A beautiful little nazm, Paakeeza, by Padmabhusan Gulzar, who needs no introduction (listen to it here, in his own wonderful sonorous voice).
मिटा दो सारे निशां के थे तुम
हिलो तो जुंबिश न हो कही पर
उठो तो ऐसे के कोई पत्ता हिले न जागे
लिबास का एक एक तागा उतारकर यूं उठो के आहट से छू न जाओ
अभी यहीं थे
अभी नहीं हो
खयाल रखना की जिंदगी की कोई भी सिलवट
न मौत के पाक साफ चेहरे के साथ जाए
The Pure
Erase all evidence that you were
Agitate nothing as you move
When you rise, not even a single leaf is disturbed
Make no sound as each thread of your coverings is removed
You were just here
You aren’t anymore
Remember that not a single fold of this life’s fabric
Touches the pure countenance of Death.
(My humble apologies to Gulzar Sahib for any unintentional mistakes in translation).
In this update to the above post, I would like to point out an interesting similarity that I noticed between that poem and Leo Tolstoy’s novella, The Death of Ivan Ilych. The main plot of this book is as follows: Ilych is a well-to-do, middle-aged man leading a good life with a nice house, a wife, and two children. One day, while tending to a household chore, he falls down and hurts himself . Unfortunately, he gets sick from complications of the fall, and eventually dies after a long sickness. As I said, the story is not very interesting. But the real merit of the book lies in the in the way Tolstoy depicts the evolution of his thinking and how he spiritually transforms himself as his health deteriorates. During the ordeal, he succeeds in distinguishing a selfish and materialistic life, which he knew he had led, from a simple, unassuming, and forgiving way of life, the kind led by his servant boy. The day-to-day change in his thought process and the final enlightenment are very revealing and instructional.
Halfway through the book, there is this paragraph, where Ilych is telling himself:
“Yes, life was there and now it is going, going and I cannot stop it. Yes. Why deceive myself? Isn’t it obvious to everyone but me that I’m dying, and that it’s only a question of weeks, days . . . it may happen this moment. There was light and now there is darkness. I was here and now I’m going there! Where?“
I thought the highlighted words in that paragraph have a striking resemblance to Gulzar’s ‘Pakeeza’.
अभी यहीं थे, अभी नहीं हो ( translation: “You were just here, You aren’t anymore”)
“I was here and now I am going there“
Plus, the first sher of a nazm by Mirza Ghalib (shown below) also has a similar concept…
न था कुछ तो ख़ुदा था कुछ न होता तो ख़ुदा होता
डुबोया मुझ को होने ने न होता मैं तो क्या होता
I won’t go any deeper than that in this blog…but I highly recommend that book and Gulzar’s other poems which are to die for (pun intended).
(Blog updated 29 May 2024)
Jhoombaraabar jhoom 