April 1st, 2012
Title of the
book: Neglected Poems
Poet: Gulzar
Translator:
Pavan K Varma
Publisher:
Penguin India
Price: Rs. 399
Sampooran Singh Kalra-- better
known as Gulzar-- has been enthralling
the connoisseurs of Hindi film music since 1963 when he made his debut as a
songwriter. Teaming up with great music
directors like S D Burman, R D Burman,
Salil Choudhary, Madan Mohan and A R Rahman, he has created many timeless classics
and has won countless number of accolades including an Oscar and a Grammy. But,
not all of us are aware that Gulzar is also a very respectable name in the world
of Urdu poetry. His poems have been translated into many languages including
English. This volume ‘Neglected Poems’
has his original Urdu poems (Nazm) in Devnagri
script and the English translation side by side. The translator is career
diplomat-cum-writer Pavan K Varma. This is the same Mr. Varma who is also known
for his beautiful renditions of Kaifi
Azmi’s works in English, a highly
readable biography of Mirza Ghalib and a
slightly ‘controversial’ book on the Indian middle class.
As you glide through this collection,
you feel amazed: How easily Gulzar is able to create beautiful poetry out of the
mundane events of his life? How ordinary people and places sound extraordinary
in his words? How real becomes surreal?
And from where he borrows all those imageries and metaphors to employ in
his songs and poems?
Let us taste something from
this book:
When
it rains
Drenched
figures begin to emerge
On
these mud and mortar walls;
Then
the rain, falling gently, like muted hiccups,
Writes
a familiar script:
The
rain conveys something.
Perhaps
you may recall having seen
A
letter drenched in tears
That
looked something like this?
On the one hand there is a melody
of romance and tender love in his poems, on the other hand there are
hard-hitting commentaries about the state of affairs in our country and
elsewhere. For him Gujarat’s Godhra and post-Godhra riots become ‘a feverish
rash over the whole body’, Iraq is a place where ‘the debris of war has
collected..’ and Sardar Dam is a valley
‘where a river will now sit coiled like a snake between three mountains.’
Sardonic Tones
The tone of these poems is a bit sardonic but also some sort of sadness permeates through the verses. Then he talks about megacities like Kolkata, Chennai , Mumbai, Delhi and New York. In the poem titled New York , he says: In your town, my friend, how is it that there are no homes for ants? …… in your town lineage of insects and spiders never grow. These lines sound simple but they are not. These are the metaphors used to describe how the megapolis has got rid of simple pleasures of life and has made it more complex and unhappy. And how those who are not able to cope with the drastic changes around them, have been either shunted or pushed to the margins.
Sardonic Tones
The tone of these poems is a bit sardonic but also some sort of sadness permeates through the verses. Then he talks about megacities like Kolkata, Chennai , Mumbai, Delhi and New York. In the poem titled New York , he says: In your town, my friend, how is it that there are no homes for ants? …… in your town lineage of insects and spiders never grow. These lines sound simple but they are not. These are the metaphors used to describe how the megapolis has got rid of simple pleasures of life and has made it more complex and unhappy. And how those who are not able to cope with the drastic changes around them, have been either shunted or pushed to the margins.
Each poem of Gulzar has its
own story and each of them helps you to understand ‘the complexities of human
relationship’ and offers a totally new perspective on life.
Coming to the editorial aspect
of this collection, this reviewer feels that the Hindi part of the book has not
received enough editorial attention. The spelling in Denavgari version has
inconsistencies as some words are spelled differently at different places.
Perhaps, the attempt to imitate the exact Urdu pronunciation may have caused
these mistakes. Additionally, the
inclusion of original Urdu texts would have given this book a different aura,
and it would have been a great favour to those who can read Urdu.
While discussing the translation of literature
during the Calcutta Literary Meet, Pavan K Varma had quoted Gulzar:
“Translation is like a mistress, if she’s beautiful, she’s not faithful and if
she’s faithful, she is not beautiful.” Here, Mr. Varma has tried to strike a balance
between the beauty and the faithfulness, but his emphasis clearly is more on
the faithfulness factor.
Email: abdullah71@gmail.com
