Faiz Ahmed Faiz: Love Beyond Boundaries

Hum ke theherey ajnabi; itni madaraton ki baad Phir banage ashna; kitni mulakaton ki baad
-- Faiz Ahmed Faiz for Bangladesh, 1974

He was listed four times for a Nobel, but never made it, although he was a leading exponent of world literature in the twentieth century.  His affinity with Marxist ideology brought him under the microscope of the State. Many in his own country did not support his political ideology. And yet, his couplets connected with the Great Poets of Old in Sauda (1713-1781), Mir Taqui Mir (1723-1810), Mirza Ghalib (1797-1869), Mir Hassan (1844-1929), and Allama Iqbal (1877-1938).  Staying true to these roots, he brought new dimensions to Urdu poetry.  Through his Quill, ghazals came out of the romanticism of Mughal Courts to represent a voice of the voiceless against injustice. Faiz Ahmed Faiz (1911-1984) of Pakistan was that poet. His love for Bangladesh and all oppressed people of the world was beyond boundaries.

Jago Hua Sawera

Faiz's love affair with Bengal stems from a 1959 cinema. Directed by AJ Kardar and script written by Faiz, Jago Hua Sawera (The Day Shall Dawn) introduced the audience in West Pakistan to Manik Bandopadhyay's Padma Nadir Majhi, and the lifestyle of fishermen in Eastern Bengal and their struggle with poverty. The film was shot in the Meghna basin in Bangladesh.  Khan Ataur Rahman played the role of Anis. It was a commercial flop in West Pakistan.  However, it won a Gold Medal at the First Moscow International Film Festival the same year. Most importantly, the film introduced Faiz to the audience of East Pakistan. In that same year, (1959), Faiz's Ghazal Gulon Mein Rang Bhare, composed by Mehdi Hasan's elder brother Ghulam Qadir and sung by Mehdi Hasan, made Faiz a household name throughout South Asia- India, Pakistan and Bangladesh.

People in this part were not unfamiliar with ghazals. Nazrul first introduced the art and artistry of ghazals into Bangla through lyrics and compositions. Nevertheless, Faiz became a well known name in literary circles in this country thanks to translations in leading newspapers Ittefaq and Sangbad and other literary magazines. Ataur Rahman, Naimul Bashir, Qazi Masoom, Ranesh Dasgupta and Bashir Al-Helal translated many of Faiz's poems into Bangla.  Through his ghazals, Faiz emerged as a crucial bridge between the West and the East speaking about the injustices towards the Bengali people.

Faiz visited Bangladesh several times during the 1960s to attend Mushaira- a self composed session of Urdu poetry. He influenced Ahmadul Kabir and Zahoor Hossain Chowdhury of Sangbad; Shahidullah Qaiser, Munir Chowdhury, Murtaza Bashir, Shawkat Osman, Shakoor Ahmed, and Muzaffar Ahmed to name a few. In 1964, Bangla Academy gave Faiz a grand reception. This was one year after Faiz received the prestigious Lenin Peace Award- the Soviet equivalent of the Nobel Prize.

In 1970, Awami League and Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman from East Pakistan were to form the first democratically elected national government of Pakistan since its birth in 1947. During this time, Faiz brought out a weekly Lail-O-Nahar that was way ahead of its time. It tried to educate the people of West Pakistan and make them aware about the political and socio-economic events that were happening in East Pakistan during the 1960s.  Through Lail-O-Nahar, Faiz warned West Pakistan if the National Assembly in Dhaka on March 3, 1971 was postponed then the history of Pakistan would change forever. Que Sera, Sera! What was to be; was to be.  Bangladesh was born from Genocide in 1971!

Faiz and Nazrul: Love Beyond Boundaries

Faiz visited Independent Bangladesh for the first and the last time in 1974. Legend has it, on arrival at Dhaka Tejgaon Airport, the first question Faiz asked reporters: 'How is Nazrul'? Nazrul and Faiz wrote in languages from two different universes, but their message was of the same universe- to make poetry a universal voice for the voiceless to speak against injustice. When it came to humanity, their love was beyond boundaries. During the 1974 trip, Faiz came to know of the genocide in the Liberation War of Bangladesh. He wrote the famous Ghazal—Hum Ke Theherey Ajnabi. The allegory is more powerful than the exterior where two lovers lived as complete strangers. The ghazal is probably Faiz's ode to Nazrul and all his friends from Bangladesh who were now lost forever!

Only recently has Bangladesh started to re-dig 1971 and search for missing threads. This initiative has been warmly received by a new generation in Bangladesh that is hungry to know about its past.  One of these missing threads is Faiz Ahmed Faiz whose love like Nazrul was beyond boundaries. Next time you hear Nayyara Noor sing Faiz's Hum Ke Theherey Ajnabi, listen carefully. Even if you fail to understand the language, the composition and Nayyara Noor's rendition will be enough to tear your heart.

Faiz Ahmed Faiz and many others from Pakistan risked their lives in 1971 to stand beside the just cause of Bangladesh. Bangladesh Salutes them all as they leave a nation indebted, but not ungrateful to say to Friends from Pakistan, 'Newazish Karam, Shukriya, Meherbani'!

Acknowledgement: Mr Ahmed Ilias, Executive Director, Al Falah Bangladesh; and former member of Faiz Ahmed Faiz's Lail-O-Nahar in 1970.

The author teaches economic theory at Jahangirnagar University.