It is said of some poets and literary figures that if you really want to meet them, meet them through their work. Because they can be very disappointing in their personal lives, or their work and personal lives stand at odds with each other. One such poet was the Baloch poet, Mubarak Qazi, a poet of resistance and the people.

Even though he died on September 17, his soul had left him long ago during his life, or so it seemed from his vagrant lifestyle. For instance, even when he was alive, he used to be known for only wearing white clothes and a black Balochi chadar with colourful stripes over his shoulder. He cherished white cloth, because, in his own words, white is the colour of the kafan (burial shroud) and he wanted constantly to be draped in a kafan.

But he was alive — and will remain so — in Baloch society, through his poetry, which he wrote for the Baloch, and the Baloch resistance, who have always been on the receiving end of the state’s writ. Since his death, the entire province of Balochistan, the Baloch-dominated areas in the other provinces and even the global Baloch diaspora continue to mourn his death. Expectedly, thousands turned up at his funeral prayers.

Qazi was born in Pasni, a coastal town in Balochistan’s Gwadar district, on December 24, 1955. After obtaining education in his hometown until matriculation, he went to Karachi, where he did his graduation from the Sindh Muslim Arts College. After that, he completed his Master’s degree in International Relations from the University of Balochistan in Quetta. Finally, after completing his studies, he joined the Pasni Fish Harbour in his hometown and retired as its director of finance.

Mubarak Qazi, who passed away on September 17, was known as a true ‘people’s poet’. His empathetic poetry reflected his absolute love for Balochistan and its people, but it also kept him going…

Even though he had achieved a towering position in society through his Balochi poetry, especially among the youth, the decades had worn him out. He looked like a malang (vagrant), with dishevelled white clothes, dishevelled white beard and unkempt white hair — bald from the top. Most of the time, his qameez (shirt) was unbuttoned. Above all, he had become an alcoholic. He had a bottle of beer in his hand all the time, especially in his hometown, while he walked through the streets of Pasni.

But his poetry kept his soul alive — as alive as the soul of a young person.

Balochistan, known as a geographically barren land, has produced many poets such as Mubarak Qazi, who was a sage of his time. His extraordinary love for the Baloch in his poetry, among other things, is quite evident.

It is also why he was put behind bars, too. For instance, when he protested in early 1982 against the death sentence given to the Baloch student leader Hameed Baloch of the Baloch Students Organisation (BSO), during the rule of former dictator Gen Ziaul Haq, Qazi was arrested and put in jail. Hameed Baloch was allegedly involved in the shooting of an Omani military delegation visiting Balochistan to recruit Baloch youngsters, to help them quash the Dhofar Rebellion in their country, which was started by Oman’s Marxists.

This wasn’t the only time Qazi went to jail.

Once, during the unrest following the killing of Nawab Akbar Khan Bugti in 2006, Qazi was stopped at a security post in his hometown of Pasni and asked to prove his identity. Infuriated, he quarrelled with the security personnel, arguing that while he was born in the same town, unlike him, the soldier was the outsider and did not have the right to ask such questions.

That cost him dearly. He was put behind bars for eight months, and transferred to the jail in Turbat. But such punishment only further fuelled his poetry, which he continued to churn out, bashing the state.

At the same time, there were a dozen cases filed against Qazi, including a treason case — becoming perhaps the first poet in Balochistan to be implicated in such a case. He was acquitted.

However, the killing of his son Dr Kambar Mubarak in 2014 left a deep impact on Qazi, which further triggered his eccentric nature. Dr Kambar had quit his medical practice and joined the banned Baloch separatist organisation called the Baloch Liberation Front (BLF) and was killed in an armed clash in Kech district ; there’s not much known about the circumstances of his killing.

Qazi’s poetry also touches on romance, on women’s education, and his love for the Baloch belonging to different walks of life. His poetry is not complex. This is why he is also known as the people’s poet, because everyone — from commoners to litterateurs — could understand his poetry.

In any case, his son’s death increased Qazi’s substance abuse, and he was always found in a drunken condition, even during poetry and literary programmes. It is said his son’s killing only further emboldened his poetry about his land and people. He was afraid of neither the state nor the mullah. Nor was he afraid of death. Because he was already living as a dead man.

He had also grown sensitive, and was known for his bad temperament and for all the wrong reasons. Some would even call him ganok (mad). He continued to brawl with others, particularly with other literary figures. Some he hated to the extent of refusing to attend any programmes they were invited to.

Qazi wrote 10 collections of poetry. The first collection to his credit was Zarnawishat [Golden Words], which was published back in 1990. One of his poetry collections is titled Hani Mani Matey Watan [Motherland], in which he has written about his love for his motherland, Balochistan. He also wrote Shaag Ma’n Sabz’en Sawada [A Boat in the Blue Sea].

Like many other Baloch literary figures, Qazi also became involved in the literary circles of Karachi’s Lyari, which was known since the 1950s as a Balochi literary hub. This interaction further emboldened Qazi’s love for literature.

Interestingly, his poetry also touches on romance, on women’s education, and his love for the Baloch belonging to different walks of life. His poetry is not complex. This is why he is also known as the people’s poet, because everyone — from commoners to litterateurs — could understand his poetry.

Qazi died in Turbat after a brief illness. His friend in Karachi, Mir Sagar, shared on social media Qazi’s last letter to him. Qazi wrote he was not feeling well for the past few days; some say the excessive drinking had done the damage. He had gone to Turbat for treatment, but never consulted a doctor. Instead, he busied himself drinking and attending social gatherings. He passed away in his sleep after suffering a heart attack.

Since his death, Qazi has been described as the poet of “resistance” and as a “revolutionary”, among other titles. But his poetry defines him “as the purest Baloch poet” who did not flinch while narrating about his people and his land.

“Everyone cannot become a poet,” he once said in an interview. Had it not been for the poetry which kept him going, he would have left a long time ago.

The writer is a member of staff.
X: @Akbar_notezai

Published in Dawn, EOS, October 8th, 2023