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Ghazal , its form, diction and origins
Urdu verse, with reference to diction and form, is broadly classified into two major forms: Ghazal and Nazam. Although both have developed side by side, yet Ghazal carries a unique status because it has been the major form of expression throughout the history of growth and development of Urdu poetry. Moreover, it has consistently kept its original format intact and its popularity has not undergone any decline at any juncture. Ghazal is just one by definition on the basis of format; it may have different types on the basis of its thought content. Above all it has been the major contributor towards the development of Urdu language through print media and through social gatherings called mushairas in which poets recite their poetry and audience appreciates both individually and collectively. Nazam, on the other hand is written in a large number of formats and attempted by by a few as compared to the ghazal writers who form a vast majority. This is the reason why discussion on this form of Urdu poetry has been postponed to a later juncture. Here only ghazal will be talked about to prepare the readers for subsequent reading of the history of Urdu poetry.
Ghazal is a poem which was originally written in praise of someone with whom a lover fell in love; not subject to the condition that the loved one should be a woman. The loved one could be an object who could be a male or a female dominantly described as a male gender in Urdu poetry or even Allah/God who is the Ultimate Reality. The other major component of ghazal is the woe or shock of the condition when lover is separated from his love. The lover expresses his intense feelings of internal shocks due to worries and woes in the rhythmic form in tune with his heart beat as couplets of ghazal. Perhaps that is the reason some people say that the term ‘ghazal’ has been derived from the word ‘taghazal’ which in Persian language is the voice of a she deer in the state of despair due to shocking woes and worries.
The ghazal is a form of poetry common in Arabic, Persian, Afghani, Turkish, Azerbaijani, Urdu and Bengali poetry. The classical ghazal was composed of five to fifteen rhymed couplets but this is not an essential condition. Some poets have written ghazals spreading over many pages but writing very long ghazals is not much appreciated. The most appreciated ghazal these days is that carries only five to seven couplets. From the music point of view, the preferred length is at the most four or five couplets as beyond that it is difficult to fit it in the permitted time schedules. Its first couplet called Matlaa that is rhymed in a style that both lines share a refrain at the end called Qafia (Rhyming word) and Radeef (Repeating words). All other couplets usually share refrain at the end of the second line. The end couplet is called Maqta that generally contains the pen name of the poet. Some poets write more than one rhymed couplets as matlaa and call these couplets as second matlaa, third matlaa and so on. All lines have a common and identical meter.
Ghazal, being the most common form of poetry through the ages, is often comparable to the English Sonnet the most common form of poetry through the ages in English literature. Both became popular in twelfth and thirteenth century when average length of ghazal was seven couplets that formed fourteen lines while the thirteenth century sonnet was a poem of fourteen lines that followed a set rhyme scheme and logical structure. The sonnet is yet limited to fourteen lines and is equally popular in English poetry as is ghazal in Urdu. The contemporary ghazal has no limit to length but fourteen line ghazal was the most popular in the past, is popular in the current era and will remain popular also in future. Ghazal has changed over history in thought content but not in form, meter and diction but the sonnet's conventions have changed over its history, and so there are its several contemporary forms.
Each couplet of the ghazal bears a complete and independent thought and thus this form of poetry does not describe just one subject in spite of the fact that it’s overall reflection may be a theme of unattainable love for an individual or for divinity, highlighting a social evil or expression of extreme love via negation of poets own self. All these themes have been included in ghazal with the flow of time depending on the kaleidoscopic view of the environment the poet encounters at a certain juncture of life. In this respect ghazal differs from sonnet as sonnet's first four lines typically introduce the topic and remaining ten describe the details of the same subject. Most of the classical ghazals were of romantic nature usually focused on love for a male or female but ghazals exhibit a classical affinity with Sufism also who believed in negation of their own self and losing it to become a component of Allah. Four schools of poetic thought are encountered if the growth and development of Urdu Poetry is seen through a historic eye: Pioneers, Classical, Neo-classical (Border line) and Modern. The examples in the same order may be Siraj Auranabadi, Mir Taqi Mir, Asadullah Khan Ghalib and Doctor Mohammad Iqbal.. Ghalib comes on the borderline of classical and modern schools of poetic thought while Iqbal and Faiz are the model modern poets. The major characteristic of these three joints of Urdu poetry is the universalism indicating that their thoughts will applicable to life phenomena in every age and in every era. Ghalib didn’t use his ghazals for giving political opinion on the socio-political environment of India. Instead, he composed most of the universal truths in this great form of poetry. Iqbal applied ghazal to impact his political environment both at home and abroad. At home this was his major tool for liberation of India from British and beyond the Indian borders to arouse political consciousness in the Islamic World and the same was his struggle for the humanity at large. To sum three stages in ghazal can be identified: Ishq-e-Majazi (Love for a male or female human due his/her charms, Social (Love for humans to highlight wrongs done by the exploiters on the lobe and Ishq-e Haqiqi (Love for Allah/God by negation of all worldly desires even the needs) .
In order to understand the complete significance of ghazal, it sounds imperative to illustrate what has been presented above with the help of some couplets from ghazals of some renowned poets from Arabic and Persian that had the major impact on Urdu language and literature. These will be followed by the examples of the complete ghazals of pioneers, classical, neoclassical and modern ghazal writes. At the starting point, English translation of two Arabic couplets of the most famous poet of the Pre- Islamic era Imru’u ‘lqays are presented:
“Behold, she has come back to me,
My fair gazelle whose ear rings shine;
Had not the king been sitting here
I would have pressed her lips to mine!”
Background: The target of poet was the charming sister of his king
Next are quoted two couplets from one of the most famous ghazals of
Hafiz Shirazi a highly renowned poet from Iran. Just think about his charity and care freeness:
“If that Irani sweetheart of mine traps my heart in his hands
I will give in charity the whole Samarkand and Bukhara for his Hindi Mole (On his cheek)
Bless me Oh Saqi (Wine server) with eternal wine that will not be available even in Paradise
On the bank of the River Rukanabad with pure and precious walkway”
Background: The first couplet was said by Hafiz after the great warier King Ameer Tamur conquered Samarkand and Bukhara and Hafiz shirazi accompanied him during the campaign.
A model ghazal in Urdu poetry by a pioneer Siraj Aurangabadi was written in 1,177 when Urdu language was in its state of infancy. It is even ranked at the top in the current era. It is a short length ghazal with four couplets only; even less than five the minima encountered in the realm of ghazal.
“Just hear the news about the despair of love, neither remained vanity nor remained fairy*
Neither you remained nor I, if there remained something, it was unconsciousness
The realm of selflessness blessed me with the dress of nakedness
Neither remained the network of intellect nor remained the secret of vanity
There blew a wind storm from the world unknown and whole of garden was burnt
Yet, there was a branch on the stroma of sorrow that remained green for ever
That moment was a strange moment when I had a lesson from the a prescription of love
That whatever was contained in the booklet of intellect was of no significance to me”
*Symbol of beauty
When one enters the school of classics, he encounters Mir Taqi Mir as a joint of Urdu ghazal. One of his ghazals is presented below.
“If you agree, let us go to the garden, it is said that spring is encountered there
The leaves are green , the flowers are in blossom, and there is raining lightly
The color is trickling from the air as does wine is dropped
Proceed and go to Maikhana*, as it is the era of drinkers over there
There is a characteristic of dying in the players of the game of love
In other words, undertaking such like trouble is the deed of practical performers
The heart is wounded, liver is torn into pieces, all the tears have turned into blood
That which renders blood and water two-in-one is love for the ones with red poppy like cheeks
We did not go to the desert and mountain for Firhad** and Majnoo^
Oh Mir! We, in love, keep up the image of honored humans”
*The place where drinks are served
** Firhad was the lover who fell in love with a king’s daughter. The king asked him to dig a mountain to make a canal as condition to marry her daughter to him. He did it but the king betrayed. The story ended in suicide committed by Firhad.
^ Majnoo is renowned lover of Laila. It is a love story from Iran
Here is Ghalib’s ghazal which is representative of his philosophy as a universal poet.
“Longings, in every form turned out to be enemy of life and property
Qais* even behind the curtain of picture turned out to be naked and dejected
The wound did not appreciate the trouble in the heart
Even the arrow that was in the chest of the lover came out with open wings
The fragrance of flower, the sigh of the heart and the smoke of the candle
Whosoever left from your gathering, left perturbed
The despair hit heart presented the feast with the flavor of pain
However the friends had their task done proportionate to their taste
Oh! Novice conscious of extinction, to your courage that is fond of difficult tasks
Even the most difficult task proved it to be an easy one
The cries have just created turbulence in your heart
Alas!, the tear that was unshed, unlashed like a storm”
*Qais is a synonym of Majnoo explained above
The presentation about Ghalib now drags us to the era of modern poets with Iqbal ranked at the top. Here is the first gahazal of his best collection of ghazals in Bal-e-Gibreel.
There is a noise in the Hareem of your ‘Self’ with my longing hail There is an intense turmoil in the Idol House of Traits.
Hoors and angels are trapped in my thoughts. There is an interruption in your glows with my vision.
Although my search is sketching the features of Idols and Kaaba, there is an uprising in ‘Kaaba’ and ‘Somnat’ with my hue and cry
Sometimes, my piercing vision penetrated through Your Heart. At others, it remained trapped in my whims
What a wonder of yours it was that you disclosed me! I was the only secret in the heart of the Universe.
Background: It is an address direct to Allah/God (Iqbal as a mystic/sufi).
Glossary
Hareem/Haram: Hareem is a synonym of Haram that translates as House of Allah where Muslims visit for pilgrimage.
Hoors: Hoors are the beautiful ladies deployed by Allah to serve the blessed ones in Paradise.
We close with a ghazal of Faiz Ahmad Faiz
“After losing both worlds* in your love
Someone is going after being through the night full of woes
The maikada ** is all shattered and the mug and pitcher are depressed
We have seen the courage of the Creator
The world detached us from your memories
Now the worries about daily business look more attractive than you
He/she smiled for me unconsciously
Don’t ask me about the state of emotions of my heart that was inert before”
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