'अधूरे हाफ़िज़े' - मेरा दूसरा काव्य-संग्रह

मेरे पहले कविता-संग्रह – ख़्वाहिश-ए-परवाज़ – को प्रकाशित हुए आठ वर्ष हो चले हैं । वहाँ से 'अधूरे हाफ़िज़े' के प्रकाशन तक का यह अंतराल लम्बा रहा, किन्तु मुझे इस बात का संतोष है कि यह समय व्यर्थ नहीं गया । मुझे अहसास था कि मुझे अपने ’इल्म और हुनर तराशने की कोशिश जारी रखनी है और जो ग़लतियाँ ला-’इल्मी या अधूरे ज्ञान की वजह से मेरे पहले संग्रह में हुईं, उन्हें उर्दू शा’इरी की बारीकियाँ समझ कर सुधारने का पूरा प्रयास करना है । 

तू शा’इरी में मशक़्क़त से डर न ऐ ‘नाक़िद’
तराशने को हुनर जज़्ब  कर निकात तमाम

लिहाज़ा, इस दौरान जहाँ मैंने उर्दू ’अरूज़  की तमाम किताबें नए सिरे से पढ़ीं , वहीं कई नामवर और उभरते हुए शु’अरा  के कलाम से अपनी वाक़फ़ियत  बढ़ाते हुए अपना ज्ञानवर्धन किया । इससे न सिर्फ़ मेरे कलाम की ख़ामियाँ उजागर हुईं, बल्कि मेरी भाषा और विचारों को थोड़ा विस्तार भी मिला । यह तो आपको ही फ़ैसला करना है कि इन सब से मेरे कलाम को कुछ फ़ायदा हुआ भी है या नहीं ।

’अरूज़ के गहन अध्ययन से मुझे कई नई बहरों  और उनके आहंगों  का पता चला । इनमें कई ऐसे थे जिनका प्रयोग उर्दू शा’इरी में या तो हुआ ही नहीं है या इक्का-दुक्का जगह ही नज़र आता है । इसे एक चुनौती समझ मैंने अधिक से अधिक बहरों और आहंगों में ग़ज़लें नज़्म करने की कोशिश करने का निर्णय लिया । यह ज़रूर था कि कई आहंग लयात्मकता की दृष्टि से अन्य के मुक़ाबले थोड़े मुश्किल या कम दिलकश थे । लेकिन मैंने उसे भी एक चुनौती की तरह ही लिया । नतीजा आपके सामने है – इस संग्रह में २४ बहरों के ६५ अलग-अलग आहंगों में ग़ज़लें, नज़्में, क़ित’ए और फ़र्द मौजूद हैं । कुछ एक ग़ज़लें दोहा और रुबाई के आहंगों में भी हैं, हालाँकि इन आहंगों में ’आम तौर पर ग़ज़लें नहीं कही गई हैं ।

अगरचॆ: ’इल्म-ए-सुख़न दस्त-याब है ‘नाक़िद’
रियाज़-ए-फ़न्न-ए-बलाग़त ज़रा है पेचीदा  

यूँ तो इस संग्रह में सम्मिलित सभी ग़ज़लों में मैंने ’अरूज़ से सभी नियमों का पालन करने का पूरा प्रयास किया है, किन्तु एकाध ग़ज़ल में क़ाफ़ियों  के चुनाव में थोड़ी ढील भी बरती है । जैसे, उर्दू अरूज़ के अनुसार ‘बह्र’ और ‘शह्र’ क़ाफ़िया नहीं हो सकते क्यूँकि इन दोनों में प्रयुक्त ‘ह’ उर्दू वर्णमाला की दृष्टि से अलग हैं । लेकिन इन्हें उच्चारण की (ध्वन्यात्मक) दृष्टि से देखते हुए मैंने इन्हें हम-क़ाफ़िया बाँधा है । इसी तरह ‘इत्तिफ़ाक़न’, ‘फ़ौरन’, ‘क़स्दन’, ‘इत्तिला’अन’, इत्यादि को भी उच्चारण की बुनियाद पर ही हम-क़ाफ़िया बाँधा है, जबकि उर्दू ’अरूज़ इस की इजाज़त नहीं देता क्यूँकि यहाँ मूल शब्द (‘इत्तिफ़ाक़’, ‘फ़ौर’, ‘क़स्द’, ‘इत्तिला’अ’) हम-क़ाफ़िया नहीं हैं ।

जहाँ एक ओर मेरा अध्ययन जारी रहा, वहीं मेरा क़लम भी ख़ाली न बैठा । भले ही शुरू’आत में घिसट-घिसट के चला, लेकिन ज़ंग लगने से बचा रहा । धीरे-धीरे मेरी रचनात्मकता लगभग २०१९ में अपने सबसे उपजाऊ दौर में पहुँची । इसका श्रेय कुछ हद तक तो मेरे अपने इरादों को दिया जा सकता है, लेकिन यह भी ज़रूर है कि यही वक़्त था जब मेरे निकट और दुनिया भर में भी आर्थिक, सामजिक और राजनीतिक माहौल बदल रहा था, जो मेरे ख़यालों को नई-नई दिशाओं में भेजता रहा ।

फिर आया २०२०! पूरे विश्व में शायद ही कोई होगा जिसका जीवन कोरोना-काल से अछूता रहा हो । सभी का जीवन अस्त-व्यस्त सा हो गया । सारी दुनिया बस ठहर-सी गई ।  लेकिन मेरे क़लम में जैसे एक नई ऊर्जा का संचार हुआ । एक के बाद एक नई ग़ज़लें उभरने लगीं । इस संग्रह की लगभग दो-तिहाई ग़ज़लें इसी दौर में लिखी गई हैं ।

ऐसा नहीं है कि इन सभी ग़ज़लों के विषय वबा  के इस भयावह दौर, उससे जुड़ी त्रासदियों या मेरे व्यक्तिगत संघर्ष से प्रेरित हैं । दर-अस्ल, आपको इस संग्रह में इन विषयों से सीधे जुड़ी हुई पंक्तियाँ मुश्किल से ही मिलेंगी । इस भयानक दौर ने अगर कुछ किया तो जीवन की अनिश्चितता और क्षणभंगुरता को सामने ला कर खड़ा कर दिया, जो अनेक रूपों में शब्दों का जामा ओढ़े कोरे सफ़्हों पर उतरती रही ।

कई ख़्वाबों के टुकड़े सिरहाने पर पड़े हैं
तमन्नाओं के गोया अधूरे हाफ़िज़े हैं 

यही हैं मेरे हाफ़िज़े के कुछ अधूरे टुकड़े, जो अब आपके हिस्से आ रहे हैं । 

'अधूरे हाफ़िज़े' यहाँ से ख़रीदी जा सकती है:

• पोथी (भारत और विदेश, पेपरबेक और हार्डकवर दोनों)
• अमेज़न (केवल पेपरबैक और भारत में)

आदित्य पन्त ‘नाक़िद’

जून २०२२

My Book of Poems

What began with a few clumsy attempts at rhyme and amateurish versification of words, took shape with the desire to explore the nuances of language from the works of masters, and flourished with the sustained quest for understanding the rules and techniques of the art, has finally found fruition in the form of a book. The ‘Urge to Fly’ has expressed itself.

After some deliberation, I went the self-publishing route to publish my collection of poems - Khwaahish-e-Parwaaz. It took me roughly one month from the time I decided to get my poems published till the book was finally available for public. I thoroughly enjoyed this entire process, which included (apart from the routine work of formatting, proofing, etc.) some significant re-writing and a choice of a takhallus (pen-name). Once I had decided to opt for a takhallus (something I hadn’t seriously considered at all so far), the choice of an apt one came in a matter of minutes. I finally decided to call myself Naaqid (critic).

So now, my book is available for buying for those interested at the following places:

1. India (Pothi.com): http://pothi.com/pothi/book/aditya-pant-khwaahish-e-parwaaz
2. US (Createspace eStore) : https://www.createspace.com/4672864
3. Amazon US: http://www.amazon.com/Khwaahish---Parwaaz-Urge-Hindi-Edition/dp/1495972879/
4. Amazon UK: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Khwaahish---Parwaaz-Urge-Aditya-Pant/dp/1495972879/

Lata –Voice of The Golden Era

When I first heard about a new book on Lata Mangeshkar, I wasn’t too excited. Enough is already known about the legendary singer, and there’re still a lot of mysteries, which have little chance of getting unraveled given the stoic silence the lady maintains about certain controversial aspects of her life. If one wants a hagiographic account of her life, there is always Harish Bhimani’s In Search of Lata Mangeshkar to turn to. For controversial events, malicious rumors and tons of information thrown randomly (and written in the most convoluted and reader unfriendly style), there is Raju Bharatan’s biography and several articles he has written over the decades. For the statistically inclined, there is Vishwas Nerurkar’s Gandhar Swaryatra. There is no better book than Ajatshatru’s Baba Teri Son Chiraiya for a detailed analysis of some of Lata Mangeshkar’s rarest of songs. And if you wanted to hear some thing from the horse’s mouth, Nasreen Munni Kabeer’s documentary and a subsequent book Lata- In Her Own Voice had already covered that.

So what new insights could this book offer? ?

Prior to the release of the book, the author – Dr. Mandar V. Bichu – started a group on Facebook where he uploaded the scanned contents of the books… and my interest was piqued. I hadn’t seen an account of Lata’s collaboration with all major composers at one place before. I knew of a similar book by the same author, but since that was in Marathi I could never have read that. Moreover, a composer-wise analysis is also of great personal interest to me and I have made some attempts at that on this blog. Of course, I wouldn’t even dare to call my blog posts as analysis of any kind, for they are more a random listing of some songs I like. Anyway, after seeing the contents, I was sure I wanted a copy of the book…. even though the price tag was very high! As soon as the book was available for purchase, I booked my order online and received the book in 3 days.

My first reaction on getting the book was – “ Wow, this is one heavy book!” What else can you expect from 415 page hard-bound book printed on high-quality glossy paper? This meant that I did not have the luxury of cursorily reading it lying on a bed. This, actually, proved to be a blessing in disguise because if I wanted to read it I had to sit on a desk with no other distraction. While this took me a while to finish the book, the book had my complete attention while I was reading through it.

I knew this was the book for me when I read the author’s “Prelude” to the book. Some words rang so true that it almost felt as if they were my words. I quote – “I feel my main qualification to write about Lata is my steadfast refusal to block my appreciative ears just because a particular song belongs to a particular era or a particular composer… In fact, by remaining aware of all the phases of Lata’s output in her six decade long career, I feel I am in a much better position to analyse it in totality” I completely subscribe to this view. In order to write authoritatively about a person one has to have a thorough exposure to the person’s complete career span. And that is what makes this book so balanced.

A major portion of the book is dedicated to an account of Lata’s partnership with most major composers. For most part, the author has not got swayed by either quantity or quality. So highly prolific composers like Laxmikant Pyarelal, Shankar Jaikishan, Rahul Dev Burman and Kalyanji Anandji find a chapter dedicated, as do composers like Jaidev, Khemchand Prakash, Khaiyyam and Hridaynath, whose output with Lata in Hindi films was somewhat limited. And one finds the same depth of analysis while talking about prolific but much-reviled-among-the-cognoscenti composers like Laxmikant Pyarelal and Kalyanji Anandji, as those like Jaidev who have a very small, but critically acclaimed, collaboration with Lata.

Following a detailed account of Lata’s output with 17 composers, the book has two more chapters on her work with other noteworthy composers of the “golden era” as well as the “post-golden era”.

My only grouse is that Chitragupta, a terribly under-rated music composer who, as luck would have it, got confined to mostly B and C grade films, but hardly ever compromised on quality to produce some really melodious songs for Lata, did not get a separate chapter in the book. In my opinion, he deserved it! Some years back when I had included Chitragupta in my blog about Lata’s collaboration with “lesser known composer”, many people protested that he did not belong among lesser known composer. The fact that he is again relegated to a few paragraphs in this major book, vindicates my stand. Having said that, the selection of composers for detailed analysis was the author’s prerogative and maybe someday we will find him writing in detail about the marvelous Lata-Chitragupta collaboration.

One of the other interesting parts of the book is the author’s 17 year old telephonic interview with Lata Mangeshkar. While the interview doesn’t reveal any earth-shattering, hitherto unknown facts (you can’t expect that in any Lata interview), it does have some interesting tidbits like Lata’s surprising views about Vasant Desai’s music, her sarcastic reaction to Anuradha Paudwal’s early 90s effort of paying tributes to Madan Mohan, Shankar Jaikishan, and her take on her tandem songs where the male versions were usually more popular.

Another interesting chapter is the one where the author talks about why Lata continues to sing way beyond her prime. And he finishes this chapter with a reference to the song she rendered exactly a year ago on Maharashtra Day (apparently recorded a few days earlier, but still by an 80+ Lata). His reaction, like many others who heard her sing that day – “Thank God, she continued to sing!” Here is a clip:

The book ends with my most favourite chapter – the author’s take on what actually makes Lata ‘Lata’. He neatly sums up with an either/ or reasoning for why just about every composer (even the most obscure ones) has at least one amazing composition for Lata…. “so either we could say that they all had reserved their best tunes for her, or we could say that she inspired them to come up with their best tunes and then mad them better!”

The author has revealed his answer in the book. And I’m sure you too have your answer in your mind.

Water of Life

Mohammad Hussain Azad's Aab-e-hayaat (Water of Life) is regarded as the first documented 'history' of Urdu literature. It is a book that has shaped and influenced the thoughts of the Urdu literary community all through the 20th century. I'm not much of an on-line reader, so while a link to the online version of the English translation by F.W Pritchett and S.R Faruqui figures prominently in my IE favorites folder, I desperately wanted to own a copy of the book. So you can imagine my delight when I found an old copy of this translation at a bookshop last week.

As I opened the book, I was quite amused by the very first line. The translators try to warn the reader –

"Āb-e ḥayāt is not a trustworthy history of Urdu literature. It cannot and should not be read as such."

Now, this is interesting… the first documented 'history' of Urdu literature is not 'trustworthy' after all. As I dived deeper into the initial chapters – the translators' introductory notes – it became obvious to me that the translators felt very strongly about what Azad had written in this seminal book.

"The unique power exerted by Āb-e ḥayāt is what made us decide to translate this exasperating, moving, wrongheaded, fascinating, all-too-persuasive text."

As I moved further along, I understood why FWP and SRF used these words to describe the book. While theorizing on the history of Urdu literature, Azad starts off with a critique, going completely ballistic in condemning the stagnation that had crept into classical Urdu poetry. Given the influential status of Azad's book, generations of critics that came after him perpetuated the same thought process, so much so that classical Urdu poetry (ghazal in particular) lost its stature in the eyes of the people. It's quite common to read points of view that condemn the ghazal as 'decadent' or 'immoral'.

Azad's main concern, however ill-founded it was, was that by drawing Persian imagery and metaphors into Urdu poetry, and then by holding on to it, the Urdu language was stagnating. His point is that many of the conventions used in classical Urdu poetry are alien to the Hindustani milieu and no efforts were made to lend vibrancy to the language by indigenizing or even widening the scope of these metaphors, or for that matter exploring new themes. He had a problem with ghazal restricting itself primarily to themes of love and sensuousness, which is thought of as 'immoral'.

This is how Azad puts it:

"Those same fixed things! Here and there we move the words around, here and there we do some substitutions--and we keep on composing with them. As if they're morsels that have already been eaten--or at least chewed--by other people. We chew on them, and we're happy. Think about it--what relish do they still have left? Beauty and love--marvelous!--very fine! But for how long? Whether she's a Houri or a Pari, once you're stuck with her, she becomes sickening. How long can it be till you get fed up with beauty and love? And by now she's become a hundred-year-old crone!"

Azad was not alone in this thinking. Altaf Hussain 'Hali', who was even more vitriolic in his diatribe against classical Urdu poetic traditions, went on to say the exact same thing in his critique. I have read Azad and Hali only cursorily, so I can't really comment on the validity of their attacks, but it sure makes for some very interesting reading.

Interestingly, both Azad and Hali, and many others after them, start their histories with scathing attacks on the quality of Urdu literature. The work of their successors compelled Ralph Russell to write a brilliant piece called How Not to Write the History of Urdu literature. His point – "if you don’t think much of Urdu Literature, please don't go to the trouble of writing a history of it"

The bigger problem with Azad's and Hali's views is that they take their Anglophilia to ridiculous heights by proclaiming Western poetry to be much superior to classical Urdu poetry because it was based on 'nature' and things 'real', whereas Urdu poetry was prone to extreme exaggeration and 'unreal' themes. They prescribe the adoption of 'natural' poetry, like - say - Wordsworth. They even urge – at least Hali does in no uncertain terms – that poets should look at the West for inspiration.

'हाली' अब आओ पैरवी-ए-मग़रिबी करें
बस इक़्तिदा-ए-मुसहफ़ी-ओ-मीर हो चुकी

'Hali', come now, let us follow the West;
Enough of the leadership of 'Mus-hafi' and 'Mir'

What? An urge to imitate the West? As FWP would ask: What next? Wordsworthify Ghalib?

I need to read more of Azad and Hali before I can comment on this aspect of their critique, but from the face of it they seem to ask poets to strip the ghazal of its inherent charm, which comes through exaggeration and abundant use of metaphors.

Bitten by the Reading Bug

I know a lot of people who love to spend their spare time reading a book - reading is a passion for them. Almost all of them picked the habit as a kid. In that respect, I’m more of an exception. The reading bug never bit me as a kid, though my parents, especially my mom, were always strong advocates of reading as a habit. They would take my brother and me to Book Fairs and buy a lot of books for us, but while my brother took on to reading fairly early – making quantum jumps from Enid Blytons to Hardy Boys to Ludlums by the time he was 10, the habit never really caught on with me. If at all I read anything, it was only due to peer pressure; I didn't want to feel left out when my brother and our friends discussed the latest Hardy Boys adventure. I didn't enjoy reading as a kid. I didn't have the patience for it.

It was fairly late in life that I truly discovered the pleasure of reading. Actually, it was the writing bug that bit me first. It started with a diary that I maintained very religiously, then I moved to the next logical step of shaping my diary into a semi-autographical book, and finally I found my passion - poetry. And when I started writing, I was naturally drawn towards reading. Since I had chosen Hindi and Urdu as the languages of choice for my poetry, I mostly read classical Hindi Literature and Urdu poetry. After a while, the language didn't matter. I was hooked and would read just about anything I could lay my hands on.

Books have been my constant companion for many years now. They have been with me through thick and thin. There have been times where I have neglected them due to pressures of time, but like a faithful friend they have never left me. The kind of comfort and solace one finds in friendship, I find in books. If I'm not in the best of moods, if I'm depressed, if I'm lonely, or, for that matter, if I'm in high spirits, if I'm elated – books have always been with me. They are with me, yet give me the space I sometimes yearn for.

When I'm in a depressingly philosophical mood, I think books are in fact better than people. They don't have the power to hurt you, or have expectations that you can't possibly live up to. If you aren't able to give them enough attention, they don't accuse you of being detached, or insensitive, or inconsiderate. On the flip side, if you spend a lot of time with them, they don't question your motives, or look for intentions where none exist, or undermine your feelings, or demand their space, or want to cut-off, or expect a realignment...They remain with you unconditionally.

I'm amazed at the number of books I've read in the last 2-3 months. And these books don't fall into any particular genre. I've read poetry (Ghalib, Gulzar, Vikram Seth), biographies (Ghalib, Two Lives), short stories (Gulzar, Jhumpa Lahiri), books about relationships (An Equal Music, A Misalliance), family saga (A Suitable Boy), magic-realism (Shalimar the Clown), chewing-gum fiction (Chetan Bhagat variety), thrillers (Dan Brown type), and even Harry Potter books all over again. Right now I'm reading Jhumpa Lahiri's 'Namesake'. And I have already bought a few more books that I would read after that. I've enjoyed reading each of these books despite the inconsistency in their literary value. More importantly, they have helped me tide over the tough times I have been through. They have been my true friends, my soulmates.