“There was something about Miraji,” wrote Mohammad Hasan Askari, “which tempted one to portray him as a character of a fictional work”. And this actually happened with him. After Miraji’s death much was written about him. But those who wrote about him talked less about his poetry and more about his personality. So we have a number of character-sketches written by his contemporaries and his admirers, who all seem to depict him as a strange character in a short story. Thus Miraji, who was known to us as a poet, now appears to us as a fictional character or one who has come to stay as a legendary figure.

But the latest development is that a novel with Miraji as its central character — Miraji Ke Liye — has come out. And the man who has done this job is a young intellectual from France, Julien Columeau, who is associated with the Red Cross, Pakistan.

Being a student of literature, Julien, during his posting in Lahore developed contacts with the writers and intellectuals in the city. During his interaction with different writers belonging to different groups and writing in different languages — Urdu, Punjabi, English — he elicited a lot of information about the ways and waywardness of poets and about their poetry. Late Saghar Siddiqi, in particular, aroused his curiosity. That he was a vagabond poet leading a darwaish-like life was something intriguing for Julien. He visited the alleys in the vicinity of Data Darbar, a favourite haunt for Saghar, and collected information about him. As he was well-versed in Urdu he chose to write about him a novel in this language.

With the passage of time Julien grew more serious in his study of Urdu poetry. Modern Urdu poetry in particular attracted his attention. Here he had an introduction with Miraji, whose enigmatic poems as well as his strange personality aroused his curiosity for reasons other than in Saghar’s case. Probably Julien sensed something Baudelaire-like in Miraji’s personality, which was a unique one. He might have sensed some echoes of Baudelaire in his modern verse too. If so, he was not far from truth in his perception.

Baudelaire is among those nineteenth century French poets who attracted the attention of modern Urdu writers. Foremost among these modern Urdu writers were Mohammad Hasan Askari and Miraji. From this group of French writers two poets, Baudelaire and Mallarme, have been chosen to be included in Miraji’s collection of critical articles, Mashriq-o-Maghrib ke Naghmay. The article, “France Ka Aik Awara Shair,” presents a critical study of Baudelaire with reference to his personality and poetry. Here Miraji has also provided translations of a few of Baudelaire’s poems. This reflects his deep involvement in the poetry of Baudelaire.

Miraji has in this study bracketed Baudelaire with Dostoevsky. They both, according to him, are seen engaged in exploring what lies deep in our inner being, or, in our subconscious, where Good and Evil may be found entangled badly with each other. Miraji offers an explanation of this situation. He says that Evil and Goodness have always been seen opposed to each other. But it is the interaction of these two forces which goes to establish a balance in life.

According to Miraji, Baudelaire as a poet aspired for perfection. His whole struggle in his poetry is to achieve this goal. That is why he did not write much. He has to his credit only one collection of verses carrying the title, as translated in English, Flowers of Evil. But the influence these verses exerted on French poetry is deep and far reaching. One may well say that modern French poetry is the outcome of this influence.

While reading Julien’s novel, keep in view this involvement of Miraji in Baudelaire. The novel may be seen as a typical French novel written in Urdu. Julien seems to be perceiving Miraji as a man from the East living under the influence of Baudelaire. Miraji may here be seen as Baudelaire reborn in Lahore under the name Miraji, writing poetry in Urdu.

However, Julien has not paid attention to Miraji’s poetry. He concentrates on his personality alone making some exaggeration in portraying him. He may justify it with the argument that he is after all writing a novel, where exaggeration is permissible.