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NaYaaft / نایافت
120 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1970
About the author
Ahmad Faraz
58 books93 followersAhmad Faraz was an Urdu language Pakistani poet from Pakistan. He is considered one of the greatest modern Urdu poets of the last century. Faraz is his pseudonym or 'takhalus'. His real name was Syed Ahmad Shah.
Faraz is critically acclaimed for simplicity to his style of writing and he is often compared to Faiz Ahmed Faiz - one of the greatest poets of Pakistan. Outspoken about politics, he went into self-imposed exile during the General Zia-ul-Haq era after he was arrested for reciting certain poems at a Mushaira criticizing the military rule. He stayed for 6 years in Britain, Canada and Europe before returning to Pakistan, where he was initially appointed Chairman of Pakistan Academy of Letters and later chairperson of National Book Foundation for several years.
He was awarded the highest literary award of Pakistan Kamal-e-Fun Award in 2000 and Hilal-e-Imtiaz in 2004, in recognition of his services to literature. He returned the latter in 2006 after becoming disenchanted with the Pakistani government and its policies.
Faraz is critically acclaimed for simplicity to his style of writing and he is often compared to Faiz Ahmed Faiz - one of the greatest poets of Pakistan. Outspoken about politics, he went into self-imposed exile during the General Zia-ul-Haq era after he was arrested for reciting certain poems at a Mushaira criticizing the military rule. He stayed for 6 years in Britain, Canada and Europe before returning to Pakistan, where he was initially appointed Chairman of Pakistan Academy of Letters and later chairperson of National Book Foundation for several years.
He was awarded the highest literary award of Pakistan Kamal-e-Fun Award in 2000 and Hilal-e-Imtiaz in 2004, in recognition of his services to literature. He returned the latter in 2006 after becoming disenchanted with the Pakistani government and its policies.
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
April 2, 2015
I will just say, 'I was familiar with
that face', when I see her again.
Why to remind the time lost,
a pact broken, a hope vanished?
It was a mirror, that face of hers
In it I glimpsed the world and
everything that exists; her face
became a mirror-house
Life feels like a dream
Those who dwelt in
the abode of my heart
Have become stories.
(Urdu has gender-neutral pronouns so 'her' in the poem above can be replaced with 'him' while retaining complete fidelity. Nothing in the poem establishes the gender)
Urdu text
یہی کہیں گے کہ بس صورت آشنائی تھی
جو عہد ٹوٹ گیا یاد کیا دلانا وہ
اس ایک شکل میں کیا کیا نہ صورتیں دیکھیں
نگار تھا، نظر آیا نگار خانہ وہ
فراز خواب سی دنیا دکھائی دیتی ہے
جو لوگ جان جہاں تھے ہوئے فسانہ وہ
Transliteration
Yehi kahen ge ke bas soorat aashnai thi
Jo ehed toot gaya yaad kya dilana woh
Us ek shakl main kya kya na sooraten dekheen
nigar tha, nazar aaya nigar khana woh
Faraz Khwab si dunia dikhai deti hai
Jo log jaan-e-jahaan the hue fasana woh
I would love to post more and translate more. Maybe some day, when I am more confident, I will. Till then this beautiful collection from Ahmad Faraz's years of exile will resonate in my soul for days, weeks, months, to come. But here is modern Urdu poetry with its sweet splendour, understated emotion, simmering melancholy, traditional metaphor worked into modern expression, retaining the past while segueing seamlessly into the present, that has charmed me and pleasured me so much.
Faraz is perhaps the last major guardian of classical Urdu poetry that took root in 18th century India in Hyderabad Deccan, Delhi and Lucknow and elevated what was then a relatively new language to challenge the literary dominance of its formidable Persian rival, and at the same time influenced so many local languages and vernaculars in the length and breadth of historical India.
This collection is a collage of metered ghazal poems, metered nazm poems, and azad nazm (free verse). Faraz is famous for his ghazal poems but in this particular collection my favourites are mostly his metered nazm poems such as Takhleeq, Nauha, Nazr-e-Nazrul, and a few in free verse that deal with a single theme or trope like Rozna the German and Kushan Bibi.
There is a famous ghazal from this collection that was rendered into a beautiful song by no other than Lata Mangeshkar. For those who understand Urdu, here is the LINK. Jagjit Singh, Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan and Noor Jahan have also sung the same ghazal.
There is but one pain, my heart is
but a continuation of the same.
Everything that befalls me
I attribute to her graces
that face', when I see her again.
Why to remind the time lost,
a pact broken, a hope vanished?
It was a mirror, that face of hers
In it I glimpsed the world and
everything that exists; her face
became a mirror-house
Life feels like a dream
Those who dwelt in
the abode of my heart
Have become stories.
(Urdu has gender-neutral pronouns so 'her' in the poem above can be replaced with 'him' while retaining complete fidelity. Nothing in the poem establishes the gender)
Urdu text
یہی کہیں گے کہ بس صورت آشنائی تھی
جو عہد ٹوٹ گیا یاد کیا دلانا وہ
اس ایک شکل میں کیا کیا نہ صورتیں دیکھیں
نگار تھا، نظر آیا نگار خانہ وہ
فراز خواب سی دنیا دکھائی دیتی ہے
جو لوگ جان جہاں تھے ہوئے فسانہ وہ
Transliteration
Yehi kahen ge ke bas soorat aashnai thi
Jo ehed toot gaya yaad kya dilana woh
Us ek shakl main kya kya na sooraten dekheen
nigar tha, nazar aaya nigar khana woh
Faraz Khwab si dunia dikhai deti hai
Jo log jaan-e-jahaan the hue fasana woh
I would love to post more and translate more. Maybe some day, when I am more confident, I will. Till then this beautiful collection from Ahmad Faraz's years of exile will resonate in my soul for days, weeks, months, to come. But here is modern Urdu poetry with its sweet splendour, understated emotion, simmering melancholy, traditional metaphor worked into modern expression, retaining the past while segueing seamlessly into the present, that has charmed me and pleasured me so much.
Faraz is perhaps the last major guardian of classical Urdu poetry that took root in 18th century India in Hyderabad Deccan, Delhi and Lucknow and elevated what was then a relatively new language to challenge the literary dominance of its formidable Persian rival, and at the same time influenced so many local languages and vernaculars in the length and breadth of historical India.
This collection is a collage of metered ghazal poems, metered nazm poems, and azad nazm (free verse). Faraz is famous for his ghazal poems but in this particular collection my favourites are mostly his metered nazm poems such as Takhleeq, Nauha, Nazr-e-Nazrul, and a few in free verse that deal with a single theme or trope like Rozna the German and Kushan Bibi.
There is a famous ghazal from this collection that was rendered into a beautiful song by no other than Lata Mangeshkar. For those who understand Urdu, here is the LINK. Jagjit Singh, Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan and Noor Jahan have also sung the same ghazal.
There is but one pain, my heart is
but a continuation of the same.
Everything that befalls me
I attribute to her graces
January 10, 2020
Elegant,lyrical and poignant. Another fine collection of Ahmed Faraz's poetry.
March 12, 2022
فراز تُو نے اسے مشکلوں میں ڈال دیا
زمانہ صاحبِ زر اور صرف شاعر تُو
...
اتنا مانوس نہ ہو خلوتِ غم سے اپنی
تُو کبھی خود کو بھی دیکھے گا تو ڈر جائے گا
...
کل اک فقیر نے کس سادگی سے مجھ سے کہا
تری جبیں کو بھی ترسیں گے آستانے جا
...
ترسا دیا ہے ابرِ گریزاں نے اس قدر
برسے جو بوند بھی تو سمندر لگے مجھے
تھامے رہو گے جسم کی دیوار تابکے
یہ زلزلہ تو روح کے اندر لگے مجھے
...
کتنا ویراں ہوچکا ہے میری ہستی کا جمال
تجھ سے بچھڑا ہوں تو آج آیا مجھے اپنا خیال
...
زمانہ صاحبِ زر اور صرف شاعر تُو
...
اتنا مانوس نہ ہو خلوتِ غم سے اپنی
تُو کبھی خود کو بھی دیکھے گا تو ڈر جائے گا
...
کل اک فقیر نے کس سادگی سے مجھ سے کہا
تری جبیں کو بھی ترسیں گے آستانے جا
...
ترسا دیا ہے ابرِ گریزاں نے اس قدر
برسے جو بوند بھی تو سمندر لگے مجھے
تھامے رہو گے جسم کی دیوار تابکے
یہ زلزلہ تو روح کے اندر لگے مجھے
...
کتنا ویراں ہوچکا ہے میری ہستی کا جمال
تجھ سے بچھڑا ہوں تو آج آیا مجھے اپنا خیال
...
March 18, 2022
One of the precious gems of Urdu poetry.
"तड़प उठूं भी तो ज़ालिम तेरी दुहाई न दूं
मैं ज़ख्म ज़ख्म हूं फिर भी तुझे दिखाई न दूं
तेरे बदन में धड़कने लगा हूं दिल की तरह
ये और बात है कि अब भी तुझे सुनाई न दूं
खुद अपने आप को परखा तो ये नदामत है
कि अब कभी उसे इल्ज़ाम-ए-बेवफ़ाई न दूं
मेरी बका ही मेरी ख्वाहिश-ए-गुनाह में है
मैं ज़िंदगी को कभी ज़हर-ए-पारसाई न दूं
जो ठन गई है तो यारी पे हर्फ क्यूं आए
हरीफ-ए-जां को कभी तान-ए-आशनाई न दूं
मुझे भी ढूंढ कभी मेहव-ए-आईना-दारी
मैं तेरा अक्स हूं लेकिन तुझे दिखाई न दूं
ये हौसला भी बड़ी बात है शिकस्त के बाद
कि दूसरों को तो इल्ज़ाम-ए-ना-रसाई न दूं
'फ़राज़' दौलत-ए-दिल है मता-ए-महरूमी
मैं जाम-ए-जम के ऐवज कासा-ए-गदाई न दूं"
"तड़प उठूं भी तो ज़ालिम तेरी दुहाई न दूं
मैं ज़ख्म ज़ख्म हूं फिर भी तुझे दिखाई न दूं
तेरे बदन में धड़कने लगा हूं दिल की तरह
ये और बात है कि अब भी तुझे सुनाई न दूं
खुद अपने आप को परखा तो ये नदामत है
कि अब कभी उसे इल्ज़ाम-ए-बेवफ़ाई न दूं
मेरी बका ही मेरी ख्वाहिश-ए-गुनाह में है
मैं ज़िंदगी को कभी ज़हर-ए-पारसाई न दूं
जो ठन गई है तो यारी पे हर्फ क्यूं आए
हरीफ-ए-जां को कभी तान-ए-आशनाई न दूं
मुझे भी ढूंढ कभी मेहव-ए-आईना-दारी
मैं तेरा अक्स हूं लेकिन तुझे दिखाई न दूं
ये हौसला भी बड़ी बात है शिकस्त के बाद
कि दूसरों को तो इल्ज़ाम-ए-ना-रसाई न दूं
'फ़राज़' दौलत-ए-दिल है मता-ए-महरूमी
मैं जाम-ए-जम के ऐवज कासा-ए-गदाई न दूं"
September 1, 2020
Excellent poetry by great poet.
February 19, 2020
اس ایک شکل میں کیا کیا نہ صورتیں دیکھیں
نگار تھا، نظر آیا نگار خانہ وہ
•
تو ہنس رہا ہے مجھ پہ مرا حال دیکھ کر
اور بھی میں شریک تیرے قہقوں میں ہوں
•
مرہمِ اشک نہیں زخمِ طلب کا چارہ
خوں بھی روؤ گے تو کس خاک کی سج دھج ہو گی
نگار تھا، نظر آیا نگار خانہ وہ
•
تو ہنس رہا ہے مجھ پہ مرا حال دیکھ کر
اور بھی میں شریک تیرے قہقوں میں ہوں
•
مرہمِ اشک نہیں زخمِ طلب کا چارہ
خوں بھی روؤ گے تو کس خاک کی سج دھج ہو گی
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews