15 August: Learn From Our Urdu Poets About India’s Independence

Any talk of 15 August invariably takes us back to that muggy monsoon day 72 years ago when a nation came into being after a long and bloody parturition. The events of 1947 were witnessed by some of the finest writers who saw and commented on what they had experienced; in many cases, at first hand.For many, those experiences coloured what they wrote. For the progressive poets and writers in Urdu, especially those who were members of the Communist Party, Partition and the freedom that came in its wake, was a ‘false freedom’. Taking the Party's line, many poets spoke of the sense of inadequacy, the squandering of dreams that the dawn of freedom brought in. By far the most famous comment on the Partition is contained in Subah-e Azaadi by Faiz Ahmad Faiz:Yeh daagh daagh ujala yeh shab-gazida sehrWoh intezar tha jiska yeh woh sehr to nahi(This patchy light, this night-bitten dawnThis is not the dawn we had been waiting for)Dear Soldier, We Dedicate ‘Ae Watan’ from ‘Raazi’ to You Questioning The Bitter Fruit Of PartitionThere was a great deal of questioning among poets, writers and thinkers about what was, still, for many, the bitter fruit of Partition. For instance, here is Akhtarul Iman voicing the disquiet and despair of an entire generation in his Pandrah Agust ('15 August'):Yahi din hai jiske liye maine kati thee in ankhon mein raateinYahi seeli aab-e baqa, chasma noor hai, jalwa-e toor hai?Issi ke liye woh suhane, madhur, rasbhare geet gaye they maine?(Was it for this day that I had spent so many sleepless nightsFor this damp water of eternity, this stream of light, this mountain of miraclesWas it for this I had sung all those sweet, melodious songs...)With time, however, the poet and the writer began to take note of the immense possibilities of social transformation that freedom from colonial yoke allowed a new nation finding its feet, and taking the first steps towards a post-colonial modernity. Even those who clung to the progressive fold, increasingly found little reason not to join Jawaharlal Nehru’s rousing call towards the nation-building project.Dear Soldiers, You Truly Are the Brave Sons of This Nation‘Chhorho Kal Ki Baatein...’When the Prime Minister talked of building the new ‘temples’ of India – namely, the schools, colleges, dams, factories – the poets and writers responded with full-throated abandon.The film lyricists in particular, helped in spreading the idea of independence and the possibilities it offered. The IPTA poet Prem Dhawan wrote:Chhorho kal ki baatein, kal ki baat puraniiNaye daur mein likhenge hum milkar nayi kahani,Hum hindustani, Hum Hindustani...(Forget about yesterday, yesterday is old news Let us together write a new story in this new age We are Indians, we are Indians…)‘Faasle Sab Dilon Ke Mitaatey Chalo’Even after Nehru’s death, the vestiges of a buoyant, optimistic Nehruvian India, committed to secularism and social justice continued to be found. In K. A. Abbas’s Saat Hindustani (1969), for instance, we see the film lyricist Kaifi Azmi exhorting his fellow countrymen and women — almost in Soviet style — to move forward and build a new and prosperous India.Faasle sab dilon ke mitaatey chaloApne seene se sabko lagatey chalo(Move forward, removing distances between heartsMeet others, embrace them as you move forward)Firakh Gorakhpuri, the quintessential ghazal-go, is optimistic about independence and all that it entails.Even his choice of words is indicative of a bouncing effervescence and youthfulness:Lahu vatan ke shahidon ka rang laaya haiUchhal raha hai zamane men nam-e-azadi(The blood of the country’s martyrs is showing its resultsThe name of freedom is bouncing in the world)72 Years of Independence: Watershed Moments That Shaped IndiaUnited In The Spirit Of ServiceFor Arsh Malsiyani, the fervour for independence and all the joys it brings remains unadulterated in this nazm entitled ‘15 August’ written in 1949.The poet speaks of the much-awaited day of independence, and how everyone should come together amidst cries of ‘Jai Hind’, and that spirit of service that has become listless:Jab ḳhurshid-e-azadi ki phuTi thi kiran woh din aayaChamke the ziya-e-ḳhas se jab kohsar-o-daman vo din aayaJab qaid-e-qafas se chhuTe the murġhan-e-chaman vo din aayaBe-teġh-o-sinan jab badli thi taqdir-e-vatan vo din aayaHangam-e-tarab hai ahl-e-vatan hangam-e-tarab hai ġham na karoAhista-ravi hi manzil hai manzil ka yunhi matam na karoBimar-e-vatan ne paa.i hai mushkil se dava-e-azadiKanon ko suna.i deti hai har samt nida-e-azadiHar ḳhurd-o-kalan har pir-o-javan hai aaj nida-e-azadiYeh koshish sab par lazim hai daa.im ho baqa-e-azadiAzadi-e-nau-maulud ko ab parvan chaḌhao to janenMushkil hai baḌi is mushkil ko asan banao to janenAġhyar ki ta.alimat pe to sar dhunna kar-e-tiflan haiAvara-mizaji ke sadqe avara-mizaji asan haiRah-e-pur-ḳhar-e-amal men jo pa-mard rahe vo insan haiSahil se use kuchh kaam nahin jo vaqif-e-ishrat-e-tufan haiIss yaum-e-mubarak par mil kar jai hind pukaro ahl-e-vatanJo jazba-e-ḳhidmat sust hai ab phir us ko ubharo ahl-e-vatanWeekend Listens: Learning Urdu Words, Chatting With Hrithik & MoreDrawing New Courage For New DirectionNazeer Banarasi, who wrote several nationalistic poems and was extremely popular in his day, writes in yet another poem entitled ‘15 August’, using imagery culled from pastoral and romantic poetry, speaks with unabashed hope and optimism of drawing courage for new directions:GhaTa hai ghanghor raat kaali faza men bijli chamak rahi haiMilan ka siina ubhar par hai birah ki chhati dhaḌak rahi haiHava jo masti mein chuur ho kar qadam qadam par bahak rahi haiKamar hai har shaḳh-e-gul ki nazuk Thahar Thahar kar lachak rahi haiHava pe chalta hai hukm in ka ghaTa.en bharti hain in ka paaniInhin se surḳhi bahar ki hai inhin se barsat ki kahaniInhin se chashme inhin se jharne inhin se jharnon ki naġhma-ḳhvaniInhin se parbat inhin se dariya inhin se dariyaon ki ravaniFareb de kar chali na jaa.en baḌi dhuen-dhar hain ghaTa.enJab aa ga.i hain to jam ke barse baġhair barse na lauT jaa.enMiley naya sab ko ek jivan chaman khilen khet lahlaha.enHava mohabbat ka raag alape kisan dharti ke giit gaa.enYahan pe hai sab ka ek darja koi bhi chhoTa baḌa nahin haiJahan pe ho imtiyaz is ka vo mai-kada mai-kada nahin haiNikal zara ghar se ġham ke maare urus-e-fitrat ke kar nazareSaza samajh kar na kaaT pyare ye zindagi hai saza nahin haiKiya hai jis jis ne duur andhera use use raushni men laaoJahan jahan dafn hai ujala vahan vahan par diye jalaoQasam hai azadi-e-vatan ki adavat aapas ki bhuul jaaoKiya ho jis ne gila tumhara use bhi baḌh kar gale lagaoQadam jo aage baḌha.e sab ki zaban se doharao vo kahani'Nazir' pandrah august se lo na.e irade na.i javanihava se kah do ki saaz chheḌe amar shahidon ke bankpan kaSunao yaaro vatan ke naġhme ye din hai azadi-e-vatan kaJaved Akhtar’s Definitive Poem, ‘Pandrah August’The most definitive poem on 15 August can be said to be the one penned by Javed Akhtar and recited on 15 August 2007 at the very place in the Parliament from where Jawaharlal Nehru declared India's independence from the British Empire on 15 August 1947.Also entitled ‘Pandrah August’, it stresses the historical importance of that very spot from where the centuries-old black night was defeated. It also reminds us of how we, as a nation, had vowed to heal the wounds on our collective psyche. All the oppressed who were ‘without a tongue’, have found a tongue in the decades since that day; today, they ask questions and demand answers.While much has been achieved, a lot still remains to be done as Javed Akhtar says in this lyrical, joyful yet cautioning poem:Yahi jagah thi yahi din tha aur yahi lamhatSaron pe chhai thi sadiyon se ik jo kaali raatIsi jagah isi din to mili thi us ko maatIsi jagah isi din to hua tha ye elaanAndhere haar ga.e zindabad hindostanYahin to ham ne kaha tha ye kar dikhana haiJo zaḳhm tan pe hai bharat ke us ko bharna haiJo daaġh mathe pe bharat ke hai miTana haiYahin to khaa.i thi ham sab ne ye qasam us dinYahin se nikle the apne safar pe ham us dinYahin tha guunj uTha vande-matram us dinHai jur.aton ka safar vaqt ki hai rahguzar‘Jo Zulm Sahte The, Woh Ab Hisab Mangte Hain’Nazar ke samne hai saaTh miil ka pattharkoi jo puchhe kiya kya hai kuchh kiya hai agarTo us se kah do ki vo aa.e dekh le aa karLagaya ham ne tha jamhuriyat ka jo paudhaWoh aaj ek ghanera sa uncha bargad haiAur us ke saa.e mein kya badla kitna badla haiKab intiha hai koi is ki kab koi had haiChamak dikhate hain zarre ab asmanon koZaban mil ga.i hai saare be-zabanon koJo zulm sahte the woh ab hisab mangte hainSaval karte hain aur phir javab mangte hainYe kal ki baat hai sadiyon purani baat nahinKi kal talak tha yahan kuchh bhi apne haath nahinVideshi raaj ne sab kuchh nichoḌ Daala thaHamare desh ka har kargha toḌ Daala thaJo mulk suui ki ḳhatir tha auron ka muhtajHazaron chizen vo duniya ko de raha hai aajNaya zamana liye ik umang aaya haiKaroḌon logon ke chehre pe rang aaya haiYe sab kisi ke karam se na hai inayat seYahan tak aaya hai Bharat ḳhud apni mehnat seJo kamyabi hai us ki ḳhushi to puuri haiMagar ye yaad bhi rakhna bahut zaruri haiki dastan hamari abhi adhuri hai‘Musafiro Abhi Baaqi Hai Kuchh Safar Apna’Bahut hua hai magar phir bhi ye kami to haiBahut se honThon pe muskan aa ga.i lekinBahut si ankhen hai jin men abhi nami to haiYahi jagah thi yahi din tha aur yahi lamhatYahin to dekha tha ik ḳhvab sochi thi ik baatMusafiron ke dilon men ḳhayal aata haiHar ik zamir ke aage saval aata haiWoh baat yaad hai ab tak hamen ki bhuul ga.eWoh ḳhvab ab bhi salamat hai ya fuzul ga.eChale the dil men liye jo irade puure hueYe kaun hai ki jo yadon men charḳha kat.ta haiYe kaun hai jo hamen aaj bhi batata haiHai va.ada ḳhud se nibhana hamen agar apnaTo karvan nahin ruk paa.e bhuul kar apnaHai thoḌi duur abhi sapnon ka nagar apnaMusafiro abhi baaqi hai kuchh safar apnaPerhaps the best way to celebrate 15 August this year would be, as this poem shows us, to bear in mind that independence is a goal, not a destination; it is always a journey towards a greater good.Rakhshanda Jalil is a writer, translator and literary historian. She writes on literature, culture and society. She runs Hindustani Awaaz, an organisation devoted to the popularisation of Urdu literature. She tweets at @RakhshandaJalil. This is an opinion piece and the views expressed above are the author’s own. The Quint neither endorses nor is responsible for the same.)

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15 August: Learn From Our Urdu Poets About India’s Independence

The events of 1947 were witnessed by some of the finest writers who saw and commented on what they had experienced.

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Topics: Jawaharlal Nehru Javed Akhtar Democracy