Mirza Ghalib

Kucch Mirza saab ke astabal se nikaal laya hoon...

Hum hai mushtaaq aur wo bezaar...
Ya Ilahi ye maazra kya hai?

Kaisi masoomiyat se kitni gehri baat kahi hai. Mujhe Mirza saab ki shaayri mein bhagwan nazar aata hai.

Yeh Masail-e-Tasawwuf..Yeh tera bayaan Ghalib,
Tujhe hum wali samajhte, jo na baadakhwaar hota

Ye baat jo Mirza ne kahi hai: k tujhe hum wali samajhte agar tum itni sharaab na peete mere dil ko bahut chooti hai.
Aur ye ke:

Sab kaha kucch lala-o-gul mein numaya ho gayi
khaak mein kya soorate hongi jo pinha ho gayi

Kaise Kaise log is duniya mein khaak-e-supurd ho gaye...numaya sirf chand kismat wale hi ho paye...

Hui Muddat ke Ghalib Mar Gaya
Par Yaad aata hai
Wo har ek baat pe kehna
Ke Yu hota to kya hota...

Bas meri aur tumhari zindagi ki kahani keh dali in 2 lines mein.

Na tha kucch to khuda tha, kucch na hota to khuda hota
Duboya mujhko hone ne, na hota mai to kya hota

Jab mai "THA" ... Jab mera kucch WAJOOD THA..tab mujhe dubo diya...agar mai nahi hota..maslan agar meri koi aukaat nahi hoti tab kya kya karti ye duniya mere saath?? that's the way I read it...and it makes perfect sense to me. Mirza ka sense itna tagda tha ki wo aisi baat sochte the jo jigar ke bilkul aakhri kone se nikal ke aati ho... wo surface pe poetry nahi likhte the. Wo apne mijaaz ko naap taul kar un aisi batein nikaal ke le aate the jo aam aadmi sirf soch sakta hai..usko explain nahi kar sakta. Aisa power dikhta hai mujhe Mirza saab ki poetry mein.
Aur ye ke:

Jala hai jism, jaha dil bhi jal gaya hoga
Kuredte ho jo ab raakh...justuju kya hai?

There are occasions when I find myself comparing Mirza Saab with Gulzar Saab. Though I don't particularly like Gulzar saab - I have HEARD him a lot through RD Burman's rendition of his poetry. I am a great RD fan so cannot help rubbing shoulders with Gulzar saab. I like Gulzar saab's abstractness. But, I don't particularly like the complexity he weaves into his expressions. Some of his early poems were profoundly simply written and yet expressed deep human emotions...

Jane kya soch kar nahi guzra
Ek Pal, raat bhar nahi guzra

Gulzar saab seems to be fixated with the idea of "PAL".

Dafn kar do humein k saans aaye,
nabz "kucch der" se thami si hai

Sometimes, Gulzar saab's poetry becomes a heavy burden on your senses -

kai chaand utth kar jalaye bujhaye
bahut humne chaha zara neend aaye...


What's with the Chaand's jalana and Bujhana?

Here's the song in case you are interested: It is an out-of-the-world composition by RD and rendered in an equally mesmerizing voice of Ashaji. The song is from the film Sitara.

YE SAYE HAI YE DUNIYA HAI

Here's yet another...

Khamosh sa afsana pani se likha hota
Na tumne kaha hota na humne suna hota

I have often thought about this: Khamosh sa afsana...
Sometimes, the creative person in him tries to express the simplest of emotions using an exceedingly complex array of metaphors. But the idea is not spent: if you can wade through the complexity of it - you get to see the light at the end of the tunnel.
Mirza however talked about the nuances of bitterness, sadness, loneliness, pain, fear in ways that were immediately recognizable - complexity of Urdu itself notwithstanding. One obviously needs to know Urdu in order to appreciate him. Gulzaar saab on the other hand was able to create a here-to-fore not seen complexity in our language of everyday use - HINDI.
But still: at some level I respect Gulzaar saab. His sense for abstractness is amazing. And his power to weave words really doesn't find a parallel elsewhere.

Masle abhi aur bhi hai...fir likhoonga.