SOME poets are deeply immersed in their own creative world. They seldom have the time to think or write about other creative individuals. Majeed Amjad was one such verse-wielder. So, when he chose to write the preface to the collection of a young poet of his time, everyone took notice. He seemed to like the young poet. It also helped the reader to know how Majeed Amjad felt about the poetry of his days, especially about the genre of ghazal.
The collection that I’m referring to is Nasir Shehzad’s book published by Al Hamd entitled Ban Baas. He has been writing since 1958. His first collection, Chandni Ki Pattiyan, appeared in 1968. Ban Baas is a collection of all what he has written so far. It is mainly a collection of ghazal and geet, interspersed with salams. However, it is his ghazal that distinguishes him as a poet.
Nasir Shehzad does not seem to follow the classical tradition of ghazal writing, nor does he seem to like the modern version of it. Making a complete departure from both styles, he has turned to his roots, that is, to Sheikhu Sharif, a village in the Sahiwal district where he was born. The village and the folk tales attached to the region appear to light up his poetic imagination, making him write the kind of poetry that is steeped in local imagery. In his early days, his ghazal used to be so different from the recognized form and diction of the genre that his fellow poets in Sahiwal refused to recognize it as ghazal.
It was at this juncture that Majeed Amjad came to his rescue. He approved his ghazal calling it a new kind of experiment that brought in its wake a new stock of words and phraseology hitherto unknown in Urdu literature. He praised him for rejecting the old, hackneyed diction. “Now,” he said, “we see in his ghazal a new world and a new season with birds and flowers carrying new names.”
In Ban Baas, Nasir Shehzad talks about his childhood experiences, the landscape he loved, and about the folk tales associated with his land. He is more fond of Heer and Ranjha than Laila and Majnoon, and speaks enthusiastically about the mango trees instead of cypresses.
So, many a time his ghazal seems to border on the domain of geet. The language and the imagery at times is Hindized to the extent that the distinctive line between the two languages is blurred. Therefore, his poetry is not always a ghazal in the true sense of the genre. There is one more aspect — and an important one — of his poetry, which has escaped even Majeed Amjad’s attention. While recounting imaginative journey, Nasir Shehzad mentions specifically two milestones, Madhobun and the Chenab river. But he insists that he does not stop at the Chenab. From that point he hastens to go to Karbala. He takes pride in being a Sayed. And Karbala is a recurrent theme in his poetry.
As stated above, he, in addition to ghazal and geet, has also written salams. But the reference to the tragedy of Karbala is not confined to only salams. His kind of ghazal is, perhaps, never purely a depiction of the feeling of love. Oftentimes a couplet is introduced, which seems to be pointing at the tragedy of Karbala. His intense involvement in the tragedy and his deep devotion to Imam Husain give the impression that it is chiefly from Karbala that he draws inspiration.
Nasir Shehzad may or may not be ranked among the leading ghazal writers of his time, but his bold experiment with the form has a significance. And that’s why he has been rightly applauded by Majeed Amjad.
The only discordant note we face in Ban Baas is certain assertions of the poet about himself. In fact, the preface by Majeed Amjad was a sensible introduction to the book. But it is a known fact that most of our poets like to be applauded for their work.
Nasir Shehzad is very keen on telling us that he was the first one to conceive a certain innovation in Urdu poetry, and the poets of his time followed suit. And when one adds to it his sense of possessiveness in respect of certain terms, things get more interesting. One such term is Ban Baas, which alludes to the 14-year-exile of Sri Ramchandar. On the one hand, the poet proudly traces his descent from Imam Husain, and on the other hand, he regards himself the sole heir to Sri Ramchandar’s legacy with respect to his sense of exile, calling himself a Ban Baasi. And he seems to be cross with the writers who dare to use the term Ban Baas in their writings.
SOME poets are deeply immersed in their own creative world. They seldom have the time to think or write about other creative individuals. Majeed Amjad was one such verse-wielder. So, when he chose to write the preface to the collection of a young poet of his time, everyone took notice. He seemed to like the young poet. It also helped the reader to know how Majeed Amjad felt about the poetry of his days, especially about the genre of ghazal.
