Nazir Jahangir
Infact, Kashmiri Adab is gasping for survival?
It seems to me that at present Kashmiri Adab faces crises. Kashmiri Adab yearns to see an era when literary capabilities manifest its signs again as surfaced five/six decades ago. Things were different back then. Literary heavyweights like Mehjor, Azad, Rahi, Akhter, Kamil, Bharati, Chaman, Saqi, Nirdosh, Zarif, Raaz, Zafar, Fahim, Gohar, Rehbar, Sadhu, Pushkar Bhan, Pran Kishore, Lone, Fazil, Mirza Arif, Nazkis, Ahad Zargar, Samad Mir, Nadim, Shouq, Majroh, Mishal, Hajni, Ponpor, Hari Krishen Koul, and so many others (their names elude me this time) shine today as well, on the literary firmament like bright stars. But afterwards we witnessed vacuum. Why creative writings of that level and standard do not happen now?
It needs passion, an intense emotion, a desire, a positive affinity to do something practically and revive the literary enthusiasm. It is still encouraging that our literary environment has not reached the state where flogging a dead horse is pointless. A man can live even his whole body is paralysed provided his heart beating continues. There remains possibility that healing to the rest of the body can happen over time. So I believe the heart of Kashmiri culture and literary temperament is still alive but capabilities need a boost. Yes, this literary body has gone into coma and we need to infuse new spirit in it and try to inculcate a fresh culture.
World has changed, so the literary tastes and trends. We as writers too have to go with the tune of time. If we lag behind, we will be swept to the junkyard of history. In some European countries fiction tends to be poetic now rather than prosaic. Same is said about Irish fiction that it tends to be poetic rather than prosaic, as a consequence non-Irish find it hard to grasp. We too can try it. I too have attempted. A reviewer says that poetry can occur in either form, be it prose or verse. In Ireland poetry occurs more often in prose.
And Don’t Misinterpret Genuine Sufi Poets!
Samad Mir And His “woh padna ha aur”!
There is a second line of a verse by Sufi Poet Samad Mir:
“Jis padne se sahib miley, wo padna hai aur”!
(that reading [which] ‘Sir’ (Lord) meet, that reading is different).
Some people interpret this hemistich very wrongly. From this line of the verse some analysts infer that there is some other knowledge than what we are being taught by the Ulema/scholars to reach the Lord. While that is not meant by the Poet. He actually wants to convey that our routine praying is not enough to realize and recognize the God, and one needs to adopt a different approach in praying which is possible only by purifying the heart from all bad morals and annihilating baser self and worldly appetites. Praying after passing through that purification process is different than praying with a malicious heart. Praying with a purified heart would take you near to your Lord. That is what Shaik-ul-Aalam Shaikh Noor-ud-Din Wali (Rehmatullahi alaih) says in the following verses:
“Quran paraan kono modok
Quran paraan kona goy soor
Quran paraan zinda kith rodok
Quran paraan dod mansor”
(Means, How are you still living after reciting holy Quran? You ought to have ceased to exist on its reciting. I wonder you still living even reading the Word of Allah!! Mansur lost his own existence on reading the Word of the Deity, he read it with his heart. God’s Word should be read with understanding).
Allama Iqbal said:
Tujhe Kitab Se Mumkin Nahin Faragh Ke Tu
Kitab Khawah Hai Magar Sahib-e-Kitab Nahin!
(Mean: And never from books can you be weaned
Which you declaim, not comprehend)
“This means that you get carried away in reading and cracking the books but you don’t get the gist of it.”
Reading lot of books can’t make one a scholar, he or she just accumulates words in his or her mind. Learning and realizing and recognizing are some different things.
Yes, it is true and I agree that relevant and proper literature plays a role in the development of mind and good books cultivate wisdom and worldview.
Sufi poet Samad Mir said:
“Too much study has turned you to stone.
And scholarly writing has dulled your mind.
The only study that makes the lord known,
Is altogether of a different kind”.
“Padh Padh Ke Gaya Pather,
Likh Likh Ke Gaya Chor”
(reading reading [you] became stone,
writing writing [you] became fool)
“Jis Padne Se Sahib Miley, Woh Padna Hai Aur”
(that reading [which] lord meet, that reading is different).
Everyone is free to write, but does everyone know what writing really Is?
Writing is not a difficult task; anyone can put pen to paper, and many have done so. However, a genuine writer sees it differently, for they have a deeper understanding of its profound nature. For a true writer, writing is not as effortless as it may seem to a casual writer. It is a divinely gifted art and a learned, delicate craft that allows a writer to capture emotions, experiences, and the agonies of the soul, manifesting them through words. A true artist doesn’t merely write; they sculpt words with skill and heart, transforming them into reflections of life itself.
One must understand that sharpening the tip of a reed into a pen is simple, but crafting it to a perfect point is an art. Anyone can wield a pen and mark the paper, but true calligraphy—the art that transcends mere writing—is something far more profound. Similarly, when a writer dips the nib of their pen into the depths of their soul, their words spring to life, much like when Prophet Isa (Jesus) breathed life into clay birds, turning them into living creatures that soared to the heavens. He infused lifeless clay with spirit; a true writer does the same with words. Words become the envoys of the writer’s heart and soul, embodying their thoughts into creative works. They serve as emissaries that reveal a hidden, mysterious world to those who can see beyond the surface, acting as mouthpieces of the writer’s inner self.
When the ink of a genuine writer touches the page, the words come to life, speaking to the reader’s heart, either piercing it deeply or whispering softly like the hoopoe conversing with Solomon. A true writer’s words roost on the spiritual and intellectual branches of the reader’s mind, shaping their aesthetics and expanding their perception. A writer’s creative works open the door to a new and wondrous world for the reader—one that is both mysterious and astounding.
Nazir Jahangir is a noted journalist
