Adil Najam
Today is Faiz Ahmed Faiz’s birthday.
It is always amazing that no matter what the issue, Faiz always has something to say that is not only relevant but revalationary (often it is also revolutionary).
Something that helps us express what we really feel but are unable to articulate. Something that helps us explain what we could not understand. Something that forces us to confront what we would much rather ignore. Something that rises above our fears and speaks to our hopes.
What, then, can one say about Faiz and Pakistaniat that Faiz Sahib has not said himself:
Nisar mein teri galiyoun pay aye watan kay jahaN
Chali hai rasm kay koee na sar uTha kay chalay
Jo koee chahnay waala tawaaf ko niklay
Nazar jhuka kay chalay, jism o jaaN bacha kay chalay
As always, I can offer no better tribute to Faiz Sahib than his very own words. So, here is my very own Faiz Mela for you. A selection of poetry from Faiz that has and continues to inspire me. Poetry that assumes new meaning every time I hear it. Poetry that speaks directly to the state of my existence, to the nuances of my aspirations, and to the core of my convictions.
First, these three poems, presented here in Faiz’s own voice, each of which is as much a credo for this blog as hum daikhain gay:
Nisar mein teri galiyoun pay…
[audio:http://lcweb2.loc.gov/mbrs/master/salrp/082 06.mp3]
Aaj baazar mein pa-bajoulaN chalo…
[audio:http://lcweb2.loc.gov/mbrs/master/salrp/082 14.mp3]
Bol…
[audio:http://lcweb2.loc.gov/mbrs/master/salrp/082 05.mp3]
A fourth poem that I would have added to this list is Intisaab. It has been most beautifully sung by Nayarra Noor, and I recently stumbled on this wonderful video based on part of that poem (I wish it had used the entire poem):
Along with Nayarra Noor, Tina Sani is someone who sings Faiz with a heartfelt passion and understanding; both, of course, are at their best when singing Faiz nazms composed by Arshad Mahmood. There are many Tina Sani renditions that are worth celebrating, but here is a relatively new one – on the poem mairay dil mairay musafir – which like everything above seems to speak personally to me (and to so many others). For those of us who are living in diyar-i-ghair, this is a particularly pertinent poem which is sung particularly well:
Of course, no Faiz Mela can conclude without Iqbal Bano singing Hum Daikhain Gay. Long-time readers of this blog know that ATP and its notion of Pakistaniat (also here) is inspired by Faiz and by this particular tarana of Pakistaniat. Our very first post was based on my own amatuerish effort to visualize that vision, and probably no one except Jinnah has been quoted more often at ATP than Faiz Ahmad Faiz. I have posted it a number of times since then. Let me please do so again. This time, not as much for my visualization as for Iqbal Bano’s wonderful rendition.
Yes, Lazim Hai Kay Hum Bhi Daikhain Gay:
Hello all, I hope that the following poem comes true one day, and it will take all of you for it to:
Hum dekhenge
Lazim hai k hum bhi dekhenge
Wo din k jis ka wada hai
Jo looh-e-azl pe likha hai
Hum bhi dekhenge
Jab zulm-o-sitam k kooh-e-giran
Roi ki tarah ur jaenge
Hum mehkomon k paaon tale
Ye dharti dhar dhar dharkegi
Aur ahl-e-hukum k sir oper
Jab bijli kar kar karkegi
Hum bhi dekhenge
Jab arz-e-Khuda k kaabe se
Sab but uthwae jaenge
Hum ahl-e-safa mardood-e-harm
Masnad pe bethae jaenge
Sab taaj uchale jaenge
Sab takht girae jaenge
Hum bhi dekhenge
Bas naam rahega Allah ka
Jo ghayab bhi hai hazir bhi
Jo manzar hai nazir bhi
Uthega ANAL HAQ ka nara
Jo mai bhi hon tum bhi ho
Aur raaj karegi Khalq-e-KHUDA
Jo mai bhi hon tum bhi ho
Hum dekhenge
Lazim hai hum bhi dekhenge
Hum dekhenge …!
Beautiful – enjoyed every word of the post today. However there is nothing like holding a book in hand and reading it.. nostalgia is deeper and lasting.
Dear Adil
Thanks for this amazing post. A great selection of his poetry and poignant thoughts.
RR
[…] Faiz Ahmed Faiz was the last great poet of ideas from South Asia forming, within the Urdu tradition, the Trinity of Ghalib-Allama Iqbal- Faiz. Adil at All Things Pakistan has a wonderful collection of Faiziana on his birth anniversary and remarks about his poetry: Something that helps us express what we really feel but are unable to articulate. Something that helps us explain what we could not understand. Something that forces us to confront what we would much rather ignore. Something that rises above our fears and speaks to our hopes. Linked by bhupinder […]
Thanks a lot for the tribute. As iFaqeer commented, Faiz is the greatest poet of the 20th century from South Asia and probably the last poet one who was also a poet of ideas and not just emotions- in the tradition blazed by Allama Iqbal.
On a related note- I have a small friendly quibble on this blog: I was disappointed not to see a tribute to Iqbal on his birth anniversary lat year.