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Friday March 29, 2024

Rafia Majeed’s classically delivered poetry

By Ibne Ahmad
March 27, 2017

Lo dil jala kay apna saray baam rakh deeya   

Shabay taar kay bahanay who lowt hee na jayain

Language of passions, memories, feelings, and expectations soak Rafia Majeed's entire poetry book. Classical delivery adds to a real humane view of love.

With its focus on the pleasure of romance and the bitterness of parting, this book is a signal that all associations have a gloomy side:

Tumhee lamha tumhee mousam tumhee se sub nazaaray hain

Khuli ya bund houn aankhain sabhi manzar tumhray hain

Woh jis khayal nain hamain sub kutch bhula deeya

Hum se who ek khayal bhulaya na ja saka

Few poems in the collection's middle dip into more personal subjects. They are addressed to a particular occasion and display a lot of affection and love:

Aansoo tapak kay keh gayay sub daastanay dil

Hum se tu raazay ishq chupaya na ja saka

Who jis wajood se thi munawwar meri hasti

Jaanay kahan woh khawaray taqdeer kho gaya

What unites the collection is its overarching encouragement to live and exist along with pleasant memories and bitter ground realities. Each piece utilises a different clip or angle to create poetic expressions. There is cheerfulness in the words, a positive attitude that possibly can even be termed as religious and mystical in its significance:

Jo angaaroun pe chal kar zeest ki manzil guzaar ayay

Balaa se un ki ab rahoun mein gul aayayin ya khaar ayay

Hare k afaatay ranjo gham se takrana bhi aata hai

Hamain thukra kay sangay rah guzar jaana bhi aata hai

Poems vary in spotlight, from separation to loneliness. This poetic collection establishes that although not every life moment is remarkable, compassion is:

Bala se bolnay dou khalq ko jo munh mein aata hai

Dewanay dagh daaman kay kabhi dhoya naheen kartay

Youn sehtay hain ghamay hijraan keh ghum goya naheen kartay

Zamana raaz pa jata hai youn khoya naheen kartay

Guzartay hain kutchaisay marhaloun se ahlay dil aksar

Sarapa ashk hotay hain magar roya naheen kartay

Poetry flows well in its devotion to discovering the human experience. The spotlight on human nature is most clear in many pages of the book, which tackle topics like spirituality, society, and affection. Reflections and memories more evidently stem from the poet's own experiences:

Yeh fazayay rango boo nein dilay natawan ko maara

Teray jahan mein ya Rub hamain har kisi ne maara

A majority of the poems do really focus on daily life, altered into the context of human experience. As simple as the language is, the absence of overenthusiastic imagery makes reading easy going. Somewhere else, poems read as much more special, their language stress-free and informal:

Youn aa kay guzar jaati hai goya naheen aayee

Sarma ki chand raat aur muflis ki jawani

Some verses recall love in simple and handy language, refraining commenting on human nature and instead sweetly fixating on the recollections. Poems keep thoughts from becoming too intense on the complex subjects:

Koi shareekay dard banaya na ja saka

Ahwalay dil kisi ko sunaya na ja saks

A part of poetry is best read in hurry because of its tendency to veer into not so conceptual territory. The poems work best in clusters, in which they form a mass and impart meanings greater than their individual parts. At its best, these poems are an impressionistic representation of love:

Dil mein aisi baykali hai aajkal

Goya waqtay jaankani hai aajkal

Din ho ya lamha guzarta hee naheen

Har garhi sasta rahee hai aajkal