by Sham Dass Khanna
Dr. Gopi Chand Narang writes, “Firaq Gorakhpuri was a giant of poetry. To many, Firaq was one of the greatest poets of Urdu ranking next only to Mir Taqi Mir, Ghalib and Iqbal. He left a deep impress on Urdu poetry and inspired many generations of Urdu poets both in India and Pakistan. His poetry is marked by a lyrical quality and depth of feeling unparalleled in Urdu poetry.”
He prided in representing the Aryan mind in Urdu and made his Ghazal reflect Indianness. His verse echoed the finest shades of Indian culture, ancient, medieval and modern.”
Firaq defined poetry as a heightened awareness of the world and he showed this heightened awareness in his Ghazals and Nazams for nearly half a century. About his Ghazals, critic Niaz says, “He takes the top position among his contemporaries, the grace and texture of his verse are so pure and pleasing that we can rate it as the ultimate in intellectual delectation.”
Firaq was conscious of his primacy. Some days before his death, an interviewer asked what he thought of the statement that many considered him the greatest Urdu poet after Ghalib.” His reply was, “How can I say anything different from what others say about me?”
A bitter critic of Hindi, which he considered utterly incapable of being anybody’s language, Firaq was a great admirer of Ramayana and Mahabharata. He never accepted Tulsidas, Surdas or Kabir as Hindi poets. As for Hindi poets like Maithili Sharan Gupta, Suryakant Tripathi Nirala and Sumitranandan Pant, he said their language was crude and an ugliness made vocal.
Firaq was the trendsetter in impressionistic criticism. He rediscovered some of the classical Urdu poets through his articles in his analytical book ANDAZE which he considered as the first example of impressionistic AESTNETICAL criticism in Urdu literature. In his poetry, he was influenced by English poets like Wordsworth, Keats, Shelley and Byron as also by the “Shringar Rasa” of Sanskrit poetry. He inspired a whole generation of new poets in Urdu language. He was a romantist but his poetry also gave expression to the humanism of India as reflected in the various shades of the country’s culture. At the same time, Firaq considered English, the language he taught at the Allahabad University, the only medium which could bring the Indians in touch with the world.
The third son in the family, Firaq received conventional education like his brothers, sisters and cousins, but as he himself put it once, the legends, facts, songs and scenes affected him so intensely “that they often became unbearable with their power of joy or sorrow.” As a child, he was shy and wanted to “remain as unnoticed as a broom.”
In 1913, Raghupati Sahai Firaq came to Allahabad for college education. By this time, he was married. However, this marriage was a disaster, and he expressed his bitterness about it in a poem Hind (the cradle), which he wrote in 1960.
He graduated from the Allahabad University in 1918. Two years later, he was selected for the Indian Civil Services, from which he resigned to join Mahatma Gandhi in the freedom struggle. He did his M.A. in English from the Agra University in 1920 and became a lecturer in the Allahabad University. While teaching English, he started writing poetry in Urdu. Firaq’s forte was “Rubai”. He wrote with equal ease the Ghazal and the Nazam, which have been published in an anthology of 90 pieces in Gul-e-Nagma. The anthology brought him Jnanpith Award in 1969.
Firaq’s Ghazal shows that he first digested the tradition he inherited, and only then introduced the new dimensions of physical love. His poetry is not bound by the temporal but marked by the universal.
Here are some couplets of Firaq:
Orhni Uski Hawaein Hai Ke Taron Bhari Raat,
Kisi Ghunghat Hi Ko Sarkao Ke Kuchh Raat Katae.
(She is draped in the breezes or the star filled sky! Gently remove the veil, so that the night passes by.)
Kis Liye Kam Nahin Hai Dard Firaq
Ab To Who Dhyan Se Utar Bhi Gaye.
Tujhe To Haath Lagaya Hai Barha Lekin
Tire Khayal Ko Chhute Hue Main Darta Hun
(I have fondled you so many times, but I fear even to care the thought of you.)
Tum Mukhatib Bhi Ho Qarib Bhi Ho
Tum Ko Dekhun Ke Tum Ko Pyar Karun
(You are attentive, and you are close. Shall I look at you or speak to you?)
And now specimen of his quatains:-
He prided in representing the Aryan mind in Urdu and made his Ghazal reflect Indianness. His verse echoed the finest shades of Indian culture, ancient, medieval and modern.”
Firaq defined poetry as a heightened awareness of the world and he showed this heightened awareness in his Ghazals and Nazams for nearly half a century. About his Ghazals, critic Niaz says, “He takes the top position among his contemporaries, the grace and texture of his verse are so pure and pleasing that we can rate it as the ultimate in intellectual delectation.”
Firaq was conscious of his primacy. Some days before his death, an interviewer asked what he thought of the statement that many considered him the greatest Urdu poet after Ghalib.” His reply was, “How can I say anything different from what others say about me?”
A bitter critic of Hindi, which he considered utterly incapable of being anybody’s language, Firaq was a great admirer of Ramayana and Mahabharata. He never accepted Tulsidas, Surdas or Kabir as Hindi poets. As for Hindi poets like Maithili Sharan Gupta, Suryakant Tripathi Nirala and Sumitranandan Pant, he said their language was crude and an ugliness made vocal.
Firaq was the trendsetter in impressionistic criticism. He rediscovered some of the classical Urdu poets through his articles in his analytical book ANDAZE which he considered as the first example of impressionistic AESTNETICAL criticism in Urdu literature. In his poetry, he was influenced by English poets like Wordsworth, Keats, Shelley and Byron as also by the “Shringar Rasa” of Sanskrit poetry. He inspired a whole generation of new poets in Urdu language. He was a romantist but his poetry also gave expression to the humanism of India as reflected in the various shades of the country’s culture. At the same time, Firaq considered English, the language he taught at the Allahabad University, the only medium which could bring the Indians in touch with the world.
The third son in the family, Firaq received conventional education like his brothers, sisters and cousins, but as he himself put it once, the legends, facts, songs and scenes affected him so intensely “that they often became unbearable with their power of joy or sorrow.” As a child, he was shy and wanted to “remain as unnoticed as a broom.”
In 1913, Raghupati Sahai Firaq came to Allahabad for college education. By this time, he was married. However, this marriage was a disaster, and he expressed his bitterness about it in a poem Hind (the cradle), which he wrote in 1960.
He graduated from the Allahabad University in 1918. Two years later, he was selected for the Indian Civil Services, from which he resigned to join Mahatma Gandhi in the freedom struggle. He did his M.A. in English from the Agra University in 1920 and became a lecturer in the Allahabad University. While teaching English, he started writing poetry in Urdu. Firaq’s forte was “Rubai”. He wrote with equal ease the Ghazal and the Nazam, which have been published in an anthology of 90 pieces in Gul-e-Nagma. The anthology brought him Jnanpith Award in 1969.
Firaq’s Ghazal shows that he first digested the tradition he inherited, and only then introduced the new dimensions of physical love. His poetry is not bound by the temporal but marked by the universal.
Here are some couplets of Firaq:
Orhni Uski Hawaein Hai Ke Taron Bhari Raat,
Kisi Ghunghat Hi Ko Sarkao Ke Kuchh Raat Katae.
(She is draped in the breezes or the star filled sky! Gently remove the veil, so that the night passes by.)
Kis Liye Kam Nahin Hai Dard Firaq
Ab To Who Dhyan Se Utar Bhi Gaye.
Tujhe To Haath Lagaya Hai Barha Lekin
Tire Khayal Ko Chhute Hue Main Darta Hun
(I have fondled you so many times, but I fear even to care the thought of you.)
Tum Mukhatib Bhi Ho Qarib Bhi Ho
Tum Ko Dekhun Ke Tum Ko Pyar Karun
(You are attentive, and you are close. Shall I look at you or speak to you?)
And now specimen of his quatains:-
Doshiza Ka Faza Mein Lahlahaya Hua Roop
Aaina-e-Subh Mein Jhalakta Hua Roop
Yeh Naram Nikhar, Yeh Sigil Dhaj Yeh Sugandh
Ras Mein Hai Kanwarepan Ka Duba Hua Roop.
(Against the immaculate air this understanding Beauty
In the mirror of the dawn, this shining beauty,
The soft glow, the elegant figure, the fragrtance
Steeped in the elixir of virginity, this Beauty.)
Hai Byahata Par Roop Abhi Kunwara Hai
Man Hai Par Ada Jo Bhi Hai Dishiza Hai
Who Mad Bhari, Mang Bhari, God Bhari
Kanya Hai Suhagan Hai Jagat Mata Hai.
(She is married, but her Beauty still is virgin
She is a mother, but all her charm is still untouched
She is joy-filled, her hair-part filled, her lap is filled
She is a daughter, a happy wife, mankind’s mother.)
In the words of Dr. Gopi Chand Narang, “Though this type of verse, both on the sematic and expression levels, Firaq introduced a new tenderness and new intimacy to Urdu lyric poetry. His sensuousness reminds one of Sanskrit literature. Obviously he has been influenced by Indian classical literature and the theory of Rasa, and one can make a stray of the parallels between the two. He seems to have the mind of modern man but the heart of an ancient Aryan, and he has separately said that he wanted to make his poetry the voice of the very soul of India. Under the impact of his verse, Urdu poetry gradually became more conscious of its Indian heritage. Firaq was a great advocate of Khari Boli Hindustani, which forms the common base for both Hindi and Urdu.” His compositions were a great source of inspiration and gave a new direction to urdu literature. He epitomized the highest form of patriotism, steadfastness and intellectual reliance.
Firaq belonged to a middle class Hindu Kayastha family. He joined Allahabad University as a lecturer in English Literature. He was never accorded Professorship so as not to burden him with chorus that would have detracted from his creativity. His lectures were more in the nature of conversations with his students, laced with his brilliant wit, ranging from Keats to Kalidas with dazzling virtuosity. This enormous range was part of Firaq’s repertoire till the very end.
Aaina-e-Subh Mein Jhalakta Hua Roop
Yeh Naram Nikhar, Yeh Sigil Dhaj Yeh Sugandh
Ras Mein Hai Kanwarepan Ka Duba Hua Roop.
(Against the immaculate air this understanding Beauty
In the mirror of the dawn, this shining beauty,
The soft glow, the elegant figure, the fragrtance
Steeped in the elixir of virginity, this Beauty.)
Hai Byahata Par Roop Abhi Kunwara Hai
Man Hai Par Ada Jo Bhi Hai Dishiza Hai
Who Mad Bhari, Mang Bhari, God Bhari
Kanya Hai Suhagan Hai Jagat Mata Hai.
(She is married, but her Beauty still is virgin
She is a mother, but all her charm is still untouched
She is joy-filled, her hair-part filled, her lap is filled
She is a daughter, a happy wife, mankind’s mother.)
In the words of Dr. Gopi Chand Narang, “Though this type of verse, both on the sematic and expression levels, Firaq introduced a new tenderness and new intimacy to Urdu lyric poetry. His sensuousness reminds one of Sanskrit literature. Obviously he has been influenced by Indian classical literature and the theory of Rasa, and one can make a stray of the parallels between the two. He seems to have the mind of modern man but the heart of an ancient Aryan, and he has separately said that he wanted to make his poetry the voice of the very soul of India. Under the impact of his verse, Urdu poetry gradually became more conscious of its Indian heritage. Firaq was a great advocate of Khari Boli Hindustani, which forms the common base for both Hindi and Urdu.” His compositions were a great source of inspiration and gave a new direction to urdu literature. He epitomized the highest form of patriotism, steadfastness and intellectual reliance.
Firaq belonged to a middle class Hindu Kayastha family. He joined Allahabad University as a lecturer in English Literature. He was never accorded Professorship so as not to burden him with chorus that would have detracted from his creativity. His lectures were more in the nature of conversations with his students, laced with his brilliant wit, ranging from Keats to Kalidas with dazzling virtuosity. This enormous range was part of Firaq’s repertoire till the very end.
