An excellent initiative!

Islamabad : Dagh-e-Warafta ki hum aaj teray koochay se Es tarah khainch kay layay hain keh jee jaanta hai The book ‘Selected poetry of Daagh Dehlvi’ compiled by Dr. Nisar Turabi and published by National Book Foundation is an excellent initiative for both Urdu literature teachers and students.

NBF is playing a big role in promoting book reading habit. NBF’s initiative to launch a series of innovative projects including collections of selected poetry of famous Urdu poets is very significant.

Daagh Dehlvi was the last prominent poet of what is known as was the last prominent poet of the Dabistan-e-Delhi (Delhi school of Urdu verse) genre. In his comments on Daagh Dehlvi Dr. Nisar Turabi writes what endears Daagh to poetry lovers is his pleasantly simple language. His poetry rarely prompts readers to consult a dictionary. The words are so lucid that novice Urdu enthusiasts love it.

Urdu poetry often focuses on the lover and the beloved. The beloved can either be a real figure or an imaginary one. While the latter is much more prevalent in poetry, Daagh’s beloved was a being of this world. Therefore, critics believe Daagh’s poetry is more real.

Several renowned poets composed verses in Daag’s ‘Zameen’ imitating Daagh’s poetic method i.e. same rhythm, end rhyme and meters). It is an interesting and pleasing effort that caused a stir in the literary circles.

With his more than 4000 disciples, Daagh played a pivotal role in popularizing Urdu. Craftsmanship is the foundation stone of Daagh’s poetry and his felicity with Urdu proverbs, prosody and rhetorical devices still remains unparalleled. His poetry is deeply rooted in aesthetic sensibilities.

Daag’s coaching didn’t just grace Deccani poets, but Dabistan-e-Punjab stalwarts, too. One of the promising students was a Government College Lahore student named Muhammad Iqbal, who would later be addressed as Shayar-e-Mashriq (Poet of the East).

This great poet and philosopher Allama Iqbal, considered the 19th century poet, took Daagh Dehlvi to be his master. Allama Iqbal commemorated his mentor with these lines:

“Janaab-e-Daagh ki Iqbal yeh saari karamat hai,

Tere jaise to kar dala, sukhandaan bhi sukhanwar bhi.”

(You owe it to the miracle of Daagh, Oh Iqbal, that a worthless poet like you has become a master versifier)

Iqbal’s initial poems were published in Delhi’s Zabaan magazine. The last verse of one of his published ghazals in Zabaan was:

Garam hum par jo kabhi hota hai who bu’t Iqbal

Hazrat-e-Daagh ke ashaar suna dete hain

(Whenever that idol gets cross with me Iqbal

I recite to her the couplets of respected Daagh)

The demand for Daagh’s coaching was so high that he had to establish a separate department with dedicated staff to look after the wave of poetic correspondence.