My Favourite Nazm (poem) of Firaq Gorakhpuri

-by Justice Markandey Katju

Firaq Gorakhpuri ( 1896-1982), the renowned Urdu poet, was born 50 years before me. He retired as a Professor of English Literature in Allahabad University a few years before I joined the University in 1963 as an undergraduate student.

Although he had retired, many students, including myself,used to often visit his residence on Bank Road in Allahabad, which is just behind the University campus, to discuss problems of literature. He was a specialist on the poetry of Wordsworth, one of the eminent poets of the British "Romantic Revival', which was in our B.A. course.

Though a Professor of English Literature, Firaq Saheb, as we respectfully called him, was an outstanding Urdu poet of the 20th Century. His poetry was mainly romantic and sensuous.
He had a tragic personal life. His parents had arranged a marriage for him, as was the custom those days. This marriage did not work out, and he was separated from his wife. Thereafter all his life he had no woman living with him who could give him love. This made him a very sad man, and this is reflected in many of his poems, which show his intense desire to get the love which he had been deprived of. 

The poem 'Shaam-e-Ayaadat' is one of such poems, and it is my favourite one. The word ;shaam' means evening, and the word 'Ayaadat' means finding about the health of a sick person and consoling him. The poem also has a sub title 'Aamad-e-Mehboob' which means 'The Coming of the Beloved'.
The poem was written when Firaq was sick and lying in Civil Hospital, Allahabad in 1943. It depicts the poet in a delirious state of mind imagining that his beloved is visiting him. 

Some verses of the poem are given below :

"Yeh kaun muskuraahaton ka kaarawaan liye hue
shabaab-o-sher-o-rang-o-noor ka dhuan liye hue ?
Dhuan ki barq-e-husn ka mehekta shola koi
chuteeli zindagi ki shaadmaaniyaan liye hue

Labon se pankhadee gulaab ki hayaat maange hai
kanwal si aankh sau nigaahen-meherbaan liye hue
Qadam qadam pe de uthi hai li zameen-e-rehghuzar
adaa adaa mein beshumar bijliyaan liye hue

Woh muskaraati aankhen jinmein raqs karti hai hayaat
shafaq ki, gul ki, bijliyon ki shokhiyaan liye hue
Jagaane waale naghma-e-seher labon pe maujazan
nigaahen neend laane waali loriyaan liye hue

Woh nargis-e-siyaah, neembaaz, maikada-badosh
andheri mast raaton ki jawaaniyaan liye hue
Jabeen-e-noor jis pe pad rahi hai narm choot si
khud apni jagmagaahaton ki kahkashaan liye hue

Yeh kaun naubahaar-e-naaz aaya azv azv mein
jawaaniyaan, jawaaniyon ki aandhiyaan liye hue ?
Yeh kaun aankh pad rahi hai mujh pe itne pyaar se
woh bhooli si, woh yaad si, kahaaniyaan liye hue ?

Yeh kiski meheki meheki saansen taaza kar gayeen dimaagh
shabon ke raaz shabnamon ki narmiyaan liye hue ?
Yeh kin nigaahon ne mere gale mein baahein daal deen
jahaan-bhar ke dukh se dard se amaan liye hue ?

Mujhe jagaa rahaa hai maut ki gunoodagi se kaun ?
nigaahon mein suhaagraat ka samaan liye hue
Tabassum-e-seher yeh haspataal ki udaas shaam
yeh kaun aa gayaa nishaat-e-bekaraan liye hue ?

Tere na aaney tak agarche meherbaan tha ek jahaan
main ro ke reh gayaa hun sau gham-e-nihaan liye hue
Firaq aaj pichli raat kyon na mar rahoon ki ab
hayaat aisi shaamen hongee phir kahaan liye hue"