Sunday, September 03, 2017

On Hafiz Jalandhri's "Krishan kanaiya"

I think following article is an important read for all the students of urdu literature.

When the man who wrote Pakistan's national anthem saw the divine in Hindu god Krishna

"...I want to share a very unique Urdu poem: Krishn Kanhaiya. This nazm is by Hafeez Jalandhari.
.... As its title suggests, Krishn Kanhaiya is a poem about the Hindu god Krishna. Today, the mere idea of a Muslim poet writing about a Hindu deity raises all sorts of emotions among different groups in South Asia: surprise, joy, curiosity, suspicion, anger.

 However, there is much more depth to Krishn Kanhaiya than meets the eye. This is no ordinary devotional poem. Jalandhari, ever a politically-minded thinker and writer, draws upon the mythology and persona of Krishna in order to produce a poem that is simultaneously devotional and political in nature..."

Link: https://www.dawn.com/news/1354704


2 comments:

bsc said...

Hafeez Jalundhri was w ell-known Urdu poet and yes it appears that Krishn Kanahiya seems to have been written by him during the time when he was not changed to total Islamic culture I have some either misunderstanding or misinterpretations in the article where the poem has been explained. It is explained very well but the writer seems to give credit to Hafeez Saheb Marhoom only for Tarana. There are are a whole lot of poems by him more well-known especially
Abhi to men jawan hun
is so well-known and appreciated. Many people may not even know who wrote the Pakistani Tarana but both mother and daughter have sung this nazam and it was so popular that I believe it gave Hafeez Saheb more name
As for the Hindu theme there is also equivalent Hindu poets of Urdu who borrow Muslim or Islamic stories for expression. Quid-e-Azam went through the same transformation and also Allama Iqbal whose "saray jahan say accha hindostan hamara" is till popular in India
It seems important for the younger generation to know and be familiar with it as you rightly point out where I agree with you

mystic-soul said...

I agree, there was a lot of transformation and metamorphosis was going on in first half of 20th century. It was a time where world was changing, wars were breaking out, populism was popular!!!