Wajid Ali Shah composed the thumri Babul Mora, made popular by KL Saigal. Image credit: Youtube.

India has always had a syncretic culture. It has been called a Ganga-Jumni tahzeeb in Urdu. Like the intermingling of mighty rivers that create a rich alluvial soil for new growth, the intermingling of diverse cultures, especially Hindu and Muslim, created a uniquely Indian culture over many centuries that not only accepted the various sub-streams but enhanced the basin’s fertility and class. This was something most Indians were proud of, or at least were comfortable with. Today however, that syncretic culture is under great strain. With populations in many Indian cities becoming segregated, and streets demarcating segregation being treated like a hostile border, one wonders how syncretism flourished at all in earlier times. What happened to the rich soil and the new growth it was supposed to nourish? What does the future bode for a multicultural India? I will return to this thought at the end of this article.

I have been running a literary website at www.urdushahkar.com where I reproduce, transliterate and translate some of the masterpieces of Urdu poetry. In my readings of Urdu poetic literature for my website, I have often hit a rich vein of loving devotion to Krishna, otherwise known as Krishn bhakti, by people who considered themselves as orthodox, observant Muslims. This may sound incongruous but it’s true that in their writings, many eminent poets moved easily from Mohammed to Krishn in a seamless yet reverent manner, without missing a beat. Few readers raised an eyebrow. No one looked askance at them. They depicted Krishn as the embodiment of love and his flute as the song of love.

Reflecting the intermingling of streams and its expression in folk culture, are the devotional songs and ghazals of Amir Khusro (1253-1325) written in proto-Urdu, intermingled with Farsi and khadi boli. The secular, devotional, didactic couplets or dohas of Kabir Das (1440-1518?) and Rahim Khan Khan-e-Khana (1556-1627) are a part of many people’s everyday conversation. Then there is the story of Sayyad Ibrahim Khan (1548-1628) who took the pen-name or takhallus of Ras Khan, wrote devotional bhajans to Krishn, and moved from Delhi to Brindavan to live there and sing bhajans. His bhajans are such an integral part of the local topography that they are sung without anyone ever knowing that they were written by a Muslim. Upon his death, still considered an observant Muslim, he was buried in Brindavan. A samadhi topping off his grave is a point of call for devotees of Krishn as a part of their pilgrimage. Legends of Wajid Ali Shah (1822-1887), the Nawab of Oudh, dancing as Krishn, surrounded by gopis, with no accounting of the religious affiliation of the dancers, are a matter of street lore in Lucknow. The thumri he composed, “babul mora” was among the more popular songs sung by the great KL Saigal.

I have gathered here samples of Urdu poetry illustrating devotional as well as metaphorical weaving of Krishn bhakti into Urdu poetry. In each case, the full ghazal, nazm or bhajan can be accessed at the website www.urdushahkar.com by going to the Poet Index and following the trail or entering ‘krishn’ in the search box. Poetry text is available in three scripts (Roman, Urdu and Hindi) with word meanings and explanatory discussions in English, as well as oral recitation and singing (where available).

Nazeer Akbarabadi

Nazeer Akbarabadi (1735-1830) pre-dated Mirza Ghalib. He wrote paeans to Islamic figures as well as to Krishn. Clearly, his praise of Krishn was in no way designed to curry official favour, but was a reflection of societal feelings – poets are called the conscience of society. One she’r (couplet) from a long nazm/song of 54 misras (lines) called “Kanhaiyya ji ki baansuri” runs as follows:

Mohan ki baansuri kya kya kahun jatan
lai us ki man ki mohini, dhun us ki chit-haran

And the refrain in this song is:

sub sun-ne vaale kah uthe jai jai Hari Hari
aisi bajaaii Kishan Kanhaiyya ne baansuri

At the same time the poet saw no contradiction in also writing this:

padhe hain sub pari aur dev, jin, kalama Mohammed ka
musalmaan hai to mat bhool ek chaan kalama Mohammed ka
[All creatures, angels and demons recite the kalama of Mohammed.
If you are Muslim do not forget it even for a single “chhan/kshan/moment”.]
 

Hasrat Mohani

Syed Fazlul Hasan Hasrat Mohani (1875-1951), with his bushy beard, known as Maulana for his scholarship of Islamic literature, was a member of the Indian National Congress as well as the Muslim League. He went to jail several times and was at the forefront of the independence movement. He went to hajj as well as to Baghdad, Najaf and Karbala on pilgrimage and also to Mathura and Nandgaam several times. At the same time, he declared himself to be a socialist/communist. He wrote ghazal style paeans to Krishn as well as bhajans in the style of Mira Bai. He also wrote bhajan style paeans to sufi scholars/saints in colloquial language. Here are some samples.

Hasrat Mohani expresses his devotion to, and prays to Mohammed thus: 

khyaal-e-ghair ko dil se mita do ya rasool-ul-laah
khirad ko apna divaana bana do ya rasool-ul-laah

[O messenger of allah, remove all other thoughts from my mind.
Change worldly knowledge/wisdom into passionate love of you.]

At the same time he saw no contradiction in praying to Krishn thus:  

kucch hum ko bhi ata ho ke aye hazrat-e Krishn
iqleem-e ishq aap ke zer-e qadam hai khaas
Hasrat ki bhi qubool ho Mathura men haazeri
sunte hain aashiqaun pe tumhaara karam hai khaas

[O, Revered Krishn, grant something to me too.
The special realm of divine love lies at your feet/command.
May the pilgrimage of Hasrat to Mathura be accepted.
We hear that you bestow special benevolence on your devotees.]

Nor did he hesitate in mixing Islamic and Hindu terminology

Gokul ki sarzamin bhi aziz-e-jahaan bani
kalma padha jo un ki mohabbat ke naam ka

[The homeland of Gokul too became the beloved of the world
As I read out the kalma (declaration of faith) of love of his (Krishn’s) name.]

Seemab Akbarabadi

Ashiq Husain Siddiqui Seemab Akbarabadi (1882-1951), also a member of the Indian National Congress and the Muslim League, jailed for participation in the freedom movement, used the song of love for Krishn to bring all communities together. He writes that Krishn’s flute, the embodiment of love, is broken and its bits are scattered around. He calls for the broken pieces to be gathered so that:

unhen main jod ke phir baansuri banaaun ga
jo naghme gaaye gaye the vo main bhi gaaun ga
main us se az-sar-e-nau hind ko jagaaun ga
main aag un se mohabbat ki phir lagaaun ga

[I may join them together into that (Krishn’s) flute again.
I will play the same songs (of universal love) that were played then.
With those songs and that flute I will wake up India all over again.
With those songs I will set the fire of love alight.]

Josh Malihabadi

Josh Malihabadi (1894-1982) who is known as a revolutionary poet for writing strong anti-colonial poems is also known for his wide-ranging knowledge of Farsi and compositions in chaste Urdu. He also wrote in conversational language about the flute of Krishn:

ye kin ne bajaaii muralia
hirdai men badri chhaaii
gokul bun men barsa rang
baja har ghat men mardang

[Who is it that plays this magical flute?
Clouds of benevolence rain down my heart
Joyful colour spreads in the garden of Gokul
Every pot rings out with the sound of drums.]

Bekal Utsahi

Mohammed Shafi Khan Bekal Utsahi (1924-2016), also a freedom fighter, recited a poem at an independence rally in the presence of Jawaharlal Nehru, who expressed pride and joy at the ‘utsahi’ (enthusiastic) young man. Bekal adopted that as a part of his name. A Member of Parliament from Haryana and a Padma Shri honoree, he continued to write in chaste Urdu as well as in conversational Hindustani. His prayer to Krishn:

aisa darpan mujhe Kanhai de
jis men meri kami dikhaaii de
de qalam apni baansuri jaisa
apni rangat ki raushnaaii de

[O Kanhai, grant me a mirror
In which I can see my own shortcomings.
Grant me a pen like your flute (to write songs of love),
Grant me the ink of the colour of your skin.]

Sahir Ludhianvi

Sahir Ludhianvi (1921-1980) wrote a nazm in praise of the novelist and short story writer Krishn Chandar, but composed it in terms of Krishn and his flute.

Krishn ne vaada kiya tha ke vo phir aayen ge
jab bhi dharti pe gunaahaun ka andhera chhaaya
jab kabhi zulm aur shaqaavat ka alam lahraaya
Krishn ne vaada kiya tha ke vo phir aayen ge

[Krishn had promised that he would come again
Whenever the earth was darkened by evil.
Whenever oppression and misery raise their flag
Krishn had promised that he would come.]

Sahir goes on to praise Krishn Chandar suggesting that the flute of Krishn has been re-born as Krishn Chandar’s pen, with which he has written courageously against oppression and injustice.

Nida Fazli

More recently, Nida Fazli (1938-2016) not only saw no contradiction in what he wrote, but regaled with a strong tradition of syncretism thus:

brindaaban ke Krishn Kanhaiyaa allaah hu
bansi Radha Gita gayya allaah hu

maulviyon ka sajda pandit ki puja
mazduron ki haiyyaa haiyyaa, allaah hu

[Devotion to Krishn Kanhaiyya of Brindavan is a form of praise of allaah.
The flute of Krishn, the song of Radha, Gita, the cow, conjure up the creator.
The maulvi’s prostration, the pundit’s puja,
The labourers’ hey-ho from hard work, are all worship of the same divinity.]

Hafiz Jalandhari

The most unexpected piece I came across was a long nazm by Hafiz Jalandhari (1900-1982), the same man who wrote the national anthem of Pakistan. The nazm flows from abstract Sufi/Vedantic to bhakti/devotional to a recall of past glory during the time of Krishn. It then makes a sudden turn to describe the misery of the enslaved, colonized present (at the time of his writing). He moves to the court of Duryodhan where Draupadi (symbolically colonized India) is about to be disrobed, unveiled and dishonoured. He calls upon Krishn to save her honour, moves on to the battle scene of Kurukshetra, victory of the righteous, and in the climax of his poem, calls upon Krishn to return and bring back the good old times.

Haan teri judaaii
Mathura ko na bhaaii
tu aaye to shaan aaye
tu aaye to jaan aaye
aana na akele
hon saath vo mele
sakhiyaun ke jhamele

[Your long absence (O Krishn)
Is not becoming to Mathura (symbolically, India).
If you come, glory will return.
If you come, life will rejuvenate.
But do not come alone.
Bring with you those festivities,
That playfulness of friends/gopis (the joy of old times).]

Epilogue

From a rich syncretic culture which nurtured new growth in an alluvial soil, we have come to the present time where tolerance and goodwill are decreasing by the day. The soil is still the same but the climate is changing.

Where have all the flowers gone? If they are still there, what’s happening to those who admire the flowers? Today, if one dares to venture out from one’s own little garden to appreciate the yonder tulip fields, he or she is likely to be treated as a trespasser. Rasoolan Bai, a doyen of classical music who happened to be a Muslim, was pulled down from the stage in her seventies for singing Mira Bai’s bhajans. A young man was thrown out of his role-playing in a Ram Lila performance because he happened to be a Muslim. A young Muslim woman was disqualified from a talent competition because she chose to sing a bhajan. The anecdotes go on.

With its ancient civilization imbued with the richness of cultural diversity and acceptance of it, India can be a role model for the world in these turbulent times. In order for it to progress to that stage, the Indian masses must acknowledge and recognize the regression creeping within their country. If they stand up to it in all its negative forms, it would be a true fulfilment of Krishn bhakti.