Munawwar Rana: Poet who mirrored sufferings of the marginalised

Nonika Singh

“Woh bhichad kar bhi kahan mujh se juda hota hai,

ret par os se ek naam likha hota hai.”

The immortal words that eminent Urdu poet Munawwar Rana wrote could well be true for the wizard of poetry himself. He may have departed this mortal world on Sunday after a prolonged illness, but his immeasurable contribution to the world of poetry will never ever be erased. Best known for his iconic poem “Maa”, his thoughts on motherhood and motherly remain etched in the mindscape of poetry lovers. Ghazal is often considered synonymous with ‘mehbooba’, ‘husn’ and ‘ishq’; only for Rana that beloved was mother, in whose praise he penned more than one paean. Of course, “Maa” for him was much more than just a mother figure. It represented rivers, nation and much more.

Recipient of the Sahitya Akademi Award and not the one to mince words, Rana was one of the many luminaries who returned their awards to mark their angst against rising “intolerance” in the country. Social media, which he felt had become a veiled ruse to abuse too came under his censure. His views on many a political issue, including Ayodhya Ram Temple verdict, courted controversy. Yet his poetry always spoke for the marginalised and not members of the religion he was born into. The syncretism of his writing was evident in the fact that he wrote in Urdu and used Awadhi and Hindi words and did not rely on high-flown Persian or Arabic. Often he did express his anguish over the growing communal rift: “Yeh dekh kar patenge bhi hairan ho gayi, abh toh chattein bhi Hindu Musalmaan ho gayi.” Here was a man whose heart and words beat for India… the nation which belongs to all. “Ghazal mein aapbeeti ko mein jagbeeti banaata hoon…” No wonder his poetry touched a universal chord.