Journalism of Courage
Jalte ghar ko dekhnewalon,phoos ka chhappar aapka hai / aag ke peechhe tez hawa / aage mukkadar aapka hai/ aur uske katl pe main bhi chup tha / mera number ab aya,mere katl pe aap bhi chup hai / agla number aapka, said Nawaz Deobandi in his sonorous voice. Dressed in a cream sherwani,Deobandi prepared to go on stage with fellow Urdu poets,where they regaled the Pune Festival audience with a night of mushaira on Friday.
Urdu poetry has such beauty,anyone with a beating heart will fall in love with it, he said,adding,How many other art forms are there that can hold an audience for seven to eight hours? Deobandi has been writing poetry for over 40 years,and has earned acclaim for his poems and song lyrics,writing for artists such as Jagjit Singh.
But even he admitted that both shairi and Urdu have seen a decline in the past few decades. It is the misfortune of the countrys younger generations that they are missing out on such an important part of the nations culture. People do Urdu great injustice when they say it is the language of Muslims, he said.
Fellow poet Bashar Nawaz,who also performed on the inaugural day of Pune Festival,pointed out another possible reason for Urdu vanishing from society. Language moves with people and times,and a language that cannot keep pace is left behind in old books. I think that Urdu will have to change a bit to survive, he said.
The 78-year-old is a veteran of Urdu poetry,and has written for several film and television projects,such as Bazaar (1982) and Lorie (1984). In those days,films especially songs would use more Urdu. These days though,the music has changed. You cant even hear the words and none of them has the beauty and soul of poetry that you can find in a simple verse like Yehi chehra,yehi aakhein,yahi rangat nikle,jab koi khwab tarasu,teri murat nikle, he added.
Along the same lines,Jalees Sherwani,another film and lyrics writer,said that Urdu was disappearing from common circles because of the lack of exposure to it. But its not just Urdu. Hindi is also deteriorating, said Sherwani who wrote lyrics for films such as Dabangg,Dabangg2 and Chasme Baddoor.
Yet,he still sees hope for the language in the form of platforms such as mushairas and poetry compilations. Recently back from a poetry tour to UAE,Saudi Arabia and Qatar,Sherwani is planning performances in other cities in India. Languages never fade. It is the followers who fade. Urdu and poetry will continue to live and thrive as long as there are those who write and listen and enjoy it, he said.
