The Hidden Garden, Gopi Narang [cheapest way to read ebooks txt] 📗

The mid-1750s were a challenging time for people living in Delhi. Four Mughal emperors occupied the throne between 1719 and 1760. Each one of them was either killed or overthrown. Nadir Shah’s invasion in 1739 crippled the city. But a greater calamity befell when Ahmad Shah Abdali, another barbarian invader, conquered north India in 1747. Abdali attacked eight times, and each invasion left behind a tale of great pillage and devastation. Mir devotes a large portion of Zikr-e Mir describing these invasions and wars as well as his acquaintances with the main characters involved in these calamities.

Mir left Delhi for Lucknow in 1782 when Shah Alam II was the Mughal emperor. The British consolidated their presence in Delhi by 1803, three years before the emperor’s death. Asaf-ud Daula, the ruler of Awadh, Mir’s patron in Lucknow, was more a vassal of the English than the emperor in Delhi. The nawab was known for his erratic temperament and led a life of luxury and pleasure. Their relationship soured soon and Mir stopped visiting the nawab’s residence for poetry recitations. The time Mir spent in Lucknow between 1782, when he arrived from Delhi, and 1810, when he passed away, is not covered in Zikr-e Mir. Not much is known about his life in the city other than episodes narrated in different tazkirahs.

One exciting and fascinating source for some of the famous episodes about Mir’s obsession with his self-esteem and unusual behaviour towards others is Mohammad Husain Azad and his book Aab-e Hayaat, published nearly a hundred years later. Azad’s book is unique in the sense that it was the first scholarly history of hundreds of classical Urdu poets written in literary prose. The book stands in sharp contrast to tazkirahs, which were cursory and written in the format of chronicles with short personal comments. Aab-e Hayaat documents several episodes from Mir’s life, especially after he moved to Lucknow, revealing many facets of his complex personality that are not available anywhere else. At the outset, Azad pays Mir the highest compliment, stating that in the world of poetry, he was nothing less than a sparkling sun. His admirers treated his work in the same way as they looked upon diamonds and pearls. They spread the poet’s name around like one disperses perfume. ‘He was the only Rekhta poet of Dilli whose ghazals were carried by the travellers as a gift from one city to another.’4

Azad describes an interesting incident during Mir’s travel to Lucknow by a bullock cart. Because Mir did not have the money to arrange a cart for his exclusive use, he agreed to share it with another passenger. The two of them exchanged pleasantries, but then Mir turned his face to the other side. The co-passenger tried to start a conversation but failed. As the passenger tried again, Mir retorted, ‘Sahib, you have paid the fare for travel. It does not include a conversation with me.’ The person replied, ‘But what is the harm in a conversation? Talking eases the boredom of travel.’ Irritated by this persistent questioning, Mir responded, ‘It may be your pleasure, but it spoils my idiom.’5

As Mir reached the outskirts of Lucknow, he might have made a stopover in a sarai. He came to know that a mushaira was being held in the city. He wrote a ghazal and joined other poets on the stage. But his unusually formal attire—a sword, a lancet, and pointed shoes—evoked remarks by onlookers. Mir was tired and disheartened because of travel stress and the grief of leaving Delhi, a city that he loved very much. He didn’t say anything and sat in a corner. When his turn came, the host asked him to say a few words about his whereabouts. Mir read the heart-rending couplets of the following qat’a (thematically integrated couplets) to start his recitation that beautifully captured devastation of Delhi and explained why he was in Lucknow.

kya buud o baash puuchho ho puurab ke saakino

ham ko ghariib jaan ke hans hans pukaar ke

Dilli jo ek shahr tha aa’lam mein intikhaab

rehte the muntakhab hi jahaan rozgaar ke

us ko falak ne luut ke viraan kar diya

ham rahne vaale hain usi ujre diyaar ke

How can I tell you my whereabouts, O residents of the East?

You consider me an alien as you laughingly inquire about my

whereabouts.

Dilli was once considered one of the finest cities in the world,

and only cultured and highly sophisticated people lived there.

The heavens robbed it and devastation followed.

I am a resident of the same ruined place.

When people came to know that the unknown poet was Mir Taqi Mir, they offered apologies. By the next morning, the news that Mir had arrived in Lucknow spread throughout the city. The ruling nawab Asif-ud Daula fixed a monthly pension of rupees two hundred for the poet as a welcome gesture.6

Mir’s relationship with nawab started on a good note, but it did not last very long because, unlike many other poets, Mir would not compromise his honour and dignity for silver or gold coins. Azad narrates an exciting encounter between the two. One day, the nawab sent for Mir, who showed up at the palace as desired. The nawab was standing near a pond that had small fish of different colours and hues. He had a fancy cane in his hands, which he used to poke and prod the fish. Although he asked Mir to recite, the nawab’s attention was divided. Mir read a few couplets and then stopped. When the nawab asked Mir to continue reading, Mir could not resist the urge to question the nawab’s etiquette as poets are given full attention when they read their verse. ‘How can I continue to read, Nawab Sahib, when you are busy playing with the fish?’ The nawab replied, ‘When I hear a good couplet, it will automatically get my attention.’ Mir did not like the response. He left the palace.7

Azad narrates an exchange between Mir and some of his contemporaries in Lucknow that throws light