Bharat Bhushan Pant: A pillar of modern Urdu ghazal falls

Icame to know about his death from the Facebook post of young Urdu poet and a Hindi scholar Manish Shukla. The hope that morning brings, instantly turned to sorrow with the learning that renowned Urdu poet Bharat Bhushan Pant – that pillar of modern Urdu poetry – had fallen. Pant breathed his last after a prolonged illness.

There is a bookshop in Aminabad known as Maktabae-Deen-o-Adab (bookshop of religion and literature) which was owned by prolific Urdu poet Wali Aasi. Till Aasi was alive, the bookshop remained a spot for literary dialogue and enlightenment of poets and writers of Lucknow, such as prof Shafey Qidwai, late Irfan Siddiqui, late Basheer Farooqi, Athar Nabi and so many others.

Some seekers of technicalities of Urdu poetry – especially ghazals – such as Bahrat Bhushan Pant, Khushbeer Singh Shaad, Sanjay Mishra Shauq and Munnawar Rana, started their journey of poetry under the guidance of Aasi. They learned Urdu from scratch and took their learning to an altogether different level. The interesting bit is that this learning was never for financial gain. They pursued Urdu as medium of expression and gained popularity in the genre of the ghazal.

Pant, who became a reliable signature of modern Urdu poetry, became a significant part of the Daagh school of poetry, as Wali Aasi had a literary lineage to Daagh Dehlavi.

He never joined any poetic ideology but kept himself away from such trappings. His poetry mirrors life and his personal experiences of life and with people around. Sample some of his creations:

Kya jane kis qadam pe theherna pade tujhe

Aye rahrawe hayat safar ki qasam na kha

(No one knows on where one may need to break journey

So, wayfarer, don’t take any pledge of the destination while travel)

Hum sarabon mein hue da hil to ye ham par khula

tishnagi sab mein thi lekin tishnagi mein kaun tha

(When we entered the world of mirages, it dawned upon us

That everyone was thirsty, but who gave this thirst)

Zindagi ne kya diya tha maut ne kya le liya

Khak se paida hua tha khak ki sohbat mein hu

(What has life given and what has death taken away

Born of dust I remain in that company)

His commitment to Urdu the ghazal remained remarkable, learning and absorbing Urdu in his very being. So, we find in his poetry harmony and a noble exaltation of ideas.

He discharged his duties honourably while working at the UP Co-operative Bank, where he served for years together and remained dedicated to his family and friends too.

I met him quiet often and his courteousness and humility always increased his respect in my eyes. With affection he addressed me as ‘Suhail Bhai’ and I cherish that thought.

When he started posting his poems on Facebook, he received much adulation and applause, which his poetry rightly deserved. In his efforts, Pant tried to retell Ghalib and in his own style, wrote some ghazals following the rhyme and meter of Ghalib, and did so wonderfully and quite successfully.

A critic said about PB Shelly that he had nostalgia over the past, dissatisfaction over the present and wistful longing for the future. This statement rings in my ears when I go through the ghazals of Pant.

Pant remained in Lucknow, whose soil has always been fertile for art, especially the ghazal. In that very soil, Pant bloomed beautiful and fragrant syllabic flowers. The fragrance of those flowers will continue to waft across to ghazal lovers. So long, my friend!

(The writer is a Lucknowbased author and poet)

SOURCED Bharat Bhushan Pant passed away on Monday night