Anup Chand ‘Aftab’: The first & last Urdu Raj-Kavi of Haryana
RK Malhotra
One of the most commonplace charges against Urdu poetry is that it never goes beyond Petrarchan pursuits. But those who level this charge only betray their ignorance of the richest verse that flourished in the language under the cleansing impact of Maulana ‘Hali’ and 'Saleem'. Lala Anup Chand 'Aftab' Panipati, the first Urdu Raj Kavi of Haryana, might have modelled the technical form of his poetic output on that of Master ‘Garma’, ‘Raushan’ Panipati and Maulana ‘Saleem’ but in respect of his themes and visions he always followed in the footsteps of ‘Chakbast’ Lakhnavi, Tilok Chand ‘Mehrum’, Lal Chand ‘Falak’ and Ram Parsad ‘Bismil’. That is why perhaps his poetry has little in common with that of those conventional versifiers for whom “poetry is nothing beyond a beautiful woman’s expressive eyes and extremely charming face and form”. Aftab's poetry is everywhere pulsating with his patriotic spirit. In his own words:
“Ghazal ghazal woh kahan haei, woh nazm nazm kahan, Tarap na jaye jisei sun kei hazrat-i-insan”.
(The ghazal is not a ghazal even as a nazm is not a nazm after listening to which one is not shaken to the very bones.)
‘Aftab’ often tried to drive home to the people the spirit of his favourite theme-as, for instance, in the following couplet:
“Fasane ishk-i-majazi kei sun chukei ho bahut,
Watan ki, qaum ki purdard dastaan bhi suno!”
(You have heard very many stories of worldly love. Now, pay ears to the touching story of your country and the nation!)
And his poetry, as we have it in “Zakhm-i-Watan”, “Josh-i-Watan”. “Aftab-i-watan”, “Qaumi Talwar”, “Jazbaat-i Aftab”, “Shamshir-i-Watan”, “Jazbat ki Duniya”, “Hubb-i-Watan”, etc., is, most of it, in its own humble way, the expression of the nation’s struggle for freedom. But Aftab’s identification with his nation is not just sentimental. As a typical nationalist, he has completely intertwined himself with his nation’s pulse and heartbeat. There is hardly any aspect of the freedom movement that has not been focused upon in his verse. Besides, there is hardly any well known freedom fighter whose sacrifices have not been duly celebrated in his poetry.
‘Aftab’ was born in an aristocratic family of Panipat in 1897. He received his formal education at his hometown. He was deeply influenced by the literary activities of Master BD ‘Garma’ and Babu Shugan Chander ‘Raushan’, the twin local stars of the day. At first, he presented his compositions to ‘Raushan’ for critical examination. But, before long, he found in Maulana Wahiduddin ‘Saleem’ Panipati, the great master his restless spirit had been looking for. And it was Saleem’s footsteps that he followed in till the very last breath of his life on February 8, 1968.
Though a great humanist and patriot, ‘Aftab’ could not be at one with those who are always under an oath to establish synonmity between the poor and the good, and the rich and the bad. But even here the poet in ‘Aftab’ wholeheartedly tries to project a healthy outlook:
“Ameeri aur ghareebi kuchh nahin hein sach
agar poochho, yeh insanon ko insanon sei larwanei
kei rastei hain”
(The richness and poverty are nothing in reality. These are just the tricks to pit men against men for fight!)
After Independence, ‘Aftab’ still kept his eyes fixed on the new problems that cropped up. He continued to have faith in the strength of the rising youth. Hence, he turned to them again and again, exhorting them to weed out all types of corruption from the country.
“Aai jwanan-i-watan! phir himmaton sei kaam lo,
Madr-i-Bharat ki izzat khak mein milnei na do.
Jis tarah tum nei ghulami ka kiya hai khatma, rishwaton ki dor Hindustan
sei la’nat karo”
(O the youth of the country! Show courage again. Don’t allow the honour of Mother India to go down to dust. The way you have put an end to the slavery of the country, the same way try to root out the curse of bribery from Hindustan.)
‘Aftab’ was dead against the curse of bribery so very acutely rampant in the country now. He was himself once the unfortunate victim of this curse. Some utensils were stolen from his residence. The thief was arrested and the utensils were recovered. The criminal was punished by the court of law. But Gurdas, the person in charge of the treasury, created problem after problem and the utensils were not easily released. In a fit of shock, the Raj Kavi in ‘Aftab’ painfully burst out:
“Maal chori ka bramad ho kei bhi milta nahin, ghuncha-i-dil hazrat-i-insaan ka khilta nahin. Jo firangi raj ki talwar ka baqi hei zakhm, Aj bhi tadbir ke dhagon sei woh silta nahin!”
(Things stolen do not come back to the owner even after recovery. So, the buds of man’s heart do not open their petals. The wound caused by the sword of firangi Raj, which is still there does not allow the threads of our efforts to stitch it up.)
As a poet, ‘Aftab’ simply loved to be described as 'Yaadgaar-i-‘Saleem’, a living memory of ‘Saleem’, one of the greatest poets of all time, brackted at times with Allama ‘Iqbal’. But many a knowledgeable scholar such as Dr ‘Sabir’ questioned the verity of this assertion of ‘Aftab’ which, they thought, was nothing more than a mere “empty boast just to impress the innocent Tom, Dick and Harry at Raushan Mahal”. Even the crown of Raj Kavi, many think, was “a kind of shady deal with the political high-ups”. For, after the death of ‘Aftab’, the crown has never passed on to anybody else-not even the greatest among the Urdu poets, dead or living. Aftab’s greatness as a poet too has always been a “mystery in a winding sheet crowned with a halo”. For, the compositions ‘Aftab’ has left behind, with the possible exception of a couple of them, have nothing really special about them. Even Professor Tilok Chand ‘Mehrum’, so very close to ‘Aftab’ otherwise, passed them by without a word of praise for his expression. And, in the eyes of Allama ‘Qais’ Jalandhari, a master artist of the time: “The Raj Kavi was a poet, no doubt, but in name only”.
(The writer is an Urdu poet, better known as Dr ‘Kumar’ Panipati)
