[Ahmad Hyderabadi]

Originally Posted by zarraa

Janaab Ahmad Hyderabadi Sahab

Aadaab. Ji bahaut bahaut shukriya is dariyadili se ki huwee pazeeraayee ka.

I am indeed honoured at having this conversation with you Ahmad sahab. The few interactions that I have had with you and the few of your creations that I have had the privilege of reading, have left a very deep and positive impression on me. You come across as an extremely erudite, sorted, cultured, sensitive and caring individual to me. You display impeccable etiquettes and a great command over language - both Urdu and English, which are pure pleasure to witness. You have encouraged and appreciated me from time for which I am extremely grateful to you. My compliments and best wishes go out to you Ahmad Sahab.

Coming to your questions, all of which are extremely pertinent, insightful, interesting, and dare I say, quite challenging to answer as well

1. Where do you see our dear virtual home i.e. SDC in the history of poetry in the long term future?

Great point ! I feel that "virtual" fora like SDC will be the "real" home of poetry in the future, even more so for Shayari which is becoming a niche & specialised art form over time and hence which needs a medium like Internet which would have a much greater reach, real time connect and unlimited access as compared to something like the print medium, both at present and mo so in the future. And among the Internet based Shayari fora, I feel SDC is among the top if it's genre. SDC is an alive living breathing entity. It is not merely a collection or archive of poetry, but a place where human interactions take place. It not just disseminates the cause & message of poetry but it also binds its members as a community. It not only exposes members to poetry but also imparts them the skill to appreciate it.

SDC is a place emotions can be felt and imagination can be crafted. SDC has got the critical mass to become the prime seat of poetry in future. It needs to be kept vibrant and needs to keep re-inventing itself to stay fresh and relevant. And in many ways it has been doing this as well, despite the few ups and downs it has gone through.

We, as members, need to keep irrigating it with our sweat, blood and tears to make sure it grows into a tall tree under which all us "mad for poetry" people can take shelter. I would like to dedicate one of my humble shers to SDC and it's members on this thought ...

tujhe shauq-e-laala-o-gul agar to lahoo se seeNch ke surh kar
tujhe gham khizaaN ka hai kis liye tujhe intezaar-e-bahaar kyooN
- zarraa

2. Where/what do you see.. Zidd bhai's contribution (Without taking a single iota of credit away from ANY of our Dedicated and honorable members and Mods) in the cause of the betterment of Shayri on this site? and at the same time the altruistic contribution of our Admin Gaurav bhaee?

Zidd bhai's contribution is both immeasurable and iconic. He has been a friend, philosopher and guide to SDC members in the true sense. He is one of the strong pillars of SDC. In his brilliant discourses, he provides the perfect blend of theory and practicality. His knowledge is deep, nuanced and first hand which he articulates in a very interesting and easy to understand manner. He is never shy of expressing an opinion or taking a stand on the issue, but also open minded to understanding alternative points of view as well. He has shared a great deal of knowledge on the most fundamental and critical aspects of shayari. I'm sure many people have greatly benefitted from his insightful narratives, I being one of them. His amazing sense of humour, his informal and friendly style and the brilliance of his thoughts and observations, coupled with the fact that he is a brilliant shayar as well, make him a real jewel in the SDC crown.

Though I have not had the privilege and pleasure of interacting with Admin Gaurav bhai personally, but I have obviously heard about him in SDC. I can only salute him for the yeoman service he has provided by founding this site and by tirelessly keeping it running like clockwork. He is also available to intervene and clarify whenever there are any issues, either technical or administrative. His contribution has been pivotal in making SDC what it is and I am thankful to him for proving us poetry lovers a roof over our heads in form of this beautiful home called SDC.

I would like to dedicate a humble sher to both of these, as well as to all other admins or mods or members who play a key role in the management and operations of our beloved SDC to provide a beautiful forum for us poetry lovers to come together and revel in each others company ...

khilte haiN yooN to gul kayee fasl-e-bahaar meiN
ik baahbaan ne unheiN gulshan bana diya
- zarraa


3. Please share with us your favourite poets(outside of SDC) in the following genres:

Romance- Shayri e ishq
Tragedy- Shari e dard
Satire- Tan 0 Mazaah

Bahaut khushi huwee ye sawaal dekh kar Ahmad sahab. Sach poochhiye to main bhi muhtaaq tha apne favourite shora ki list share karne ke liye

Genre wise apne favorite poets ke baare mein kuchh arz kahoon, us se pehle main apne overall favorite shora ki fehrist pesh karna chaahoonga.

Waise to Urdu adab mein hazaaron nayab shayar huwe hain, par mere favorites wo hain jin ke ehsaas aur andaaz-e-bayaan mujhe persoanlly sab se zyada pasand aaye hain. However, I must state, that this list is limited by the constraints of my knowledge and exposure. Main ne shayari kaafi kam parhee ya sunee hai. Kayee behtareen shora ka qalaam pardhne ya sunne ka sharf mujhe haasil naheen huwa hai. To meri limited knowledge aur ehsaas ke binaah par, mere personal opinion mein, mere sab se pasandeeda shayar hain ..

1. Asaddulah Khan Ghalib
2. Meer Taqi Meer
3. Faiz Ahmad Faiz
4. Ahmad Faraaz
5. Jigar Moradabadi
6. Sahir Ludhianavi
7. Asraar Ul Haq Majaaz
8. Khumaar Barabankvi

Kayee mahaan shayar, jaise Iqbal, Josh, Firaaq, Momin, Daagh, Zauq, Kaifi, Makhdoom wagairah ke main ne ziyada qalaam pardhe ya sune naheen hain, aur na hi un ke kahe khayaalaat par gehraayee se ghaur kiya hai. In shora ke qalaam ka noor mere taareeq zehn mein ab tak naheen parh saka hai, jis ka mujhe behad afsos bhi hai, aur dil mein muraad bhi hai ki aage chal ke in ke ilm ki roshni se mere aql ki teergee thorhi kam ho sake.

Ek aur baat kehna chaahoonga, kisi daur mein jab main Hindi kavita follow karta tha (college ke daur mein 18-20 saal pehle) tab main Dr. Harivansh Rai Bachchan se bahaut mutaasir tha, aur un ke style mein kavita likhne ki koshish karta tha. Magar us ke baad Hindi kavita se maata toot sa Gaya, aur sirf Urdu shayari ko hi follow kiya.

Jab genre wise apne favorite shora ke baare mein soch hoon, to Shayari-e-Dard aur Shayari-e-Ishq mein farq karne mein mushkil si mehsoos kar raha hoon. Kyunki shayari mein jo ehsaas aur jazbaat mujhe sab se pasand aate hain, wo hain dard-e-ishq ke . To ye bhi kaha ja sakte hain ki donon genres ka combination mujhe sab se ziyada pasand hai Aur jin shora ka main ne oopar zikr kiya hai, unhone is ehsaas par behad hi shaandaar aur dil ko cheer dene waale qalaam kahe hain.

Phir bhi, aap ke hukm ki taameel karte huwe, main is tarah se koshish karta hoon, ki in pure genres mein kin ke qalaam mujhe sab se ziyada asardaar lagte hain, ye sochne ki koshish karta hoon.*

Is genre wise list mein main Ghalib aur Meer ka zikr naheen kar raha hoon kyunki, mere hisaab se, wo donon "divine geniuses" hain aur wo har genre har form se kaheen oopar uth chuke hain, aur un ko main zyaati taur pe kisi ek se identify naheen kar pa raha hoon. Ya phir aisa samajh lijiye wo har genre ke master hain aur un ke aage koyee bhi aur shayar, meri nazron mein, kisi bhi genre mein kharha naheen ho paayega. So my every list will start and end with Ghalib and Meer, hence I am excluding them from the below list

Romance- Shayri e ishq : mere hisaab se Jigar Moradabadi ke qalaam mein jo pure romance dekhne ko mila hai, wo mere hisaab se incomparable hai. Aur Khumaar Baarabamkvi ke qalaam mein bhi bayaan-e-ishq bahaut lutf bhara laga mujhe.

Tragedy- Shari e dard : Faraaz, Sahir aur Majaaz ki shayari mein dard ki mithas aur karhwahat ek saath milti hai, dard ka gham aur jashn bhi ek saath manaya ja raha hota hai. Un ke yahaan dard-e-ishq ka bhi kis qadar dilsoz aur jigardoz bayaan dekhne ko milta hai. In ke alaawa, jis shayar ki ek alag hi jagah hai mere man mein hai aur jin ke liye beintehaayee izzat mere dil mein hai, wo hain Faiz Ahmad Faiz. Dard-e-Ishq ke alaawa, duniya, mulk, aawaam, insaaniyat ke dard-o-gham ka jo visionary aur iconic bayaan unhone kiya hai, use main kya, pooree duniya ne salaam kiya hai. Saath hi, Ahmad Faraaz par bhi yahi baat kaafi had tak laagoo hoti hai.

Satire- Tan 0 Mazaah : is genre se meri bilkul bhi waaqfiyat naheen hai, to is ke baare mein kuchh bhi yakee senaheen keh paaoonga. agar "tukka maarne" ki jurrat karoon, to Ibn-e-Insha aur Nazeer Akbarabadi ke shayad kuchh ek tanz o mazaah bhare qalaam main ne dekhein hon jo mujhe achchhe lage, par yakeenee taur par kuchh arz naheen kar paaoonga. Maazrat.

Main maazrat-khwah hoon Ahmad sahab, shayad is sawaal ka accurate jawaab naheen de paaya hoon, magar aap ka bahaut bahaut shukriya ki aap ne ye sawaal poochh kar mujhe mauka diya apne ustaad shora ka naam lene ka


4. Where do you think songwriting stand in today's literature, i.e. shayri ki dunya mayn commercial geetkaari ka aajkal kya maqaaM haye? their financial renumeration aside, do they, in your view get the credit they deserve for their poetic endevours?

India ke hisaab se is sawaal ka jawaab deta hoon, kyunki is masle par meri jaankaari India tak hi seemit hai. Commercial geetkaari mostly film music mein hi dekhne ko milti hai, ya phir popular music mein.

In my humble opinion, the state & stature of poetry in commercial form at present is nowhere close to the levels of 50-70s era, but is way better than what it was in the 80-90s era. One can see the glass as either half full or half empty. While the level of "commercial poetry" is still way below the level of "literary poetry" but at least poetry has made a comeback in the realm of popular music. There are some songwriters who have dared to experiment and infuse meaning into their songs, which has been largely driven by the kind of experimental and meaningful cinema which has made a comeback over the last 10 years or so.

As far as getting credit is concerned, we should ask the question about credit in whose eyes ? Who will judge their worth ? I am not connected in any way with the literary and academic world to know what is opinion of the experts in this matter and comment on it, but if the masses are being exposed to decent poetry through popular music and are resonating with their message, then that by itself is a good start and in that sense songwriters who are attempting this are getting some sort of credit by the masses. The important question is that will this trend last and blossom into something bigger and better or will it fizzle out? Will the proportion of poetic lyrics in popular music go up with time or will it be just a passing phase? I sincerely hope it is the former and not the latter
*
5. Is it necessary to be a philosopher or have a philosophical mind to be a great poet?
*
I feel so. Again, I do not have any knowledge of literary principles or poetry techniques, but based on personal experience and intuition, my humble opinion is that*a poet needs to see beyond the obvious and the physical in any situation and transcend into a deeper symbolic, imaginary or metaphysical spaces. He/She should also be able to re-interpret real matters in a fresh & surprising way and express ideas in an aesthetic & intriguing manner. And for this a philosophical bent of mind might be necessary.

Ji, bahaut bahaut shukriya Ahmad sahab in khoobsurat sawaalon ka. In ka jis had tak ho sakta tha jawaab dene ki koshish ki hai.. Meri la-ilmi zaroor ek arhchan rahi hai in ka mukammal jawaab dene mein. Bas dil ne jo bhi mehsoos kiya arz kar diya hai *

Ummeed hai aap se guftagoo ka silsila yoon hi chalta rahega. Aap ke khayaalaat samajhne ka bhi mushtaaq hoon aur aap se kuchh seekhne ki bhi chaah rakhta hoon.

Duaon ke saath
Zarraa*

Aadaab Zarraa Saahab,
Janaab aap nay tou khaaksaar kay labaoN ko sii daalaa apnee fayyaz wa faraagh-dil tahseeni kalimaat say! Saahab khaaksaar iska haqdaar khudko naheeN samajhta! Oopar say aapkay tafseelee jawaabaat parh dil o zahn dono ko bayhad lutf aayaa, dil ko aapki shaqsiyyat jaan-ker aur zahn ko aapki fahm-O-faraasat jaan-ker!! We are previleged to have a personality like you between us!! And I am not saying these words lightly in any manner what-so-ever!!

Aglee fehrist-e-suaalat-e-khaaksaar paysh e nazar haye aapki:

1. Aapki nazar/opinion/view mayn:

a. Shayri Kya haye/ what is Shayri?( Am confining myself by default to urdu Shayri Sir)

b. Is it an art or is it a science?

2. Har bahr mayn likhne-wala shaayar nahi hota aur har shayAr bahr mayn nahee likhta? If you agree Sir, please can you elaborate?

3. Ayk ghazal mayn , aapki nazar mayn, Maqte ki kya ahmiyyat haye? Is it necessary and if so why and if not then why?

4. Aapka favourite one-day cricket match abtak ka, if you had to choose one?

Guzaarish haye aap-say, ki apnay khaali wa fursat walay waqt mayn khaaksaar kay jawaab dayn, please do take your time answering my humble questions as I can see aap har kisee kay jawaab tafseel aur in-depth daytay hayn junmayn bayshak aap koee kami nahee chhortay and God forbid you are straining yourself because of that! And once again Thank You Sir for your kind and detailed answers!!!