It has been a while since I wrote about poetry; specifically, about how poetic constructs get refashioned among poets possibly as tributes to fellow poets. In Urdu poetry it is a respected practice for a poet to borrow a line or an idea from a fellow poet and rework it. It is done out of admiration. It is also common that two poets think of the same or similar poetic construct independently. I do not know what the case here is.
The other day, as is my wont, I karaoked a song from a 1968 film called ‘Izzat’. It is a wonderful composition and a rare, perhaps the only coming together, of the iconic poet and song writer Sahir Ludhianvi (1921-1980), and hugely successful and prolific composers Laxmikant Pyarelal.
The song was ये दिल तुम बिन कहीं लगता नहीं हम क्या करें. As I was recording it, I came upon these lines in one of the interludes.
मुहोब्बत कर तो लेकिन मुहोब्बत रास आये भी
दिलों को बोझ लगते हैं कभी ज़ुल्फ़ों के साये भी
हज़ारों ग़म है इस दुनिया में अपने भी पराये भी
मुहोब्बत ही का ग़म तनहा नहीं हम क्या करें
It had struck me much earlier as well but while singing those lines they set me thinking all over again about another iconic poet Faiz Ahmed Faiz (1911-1984) and one of his most enduring creations, in particular these lines:
और भी दुख हैं ज़माने में मुहोब्बत के सिवा
राहतें और भी हैं वस्ल की राहत के सिवा
There is obvious similarity Faiz’s lines and Sahir’s in the following:
हज़ारों ग़म है इस दुनिया में अपने भी पराये भी
मुहोब्बत ही का ग़म तनहा नहीं हम क्या करें
Essentially, both are saying that there other griefs and disappointments in life apart from grief and disappointment of love. The underlying counsel of their lines is more or less the same, namely that there is much more life outside obsessions of love. In fact, Faiz even says in the second line that there are redemption or joy beyond those of meeting your beloved.
Faiz was of course ten years older than Sahir but their worldview was very similar. I do not know if they ever met but it should surprise no one that they knew of each other’s works. I do not know when Faiz wrote the particular lines that I am referring to here. For that matter I am not certain when Sahir wrote his but logically he would have written them in the run-up to the movie’s release in 1968. So let’s say 1967-68 timeframe. Of course, Hindi cinema lyricists are well-known for writing songs on the fly. So once again, no one should be surprised if Sahir wrote it just five minutes after the song was composed. I am not saying that is the case but merely illustrating how quick lyricists were.
On a separate observation related to the same Sahir song, consider how remarkable the idea captured in the following line is.
मुहोब्बत कर तो लेकिन मुहोब्बत रास आये भी
Sahir writes that he (as in the character in the movie) may choose to fall in love but is unsure if falling in love is suitable or agreeable—raas—to him. What a great conceit! I may yet fall in love but don’t know if it suits or works for me.
P.S.: I checked with Anwar Iqbal, a dear friend, terrific journalist and great connoisseur of Urdu poetry when this particular poem was written. The lines are from Faiz's much celebrated the poem मुझ से पहेली सी मोहब्बत मेरे मेहबूब न मांग. He pointed out it was it was part of Faiz's "Naqsh-e-fariyadi' collection first published in 1941. As Anwar said I knew it was his way of telling fellow poets not to obsess just over the themes of love and romance and rejections/disappointments therein.
So it could well be that Sahir incorporated that spirit in this particular song from that particular poem by Faiz.
