Saturday, February 8, 2003
M A I N   F E A T U R E


A TRIBUTE
 A poet of many sensibilities
Sansar Chandra

Amir KhusrauBORN in Patiyali village, Uttar Pradesh, in 1253, Amir Khusrau was a multi-faceted genius of his age. Besides being an outstanding poet, he was an artist, musician, historian, a widely travelled naturalist, a humanist and a true Indian in word and deed. He was the first among the litterateurs to establish himself as a great poet in both Hindi and Persian. That is why he is compared with the mighty Himalayas from which flow the twin streams of Ganga and Yamuna — Hindi and Urdu.

Not only did Khusrau enrich Hindi and Persian poetry, he brought Hindi and Persian closer to each other by compiling a dictionary titled Khaliq Bari. Along with the enrichment of literature, credit for reforming the language that was in vogue those days also goes entirely to him. We can say with confidence that it is the Khari Boli of Khusrau that is our national language today.

Khusrau was a court poet of not less than seven kings of the Delhi Sultanate. He won numerous awards and rewards from his patron-kings in the shape of gold, elephants, horses etc. but his heart was always with the masses, especially with the youth. He did not want to glorify the worldly dignitaries alone. He broke new grounds by changing over to Hindi — a spoken Hindi - because of his love for the common man.

 


In spite of being a well-to-do courtier, Khusrau served the humanity at large by the common medium i.e. Khari Boli Hindi. He was a poet who recited his couplets to children and the youth in streets and at various meeting places. It was a common sight to find him surrounded by youngsters who would stop him on the way and ask him to recite a few riddles. He was a past master of various genres of poetry such as the riddle (paheli), refutative quiz (mukari), obiter dicta (sukhan), quadruplets (choupadi) and songs. He was called the ‘king of riddles’.

He ruled the hearts of young men and women alike, who would clap and dance around him to the rhythm of his lyrics. Sometimes the crowd would indulge in unconventional dialogue and would end up in boisterous guffaws. The village damsels would wait for him at the village pond with their questions. They would not serve him water till he had turned their queries into a lively symposium. Thereby hang numerous tales of sweet teasing by young men and women of his times.

Khusrau did not excel himself because of his love for Hindi alone. He was equally attached to India and its culture,too. He took great pride in being an Indian. He called himself the parrot of India. He took great delight in describing India’s religious beliefs, its customs, its climate, its natural beauty, its birds, its animals and its fauna and flora. He tried to prove its superiority over the rest of the nations.

As the social canvas of Khusrau’s works is so comprehensive, it seems appropriate to give below a few of his famous riddles:-

Kite

Ek kahani main kahoon

tu sun le mere poot

bina paron vah ur gaya

bandh gale mein soot

(Listen son to the riddle posed by me. What is that wingless entity which has a cotton string tied to its neck, but can still fly?)

Sky

Ek thhal moti se bhara

sab ke sir par aundha dhara

charon aor vah thhali phire

moti us se ek na gire

(What is that which is an inverted plate full of pearls? It keeps revolving in all directions but not a single pearl falls to the ground.)

Mirror

Arth to iska bujhega

munh dekho to soojhe ga

(You will come to know its meaning when you see its face.)

Barber

Meethhi meethhi bat banave

aisa purukha sab ko bhave

burha balak jo koyi ave

uske aage sees navave.

(His talks are full of sweetness and he is liked by one and all. Old and young whosoever comes to him lowers his heads before him.)

Drum

Vah ave tab shadi hoye,

us bin dooja aur na koye,

meethhe lagen va ke bol,

ai sakhi sajan? na sakhi dhol

(Its very arrival betokens the celebration of marriage. He is a unique entity. His utterance is pleasing to ears. Oh friend! Is he your lover? No, its the drum.)

Shoe

Nango panv phiran nahin det,

panv ko mitti lagan nahin det,

panv ka chooma let niputa,

ai sakhi sajan? na sakhi joota

(He does not allow me to walk bare-footed and keeps my feet free from dust. The fellow kisses my feet. Oh friend! Is he your lover? No, shoe.)

Khusrau was not only the favourite of sultans he had served during his hey days, he had endeared himself to godly personages as well. Hazrat Nizam-uddin-Auliya was his pir-murshid, who had developed a strong liking for him. It is said that he was deeply shocked at the poet’s demise and composed the following lines in his honour:

Gori sove sej par

Mukh par dare kes

Chal Khusrau ghar appane

Raien bhayi chahun des

(With hair scattered over her face, my beloved is sleeping on her bed. Go Khusrau, the night has fallen, now move to your home).