COME, WALK DOWN DELHI’S POETIC LANES
On World Poetry Day, the city’s heritage lovers take its inhabitants on a walk to search the tales behind Delhi’s lyricism
From the stirring verses of Mirza Ghalib to Gulzar’s whimsical rhymes, Delhi has always been a muse for poets. Invoking the city’s poetic heritage on World Poetry Day today, tour groups are sharing and celebrating the intoxication of Ghalib’s shayari, Khusrau’s nazms and Rahim’s couplets by gently earthing them in the backdrop of the Capital’s rich historical past.
YEH DUNIYA MAANO JISM HAI, AUR DILLI USKI JAAN
The Ghalib Dilli walk is a tribute to Mirza Ghalib, the 19th-century poet, and the part of the city that stood as a spectator to his existence. “The explorers share stories about Ghalib’s life and his poetry, and recite some of his most famous couplets. These verses are carefully chosen to reflect the location’s significance in Ghalib’s life and work and to provide a deeper understanding of his poetic themes and motifs,” shares Sachin Bansal, chief explorer at India City Walks. The walk includes a visit to Ghalib’s Haveli, the mosque where he used to offer prayers, his tomb and some of his favourite eatery haunts.
KHUSRAU, GHALIB, RAHIM KI DILLI
“Poets like Ameer Khusrau not only penned verses in Hindavi, Persian and Braj bhasha but also provided us with the qawwalis that are still alive in the Nizamuddin Basti area,” shares Maryam Siddiqui, a heritage walk consultant with DelhiByFoot. She adds, “It makes the city apt for poetic walks where Ghalib is inseparable from Ballimaran and the Basti area that also hosts the tomb of Abdul Rahim Khani-Khanan. We try to stitch historical tales and cultural nuances of that time with the relevant literary or poetic verses of these forever poets.”
DILLI KI KAHANIYAN, SHAYRON KA ZIKR
Forging a poetic passage to Delhi’s heritage is Asif Khan Dehlvi, founder of Delhi Karavan. “Agar aap Dilli ki kahaniyan suna rahe hai, wo bhi Hindustani mein, toh shayaron ka zikr karna laazim hai,” says Dehlvi. Illustrating with an example, he talks about one of his recent walks at Jamali Kamali, a tomb in the memory of poet Jamali Kamboh and his disciple and supposed lover Kamali. “Jamali Kamali par ishq ki baat na ho, yeh toh mumkin hi nahin! Love often leaves a deep imprint on lovers’ hearts, jaise jamun ya faalse jab safed kapdon pe gir jaayein toh daag reh jaate hain. Wahi ishq hai,” Dehlvi waxes poetic.
EDITATING IN VERSES STEEPED IN NATURE
chit Sharma, poet and facilitator at Dilli Poetry, intertwines lyrical modern poetry with Nature during the walks his troupe conducts. “We usually instill poetry by Nature poets such as Mary Oliver, Ruskin Bond, Sumitranandan Pant, Rabindranath Tagore and David Whyte at forested parks such as Lodhi Garden and Sanjay Van. There’s no better way to truly immerse ourselves in the meditative environment of the forest than to elevate ourselves to a sense of balance and clarity with poetry,” he shares. Sharma invites participants on a walking tour to map their five senses with each other, and explains, “The walks are aligned with the calming nature of poetry. The rhythmic nature of the forest walks hand in hand with the lyrical and musical structure of poetry, which is perfect for the Nature-healing poetry walks.”