By Muhammad Ulfat Anjan
Ka:ne Va:lay, a debut collection of poetry by Dr. Showkat Shifa is an ocean full ofnacres varied. It is a canvas on which he is painting with absolute delicacy his emotions and feelings using colourful crayons. Going through the book is akin to undertaking a journey into the depths of an unexploredworld full of awe and fascination.It unfolds before us a multidimensional universe where we live many lives at a time and finally turn into sophisticated beings.
The book has been titled Ka:n Va:lay and the title itself is symbolic. It is a typical Kashmiri word meaning plucking the leftover fruit (walnuts) from the tree when it has already been thrashed and the fruit picked up. Here the title refers to the plucking ofmultifarious themes from the mighty and infinite tree of poetry.Every time the poet throws his stick, a theme falls down in his lap. Yes, the poet has successfully dealt with themes like religion and spirituality, dependence on God, search for truth,life, death and destruction, separation, dejection, alienation, absurdity, happiness, self-identity and self-realization, transformation,exploration, celebrationetc. in Ka:n Va:lay. He knows no limits and boundaries and while going through his debut collection of poetry, one feels like a traveler journeying into the heart of knowledge, wisdom and enlightenment.
The book has been divided into six ‘bogs’ (parts) and every part begins with a hammud (poetic composition praising Allah s.w.t) followed by a naat(poetic composition praising prophet Muhammad p.b.u.h). In every hammud, Dr. Shifa celebrates and sings the oneness of Allah and chants with absolute modesty His noble attributes. The word ‘Kun’ has repeatedly been used by him while addressing the Lord of the universe. The book itself begins with the line:
Khoda chu kun, shuba:n chu kun, tekun chu bey shuba:n ne kanh.
(Allah is one and oneness to his exaltedness adds; no other being this trait bears)
He sings of his infinite love and attachment to his Lord at many places in the book. This attachment is divine and deep and gives meaning to his existence. Only a true servant of Allah can speak like this:
Tchaentasbee chum dilluk dub dubpara:n
Maatchenish chum zanhtowwaydoora:nmeydil
My pulsation chants thy praise, oh Lord
This is why my heart is never detached from you
In the Naats, he depicts his immense love for the Prophet of Allah and states that the real wisdom and sovereignty lies in this love of beloved Prophet (p.b.u.h):
Myaeni aepa:neh agar chukh ne gadaayetaiba
Baadshahaastehchukhtottikhasaarasander
Dear me, if you are not a servant of Prophet beloved
You are a loser even if a sovereign you are
At another place he sings his love for beloved Prophet thus:
Chu divan myon ang angti Shifa amitchgavaehi
Meybanun chu Mustafaeyi, Meybanun chu Mustafaeyi
Every organ of mine is a witness to the fact
That I aspire to be a true Mohammedan
He clearly states that this love is useless without the spirit of tawheed (belief in the oneness of Allah) and it is this spirit of tawheed which makes this love of the Prophet (p.b.u.h) meaningful:
Ath hub-e-rasoolasti chu tawheed divan aay
Tawheed leads to perfection this love of beloved Prophet as well
In his duas (supplications), he bows down before Almighty with immense humility, humbleness and meekness. He teaches us the real way of making duas through Ka:neVa:lay. He spreads his hands before Allah like a true slave and cries out his heart like this:
Yaillaehikarafu at baarichimlachbaedgunaah
Sa:yinaeykerihemtchepa:naykusdiyyamjaanaspanaah.
Oh Allah, forgive me, loads of sins I carry on my back
If you do not shield me, from whom shall I shelter seek
The poet uses a sublime and polished diction to fill the canvas of Ka:ne Va:ley. He is not restricted by tradition but he moves forward to embellish his mother tongue with a new freshness and vigor. Language that does not change with changing times has to face death and knowing this fact, Dr. Shifa has tried his best to introduce a vibrant diction as revealed by his use of imagery and symbolism into his tongue to take it to new, advanced heights. His diction gathers fragrance from tradition, takes bath in the hues of metaphysical verbiage and plucks some colourful flowers from the tree of romanticism and moves forward to develop into a new, advanced form.He combines intellect and feeling and delineates his reflection and contemplation smoothly in the language of emotions. Only a poet who has dived into the ocean of knowledge by unravelling different forms of literature can dare to perform such an experiment in his verse.He is cock-sure that his tongue would continue to touch the heights of progress and refinement in future too and it would continue to be honoured and admired. He says:
Pot ka:lzabardast, ammyukha:lzabardast
Bronhkuntiyizevrozzibeherha:lzabardast
Its past glorious and magnificent its present too
Future too would add grandeur to this tongue
He adorns it with an unmatching imagery and symbolism. His imagery is so bright and vivid that the reader feels mesmerized and enchanted. This symbolism helps him to hum complex themes/subjects through the flute of poetry which otherwise would not have been an easy thing to do. The poem titled ‘Bubloo’ is full of such distinct versification. Here an appeal is made to a beloved one lost in the cycle of violence to return to his home/homeland in a very picturesque and arresting way:
Yikhnakotch dimahaybonishuhul
Virivaarikikulguhlichshehlath
Athkochimanzthaavaysontehobbur
Beyyiroodehjerrenmanzgindnaavath
Come, I will gift you the shade of Chinar
The dewiness of a willowy plot,
In your lap I will gather spring clouds
And sprinkle rainy showers on your play
Shabnam saethen rabbi kho:rchallay
Handivethrovaeraqvathraaway
SheshNaggkivachkuyvo:enchakkith
Zaalentehattendagshehlaaway
With dew your muddy feet I will wash
Your sweat I will wipe with fenugreek leaves
The water from the bosom of Sheshnag, on your wounds I will sprinkle
Andthus, your bruises balm
At another place we find this instance of bright imagery which only a poet like Shifa can beget:
Chussanaanya:mlekhaannaavnabbastarakhchoun
Tepevanprev chu tammyuk yam saran chus be sanaan
The stars carving your name in heaven’s heart my attention arrest
And its reflection falling on lagoons beneath I reflect upon
The metaphorical usage in the below listed examplesalso reveals how advanced and unique his diction is:
Akhtaabehtchekun zoonvuchityeslehtchataannoor
Chukhpaanehwuchaan van tetchekathnoorehfattis kin
Sun, your sight makes the moon scatter light in abundance
Tell me, to which lump of light you yourself gaze at
Sohnaageaabehdiganaesparyirambnaavan
Pevaanyaadachanaz chi mernivozlaavaan
Yutuy chu pozzi be chusvandehbuz von shishmehshehar
Suvaadehyaarballuk chum meyaztigreknaawan
Shaffaqnasayi chi aenasandarakesbandi
Tassun khayal chu shaman yipathrivoshlaavaan
The spring water’s surge that would nymphs lull and becalm
With its reminiscence doth redden my eyes,
This much is truth now that a frozen, winter-struck city I am
And my being seethed by the affiance at the tryst spot,
Not the twilight but a reflection in mirror trapped
Her thought at eventide doth make the ground aflame
Vuchithpakraathkyuth hey zoon mouji
Keraanchakhtaarkanhund gash latmonji
Walk with care in darkness, oh mother moon
You are trampling the luminescence of stars
The reminiscence of childhood memories and boyhood days can be found in the book too. Dr. Shifa uses the visual imagery in such a way that we return to those pleasing stages of life and live those stages of life again. The poems‘Lokchaar’ and ‘Daeslab’ fall in the category.
Every writer is a product of his age and in his/her work we come across the untold stories of his land. Dr. Shifa too paints the historic anguish, agony, death and destruction, suffering and frustration, unfulfilled dreams and wilted hopes, separation,the lost brotherhood and unity as he experienced it in real life in his verse. Like every artist in Kashmir, he finds himself chained and finds himself caught in clutches to express his heart due to the prevailing circumstances. He clearly states that:
Paetachandithkathanquluf chu laggith
Meeli, Kalman, athanquluf chu laggith
Eyes blindfolded, our tongues locked and sealed
Ink, pen and hands all locked and sealed.
Yet the poet dares to express himself and he does so by making the poetic devices his weapon. He does it using a refined diction, vibrant imagery and symbolism. The following instances reveal how artistically he has portrayed it all in Ka:ne Va: lay:
Kustam Shifa for jazbaatan, kemtaamath hot churehsaasan
Ravantyol, vochdag,baaybondut, miltchaarbarabaroushhaaran
Someone robbed us of our emotions and strangled our feelings
The pain of loss in our breasts bruised -brotherhood, harmony all shedding tears
The poet laments the loss of his land’s prosperity and paints a picture of the ruination in very emblematic and emphatic way-
Yettenousparyidarshan ,wignivanvun, aztimanjaeyyan
Sajaavanmaqbarey, bas maqbarey, bas maqbarey ha ha
The spots where nymphs would take seats and sing
These days embellish graveyards alone
Laashan chi laggithde:rte sang mil gammitgaeb
Tyoota chu bahaankhoon chi vonnijheelgammetgaeb
The dead bodies in piles have buried the milestones
The blood to such an extent spilled has the lakes filled.
Preth posh langasnish von yimanzar chu gassandreenthi
Bulbul chu dennanchaentesombraanchammanchaen…
Kya kya ne farrithgostekaemkaem ne korruslooth
Ker ker ne ammaous Shifa sounwattanchaen
Every blossom now such a sight doth offer
The bulbul crooning destruction and the garden gathering the same,
Whatnot did become its robber? who left it without loot?
Tell me Shifa,when our homeland was not a devastation?
The pain and frustration felt by the poet shapes his verse throughout Ka:ne Va:ley. It has been well said that if you wish to write pain, you have to chew it first and this is true of Dr. Shifa as a poet as well. His verse paints a picture of a withered heart in an exemplary style. His feelings and emotions fall on paper and we read tales of anguish and ache:
Bahaarasmanzyivaan chum bouyhardech
Shifaa bulbul dilasgulzaarrovvum
In spring I smell an autumnal whiff
Shifa, I lost the springtide of my jubilant heart.
Khoonejigrekerangovnabbektaarakh
Lollehlollasvandovrathaa be teche
With the blood of our beings, let’s paint the stars of heaven
Beloved, let’s bestow blood on love together.
The predicament of aimless existence surrounded by an air of uncertainty finds at place in the book at many places. The metaphors used to describe such a situation are apt and of the highest order. Who other than Shifa can paint things like this:
Yeti chi saeryhokhensaran manz band
Aabehrustuysamanderanmanz band
Pogvezthyfullaylaggy her su
Posh kaetyaa chi maqbarranmanz band
Here everyone is trapped in lagoons dry,
And in waterless oceans,
the bugle would scatter flowerets everywhere
Countless flowers in graveyards are trapped.
Yethshahaarsander chu varzunvaav
Morkuskaemkammiskhabbarventov
Here in this city, winds of ruin blow
Whose beloved was butchered by whom, oh reveal.
The below given lines sum up the predicament of the denizens of the wasteland, Kashmir in a moving way:
Som bat sundmakaan hue be Shifa
Pashtelabehtchor, dari bar ne kunny
Like Pandit Som’s house am I Shifa
A roof and four walls I possess but no doors and windows.
The poet finds his prayers too ineffective in such a state and screams with a doleful bosom:
Saenmangmang chi rottehshunhismanz
Aasmaanansattanquluf chi laggith
Our prayers stuck somewherein state of nothingness
As the heavens seven are locked and sealed.
The poet is worried about what tomorrow is going to bring and the unpredictable future too has been portrayed beautifully in the following lines:
Khotkaaliobbur
Gat zol chu ganaan
Wuzmal chi gassaan
Gagraayigrezaan
Day zaaniammakyavopdipaggah
Cimmerian clouds have gathered
Darkness is densifying,
Lightening can be perceived
And thunderstorms are reverberating,
Almighty knows what tomorrow is going to bring.
But he has an optimistic vision and dreams of a ‘nooraeniseher, nundbounpagah’ (bright morning and promising future) which is the trait of a true artist.
Ka:neVa:ley is a satire on modern life too and the poet makes irony his weapon to convey the required idea. It mocks and ridicules the false practices of modern man and makes a scathing attack on our ego. We realize our folly and are artistically led to self-identification and self-realization. After going through the pages of this book we read ourselves and realize our meanness. From our outward appearance we present ourselves to be faithful believers/servants of Allah but from within, we are hollow. A so-called believer’s dilemma has been pictured artistically in the following instances which teach us a valuable lesson in an ironical way and we are left to laugh at ourselves:
But dillasmanzhazaarsombraeyith
Moomnochukhchekaefirranzaagaan
With thousands of idols in your being,
You are after the disbelievers oh, believer
Zyevisaethwanaanyus chu mohobbattesuchus be
Dilsaeththavaanyus chu adaavatte se chus be
It’s me who sings love with his tongue
And it’s me whose heart chants the melodies of hatred too.
korrumpassipardekya,astagfirullah
Tesar ta paa be chustaqwaabazaehir
My seclusion so polluted, may Allah’s wrath be far away!
And outwardlyI am an epitome of piety from head to toe
Ander kin chus be sharhekmoolpraataan
Nebbir kin tchumsharayee chum, yichaakam
I am scything the roots of sharah from my inside
My outward appearance in its hues painted, is this not enough?
The doctors and teachers who have made a fun of their positions and indulge in wrong practices have been attacked at in a very ironical way:
Karaan hazchus agar business gunaachaa
Be chus bod daakteralhumdulillah
If I indulge in business, is it a sin?
AlhumduLillah,a reputed physician I am
Meyfehlovvumvobbanaakhwandgeehund
Vanaanchim master alhumdulillah
I spread the cancer of ignorance and illiteracy
AlhumduLillah, a teacher I am.
Dr. Shifa very adroitly and masterly makes an attack on our ego and vanity and leads us to self-realization and self-identification:
Be manche kreelmeyhishkanh locket ne zaatshifa
Magar hu baalehthazzarchuswandan be khorbaanas
No other creation is as insignificant as I am, Shifa
And yet the height of that mountain I trample under my feet.
He compares an egotist to a leaf in the poem ‘Pan Vather’ thus:
Deenshithmamoolivaavringish
Chukhshoqehtulaangardanthodthod
Chuydhyandhalanjalpannennish
Chukhlollehnabaskunvothlaayaan…
You begin to lift your head in ecstasy
When a little wind of favour you come across,
With love you take a flight towards heaven
And your beloved ones turn strangers to you
Then he comes with the lesson in the following lines:
Yuskhaakkhottymaataarayzah
Suykhaaknivaanchuyshropraevith
The dust that you always looked down upon
Consumes your existence.
Yas chu basaan Himalaya hu paan
Suy chu challichalliyivaanvassithbaazay
He who thinks himself to be mount Himalaya
Falls down scattered at times
At another place he puts an advice into our ears thus:
Prethsaat ne maenzimaenzi chu nabbaskuntivuchunjaan
And pekh chi drobydrobtenachanwaalitchekerhosh
Chaa shah tullenandertibajjarkanhzitchechuy bosh
Ammi aemmipannaynaavilammanwaalitchekerhosh
Not always but at times it is good to fly high
All around abysses oh, wanderer have a care,
These gasps of breath so weighty that you’re aloof and smug
Oh, raft puller with a string soft, have a care.
The following lines too, in a metaphorical way depict the same truth:
Vuchithpakraathkyuth hey zoon mouji
Keraanchakhtaarkanhund gash latmonji
Walk with care in darkness, oh mother moon
You are trampling the luminescence of stars
the poet very appealingly sums up the state of modern man blinded by materialism:
Meykhodaayzar, tchekhudaayzar, bettijaanwar, tchettijaanwar
Meyzarruk chu zartezarruktchezar, bettijaanwar, tchettijaanwar
Mettibronthehkanni chu yichounrath, tchettibronthkanni chu yimyonrath
Na meycheshmeh tar, natchecheshmeh tar, bettijaanwar, tchettijaanwar
Wealth is my God and your God too; I am abeast and a beast you’re too
Wealth has added to my ego and added to your ego too,I am a beast and a beast you’re too
Before me it’s your blood that I’ve spilled and before you it’s mine blood that you’ve spilled
Neither mine eyes wet nor your eyes wet; I am a beast and a beast you’re too
Like every great artist Dr. ShowketShifa does not keep humour and wit out of the canvas of Ka:ne Va:ley. He does it too most adeptly, in an ironical way thus bringing to surface the behavioral crisis of both the sexes. The following instances deserve a mention here:
Mey path kunyellinazar ditch aesladki
Tammis von gov muzakkaraesvardi
Vanithvardee white yinnehkothzaenniv
Garrezvannukmey chum zanaesmehnyu
When I looked back, I discovered a girl
Though in male robes she was clad,
Think it not a coat when I say the dress was white
She was like a man, this I want to convey
Meythezhazaeschapnethoortaemsenz
Vonnumkyagudritasbannihooryemsenz
Her slipper’s heel was taller than me
What would befall on him whose hoor she would be, I thought.
Torrumhazfikri‘souyketh’kaen chi vopdaan
Mardyellizaenbanan pat kya chu sapdaan
Yes, I got it how the ‘vicious weed’ grows
And what happens when a man becomes a woman
Nassefaessimmeybrembremchokbaasan
Nassefsoonchumzitasrufdaaraasan
Buthis gov marchwaangun, chokkannovnaar
Meydoppaanaafassyovukhvonnipeyyiy maar
Half of them seemed devils to me
And half I thought would be demons,
My face turned red like chilly, my ears fire emitted
I thought I’ve been trapped and soon beating would befall
Yod ne rudukhhadasandertche Shifa
Krehnikaawokarrykukkilpaagal
If you desist not from crossing the line, Shifa
The koil will send you to asylum, black crow.
Timmankunaechtullen gov moth kaanchun
Anaanyimsandlitaasaysaethzalzal
Karaan pot kaaliousuy don dillanmyol
Karrunkhaandar chu azkalbaayitonchal
Giving your gaze to those is akin to inviting death
Who with their sandal hits tremors bring
In times gone, marriage would unite two souls
Getting married these days is mere deception dear.
Melody is another special feature of Dr. Shifa’s poetry and in Ka:ne Va:lay we find a treasure of such melodic verses which can be sung with ease. Be it a Hammud, Naat, Dua or Ghazal, the poet proves himself to be an enthralling lyricist everywhere. The following lines from a Ghazal establish this fact beautifully:
Hijjar chu myoothtovay kin chu intezaarshroenyal
Dazaan chi naarsetha, bas chu lolehnaarshroenyal
Towwaymushuq chi tchatta:ngul, tammis chi bosseh divan
Owwayronnen chu gassan shroen, chu myonyaarshroenyal
Separation is sweet thus wait so sacchariferous
Fires are myriad, but love’s flame sweet and luscious
The flowerets their fragrance spend and caresses offer
And jingle the bells to behold my love nectarous.
To conclude, Ka:ne Va:lay is an ocean incorporating in its bosom the sweetness of art. It depicts the journey of the poets’ creativity and highlights his expertness in dealing with the forms of versification in a novel way. The different ‘bogs’ (parts) of the book are springs varied and the reader gathers pearls from every page he reads.
(The author, hailing from Kulgam, is a teacher and can be reached at ulfatanjan77@gmail.com)
