The peerless parodist

If there’s a poet who could make a nazm and a ghazal about ordinary things like screws or white ants, it has to be Talib Khundmiri who regaled Urdu lovers with his humorous poems

Architecture is a visual art while poetry is a work of heart. One begins when two bricks are put together carefully and the other takes birth when two lines are framed. Both speak of their time and place and yearn for timelessness. Few can hold their own in these obviously unconnected fields. But Talib Khundmiri is an exception. While the buildings designed by him are a visual treat, his verses are difficult to forget. As his love for shayeri increased, Khundmiri became a full-time bard and a part-time architect. Today, he is known more as a poet, a humour poet particularly.

He occupies a special niche in the Urdu world as a parodist. For four decades, he regaled Urdu lovers with his brand of poetry which is sharp, witty and reformative at the same time. His creative insight, distinct writing style and the unique choice of subjects differ from others.

He had a deep understanding of the changing political, socio-economic and cultural situation of the society and employed poetic tool to pinpoint the shortcomings. Poems like Ashoob Ghazal, Khatmalon ki Faryaad, Ankhon ka Gahen, Test Tube Babies, Time Capsule, Clerk ki Munajaat and Shayer ka Self Portrait stand out for their uniqueness.

In the poem Ashoob Ghazal, Khundmiri’s poetical prowess comes to fore. Various characters that figure in the ghazal like mashooq (lady love), raqeeb (rival in love), saqi (wine pourer), namabar (letter carrier), shaikh waiz (preacher admonisher), rehnuma -o-rehbar (guide and mentor), nakhuda (captain) and, lastly, the shayer himself are portrayed here. Each of them lists out their important roles and explain how without them no poet, including Ghalib, Meer and Sauda could complete their ghazal. This long poem ends with the poet warning thus:

Theek hai mai dhoond loonga ab koi tarze jadeed

Ta ke phir koi na kar paye meri mitti paleed

In all his poems, one can detect dramatic twists and turns. Dialogues, language, the tone and tenor further heighten the excitement and histrionics. Writing humour poetry is no walk in the garden. It’s rather treading a thorny valley where one has to be extremely careful. One wrong move and one may have to say:

Ke mai ne shouqe gul-bosi mein kanton pe zaban rakh di

(The passion to kiss the flower drove me to place tongue on thorns)

Khundmiri, however, is very careful in this matter. This adroitness and finesse comes from his expertise in architecture and designing. Khundmiri delves into things which escape the attention of a common man. In the poem Time Capsule, the poet laments the degradation that has set in different walks of life.  Ignorance, discrimination, blind aping of everything western – nothing escapes the scathing attacks of his pen. Hidden in the outpouring of pain and anguish are the hope and wish that things will look up one day. Khundmiri touches raw nerves but in a humorous way. For him, wit and satire are not for fun alone – they are for didactic purpose too. He says:

 Nahin hai tanz ka maqsood kisi ki budkwahi

Ke harf-harf khuluse aashkar apna hai

Wo tanz jis se kisi ka sudhaar ho jaye

Kalam talq sahi, shahkar apna hai

Khundmiri tried his hand at both nazm and ghazal and in both the genres satire and humor stands out. Savour this ghazal of his:

Dastar pe murgh wo mahi ziyada sahi magar

Apne shikam mein hasbe zaroorat utariye

Aaina jaanta hai haqeeqat huzoor ki

Makeup ke baad apni nazr math utariye

Though he dabbled in both serious and comic poetry, Khundmiri is known as a parodist. He did humorous takes on several poets, including Allama Iqbal and Mirza Ghalib. See the kind of comic effect he creates by altering a single word in Muztar Majaz’s verse. The original couplet is:

Mana ke zade rahe muhabbat khaleel tha

Laikin kisi ka dard hamara kafeel tha

Khundmiri’s parody goes like this:

Mana ke zade rahe muhabbat khaleel tha

Laikin kisi ka ‘purse’ hamara kafeel tha

He has tinkered with several famous verses of Ghalib, his favourite poet, in most artistic way. Khundmiri penned poems under the title Palmist Ghalib, Architect Ghalib, Tabeeb Ghalib and Ghalib Hasinaon ke Jhurmut mein. See what happens when Khundmiri works on Ghalib’s famed poem – Naqsh faryaadi hai….

Karnama hai ye kiski shoqie tehreer ka

Hai nadard pairahan har paikare tasveer ka

Roz-o-shab ki saqt mehnat se thi itni tishnigi

Doodh sara pi gaya Farhad juye sheer ka

Iqbal’s well-known nazm, Shikwa, comes in handy for Khundmiri to give vent to Urdu’s complaint against the country. He says:

Mehfile khurdo kalan mein sifate jaam phiri

Le ke aasan khwaid sahr-o-sham phiri

Luknow, Dilli wo Punjab ta Assam phiri

Kya kabhi kaam se apne kahin nakaam phiri

Khundmiri was a good cartoonist as well and drew caricatures for several title covers of Shugoofa magazine. Right from the age of 12, he started writing poetry and a unique feature of his shayeri is that while it creates ripples of laughter, it also leaves many teary-eyed. The main purpose behind his poetry is to reform the society and he resorts to humour and satire to wake up people from slumber. About a habitual drunkard he says:

Aaj to pili hai maine ek botale zindagi

Mere thenge se rahe jis haal mein kal zindagi

For the netas’s profession, he has these special lines:

Aaj kal sansad ki kursi mein nihan hai zindagi

Ye agar mil jaye to phir hukmaran hai zindagi

Is ka milna bhi to na-mumkin hai voton ke baghair

Aur hum ko vote kab milte hain noton ke baghair?

One can’t imagine someone writing poem on such a mundane thing like ‘screw’? But, Khundmiri pens a full-length nazm on it. Samples some verses:

Zara si cheez hai ye jis ko screw kahiye

Ya phir ise koi karinda rafu kahiye

Kai bigaad machinon ke right karta hai

Ho chool chool bhi dhili to tight karta hai

Khundmiri had a thorough knowledge of classical literature and was well aware of the nuances of the language and subtle differences of meaning and expressions. He knew how to use words for maximum effect. Noted humourist, Mujtaba Husain, feels the vacuum created by the death of Akbar Allahabadi in the humour and satire genre still remains unfulfilled. However, Khundmiri is among the few poets who could lay claim to the legacy of the master satirist. His books Suqan Ke Parde Mein and Kanton Pe Zaban Rakh Di bear this out. His poem, Iblis Ka Eteraf, is a masterpiece. In the poem Ek Neta Aur Ladka, a parody of Iqbal’s nazm, Makkhi aur Makda, Khundmiri lays bare the scheming politicians and their devious ways.

His death in January 2011 is an irreparable loss to Urdu lovers. To use a poetic expression:

Muddaton royaa karenge jam-o-paimana tujhe…

J.S.Ifthekhar,

Hyderabad based journalist.

Article published in Telangana Today

Dated August 25,2019