ASAD - 50

Originally posted on rec.music.indian.misc in 1995

This is the half-century of this series! And keeping with the tradition (!), it's time for a Sher praising a great Shayar and also for a Sher by GHalib. Of course, both the objectives can be met as usual in one Sher :-) Mehdi Hasan has done a truly fantastic job with this GHazal.

dekh to, dil ki jaaN se uTHataa hai
ye dhuaaN sa, kahaaN se uTHataa hai

So much 'dard' in just one Sher is possible only with 'Mir' Taqi Mir !

But very surprisingly, there are very very few GHazals by Mir which have been sung ! I don't remember anybody except Mehdi Hasan singing a GHazal by Mir. What surprises me, is not just because of the fact that Mir is perhaps the greatest of all the Shayars. But his GHazals are amazingly simple to understand and appreciate. Also, *music* is integral part of Mir's Shayari. His style was conversationalist, using more of Urdu and Hindi than Farasi. And the fluidity, the rhythm is always present.

About his style, the great Zauk (a contemporary of GHalib) said ...

na huaa, par na huaa, 'Mir' ka andaaz naseeb !
'Zauk', yaaroN ne bahut zor, GHazal me maaraa !!

In his compilation of "Deewan-e-Mir", Ali Sardar Jafferey says a lot about Mir's greatness in just one paragraph. I cannot resist the temptation of loosely translating it.

"Shayar has been given the status of "KHuda ka shishya", and has been placed as "Paigambar" too. But Mir Taqi Mir is the only Shayar who is called as "Shayari ka KHuda"!! Mir is not the only one to be called as the greatest ever. But still it's a fact that Mir tops the list of Urdu Shayars. Today, Ghalib and Iqbal are more popular than Mir. Their books sell more, their Shers are more known. But the greatness of Ghalib and Iqbal has been challenged. But no Shayar in any period has dared to challenge Mir's greatness."

What a praise !

And if you are not yet convinced, here is one by GHalib ...

aqeedaa = belief
bakaule-'Naasikh' = according to Naasikh (another poet)
be-bahara = unfortunate/stupid
motaqid-e-'Mir' = Mir ke prati shraddha rakhane_waale

'GHalib', apanaa to aqeedaa hai bakaule-'Naasikh'
aap be-bahara haiN, jo motaqid-e-'Mir' nahiN

Forget the Urdu, what GHalib says is - if you are not a worshiper of Mir, then you are stupid !!

Now you can sure appreciate, why Mir is so respected! I would try to find every excuse to post a Mir's sher. Promise.

- Abhay.
ASAD _also_ stands for "A Sher A Day" !