On these pages at ATP, we’ve extensively covered Pakistani poets and poetry. One thing which I think has lagged so far is the Pakistani poetry for children. This post is an attempt to introduce one of most famous poets of Pakistan who has written extensively children. He is Sufi Ghulam Mustafa Tabassum.
My mother recently mailed me one of his books called ‘jhoolne’ for my son. For the past two nights I’ve been reading this book to my son at bed time and it has also taken me to a ride through memory lane, and hence the motivation to write this post.
The title poem to the right here is called ‘tar tar’. Sufi Tabassum is famous for using sound effects in his poems to get children’s attention. This poem uses sound (tar tar) of old cars (motor) as well as sound (cham cham) of a horse cart (tam tam). In 4 simple lines Sufi Tabassum has created this melodious masterpiece for children which is ‘hum-wazan’, rhyming and easy to remember.
More than a generation has grown up reciting and remembering his poems by heart. His poems can be found in text books across Pakistan, in children’s magazines as well as in audio media. One of the most famous characters of Sufi Tabassum‘s poems is a boy named ‘tot batot’ which is now a household name across Pakistan.
The poem to the left is titled as ‘anda’ (egg) and it is another of my favourites. For our English readership, I want to give an approximate translation. A hen is telling a rooster that she has laid an egg. While she commends herself on this feat of laying beautiful eggs she also complains that despite producing beautiful eggs she remains bare feet. To this dilemma the rooster suggests to hen to sell her eggs and buy shoes for herself. A very simple story like this, told in rhyming Urdu makes people of all ages smile and remember this poem for ever. This is what Sufi Tabassum is most famous for. He talks to children in their simple language.
Following poem is called ‘munna aur laddoo’. In very simple language it talks about a ‘laddoo’ (sweets) which has attracted attention of two young boys (munna(y)).
Sufi Ghulam Mustafa Tabassum was born is Amritsar (India) on August 4, 1899. He got his education from Church Mission High School Amritsar, Khalsa College Amritsar, FC College Lahore (B.A) and Punjab University Lahore (M.A and B.T).
He taught at Central Training College, Lahore (1927-31) and Government College, Lahore (1931-1954). He retired from Government College as the head of Urdu and Farsi Department.
The collection of poems shared here come from his book called ‘jhoolne‘ which was first published in 1958. In the begining of this book, dated as January 1, 1958, Sufi Tabassum mentions Patras Bukhari as one of his respected teachers and friends. Patras Bukhari has actually indeed written the preface of ‘jhoolne’ and towards the end of it he prays for Sufi Tabassum in following words:
dua hai ke Sufi Tabassum ka ye bachpan hamesha qaayem rahe!
Patras Bukhari‘s preface is dated as written on June 5, 1946 in Delhi which means the first collection of ‘jhoolne’ must’ve appeared around that time.
The title of the 1958 edition of the book (shown to the left) is designed by Chughtai and is published by Ferozesons Limited.
Between 1954-1960, Sufi Tabassum was involved with Khana Farhang-e-Iran at Lahore as well as with teaching Urdu to Bengali students in Civil Services Academy and Finance Services Academy.
He acted as an editor of the magazine ‘lail-o-nahar’ from 1961-1963 and then got busy ar Radio Pakistan, Lahore.
In ‘jhoolne’ Sufi Tabassum wrote this famous poem about a funny boy called ‘tot batot’. As mentioned above too, this character became an instant household name in Pakistan. 24 years after ‘tot batot’ first appeared in jhoolne, Sufi Tabassum wrote a new book with the title ‘tot batot’. On my last visit to Pakistan, I especially went to Urdu bazar to buy this book for my son. The preface is written by Sufi Tabassum in his own handwriting and it is dated to be written on September 6, 1970 at Samanabad, Lahore.
To the left is Sufi Tabassum’s another famous poem called ‘cheechoN’. It appears in many children books as well as school text books across Pakistan. Patras Bukhari has written about this poem in following words:
“When children read ‘cheechoN cheechoN chaacha, ghaRi pe chooha naacha’, they enjoy it. The elders however may say that we have never seen the word ‘cheechoN’ in any dictionary. And if ‘chaacha’ is meant for the word ‘chacha’ then it is not a decent way of calling an uncle. And why has a mouse danced on a clock? What lesson are we giving to children? etc etc.
These questions are all very reasonable but they come from those people who have forgotten their own childhood. May be they come from people who have decided on not to repeat those things which had made their own childhood enjoyable. Thank God that Sufi Tabassum has been blessed by such wisdom where he can talk to children in their own words and sounds. He recognizes a child’s mind as this strange place where snakes dance on the trees, cats eat berries and tar tar, cham cham, tam tam make such a melodious mix that one cannot learn those even from ‘taan sain’ at an older age.
During the last years of his life, Sufi Ghulam Mustafa Tabassum had dedicated his life to the research on ‘Iqbaliat’ (study of Allama Mohammad Iqbal). On the occasion of 100 year celebration of Allama Iqbal, Sufi Tabassum wrote, edited and produced (tasneef) several books on Allama Iqbal. In 1978 He went to Islamabad to attend a function on Allama Iqbal, but on his return he passed away at Lahore Railway Station. The date of his sad demise was February 7, 1978.
The books that he wrote for children include:
1. jhoolne
2. suno gap shap
3. tol matol, and
4. tot batot
Now this brings back memories.
I had memorised almost all of the poems present in Jhoolne when I was a child. Suno gup shup used to be my favourite; I had even made a tune in which I used to sing it.
By the way, I always thought that it’s the hen who talks of her bare feet (in the poem ‘Anda‘), and the rooster who tells her to sell her eggs and buy shoes. “Kaisi batein karti ho” could only be said by the rooster, no? :-)
Oh, and thanks for letting us know about Sufi Tabassum’s life and other works.
So many beautiful memories :)
The urdu rhymes that our generation grew singing … “tot batot”, “cheechoon cheechon chacha” … awww lovely post owais bhai :)
Beautiful post, it took me to back to my childhood. We should not deprived our kids from this enjoyment.
The beauty of Sufi Tabassum’s poetry is in its imagination, childlike lack of inhibition, and the delightful absurdity of his themes. No surprising, coming from a poet who is named “Sufi” (meaning: ‘a person who is in the NOW’) “Tabassum” (‘Smile!’).
The delightful language makes used of “onomatopoeia” – which is a very primal kind of language that directly spells a sound. Urdu has an extensive and vivid repertoire of onomatopoeic words, which show how deeply Urdu is related to the natural world. Hence the language’s ability to be creative.
The other language that in my knowledge that makes such use of onomatopoeia is the African Zulu. Zulu tribes are still deeply rooted in the world’s ancient natural traditions.
Languages have a DNA, and onomatopoeia is a primal strand in this DNA. No wonder it will always resonate deeply with the readers, and hardly ever become out of tune with times.
On that note, I am delighted to share that Tot Batot is being resurrected in Pakistani art schools as a cultural symbol and “local hero” for the children. In 2006, a graduate thesis featuring Toto Batot puppets in the Indus Valley School of Arts won a distinction. Shortly after, I viewed the NCA graduate thesis in Dec 2006 – with a textile thesis on Tot Batot-themed line of linen.
It’s good to see that we are living our culture.
aaah….the memories….
a journey to Bachpan!
meray bachpan k din
kitnay achay thhay din
Aaj Bethay bithaey kyu yaad agaaye..
meray bichhron ko mujh se milay day koyee
mera bachpan kisi mol laa day koee!!
What a beautiful post by Owais and so valuably commented by Ramla.
Owais and others, children things brings to mind the old ‘risala’ , if you remember ”PHOOL ” , by Ghulam Abbas Sahib.
Anyone write on that !!!
Naseer
Saadat, you are right that it is the hen who talks about her bare feet. I’ll make the corrections. all these years i never paid attention to this detail :)
Like all other Pakisani kids, I have too grown up with a copy of jhoolne, which got pretty well worn over the years.
Good work, Owais.
@Ramla
Nice to read your comments too.
Thanks Owais for re-igniting memories of Sufi Sahib.
He was my teacher first and then we shared the same Staff Room alongwith all of his Baagh-O-Bahaar, when I taught at the Government College Lahore in 1959. Was close friends with his sons Nisar and Iftikhar.
Thanks again.
Sufi Sahib created Urdu Nursery Rhymes for Children.
However, I might point out that “Chee Choon Cha Cha” is adapted from the English Nursery Rhyme: Hickory Dickory Dock – The Mouse Ran Over the Clock etc.,
My hope in making this comment is, that the english speaking/influenced literati to realise that Other Cultures have produced their own Gems, largely unknown to them!
Very excellant efforts to select topics to remind our society our forgotten culture.Culture is the main identify of any community.Almighty creater blessed us all.Aameen.
It’s been a while but I remember reading a Sufi Ghulam Mustafa Tabassum poem “Ek tha geetu gray, us kay do mor thay…..” as a child. It seemed quite interesting at the time.
More recently, I had a chance to attend a mushaira in Silicon Valley and discovered Popular Meeruthi, a very funny poet from India. Here’s a link to what I heard:
http://www.pakalumni.com/video/video/show?id=1119293%3AVideo%3A62632
I enjoyed this so much! Thank you.
AssalamoAlaikum
Revival of our mother tongue and heritage in form of poetry for kids is a great service. In an era of cultural onslaught, presenting Sufi Tabassum’s delightfully humorous and phonetically magical poems for children is a laudable effort.
I am currently teaching my 7 year old son Urdu (here in UK). Seeing your post on this wonderfully innocent poetry has given me an excellent resource to help me in my effort. It is hard for us 2nd generation brit paks to pass on to kids who’ve never even seen Pakistan (yet!) but the beautiful Urdu language makes the endeavour worthwhile.
@Riaz
My youngest sister had that one in her urdu text book when
she was in grade 1 or 2. She used to recite it in with abandon all the time, and I used to get such kick out of it I can’t tell you. Most of it even stuck to my mind. Closed to 50 years later, this is what I still recall from memory.
Enjoy!
ek tha gayToo gray
uss ke do mor thay
ek ka kala tha sar
ek ke peelay thay par
dana khaatay thay voh
dum hilaatay thay voh
ek din, din Dhalay
apnay ghar say chalay
thay baRi lehr meiN
aa ga’e shaher meiN
kuch yahaaN sayr ki
kuch vahaaN sayr ki
gan gaatay huvay
dum hilaatay huvay
jab andhera huva
gayToo ghabra gaya
dil meiN kehnay laga
hae ye kya maajra
ab tak aa’e nahiN
jaanay kya voh kahiN
raasta kho ga’e
ya kahiN so ga’e
aap jata hooN maeN
un ko laata hooN maeN
boli gayToo ki maaN
tum chalay ho kahaaN
choR do choR do
KHud hi aa’eN ge voh
gungunaatay huvay
dum hilaatay huvay
bola gayToo gray
mor donoN meray
saKht naadaan haeN
saKht anjaan haeN
voh to Dar jaa’eN ge
ghuT ke mar jaa’eN ge
boli gayToo ki maaN
baat soon meri jaaN
tu hae gayToo gray
tu unheiN choR de
dekhtay dekhtay
mor ghar aa ga’e
gungunaatay huvay
gaana gaatay huvay
bolay gayTo miaN
bolo tum thay kahaaN
itnay chaalak ho
itnay baybaak ho
ab jo jaa’o ge tum
maar khaa’o ge tum
uss ki iss baat se
mor KHush ho ga’e
dana khaanay lage
dum hilaanay lage
so fascinating
i guess if still remember all poems of jhoolnay :)
i still enjoy these all poems
A very beautiful entry Owais! Brings back lots of memories!
Thanks for your Post. A couple of these poems are also “new” for me. Keep it up!
Wonderful wonderful post! I have a 5 month old boy, and i especially enjoyed singing these poems to him! I am looking for some downloadable audio for some of these poems, any suggestions? i live in canada, n i want to sing URDU poems to my son so that he learns urdu well :). of course, a cassette is not readily available here…
Great Post ! Reminds me of peaceful times we had 17 years ago
Saanp ki Dum sounds very much like
Eeny Meeny Maina Mo,
Catch a Tiger but his toe,
If he squeals let him go,
Eeny Meeny Maina Mo
good poems
i have accidently found this site and i am so happy to get to this site as it contains my favorite topic that is poems for children
this is a great site may it succeed
really interesting and valueable poems 4 kids
bachon wali aadat abhi gae nhi…
Sufi saheb has done a very nice work, I wish I could see all his work online
Can someone send me Sufi Tabassum’s Nazm ” Aik Tha Gaito Gray”
What a superb site to pay tribute to Qibla Sufi sahib.
He is still matchless.
To Faiza in Canada:
Get in touch with PTV. They should have very good
collection of children’s songs from their 70s and 80s programs.
Suhail Rana did several quality music program for children
during his tenure with PTV such as HUM HE HUM.
Naheed Niazi used to do a program called KALIYOON KI MALA from PTV’s Rawalpindi Center. Those programs had
wonderful lyrics, and lilting songs sung by the participating children. Zohaib and Nazia Hassan are two well known names among those who grew up with Rana’s music shows.
You could also talk to some of the on line stores that sell
Pakistani music cds and dvds. There is one called Desi Store.
You can get their phone# from their website(desistore.com).
Tell them what you need and they will find it for you.
To Owais: “Jhoolnhe” is a masterpiece. My all time favorite
poem from this book is Sufi’s signature original character,
the immortal “TOOT BATOOT,” himself!
“Itna uska jee lulchaia
Ruste hee mein khata ayia
Khate khate aghi hichki
Dannt mein uske lug gai choot
This book alone should have ensured Sufi a place in heaven!
Just surfing the net searching some urdu poetry for my children and amazed to see this page. It has really taken me to my childhood. Wow….wonderful rememberance….’Merey Bachpan Ke Din’
Like it a lot…….10/10
My favorite too….Jhoolney
great yaar
A good literary material for children is really hard to find out in these days. Few good poets and story writers are producing very few. Sending you link of youtube.com. see and admire him
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UgaJQgcpegE
Hello sir we appreciate ur effort to aware our children 2 these luvly poems
hi,
I really like Tot Batot stuff from Sufi sahib… below is a sample… Yay Tot Batot ka bangla hai…
http://www.sirfurdu.com/index.php?md=poetry&pg=list&cat=poetry&id=162
this page has put a smile on my face and reminded me of my childhood. the poem book “Jhoolney” should be included in the kindergarten urdu course in every school regardless of English or Urdu medium.
wow,good post,thank you for share
I am in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
I want to download TOT BATOT and other books of Sufi Sahib for my child. Someone help me how can I do that please???
Love this post. I grew up with Mr. Tot Batot!
My father relates that on the occasion of centenary celebrations of Government College (University) Lahore in 1964, Gen. Ayub Khan was the chief guest. As per proceedings, Sufi Sahib was to recite his latest piece of writing (Taaza Kalaam). But when he reached the mic, several students and other participants started shouting “Tot Batot.. Tot Batot…”, demanding this great poem to be read. Sufi Sahib was in a fix and he tried to calm the audience by promising that he would read the poem after he is finished with the Taaza kalaam. But this effort only added to the excitement as now almost everyone was calling for Tot Batot. Gen. Ayub Khan was quite amused with this and was smiling at the situation and finally upon his request, Sufi Sahib read the most famous poem. Sufi sahib was joined by the whole of the audience whenever he read the verse “Aik tha Larrka Tot Batot” during the poem. A well deserved tribute to Sufi Ghulam Mustafa Tabassum
@Naan Haleem, this is worthy of cross post for GC too. Thanks for sharing.
Last night thee following poem just struck my mind and surprisingly i still remember the whole of it. An egg seems to be a valuable asset of the whole family and the loss of it aggrieves everyone in testing times. Beautiful!!!
“munnay ki amman ne anDa ubala
handia mein Daala
do mint (minutes) guzrey
Dhakna uthaya
anDa na paya
chamcha tha Terha
aur ondhi thi thali
handia thi khali
munnay ki amman aur munnay ke bhaee
munnay ki khala aur munnay ki taee
sab mil ke roye
bhookay hi soye”
Does our nation values Pakistan and the assets thereof like this egg which keeps getting vanished every time a Munnay ki Amman (Govt.) puts it in the Handia of corrupt practices?
Bhai duty per tawajjah deitay to zyada acha hota!
its very good poetry
My Name is Vincent Tariq I am working in Bahrain and have three daughters. I am 42 years old. I remember my father reeding poems of this great man. Most of the time my father use sing his poem ” Suno Gup Shup, Suno Gup Shup”
My question to all the urdu reader: Is any one doing some thing to keep this type of “Anmool Shakar” live ?
totaly loved it- reminds me of my childhood the book i loved to read. Every poem is masterpiece.
we want urdu poems for class 1 level
:) had a smile all the time reading it.