In Remembrance of Majaz

Awaara

Shaher ki raat aur main naashaad-o-nakaraa phiru
Jagmagaati jaagati sadakon pe avaara phiru
Gair ki basti hai kab tak dar badar mara phiru
Ai Gam-e-dil kyaa karu, Ai vehshat-e-dil kyaa karu.

Jhilmilate qumqumon ki raah mein zanjeer si
Raat ke haathon mein din ki mohani tasveer si
Mere seene par magar chalati hui shamasheer si
Ai Gam-e-dil kyaa karu, Ai vahashat-e-dil kyaa karu

Ye rupahali chhaaon ye aakaash par taaron ka jaal
Jaise sufi ka tasavvur jaise aashiq ka Khayaal
Aah lekin kaun jaane kaun samajhe ji kaa haal
Ai Gam-e-dil kyaa karu, Ai vehshat-e-dil kyaa karu

Phir vo Toota ik sitara phir vo chuti phuljhadi
Jaane kis ki god mein aaye ye moti ki ladi
Hounk si seene mein uthi chot si dil par padi
Ai Gam-e-dil kyaa karu, Ai vehshat-e-dil kyaa karu

Raat hans hans kar ye kehti hai ke maikhane mein chal
Phir kisi shahnaaz-e-laalaarukh ke kaashaane mein chal
ye nahin mumkin to phir ai dost viraane mein chal
Ai Gam-e-dil kyaa karu, Ai vehshat-e-dil kyaa karu

Har taraf bikhri hui rangeeniya ranaiya
Har qadam par isharaten leti hui angdaiyan
Badh rahi hai god phailaaye hui rusavaiyan
Ai Gam-e-dil kyaa karu, Ai vehshat-e-dil kyaa karu

Raaste mein ruk ke dam le lun meri aadat nahi
LauT kar vaapas chalaa jaau meri fitrat nahi
Aur koi hamnava mil jaaye ye qismat nahin
Ai Gam-e-dil kyaa karu, Ai vehshat-e-dil kyaa karu

Muntazir hai ek tufaan-e-bala mere liye
Ab bhi jaane kitne darvaaze hai vaha mere liye
Par musibat hai mera ahed-e-vafa mere liye
Ai Gam-e-dil kyaa karu, Ai vehshat-e-dil kyaa karu

Ji mein aata hai ki ab ahed-e-vafa bhi tod du
Un ko pa sakta hu main ye aasara bhi chod du
Haan munasib hai ye zanjeer-e-hava bhi tod du
Ai Gam-e-dil kyaa karu, Ai vehshat-e-dil kyaa karu

Ek mahal ki aaa se nikala vo pila mahtaab
Jaise mullah ka amamaa jaise baniye ki kitaab
Jaise muflis ki javani jaise bevaa ka shabaab
Ai Gam-e-dil kyaa karu, Ai vehshat-e-dil kyaa karu

Dil me ek shola bhadak uthaa hai aakhir kya karu
Meraa paimana chalak uthaa hai aakhir kya karu
Zakhm seene ka mahek uthaa hai aakhir kya karu
Ai Gam-e-dil kyaa karu, Ai vehshat-e-dil kyaa karu

Muflisi aur ye mazahir hain nazar ke saamane
Saikdon changez-o-naadir hain nazar ke saamane
saikdon sultan jabar hain nazar ke saamane
Ai Gam-e-dil kyaa karu, Ai vehshat-e-dil kyaa karu


Le ke ek changez ke haathon se khanjar tod du
Taaj par us ke damakata hai jo patthar tod du
Koi tode ya na tode main hi badhkar tod duu
Ai Gam-e-dil kyaa karu, Ai vehshat-e-dil kyaa karu

Badh ke is indar-sabhaa kaa saaz-o-saamaan phunk du
Is ka gulshan phunk du, us ka shabistan phuk du
Takht-e-sultan kya, main saaraa qasr-e-sultan phunk du
Ai Gam-e-dil kyaa karu, Ai vehshat-e-dil kyaa karu

Ji mein aataa hai ye murdaa chaand-taare noch lu
Is kinaare noch lun aur us kinaare noch lu
Ek do ka zikr kya, saare ke saare noch lu
Ai Gam-e-dil kyaa karu, Ai vehshat-e-dil kyaa karu

He was a poet of love and revolution , but preferred to write mostly on love .By genre , he can be classified as a poet of Nazm. His most famous Nazm is Awaara , which is considered one of the best Urdu Nazm ever written

Majaz would have aimlessly walked around these streets - turning

wherever the heart pleased ... in an unfamiliar city of lights and
lonely lanes, his sole companion was - a heart overwhelmed with
unbearable grief ...

Shahar Ki Raat Aur Main, Naashaad-o-Naakaara Phiroo
Jagmagaati-Jaagati, Sadko Pe Awaara Phiroo
Gair Ki Basti Hain Kab Tak, Dar-Ba-Dar Maara Phiroo
Aye Gham-E-Dil Kya Karoo, Aye Vahshat-E-Dil Kya Karoo ...?

For the metropolis called Mumbai, Marine Drive was The Queen's
Necklace. For Majaz it was a sharp, gilt-edged sword which
pierced his heart:

Jhilmilaate KumKumonki Raah Mein Zanjeer-see
Raat Ke Haatho Mein Din Ki Mohini Tasveer-See
Mere Seene Par Magar Dehki Huee Shamsheer-see
Aye Gham-E-Dil Kya Karoo, Aye Vahshat-E-Dil Kya Karoo ...?

The night would smile and the house of wine would beckon Majaz.
And later he would even get seduced by the charms of some faceless,
nameless beauty. And then, there were times when none of that would be
possible ... Majaz would then drift to some isolated place ...

Raat Has Has Ke Yeh Kahti Hain Ki Maikhaane Mein Chal
Phir Kisi Shahnaaz-E-Lala-Rukh Ke Kashane Mein Chal
Yeh Nahi Mumkin To Phir Aye Dost, Veerane Mein Chal
Aye Gham-E-Dil Kya Karoo, Aye Vahshat-E-Dil Kya Karoo ...?

Another glittering Mumbai evening ...
The Taj Mahal Hotel ...
And the moon rising behind it ...

Majaz saw the moon differently ... for him ...

the moon was a Mulla's pagdi ...
a grocer's account book ...
the youth of a destitute ...
and the charms of a widow ...
All pale. All dull!

Ek Mahal Ki Aad Se Nikla Woh Peela Mahtab
Jaise Mulla Ka Amama, Jaise Baniye Ki Kitaab
Jaise Mufliss Ki Jawani, Jaise Bewa Ka Shabab
Aye Gham-E-Dil Kya Karoo, Aye Vahshat-E-Dil Kya Karoo ...?

eh Rupahli Chhav, Yeh Aakash Par Taaronka Jaal
Jaise Sufi Ka Tasavvur, Jaise Aashiq Ka Khayal
Aah Lekin Kaun Samjhe, Kaun Jaane Jee Ka Haal
Aye Gham-E-Dil Kya Karoo, Aye Vahshat-E-Dil Kya Karoo ...?

And then Majaz expressed the very quintessence of all his
life and persona ...

In lines which almost shriek with helplessness ...

Raaste Mein Ruk ke Dum Loo, Yeh Meri Aadat Nahi
Lautkar Vaapas Chala Jaoo, Yeh Meri Fitrat Nahi
Aur Koi Humnawa Mil Jaaye, Yeh Kismat Nahi
Aye Gham-E-Dil Kya Karoo, Aye Vahshat-E-Dil Kya Karoo ...?

For me to take a breather ... that is not my habit.
To retrace my steps ... that is not my nature.
To get a companion or a co-traveller ... that is not my destiny
Aye Gham-E-Dil Kya Karoo, Aye Vahshat-E-Dil Kya Karoo ...?

Clearly, Majaz belonged to the line of poets who got only sorrow in
return for their love.

Actually, any girl would have been swept off her feet by Majaz
who was a handsome and sensitive man, as well as a poet!

Ismat Chugtai once stated that there was a time when the girls in
Aligarh Muslim College threw lots with Majaz's name on their chits.
His poems were under their pillows - they often swore that if nothing
worked out, they would name their sons Majaz.

Amidst the tinkling bangles, girly giggles & flying dupattas -
wafted Majaz's poems! Nothing but Majaz was on the girl's minds!
And they also had questions galore - what does Majaz do, where does
Majaz live, is Majaz involved with some girl?

These were Majaz's college days as he completed his B.A. in Aligarh
Muslim University. After college, Majaz came to Delhi in 1936
and worked with All India Radio as Editor of their journal,
which Majaz had christened 'Aawaaz'.

And in Delhi, Majaz fell in love.
And as the story goes, he was jolted in love.

Nobody really knows what happened in Delhi - it is said that
a beautiful woman from Delhi's highbrow circles had a special
place in Majaz's tender heart. And that she was already married.

But Majaz's heart was shattered.
He left Delhi and carried those broken splinters back to Lucknow.

Rukhsat-E-Delhi Teri Mehfil Se Ab Jaata Hoon Main
Nauhagar Jaata Hoon, Nala-E-Lub Jaata Hoon Main

And after that Majaz seems to have entirely lost his balance -
there was no limit to his drinking.

In 1940, he got his first nervous breakdown.
He used to repeatedly say "One girl wants to marry me.
But my rival is constantly threatening to poison me."
Majaz's parents tried all kinds of treatments and managed to somehow
restore a sense of balance. And they thought of the remedy that
parents would normally think of. Find a girl and get Majaz to settle
down. But now the world looked at Majaz differently. He had acquired a
reputation of not being 'sane'. The world now saw his shortcomings.
The girls who were once his greatest admirers, were now terrified by
the prospect of a lunatic.

But for the sake of his parents and his sisters, Majaz had consciously
decided to behave 'normally.' One of Majaz's sisters - Safiya was
married to Jaan Nisaar Akhtar, the lyricist and poet and father of
Javed Akhtar.

For some time, Majaz worked with the 'Bombay Information Bureau.' He
later enrolled for a degree in Law at the Lucknow University. With
Sibt-E-Hassan and Ali Sardar Jafri, he also worked on a periodical
'Naya Adab'. He then joined Delhi's Harding's Library as Assistant
Librarian. His parents found a girl for him and just when everyone
thought that Majaz was about to tie the knot, the girl's father who
was a Government Servant, turned down the proposal.

That struck another blow! And in 1945, Majaz again lost his mental
balance. He used to go around talking about his greatness - a
megalomania of sorts ... he would make a list of great poets and
after Ghalib and Iqbal, he would put the name Asraar Ul Haq Majaz ...

His family left no stone unturned and with all kinds of medical
attention, Majaz recovered.

But he found life to be futile and could never overcome his
loneliness. He tried but could never lead a life like the ordinary
folk around him and he spent the rest of his life immersed in alcohol.
He drowned all the bitterness in the bottle ... till the end of his
life.

Ham Maikade Ki Raah Se Hokar Guzar Gaye
Varna Safar Hayaat Ka Behad Taveel Tha ...

"Majaz had gone insane twice - he is drunk all the time and wanders
aimlessly." Sahir Ludhianvi introduced Majaz in this fashion in
the journal 'Savera' published from Lahore. Majaz was terribly hurt.
He responded like a true poet ...

Kuch To Hain Mohabbat Mein Junoon Ka Asar
Aur Kuch Log Bhi Deewana Bana Dete Hain!

One goes nuts in love and often some people also drive you so ...

hen everyone around taunted Majaz about his drinking,
Majaz was quick to lash out ...

Main Sharaab Peeta Hoon
Tum Kya Peete Ho?
Aadmi Ka Khoon?

The famed, revolutionary poet Josh Malihabaadi recounts this anecdote
in his autobiography "Yaadon Ki Baraat" which was banned by the
Government of Pakistan. He once advised Majaz on drinking.

"Dekho Majaz, Sharaab peene ka sahi tareeqa yeh hain, ki aahista
aahista pee jaaye. Main bees minute mein ek peg khatam karta hoon. Aur
hamesha ghadi saamne rakhkar peeta hoon. Tum Bhi ghadi saamne rakhkar
peeya karo !"

"Ghadi Rakhkar?" Majaz was sceptical, "Mera Bus Chale to Main GhadAA
rakhkar Peeya Karoo !"

Like Majaz was upset with Sahir he was also irked by Josh.

Majaz had been discharged froom the mental hospital and though he
looked normal, he was not entirely cured of his ailment. Josh did not
know this.

Majaz once called the Commissioner of Delhi and asked him for one
hundred rupees. When Josh heard this, he pulled up Majaz and remarked
that with this action of Majaz - the very dignity of poetry had bitten
the dust.

Majaz did not say a word but quietly wrote ...

Jo Guzarti Hain Kalb-E-Shaayar Par
Shaayar-E-Inquilaab Kya Jaane ...

What would the revolutionary poet know
about a tender romantic poet's heart !

Basically, Majaz was an extremely sensitive, romantic poet. From the
beginning he had a tremendous attraction for love and beauty. Even as
a child, if a beautiful lady visited his home, Majaz would forget
everything else and gaze at her for hours! Though Majaz's poetry
flowered under the guidance of 'Jazbi' and Phaani' - he had a
particularly soft corner for the romantic poet who wrote "Aye Ishq Hame
Barbaad Na Kar" - Akhtar Shirani.

The Urdu writer Prakash Pandit remembers a touching incident about
this. After the Indo- Pak partition in 1948, Sahir and Pandit had
started an Urdu journal 'Shahraah' in Delhi. They had just found a new
home in a Muslim basti of Delhi. The situation was rife with communal
tension at that time so both were quietly shifting to their new home
in the night. Sahir was shifting their belongings inside the house
and Prakash was staying guard outside.

Suddenly a good looking man with sharp features came staggering along,
very obviously drunk and he kept muttering ... "Akhtar Shirani Mar
Gaya ... Tu Urdu Ka Bahut Bada Shaayar Tha ... Bahut Bada" he kept
repeating these lines with agitated gestures ... Prakash was a little
unnerved ... Josh Malihabadi who also lived in the same neighbourhood
came along and recognized Prakash ... Josh immediately said ...
"Inhe Samhalo Prakash ... Yeh Majaz Hain."

Prakash Pandit saw the creator of Aye Gham-E-Dil Kya Karoo in such
circumstances ... as Majaz grieved over the passing away of Akhtar
Shirani ...

Actually Akhtar Shirani and Majaz had many aspects in common. The
poetry of both had the pathos of a directionless life as their central
theme. And of course there was liquor. And yet another was - the beloved.
Shirani wrtote about Salma or Azra whereas Majaz wrote about his
'Zohra-Jabee' These names were similar to the names of their real loves.

In real terms, although Majaz loved Akhtar Shirani, he had gone far
ahead of Shirani as a poet.

Although Majaz too wrote about Love and Beauty, his poems always
retained a a social consciousness. Instead of fantasizing a world of
Love and Beauty somewhere else, Majaz rebelled against the customs and
traditions which constrained these emotions. Although helpless himself,
he always wrote against the shackles of the religious establishment.

Yeh Majboori Si Majboori, Yeh Laachari Si Laachari
Ki Uske Geet Bhi, Jee Kholkar Main Gaa Na Saka
Hade Woh Kheech Rakhi Hain, Haram Ke Pasbaanone
Ki Bin Mujrim Bane Paigaam Bhi Pahuncha Na Saka

Despite Love being his central theme, Majaz expressed his anger
against social injustice with such a force that a senior Urdu poet
and critic Asar Lucknawi observed, "A Keats was born in Urdu poetry
too, but he was devoured by the conservative wolves."

Although he was a romantic like Keats, Majaz had looked at his own
personal highs and lows with a social perspective. No poet can stay
in the air for too long and at some stage gets his feet on the ground.
Majaz had introduced this progressive approach way before the
Progressive Writers Association was formed.

Khoob Pahchaan Lo Asraar Hoon Main
Jin Se Ulfat Ka Talabgaar Hoon Main
Khwaab-E-Ishrat Mein hain Arbab-E-Khirad
Aur Ek Shaayar-E-Bedaar Hoon Main
Aib Jo Haafeez-O-Khayyam Mein Tha
Haan Kuch Uska Bhi Gunhegaar Hoon Main
Hoor-O-Gil Ma Ka Yaha Zikr Nahi
Nau-E-Insaan Ka Parastaar Hoon Main

My name is Asraar (Asraar Ul Haq was Majaz's true name)
I am in search of love.
All intellectuals are dreaming. Asleep.
I am awake. And I am a poet.
Haafiz and Khayyam paid tributes to Beauty and Wine.
I too am a little guilty of that crime.
You will not find heavenly damsels and angels
In my writings ...
Because I am a worshipper of humanity ...

Majaz's writings always had a progressive strain.
It was never propaganda, but was a statement of his own
experience of it. And hence the progressive line of thought finds
an extremely sensitive & artistic expression in his work.

In the preface to Majaz's 'Aahang', the famous progressive poet Faiz
Ahmed Faiz wrote "Majaz never beat the drums of revolution, he hummed
revolutions!" Almost unknowingly, Majaz had imbibed the progressive
thought and that manifested in his work.

In Awara (1937), he wrote ...

Mufalissi Aur Yeh Majahir Hain Nazar Ke Saamne
Sekdo Sultan-E-Jaabir Hain Nazar Ke Saamne
Sekdo Changez-O-Nadir Hain Nazar Ke Saamne
Aye Gham-E-Dil Kya Karoo, Aye Vahshat-E-Dil Kya Karoo ...?

Majaz did not lament his own individual helplessness, but also those
of a society, of his times. And to forget all these sorrows, Majaz had
drowned them in alcohol. Neither did he eat or sleep. He only
wanted the bottle.

The highbrow and the affluent, pandered only to this need of
Majaz. Many a glittering party and mehfil saw a Majaz drowning himself
in spirits, as he sang the agonies of his heart.
To the rich audiences, this was entertainment. When he tired or fell
unconscious, these so called bigwigs got their drivers to drop him
off. Or lock him away in a secluded room in their mansions.

After his second nervous breakdown, Majaz was treated with great
difficulty in the mental hospital at Ranchi. But Majaz did not change
one bit after he was released.

And then came yet another evening. Another mehfil - when Majaz drank
away. When he fell unconscious, his friends left him behind in the
bar. (Apparently, one of them was Jalal Malihabadi who wrote Mujhe
Kisise Pyar Ho Gaya in Barsaat).

Only God knows how the helpless Majaz, spent the freezing night,
all alone.

The next day on December 15, 1955, he was taken to hospital ...
where a nerve snapped and everything was over ...

Ab Tum mere Paas Aayee Ho, To Kyon Aayee Ho?'

'Mujhe Jaana Hain Ek Din Tere Bazm-E-Naaz Se Aakhir'

'Bataoon Kya Tujhe Aye Hamnasheen! Kisse Mohabbat Hain?'

'Rukhsat Aye Humsafari! Shahr-E-Nigar Aa Hi Gaya'

Majaz had broken the strings of existence but his voice still
reverberated ... somewhere deep down in the heart ...

Chhup Gaye Woh Saaz-E-Hasti Chhedkar
Ab To Bas Aawaaz hi Aawaaz Hain ...

Gair Ki Basti Hain Kab Tak Dar-Ba-Dar Phiroo ...
Gair Ki Basti Hain ...

Just the other day at Bhulabhai Desai auditorium, a program was held
in Faiz Ahmed Faiz's honour. And as Ali Sardar Jafri spoke, he
remembered Majaz and was visibly moved.

He fondly remembered ... one late night, in Lucknow after a mehfil ...
Majaz, Faiz, Jazbi and Jafri strolled across to the terrace of Moti
Mahal ... on the banks of Gomti.

The mehfil came alive again ...
And Majaz for the first time recited Awara ...

And he expressed his feelings so poignantly in ...
Aye Gham-E-Dil Kya Karoo, Aye Vahshat-E-Dil Kya Karoo ...?
that a resounding "Wah Wah' echoed from across the Gomti!

This could only happen in Lucknow.