Dear Friends,
This week I saw an article in The Hindu (Hyderabad, India's premier
newspaper) featuring a prominent member of the The Hyderabadi Cultural Association, who will also be an important editorial contributor to our publications, Mr Raza Mir. He was featured in this article along with his brother who is a co-author of the book under review. Please join me in congratulating our editorial contributor Mr. Raza Mir for his success.
The Hindu : Literary Review / Book Review :
Book :Anthems of Resistance: A Celebration of Urdu Poetry
Authors: Ali Husain Mir and Raza Mir
Anthems chronicles the achievements of the Urdu Progressive Writers' Movement.
Arts relationship with life has always remained a subject of fierce contention among writers and ideologues. In India, the debates about art for art's sake and "engaged' literature animated the literary scene in the 1930s and 40s. The Progressive Writers' Movement (PWM) that spearheaded this debate changed the complexion of literature in a couple of Indian languages, Urdu being the most prominent among them.
Urdu poets had a dominant presence in the movement and the way they posited a radical aesthetics of resistance against oppressive hegemonies of all kinds had few parallels in South Asian literature. Some poems/ couplets swept a generation of readers off their feet, making poetry the most potent weapon in the process of social transformation. Good poetry has never been known to be didactic. However, some progressive poets, notably Faiz Ahmad Faiz, could blend ideology with poetry with such finesse, with such consummate artistry, that it has added charm to their art rather than resulting in the loss of depth or lyricism.
The book under review chronicles the achievements of the PWM through the works of the more prominent among them. Divided into 11 chapters of moderate length, the book proceeds from a discussion of the theoretical/ideological issues to the exemplars of the ideology, always elucidating the points through a sumptuous sampling of verses both in original Urdu and in lucid English translation.
"Anthems of Resistance" is a unique resource for understanding a
remarkable period of Indian history and will prove equally invaluable
to the casually interested eye, the erudite layperson, or the seasoned
afficionado. It is a treasure trove for lovers of Urdu poetry,
especially for those who have been unable to access many of these
works because of their unfamiliarity with the script.
In the words of Professor Mushirul Hasan "this book is a lucidly
written account of a glorious chapter in the history of Indian
literature. The powerful verses of the PWA poets are wonderfully
translated and, along with the highly accessible transliteration,
offer the general reader a rare opportunity to appreciate the writings
that helped shape a nation. It is truly an inspiring and pleasurable
read."
PREFACE
Utho aur uth ke inhiñ qaafiloñ meiñ mil jaao
Jo manziloñ ko haiñ gard-e safar banaaye hue
Arise, and join those moving caravans
That have left several destinations in their wake
The oral tradition of Urdu poetry was an essential part of the structure of
feeling of old-city Hyderabad. Josh Malihabadi, Sahir Ludhianvi, Israr-ul Haq Majaz, Kaifi Azmi, Ali Sardar Jafri, Faiz Ahmed Faiz, Majrooh Sultanpuri, and
Make doom Mohiuddin were household names and we learnt to appreciate
the spirit of their powerful verses. Their poetry - critical,
insightful, angry, passionate - helped inculcate in us a sense of
social justice, mediated our understanding of reality, and offered us
a framework to interpret social and political conditions.
A Faiz poem `Lahu Ka Suraagh' (Trace of Blood) thus came to mind when
an obscure statistic about 11th September 2001 caught our attention.
The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization estimated that on
the same tragic day when the towers came crashing down in our adopted
city of New York, around 35,615 children starved to death across the
world. This everyday, routine tragedy quietly bypassed the world's
consciousness. No editorials were written denouncing it, no flags flew
at half-mast, no impassioned speeches were made, no war was declared
on poverty and hunger. Faiz's poem compelling drew our attention to
this `banality of evil' through the following lines:
Kahin nahiñ hai kahiñ bhi nahiñ lahu ka suraagh
Na dast-o naakhun-e qaatil, na aasteeñ pe nishaañ
Na surkhi-e lab-e khanjar, na rang-e nok-e sinaañ
Na khaak par koi dhabba, na baam par koi daagh
Kahiñ nahiñ hai kahiñ bhi nahiñ lahu ka suraagh
Na sarf-e khidmat-e shaahaañ ke khooñ-baha dete
Na deeñ ki nazr ke bayaana-e jaza dete
Na razmgaah meiñ barsa ke mo'atabar hota
alam pe raqam hoke mushtahar hota
raha be-aasra yateem lahu
Kisi to bahr-e sama'at na waqt tha na dimaagh
Na mudda'i na shahaadat hisaab paak hua
Ye khoon-e khaak-nasheenaañ tha rizq-e khaak hua
Nowhere, nowhere at all, is any trace of the Blood
Not on the murderer's hands, fingernails or sleeve
No blood reddens the tongue of the blade nor brighten the tip of the spear
No blood marks the soil or stains the rooftop
Nowhere, nowhere at all, is any trace of the Blood
This blood wasn't shed in the services of kings that it could receive recompense
Nor was it sacrificed at the altar of religion that it could be rewarded
Neither did it spill on in the battlefield that it could be honoured
Or memorialized on a battle standard
It cried out, this helpless, orphaned Blood
But none had the ability to listen, nor the time, nor the patience
No plaintiff stepped forward, no one bore witness and so the account was closed
While the blood of the dirt-dwellers seeped silently into the dirt
Faiz's verses indict all those who stand silent, indifferent to
everyday human suffering. His call to action is expressed even more
explicitly in `Aaj Baazaar Meiñ Pa-bajaolaañ Chalo':
Chashm-e nam jaan-e shoreeda kaafi nahiñ
Tohmat-e ishq-e posheeda kaafi nahiñ
Aaj baazaar meiñ pa-bajaolaañ chalo
Not enough to shed tears, to suffer anguish
Not enough to nurse love in secret
Today, walk in the public square fettered in chains
This demand to declare one's politics explicitly and publicly was made
at a time when Urdu poetry offered a significant space for the
articulation of resistance against explotative systems - a space that
seems to have shrunk considerably in our times. Today, Urdu itself
occupies a precarious position in India, and while it continues to be
the spoken by a large number of people, it is largely exoticized as an
aesthetic commodity, vilified as the language of the Other, or
relegated to the realm of nostalgia. And in Pakistan, while not in any
danger as a language, its progressive literary movement is a shadow of
its former self, the victim of post-colonial politics at the national
and international level. The voice of the progressive Urdu poets that
resonated during the anti-colonial struggle, that sought to hold the
newly formed state to its promise of an egalitarian and just society,
and that attempted to forge a solidarity with peoples' movements
across the world, is a faint memory. Sahir is now remembered mainly as
a film lyricist. Faiz continues to have an iconic status, but only
insofar as he has been assimilated into the tradition of the classical
poets. A handful of other voices remain, some stronger than others.
However, the passion and anger of Josh, Majaz, Kaifi, Makhdoom, Jafri
and others who explicitly wrote about exploitation and oppression,
about justice and equality, and about resistance and struggle is
largely forgotten.
This book grows out of a desire to reverse this `willful loss of
memory' and to reclaim the legacy of the progressive poets in an age
when their words, insights, and politics continue to be relevant. As
the subtitle of the book - `A Celebration of Progressive Urdu Poetry'
- makes clear, ours is not a dispassionate, `objective' account. It is
an attempt to retrieve the spirit of resistance that once roamed so
freely in the landscape of Urdu literature during the progressive
writers movement.
In that sense, this book is more than a recounting of a bygone age; it
is our own political project. It is not just a history of the past, it
is a history of the present, and hopefully, a history of the future as
well.
A few weeks later, the two princesses, Durru Shehvar and Niloufer set sail for India. They spent a few days in Bombay, and played tennis with the daughters of the Governor of Bombay. They were taught how to wear sarees, and the expected etiquette in the presence of the Nizam. With great trepidation, they boarded the train to Hyderabad. 
