Urdu Poetry and Poetics Faraz Ali, Zer Zabar Paesh

Episode 10.
Reflection: Jo Teri Bazm Se Nikla
Poet: Mirza Ghalib
by Faraz Ali

bū-e gul nālah-e dil dūd-e chirāġh-e maḥfil
jo tirī bazm se niklā so pareshāñ niklā

‎بوئے گل نالۂ دل دودِ چراغِ محفل
‎جو تری بزم سے نکلا سو پریشاں نکلا


A few important points to note in the shi’r to explore at your own leisure.

1. The usage of poetic device ‘Husn-i ta’alil’. See definition below.

2. Three evocative examples engaging sight, smell, and sound. These are some observations we all witness and experience.

3. Melodic quality. Read the shi’r out loud to explore yourself.

4. The effect of meaning creation ‘Ma’ani Afirini’ generated with the possible implications of pareshani

——

Husn-e Taʿlīl (elegance in assigning a cause) — 'taʿlīl means 'to establish a reason' or 'to express a reason. ḥusn-e taʿlīl is to give a fine and superior example of that action. If a reason is expressed for something such that even if it’s not real, it has in it some poetic richness and subtlety, and it has some affinity with reality and nature as well, then that is called ḥusn-e taʿlīl.



Zer Zabar Paesh is a platform for the study of Urdu poetic tradition by Faraz Ali. It aims to make this tradition accessible to people with a genuine interest in classical and contemporary Urdu verse and its vast apparatus—including approaches to deep reading, poetics, canon and history, criticism and scholarship, etc.

Faraz Ali is an award-winning experiential designer and performing artist practicing in physical, digital, and poetic realms.

You can engage with the project on instagram.
Instagram.com/zer_zabar_paesh

Or explore the mobile version of the official website to get access to curated content.
www.zerzabarpaesh.com

Episode 09.
Recitation: Ram, a nazm by Muhammad Iqbal
Poet: Muhammad Iqbal
Recitation by Faraz Ali

Labrez hai sharāb-e-haqīqat se jām-e-hind
sab falsafī haiñ ḳhitta-e-maġhrib ke rām-e-hind

ye hindiyoñ kī fikr-e-falak-ras kā hai asar
rif’at meñ āsmāñ se bhī ūñchā hai bām-e-hind

is des meiñ hue haiñ hazāroñ malak-sarisht
mashhūr jinke dam se hai duniyā meiñ nām-e-hind

hai rām ke vajūd pe hindostāñ ko nāz
ahle-nazar samajhte haiñ is ko imām-e-hind

ejaaz is charāġh-e-hidāyat kā hai yahī
raushan-tar-az-sahar hai zamāne meiñ shām-e-hind

talvār kā dhanī thā shujāat meiñ fard thā
pākīzgī meiñ josh-e-mohabbat meiñ fard thā


#urdu



TRANSLATION:
The attempt below is for assistance only and does not intend to capture the poetic excellence.

The cup of Hind overflows with the wine of truth.
Philosophers of the Western world are its devotees.

The mysticism of her philosophers
makes Hind’s star soar above all constellations.

Thousands of angels have descended
to proclaim Hind’s name before the world.

And proud of his existence
the discerning eye sees in Ram, a prophet.

The glow from this lamp of wisdom
makes Hind’s evening more radiant
than the world’s daybreak.

Valorous, brave, a master swordsman!
In purity, in love, Ram, was unmatched


#urdu

Rām, the poem's subject, refers to the Lord Ramā, a Hindu deity and the protagonist of the Ramayana epic. He is a symbol of the triumph of truth over falsehood.

Please read up about him yourself and save us the struggle of misrepresentation. 

For Iqbal, Hindustan is a land of sages, seers, scholars and intellectuals; he appreciates the Hindustani mind's search for eternality, knowledge and wisdom.

but

Rām is also a Persian word which means subdued, tamed, submissive — one who is submissive or obedient. And is often used in idiomatic constructions. 
i.e here are a few examples:

1. rām-karnā: to win over, tame, make loyal
2. rām-honā or ho-jānā: To be subdued
3. Nafs ko rām kernā - 

Lord Ramā and his story are often referenced in idiomatic expressions like:
* rām rām kerna: salute, greet, recite a holy name, seeking protection, to repent
* rām-kahānī sunana: telling a really long story 


Celebrating the syncretic tradition, Iqbāl not only uses Lord Rām as the subject of the poem, he also employs the Persian usage in the second line of the first shi'r.  

‘sab falsafī haiñ ḳhitta-e-maġhrib ke rām-e-hind’

What do you think the expression 'Rām-i Hind' implies here? 

-

Now look at the expression in the fourth shi'r praising Rām as Imām-i Hind. 

hai rām ke vajūd pe hindostāñ ko nāz
 ahle-nazar samajhte haiñ is ko imām-e-hind

Urdu poetry is replete with references to Lord Ram and the episodes from The Ramayana. There are over 300 Ramayanas written in Urdu, many in Urdu verse known as manzum Ramayanas. 

Episode 08.
Reflection: Challenges or Reading Iqbal
Poet: Muhammad Iqbal
by Faraz Ali


Zer Zabar Paesh is a platform for the study of Urdu poetic tradition by Faraz Ali. It aims to make this tradition accessible to people with a genuine interest in classical and contemporary Urdu verse and its vast apparatus—including approaches to deep reading, poetics, canon and history, criticism and scholarship, etc.

Faraz Ali is an award-winning experiential designer and performing artist practicing in physical, digital, and poetic realms.

You can engage with the project on instagram.
Instagram.com/zer_zabar_paesh

Or explore the mobile version of the official website to get access to curated content.

Episode 07.
Excerpt: Dagh Dehlvi’s Story in ‘Kai Chand They Sar-i Asman’ by Shamsur Rahman Faruqi
Poet: Dagh Dehlvi
by Faraz Ali

Zer Zabar Paesh is a platform for the study of Urdu poetic tradition by Faraz Ali. It aims to make this tradition accessible to people with a genuine interest in classical and contemporary Urdu verse and its vast apparatus—including approaches to deep reading, poetics, canon and history, criticism and scholarship, etc.

Faraz Ali is an award-winning experiential designer and performing artist practicing in physical, digital, and poetic realms.

You can engage with the project on instagram.
Instagram.com/zer_zabar_paesh

Or explore the mobile version of the official website to get access to curated content.
www.zerzabarpaesh.com

Episode 06.
Story: Haider Ali Aatish in Lucknow
Poet: Haider Ali Aatish
by Faraz Ali

Bāt meiñ farq na āney dījiye
Jān jaati hai tau jāne dijiye

Ān meiñ farq na āney dijiye
Jān jati hai tau jāne dijiye

بات میں فرق نہ آنے دیجۓ
جان جاتی ہے تو جانے دیجۓ

آن میں فرق نہ آنے دیجۓ
جان جاتی ہے تو جانے دیجۓ

Zer Zabar Paesh is a platform for the study of Urdu poetic tradition by Faraz Ali. It aims to make this tradition accessible to people with a genuine interest in classical and contemporary Urdu verse and its vast apparatus—including approaches to deep reading, poetics, canon and history, criticism and scholarship, etc.

Faraz Ali is an award-winning experiential designer and performing artist practicing in physical, digital, and poetic realms.

You can engage with the project on instagram.
Instagram.com/zer_zabar_paesh

Or explore the mobile version of the official website to get access to curated content.
www.zerzabarpaesh.com

Episode 05.
Reflection: Temperament of Mirza Ghalib
Poet: Mirza Ghalib
by Faraz Ali

zikr us parī-vash kā aur phir bayāñ apnā
ban gayā raqīb āḳhir thā jo rāz-dāñ apnā

ذکر اس پری وش کا اور پھر بیاں اپنا
بن گیا رقیب آخر تھا جو رازداں اپنا


Zer Zabar Paesh is a platform for the study of Urdu poetic tradition by Faraz Ali. It aims to make this tradition accessible to people with a genuine interest in classical and contemporary Urdu verse and its vast apparatus—including approaches to deep reading, poetics, canon and history, criticism and scholarship, etc.

Faraz Ali is an award-winning experiential designer and performing artist practicing in physical, digital, and poetic realms.

You can engage with the project on instagram.
Instagram.com/zer_zabar_paesh

Or explore the mobile version of the official website to get access to curated content.
www.zerzabarpaesh.com