Kaifi Azmi on the decline of Urdu poetry (article from Rediff)
neha...@hotmail.com
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He is one of our greatest living poets. But that has
never stopped Kaifi Azmi from speaking out on what is
wrong with modern Indian poetry and why it is losing
touch with the people. In their mad rush to make money,
says Kaifi, the new poets are all busy writing film
songs for crude dance sequences. No wonder the poetry
scene is so barren, so bereft of passion and commitment.
The very qualities that made Faiz, Majaaz and Sardar
Jafri such great poets. An interview with Pritish Nandy.
Why is there so little enthusiasm over poetry today?
Particularly Urdu poetry which once drew such huge audiences?
The world has changed. It has changed so much, in fact, that
poetry and life have gone their own separate ways.
The intimate relationship that once bound the two together
has snapped and poets live in their own world today. Very
few books are published because very few publishers are
interested in poetry. Readers are also few. There is a
spiralling disinterest in the whole medium itself. But that
is actually the consequence of life pursuing its own fruitless
ambitions and poetry living in a world of its own. The twain
seldom if ever meet. That is the unfortunate problem.
Do you get to read much of modern Urdu poetry? The poetry
new, young poets write?
Frankly, no. I have not been very well for a while, as you
can see. Also, I spend a lot of time in my village in Uttar
Pradesh, where I am trying to set up schools and computer
classes for those who cannot afford education. When I started
there was not even a primary school there. It has been a very
satisfying experience and fulfils some of my deepest personal
needs. Yes, I read. I still read poetry a lot. But I read
poets whose works I love, enjoy, cherish. There is very
little new work that frankly comes my way.
Who are the poets whom you enjoy reading the most? Among your
contemporaries, that is?
Faiz. His poetry still touches me deeply. Also Majaaz. And,
of course, Sardar. Ali Sardar Jafri (right), in my reckoning,
is a truly contemporary poet and he is still writing so well
that I marvel. There are qualities in his work that I miss
in most of the recent writing that I have had the fortune to
read. His images are strong, powerful, convincing. His
concerns are still alive.
What happened to your lyrics for movies? Why don't you write
songs any more?
Who is interested in my kind of lyrics any more? If you
listen to the current crop of songs, you will know exactly why.
Poets like Gulzar and Atal Bihari Vajpayee get nominated for
best lyrics. What can you expect in a literary environment
as sterile as this?
Who is your favourite lyricist today?
I cannot speak of favourites but the ones I enjoy the most
are Nida Faazli and Javed Akhtar. Nida Faazli is an outstanding
poet, whose work I have long admired, and Javed Akhtar, apart
from being my son-in-law, is very powerful, very sensitive.
His song for Border is a typical example. Sandesein aate hain...
It is so moving, so touching that it redeems all the pretentious
rubbish that passes off as poetry today.
Why don't you like Gulzar's lyrics or Vajpayee's poems which
are being sung today?
Where is the question of not liking them? Poetry is poetry
whether I like it or not. The tragedy is that Gulzar's fake
romanticism is what passes off as poetry today! Would singers
be singing Vajpayee's lyrics if he were not prime minister of
India? The answer is no. His poems have been around for years
now but no one has ever sung them or set them to music. It is
only now that he has been suddenly rediscovered! This is not
serious appreciation. Poetry cannot be compromised. It is either
good or bad. (Commercial or political) success has nothing to do
with it.
Which is your own favourite lyric? Among those written by you.
Waqt ne kiya kyan haseen sitam....
From Guru Dutt's Kaagaz ke Phool?
Yes, what a remarkable film-maker he was, Pritish! He made movies
that dredged your soul, your deepest uncertainties. There was
poetry in his films and, therefore, it was only natural that
he sought out poetry to set to music in them. It came together
in those days. Poetry and music. Neither could survive without
the other and that is how Hindi film music became so popular with
the masses in the early days.
Any other song you are proud of having written?
The song in Haqeeqat. Chetan Anand's film. Zara se aahat hoti
hai to dil yeh sochta hai ki yeh kahin woh to nahin...
Why don't you write such lyrics now?
How can I? The kind of lyrics being sung today are very different.
Who will listen to me? Today all you see are gyrating bodies
rubbing against each other and claiming that kuch kuch hota hai!
There are also some very fine poets who have joined the (gold)
rush and lost their originality, their poetic sensibility. I do
not need to make such compromises. Nor do I want to for the sake
of just money. I am happy to sit down and talk poetry with you.
Or even write an occasional poem. That is all. My needs are not
so much that I need to make any compromises.
Have you written any more poems after your last book Awara Sajde?
A few. But I have not published them. They have been scribbled
in my note books. You see, I spend most of my time in my village
these days and that is why my poetry is becoming, you could say,
more and more simple and rustic.
When night fell asleep on my terrace of my home
I too was fast asleep, covered by a warm blanket
Of moonlight. But when the moon stepped down and
Came and lay beside me, I could not resist her.
I was thirsty. So was she. On her cold mouth
I placed my burning lips and drank deeply.
I drank so deeply of her moonlight that she lost
Her innocence and sank without a trace.
Here, in the city, you do not even notice the moonlight. In my village,
it wraps
itself around you, does not let you go.
Which village is this? It must be in Azamgarh.
Yes, it is a tiny village in Azamgarh called Phoolpur. This is
not the Phoolpur of Allahabad. It is the Phoolpur of Azamgarh.
I spend most of my time there these days. It has no electricity,
no facilities whatsoever.
How do you reach there?
I go to Benaras. A car comes from the village to pick me up from
the station. I can also go from Lucknow. It takes three hours
that way. From Benaras it is a little quicker. But for someone
like me, time moves so slowly that it does not matter any longer.
--
Neha Desai
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