daraKHt-e-zard
Interesting Fact
John Eliya once saw his only son, Zariyun, now a teenage boy. John did not recognize him at all. And even though his son recognized him, he did not show any special affection towards him. John was heartbroken, and that night he shed tears and wrote his Nazm, 'Darakht-e-Zard'. John had written the poem and kept it with him and never told anyone. Then he called me and told me that he wanted to recite a poem to me. In the back of this desolate and broken room, upon John's bed, he first told me the background of this poem and then he started reciting this poem. His condition was such that he used to weep and recite the poem. John would have shed more tears in reciting this poem than there were words in this long poem. His health deteriorated during this time. He gasped as he talked, and his breath began to swell as he read along. He was suffering from severe nervous weakness. One day I read in the newspaper that John had died in the hospital last night. Going through a thousand thorny twists and turns, the story of his life finally came to an end. John fought and killed himself all his life. And in that state of gloom, he left the world. I see him talking to his son Zariyun in his very unique and wonderful poem 'Darakht-e-Zard'. Derived from Anwar Ahsan Siddiqui's book "Dil-e-Pur Khuun kii ik Gulabi"
nahīñ ma.alūm 'zaryūn' ab tumhārī umr kyā hogī
vo kin ḳhvāboñ se jaane āshnā nā-āshnā hogī
tumhāre dil ke is duniyā se kaise silsile hoñge
tumheñ kaise gumāñ hoñge tumheñ kaise gile hoñge
tumhārī sub.h jaane kin ḳhayāloñ se nahātī ho
tumhārī shaam jaane kin malāloñ se nibhātī ho
na jaane kaun doshīza tumhārī zindagī hogī
na jaane us kī kyā bāyastagī shā.istagī hogī
use tum phone karte aur ḳhat likhte rahe hoge
na jaane tum ne kitnī kam ġhalat urdu likhī hogī
ye ḳhat likhnā to daqyānūs kī pīḌhī kā qissa hai
ye sinf-e-nasr ham nā-bāliġhoñ ke fan kā hissa hai
vo hañstī ho to shāyad tum na rah paate ho hāloñ meñ
gaḌhā nanhā sā paḌ jaatā ho shāyad us ke gāloñ meñ
gumāñ ye hai tumhārī bhī rasā.ī nā-rasā.ī ho
vo aa.ī ho tumhāre paas lekin aa na paa.ī ho
vo shāyad mā.ide kī gand biryānī na khātī ho
vo nān-e-be-ḳhamīr-e-maida kam-tar hī chabātī ho
vo doshīza bhī shāyad dāstānoñ kī ho dil-dāda
use ma.alūm hogā 'zāl' thā 'sohrāb' kā daadā
tahamtan ya.anī 'rustam' thā girāmī 'sām' kā vāris
girāmī 'sām' thā sulb-e-nar-e-'mānī' kā ḳhush-zāda
(ye merī ek ḳhvāhish hai jo mushkil hai)
vo 'najm'-āfañdi-e-marhūm ko to jāntī hogī
vo nauhoñ ke adab kā tarz to pahchāntī hogī
use kad hogī shāyad un sabhī se jo lapāḌī hoñ
na hoñge ḳhvāb us kā jo gavayye aur khilāḌī hoñ
hadaf hoñge tumhārā kaun tum kis ke hadaf hoge
na jaane vaqt kī paikār meñ tum kis taraf hoge
hai ran ye zindagī ik ran jo barpā lamha lamha hai
hameñ is ran meñ kuchh bhī ho kisī jānib to honā hai
so ham bhī is nafas tak haiñ sipāhī ek lashkar ke
hazāroñ saal se jiite chale aa.e haiñ mar mar ke
shuhūd ik fan hai aur merī adāvat be-fanoñ se hai
mirī paikār azal se
ye 'ḳhusro' 'mīr' 'ġhālib' kā ḳharāba bechtā kyā hai
hamārā 'ġhālib'-e-āzam thā chor āqa-e-'bedil' kā
so rizq-e-faḳhr ab ham khā rahe haiñ 'mīr'-e-bismil kā
sidhārat bhī thā sharminda ki do-ābe kā baasī thā
tumheñ ma.alūm hai urdu jo hai paalī se niklī hai
vo goyā us kī hī ik pur-numū Daalī se niklī hai
ye kaḌvāhaT kī bāteñ haiñ miThās in kī na pūchho tum
nam-e-lab ko tarastī haiñ so pyaas in kī na pūchho tum
ye ik do jur.oñ kī ik chuhl hai aur chuhl meñ kyā hai
avāmunnās se pūchho bhalā al-kuhl meñ kyā hai
ye ta.an-o-tanz kī harza-sarā.ī ho nahīñ saktī
ki merī jaan mere dil se rishta kho nahīñ saktī
nasha chaḌhne lagā hai aur chaḌhnā chāhiye bhī thā
abas kā nirḳh to is vaqt baḌhnā chāhiye bhī thā
ajab be-mājrā be-taur be-zārāna hālat hai
vajūd ik vahm hai aur vahm hī shāyad haqīqat hai
ġharaz jo haal thā vo nafs ke bāzār hī kā thā
hai ''ze'' bāzār meñ to darmiyāñ 'zaryūn' meñ avval
to ye ibrāfanīqī khelte harfoñ se the har pal
to ye 'zaryūn' jo hai kyā ye aflātūn hai koī
amaañ 'zaryūn' hai 'zaryūn' vo ma.ajūn kyuuñ hotā
haiñ ma.ajūneñ mufīd ''arvāh'' ko ma.ajūn yuuñ hotā
suno tafrīq kaise ho bhalā ashḳhās o ashyā meñ
bahut janjāl haiñ par ho yahāñ to ''yā'' meñ aur ''yā'' meñ
tumhārī jo hamāsa hai bhalā us kā to kyā kahnā
hai shāyad mujh ko saarī umr us ke sehr meñ rahnā
magar mere ġharīb ajdād ne bhī kuchh kiyā hogā
bahut tuchchā sahī un kā bhī koī mājrā hogā
ye ham jo haiñ hamārī bhī to hogī koī nauTañkī
ham