ghani khan

Poets (Ghani Khan)

Ghani Khan, whose ninth anniversary is being celebrated today, was not only a poet but a great lover of peace and humanity. His life passed through various phases and almost all of them are reflected in his writings. Most people know little about Ghani Khan. For many, he is only a poet who wrote about love, Music, pleasure, wine and sensuality. For some, he is a rebel while for others he is a heretic. It�s, therefore, makes sense to talk also about his life and times instead of discussing his poetry in isolation.

Ghani Khan was born in January 1914, at Utmanzai village in District Charsadda. He was the eldest son of Bacha Khan who founded the Khudai Khidmatgar Movement and who rose to prominence because of his relentless, non-violent struggle against the British rule in the subcontinent. When Ghani was five, his mother died of influenza and his paternal grandmother took charge of his upbringing, But she also died in 1923
Ghani Khan received his early education from a traditional religious teacher at an Utmanzai mosques. He was then sent to the National High School in Peshawar. After he had studied there for one year, his father set up Azad Islamic Madrassa in his hometown Utmanzai in 1921 and Ghani Khan was admitted to it. At the age of 14, he started composing poetry while he was still at school. But it was in December 1928 that his first poem appeared in Pakhtoon, a monthly journal launched by his father as the organ of the Khudai Khidmatgar Movement for the promotion of the Pashto language.
In 1929, Bacha Khan sent him to London for higher education where he also came to learn about Christianity. Even in those years of adolescence, he was able to impress others with his body and bent of mind. While in London, he got involved in a love affair with an eminent film actress but Bacha Khan did not approve of it. Ghani Khan was told by his father to depart for the United States of America to study of sugar technology at the University of Southern Louisiana.
But though Ghani Khan went to America his heart was in London. It was then that he wrote many verses on the liberalism of the western society. He also wrote about his emotional deprivation. He did Chemical Engine-ering from the US and on his return was appointed in a sugar mill in Uttar Pradesh province as chief chemist.
It was also during these days that, deeply moved by the atrocities committed by the British government against his father�s Khudai Khidmatgars, Ghani Khan sought Bacha Khan�s permission for an armed struggle. Instead he was sent to Allahabad where he stayed with Jawaharlal Nehru.
It is interested to note here that Bacha Khan while sending Ghani Khan, wrote to Nehru
�Teach Ghani Khan our culture, he has been Americanized during his stay in America.�
Therefore, in February 1934 Ghani Khan and Indra Gandhi were admitted to Rabindra Nath Tagore�s Shantiniketan College of Arts where, along with journalism, he started studying sculpture and painting. His stay at Shantiniketan had a profound effect on him.
In his own words, �it was in Shantineketan that I discovered myself and the past greatness of my own culture and civilisation which has produced several men of versatile geniuses, who have been appreciated by historians and scholars of the West.�
In December 1934 he went to Bombay where, at a friend�s house, he met and instantaneously fell in love with Roshan (1907-1987), a Parsi lady of noble birth and the youngest daughter of Nawab Rustum Jang Faridoonji of Hyderabad Deccan. They married on November 24, 1939.
In 1940, he joined Frontier Sugar Mills, Takht-i-Bhai in Mardan District as cane manager. In February 1943, he resigned. But soon the circumstances compelled him, much against his natural inclinations, to actively associate himself with electoral politics.
Ghani Khan was against non-violence preached and practiced by Bacha khan. He believed in struggle through any means possible. This was what prompted him to set up an armed organisation named Zalmey Pakhtun (Pakhtun Youth) to protect Khudai Khidmatgars and members of the Congress Party from violence by the state. But despite his belief in an armed political struggle, he took part in electoral politics. At 32, he was elected as the second youngest member of the Central Legislative Assembly of India in December 1945 on one of the two general seats for the Frontier province.
Zalmey Pakhtoon was banned after Pakistan came into being and Ghani Khan was put behind the bars for allegedly subversive activities. His agricultural land was also confiscated by the provincial government. He remained in different jails for six years and was finally released in 1954.
He devoted the rest of his life entirely to poetry. In 1987 a peasant killed Ghani�s only son Fareedon Khan. Though the incident shook him greatly, he pardoned his son�s killer.
Atrocities by the state, plight of the Pathans and death of his only son gave his poetry a philosophical colour which became a hallmark of his literary persona. Ghani Khan�s first poetic collection was Da Penjery Chaghaar (Chirpings of the Cage) which he wrote from 1947 to 1954 while he was in jail. His other books include Palwashey (Beams of Light), Panoos (Chandelier), Latoon (Search) and Kulyat-e-Ghani (A collection of Ghani�s poetry).
It is because of his varied and colourful personality that one can see so many shades � ranging from freedom, love of God, land and people, nationalism, fate, the mysteries of life and death, the joys of communion, and the woes of separation to beauty � in his poetry.
According to him, it is the duty of the poets to turn man�s attention to those higher centres of his being where he might see the reflection of his own perfection and the face of his eternal beloved beauty. A poet, therefore must worship beauty in thought, in word and in deed. Ghani Khan was of the view that beauty is the essence of civilisation and culture which includes almost all human creative activities like painting, sculpture and music. �Without the search for beauty in thought, word and deed we cannot have any kind of civilisation.�
Ghani khan was a passionate devotee of freedom to whom the slavery of foreign domination was anathema. His love for freedom and hate for slavery is manifested by these verses.
Though tombstones fine of bluish slate Should ornament, adorn, my grave, But I were to have died a slave, Come, spit on and defile them!
Beauty and love are the foundation upon which the building blocks of his poetry are lying. Beauty, according to him, is present everywhere. If one is beautiful from within, then the whole universe would be beautiful. But if one were hypocritical and ugly from within, then the whole world would be dark and unattractive.
In Ghani Khan�s view, God created the world beautifully. It is only man�s narrow-mindedness and prejudices that make it ugly. Ghani commented once, �Allah created light and colour, poetry in nature and taught us so that we can appreciate them and their creator�.
Love for him is the divine gift of God. It is far more superior to beauty because physical beauty is mortal and would perish while the spirit of love is immortal. The beauty of the beloved is essential but it is the passion of the lover which makes love eternal.
He describes his �Beloved� in this manner.

پہ جڑآ

Pa jara ba me yaran v ze ba na yam,
Pa sparli ke ba khazan v ze ba na yam.

Ranga rang golona her khwa ba zarghon v,
Pa chaghaar ba bolbolaan v ze ba na yam.

Daa watan ba rana patey meerasi v,
Zama watan ba qabristan we ze ba na yam.

Pus la marga ba zama khabari keegi
Der ghumjin ba me dustaan ye ze ba na yam.

Ze ba na yam, bya ba jarey ma ba ghwarey
Sry lambey ba da hijraan ye ze ba na yam.

Be parwa dilbara rasha ke deedan kry
Bia pa zra ba de armaan v za ba na yam

da Rahman Baba dewan na yo sher

Vraz de tera pa shomay ka, shepa la khuvaba
Khuday ba kala yadavay khana kharaba
Pa shatab shatab de tlla da ka pohe ge
Ghafil ma sha dade omar la shataba
Delta dum ao kadam duvanra pa hesab de
Pal ghalat da laree magda behesaba
Rastolay Khuday hesab de pa kitab ke
Khabar zdaa ka la hesaba la kitaba
Ta vo khepalo neko bad wata nazar ka
Che baday de so tere ke la savaba
Pa hagha jehan ba senga zavab oke
Che pade jahan aajiz ye la zavaba
Aqubat ba toro khavro lara drumay
So ba zan sanday pa guto la turaba
Da kaghaz pa kekhtay sale ba ke ter koma
Da kekhtay bade margee kande gharqaba
Che aftaab yava neza she beya se kee
Os che soree la ver takhte la aftaba
Pa azaar da cha raze masha Rehmana
Ka khlasay pa qayamat ghuvare la azaba

Rahman Baba Kalam with Translation)

Ma kooza warta lemah kra, zema sar ne teyteida
shayid chi pe ulfat kei hum afghan patey kedam.
I lowered my gaze, but did not bow my head, perhaps even in love i was going to stay an Afghan (Pukhtun).

Talah da newar asman ta lara,
ma chi da sta husan da newar sara talelah!
The pan of the sun (in which it is being weighed) went up to the sky, when i weighed your beauty against it.

Wai aghyar chi da douzakh jaba da,
zeba janaat ta da pukhtu sara zem!
They call it the language of hell, but i shall enter paradise with my Pashto!

La pe afqa da pukhtunkhwa hum zaleydaley na yum,
ze agha newar yum da afaqa chi rakhataley na yum.
I have not yet shown on the horizon of Pukhtunkhwa, i am that universal sun which has not risen.

Chi shepei kala rah shewama shi, pe dei wakht zema pe zre kei shur paida shi
chi rana la dunya lara shi rukhsat shi, de shair da zre dunya ta rana shi.
In the dead of the night when the deep silence reigns, a loud noise rises up in my heart;
when light departs the world and darkness falls, light comes to the inner world of the poet.

Ma wei chi de odu koum ba pe zema chaghu weekh shi, malomah shewa ma ghag karei wu khubulu ta pe khub kei.
I though i would wake up this sleeping nation with my calls, i found that i have been calling a sleepy people in dream.

Bal yaad ba sta da yaad depasa kala rashi mata, da yow da aks da pasa na wi bal pa aeena kei.
Except for that thought of you, how can another come to my mind, when there can be no reflection in a mirror atop the one that is already there.

Chi jewand gran dei ka asan dei khabar na yum,
khu takal da asani ye la mushkil kai.
Whether life is difficult or notm i don’t really know, it is only further compounded by the urges of comforts.

Da chi waim da bal jahan bayan dei,
rakuz shewei da kitab da bal asman dei.
That i say is a story of another world, a book descended from another sky.

Hungama warkygi zema na dei jahan ta, nawei rang warkeygi dei zemakei asman ta
bal Adam zema da khawrei na paidakeygi, marghei warkeygi da ghulam da sauda ow zan ta.
Give excitement to the world from me, paint anew the earth and sky,
create another adam from my clay, kill this slave of profit and loss

da Rahman Baba dewan na yo sher

Vraz de tera pa shomay ka, shepa la khuvaba
Khuday ba kala yadavay khana kharaba
Pa shatab shatab de tlla da ka pohe ge
Ghafil ma sha dade omar la shataba
Delta dum ao kadam duvanra pa hesab de
Pal ghalat da laree magda behesaba
Rastolay Khuday hesab de pa kitab ke
Khabar zdaa ka la hesaba la kitaba
Ta vo khepalo neko bad wata nazar ka
Che baday de so tere ke la savaba
Pa hagha jehan ba senga zavab oke
Che pade jahan aajiz ye la zavaba
Aqubat ba toro khavro lara drumay
So ba zan sanday pa guto la turaba
Da kaghaz pa kekhtay sale ba ke ter koma
Da kekhtay bade margee kande gharqaba
Che aftaab yava neza she beya se kee
Os che soree la ver takhte la aftaba
Pa azaar da cha raze masha Rehmana
Ka khlasay pa qayamat ghuvare la azaba

ma leeedalee da farAng khkule jazoona

ma leeedalee da farAng khkule jazoona
chay da landay tharay ghorsang wahee seendonaa
ma leedalee mahaloona da landan dee
jeenakayay masthee azaday gulbadan dee
ma leedalee italy khaistha kharoona
sara ay angoor sara ay sharab sara ay goloona
ma leedalee paris khaperaye khkulay
po kirdar gufthar khwagay lakka bulbalay
ma leedalee amrika kay da kharoona
chay wraizo tha ay rasee makanoona
ma leedalee taj mahal ghotee da gulo
da dehli khkule kharoona da mughlo
KHO CHAY WAWEENAM ZO DA KHPAL KHATO KOR
RANA HER SHEE MAHALOONA KHESTHA NOR
DA NARAYEE THANGAY KOSSAY ZAMA DA KALLEE
WARTHA SO DEE DAH DUNYA KHAROONA KHKULEE

Rahman Baba

One of the great religious scholar of Swat (A city in current Pakistan),
Swat Sahib, said: “If any other then, the book of God, was permissible for prayer,
I would have defiantly chosen Rahman’s book.” At the dawn of seventeenth century, at the age of invasions from the West by Persians and East by Moghols, a the time when Afghans were in the mist of war in every corner of the nation, a the time when education was the last thing in peoples’ mind, a legend was born. In the high hills of the Afghan nation, in the provincial area of Mohmand, a child was born, by the name of Abdul Rahman. Abdul Rahman would become one of the greatest poet in the history of the Pashto literature.

At the dawn of seventeenth century, at the age of invasions from the West by Persians and East by Moghols, a the time when Afghans were in the mist of war in every corner of the nation, a the time when education was the last thing in peoples’ mind, a legend was born.
In the high hills of the Afghan nation, in the provincial area of Mohmand, a child was born, by the name of Abdul Rahman. Abdul Rahman would become one of the greatest poet in the history of the Pashto literature.
One of the great religious scholar of Swat (A city in current Pakistan), Swat Sahib, said:
“If any other then, the book of God, was permissible for prayer, I would have defiantly chosen Rahman’s book.”

Abdur Rahman Baba popularly known as Rahman Baba (1064-1123A.H/1653-1711 AD) was born to Abdus Sttar at Bahadur Killi, Hazar Khawani, Peshawar.

Rahman is commonly acknowledged as the saint among Pashto Poets. That is why he is called Rahman Baba. Baba means father, and is a common appellation of reverence for age and wisdom. Professor Preshan Khattak writes, ‘there are many excellent poets of Pashto language those of the past and of the present. They are appreciated, loved, but none of them has reached the universal popularity of Rahman Baba and probably no one will’. Rahman Baba a great mystic poet has always been a great source of inspiration for poets and writers. Rahman Baba is an in exhaustible subject for researchers and critics of Pashto language.

Twentieth century gave a new wind of thought to Pukhtoons. With the dawn of the twentieth century, many poets/writers, researchers and critics emerged, they rediscovered Khushal Khan Khattak coupled with ennobling spirit of mysticism of Rahman Baba provided a new spur to the imagination of Pukhtoon poets.

Rahman Baba was well conversant with the prevalent stock of knowledge, fork lore and all the pros and cons of a typical Pukhtoon society. He was not just a detached reclusive mystic, oblivious and blind to the common problems of the people around him. Rahman Baba was a true representative of the spirit of the age he lived in. His poetry is a mirror to the virtues and ills of his period. Many of his verses have become proverbial in Pashto language. His verses have got such a currency in Pashto language that a convincing speech or a sermon remains almost incomplete and even incomprehensible without quoting one or two of his verses as a forceful argument.

The subjects of Baba poetry are universal love, sympathy, humility, peace, humanity and true friendship.

‘Rahman Baba was the king of love, the guide to contemplation and virtue, the walking stick of the blind, the leader of poets, the saint of Pathans, and the master of simple word, observes a critic. Dost Mohammad Kamil who has explored Rahman Baba in his most admirable book “Rahman Baba’ published in 1958 says, ‘Rahman Baba has reached such heights of humanity and honesty that the reader-listener is compelled to accept his words “The Truth”.

The poetry of Baba attracted many linguists, Scholars and researchers to understand the collective wisdom of Pukhtoons. Major Raverty and Plowden jointly translated (A selection from the poetry of Afghans) a celebrated book published during the British era. Markazi Naukhar Pukhto Adabi Jirga founded in 1934 by Abdul Khaliq Khaleeq, Abudl Hanan Hami and others arranged the first ever Pashto Mushaira at the mazar of Rahman Baba in 1938. The Jirga included Amir Hamza Khan Shinwari, Samander Khan Samarder, Abdul Ghufran Baikas, Ashraf Maftoon, Ajmal Khattak, Mian said Rasool Rasa, Abdullah Ustad, Mohammad Akram Mahshood. The poets at the Mushaira demanded that Tablets should be prepared for the graves of literary giants, Khushal Khan Khattak and Rahman Baba so that it could be properly preserved. The demand was put before the ‘Pukhto Tolana Kabul, Afghanistan.

Mohammad Hassan a sculptor along with an engineer came to Peshawar and prepared the designs of the graves, they handed over the Tablets to the Afghan consulate in Peshawar 1949. The provincial government of N.W.F.P built a complex comprising a white marble mazar, a cafeteria, mosque, library and an auditorium where the poets and writers arrange a three days seminar and a Pashto Mushaira at the mazar of Rahmana Baba every year in the spring season. This year the Rahman Baba day coincides with the centenary celebration of N.W.F.P. The Diwan of Rahman Baba was translated into Urdu in verse form by Amir Hamza Khan Shinwari published in 1963.

Jens Kristian Enevoldsen (1922 -1991) a Danish scholar rendered Rahman Baba’s poetry into English under the tile Rahman Baba: the nightingale of Peshawar. Keeping in view the universality of the message of Rahman Baba, I consider him the Nightingale of Humanity