Review: Mehdi Hassan concert in Kansas City (part I) [Long]
U.V. Ravindra
KHawateen-o-hazaraat,
On March 15, in Kansas City, MO, there was a concert by
Mehdi Hassan and his son Kamran Hassan Mehdi. The concert
was exceptional as far as Mehdi Hassan and the GHazals he
sang were concerned. It was a disaster in every other respect.
This (long) article contains the first part of a five-part report
of what went on in the concert, the transcripts of some of
the items presented, etc.
The advertisements and posters proclaimed that the show would
start at "8:00pm SHARP". There was a sheet of paper that
provided elaborate directions to the venue. Needless to say
the directions were absolutely wrong and about 50% of audience
(including yours truly) turned up late because they lost their
way in downtown KC thanks to the organizers' directions.
The concert itself started at 9:30pm, which is exactly what
"8:00pm SHARP" means in English.
The venue for the concert itself left a lot to be desired.
We were directed to a shoddily lighted banquet hall in the hotel.
A makeshift stage had been erected for the singer by stacking
together dinner tables of closely matching heights, and a
white dining tablecloth was thrown over the tables to hide the
height mismatch. It was an ambience made to disorder! :-)
To keep the impatient audience from baying for their blood
the organizers kept a steady supply of cold pakoD.a-s and
insipid samosa-s, tea, coffee and soda flowing into the "food
stalls" at the entrance to the banquet hall. To force the
audience into buying some of the aforementioned "food", the
organizers (one Anil Kumar, a student from UMKC, and another
Dr. Raza Mirza) started reciting some shaa'iri:
chand kaliyaaN nishaat ki chunkar, muddatoN mehv-e-yaas hotaa hooN
tujh se mil kar KHushi to hoti hai, phir bhi maiN kuchh udaas hotaa hooN
and so on...
At about 9:30pm, the organizers decided it was time to live-test
the audio arrangements. In came Kamran Hassan Mehdi, and Imran
Hassan Mehdi, sons of Mehdi Hassan. Dr. Mirza did the introductions:
KHawateen-o-hazaraat,
(long humdrum routine about how and why the show didn't
start on time ...)
itni der tak intezaar karne ke liye aap sab kaa bahut bahut
shukriya [yeah, right! as if we had a choice]. show start
hone kaa time ho chukaa hai, lekin KHan saheb ustad Mehdi
Hassan Khan (Khan is used as a respectful epithet here) jab
tak tashreef laate haiN, tab tak maiN unke saheb zaadoN se
darKHwaast karooNga ke woh kuchh GHazaleiN aur classical
ham logoN ko sunaayeN ...
to KHawateen-o-hazarat, aap ki bharpoor taaliyoN meiN,
Imran aur Kamran Hassan Mehdi! (*clap clap*)
[Applause]
Kamran took up the stage, and the harmonium presently, and
after a little instrument tuning (Imran was on the tabla).
Hereafter I am transcribing the contents of the speech/music
of the concert, interspersed with my own comments in "[]"-s
and "()"-s.
KHawateen-o-hazarat, aap tamaam logoN ko hamaaraa aadaab.
yeh (with a wave of the hand towards the tabla) sur chaD.aane
aur saaz saadhne kaa kaam bahut baareeq hota hai, bahut waqt
lag jaataa hai, kabhi kabhi...Dr. Mirza ne to hameiN waise
bhi sirf yahaaN mike testing ke liye bulaaya hai (sounds of
muffled and sarcastic laughter), lekin unhoN ne mujhe GHazaleiN,
classical, filmi ... waGHairah waGHairah na jaane kitna kuchh
gaane ko kah diya (another round of m. and s. laughter) ...
KHair mera kaam hai mike testing, so maiN KHan saheb ke
aane tak aap logoN ko kuchh sunaataa hooN.
(harmonium for a little while).
yeh GHazal mere waalid saheb ki compose ki hui GHazal hai,
is ke shaa'ir hai Bahadur Shah Zafar. GHazal gaane aur
us ko logoN tak mausiqi ke zariye pahuNchaane kaa kaam bahut
hi mushkil hotaa hai: is ke liye artiste ko shaa'ir kaa
ham_rooh honaa paD.taa hai. aur is baat kaa maiN daawaa
kar saktaa hooN ke mere waalid saheb se zyaada shaa'ir kaa
ham_rooh shaayad hi koi aur hoga. (harmonium again)
[some more rambling about music in general]
[Sings...]
[Shaa'ir: Bahadur Shah Zafar]
1. yA to afsar mera shAhAnah banAyA hOtA
yA merA tAj gadAyAnah banAyA hOtA
[shAhAnah=kingly/royal; gadAyAnah=poor, beggar-like]
2. KHAk_sArI ke liyE gar_cheh banAyA tha mujhE
kAsh KHAk-e-dar-e-jAnAN na banAyA hOtA
(Excellent sh'er)
[KHAk_sArI=poverty, slavery, lowly life; gar_cheh=if (agar);
KHAk-e-dar-e-jAnAN=the dust of the doorstep of the beloved]
3. thA jalAnA hi agar dUri-e-sAqI se mujhE
umr kA tang na pAImAnah banAyA hOtA
[pAImAnah=wine glass AND extent, expanse]
(I absolutely love this sh'er. Look at the pun on 'pAImAnah'.
Too good!)
[At this point, there was a nice exposition on the
tabla by Imran. Kamran said "yeh Imran ki aadat hai ke
waalid saheb ke saamne ek dam sahme sahme se rahte haiN
lekin jab mere saath bajaate haiN to aisi KHatarnaak tihaaiyaaN
de de ke mujhe pareshaan karte rahte haiN (laughter) ...
yeh aap ki appreciation ke mustaid haiN ...(applause)]
4. rOz m'AmUrah-e-duniyA meiN KHarAbI hai 'zafar'
AIsi bastI se to weerAnah banAyA hOtA
[m'AmUrah=daily routine; KHarAbI=problem, trouble;
weerAnah=desolation, desert]
(Comments: Kamran sang this GHazal very well, in true Mehdi
Hassan style. His voice was very controlled, mellow and
sur-perfect. It is evident that he has a great deal of talent,
but he needs more practice. Also, he should develop his own
singing style -- currently he is too much under the shadow of
the MH style. He fits into the MH-style mould very well, though.
He certainly has talent worth watching.)
At this point, Mehdi Hassan entered the banquet hall and Dr. Mirza
took over the mike again.
KHawateen-o-Hazarat, KHan saaheb tashreef laa chuke haiN, aap
ki bharpoor taaliyoN meiN (what is this about "bharpoor taaliyaN"?
I know it is a Lucknow-ism, but here it was too much)...KHan
saheb Mehdi Hassan KHan. (thunderous applause) aap logoN se
Khan saheb kaa ta'arruf (introduction) karvaana to suraj ko
charaaGH dikhaane waali baat ho jaayegi ... maiN in kaa kyaa
ta'arruf karwaa saktaa hooN, maiN to KHud inka bahut baD.a fan
hooN...[more incessant rambling, till MH cleared his throat and
gave a strong hint to Dr. Mirza to stop it now.]
Mehdi Hassan: (to the accompaniment of Kamran's keyboard, and
his own harmonium playing): yeh GHazal meri sabse puraani GHazaloN
meiN se hai ... 1968 meiN yeh maiN ne pehli baar India meiN
gaayi thi...Faiz Ahmed Faiz ki yeh GHazal hai, aur is ko maiN ne
jhinjhoti raag meiN baaNdha hai... [some more description,
aalaap of Jhinjhoti raag ...
guloN meiN rang bhare [applause applause]
1. gulON meiN rang bharE, bAd-e-naubahAr chalE
chalE bhi Aao ke gulshan ka kAr-o-bAr chalE
2. qafas udAs hai yArON sabA se kuchh to kahO
kahiN to bahr-e-KHudA Aj zikr-e-yAr chalE
[bahr-e-KHudA=for God's sake; sabA=cool breeze]
3. jo ham pe guzri so guzrI magar shab-e-hijrAN
hamAre ashk terI ANkh but saNwAr chalE
[shab-e-hijrAN=night of separation; but=beautiful one]
(Exceptional sh'er. I like the imagery in this one.)
[Sometime during this sh'er, Imran had hit the tabla a trifle
over-enthusiastically, making a little bit of noise in the
process. You could hear MH chiding his son over the sound
of the music. :-))]
Mehdi Hassan: Faiz Ahmed Faiz ke bahut achche dostoN meiN they
shaa'ir Mahendra Singh Bedi. unhoN ne Faiz ki is GHazal meiN
kuchh-ek ash'aar apni taraf se joD.e they, jo ki Faiz ko bhi
bahut pasand they. Faiz Ahmed Faiz saheb ne KHud yeh sh'er
mujh ko sunaaye aur kahaa ke in sab meiN se yeh sh'er mujhe bahut
pasand hai, aur jab bhi yeh meri GHazal gaao, to sardar Mahendra
Singh ka yeh sh'er us meiN zaroor joD. dena. Wahi sh'er maiN
ab pesh karne lagaa hooN...
[This is a great sh'er, by golly!]
4. huA jo teer-e-nazar neem_kash to kyA hAsil?
mazA to jab hai ke seene ke aar-paar chalE
[neem_kash=powerless, weak; hAsil=use]
maqtA arz hai:
5. maqAm 'Faiz' koI rAh mEIN jachA hi nahIN
jo kU-e-yAr se niklE to sU-e-dAr chalE
[kU-e-yAr=street of the beloved;
sU-e-dAr=towards Death]
This is one of Mehdi Hassan's all time greatest hits. It sounds
very melodious and is one of my favourite MH GHazals. Faiz
himself is supposed to have told MH: "beTe, is GHazal ki tarz
tumne itni achchi banaayi hai ke is ke alfaaz saNwar ke ubhar
aate haiN"...
Some compliment, no?
Ravindra.
Continued... in part 2.
U.V. Ravindra
Ghazal aur nazm ke qadr_daanoN!
The third part of the review of the Mehdi Hassan concert in
Kansas City, MO follows.
Continued from part 2...
Mehdi Hassan: aawaam tak GHazaloN aur nazmoN ko pahuNchaane meiN
bahut baD.a haat filmoN kaa rahaa hai. ek waqt aisaa bhi guzar
chukaa hai jab mujhe Dar thaa ke filmi gaanoN ki wajah se GHazal
kaa asli mizaaj bigaD.taa chaala jaayega ... lekin maiN ne bhi
kuchh filmoN meiN GHazaleiN aur nazmeiN gaayi haiN ...
bulbul ne gul se, gul ne baharON se kah diyA
ik chaudhviN ke chANd ne tAroN se kah diyA
[pause]
duniyA kisi ke pyAr meiN [*applause* *applause* *applause*]
duniyA kisi ke pyAr meiN jannat se kam nahIN
ek dil_rubA hai dil meiN jO hoorON se kam nahIN
1. tum bAdshAh-e-HuSn hO, HuSn-E-jahAn hO
jAn-E-wafA ho AUr muhabbat ki shAn hO
jalwE tumhAre HuSn ke tArON se kam nahIN
2. bhUlE se muskurAo tO mOtI baras paD.EN
palkeN uTHA ke dEkho tO kaliyAN bhi haNs paD.eN
KHush_boo tumhAri zulf kI phUlON se kam nahIN
(I do not know the name of the Pakistani film which this
song appeared in, but the lyrics are similar to any
Indian film song. They are easy to follow, no strange
or deep metaphors, and they have a "make-you-feel-good"
power ... light and enjoyable ... like fat-free ice-cream :-))
I find the "palkEN uTHA ke dEkho to" line from the second
stanza very cute and nice.)
Mehdi Hassan: raag kiravani. bahut hi KHoobsoorat raag hai.
yeh GHazal ... janaab Ahmed Faraz ki GHazal hai, jis ki
bandish kiravani raag meiN hai (harmonium and keyboard play
kiravani, and MH does some elaborate alaap).
1. sho'lA thA, jal-bujhA huN, hawA`EN mujhE na dO
mAIN kab ka jA chukA huN, sadA`EN mujhE na dO
2. jo zahr pI chukA huN, tumhIN ne mujhE diyA
ab tum to zindagI ki duA`EN mujhE na dO
(Nice!)
3. AIsA kahIN na hO, ke palaT kar na Aa sakUN
har bAr dUr jA ke sadA`EN mujhE na dO
(Good, very good. Ordinarily I would have frowned on
this sh'er because it repeats the word in the matla.
Not here, though. It fits really well with the rest
of the GHazal).
MH: hAsil-e-GHazal sh'er hai...
4. kab mujh ko AiterAf-e-muhabbat na thA 'FarAz'
kab maiN ne yeh kahA tha, "sazA`EN mujhE na dO"
(I like this sh'er because of its deceptively simple
lyrics).
After presenting this GHazal, Mehdi Hassan announced a break
for 15-20 minutes, and everyone rushed out to eat the remnants
of the cold pakoD.as and insipid samosas being doled out
near the entrance to the banquent hall ...
Continued... in part 4.
Irfan Moinuddin
>On 17 Mar 1997, U.V. Ravindra wrote:
> 3. jo ham pe guzri so guzrI magar shab-e-hijrAN
> hamAre ashk terI ANkh but saNwAr chalE
the word is aaqbat.
Irfan
Ketan
On 17 Mar 1997, U.V. Ravindra wrote:
> 1. sho'lA thA, jal-bujhA huN, hawA`EN mujhE na dO
> mAIN kab ka jA chukA huN, sadA`EN mujhE na dO
>
>
> 4. kab mujh ko AiterAf-e-muhabbat na thA 'FarAz'
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Pardon my limited Urdu, but I think the word is Aiteraaz-e-muhabbat.
Atleast that is the way he pronounces it on the CD I have. MH then goes
on to explain that what the line means is "Maine kab yeh kahan ki mujhko
muhabbat nahi hai". I agree that the lyrics are deceptive, and it takes a
while before one grasps the full meaning. My fav. MH ghazal,
incidentally.
> kab maiN ne yeh kahA tha, "sazA`EN mujhE na dO"
>
> (I like this sh'er because of its deceptively simple
> lyrics).
Ketan
A Burman fan(atic)
U.V. Ravindra
In article <Pine.SOL.3.93.97031...@icarus.cc.uic.edu>,
> > hamAre ashk terI ANkh but saNwAr chalE
>
> the word is aaqbat.
Indeed! aaqibat means "final resting place (coffin)?)".
The correct sh'er should read:
3. jo ham pe guzri so guzrI, magar shab-E-hijrAN
hamAre ashk terI Aqibat saNwAr chalE
There was one more sh'er that Mehdi Hassan sang from this GHazal, which
I accidentally omitted to transcribe. That sh'er is:
3a. kabhI to subH terE kunj-e-lab se hO AaGHaaz
kabhI to shab sar-e-kAkul se mushk_bAr chalE
[kunj-e-lab=corner of the lips, where they meet;
sar-e-kAkul=baaloN kaa siraa]
(For once let my mornings dawn from the sensuous corners of your lips;
for once, let the night fall through the fragrance of your hair!)
(Lovely!)
Thanks, Irfan.
Ravindra.
> Irfan
-------------------==== Posted via Deja News ====-----------------------
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U.V. Ravindra
In article <Pine.GSO.3.96.970318105943.17121B-100000@shell>,
> > mAIN kab ka jA chukA huN, sadA`EN mujhE na dO
> >
> > 4. kab mujh ko AiterAf-e-muhabbat na thA 'FarAz'
> ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
>
> Pardon my limited Urdu, but I think the word is Aiteraaz-e-muhabbat.
> Atleast that is the way he pronounces it on the CD I have. MH then goes
> on to explain that what the line means is "Maine kab yeh kahan ki mujhko
> muhabbat nahi hai". I agree that the lyrics are deceptive, and it takes a
> while before one grasps the full meaning. My fav. MH ghazal,
> incidentally.
I have found the recording on many Mehdi Hassan CDs and cassettes to be
of rather deplorable quality. One very frequently needs to run certain
portions of tapes repeatedly back and forth to get the correct words.
The word "aiteraaz" means "objection". 'AiterAz-e-muhabbat' would
therefore mean "objection to love".
"aiterAf", on the other hand, means "acceptance, submission". The sh'er
describes the aashiq's acceptance of anything (pain, torture) just to
be loved by his maashooq. "AiterAf" is the word used in the sh'er.
The poet is saying: "when did I not submit to [the travails that were
part of your] love? When did I say that you shouldn't punish me?"
Using "aiteraaz" in place of "aiterAf" would serve no meaningful purpose,
as you can see; this is not what I meant by "deceptively simple lyrics".
In the tape I have of this GHazal, MH explains the sh'er as "muhabbat kaa
AiterAf mujhe kab nahiN tha? -- yA_ni mujhe muhabbat kA AiterAf hamEsha
thA, mujhe muhabbat hamesha qubool thi ..."
Ahmed Faraz' poetry gives us a strong insight into the "lover as a
masochist" in Urdu poetry. The imagery used is very strong and
beautiful.
Ravindra.
A Lover. Of GHazals.
> > 4. kab mujh ko AiterAf-e-muhabbat na thA 'Faraz'
> > kab maiN ne yeh kahA tha, "sazA`EN mujhE na dO"
> >
> > (I like this sh'er because of its deceptively simple
> > lyrics).
>
> Ketan
>
> A Burman fan(atic)
-------------------==== Posted via Deja News ====-----------------------
Ansari Mohsin
Ketan (ke...@iag.net) wrote:
: On 17 Mar 1997, U.V. Ravindra wrote:
: > 1. sho'lA thA, jal-bujhA huN, hawA`EN mujhE na dO
: > mAIN kab ka jA chukA huN, sadA`EN mujhE na dO
: >
: >
: > 4. kab mujh ko AiterAf-e-muhabbat na thA 'FarAz'
: ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
: Pardon my limited Urdu, but I think the word is Aiteraaz-e-muhabbat.
: Atleast that is the way he pronounces it on the CD I have. MH then goes
: on to explain that what the line means is "Maine kab yeh kahan ki mujhko
: muhabbat nahi hai". I agree that the lyrics are deceptive, and it takes a
: while before one grasps the full meaning. My fav. MH ghazal,
: incidentally.
I think the word is "aiteraaf" which means "to admit". That also fits
in with the meaning you have presented.
Mohsin
Ansari Mohsin
U.V. Ravindra (u...@hotmail.com) wrote:
: In article <Pine.SOL.3.93.97031...@icarus.cc.uic.edu>,: > > 3. jo ham pe guzri so guzrI magar shab-e-hijrAN
: > > hamAre ashk terI ANkh but saNwAr chalE
: >
: > the word is aaqbat.
: Indeed! aaqibat means "final resting place (coffin)?)".
: The correct sh'er should read:
I am not sure, but I think "aaqibat" means the "afterlife" or the life
hereafter.
Notice the use of "ashk" in this sher. Crying over one's past sins
is the ultimate act of repentance, and in some religions it is
believed that once you repent from the bottom of your heart, God
forgives those sins. Here Faiz masterfully uses this concept and
applies it to his tears on "shab-e-hijr", the night of separation with
his lover, somehow suggesting that his incessant crying will lead to
his lover being forgiven in the afterlife.
Irfan Moinuddin
On 20 Mar 1997, Ansari Mohsin wrote:
> U.V. Ravindra (u...@hotmail.com) wrote:
> : In article <Pine.SOL.3.93.97031...@icarus.cc.uic.edu>,
> : Irfan Moinuddin <imo...@icarus.cc.uic.edu> wrote:
> : >
> : > >On 17 Mar 1997, U.V. Ravindra wrote:
> : > > hamAre ashk terI ANkh but saNwAr chalE
> : >
> : > the word is aaqbat.
>
> : Indeed! aaqibat means "final resting place (coffin)?)".
> : The correct sh'er should read:
>
>
> I am not sure, but I think "aaqibat" means the "afterlife" or the life
> hereafter.
>
Aqibat means end or termination. It doesn't really mean afterlife.
> Notice the use of "ashk" in this sher. Crying over one's past sins
> is the ultimate act of repentance, and in some religions it is
> believed that once you repent from the bottom of your heart, God
> forgives those sins. Here Faiz masterfully uses this concept and
> applies it to his tears on "shab-e-hijr", the night of separation with
> his lover, somehow suggesting that his incessant crying will lead to
> his lover being forgiven in the afterlife.
The way I see it, the sher is more along the lines of what the following
sher by Mir Taqi Mir expresses in a simpler way:
YAN ke saped-o-siah meiN hamko dakhl jo hai so itna hai
RAt ko ro ro subh kiyA aur subh ko jUN-tUN shAm kiya
i.e. The role that I have in the cycle of day and night is that by crying
I convert day into night and just as easily night into day.
Similary, one notices that Faiz is addressing shab-e-hijrAN in the
above sher. He is essentially stating that his tears have ensured that
the night shall end. i.e. he shall be crying all night.
Irfan.
********************************************
dard-e-ulfat kA madAwA maut haI irfAN magar
jIte jI mar kar bhi jO jItA hai wO hI mard haI
**********************************************
ava...@informix.com
One word can create such interesting discussion !
In article <Pine.SOL.3.93.97032...@icarus.cc.uic.edu>,
Irfan Moinuddin <imo...@icarus.cc.uic.edu> wrote:
>
> On 20 Mar 1997, Ansari Mohsin wrote:
> > : > > 3. jo ham pe guzri so guzrI magar shab-e-hijrAN
> > : > > hamAre ashk terI ANkh but saNwAr chalE
> > : > ^^^^^^^^^^
> > : >
> > : > the word is aaqbat.
> >
> > : Indeed! aaqibat means "final resting place (coffin)?)".
> > : The correct sh'er should read:
> >
> >
> > I am not sure, but I think "aaqibat" means the "afterlife" or the life
> > hereafter.
> >
>
> Aqibat means end or termination. It doesn't really mean afterlife.
Well, it does. Aaaina-e-GHazal gives the following 5 (!!) meanings.
1. Yamlok 2. pariNaam (Conclusion) 3. ant (end) 4. bhavishya (future)
5. maraNoparaant jeevan (life after death)
So the following meaning given by Mohsin? makes a lot of sense to me.
> > Notice the use of "ashk" in this sher. Crying over one's past sins
> > is the ultimate act of repentance, and in some religions it is
> > believed that once you repent from the bottom of your heart, God
> > forgives those sins. Here Faiz masterfully uses this concept and
> > applies it to his tears on "shab-e-hijr", the night of separation with
> > his lover, somehow suggesting that his incessant crying will lead to
> > his lover being forgiven in the afterlife.
This is a beautiful interpretation ! I was not aware of it.
So thanks a lot !
> Similary, one notices that Faiz is addressing shab-e-hijrAN in the
> above sher. He is essentially stating that his tears have ensured that
> the night shall end. i.e. he shall be crying all night.
I think there is more to it. We must pay attention to "saNwaar chale".
It's not he is just going to cry till the end. But his weeping is going
to achieve something. That is "aaqibat saNwaarana". Understanding this is
the key to any interpretation. I had always thought that Faiz is saying,
"my cries/weeping have enriched the Finale". Very nice sher, very nice.
But with Mohsin's interpretation, it sounds even better now !
- Abhay.
Who likes poetry AND it's interpreations.
guri
I'd usually take Irfan as the authority in these matters, but something
doesn't jive here :)
Irfan wrote:
> > jo ham pe guzri so guzrI magar shab-e-hijrAN
> > hamAre ashk terI Aqibat saNwAr chalE
> Aqibat means end or termination. It doesn't really mean afterlife.
> He is essentially stating that his tears have ensured that
> the night shall end. i.e. he shall be crying all night.
==> aaqibat=anjaam, ant, (and also) yamlok.
Agha Shahid Ali's translation of this sher in "The Rebel's Silhouette"
goes like this:
Whatever the pain
I endured its every moment but
Oh Night of Sorrow you weren't diminished
my tears made sure
you would remain a legend
even in the afterlife
....now that's a different twist, he thinks the shaayar is addressing the
night itself! I personally feel more like Ansari Mohsin. The fact that
he wrote these lines in the Montgomery jail, and that other couplets in
the ghazal refer to the said ambience (see below) may indicate his state
of mind:
qafas udaas hai yaaro sabaa se kuchh to kaho
kaheeN to beher-e-khudaa aaj zikr-e-yaar chale
[qafas=qaid-khaanaa, pinjaraa]
[sabaa=maNd-hawaa]
[kaheeN to beher-e-khudaa=somehow, if only for the sake of God (mention
of the beloved should occur, today!)
guri
Syed M Rizwan
Irfan Moinuddin <imo...@icarus.cc.uic.edu> writes:
>> hamAre ashk terI ANkh but saNwAr chalE
>the word is aaqbat.
Actualy Irfan, it should be 'Aaqibat', which refers to the 'afterlife'
Rizwan
U.V. Ravindra
In article <5gsc4u$dut$1...@artemis.it.luc.edu>,> : In article <Pine.SOL.3.93.97031...@icarus.cc.uic.edu>,
> : Irfan Moinuddin <imo...@icarus.cc.uic.edu> wrote:
> : >
> : > >On 17 Mar 1997, U.V. Ravindra wrote:
> : > > hamAre ashk terI ANkh but saNwAr chalE
> : >
> : > the word is aaqbat.
>
> : Indeed! aaqibat means "final resting place (coffin)?)".
> : The correct sh'er should read:
>
> I am not sure, but I think "aaqibat" means the "afterlife" or the life
> hereafter.
>
> is the ultimate act of repentance, and in some religions it is
> believed that once you repent from the bottom of your heart, God
> forgives those sins. Here Faiz masterfully uses this concept and
> applies it to his tears on "shab-e-hijr", the night of separation with
> his lover, somehow suggesting that his incessant crying will lead to
> his lover being forgiven in the afterlife.
Excellent interpretation, Mohsin. Thanks. It helped me resolve the
occurrence of "magar" in the sh'er more convincingly.
My interpretation of the sh'er had been that Faiz is trying to express
his optimism, as the night of separation has ended. I always interpreted
this sh'er as meaning: Oh night of separation! What I went through I
did, But it's okay 'coz (although I suffered and cried) My tears
brought about your end!" That is, Faiz is addressing the night of
separation. I took aaqibat to mean "the end, coffin, happenings after
death" etc. This is the way I could resolve the matla of the ghazal
(chale bhi aao ke gulshan kaa kaarobaar chale) with this sh'er -- Faiz is
saying that despite my suffering during it, my tears have finally brought
about the end (aaqibat) night of separation, and now the flowers are all
abloom, guloN meiN rang bhare, so my beloved, chale bhi aao, come na! :-)
But I find Mohsin Ansari's interpretation more satisfying: I always felt
that "Faiz is addressing the night of separation" was a rather weak and
escapist interpretation to give.
Ravindra. Now I know why I make so many mistakes (ANkh but): a small
percentage of them lead to great discussions!
Irfan Moinuddin
On Sat, 22 Mar 1997, guri wrote:
> Irfan wrote:
>
> > > jo ham pe guzri so guzrI magar shab-e-hijrAN
>
> > Aqibat means end or termination. It doesn't really mean afterlife.
> > He is essentially stating that his tears have ensured that
> > the night shall end. i.e. he shall be crying all night.
I must modify my above statement. Aqibat can refer to afterlife as well.
>
> ==> aaqibat=anjaam, ant, (and also) yamlok.
>
> Agha Shahid Ali's translation of this sher in "The Rebel's Silhouette"
> goes like this:
>
> Whatever the pain
> I endured its every moment but
> Oh Night of Sorrow you weren't diminished
>
> my tears made sure
> you would remain a legend
> even in the afterlife
> ....now that's a different twist, he thinks the shaayar is addressing the
> night itself! I personally feel more like Ansari Mohsin. The fact that
> he wrote these lines in the Montgomery jail, and that other couplets in
> the ghazal refer to the said ambience (see below) may indicate his state
> of mind:
I referred to K C Kanda's translation and he also interprets the
sher as a reference to the night.
I kinda like this sher but the problem with the way it is expressed is
that if one goes just by what is written then there is no doubt that
the reference is to the night itself. The other thing one can do is
to ask the sha'ir himself what he meant and I have no way of knowing if
these translators knew of the author's intent.
After one has covered the ground outlined above, of course, one can go
beyond and interpret the sher in ways that transcend the words themselves.
That is certainly a valid approach but it suffers from the fact that one
may add artifice and an unintended connotation to the sher. But perhaps
even that contributes to the efficacy of a sher.
After all, Ghalib has been noted to contend that the following sher by
Momin,
Tum mere pAs hote ho goyA
Jab koi dUsrA nahIN hotA
is perhaps equivalent to his entire diwan because it allows for an
expansive breadth of interpretation.
As far as the "aaqibat" sher is concerned, I don't think either
interpretation is better than the other. Certainly, neither is worse than
the other. And they both seem to bring out the beauty of the sher.
I do think, however, that if Faiz wanted to refer to his beloved,
he would have said so....then again, the reference can be implied.
This thread has brought out several colorful aspects of Faiz's sha'iri
and this sher in particular and that is why I like these threads.
Irfan.
*************************************
Jigar meIN ajab ek kalI sI khilI haI
Woh tukhm-E-hawas kO jawAN kar gayI haI
Irfan
***************************************
Amr Elahi Amer
Pardon me for jumping in, but IMHO also,
I think he used it more in the sense of afterlife, rather than in
the sense of termination. Here is my personal understanding of the she'r
under consideration (for whatever its worth).
I think he is referring to the coming day since that would be
the "afterlife" or Aqibat of the night. I guess in our popular
culture, when we say that something is going to "saNwaar" our
Agibat, it is good in essence, even though it might be hard to
do and consist of hardships.. ie, his tears have at least caused
the coming day to be a better one.. (how? I dunno maybe the
first misr'a is supposed to address that)
maybe this has already been addressed in the previous sections of the thread :)
regards,
-AMR
Irfan Moinuddin <imo...@icarus.cc.uic.edu> wrote in article
<Pine.SOL.3.93.970324...@icarus.cc.uic.edu>...
> On Sat, 22 Mar 1997, guri wrote:
> > Irfan wrote:
> >
> > > > jo ham pe guzri so guzrI magar shab-e-hijrAN