baRe shaa3iroN kii 3aruuzii GhalatiyaaN

[Naseer]

dostaan-i-giraamii aadaab.

jis mauzuu3 kaa is laRii meN maiN ne zikr chheRaa hai, us meN mujhe nah to dil-chaspii hai aur nah hii maiN us meN 3ilm rakhtaa huuN, haalaaNkih shi3r-o-shaa3irii meN thoRaa-bahut lagaa'o rakhte hu'e fann-i-3aruuz kii kuchh nah kuchh samajh honii chaahiye. lekin kyaa kiije? yih fan har ik ke bas kii baat nahiiN!:-)

in dinoN 3aruuz aur taqtii3 par baHs-o-mubaaHise balkih "kilaaseN" jaarii haiN:-) is ke saath saath Firaq Gorakhpuri kaa zikr bhii ka'ii daf'ah ho chukaa hai. ek baar to kisii dost ne likhaa hai kih Firaq jaisaa shaa3ir kabhii xaarij az vazn shi3r likh hii nahiiN saktaa. maiN ne kahiiN paRh rakhaa hai kih baRe baRe shaa3ir bhii is "gunaah" ke murtakib hu'e haiN...masal-an yih kih Faiz aur Sahir ne apnii shaa3irii meN Ghaflat bartii hai... yaa Iqbal ne ek misr3e meN 3aruuzii Ghalatii kii hai....yih sab kuchh jaan kar maiN Hairaan zaruur hu'aa thaa lekin kahte haiN kih "bandah bashar hai".

Shamsur Rahman Faruqi ne shi3r-o-shaa3irii ke mauzuu3aat par muxtalif mazaamiin likhe haiN jin meN "Iqbal kaa 3aruuzii nizaam" ek hai. us se ba-taur-i-namuunah maiN yih iqtibaas aap kii xaatir pesh kartaa huuN..

"...lekin is kaa matlab yih nahiiN kih Iqbal kii 3aruuzii mahaarat duusre shu3araa kii nisbat kam thii, Mir kii "Hindi baHr" meN Fani aur Seemaab ne ThokareN khaa'ii haiN. xvud Mir ne is baHr meN kasrat-i-shuGhl ke baa-vujuud ka'ii misr3oN meN Ghalatii kii hai. Ghalib kii bhii ek Ghazal kaa ek misra3 baHr se xaarij hai aur in kii ek rubaa3ii bas ittifaaq se mauzuuN ho ga'ii hai. is ke bar-xilaaf Iqbal ke yahaaN ko'ii 3aruuzii Ghalatii nahiiN miltii. sirf ek misra3 maxduush ho gayaa hai.

Iqbal baRaa updeshak hai man baatoN meN moh letaa hai

Gyan Chand ne saHiiH likhaa hai kih is misra3 meN Iqbal apnii vaaHid 3aruuzii Ghalatii ke murtakib hu'e haiN kyoNkih unhoN ne "moh" ko "muh" ke vazn par baaNdhaa hai......."

Professor Gyan Chand Rai kaa zikr ho hii chalaa hai to dekhte haiN vuh Iqbal ke baare meN kyaa farmaate haiN...ma'xuuz az "Iqbal kii mahaarat-i-3aruuz".

"....Iqbal ke 3aruuzii tajziye meN mujhe kahiiN yih andaazah nahiiN hu'aa kih 3aruuz se in kii vaaqifiyyat Ghair-ma3muulii thii lekin ab mujhe apnii raa'e badalnii paRii...

....Pakistan ke choTii ke muHaqqiq Mushfiq Khvaajah SaaHib kaa Urdu dunyaa par iHsaan hai kih unhoN ne shaa'i3-shudah tab3-i-avval kaa iHyaa kiyaa aur donoN ishaa3atoN ko milaa kar is xuubii se tartiib diyaa kis is 3itr-i-majmuu3ah meN donoN kii 3alaiHidah Haisiyyat baaqii hai. in kii murattabah "Iqbal az Maulavi Ahmad Din" Anjuman-i-taraqqii-i-Urdu- Pakistan ne 1979 meN shaa'i3 kii. is meN Iqbal kii ek nazm "talabah-i-'AligaRh ke kaalij ke naam" kii avvaliiN suurat dekhne ke ba3d inkishaaf hu'aa kih Iqbal ko 3aruuz par jo 3ubuur Haasil thaa, us ke ziHaafaat kaa vuh jis qadr 3irfaan rakhte the, Urdu ke mashaahiir shu3araa meN aur kahiiN nahiiN dikhaa'ii diyaa......"

Professor Gyan Chand Jain hii kaa ek mazmuun hai, "Firaaq kii be-3aruuziyaaN". us meN se ek do jumle aap ke saamne rakhtaa huuN.

"..."mujhe yih pahle se andaazah thaa kih vuh Ghair-mauzuuN misr3e kah jaate haiN. tafsiilii jaa'izah liyaa to ma3luum hu'aa kih Firaq kii 3aruuzii Hiss jis qadr kam-zor thii mashaahiir shu3araa meN is kii duusrii misaal nahiiN miltii. Hindi baHr, baHru_lmutaqaarib aur mutadaarik aur rubaa3ii meN vuh xaas taur se ThokreN khaate haiN aur 3ajiib yih hai kih in ko inhiiN meN tab3-aazmaa'ii kaa xaas shauq hai...."

Faruqi hii kaa ek aur mazmuuN hai "Ghalatii 3aib nahiiN hai" aur is mauzuuN par shaayad maiN ek aur laRii kaa aaGhaaz karuuN gaa. 3aruuzii mu3aamilaat dar-kinaar, is mazmuun meN vuh likhte haiN...

"3aib ba-har Haal 3aib rahtaa hai, sirf madaarij badalte rahte haiN. 3ahd-i-jadiid ke shu3araa meN Firaq ke yahaaH Hashv aur 3ijz-i-bayaan ke 3uyuub jis kasrat se nazar aate haiN is kii misaal kisii aur shaa3ir ke yahaaN nahiiN miltii, xaas-kar kisii aise shaa3ir ke yahaaN jis kii 3azmat-o-shuhrat kaa sikkah itnaa hii raa'iju_lvaqt ho jitnaa Firaq SaaHib kaa sikkah hai....."

maiN achchii tarH jaantaa huuN kih jahaaN Ghalib ke liye Abdur Rahman Bijnori hai vahaaN Yagana Changezi bhii hai, jahaaN Iqbal ke liye Rasheed Ahmad Siddiiqi aur Aal-e-Ahmad Suroor vaGhairah haiN, vahaaN 'Arsh Malsiyani aur Kaleemuddin Ahmad jaise bhii haiN. Firaq ke liye ek taraf Shamim Hanfi haiN to duusrii jaanib Asar Lakhnavi (Hazrat Firaq kii ta3alliyaaN, "ruup", "shi3r guftan chih zaruur?") aur Gyan Chand Jain, Shamsur Rahman Faruqi (Urdu Ghazal kii rivaayat aur Firaq) bhii haiN. mujhe 3ilm hai kih hamaare Raj Kumar SaaHib ke marGhuub shaa3ir Hazrat Raghupati Sahay "Firaq" Gorakhpuri haiN aur yih taHriir likh kar mujhe un kii dil-aazaarii maqsuud nahiiN. muxtalif logoN kii alag-alag aaraa' hotii haiN lekin 3aruuz se bahrah-mand honaa to har shaa3ir ke liye laazimii hai. phir is qadr GhalatiyaaN kyoN, kih Gyan Chand Jain ko apne mazmuun kaa naam "Firaq kii be-3aruuziyaaN" likhnaa paRaa? ba-qaul Asar Lakhnavi "peshtar bhii ek se ziyaadah mazaamiin meN is amr kaa izhaar kar chukaa huuN kih Firaq SaaHib Gorakhpuri shi3r to kahte haiN lekin zabaan se be-bahrah aur 3aruuz ke mu3aamile meN bi_lkul kore haiN HaalaaNkih shaa3irii ke liye in chiizoN kaa 3ilm ashad zaruurii hai...."

Naseer

[Raj Kumar]

On Monday, September 14, 2020 at 10:45:26 AM UTC-7, Naseer wrote:
> dostaan-i-giraamii aadaab.
>
> jis mauzuu3 kaa is laRii meN maiN ne zikr chheRaa hai, us meN mujhe nah to dil-chaspii hai aur nah hii maiN us meN 3ilm rakhtaa huuN, haalaaNkih shi3r-o-shaa3irii meN thoRaa-bahut lagaa'o rakhte hu'e fann-i-3aruuz kii kuchh nah kuchh samajh honii chaahiye. lekin kyaa kiije? yih fan har ik ke bas kii baat nahiiN!:-)

***ko'ii harj nahiiN, Naseer sahib, aap ko ilm-e-aruuz se uns ho na ho, phir bhi

"tadbeer kuchh to bahr-e-mulaaqaat chaahiye"***!

> in dinoN 3aruuz aur taqtii3 par baHs-o-mubaaHise balkih "kilaaseN" jaarii haiN:-) is ke saath saath Firaq Gorakhpuri kaa zikr bhii ka'ii daf'ah ho chukaa hai. ek baar to kisii dost ne likhaa hai kih Firaq jaisaa shaa3ir kabhii xaarij az vazn shi3r likh hii nahiiN saktaa. maiN ne kahiiN paRh rakhaa hai kih baRe baRe shaa3ir bhii is "gunaah" ke murtakib hu'e haiN...masal-an yih kih Faiz aur Sahir ne apnii shaa3irii meN Ghaflat bartii hai... yaa Iqbal ne ek misr3e meN 3aruuzii Ghalatii kii hai....yih sab kuchh jaan kar maiN Hairaan zaruur hu'aa thaa lekin kahte haiN kih "bandah bashar hai".

***aap ka farmaan sir aaNkhoN par, Naseer sahib, --- yaqeenan, har baNda apne kaar-o-baar meN Ghalati kar sakta hai --- magar yeh mas'ala sirf Firaaq tak hi maHduud nahiiN. taaham, agar aap ne Firaaq hi ko madd-e-muqaabil rakhha hai to
"chalo, aage chal ke dekhte haiN"!***

>
> Shamsur Rahman Faruqi ne shi3r-o-shaa3irii ke mauzuu3aat par muxtalif mazaamiin likhe haiN jin meN "Iqbal kaa 3aruuzii nizaam" ek hai. us se ba-taur-i-namuunah maiN yih iqtibaas aap kii xaatir pesh kartaa huuN..
>

> "...lekin is kaa matlab yih nahiiN kih Iqbal kii 3aruuzii mahaarat duusre shu3araa kii nisbat kam thii, Mir kii "Hindi baHr" meN Fani aur Seemaab ne ThokareN khaa'ii haiN. xvud Mir ne is baHr meN kasrat-i-shuGhl ke baa-vujuud ka'ii misr3oN meN Ghalatii kii hai. Ghalib kii bhii ek Ghazal kaa ek misra3 baHr se xaarij hai aur in kii ek rubaa3ii bas ittifaaq se mauzuuN ho ga'ii hai. is ke bar-xilaaf Iqbal ke yahaaN ko'ii 3aruuzii ki Ghalatii nahiiN miltii. sirf ek misra3 maxduush ho gayaa hai.

***Faaruuqi sahib ke is iqtebaas se zaahir hai k baRe se baRaa shaa'ir bhi aGhlaat ka murtakib ho sakta hai --- so what?
ba-qaul-e-Aachaariya Kripalaanii, agar insaan Ghalati nahiiN kare ga to kyaa Bhagvaan Ghalati kare ga? *** ;-)

>
> Iqbal baRaa updeshak hai man baatoN meN moh letaa hai
>
> Gyan Chand ne saHiiH likhaa hai kih is misra3 meN Iqbal apnii vaaHid 3aruuzii Ghalatii ke murtakib hu'e haiN kyoNkih unhoN ne "moh" ko "muh" ke vazn par baaNdhaa hai......."
>
> Professor Gyan Chand Rai kaa zikr ho hii chalaa hai to dekhte haiN vuh Iqbal ke baare meN kyaa farmaate haiN...ma'xuuz az "Iqbal kii mahaarat-i-3aruuz".
>
> "....Iqbal ke 3aruuzii tajziye meN mujhe kahiiN yih andaazah nahiiN hu'aa kih 3aruuz se in kii vaaqifiyyat Ghair-ma3muulii thii lekin ab mujhe apnii raa'e badalnii paRii...

***kamaal ki baat hai, Naseer sahib, k Iqbaal ne apne bharpuur kalaam meN aek lafz ko Ghalat baaNdha hai aur Gyaan Chand ji Iqbaal ke ilm-e-aruuz se Gham khane lage haiN.***

> ....Pakistan ke choTii ke muHaqqiq Mushfiq Khvaajah SaaHib kaa Urdu dunyaa par iHsaan hai kih unhoN ne shaa'i3-shudah tab3-i-avval kaa iHyaa kiyaa aur donoN ishaa3atoN ko milaa kar is xuubii se tartiib diyaa kis is 3itr-i-majmuu3ah meN donoN kii 3alaiHidah Haisiyyat baaqii hai. in kii murattabah "Iqbal az Maulavi Ahmad Din" Anjuman-i-taraqqii-i-Urdu- Pakistan ne 1979 meN shaa'i3 kii. is meN Iqbal kii ek nazm "talabah-i-'AligaRh ke kaalij ke naam" kii avvaliiN suurat dekhne ke ba3d inkishaaf hu'aa kih Iqbal ko 3aruuz par jo 3ubuur Haasil thaa, us ke ziHaafaat kaa vuh jis qadr 3irfaan rakhte the, Urdu ke mashaahiir shu3araa meN aur kahiiN nahiiN dikhaa'ii diyaa......"

***So far so good --- ab is ke ba'ad saara nazla Firaaq sahib par girne ko hai, us ke baare meN aaj nahiiN, kal baat hogi. fil-Haal to, ba-qaul-e-Pandit ChaaNd Naraa'in ChaaNd,

kalii chhup ke pattoN meN sharmaa rahii hai
shajar jhuumte haiN, havaa gaa rahii hai
mujhe sone do, mujh ko neeNd aa rahii hai

du'aa-go, Raj Kumar***

[Raj Kumar]

On Monday, September 14, 2020 at 10:45:26 AM UTC-7, Naseer wrote:

mujhe 3ilm hai kih hamaare Raj Kumar SaaHib ke marGhuub shaa3ir Hazrat Raghupati Sahay "Firaq" Gorakhpuri haiN aur yih taHriir likh kar mujhe un kii dil-aazaarii maqsuud nahiiN.

***janaab-e-man, is meN dil-aazaari ki kyaa baat hai. maiN Firaq sahib ka maddaaH huuN aur taa-dam-e-aaKhir un ka maddaaH rahuuN ga. un ke kalaam meN KhaamiyaaN zaruur haiN magar, majmuu’ii taur par, jo sikka unhoN ne ba-taur shaa’ir biThaaya hai aur “shohrat-e-aam v baqaa-e-davaam” ke darbaar meN jo maqaam paaya hai, us se un ke nukta-cheen bhi munkir nahiiN ho sakte. albatta, yeh bhi mumkin hai k Firaq sahib ke kuchh nukta-cheen un ki azmat par rashk, bal-k Hasad, karte hoN.***

Professor Gyan Chand Jain hii kaa ek mazmuun hai, "Firaaq kii be-3aruuziyaaN". us meN se ek do jumle aap ke saamne rakhtaa huuN.

"mujhe yih pahle se andaazah thaa kih vuh Ghair-mauzuuN misr3e kah jaate haiN. tafsiilii jaa'izah liyaa to ma3luum hu'aa kih Firaq kii 3aruuzii Hiss jis qadr kam-zor thii mashaahiir shu3araa meN is kii duusrii misaal nahiiN miltii. Hindi baHr, baHru_lmutaqaarib aur mutadaarik aur rubaa3ii meN vuh xaas taur se ThokreN khaate haiN aur 3ajiib yih hai kih in ko inhiiN meN tab3-aazmaa'ii kaa xaas shauq hai...."

***I am not surprised by these comments of Dr. Gyan Chand because, as I understand it, FG was a care-free person who at times became careless too. However, he was a person of exceptional intellect who devoured Urdu, Hindi, Persian and English literature like a glutton and wrote Urdu poetry at an astonishing speed over a long period of time. My hunch is that he wasn’t fully groomed in Urdu prosody in the manner of GC, but he knew enough of it to produce as much stuff as he did. His routine was to spend most of the day reading and much of the night writing (after having a few drinks in the evening). Very likely, he did not revise his writings as well as one should --- and, of course, never edited what he published. This last part became the root-cause of GC reporting so many so-called ‘errors’ in FG’s poetry --- and that brings me to some of the hilarious facts about GC’s criticism of FG.

By way of introduction, we all remember the episode regarding the misr’a
(i) “jalva-e-gul ko bulbul bahut hai”,
which is clearly out-of-meter and is found as such in so many books of FG. But the correct in-meter misr’a is
(ii) “jalva-e-gul bulbul ko bahut hai”,
which is the one I kept vouching for and which was finally discovered by Naseer sahib in a book by none other than Asar Lakhnavi --- the fiercest critic of FG.
Now, if someone had bashed FG for having written misr’a (i), how unjust would it have been. My friends, a lot of “Firaq ki be-aruuziyaaN” reported by GC are of this type!

Here are some examples of these so-called ‘be-aruuziyaaaN’, as reported by GC in the journal “nayaa daur, Lucknow, in the year 1983 --- notably, a year after FG died!

1. GC faults FG by quoting from his book “charaaGhaaN”, Alahaabaad, 1966
(i) yeh kaun le rahaa hai aNgRaa’ii, which indeed is out-of-meter.
But the correct in-meter misr’a is right there in FG’s “gul-baaNg”, 1967
(ii) kaun yeh le rahaa hai aNgRaa’ii

2. Again, GC from FG’s “charaaGhaaN”, Alahaabaad, 1966
(i) yuuN to tire saamne sar yeh kabhii jhukaa nahiiN (out-of-meter)
But the correct in-meter misr’a is right there in FG’s “shabnamastaaN”, Alahaabaad, 1965
(ii) yuuN to tire bhi saaamne sar yeh kabhii jhukaa nahiiN

3. Now, GC from FG’s “GhazalastaaN”, Alahaabaad, 1965
(i) voh Duub Duub ke ubharnaa, voh dard ki tar’H chamak jaanaa (out-of-meter)
But the correct in-meter misr’a is right there in FG’s “ramz-o-kanaayaat”, Alahaabaad, 1947
(ii) voh Duub Duub ke ubhar aanaa, voh dard ki tar’H chamak jaanaa”

4. Next, GC from FG’s “shabnamastaaN”, Alahaabaad (1965)
(i) ishq ko Khud nahiiN ab aetibaar (out-of-meter)
But the correct misr’a is there in FG’s “shabnamastaaN”, Lahore (1979)
(ii) ishq ko Khud par nahiiN ab aetibaar

5. Again, GC from FG’s “shabnamastaaN”, Alahaabaad, 1965
(i) rah rah ke Khalish bhii hotii hai aur kashmakash-e-dil bhii kam kam hai (out-of-meter)
But the correct misr’a is there in FG’s “shabnamastaaN”, Lahore, 1979
(ii) rah rah ke Khalish bhii hotii hai aur kashmakash-e-dil bhii kam hai

6. Now, GC from FG’s “gul-e-naGhma”, Alahaabaad, 1959
(i) yeh udaas udaas yeh bujhii bujhii ko’ii ziNdagii hai Firaaq kii (out-of-meter)
But the correct misr’a is there in “Ghazal”, compiled by Nasir Kazmi, Lahore, 1971
(ii) yeh udaas udaas, bujhii bujhii, ko’ii ziNdagii hai Firaaq kii

7. Again, GC from “gul-e-naGhma”, Alahaabaad, 1959
(i) ab usii ka takya zamaane meN sunaa hai marj’a-e-Khalq hai (out of meter)
But the correct misr’a is there in FG’s “gul-baaNg”, Allahaabaad, 1967, also in “Ghazal”, compiled by Nasir Kazmi, Lahore, 1971
(ii) ab usii ka takya zamaane meN yeh sunaa hai marj’a-e-Khalq hai

and so on!

Now, what do you think of the care (or lack of it) with which GC had researched FG’s writings before launching his attack on the latter? A researcher of GC’s standing should have kept all of his resources in front of him (rather than only a few of them), checked those ash’aar that he considered faulty against the same ash’aar published in other places. Had he done that, he would have realized that many (in fact, most) of his findings were the fault of print-composers or proof-readers --- not of the poet. Had GC realized that, he wouldn’t have given his article so ‘cruel’ a title as he did.

I’ll stop here for now, Naseer sahib. I’ll comment on the remaining part of your post sometime tomorrow.

R.K.***

[Raj Kumar]

______________

***Corrections, please:
GhazalastaaN should be GhazalistaaN,
shabnamastaaN should be shabnamistaaN
ramz-o-kanaayaat should be ramz-o-kinaayaat

R.K.***

[Raj Kumar]

_____________

***janaab Naseer sahib:

Before I go over the remaining parts of your post, let me say some final words on GC’s criticism of FG.

1. It is a mystery to me that GC published his criticism just one year after the death of FG. Was it supposed to be a ‘shradhaaNjali” to the departed soul? I think, not!

Was it one of the routine research articles of GC? If so, why didn’t he publish it when FG was alive? Very likely, this topic was in his mind for quite some time (and, possibly, a rough draft of the article was already in the works) but he waited to publish it only after FG was gone.

2. It is also possible that GC had some personal grudges against FG and he let them out as soon as FG died. One reason for these grudges comes to mind, which may or may not be relevant to this question; even so, let me make a mention of it.

GC was a Professor of Urdu and Persian at Bhopal University and he often invited FG to be the examiner of his students’ theses. I learn that GC wasn’t happy at the way FG conducted himself during the exams of his students. May be, that conduct of FG was one of the grudges GC had.

In any case, let’s move on.***

Faruqi hii kaa ek aur mazmuuN hai "Ghalatii 3aib nahiiN hai" aur is mauzuuN par shaayad maiN ek aur laRii kaa aaGhaaz karuuN gaa. 3aruuzii mu3aamilaat dar-kinaar, is mazmuun meN vuh likhte haiN...

"3aib ba-har Haal 3aib rahtaa hai, sirf madaarij badalte rahte haiN. 3ahd-i-jadiid ke shu3araa meN Firaq ke yahaaH Hashv aur 3ijz-i-bayaan ke 3uyuub jis kasrat se nazar aate haiN is kii misaal kisii aur shaa3ir ke yahaaN nahiiN miltii, xaas-kar kisii aise shaa3ir ke yahaaN jis kii 3azmat-o-shuhrat kaa sikkah itnaa hii raa'iju_lvaqt ho jitnaa Firaq SaaHib kaa sikkah hai....."

***chaliye, Faruqi sahib ne yeh to maanaa k, baa-vujuud jumla ‘ayuub ke, FG ki shaa’iraana azmat-o-shohrat ka sikkah to raa’ij-ul-vaqt hai --- aur, meri raaye meN, yeh sikkah taa-abad raa’ij rahe ga. yeh ko’ii Dhakii-chupii baat nahiiN k beshtar naqqaadoN ki nazar meN, jahaaN Miir, Ghaalib aur Iqbaal ki azmat par ko’ii Harf nahiiN hai, vahaaN in teenoN ke ba’ad baRay sho’araa ki saf meN Faiz aur Firaq pesh pesh haiN!

rahii baat Faruqi sahib ke eiterazaat ki to hameN maan_naa paRe ga k un meN kisi Had tak sachchaa’ii to hai --- maslan, FG ke kalaam meN ka’ii maqaamaat par zabaan-o-bayaan uljhe huye haiN, ka’ii misr’oN meN fasaaHat ki kamii hai, kahiiN kahiiN lambi baHr ke misr’oN meN itne Huruuf sukeRe gaye haiN k misr’a Khaarij-az-baHr lagta hai (aisa chaahe ho na), vGh, vGh.
aisi KhaamiyoN ki faurii vajah yihii hai k FG ne likkhaa bahut ziyaada hai aur us par nazar-e-saani nahiiN kii. “gul-baaNg” ke deebaache meN, unhoN ne Khud kahaa hai k “agar maiN kuchh kam kahta to behtar kahta”!***

muxtalif logoN kii alag-alag aaraa' hotii haiN lekin 3aruuz se bahrah-mand honaa to har shaa3ir ke liye laazimii hai. phir is qadr GhalatiyaaN kyoN, kih Gyan Chand Jain ko apne mazmuun kaa naam "Firaq kii be-3aruuziyaaN" likhnaa paRaa?

***azeez-e-man, maiN aap ke is savaal ka javaab pahle hi de chukaa huuN --- voh yeh k agar GC ne apni taHqeeq Theek DhaNg se kii hoti to voh aisa dabaNg mazmuun likhte hi na --- aur agar likhte bhi to use aisa talKh unvaan na dete.

Khair, jo hu’aa so hu’aa. ab ham Gyan Chand ji se shikva bhi nahiiN kar sakte kyuuN-k, aaj se 13 baras pahle, voh bhi is daar-e-faanii se kuuch kar gaye!***

ba-qaul Asar Lakhnavi "peshtar bhii ek se ziyaadah mazaamiin meN is amr kaa izhaar kar chukaa huuN kih Firaq SaaHib Gorakhpuri shi3r to kahte haiN lekin zabaan se be-bahrah aur 3aruuz ke mu3aamile meN bi_lkul kore haiN HaalaaNkih shaa3irii ke liye in chiizoN kaa 3ilm ashad zaruurii hai...."

***Asar Lakhnavi ki to aap baat hi chhoRiye; aaN-Hazrat to roz-e-avval hi se FG ke peechhe laTh liye phirte rahe haiN. aap uupar likkhe huye jumle hi ko leejiye ---
Firaq Urdu zabaan se be-bahra?
Firaq aruuz ke mu’aamile meN bilkul koray?
Huzuur, agar yeh baat hai to phir Firaq itni Dher saari GhazleN, nazmeN aur rubaa’iyaaN kaise likh paaye. un ke kalaam meN kahiiN kahiiN KhaamiyaaN zaruur haiN magar voh Urdu adab meN itna a’ala maqam kaise paa gaye? aaKhir, kuchh baat to hogi un meN!

maiN apni is taHreer ko Firaaq hi ke aek she’r par Khatm karta huuN; farmaate haiN k

the ik paara-e-abr kisii din, dekhe ne dekhe ko’ii Firaaq
mulk-e-suKhan par ik muddat se ab to hamiiN ham chhaaye haiN!

yaaraan-e-maHfil se darKhwaast hai k voh is mauzoo’a par apni apni aaraa se Khaaksaar ko aur Naseer sahib ko navaazeN.

Khair-aNdesh, Raj Kumar**

[Naseer]

muHtaram Raj Kumar SaaHib, aadaab 3arz hai.

aap ne apnii masruufiyaat ke baa-vujuud merii taHriir kaa jitnii tafsiil se javaab diyaa hai, maiN us ke liye aap kaa ba-darjah-i-atamm shukr-guzaar huuN.

jo jo nikaat aap ne pesh kiye haiN insaaf kaa taqaazaa yahii hai kih har ek kaa mauzuuN, Ghair-jaanibdaaraanah aur raast-baazii se javaab diyaa jaa'e. merii bharpuur koshish rahe gii kih aisaa hii ho. aap se bas thoRii sii muhlat kii darxvaast hai.

Naseer

[stanvir]

I had been under the weather for a while (a very long while), and came here for a quick look and see but two posts engaged me so thoroughly that I ended up reading the whole threads many times over.

One was Zoya sahiba's ghazal and very engaging discussion on its various aspects. The second thread that engaged me thoroughly was this very thread where Naseer sahib's original post and then Raj Kumar sahib's illuminating commentary on it made me forget everything else aroiund me.

I am eagerly anticipating a very lively discussion on this subject which, I hope, will not remain confined to Firaq Gorakhhpuri's poetry.

By the way, I am in total agreement with RK sahib and believe that afteer Mir, Ghalib, and Iqbal, the most important and towering poets are Faiz and Firaq.

[Raj Kumar]

___________________

***Take your time, Naseer sahib. Come back at your sweet convenience and illuminate the issue further.

haaN, agar aap ka maqsad meri baatoN ko radd karna hi hai to janaab haath zaraa halka rakhiye ga --- kyuuN-k

ab aur sitam sahne ki taaqat nahiiN, lekin
dil hai k tirii bazm se uThtaa bhi nahiiN hai! :-)
[Qais]

R.K.***

[Zoya]

RK sahib,

I just want to let you know that I have been following your response to the original post with great interest. Only you could have responded to it with such great insight and clarity, especially the FG part.

I personally find it irritating that some people's entire focus seems to be finding faults with poetry of masters, sometimes at microscopic level, as illustrated by one single 'vaao' suppression in 'moh' in the entire life's work of Iqbal. I can only imagine what a thrill it must have provided for the critic!

You seem to have nailed the reason for typos in FG's printed work. As you implied, he was too busy writing the amazing poetry, not proof reading it.

Thank you for a very well written article, I believe maybe it should be blogged/published somewhere so it is available to a much wider audience.

ek she'r Nasir Kazmi kaa, aap kii nazr:

ek shaa'ir keh rahaa thaa kal mujhe
shaa'iroN ko nasr likhnii chaahiye :)

Best regards,

________Zoya

[Naseer]

muHtaram Raj Kumar SaaHib, aadaab.

chhe mahiine guzarne ko haiN aur maiN ab aap kii xidmat meN Haazir ho rahaa huuN! kaafi 3arse se, ba-vajuuh, mere paas pahle jaisii faraaGhat nahiiN rahii hai. maiN is laRii ko bhuulaa to nahiiN thaa lekin vaqt kii kamii zaruur thii. xair, aap se ma3zirat hii kar saktaa huuN. ummiid hai aap merii kotaahiyoN ko nazar-andaaz kar deN ge.

mujhe aap kii baatoN ko radd karnaa bi_lkul maqsuud nahiiN. chuuNkih us vaqt is maHfil meN taqtii3 par bahut kuchh likhaa jaa rahaa thaa aur saath hii Firaq Gorakhpuri kaa bhii charchaa thaa, maiN ne munaasib samjhaa kih is laRii kaa aaGhaaz kiyaa jaa'e.

RK1. "aap ka farmaan sir aaNkhoN par, Naseer sahib, --- yaqeenan, har baNda apne kaar-o-baar meN Ghalati kar sakta hai ---magar yeh mas'ala sirf Firaaq tak hi maHduud nahiiN. taaham, agar aap ne Firaaq hi ko madd-e-muqaabil rakhha hai to

"chalo, aage chal ke dekhte haiN!"

apnii ibtidaa'ii guftuguu meN maiN ne Faiz, Sahir, Miir, Ghalib aur Iqbal kaa zikr kiyaa hai. is liHaaz se maiN ne Firaq SaaHib ke saath ko'ii bhed-bhaa'o nahiiN bartaa lekin yih durust hai kih merii tavajjuh kaa markaz Firaq SaaHib hii the. ek na'ii laRii meN ko'ii aur dost kisii duusre shaa3ir par apnii nazar markuuz kar saktaa hai. is meN ko'ii harj nahiiN.

RK2. "un ke kalaam meN KhaamiyaaN zaruur haiN magar, majmuu’ii taur par, jo sikka unhoN ne ba-taur shaa’ir biThaaya hai aur “shohrat-e-aam v baqaa-e-davaam” ke darbaar meN jo maqaam paaya hai, us se un ke nukta-cheen bhi munkir nahiiN ho sakte. albatta, yeh bhi mumkin hai k Firaq sahib ke kuchh nukta-cheen un ki azmat par rashk, bal-k Hasad, karte hoN.***"

mujhe dar-asl is laRii meN Firaq kii shaa3iraanah qaabiliyyat se ko'ii sar-o-kaar nahiiN thaa balkih faqat un ke kalaam kii mubayyinah "be-3aruuziyoN" se. lekin mujhe afsos se kahnaa paRtaa hai kih jo iqtisaabaat maiN ne Professor Gyaan Chand, Shamsur Rahman Faruqi aur Asar Lakhnavi ke pesh kiye haiN un meN Firaaq kii shaa3irii par tabsirah bhii maujuud thaa aur use iqtibaas meN se alag karnaa go kih Ghair mumkin nahiiN thaa lekin is se ravaanii par zaruur asar paRtaa.

log ek-duusre se Hasad zaruur karte haiN lekin mujhe yih samajh meN nahiiN aa rahaa kih naqqaad log aur diigar daanishvar Hasad kyoN kareN ge aur is Hasad se unheN kyaa Haasil ho gaa? Asar Lakhnavi, Shamsur Rahman Faruqi aur diigar Hazaraat kii un se ko’ii dushmanii to hai nahiiN.

RK3. "My hunch is that he wasn’t fully groomed in Urdu prosody in the manner of GC…… Very likely, he did not revise his writings as well as one should --- and, of course, never edited what he published. This last part became the root-cause of GC reporting so many so-called ‘errors’ in FG’s poetry."

By your own admission Raj Kumar SaaHib, you have not had any “grooming” in Urdu poetry of the sort Professor Gyan Chand Rai has had but in spite of this “short coming”, have you had complaints from anyone that you have made errors linked with prosody. I would say, most certainly not! And even if you have been informed of the odd error here and there, surely they would not be so numerous for a critic to come up with a paper with the title “Qais kii be-3ariuuziyaaN”! You have painstakingly produced a list under 7 headings of FG's ash3aar which are out of meter in one publication but in meter in another. We are all grateful for your research.

RK4. Now, what do you think of the care (or lack of it) with which GC had researched FG’s writings before launching his attack on the latter? A researcher of GC’s standing should have kept all of his resources in front of him (rather than only a few of them), checked those ash’aar that he considered faulty against the same ash’aar published in other places. Had he done that, he would have realized that many (in fact, most) of his findings were the fault of print-composers or proof-readers --- not of the poet. Had GC realized that, he wouldn’t have given his article so ‘cruel’ a title as he did."

You make a very valid point that GC ought to have used all the resources available to him and checked and cross checked every single shi3r that he was finding faults with until he could not find the same shi3r printed correctly perfectly in meter. I am not aware if any of FG's books were published with his knowledge and prior supervision. If there are such books in existence, he ought to have used those rather than the first publication he came across. Having said all this, it is difficult for me to say what percentage of FG's alleged errors in meter are due to the publishers and what is due to FG. As I have said in my opening post, a poet of the calibre of FG's status and reputation should and would know when something is in or out of meter.

"Firaq ke kalaam kii tabaa3at meN siHat kaa xaatir-xvaah xayaal nahiiN rakhaa gayaa. ba3z jagah sakte kii zimmah-daarii sariiH-an sahv-i-kaatib kii hai. maiN ne in maqaamaat ko nazar-andaaz kar diyaa hai. aisii misaaleN bhii bahut haiN jahaaN ek lafz kam yaa ziyaadah karne se vazn durust ho jaataa hai. chuuNkih un ke baare meN vusuuq se ma3luum nahiiN kih yih kaatib kaa sahv hai yaa shaa3ir kaa, is liye maiN ne unheN zaahir kar diyaa hai."

Reading this it does seem that GC has done his best to avoid including those ash3aar in which the error has more likely been introduced by the printers than by the poet. My GC quote for this thread is from his book "Khoj" published in 1990 and its "muqaddimah" was written on 02/07/1988. We know FG died on 28/08/1982. So, there is at least a 6 year gap between the two events. We don't know when GC summitted his article for Naya Daur Lucknow's Firaq Number. I am providing a link to this book and the article under discussion is on page no. 250. You may wish to read this article at your leisure if you so desire. I'll quote a few lines from it.

https://groups.google.com/g/alt.language.urdu.poetry/c/P9JsKm1yM54/m/NfOU-TG4AAAJ

RK5. It is also possible that GC had some personal grudges against FG and he let them out as soon as FG died. One reason for these grudges comes to mind, which may or may not be relevant to this question; even so, let me make a mention of it.

GC was a Professor of Urdu and Persian at Bhopal University and he often invited FG to be the examiner of his students’ theses. I learn that GC wasn’t happy at the way FG conducted himself during the exams of his students. May be, that conduct of FG was one of the grudges GC had."

GC in his book "Parakh aur pahchaan" has a chapter entitled, "Firaq SaaHib se merii mulaaqaateN". I decided to read the whole chapter in case I find something of interest that would help me in responding to your comments and questions. The chapter is interesting reading indeed and I shall quote only something that is relevant to our discussion here.

"....nazm hanDolaa bhaan-matii kaa piTaaraa hai. dar-asl ba3z chhoTii nazmoN ko chhoR kar Firaq nazm-go'ii meN naa-kaam rahte haiN. in kee nazmeN nasariyyat aur itnaab-i-be-jaa se bharpuur hotii haiN. haaN GhazaloN aur rubaa3iyoN kii shi3riyyat meN kalaam nahiiN......

mujhe Firaq se ko'ii parxaash nahiiN. vuh kabhii mere Hariif nahiiN hu'e.........vuh yaqiin-an baRe shaa3ir haiN bi_lxusuus Ghazal aur rubaa3ii ke...".

https://www.rekhta.org/ebooks/parakh-aur-pehchan-gyan-chand-jain-ebooks (page 206)

RK6. It is a mystery to me that GC published his criticism just one year after the death of FG. Was it supposed to be a ‘shradhaaNjali” to the departed soul? I think, not!

Was it one of the routine research articles of GC? If so, why didn’t he publish it when FG was alive? Very likely, this topic was in his mind for quite some time (and, possibly, a rough draft of the article was already in the works) but he waited to publish it only after FG was gone."

ٗٗUnfortunately, we don't know for sure when GC had his article on Firaq published in the Naya Daur Luknow monthly magazine. GC wrote a book entitled "taHqiiq kaa fan" in 1987. It is a hefty book comprising of 652 pages. It's opening chapter "taHqiiq aur taHqiiq-kaar" and another chapter, "ek adiib par mukaalima" has some information connected with . I have had a cursory look at these chapters in which GC lists the qualities a researcher (and critic) should have. These are..

a) Haq-go'ii
b) be-ta3assubii aur Ghair jaanib-daarii
c) haT-dharam ayr ziddii nah ho
d) kisii dunyaavii aa'ide kii talaash nah kare
e) taHqiiq kii taraf raGhbat aur valvalah ho
f) mizaaj meN Dat kar miHnat karne kaa maaddah ho
g) mizaaj meN siimaabiyyat, be-sabrii aur 3ujlat nah ho
h) muHaqqiq ke mizaaj meN i3tidaal honaa chaahiye
i) Ghuruur-i-3ilm nah ho
j) axlaaqii jur'at

Just looking at this list and without quoting anything from the other chpter I have mentioned, it seems GC, if he practises what he preaches, could not have knowingly done FG any injustice.

RK7. "***chaliye, Faruqi sahib ne yeh to maanaa k, baa-vujuud jumla ‘ayuub ke, FG ki shaa’iraana azmat-o-shohrat ka sikkah to raa’ij-ul-vaqt hai --- aur, meri raaye meN, yeh sikkah taa-abad raa’ij rahe ga. yeh ko’ii Dhakii-chupii baat nahiiN k beshtar naqqaadoN ki nazar meN, jahaaN Miir, Ghaalib aur Iqbaal ki azmat par ko’ii Harf nahiiN hai, vahaaN in teenoN ke ba’ad baRay sho’araa ki saf meN Faiz aur Firaq pesh pesh haiN!"

Actually, Faruqi did not say this. He said, ""3aib ba-har Haal 3aib rahtaa hai, sirf madaarij badalte rahte haiN. 3ahd-i-jadiid ke shu3araa meN Firaq ke yahaaH Hashv aur 3ijz-i-bayaan ke 3uyuub jis kasrat se nazar aate haiN is kii misaal kisii aur shaa3ir ke yahaaN nahiiN miltii, xaas-kar kisii aise shaa3ir ke yahaaN jis kii 3azmat-o-shuhrat kaa sikkah itnaa hii raa'iju_lvaqt *ho* jitnaa Firaq SaaHib kaa sikkah hai.....". If you read this context, he is stating the views of others and not his own. Somewhere he has written that Mushtaq Ahmad is a better poet than Firaq. This was challenged and the full details are here.

https://www.rekhta.org/articles/ghazal-ki-sheriyaat-firaaq-aur-ahmad-mushtaq-ka-muhakima-shamsur-rahman-faruqi-articles?lang=ur (Ghazal kii shi3riyyaat: Firaq aur Ahmad Mushtaq kaa MuHaakamah – Shamsur Rahman Faruqi)

His original article which I have mentioned in my opening post is "Urdu Ghazal kii rivaayat aur Firaq. Here are two links to the complete article.

https://www.rekhta.org/articles/urdu-ghazal-ki-riwaayat-aur-firaq-shamsur-rahman-faruqi-articles?lang=ur

(Urdu Ghazal kii rivaayat aur Firaq)

https://www.rekhta.org/articles/urdu-ghazal-ki-riwaayat-aur-firaq-pas-nawisht-shamsur-rahman-faruqi-articles?lang=ur (Urdu Ghazal kii rivaayat aur Firaq- Pas Navisht)

There are many many Urdu scholars who have written about Firaq's poetry in glowing terms. Some of these are Niyaz Fatehpuri, Majnuun Gorakhpuri, Shameem Hanafi, Usloob Ahmed Ansari, Vahid Akhtar......

ٰIt appears that Rasheed Hasan Khan has also commented about Firaq's prosodical errors. As our main topic is about 3aruuz, I shall try to find the article in which Rasheed Hasan Khan has commented on this topic.

Naseer

[Naseer]

muHtaram Raj Kumar SaaHib, aadaab.

apnii pichhlii posT meN ek Ghalatii kaa izaalah karnaa chaahtaa huuN. GC kaa maqaalah "Firaq kii be-3aruuziyaaN" Naya Daur ke Firaq Number avval March taa May 1983 meN chhapaa thaa (page 218)

https://www.rekhta.org/ebooks/naya-daur-lucknow-shumara-number-012-001-002-ameer-ahmad-siddiqi-magazines-1

May taa July 1984 meN Firaq Number duvvum chhapaa... is meN is jariide ke mudiir ne "apnii baat" meN yih kahaa...

".....apnii baat xatm karne se pahle ek iHsaas kaa zikr zaruur kartaa chaluuN kih jo adabii ilzimaat Firaq SaaHib par un ke intiqaal ke ba3d lagaa'e ga'e vu agar un kii zindagii hii meN zaahir kar diye jaate tw bahut sii baatoN kii vazaaHat ho jaatii aur bahut se Haqaa'iq hamaare saamne aa jaate. patah nahiiN kih arbaab-i-nazar kis masliHat se xaamosh rahe aur unhoN ne Firaq kii zindagii meN lab-kushaa'ii nahiiN kii. ab Firaq is dunyaa meN nahiiN haiN. unheN jo kahnaa thaa vuh kah kar jaa chuke haiN. unhoN ne apnii zindagii baRii aab-o-taab se guzaarii. un kii baRaa'ii ke baare meN itnaa hii kahaa jaa saktaa haikih aisii qad-aavar shaxsiyyat ab puurii adabii dunyaa meN nahiiN hai. Urdu zabaan apne is maHram-i-raaz ko hameshah salaam-i-3aqiidat pesh kartii rahe gii....."

https://www.rekhta.org/ebooks/naya-daur-lucknow-shumara-number-002-004-ameer-ahmad-siddiqi-magazines

safHah No. 227 par "Firaq No. Hissah avval - ta'assuraat ke aa'iine meN" kaa izaafah hai. is meN diigar daanishvaroN ke 3ilaavah GC ne bhii chand satuur likhii haiN....

"aap likhte haiN kih aap kii yih koshish hai kih Firaq kii adabii zindagii ke saath niji zindagii kaa ko'ii goshah tishnah nah rahe. yih kyaa Ghazab karte haiN. niji zindagii ke tamaam goshe pesh karne kii jasaarat nah aap meN hai aur nah mujh meN. maiN 1941 se 1947 tak Ilahabad University kaa taalib-i-3ilm rahaa huuN aur 1972 se 1979 tak mu3allim. maiN ne jo kuchh dekhaa sunaa hai une kyoNkar naNg-i-qirtaas karuuN?..."

yaad rahe kih vuh yih kaam, apne mazmuun "Firaq SaaHib se merii mulaaqaateN" meN "naNg-i-qirtaas" kar chuke haiN.

aaxir meN likhte haiN....

"mashkuur huuN kih aap ne apne siine par patthar rakh kar meraa mazmuun bhii shaamil kar diyaa. Firaq kii 3aruuzii kamzoriyaaN dikhaane ke yih ma3nii nahiiN kih maiN in ke shaa3iraanah martabe kaa munkir huuN....."

https://www.rekhta.org/ebooks/naya-daur-lucknow-shumara-number-002-004-ameer-ahmad-siddiqi-magazines

GC kii kitaab "khoj" jis meN yih mazmuun safHah 250 par "Firaq kii be-3aruuziyaaN" safHah 250 par hai, is ke aaxir meN (safHah 276-277) is mazmuun par un kii safaa'ii shaamil hai, jo kih merii Haqiir raa'e meN qaabil-i-qubuul hai. is vaqt mere paas ise type karne ke liye vaqt nahiiN hai lekin mere xayaal meN yih aap ke savaalaat kaa mukammal javaab hai maa sivaa'e kih FG kii zindagii meN yih maqaalah kyoN nahiiN likhaa gayaa.

https://www.rekhta.org/ebooks/khoj-gyan-chand-jain-ebooks

Naseer

[Naseer]

On Friday, 26 March 2021 at 23:19:11 UTC, Naseer wrote:
> muHtaram Raj Kumar SaaHib, aadaab.
>

> GC kii kitaab "khoj" jis meN yih mazmuun safHah 250 par "Firaq kii be-3aruuziyaaN" safHah 250 par hai, is ke aaxir meN (safHah 276-277) is mazmuun par un kii safaa'ii shaamil hai, jo kih merii Haqiir raa'e meN qaabil-i-qubuul hai. is vaqt mere paas ise type karne ke liye vaqt nahiiN hai lekin mere xayaal meN yih aap ke savaalaat kaa mukammal javaab hai maa sivaa'e kih FG kii zindagii meN yih maqaalah kyoN nahiiN likhaa gayaa.
>
> https://www.rekhta.org/ebooks/khoj-gyan-chand-jain-ebooks
>
> Naseer

Here is the transcription of most of GC's defence when he was challenged by Dr Muhammad 'Aqeel.

"mundarijah-i-baalaa mazmuun kii ishaa3at ke ba3d Dr Muhammad 'Aqiil ne apne risaale "Andaaze Number 17, 1984 meN Naya Daur ke Firaq Number par tabsirah kiyaa aur mere mazmuun par xaasii tavajjuh kii. in kaa kahnaa hai ki Firaq SaaHib ke jo majmuu3e 1960 ke ba3d chhape, unheN Firaq SaaHib ne xvud nahiiN dekhaa. in meN aGhlaat-i-kitaabat bahut rah ga'ii haiN.

"Gyan Chand SaaHib se sirf shikvah yih hai kih unhoN ne Firaq ke pichhle davaaviin aur rubaa3iyoN kaa majmuu3ah Roop ko dekhe baGhair Ghalat chhape hu'e davaaviin par bharosah kar ke be-3aruuziyoN kii ek taviil fahrist taiyyaar kar dii."

"hameN to tadviin kaa yih usuul ma3luum hai kih musannif kii zindagii kaa aaxirii nusxah yaa edition mu3tabar-tariin hotaa hai. us kii zindagii ke har edition ko peshtar ke edition par tarjiiH hai. agar donoN meN ko'ii ixtilaaf-i-nasx ho to ba3d kaa edition ziyaadah mu3tabir hai. maiN ne jin aiDishanoN ko saamne rakkhaa hai vuh sab Firaq SaaHib kii zindagii meN un kii nigraanii meN Ilahabad meN chhape. GhazalistaaN, ShabnamistaaN, CharaaGhaaN, GulbaaNg sab meN un ke muqaddime haiN. Gul-i-NaGhmah tab3-i-chahaarum Dr Ja'far Raza kaa murattabah hai aur us par unhiiN kaa muqaddimah hai. lekin yih edition isii Idaarah-i-Aniis, Urdu se chhapaa hai jis se is majmuu3e ke saabiq edition chhape the. agar musannif ne apnii nigraanii meN Ghalat edition chhapvaa'e to is kaa xamyaazah vuh bhugte. tabsirah-nigaar ko kyaa ma3luum kih in meN aGhlaat-i-tabaa3at haiN aur kahaaN kahaaN haiN.

ba-har Haal, 'Aqeel SaaHib ne saHiiH-tar aiDishinoN se muta3addid misr3oN kaa saHiiH matn likhaa jis se sakte kaa suqm duur ho jaataa hai. maiN ne mazmuun ke is naqsh-i-saanii meN se aisii sab misaaloN ko xaarij kar diyaa hai. ab bhii muta3addid rubaa3iyoN ke misr3e xaarij az baHr rah ga'e haiN. 'Aqeel SaaHib ne "Roop" se muqaabilah kar liyaa hai. is ke ma3nii yih haiN kih yih baqiiyah rubaa3iyaaN Roop ke matn ke baa-vasf Ghair-mauzuuN haiN....."

GC then goes on to discuss dohaa, savaiya chhand and aalha chhand and concludes by this final sentence, "Hiss-i-mauzuuniyyat kaa yih 3aalam aur 3aruuz meN tajriboN kaa da3vaa!"

Naseer