Urdu Poems On Historical Personages -- Chand Bibi
Afzal A. Khan
As promised, here is a great poem commemorating the memory of
a warrior queen, Chand Bibi, who aligned her personal bravery and
military competence with great administrative abilities and also
aesthetic pursuits. She was a musician, with mastery over the
Sitar and was also a painter of note. Besides, she was also fond
of hunting.
There was a time when school text books, in various regions in
India, would invariably include articles on her life and
achievements. Such may no longer be the case, however. And,
therefore, the modern generation perhaps is not likely to be
well-informed about her. So I thought it proper to give here a
succinct historical background of her times and exploits, so that
the (younger) readers (at least) can better appreciate the poem
that follows.
Historical Background :
After the break-up of the Bahmani kingdom in the earlier part of
the 16th century, its domain (extending over parts of central,
western and south India) was divided up between five smaller
kingdoms :
1. Imaad Shahi (with its capital at Ellichpur)
2. Barid Shahi (with its capital at Bidar)
3. Qutub Shahi (with its capital at Golcunda)
4. Nizaam Shahi (with its capital at Ahmednagar)
5. 'Aadil Shahi (with its capital at Bijapur)
However, it is the last two of the above that are relevant for our
discussion.
Chand Sultana, or Chand Bibi (as she is popularly known in
history), was the daughter of Husain Nizam Shah of Ahmednagar.
Born circa 1550, she was the embodiment of valour and intelli-
gence. She was equally at home with the sword in hand or
the sitar or the painting brush. She also possessed superb
administrative abilities.
She was married to Ali 'Aadil Shah, ruler of the 'Aadil Shahi
kingdom around 1564. During that period and right upto the
end of the 16th century, the entire (Bahmani) region suffered from
internecine political and military intrigues and insecurity. In
those turbulent times, her husband was assassinated around
1579 or 1580. Since they had no children, the Shah's nephew
Ibrahim 'Aadil Shah was raised to the throne. He was just
about 10 years old at the time. Chand Bibi was named as the
Regent. For administrative purposes, the kingdom was served
(maybe the better word is "ill-served") by a succession of
Ministers. Despite all odds, she ruled the kingdom with great
prudence and intelligence. When Ibrahim 'Aadil Shah came of
age, she relinquished the Regency around 1590, after a period of
ten years. At that time, her original home (the Nizam Shahi
kingdom of Ahmednagar) was being ravaged by severe unrest and
political instability. Within a few years, therefore, she decided
to return to Ahmednagar, rather than spend the rest of her life in
the relatively peaceful atmosphere in Bijapur. Affairs in Ahmed-
nagar had reached such a stage that she had to assume its Regency,
in which capacity she ruled the kingdom from 1596 to 1599.
Here again, her administrative abilities came to the fore.
But, unfortunately, the short-sightedness of the kingdom's
ministers and generals was paving the way for its ruination and
extinction of its independence. One faction invited Prince
Murad (Emperor Akbar's son) to invade Ahmednagar. The Mughals
obliged and laid seige to the city. Chand Bibi organized its
defence with great competence and panache. When the Mughals tried
to mine the city fort's walls, her soldiers discovered and
defused two of the mines. One did go off, but she got the wall
repaired at the dead of night, supervising the entire operation
herself, and the Mughals got a rude surprise the next day.
Ultimately, the Prince (in desperation) sought a truce and a
settlement was arrived at --- the Mughals being allowed to retain
Berar, while Ahmednagar continued its independent status. She was
most pragmatic as a ruler during this crisis and desired to
salvage as much of the kingdom as possible. She had realized that
the tiny kingdom (with its limited resources) could not resist the
might of the Mughals for an indefinite length of time. Besides,
a severe famine had made any resistance quite impossible.
A little later, Emperor Akbar sent another son (Prince Danial) to
attack Ahmednagar and himself came to lead the campaign. This
time too the valiant warrior queen fought bravely and held the
Mughals at bay for some time. But, her opponents and detractors
spread rumours that she was trying to arrange a "sell-out" to
the Mughals. One of these traitors allowed the Mughals entry
into the fort and himself went to the royal palace with his
soldiers to kill Chand Bibi. But it wasn't easy; she resisted
fiercely and valiantly till her last breath. She was just 49 at
the time (1599).
Regrettably, her grave has remained untraceable. No tomb was ever
built. Some six miles to the east of Ahmednagar City, on a hill
some 750 feet above city level, stands the tomb of a Nizam Shahi
general and minister, Salaabat Khan II. It is a three-storeyed
octagonal structure, with a much smaller dome inside it. It is
also referred to as Chand Bibi's Palace. That nomenclature may
not be correct, however. And it is certainly not her tomb. Though
her mortal remains have been consigned to eternal oblivion, her
bravery and statesmanship are enshrined for ever in Indian history.
Her life represents a glorious -- yet tragic -- page from our
medieval history.
But there is another monument built in her lifetime, and in her
honour, that is still extant. It is a large water reservoir,
known as Chand Bawli, constructed in Bijapur by her husband in
1578, shortly before his assassination. A grand complex soon
came up around it, mainly to house the maintenance staff. It
became a model for many other tanks in the city and elsewhere.
With a capacity of 20 million litres, the reservoir continued
to be used till the end of the 19th century. Considering its
architectural value and historical significance, it has now
been included in the list of protected heritage sites by the
Archaeological Survey of India. Extensive repairs to this
monument are being carried out, like removal of garbage and waste,
fixing new gates to facilitate entry by the tourists and cleansing
and chlorination of its (fresh) water.
******************
I have detailed these historical events at some length, in order
to explain why all historians are united in honouring her as one
of the greatest and most gifted rulers in the medieval period.
With this background, it should now be possible to appreciate the
reverence in which the poet holds her memory in this wonderful
poem.
C H A N D B I B I
Shuhra tire jamaal ka nazdeek-o-door tha
Dil noor-e-haq se GHairat-e-sad~koh-e-Toor tha
RuKH par jalaal-e-'ismat-e-Mariam ka noor tha
Baazoo men zor baazoo-e-Haidar zaroor tha
Akbar ke dil men sirf KHalish tere dam se thi
Kisht-e-dakan hari tire abr-e-karam se thi
ToofaaN tha, zalzala tha, na tha lashkar-e-Mughal
Aawaaz-e-tab'l-e-juNg se tharra gaye jabal
TeGHeN khiNchi huweeN, woh sijil barchhiyoN ke phal
Woh ran paRa k(e) KHauf se ghabra gayee ajal
Lekin tiri jabeeN pe shikan tak naheeN paRi
MuGH'loN ke hosh uR gaye, tu is tarah laRi
AGH'yaar keh rahe the k(e) ran apne haath hai
Naqsha woh aa paRa hai k(e) har chaal maat hai
Kal sub'ha saare raNj-o-mehan se najaat hai
Waaqif na the k(e) raat qiyaamat ki raat hai
Le kar chiraaGH haath men teGH-e-aseel ka
Ik shab men tu ne bhar diya raKHna faseel ka
Mushkil ko tere 'azm ne aasaan kar diya
Fauj-e-shahanshahi ko preshaan kar diya
Himmat ne soor'maaoN ko hairaan kar diya
'Izzat pe tu ne jaan ko qurbaan kar diya
Ahmednagar ke dil pe tire GHam ka daaGH hai
Yeh daaGH us ki bazm-e-'uza ka chiraaGH hai
KHidmat watan ki, teri 'ibaadat rahi mudaam
Hai yaadgaar-e-dehr, tira husn-e-in'tizaam
Teri bahaaduri men kisi ko naheeN kalaam
Pal'Te tire chaman se shikaari shikasta~daam
Naa~guftani tha haal dil-e-dard~maNd ka
Lekin jhuka na sar tire 'azm-e-bulaNd ka
GHurbat ki be~kasi tujhe apne watan men thi
Begaana misl-e-sabza nigaah-e-chaman men thi
SozaaN basaan-e-shama' bhari aN'juman men thi
Ik hoor thi k(e) suhbat-e-zaaGH-o-zaGHan men thi
Paaya na haif ! gauhar-e-'ismat ne jauhari
Uj'Ri tire shabaab ki kheti hari~bhari
Gardan pe baar-e-'umr-e-gurezaaN naheeN liya
Dast-e-'adoo se dard ka dar'maaN naheeN liya
Ham'raah raKHt-e-hasrat-o-armaaN naheeN liya
Jins-e-baqa ko tu ne kuchh arzaaN naheeN liya
Sar'shaar ho ke toR gayee jaam-e-zindagi
Lauh-e-jahaaN pe chhoR gayee naam-e-zindagi
{ Sikandar Ali Wajd }
Afzal
Rajiv Chakravarti
A beautiful and well written nazm for Chand Bibi, and a treat to read,
I learnt a lot of things from it. Thank you very much for sharing
this, and the background information as well.
A question:
I don't know the word 'uza -- could you please explain? You perchance
don't mean 'azaa do you?
A عزا ʻazā (inf. n. of عزي 'to be patient,' &c.), s.f. Patience,
endurance (rare); enjoinment or exhortation to be patient,
consolation, condolence; mourning:—ʻazā-ḵẖāna, s.m. House of
condolence, or of mourning:—ʻazā-dār, adj. & s.m. In mourning;—one who
mourns or is in mourning.
Regards,
RC
Naseer
wrote:
> A question:
>
> I don't know the word 'uza -- could you please explain? You perchance
> don't mean 'azaa do you?
> A عزا ʻazā (inf. n. of عزي 'to be patient,' &c.), s.f. Patience,
> endurance (rare); enjoinment or exhortation to be patient,
> consolation, condolence; mourning:—ʻazā-ḵẖāna, s.m. House of
> condolence, or of mourning:—ʻazā-dār, adj. & s.m. In mourning;—one who
> mourns or is in mourning.
Rajiv Sahib, I was going to mention this word to Afzal Sahib but you
have beaten me to it!
If I am not mistaken, the word is " 'uzzaa ('ain pesh ze mushaddad
zabar ye, the ye being the type used for Lailaa etc). It means, as per
my dictionary " The most honoured woman (as the name of a pre-Islamic
Arab idol)". My dictionary actually says, "The most honoured women"
but I think the plural might be a typo.
Naseer
Afzal A. Khan
> condolence, or of mourning:—ʻazā-dār, adj.& s.m. In mourning;—one who
> mourns or is in mourning.
>
> Regards,
> RC
Rajiv-ji,
You are right --- the word is indeed "'azaa'".
What made me specially happy was the fact that at least two of my
friends read the poem.
When posting articles like these, I am always debating in my mind
whether I should give the additional info. or merely post the poem
alone. But then the "essayist" within me wins --- only because
I want to leave something comprehensive, yet as concise as poss-
ible, for the ALUP archives. In this case, I genuinely felt that
the poem by itself cannot move a (sincere) lover of Urdu Poetry
to the required degree, if he doesn't get an adequate idea of the
background which the poet had before himself before he set down
his thoughts on paper.
Afzal