Ghazal was this bard’s forte

When Wali Aurangbadi appeared in Delhi literary circles during Mughal emperor Aurangzeb’s reign, he created a ripple and inspired other poets to switch over to Urdu from Persian

Once the Qutb Shahi dynasty of Golconda and the Adil Shahi Empire of Bijapur fell to the marching armies of Mughals, Aurangabad gained prominence. The Mughal emperor Aurangzeb made it his capital city. This led to the centre of shayeri also shifting to Aurangabad. Not just the poets of Golconda and Bijapur but also prominent writers and bards of Delhi made a beeline to Aurangabad. This period saw Burhanpur also becoming a centre of excellence in poetry with scores of poets contributing immensely to Urdu shayeri. Of them, Wali Muhammed was, undoubtedly, the outstanding poet.

But, years after his death, the controversy persists – Wali Aurangabadi or Wali Gujarati. His poetic legacy is so enormous and rich that people of different regions claim him as their own. Some regard him as a Gujarati poet while some consider him an Aurangabadi. However, many give credence to the account of Shah Abul Maali’s son, a contemporary of Wali, that he was a Deccani shayer. Whatever, there are no two opinions about Wali being the father of modern Urdu poetry in the sense that he was the first classical poet to write ghazals in Urdu.

While scholars debate about his origins, Wali himself was unconcerned about his place of birth. In one of his verses, he says in a nonchalant way:

Hargiz Wali ke pas tum bataan watan ki mat kaho
Jonia ke kuche main hai isukoon watan su kya gharz

Wali was born in Aurangabad in 1667 and obtained his initial education here. At the age of 20, he went to Gujarat and stayed there for several years to obtain both material and spiritual schooling. He is believed to have benefitted a lot from the divine teachings of Hazrat Shah Wajihuddin Gujarati. He visited Delhi for the first time during the reign of Mughal king Aurangzeb. When Wali appeared on the Delhi literary horizon, he created a ripple and took the city by storm. His poetry received a lot of appreciation so much so that poets here gave up Persian and switched over to writing in Urdu.

Noted scholar, Shamsur Rahman Faruqi, says there was very little Urdu literature in North India before Wali and after his visit to Delhi, it became the seat of Urdu learning. Interestingly, Delhi poets used to write in Persian although Urdu was their mother tongue. Urdu was called ‘Rekhta’ here and not considered fit for poetry, while in Deccan it was the preferred language of poetry and prose.

Wali’s poetry, which is at once mystical and earthy, gained starry heights in Delhi. His ghazals were sung and recited everywhere. Such was his impact that north India saw many poets expressing themselves in Urdu and the language prevalent in Deccan also got refined. For a change, the focus shifted from  Masnavis to Ghazals. Thus, Wali played a key role in Urdu emerging as a distinctly recognisable idiom in the north and its ultimate evolution into a literary language. Wali died in 1707.

Wali’s poetry can be divided into three distinct sections. The first part is purely Deccani, the second part has Urdu shayeri with liberal use of Deccani words and the third part is entirely Urdu. His anthology, which includes 422 ghazals, has been published several times. Wali’s poems centre around the theme of love and reflect his penchant towards tasawwuf (sufism). He was fluent in all verse forms, including Masnavi, Qasida, Mukhammas and Rubai. But ghazal remains his forte. The inherent melody and sensuality of his poems endear them to the readers. Enjoy the music of these verses:

Jise ishq ka teer kaari lagey
Usey zindagi kyon na bhaari lagey
Na hovey usey jag mein hargiz qaraar
Jisey ishq ki beqaraari lagey

Without the mention of love, Wali believed, poetry was bland like brick and mortar. According to him, verses take a life of their own when sentiments of affection and fondness fill them.

Yaad karna har ghadi us yaar ka
Hai wazifa mujh dil-e-bimar ka
Subh tera dars paya tha sanam
Shouq-e-dil mohtaj hai takrar ka

Wali was so besotted with passion that nothing mattered to him more than love. He was prepared to sacrifice everything – power and pelf, kith and kin, and even homeland, for the sake of love.

Ishq ki rah main musafir ku
Har qadam tujh gali main manzil hai
Aye Wali rehne ku dunya main maqam ishq
Kucha-e-zulf hai ya gosha-e-tanhai hai
Surprisingly, Wali, who fascinated generations of Urdu lovers, was not allowed to rest in peace. His last abode in Shahibaug area of Ahmedabad, his adopted home, became a casualty at the hands of vandals during the 2002 riots. Later, its last vestiges were also obliterated when a road was laid over it, much to the horror and shock of the literary class. A short film on Wali’s life made by filmmaker Gopal K Annam, in 2010, tries to bring the focus back on this acclaimed poet.

 

J.S.Ifthekhar,

Hyderabad based journalist.

Article published in Telangana Today

Dated March 31,2019