Majaz Lakhnawi: Heart-Throb Of Urdu Poetry

By Sumit Paul, New Age Islam 20 October 2023 "Mujhe Saaghar Dobara Mil Gaya Hai Talatum Mein Kinara Mil Gaya Hai Meri Baada-Parasti Par Na Jaao Jawani Ko Sahara Mil Gaya Hai " Asrar-ul-Haq 'Majaaz' Lakhnavi/Rudaulvi (1911-1955) (I've got the goblet once again/ Got to the shore in the raging tempest/ Don't dwell upon my fondness for drinking/ My youth has got a support) "Kufra Kya, Taslees Kya, Ilhaad Kya, Islam Kya Tu Bahar-Soorat Kisi Zanjeer Mein Jakda Hua Tod Sakta Hai Toh Tod De Pahle Sab Qaid-O-Band Bediyon Ke Saaz Pe Naghmaat-E-Aazadi Na Ga " 'Majaaz' Lakhnavi (What's sacrilege, what's Trinity, what's atheism and what's Islam?/ You're after all, manacled by all isms/ Break free of all bonds and bindings, if you can/ Don't play the song of freedom on the instrument of chains) The aforementioned quatrains reveal the poetic contradictions in one of the finest Urdu poets of the last century, Asrar-ul-Haq ' Majaz' Lakhnawi. October 19 is his birth anniversary. Though drinking proved to be his undoing, 'Majaz' had a rare kind of sensitivity all aren't endowed with. Only a poet of Majaz’s calibre could write, "Tere Maathe Pe Ye Aanchal Bahut Hi Khoob Hai Lekin/ Tu Iss Aanchal Se Ek Parcham Bana Leti Toh Acchha Tha" (Though this veil on your head looks good/ It'd have been better had you turned it into a flag). This couplet shows his respect for women and their rights. He was in favour of women raising their voices in unison: Aawaaz Jo Taa'reef-O-Tarane Ke Liye Bani Hai/ Wahi Aawaaz Takhreeb-O-Ta'ssub Ke Khilaaf Bhi Uthti Hai (The voice meant for praising and singing/ Is also raised to register violence and discrimination). Known as Keats of Urdu poetry, 'Majaz' had an enigmatic persona which endeared him to young girls of Aligarh and Lucknow. Ismat Chughtai wrote of him, "Asraar Ki Shakhsiyat Mein Beshumaar Asraar (the plural of 'sirr'; mysteries) Nihaan Thay. Aise Logon Ki Jaanib Tabeea't Yoon Bhi Raaghib Hoti Hi Hai" (Asraar had many mysteries in his persona. People feel naturally drawn to such mysterious individuals). 'Majaz' was a progressive poet who also had pronounced elements of romanticism and revolution in his approach to life and poetry: Ishq Ka Zauq-e-Nazara Muft Mein Badnaam Hai/ Husn Khud Betaab Hai Jalwe Dikhane Ke Liye (Love is unnecessarily defamed for being voyeuristic/ Beauty is more than eager to flaunt its blandishments; in nuce, if love is a voyeur, beauty is also an exhibitionist!). One of Majaz's most beautiful couplets is: Dafn Kar Sakta Hoon Seene Mein Tumhare Raaz Ko/ Aur Tum Chaho Toh Afsana Bana Sakta Hoon Main (I can entomb your secret in my heart and also make a story, if you want). Like all great poets and writers, 'Majaz' also had a premonition of death just like the great Keats also wrote: Time to glide into the ethereal sublime. By the way, Keats shuffled off this mortal coil at the age of 26! This epiphanous quatrain of 'Majaz' is indicative of the tip-toeing of the Grim Reaper: Zindagi Saaz De Rahi Hai Mujhe/ Sehar-o-Ejaaz De Rahi Hai Mujhe/ Aur Bahut Door Aasmanon Se/ Maut Aawaaz De Rahi Hai Mujhe (Life gives me the instrument/ It also drops epiphanies/ From the far away skies/ Death beckons me). He passed away at the age of 44. But his poetry stays with us and shall continue to stay. By the way, the nom de plume 'Majaz' means 'competent' in Arabic. 'Majaz' was more than a competent poet. He was the heart-throb of Urdu Sukhanvari (poetry). ------ A regular columnist for New Age Islam, Sumit Paul is a researcher in comparative religions, with special reference to Islam. He has contributed articles to the world's premier publications in several languages including Persian. URL: https://newageislam.com/spiritual-meditations/majaz-lakhnawi-urdu-poetry/d/130936 New Age Islam, Islam Online, Islamic Website, African Muslim News, Arab World News, South Asia News, Indian Muslim News, World Muslim News, Women in Islam, Islamic Feminism, Arab Women, Women In Arab, Islamophobia in America, Muslim Women in West, Islam Women and Feminism