last prove that his ghazal, most respected for its sophisticated and polished language, was immersed in the great tradition of the Delhi school that avoided exhibitionism and ostentatious tendencies in a romantic poet. The Lucknow school, on the other hand, was a bit more inclined towards ostentation in expression, which may be taken for simply having a penchant for demonstrating artistry or bringing about a mere depiction of the exterior.
As Tabish Dehalvi turned 60, he had gained an unusual command over language. His ghazals at times carried political undertones from the 70s to the 90s. His metaphors and images have reflected the sensitive poet’s discomfort and lament over the steadily eroding values of love.
While presiding over a function in honour of the visiting Indian delegation of writers early this year, he said that the ideal role of writers was to serve humanity. In doing so, he served human destiny in such a way that he remained ‘loyal’ to his principles all his life.
Tabish Dehalvi’s book of reminiscences, Deed Bazdeed (1989), created quite a stir in literary circles as he came down quite hard on some contemporaries who have now become senior poets. He couldn’t ignore the moral laxity that he observed in his juniors then.
One also surmises from the book that Tabish Dehalvi was a bit grieved over the fact that he was neither with the progressives nor with the Halqa-i-Arbab-i-Zauq. He was a pure poet with a specific temperament. Many poets keep on writing ‘ghazal’ poetry without realizing that they lack the poetic temperament, which results in their changing their own diction and style of expression on and off. Tabish may not have belonged to any contemporary school of literature in particular. He had, however, the satisfaction of belonging to the classical school of ghazal wherein pessimism is regarded an attribute of enduring beauty.
In this particular sense, Tabish Dehalvi was a true disciple of Fani Badayuni, who once ruled the roost. Praising Fani’s poetry, Professor Rashid Ahmed Siddiqui once rated him above Mirza Ghalib. The Fani Badayuni hype strengthened Tabish’s aspirations to shape himself in the Fani Badayuni mould. He may have entertained the impossible hope of being a member of the Ghalibean galaxy. But Fani Badayuni never achieved that accolade and neither did Tabish Dehalvi become a Fani.
We are living in an age where the advocates of tradition, identity and values are facing hard times. Isn’t it strange that even the advocates of post-modernism could not accommodate these virtues? May be the Third Wave civilization of Alvin and Heidi Toffler has taken them over. Tabish was not hostile to any school of literature and he knew how to ‘clothe’ his most intimate thoughts in the garb of poetry without being abrasive.
He composed lines such as:
Tabish Dehalvi, whether he belongs to the literary Establishment or not, (as no history of modern Urdu literature has cared to accord any particular place to him so far) will be remembered as a poet who remained faithful to the ghazal genre.
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