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Bahadur Shah Zafar and his Contemporaries Kanda has selected five great poets for this volume. Not only has he translated some of their works but has also given brief pen-portraits of each of them—making concise comparisons of their styles, strengths and weaknesses. Bahadur Shah Zafar’s compositions were full of pain and anger, which was understandable as he had experienced not only the destruction of whatever was left of his empire and authority but also the decimation of his family—topped with a humiliating exile. No wonder his verse pulls at our heartstrings: Kya kahoon be daulati aur kam naseebi apni main/ Jab huma par haath dala, tau zaagh aaya hai haath (How hapless am I, my evil fate behold/ when I try to catch a phoenix, it turns into a crow). He could be introspective too: Ai Zafar apni riazat ka na jab tak bal ho/ Na tau bal pir ka kaam aaey, na ustad ka bal (Unless you have inner strength or individual might/ How can they make you stand upright, your mentor or your guide). Normally perceived as reticent and timid, Zafar did compose poetry full of defiance and patriotic fervour too: Ghazion mein boo rahegi jab talak imaan ki/ Tab tau London tak chalegi tegh Hindustan ki (So long as the soldiers retain their faith and pride/ The Indian sword will not relent till it humbles London’s might). Zafar is often accused of lacking vision and his verse is considered didactic and simple, almost unsophisticated. Yet his compositions are enduring and popular even to this day. Sheikh Mohamed Ibrahim Zauq, like his disciple Zafar, was no match to Ghalib as far as philosophical depth was concerned, nor was he an accomplished romantic poet like Momin. But he was “the master of living language” who purged Urdu of abstruse Persian expressions and cryptic philosophical imagery. No wonder his poems became popular among the plebs as well as the royalty. For example, Ai Zauq dekh dukhtar-e-raz ko na munh laga/ Chhut-ti nahin hai munh se yeh kafir lagi hui (Keep yourself away, O Zauq, from the daughter of the grape/ Taste it but once and you become its slave); or Ai Zauq takalluf mein hai takleef sarasar/ Araam se woh hain jo takalluf nahin kartai (Ceremonious behaviour hardships entails/ Happy are those who shun formal ways). Considered the greatest-ever Urdu poet, Mirza Asadullah Khan Ghalib’s was probably the most sophisticated style. Though he had undergone several tragedies in his lifetime, witnessed death and destruction around him and had led a life of near-penury and unhappiness, his works do not depict melancholia. Instead, these are full of passionate love and romance; satire was another of his strong points. In Kanda’s words, “He has given us subtle insights into the mind of a lover… He is a master of the condensed style, and a specialist of the poetry of suggestion. He is also remarkable for the brilliance of his wit and humour.” If he has used simple language in couplets like Un ke dekhe se jo aa jaati hai munh par raunaq/ Woh samajhte hain ke beemaar ka haal achcha hai (When my face begins to glow, gladdened by his sight/ He thinks that the patient now feels fit and right), he has mostly written in difficult idiom, viz., Jab woh Jamaal-e-dilfroz, soorat-e-mehr-e-neem roz/ Aap hi ho nazzaara soz, parde mein munh chhipaaey kyon (Why should that enchanting beauty, like the midday sun ablaze/ Which bedazzles every eye, hide her face beneath a veil). Momin Khan Momin’s poetry portrays love in all its full-bodied sensuality: Dilbastagi si hai kisi zulf-e-du taa ke saath/ Paala para hai humko Khuda kis bala ke saath (My heart has got entangled in her plaited locks/ What a deadly beauty, Lord, I have come across). Apart from ghazals, Momin had also written masnavis—autobiographical narrative poems dealing with his various romantic liaisons; and marsias or elegies lamenting the deaths of his mistresses. Kanda’s translation is not always literal. He has understandably used a translator’s poetic/literary license in order to make it readable for his English speaking readers. For example, he translates Zafar’s Na kisi ki aankh ka nur hun as ‘I am not the apple of anyone’s eye’ whereas nur means light, effulgence or gleam. But this is nit-picking really. Kanda’s is an excellent translation that keeps one riveted to the book. Wholeheartedly recommended to lovers of poetry.
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Ghazal can be legitimately described as the essence of Urdu poesy although other forms like qasida, rubai, qita, etc., too were popular with poets and patrons alike. Its moods vary from romantic to melancholy, to profundity; its flow and cadence seldom fail to bewitch even those who are not conversant with the parlance. It has adorned many a royal court recitals even as it metamorphosed into a vehicle of social protest and political jest with the passage of time.