Meeting Poet Ahmad Faraz

Ras:

This might sound belated, but is Mukhtaran Bibi still in California? Is another fundraiser possible in the midwest to help with the school building?

Mohammed Amjed
amjed12841@hotmail.com

Faraz Ji dey baarey padh ke vadiya lagya .... bahot hi Kamaal de Shayar tey Umda Shakhsiyat dey Maalik Ney ...tussi likhya vi changaa hai . shukriya !

Faraz is great.

For the simple reason that he was trying to get a humanist voice out of the Islamized urdu.

Re: # 26

Quran-e-Hkeem says "La hukmo illa Lillah" ('Hakoomat' belongs to Allah alone). This being the basic tenant of Islam, following it is what endears Faraz to the people more than his poetry or his desire to be considered as an intellectual.

Qaafilah-e-Hijaz mein koi to Hussain he!

Faraz is some one who is good at translating his thoughts in synchronised words. A typical poet.
My definition of a typical poet : One who wants to be considered as an intellelctual and takes up poetry and makes it a habit of criticising various regimes all the times.

Re: # 10
Dear MyTruly
Seen you this post a couple of days ago then I found things confusing because the plot where Lal Masjid, Jamia Hafsa and Children Library are was allotted to NBF (National Book Foundation). However President Ayub permitted to build Lal Mosque on that plot which was originally allotted to NBF(you may decide if its fair) then a part of rest of plot was again used ti build Jamia Hafsa illegally, howeve on small piece there was also a small library built. So when Ahmad Faraz was head of NBF he got access to all records and pursued this case against administration of Lal MAsjid and Jamia but in result Moulana Abdul Aziz extended Jamia Hafsa instead of vacating alrady occupied space. So I also heard Ahmad Faraz that he was responsible to file case against administration for the occupied plot so he did as a head of NBF. One thing he must also speak about who were the responsible for not lettinglal masjid administration to vacate the place, instead they exptended occupationa dn who stopped Ahmad Faraz. I think he must know them.

Re: # 22

It is in fact `Wardi Jihad` versus `Mullah Jihad`, both basically parasitic outfits, nurturing on the blood of the people, bogged in the culture of bigotry and hatred.

Paradoxically, both these outfits use the name of Islam, which has no place either for a professional careerist army or professional `deen-firosh` Mullah. Naturally, both of them insist that Pakistan was created in the name of Islam though the fact is, as our generation knows well, that Pakistan was meant to be just a federation of Muslim majority provinces of India. It was meant to be a national state with equal rights for all the citizens living in it. But unfortunately, the Mullah, who had, as a class, opposed its establishment hijacked it and turned it into a worst type of theocracy. With their `Deen-e-fassaad`, the Mullah is now out to challenge the Army`s writ with the help of its terroristic outfits. As it is, the Mullah Military clash bodes a very bleak future for the country whose very existence is at a stake. Who can save us from the holocaust we are facing now? This is the question staring us today. So:

`` Mein Aakhaan Ahmad Faraz noon toon `muhaasire` wichon bol
Te aj kitabe ishq da koi agla warqah khol``

(Amrita Pritam se mahzrat ke saath)

#20 by teshah:

[Farzana

Excuse me, dear, it is not the question of language. You added `even` when even there was no `bhi` in the original because perhaps you were not aware even of the truth Faraz intended to depict in the stanza. He probably wanted to say that sincere love (`wafa` has no exact substitute in English or the culture which it represents) always leads one to bad shape...]

I already explained why I added `even`. Having said that I don`t see why a translation has to be literal. I do not agree with you when you say that `sincere love` always leads one to bad shape. I am far more optimistic and maybe your interpretation of Faraz is closer to his, but mine is mine.

I believe that in looking within barren souls is itself adorning them with `pearls`. Agar khud par yakeen nahin tau auroun se kya umeed rakh sakte hai?!

Re: # 19

ZahraJ, Mullah monsters were created by Pakistan Army and the ISI for their own selfish institutional interests in the first place. Let them sort out the mess they have created over the last 30 years in the name of this jihad or that jihad.

Ras

I may point out that Faraz is not ethnic Pathan. He is ethnic Arab being a sayyad. So one should not be surprised on his poetry being in Urdu as ethnic Arabs came to India via Iran or Central Asia imbibed with the Persian culture of those peoples like the greatest Urdu poet Ghalib.

Re: # 9

Farzana

Excuse me, dear, it is not the question of language. You added `even` when even there was no `bhi` in the original because perhaps you were not aware even of the truth Faraz intended to depict in the stanza. He probably wanted to say that sincere love (`wafa` has no exact substitute in English or the culture which it represents) always leads one to bad shape as Faiz had said:

``Janoon mein jo bhi guzri bakaar guzri he
Agarchih dil pih kharaabi hazaar guzri he`` or as
again:

``Donon jahaan teri mohabat mein haar ke
Woh jaa raha he koi shab-e-gham guzaar ke``,

and Ghalib says:

``Lo woh bhi bole kih mein benang-o-naam hoon;
Yih jaanta agar to lutaata nah ghar ko mein``

Re: # 16

James - Indeed, an appropriate time to remember the Pakistani Afwaaj!!!

:)

Newspapers all over the world carried the sad news on the recent fiasco in Islamabad where the jan`baaz faujis had to do what they should have done 3-6 months ago!!! Glad that the faujis took the action.

I hope the poem has good things to say :)

Ahmad Faraz certainly has some of the modern classics of Urdu poetry, to his name........Much of the fame of individuals comes through the poetry written by poets..........Similarly much of the fame of poets come through someone singing their poetry.....

Would Nizamuddin Auliya be famous had Amir Khusro not written and sung about him......Would Amir Khusro, himself, be (as) famous had Sabri Qawwals not brought Khusro`s renditions on Nazimuddin Auliya to the present day......

........Would Shah Inayat be famous had Bulleh Shah not written about him.......Would Bulleh Shah be (as) famous had Abida Parveen not put him to music........

.......Would Ahmed Faraz`s poetry be famous had Mehdi Hasan and Tahira Syed not sung his works.......I doubt it........he would be famous for his politics, but his poetry would be limited to the die-hard poetry fans.......

Would qou-ba-qou be a household word, had Mehdi Hasan not put Parveen Shakir to music....

One would have to place Ahmed Faraz in the second tier category of Urdu poets; one level below the top category of greats - Ghalib, Iqbal, Mir and Faiz.........

Still a distinguished crowd, including others like Parveen Shakir..........

Ranjish he sahih is an all-time classic; up there with the greatest Urdu works......And the trademark ghazal of the greatest ghazal singer of our time - Mehdi Hasan........

Ras sahib, your piece makes it amply clear that Pakistan needs more poets and less Generals - generally speaking, of course!

Can anyone post a link to Faraz` famous poem ``Pak afwaj kay naam``? I heard it once; it is a masterpiece.

I Wrote this quite a while ago........



(Dedicated to the living legend of the Urdu language)


To Poet Ahmed Faraz


To this weaver of Urdu words like fine Persian Carpets
A writer in English and a weak mother tongue pays homage
As the often controversial originator of many ageless poems
Startles us all by passing the age of sixty-five
But when did this happen, a generation asks?

Armed with the ammunition of words he battled
Against tyrants who held the power of guns and jails
But defiant the poet inside strengthened by a conscience
Behind bars, solitary confinement and then exile
Into the homes and hearts of many, yet still
The poet never forgot his country and its people


That Faraz is still with us now, we are lucky
Old tyrants are gone but new critics emerge to accuse
Writers who hold the basic rights of god’s humans
Close to their work, in their self as a sacred trust, this liberty
For which they are wrongly branded as atheists and traitors
But people know the strength and feel of truth

The keepers of the literary traditions of Urdu today welcome
Faraz as one of their greatest living craftsmen of verse
This Shayir-Poet has risen to the defense of many causes
Some popular, others not, and some now necessary
Like the recent deadly embrace of atomics in South Asia
Faraz and his pen now face the prospect of a Hiroshima
In a land where he continues to offer peace and
sincere friendship
As an alternative to the new nuclear madness
Started by those who claim to be the inheritors of
Mahatma Gandhi’s non-violence.


Ras H. Siddiqui 7-24-98


A special thanks to Nora Boustany who was able to
remind this writer about the importance of Faraz in the Washington Post
(July 1, 1998) in an article titled “Roses Are Red, Bombs Leave You
Dead”

You write beautifully, it is a joy to read your writings, thanks a bunch!

Re: # 9
``I felt the `mumkin` in the next line talked about possibility, therefore there was no certitude. ``
Indeed.In fact, there is a very slim chance of success.It should be read in that light.:)

Indeed,

Yeh Alaa`m Shau`q Kaa Dekhaa` Naa` Jayae`

:)

Re: # 7
Apologies for following up on my own post but I should have written:

....kahiiN `behtar` thaa,
apne hisse kii koii...

and `recired` is of course `recited`. I could have let the second correction go but the first one is `sacrelegious and had to be corrected.

I used to like Faraz until I found him to be a liar. In a recent TV interview with Shehryar he claimed that the plot where Lal masjid is located was originally alloted to him during Zia era but then it was occupied (Qabza) by Moulvis. The fact of the matter is that Lal Masjid compound including where Jamiah Hafsa is was allocated to Moulana Abdullah (the father of Ghazi berethern) by Ayub Khan at the requiest of Allama Shabir Ahmad Usmani in 60s. Lal Masjid was an epicenter during the Tehrik-e-Nizam-e-Mustafa during 1977, which was raided several times by police and army during agitations agaisnt Bhutto. I think Faraz should be ashamed of himself for perpetrating such lie. That is the reason that commies and socialists failed in Pakistan - lies and hypocrisy.

Rahul:

The `even` was in fact an afterthought; I felt the `mumkin` in the next line talked about possibility, therefore there was no certitude.

But thanks for the ``2 cents``. Urdu ke muamle mein, among other things, hum muflis hi hai...learning...

Ras:

The jazbaat should get rusty when you are SURE you are getting old; ab tau sirf guesswork chal raha hai! And, as Noorjehan sang in `Jawaan hai mohabbat`...``Abhi tak humein yaad hai woh kahani``.

Be well...

Re: # 5
Ras Sahib, The way I would like it is the original transcript in Urdu and the accompanying translation.The translation should not be difficult.Dictionaries are available online.But thats just me.Other people may have other ideas.
Farzana,
The ``even`` in the first line sticks out like a sore thumb.Faraz meant that ``ujRe hue log`` are the best place to look for ``wafaa kay motii``; your translation makes it look like they are the last resort.As in ``Dhoondh ujade hue logon mein bhii vafaa ke moti ``.Drop the ``even`` and it is okay. Just my 2 cents.

Thanks for the write up. I met him a couple of times during his attendence at Toronto mushairas. This is going back a few years. `raNjish hii sahii..` had continued to be audience favorite but Faraaz sahib naturally wanted to present his newer work. At one of these mushaairas, a lady insisted that he recired `raNjish hii sahii...` to which Faraaz sahib responded with a winning smile, `yeh to ab aap Mehdi Hassan sahib se hii suniie` (this one you should now hear only from Mehdi Hassan sahib):-)

I have a lot of his books, (including Kulliaat-e-Faraaz) and frequently resort to reading him, at random, and feel my faith in humanity returning!

shikva-e-zulmat-e-shab se to kahiiN accha thaa
apne hisse kii koii shamma jalaate jaate!

Re: # 5
Thanks a lot Ras, I had tried earlier but same ever problem of urdu titles in english, ``mahaasra`` or ``mahasra`` found required results!

Its really very imaginative for my generation deprived such a event seen in video.

k raat jab kissi khursheed ko shaheed karti hey
tou subho ik naya sooraj tarash laati hey


just great....

it also reminds


Jehan main ehla-e-eeman soorat-e-khursheed jeetay hain
idher doobey, udher nik`ley, udher doobey, idher nik^ley


thanks indeed!

First of all, CHOWK Editors could we fix the photograph?

#1 Farzana: I guess that I am getting old too. The Jazbaat too are getting rusty!

#2 Rozaiba: Faraz is indeed a jewel of Urdu literature. Coming back to Sac?

#3 Goonga: I will try to find a link. The best one is on You Tube (Search).

#4 Rahul_Capri: I would have to have a better command of Urdu to let Faraz Sahib
speak for himself in this article. Your point is well taken, so I invite other writers
to make that attempt here on CHOWK. Faraz is best understood in the language
that he writes in, so this article would have to be written in Urdu.

Ras Sahib, any particular reason you did not present this to us as an interview,with his actual words?It would have been more enjoyable.
Thanks,anyway.

Many believe that his best work “Mohasara” (Encircled-Siege) written against the regime of General Ziaul Haq is his best political writing.


I wonder if I could find any link to this poem, heard a lot about it. shukriya!