A POET from Islamabad who was in Lahore recently, bombarded me with a volley of questions, making it difficult for me to defend myself.
“You wrote in your column about Allama Talib Jauhari’s poetry, do you remember?”
“Yes, I remember and I confess.”
“And you wrote knowing fully well that he is primarily a Zakir. Isn’t it?”
“Yes I knew it, and that was what prompted me to write abut him — one enjoying the reputation of a Zakir writing ghazals and love poems.”
He ignored my explanation and said, “But I am a poet from top to toe. Do you recognize this fact?”
“I do”
He handed over a book to me “Here is my new collection of ghazals.”
“Thank you for the kindness.”
“I am simply and purely a poet. No Zakir. I deserve to be talked about in your column.”
The man from Islamabad was Nasir Zaidi. And Nasir Zaidi is undoubtedly a poet. At least I have never doubted that. And yet he off and on meets me and reminds me of his status as a poet. His assertion as a poet doesn’t annoy me. Poets, more particularly Urdu poets, love to be assertive. For that they have the sanction of the Urdu poetic tradition, which justifies such assertions by calling it shairana ta’lli. The term may be translated as poetic assertion.
Of course, some poets do this so badly and in such an aggressive way that they grow jarring. But Nasir Zaidi is an amiable soul. He never jars on us. His is a sweet way of poetic assertion. We smilingly listen to his innocent assertions and digest them in good spirit. So his assertions have never been a hurdle in my way of appreciating his poetry.
But there are other kinds of hurdles. Take, for instance, his new collection of verse titled, Iltifat. The book is over-burdened with the opinions and recommendations of a number of distinguished poets beginning with Josh and ending at Ahmad Faraz. In between, you will find the names of Ehsan Danish, Qasmi, Zaheer Kashmiri, Shuhrat, Raees Amrohvi and Shanulhaq Haqqi. Think of a fragile volume of verse carrying so much burden of heavyweights. This is a bad habit with our Urdu writers. A beginner appearing with his first book can be excused for obtaining one or two certificates from his seniors. But Nasir Zaidi is now a senior writer. Why should he, at this stage of his writing life, need so may certificates for his poetry? Frankly speaking, these opinions expressed in high-sounding words have not helped me in the least in the understanding of Nasir Zaidi’s ghazals. The reason is obvious. Our acknowledged writers, while expressing this opinion for the flap of a book or on the occasion of its inaugural ceremony, talk generally in cliches.
Why should Nasir Zaidi need cliche-ridden opinions for his verse, which happily is to a great extent free of cliches? The emotion of love finds expression here in a more naturalistic way. He will not mind to make a slight departure from the ghazal’s traditional mode of expression if this purpose is served by such departure. For instance, when he says.
Tum bhi kaisi larki ho
aksar hansti rehti ho,
He is not very faithful to the ghazal’s traditional mode of expression. But this departure has served a purpose. The beloved appears here more real than the one portrayed in the traditional vocabulary of the ghazal. But there is one danger in this kind of expression, the danger of being prosaic. The writers of anti-ghazal took the risk of being prosaic for the sake of modern expression. Is it not a heavy price they have paid just to satisfy their passion for an anti-taghazzul expression?
Nasir Zaidi is not among those rebel ghazal writers, who are known for their anti-taghazzul diction. But, at the same time, he is not very faithful to the classical diction of the ghazal. With due respect to the classical diction, he has evolved for himself a way of saying things and expressing feelings, which appears more natural and spontaneous.
One ghazal in particular needs to be mentioned. It is a kind of dialogue between the lover and the beloved. Here I am reminded of a ghazal from Ahmad Mushtaq, where the lover is trying to woo the beloved in a romantic way, while the beloved responds to him in a matter of fact way, which serves as an antidote to his romantic moves. Nasir Zaidi has designated it as a mukalmati ghazal. In fact, the ghazals, included in this collection are closer to a dialogue than to a monologue, which the ghazal generally is. The ease and simplicity of expression is owing to this fact.
Nasir’s first collection had appeared in 1976. The collection under discussion may be his fourth, where he is seen gaining maturity in his thought and expression.
A POET from Islamabad who was in Lahore recently, bombarded me with a volley of questions, making it difficult for me to defend myself.
