In the post-Iqbal era of Urdu poetry there are few greater poets than Majeed Amjad (this is a link to a short bio of him in Wikipedia that I wrote and I would love readers familiar with his work to add to it).
Yet, he may also be amongst the most under-recognized and under-appreciated of our great poets.Even amongst the lovers of Urdu poetry his name is least likely to be recognized.
Reading Majeed Amjad’s magnificent poetry I have often wondered how it is that some literary reputations get created from meager contributions but some people forever struggle to gain just acclaim.
In Majeed Amjad’s case I think it was a confluence of factors: he was a quiet, reserved introvert with no inclination for self-marketing. He lived away from the literary center of Lahore in small Punjabi towns like Sahiwal and Jhang and never had many influential advocates of his literary merits.
But, perhaps more importantly, Majeed Amjad was not an ideological poet affiliated with one or the other group of literary luminaries who could beat their partisan drums on his behalf (Progressive Writers Movement managed to turn everyone who knew the words ‘mazdoor’ or ‘kisan’ into literary giants).
However, on to some examples of his wonderful poetry (unfortunately I do not possess any talent for translation so my apologies to those who struggle with literary Urdu).
Shab-e-Rafta was the only collection of his poetry published in his lifetime. He wrote a beautiful poem (Harf-e-Awwal) as an introduction to that collection:
DardoN ke is koh-e-garaaN se
MeiN ne tarashi, nazm kay eewaN
ki ik ik sil,
Ik ik soch ki hairaaN moorat …Garche qalam ki nok se tapke
Kitne tarane, kitne fasane
Lakh masaail
Dil meiN rahi sub dil ki hikayat!Bees baras ki kaawish-e-paiham
Sochte din aur jaagti raateiN
Un ka haasil:
Aik yahi izhaar ki hasrat!
The persistent undercurrent of Majeed Amjad’s poetry is a view of life that is essentially tragic (perhaps another reason why it is difficult for the young to embrace him compared to say Faiz’s optimistic theme of ‘we shall overcome’) . Majeed Amjad feels the inexorable cruelty of time in his bones. Life’s circle continues with unremitting regularity indifferent to what it leaves behind.
In the poem “KunwaN”, the water wheel symbolizes the perpetual circle of time and the water carrier, symbolizing the divine, watches this passing of time and its ravages with complete detachment:
KunwaN chal raha hai! magar khet sookhe pare haiN, na fasleiN, na khirman, na dana
Na shakhon ki bahein, na phooloN ke mukhre, na kalioN ke mathe, na rut ki jawani …KunwaiN wala, gaadi pe leta hai, mast apni bansi ki meethi sureeli sada meiN
KahiN khet sookha para reh gaya aur na us tak kabhi aai pani ki bari
KahiN beh gayi aik hi tund rele ki fayyaz lehroN meiN kayari ki kayari …Aur ik naghma sarmadi kaan meiN aa raha hai, musalsal kunwaN chal raha hai
Payape magar narm rau us ki raftaar, paiham magar betakan us ki gardish
Adam se azal tak, azal se abad tak badalti nahiN aik aan us ki gardish
Na jane liye apne dolaab ki aastinoN maiN kitne jahaaN us ki gardishRawaN hai rawaN hai
TipaN hai tipaN hai
Yeh chakkar yuhiN jaawidaN chal raha hai
KunwaN chal raha hai
I could go on but the last poem that I would like to quote in this piece is “Maqbara e Jahangir”. Notice the wholly different tone of Majeed Amjad’s poem. His reaction to this beautifully historic sight is a deep sadness as he sees human beings (gardeners, people picknicking etc.) in this serene setting either struggling to get through the day or wholly oblivious to this fleeting existence.
Khurdre, maile, phate kaproN meiN boorhe maali
Yeh chaman band, jo guzre hue sultanoN ki
HaddiaN seench ke phulwariaN mehkate haiN
Ghaas kat ti hai ke din in ke kate jate haiN …Teen sau saal se mabhoot khare haiN jo yeh sarv
In ki shakheiN haiN keh afaaq ke sheeraze haiN
Saf-e-ayyam ki bikhri hui tarteebeN haiN
In ke saaye haiN keh dhalti hui tehzeebeN haiN …MarmareeN qabr ke ander, tahe zulmaat kahiN
Kirmak-o-Moor ke jabroN meiN salateeN ke badan
Koi dekhe, koi samjhe to is eewaN meiN jahaaN
Noor hai, husn hai, taz’een hai, zeebaish hai
Hai to bus aik dukhi rooh ki gunjaish ha
Fawad is a California-based literati-at-large and manages the blog Moments of Tranquility, where a version of this was first posted. This post was first posted at ATP in October 2006 and is now being re-posted.
Fawad,
Are you Khawaja M Zakariya’s son? If so then what could I write here. I am a karachite, from a city with strong and distinct literary roots of its own, and whoever in the adabi circles there I have met had deep respect for Majid (Majeed) Amjad. And in the end it is to Khawaja Sahab’s credit.
Fawad, Thanks for the link. However, the nazm is incomplete. Are you aware of any other link on the web that may have this poem in entirety?
Adnan, heartening to hear from another Majeed Amjad fan. I am fortunate to have grown up in a house where Majeed Amjad was often mentioned and often quoted. My father met him several times and (I believe this is not just a family bias) has done much to get Majeed Amjad the recognition he deserves. Reading his “nazms”, frankly I find very few modern Urdu poets to match his exquisitely delicate sensibility and deep humanity without any sloganeering.
Here is link to the poem “Imroz” on the internet: http://www.urdupoint.com/poetry/poem-2822-79-146-2 2.html
I don’t exactly agree with the assumption that in the post-Iqbal era FEW poets are great. Of course, few is a very safe word to write :)
Yes he is a very important poet but the assumption that he was not acclaimed is incorrect. Though general magazines and papers may not have printed his poetry as their reader wants light ghazals (and nazms) for easy consumption, but in India (and Pakistan also) all major literary magazines from Shabkhoon to Shaa’er and Saughaat gave him the rightful place. Literary acclaim and popular acclaim are too different things.
I do agree that he may be less remembered or discussed but that doesn’t mean he is not considered important. This happens with many poets. Especially when it is not mass poetry.
However, this post-Iqbal era thing is just putting him on too higher a pedestal. Actually six-seven major generations of poets have gone after Iqbal.
Leave Faiz, Urdu poetry has Makhdoom, Jazbi, Majaz (don’t look at their romanticims alone and the fact that they were mere progressives but in perspective and the broad canvas which these poets brought in Urdu poetry).
I am not talking about Faiz only. But what about NM Rashid (Noon Meem Rashid) and the bohemian poet Meeraji (who had fallen in love with a girl Meera and took it as his own name for life). Sanaullah Khan Saani Daar Meraji was the most revolutionary poet of Nazm in Urdu.
And Akhtarul Iman. His poems like Ek LaRka are gems of Urdu. He is clearly in the first league. How many discuss Ameeq Hanafi these days because he died early. His nazms are a treasure of Urdu poetry. Who hasn’t read his nazm on Lolita or Samanar…Or for that matter Asad Mohammad Khan (of Pakistan) whose Nau Manzila Imarat was a pathbreaking nazm. Sardar Jafri, Munibur Rahman and Kaifi Azmi can’t be discounted.
Much before them was Akhtar Sheerani. His nazms like ‘Jahaan Rehana rahti thi..’ etc may look a little bachkana to mature readers now but they were stepping stone on which edifice of modern Urdu poetry was built. And there are so many other names.
In the last few decades many poets have written wondeful verses.
Not FEW but Many…Urdu literature is too rich. Yes, a time come when a poet appears to have gone in oblivion until he is again discovered…just like you have brought Majeed Amjad in focus.
Yet these literary argumens bring interesing conversations. Faruqi considers Ahmad Mushtaq as better poet than Firaq. I don’t agree but some of you might.
This post may have taken this blog to an other level. For many Majid Amjad was the greatest “nazm” poet to have lived. Faiz’ fans may disagree, but I, despite being a Faiz fan, agree with that conjecture. There are many reasons as to why he was not recognized by the main circles; one of them was him staying out of those circles throughout his life. He was a sub-food inspector in sahiwal and lived a life of utmost poverty. His last days were spent on empty stomach waiting for pension that never came. I feel physical pain in my heart when I read about the personal struggles of this giant for basic necessities in life. His dead body was carried between Jhang and Sahiwal in a vehicle used for animal transportion. I think it would be great if anyone could post his poem Imroz(meaning “today” and correct me if I am wrong on the translation) here. That poem defines Majid Amjad.