ASAD [11] contd...

This article is by U.V. Ravindra.

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There is a school of thought that is gaining increasing acceptance amongst Urdu poetry aficionados of today which argues that the world we live in has changed so drastically and is so different from the era in which the Old Masters like Meer, Momin and Dagh prospered, that the poetry of those old masters is all but irrelevant today. To them, the works of that bygone age are only of academic importance, nary more than a lesson in the history of Urdu literature. They claim that the old style of poetry has been heard and re-heard, quote and re-quoted so often that it has lost its bite. It is no longer possible for a poet to write poetry in the classical style and still maintain even a modicum of freshness.

I have two words for them: Ahmed Faraz.

One of my favorite Faraz couplets is the following:

तुम तकल्लुफ़ को भी इख़लास समझते हो, 'फ़राज़'
दोस्त होता नहीं हर हाथ मिलाने वाला
tum takalluf ko bhi iKhlaas samajhte ho, 'Faraz'
dost hotaa naheeN har haath milaane waalaa

तकल्लुफ़ takalluf: formalities, societal norms of behavior
इख़लास iKhlaas: sincere, pure friendship; deep affection

</UVR>