Beyond Words

In the evolutionary development of humans, language played a key role in helping us communicate. Words are but an approximation of what one wants to convey and poetry came before prose in this journey. Not only did it have a rhythm, but it also could express subjective feelings difficult to express otherwise.

I have often found solace in Urdu poetry and this is an attempt to recollect some of my favourite couplets.  The best ones come from Ghalib, an Urdu poet from the nineteenth century. Ghalib doesn't need an introduction as he would  himself say:

होगा कोई ऐसा भी कि 'ग़ालिब' को न जाने

शाइर तो वो अच्छा है प बदनाम बहुत है

(Would there be anyone who doesn't know Ghalib, he is a great poet albeit infamous)

Such self-deprecating humour with dignity and attitude can only be written by Ghalib. Coming back to his verses, my personal favourite is:

हज़ारों ख़्वाहिशें ऐसी कि हर ख़्वाहिश पे दम निकले

बहुत निकले मिरे अरमान लेकिन फिर भी कम निकले

(Thousands of desires and each worth dying for, I fulfilled so many of them yet they were so few) 

This sums up the philosophy of life. Every day there are new ambitions, and new wishes to be fulfilled and whenever we think about them, they appear so important for happiness. Alas, not all of them can be fulfilled and we have to reconcile such is the nature of life. Building on this, life surprises us day in and day out but Ghalib is not riled. He says:

बाज़ीचा-ए-अतफ़ाल है दुनिया मिरे आगे 

होता है शब-ओ-रोज़ तमाशा मिरे आगे 

(The world to me is a child’s playground,  new spectacles are enacted all the time)

And not everyone would agree to it. Many would come and criticise us and tell us why we are not right. We often try to see ourselves through the eyes of others and are afraid of criticism. Ghalib’s answer in this case would be:

'ग़ालिब' बुरा न मान जो वाइज़ बुरा कहे 

ऐसा भी कोई है कि सब अच्छा कहें जिसे 

(O Ghalib, don't be offended if the preacher doesn't agree with your ways. Is there anyone in this world whom everyone finds perfect)

And Ghalib is not at all perturbed by difficulties in life. He says that difficulties end up making us strong. Once we embrace them and treat them as our shield, there is no looking back. He says:

रंज से ख़ूगर हुआ इंसाँ तो मिट जाता है रंज 

मुश्किलें मुझ पर पड़ीं इतनी कि आसाँ हो गईं 

(When one gets used to the challenges of life, they do not remain a challenge. My difficulties made life easy for me)

Coming to other poets, there are couplets that drive us to work hard and be worthy of everything that we desire. For e.g. let us see this couplet by Iqbal:

ख़ुदी को कर बुलंद इतना कि हर तक़दीर से पहले 

ख़ुदा बंदे से ख़ुद पूछे बता तेरी रज़ा क्या है 

(Be worthy enough so that before finalising your destiny, God asks what you desire)

Something similar is one written by Dushyant Kumar on never giving up trying:

कैसे आकाश में सूराख़ नहीं हो सकता 

एक पत्थर तो तबीअ'त से उछालो यारो 

 And nothing can stop a person who is willing to overcome all obstacles in life. She will succeed come what may. Sahir Ludhianvi words this as:

हज़ार बर्क़ गिरे लाख आँधियाँ उट्ठें 

वो फूल खिल के रहेंगे जो खिलने वाले हैं 

(There can be lightning and thunder, but flowers destined to bloom to bloom will certainly bloom)

And all the time we may not find success in the first attempt. So ones that talk about perseverance are like this one by Faiz:

दिल ना उमीद तो नहीं नाकाम ही तो है  

लंबी है ग़म की शाम मगर शाम ही तो है 

(We have only lost but we are not defeated, the evening of gloom is but an evening that will pass)

Or this one by Wasim Barelvi which asks us to be patient:

रात तो वक़्त की पाबंद है ढल जाएगी

देखना ये है चराग़ों का सफ़र कितना है

(Night will certainly end but it will be tested if the lamp can outlive that)

Often we get perturbed by all the tensions in life. Nothing worth having comes easy in life. No path is easy and if we have to continue our journey, we have to take obstacles in our stride. Nida Fazli words it beautifully in a couplet:

सफ़र में धूप तो होगी जो चल सको तो चलो 

सभी हैं भीड़ में तुम भी निकल सको तो चलो 

(The road to success is difficult & crowded, carry on if you have the mettle to walk)

And we should never be afraid of answering our call. One can feel lonely in such journey but you can only be yourself, all others are taken. A sher for this was written by Majrooh Sultanpuri, the great poet lyricist:

मैं अकेला ही चला था जानिब-ए-मंज़िल मगर 

लोग साथ आते गए और कारवाँ बनता गया 

In the end, we see everything as we want to see it. We believe what we tell ourselves so let us be optimistic. Be it poetry or be it something else, we have to seek what we want to find. Amir Minai sums this up:

कौन सी जा है जहाँ जल्वा-ए-माशूक़ नहीं 

शौक़-ए-दीदार अगर है तो नज़र पैदा कर 

(There is no corner on this earth where what we seek is absent, if you want to see it, have those eyes) 

Which other couplets did I miss?