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    My favorite artworks from European Museums

    My favorite artworks from European Museums

    Gandhara Art in Humboldt Forum: Life of Lord Buddha

    Gandhara Art in Humboldt Forum: Life of Lord Buddha

    Jewish Heroes Square in Krakow, Poland

    Jewish Heroes Square in Krakow, Poland

    Block no. 4 in Auschwitz concentration camp

    Block no. 4 in Auschwitz concentration camp

    Ottoman tent in Princess Czartoryski Museum in Krakow, Poland

    Ottoman tent in Princess Czartoryski Museum in Krakow, Poland

    The Steam Engine Building, Potsdam, Germany

    The Steam Engine Building, Potsdam, Germany

    Assyrian human-headed winged bull from Nimrud; 9th cent. BCE; Pergamon Museum, Berlin

    Assyrian human-headed winged bull from Nimrud; 9th cent. BCE; Pergamon Museum, Berlin

    Catacombs in St Peter’s Abbey Salzburg, Austria

    Catacombs in St Peter’s Abbey Salzburg, Austria

    St Nicholas Church in #Leipzeg, #Germany

    St Nicholas Church in #Leipzeg, #Germany

    Gloriette, Schonbrunn Palace, Vienna,Austria

    Gloriette, Schonbrunn Palace, Vienna,Austria

    Matthias Church on Buda Castle Hill, Budapest

    Matthias Church on Buda Castle Hill, Budapest

    The Neptune fountain in Schonbrunn Palace, Vienna, Austria

    The Neptune fountain in Schonbrunn Palace, Vienna, Austria

    The Dohany Street synagogue in Budapest

    St Peter’s Abbey Church in Salzburg, Austria

    St Peter’s Abbey Church in Salzburg, Austria

    The Residence Fountain in Salzburg: Oundof Music

    The Residence Fountain in Salzburg: Oundof Music

    Sultana Daku and Raj Bhawan of Nainital

    Sultana Daku and Raj Bhawan of Nainital

    Sultana Daku and Raj Bhawan of Nainital

    Sultana Daku and Raj Bhawan of Nainital

    Jahan koshan cannon, Murshidabad

    Jahan koshan cannon, Murshidabad

    Takht-e Marar, Golestan Palance, Teheran, Iran

    Takht-e Marar, Golestan Palance, Teheran, Iran

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      My favorite artworks from European Museums

      My favorite artworks from European Museums

      Gandhara Art in Humboldt Forum: Life of Lord Buddha

      Gandhara Art in Humboldt Forum: Life of Lord Buddha

      Jewish Heroes Square in Krakow, Poland

      Jewish Heroes Square in Krakow, Poland

      Block no. 4 in Auschwitz concentration camp

      Block no. 4 in Auschwitz concentration camp

      Ottoman tent in Princess Czartoryski Museum in Krakow, Poland

      Ottoman tent in Princess Czartoryski Museum in Krakow, Poland

      The Steam Engine Building, Potsdam, Germany

      The Steam Engine Building, Potsdam, Germany

      Assyrian human-headed winged bull from Nimrud; 9th cent. BCE; Pergamon Museum, Berlin

      Assyrian human-headed winged bull from Nimrud; 9th cent. BCE; Pergamon Museum, Berlin

      Catacombs in St Peter’s Abbey Salzburg, Austria

      Catacombs in St Peter’s Abbey Salzburg, Austria

      St Nicholas Church in #Leipzeg, #Germany

      St Nicholas Church in #Leipzeg, #Germany

      Gloriette, Schonbrunn Palace, Vienna,Austria

      Gloriette, Schonbrunn Palace, Vienna,Austria

      Matthias Church on Buda Castle Hill, Budapest

      Matthias Church on Buda Castle Hill, Budapest

      The Neptune fountain in Schonbrunn Palace, Vienna, Austria

      The Neptune fountain in Schonbrunn Palace, Vienna, Austria

      The Dohany Street synagogue in Budapest

      St Peter’s Abbey Church in Salzburg, Austria

      St Peter’s Abbey Church in Salzburg, Austria

      The Residence Fountain in Salzburg: Oundof Music

      The Residence Fountain in Salzburg: Oundof Music

      Sultana Daku and Raj Bhawan of Nainital

      Sultana Daku and Raj Bhawan of Nainital

      Sultana Daku and Raj Bhawan of Nainital

      Sultana Daku and Raj Bhawan of Nainital

      Jahan koshan cannon, Murshidabad

      Jahan koshan cannon, Murshidabad

      Takht-e Marar, Golestan Palance, Teheran, Iran

      Takht-e Marar, Golestan Palance, Teheran, Iran

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      Inqilaab Zindabad: How Urdu poetry shaped 70 years of India’s glorious freedom

      We stand to lose the verse of revolution if we remove the study of its poets and writers from our curriculum.

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      Urdu, the language born in the streets of Delhi, became the language of love in the 19th century and the language of rebellion in the 20th and 21st centuries.

      The initial stages of Urdu, when it replaced Farsi as the poetic language, saw classical poets such as Mir Taqi Mir, Ghalib and Momin writing paens to the Beloved. For the metaphysical poets the Divine was the Beloved.

      After the fall of the Mughal Empire and the consolidation of the British Empire, romantic poetry continued to flourish.

      Altaf Hussain (1837-1914), who adopted the pen name of Hali (the contemporary), was one of the first poets to raise his voice for freedom from British rule.

      His poem“Hub e Watan”emphasised the virtues of patriotism and became very popular with children.

      Teri ek musht e khaak ke badle

      Luu’n naa hargis agar bahisht mile

      (In lieu of one fistful of your dust/

      Refusal of Paradise in exchange is for me a must)

      Art and literature – and revolutionary poetry in particular – have always played a significant role in any movement for Independence.

      Urdu played a major role in the freedom struggle with poets like Altaf Hussain Hali, Brij Narain Chakbast, Hasrat Mohani, Zafar Ali Khan, Mohd Ali Jauhar and his brothers Shoukat Ali, Allama Iqbal, Durga Sahai, Suroor Jahanabadi and Trilok Chand Mehroom using it to inspire and mobilise an entire generation.

      Bismil Azimabadi’s verse,

      Sarfaroshi ki tamanna ab hamaare dil mein hai,

      Dekhna hai zor kitna baazu e qatil mein hai

      (The desire to sacrifice my life [rebellion] is now in my heart

      Let’s see how much power the executioner has [to stop us])

      written in 1921 became the cry of a generation of revolutionaries and was hummed by Bhagat Singh, Raj Guru and Sukhdev as they marched to the gallows.

      Chandrashekhar Azad’s (1906-1931) unforgettable lines inspire soldiers even today:

      Dushman ki goliyon ka hum saamna karenge

      Azaad hi rahe hain, azaad hi rahenge

      (The enemy’s bullets we face and feel no pain,

      Free we were and free we shall remain)

      Inqilaab Zindabad, coined by the poet Hasrat Mohani (1875-1951) in 1921 as a call against the British, became an anthem for the freedom struggle.

      He was, in fact, the first person to demand Azadi-e-Kaamil or complete Independence for India in 1921.

      Rasm e jafa kaamyaab dekhiye kab tak rahe,

      Hubb e watan mast e khwaab kab tak rahe,

      Daulat e Hindustan qabzah e aghyar mein

      Be adad o be hisaab dekhiye kab tak rahe!

      (How long will tyranny succeed, let us see

      Till when will freedom be a dream*, let us see

      Hindustan’s riches are in the clutches of plunderers

      Till When will this continue, let us see)

      [*dream here alludes to awakening of Indians from their slumber]

      Brij Narain Chakbast (1882-1926) used his pen to inculcate patriotism in fellow countrymen:

      Yeh khaak e Hind se paida hain josh ke aasaar

      Himalaya se uthe jaise abr-e -daryabaar

      (Hark, the swell and surge of youth on Indian dust,

      As if from the Himalayas it was a cloudburst)

      With the formation of Indian Progressive Writers Association, which was set up in London in 1935, a new phase began.

      8_032216041713_081817065507.jpg

      Stalwarts of poetry such as Majaz, Kaifi Azmi, Sahir, Faiz, Makhdoom Moinuddin, Amrita Pritam, Rajinder Singh Bedi and Ali Sardar Jafri and many began to write about “Gham e Dauran” (sorrows of the material world) as opposed to “Gham e Jaana’n” (sorrows of the Lover).

      They wrote on the oppression of the imperialists, capitalists and dictators.

      Josh Malihabadi (1894 -1982),shayar e inqilaabwrote:

      Kaam hai mera taghayyar, naam hai mera shabab

      ‘Mera naara, inqilaab o inqilaab o inqilaab

      (My name is Youth, my job to bring about change,

      My slogan: revolution, revolution, total revolution)

      Ali Sardar Jafri (1913 – 2000) joined the national movement and went to jail several times because of his political activities. It is behind bars that many of his early poems were penned.

      Raqs karai rooh e azaadi, ke raq sam hai hayat

      Ghoomti har waqt ke mahwar pe saari kainaat

      (Dance, O spirit of liberty, for life is eternally dancing,

      The universe revolves in the orbit of times, in an eternal dance.)

      Post-Independence, Sahir Ludhianvi led the charge in poetry and films, bringing out the frustrations of the post-Independence generation whose dreams and aspirations were not being met.

      Freedom was a hard-won prize and came at the great cost of many who are unknown and unsung today. Perhaps, that is why we take it so lightly.

      Lessons from that period need to be taught: students need to read the inspirational nazms and ghazals written by poets who faced imprisonment and hardship for the causes they believed in.

      We stand to lose all this if we remove the study of Urdu verses, poets and writers from our curriculum.

      Published in DailyO.in

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      Rana Safvi

      Come, explore and fall in love the Beauties of Delhi (Dilli ki Ranaiya’n) and the World with me, Rana Safvi

      I have a masters in medieval history from the prestigious Centre for Advanced Studies, Dept. of History, AMU. A firm believer in our Ganga Jamuni Tehzeeb, I am passionate about gaining and sharing knowledge and these days I am doing it via the social media platform.

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      © 2018 Rana Safvi - A blog Exploring Ganga Jamuni Tehzeeb of India, website handcrafted by Abu Sufiyan.