Make way for Mir

Udhas first heard of Mir from a maulvi, who taught Urdu to his elder brother Manhar. And he has wanted to sing Mir ever since. 8216;8216;After hearing some couplets from maulvi sahab, I nursed a desire to cut an album with his ghazals. It took me long because rendering the words of a classical poet is not so commercially viable,8217;8217; he explains.

Though Mir was essentially a romantic, he remains equally relevant in these times of war and conflict. 8216;8216;Mir talks of peace, of human suffering, and lost values. He set a standard in Urdu poetry. Today, his poetry seems more appropriate,8217;8217; says poet-lyricist Nida Fazli.

So far, Mir has remained largely confined to the world of academia, with Ghalib, who himself acknowledged Mir8217;s greatness, taking a lead in popular culture. Paying tribute to Mir, Ghalib once said, 8216;8216;Rekhta ke tumhi nahin ho ustad Ghalib/Kehte hain agle zamaane mein koi Mir bhi thaa You are not the only master of Urdu, Ghalib/It8217;s said there was a Mir before you.8217;8217;

As poet Zamir Kazmi, who has written the introduction to Udhas8217; album, says, 8216;8216;Mir was ahead of his time and he needs to be revisited.8217;8217;

This eccentric poet, however, has always had a band of faithfuls. Like poet-scholar Shamim Tariq, whose paper on Mir was acclaimed in Urdu literary circles. 8216;8216;Mir was always popular with the masses,8217;8217; says Tariq. 8216;8216;He introduced new imagery and diction to Urdu poetry. Poets like Raghupati Sahai Firaq Gorakhpuri and Khalilur Rehman Azmi followed his style.8217;8217;

Urdu scholar Rafia Shabnam Abdi, who has written several papers on Mir, agrees. 8216;8216;Mir8217;s is a refined diction. He is a master craftsman. There8217;s an awakening about him,8217;8217; she says. In fact, Abdi, whose article on Mir recently made it to Asia magazine, believes 8216;8216;his complete reinstatement is yet to happen.8217;8217;

Mir lived in Delhi but, unlike Ghalib, he never associated himself with any court or a king. Writing when inspiration struck, he became one of the great chroniclers of his time. He witnessed two attacks on Delhi 8212; by Nadir Shah and Ahmed Shah Abdali 8212; and captured, like few other poets did, Delhi8217;s destruction and the deaths on its streets.

Mir also had his share of critics, who berated his poetry, dismissing it as nothing more than 8216;8216;Dil aur Dilli ka marsiya A requiem for the heart and Delhi.8217;8217; Even Mir8217;s move to Lucknow was ridiculed by local poets.

However, never to be disheartened, Mir reiterated the legacy of the great city and his own capability and shot back, 8216;8216;Dilli jo ek shahar tha aalam-e-intikhab/ Hum rahne waale hain usi ujde dayar ke Delhi, which was a chosen city of the world/ I come from the same now ruined home.8217;8217;

And soon, Lucknow came under his spell too.