The Last Bird From The Golden Age Of Ghazelles. P.S.Remesh Chandran.

The Last Bird From The Golden Age Of Ghazelles.

P.S.Remesh Chandran. Editor, Sahyadri Books, Trivandrum.

PSRemeshChandraStarred Page By PSRemeshChandra, 17th Aug 2013  Short URL http://nut.bz/3dwnobim/
Posted in Wikinut>Writing>Essays

Music crosses borders of nations and oceans and reaches hearts of human beings in strange lands. God stands just behind those who sing, so close, that we will wonder who actually sings. Ghazals are Nature’s wonderful creations in which the purest of passions, emotions and feelings are stored up so that grief-stricken human soul in loneliness can seek solace in it at any time as if in the presence of God. It is His ardence, affection and benediction once in a lifetime that flows through ghazals

Ghazals originated in pre-Islamic Arabia, existed in this world for 1500 years and is dying in Europe.

Ghazals originated in pre-Islamic Arabia, developed in Medieval Africa, Spain, Persia, Turkistan, Afghanistan, Hindustan and Russia and ended in Europe. They existed in this world for more than 1500 years. Since the diluting of their form, meter and rhyme by modern day poets, they are no longer going to remain, making already created ones endearing. Great singers like present day Salman Alvi and Habib Wali Muhammad but continue to sing old ghazals and keep the interest in them alive.

Translating Persian poems into English was the earliest hobby of the British East India Company officers to escape from boredom.

We know about the poetic form quatrain as used in The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam in which a quartet of four independent lines when joined together one after another like flowers in a garland obtain a unique form and develop into exotic themes. It has an Arabic origin wherefrom it moved to Persian. In the courts of Persian Emperors, it gained importance and momentum and, as Persian rule expanded through the continent, it reached Afghanistan, Pakistan and India- then a common land under Persian rule. Every British officer posted to the English East India Company to serve in this region was required to learn Persian to converse well with the courtiers and the Emperors of this Empire. Not all of these officers were boorish illiterates. Many of them were real scholars who learned Persian well. To escape from the isolation, loneliness and boredom they felt in India, they took it as their hobby to translate famous Persian poems into English. First it was a hobby, then exhilaration and finally a career. Many British scholars who never reached India but remained inside native universities also continued undertaking this translation, once initiated into this flair by earlier translations. Thus these exotic quatrains, from Arabic through Persian, reached English literature. When translated into English, they reached the main stream of world literature and became singularly famous. ‘They began to fill the pages of English poetry books with the sweet sound of bulbuls and the scent of roses.’ Translations by some of these early British officers like such luminaries as Edward Fitzgerald and A. J. Arberry remain classics.

Whichever emotions could not be shared with a woman who is forbidden to be longed for was expressed in ghazals in more intimate terms.

Ghazals evolved the same way the quatrains were. Their origin was in Arabia and the word literally means ‘addressing a woman or speaking to a woman’. We know, seldom will a poet write poems addressing his wife, for their intimacy would have waned considerably through years. It was always ‘addressing a woman who is normally unreachable and forbidden to long for’ that necessitated and inspired the creation of ghazals. Whichever emotions could not be shared directly with that woman, were expressed in these quartets or couplets, in more intimate terms. From Arabia, this form was taken up from Turkey by the 10th century Persian literati and widely used in Persian courts where it became popular. In 12th century Hindustan, ghazals spread to Urdu language, following the installation of Islamic Sultanates and the advent of Sufi saints in India. In later years they were taken up for translation by English East India Company officers who learned both Urdu and Persian well. Sufi philosophy and mysticism also influenced and diverted the themes of ghazals. So, following the same path taken by quatrains, ghazals also reached world literature. Even before the origin of Islam, similar poetic forms had existed in Arabia, which the Persians had assimilated and developed as the Persian poetic form qasida, the real mother of all present day geets and ghazals.

Ghazals were named after that sweet loving-bird gazelle of Africa known for its love songs, crying for its beloved.

Urdu poetry or shayari has two forms which are geets and ghazals. In geet, the entire poem is independent, developing a central theme. Geet is also called as nazm, or rhymed verse. In ghazals, only the quartets or couplets are independent, complete in itself but unrelated to each other, which when combined together, develops a central theme. This poetry form is more spelt as ‘ghazal’ than as ghazelle’ which would have been more apt. We know the sweet loving-bird gazelle in Africa known for its love songs, crying for its beloved. The word ghazal is derived to symbolize this love-stricken ghazelle. Ghazals also have the characteristic of the poet’s name hidden, alluded to or referred to at the end.

Ghazals evolved from the emotional opening part of Qasîdah, the pre-Islamic poetic form of Ode.

In the pre-Islamic world in Arabia, there was a golden time for odes called qasîdahs. They included mainly four poetic genres such as madîh, hikam, hijâ and fakhr. Madîh represened praising poetry, Hikam represented moralizing poetry, Hijâ represented satirizing poetry and Fakhr accommodated boasting poetry. The love-genre which later came to be called Ghazals was not a recognized form in those golden times of Arabian poetry before the emergence of Islam. Whichever genre it belonged to, a qasîdah had three parts- the opening part called nasîb, the middle and main part called rahîl and a last part called madîh. We will normally think this first introductory part nasîb would be of comparatively lesser importance in such an elaborate structure of Arabian poetry, but strangely it was from this introductory part that ghazals evolved later. Since emotional attachment to women was an important part of human constitution and winning listeners’ hearts even from the opening lines an objective of all poets, there was no wonder the beginning part nasîb of the qasîdahs of Arabia became the foundation for ghazals to base themselves on later.

The risky, dangerous and brittle Arabian Bedouin life created ghazals for solace and escape.

Ancient Arabians were mostly Bedouins and their life was dangerous, risky and brittle. Love and emotional attachment was the only momentary respite, relief and diversion in their lives. As life became harsher, laborious and more painful, affinity for indulging not in moralizing and boasting poems but in love songs made embracing ghazals more natural and their development inevitable. Old world scholars like Ibn Qutaybah have analyzed the origin of qasîdahs, nasîbs and ghazals up to the rising of Arabian written literature. The unrecorded periods were guessed and synthesized by modern day scholars like Theodor Gaster Hayât Jâsim, Suzanne Pinckney Stetkevych and Jaroslav Stetkevych who have tried to trace Bedouin life and their literature back to ancient Middle Eastern times.

Arabian urbanization made people demand for music, dance and entertainment and made ghazals shorter and lighter.

During the Ummayyad Era from 661 to 750, Arabian urbanization grew and townsfolk wanted more music, dance, songs and entertainment. Ghazals were an apt poetic form to be adapted, converted and used for these entertainment purposes. Deserts preferred classic traditional form but cities liked ghazals modified and separated into nasîb, rahîl and madîh in the qasîdah. The qasîdah form of ghazals consisted of couplets. Each line ended in the same rhyme. Each line in a couplet was called bayt in Arabic language and sher in Persian. Using the same rhyme scheme by a poet was termed qâfiyah.

Popularity and development of ghazals also led to different schools of ghazals coming into being. Courtly love, free of eroticism and physical desire, developed as udharî, the proponents of this school being puritans like `Abd al-Rahmân, `Urwah b.Hizâm, Jamîl b. Ma`mar, and Tawbah b. al-Humayr. Erotic hissî was nothing but graphic and vivid descriptions, mostly written by `Umar b.Abî Rabî`ah. Poets like Abû al-Nuwâs practiced mudhakkar which was homo erotic. The only school of ghazals which based not on theme but on form was tamhîdî which was a transitional form with only two parts in it, the introductory part nasîb entering straight into the last part madîh without the middle part rahîl.

Arabian urbanization made ghazals becoming generally shorter and lighter also. Stiff meters like kâmil, basît, and rajaz which were used in the classical ghazals changed to lighter ones like khafîf, ramal, and muqtarab, to suit mass entertainment. Themes diverted more from memories of clan, home and heroism to romanticism and erotic, to suit people’s tastes.

Like great rivers, ghazals received everything from the lands they flowed through.

The chronological and geographical development of ghazals can be traced by following the names of the most important persons associated with ghazals. Persian mystic poets like Jalal al-Din Muhammad and Rumi in the 13th century, Hafiz in the 14th century, Turkish poet Fuzuli in the 16th century, Indian poets Mirza Ghalib in the 18th century and Muhammad Iqbal in the 19th century and finally the German poet Johann Wolfgang von Goethe in the 19th century, will give a rough outline of the countries through which ghazals travelled and the time segments in which it progressed. Or, will we have to doubt, was it a progress really? It certainly became more popular and accepted and certainly recordings of them could be made as science and technology advanced, but its traditional form deteriorated through centuries. When it reached England, Thomas Hardy was the first to pick it up but even his was a poor attempt. Even though using this form by German poets Friedrich Rückert and August von Platen in the 19th century was considered somewhat of a success, its use by the American Indian poet Agha Shahid Ali and poetess Adrianne Rich in the 20th century was thorough flop, for failure in keeping metrical perfection. It is because ghazals from Arabia spread to Persia and Turkey that we have now a vast production of literature before us. But we have not yet considered the result of its spreading to two other vast regions, namely Africa and Spain.

Ghazals travelled through Africa, Spain, Persia, Turkey and India and reached Germany and England.

Arab culture and education permeated into Africa, Spain and Persia, resulting also in the spread of ghazals. Western African poets who wrote ghazals in their languages wrote in Arabic also. Hausa and Fulfulde are the African languages wherein we see so many ghazals. Spanish poets like Moses ibn Ezra of the 10th century wrote ghazals both in Spanish Hebrew and Arabic. Either in Africa or in Spain, the prominent Arabic characteristics of ghazals did not wane but they controlled the movement. Neither did these Arabic characteristics wane in Persia. In fact, the earliest Persian ghazals were more Arabic than Persian. Even though experiments and changes in their musical adaptability were undertaken by Persians, they preferred to follow the same lighter meters perfected by Arabians. The Persians did not only content themselves with the love ghazals of the Arabs; they assimilated and experimented with other Arabian poetic forms like satires, moralizers and boasting and praising poetry forms also. The first great poet of Iran, Abdullah Jafar Rudaki of the 9th century, surpassed all Arabic and Persian poets till then in excellence in composing ghazals, culminating in the fruition of all good Arabic and Persian characteristics in one single poet.

Multi language proficiency was characteristic of ghazal writers in the 14th, 15th and 16th centuries.

During the years from when Persians borrowed ghazals from Arabians to the years when they were invaded by Ottoman Turks, the Persian Empire had spread and Persian had become the prominent and official language in Central Asia. Luckily, it was the refined ghazals of the 14th century that seeped into Afghanistan, Hindustan, Turkistan and Russia. Like those who were directly influenced by Arabic wrote both in Arabic as well as in African, Spanish and Persian languages, those who were now influenced by Persian ghazals wrote both in Persian as well as in Hindi, Urdu, Afghan, Azerbaijan, Uzbek and Turkish. Besides in Persian, Amir Khusru in 14th century wrote in Hindi also, Ali-Shir Nava’I in 15th century in Afghan Turkish also and Fuzuli in 16th century in Azerbaijani Turkish also. Ali-Shir Nava’I is called ‘the Chaucer of the Turks’ and the founder of Uzbek literature. Mirza Ghalib in 19th century wrote in Urdu. Since then, every regional language in India, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Russia and Turkey has had ghazals, entirely die to bilingual proficiency becoming prevalent.

Mongol attacks of 13th century made Persians shed Arabic conservatism in ghazals and begin their thinning.

Arabians were somewhat reluctant to spell the author’s name in the ghazals directly; they made only hidden allusions and references in the end. Even in Rudaki’s time in the 9th century, this had not changed in Persia. But before or at the time the Mongols attacked Persia in the beginning of the 13th century, this seems to have changed. Perhaps ghazal poets of this time might have decided to shed anonymity and obscurity, or they might have decided to preserve some fame for posterity before barbarian Mongols burned everything including them. Poets became more open and less shy in mentioning their names in ghazals. They devised the method called takhallus to record their name in the final couplet. It was a major change in subtlety of expression in ghazals under the care of Persians. Couplets also began to declare independence and began to look distantly-placed components in the garland more. Muslih-ul-Din Saadi of the 13th century who had to flee from Mongols to save his life was the finest example for stubbornness against this thinning in the integrity of ghazals. Topics also varied liberally with the Persians by the end of the 14th century.

Persians attached refrains to ghazals and Sufis diverted theme from erotic to mystic and divine.

Arabs also did not use refrains after the end rhyming word but Persians insisted on them as a rule. Persian poets from the 10th to 13th centuries commonly used end-refrains in ghazals. Like takhallus which was their new devise for inserting the author’s name shamelessly, use of this refrains called radif also was the Persians’ unnecessary contribution to ghazals. Poets like Abu Shukur, Daqiqi, Shahid-i Balkhi, Ma`rufi, Farid al-Din`Attar and Mahmud-i Varraq, and even the noted Jalal al-Din Rumi, liberally used it. Poetical critics and philosophers of that time like Rashid al-Din Vatvat supported it. The only exemption was again Muslih-ul-Din Saadi who used it only in a few of his poems. Eventually radifs became the characteristic of Persian ghazals to distinguish the Pre-Islamic from the Post-Mongol Invasion productions. These poems with the refrain came to be called muraddaf. When it was the time of Hafiz in the 14th century, Persian poets wrote rarely without refrains. It became a certification of mastery in poetical craft. It was after the 14th century that this practice waned and finally vanished. There was a cause for this also, which was advent of Sufism. Sufis not only tempted poets to do away with this unnecessary ornament but keep manifestation of longing and desire remain, but they also diverted ghazals’ themes to divinity and the mystic from eroticism. At the end of the 14th century, we have thus the Arabian ghazals more or less intact with us, with only a slight independence and autonomy for couplets as declared by Persians, but cleansed of fleshly desires by Sufis, aspiring for divinity.

When direct contact with Arabic, Persian and Urdu languages ceased, the fountain of inspiration for ghazals also dried up.

It was in their Persian and Urdu form in the 18th and 19th centuries that ghazals arrived in Europe, directly introduced in Germany by Goethe and indirectly introduced in Britain by the bored British East India Company officers, as we have already seen. We can say, in conclusion, that the Golden Age of Ghazals ended with the 14th century, and the tree continued to rain till the 18th century, long after the rain had actually ceased. Perhaps Goethe, Edward Fitzgerald, Atkins, and A. J.Arberry were the last ones to see Arabic and Persian ghazals in their originality and magnificence and take them to Europe. When direct contact with Arabic, Persian and Urdu languages ended, contact with original ghazals also ended, and the fountain of inspiration got ghazals also dried up with it. People but still continued to write ghazals for the simple reason that they wanted to be known as ghazal writers, for writing ghazals had been made so easy after abandoning metrical form, rules and themes and declaring full independence and autonomy for couplets. This applies to all ghazals created in Europe and America in the 19th and 20th centuries, without any direct contact with Arabic, Persian or Urdu languages. Today, the trend in writing ghazals is, whatever is strenuous, difficult and demanding is abandoned and whatever is cool, easy and effortless retained, as is in the case of all other forms of poetry. Limitations of length are now strictly adhered to because today no one can write too much. Poets proclaim that emotions flow from their heart as free verse and they are entitled to present it as poems and ghazals without editing or transfiguration which would be unnatural and taboo. Ghazals are going that way in Arabia, Persia, Afghan, India, Russia and Europe, deteriorating every day. Every compromise and relaxation brought about by these lazy, uninspired and untrained ‘poets’ is innovation in their terms and degeneration in our terms. Like when oral epics like Beowulf were translated from semi-German into modern English, Song Of Roland was translated from French and Rubaiyat was translated from Persian, rhyme and meter systems used by the original poets in their original languages are no more researched on, experimented with and modified for adaptation with translation by modern poets. They are now thought of as hindrances, not as intellectual challenges. The Persians, Africans, Spaniards, Turks, Afghans, Indians and the Russians took great care in incorporating alien rhyme schemes and unfamiliar meters into their complicated language systems and retaining the beauty of the original works or they devised new meters or rhymes to accommodate the guest. Modern day poets with lesser intelligence and lesser still patience challenge the poetical excellence and exotic versifications of pious centuries with their licenscious and poor creations. Arabian ghazals are so now dying away, vanishing with those grief-stricken and crying ghazelle birds of Africa.

English ghazal writing has reached the bizarre stage where radif is invariably present and rhyme is totally absent.

In conventional poetry, in general, there has to be a continuity flowing though all lines maintained but in ghazals, today, there needn’t be any such necessity and obligation for keeping continuity, provided lines are arranged in couplets to show likeliness of ghazals, remotely. This self-declared simplicity of form attracts everyone to writing ghazals. English ghazals writing has reached the bizarre stage where radif is invariably present and rhyme is totally absent. The author of this article went through a few of the most famous volumes of ghazals published recently in English, including those by John Thompson in Canada and Adrienne Rich in America, and is of the opinion that they all belong to the vain category of pseudo ghazals. They failed to obey true-to-form principles and became bastard ghazals. They only have the word Ghazal printed on their covers, mere copyrighted creations with no Arabic, Persian or Indian glory, magnificence and generosity, in conviction or in execution.

Once, ghazals meant a well-cut and defined poetic form and a genre. Now, they mean only a genre. Form has been sacrificed for easiness in writing. Free verse penetrated Arabian, Persian, African, Spanish, Afghan, Indian and Russian ghazals in the 20th century. There is no possibility of ghazals ever regaining their traditional form. Today, ghazals are being written about anything and everything, even without keeping ever even a trace of a longing and desire for a beloved human being. So, imperceptibly, ghazals are unbecoming a genre also. With the passing of each day, ghazals are distancing themselves more from a defined form and genre as ‘a love song of longing’.

The heritage of ghazals does not continue through modern poets anymore.

Ghazals have traditional restrictions of form. They have strict rhyme and rhythm patterns. Traditional ghazals are composed of five to fifteen couplets, with the poet’s signature skillfully embedded in the last one. Iranian, Indian and Pakistani singers, who take up old ghazals, orchestrate record and distribute them and hold live concerts are who keep the interest in ghazals alive. Turkish, Pashto, Urdu, Hindi, Spanish and German languages have fine ghazals. Americans are not introduced enough to ghazals, for none of the poets except the 18th and 19th century British translators who introduced ghazals to that continent did justice to traditional form, rhyme and meter. Translations from other languages into English are still in the infancy stage, or we can say that it stopped at the infancy stage with the passing away of such talented poets like Prof. A.J.Arberry. Nearly all of them have only been able to copy the theme of ghazals, not its form. Lack of patience, reverence and training, and over-orientation for publishing were what made their ghazals flop. There indeed are several modern names associated with translation of ghazals into English or creating them of their own, such as Aijaz Ahmad, Agha Shahid Ali, Adriane Rich, David Ray, Edward Lowbury, Elise Paschen, Elizabeth Gray, James Clarence Mangan, James Elroy Flecker, John Hollander, John Thompson, Phyllis Webb, Spencer Reece, William Hunt, William Stafford, W. S. Merwin, etc. which needn’t imply that the heritage of ghazals continues through them anymore. Deviating from traditional form has become such unquestioned and common that there are now scores of writers in every language who seek shelter and fame in the folds of ghazals.

What keep alive the interest in ghazals are the presence of exquisite singers and the availability of their recorded creations.

Indian and Pakistani singers touring abroad and conducting concerts made ghazals very popular in the modern day Europe. Famous Urdu ghazal writers include Mirza Ghalib, Muhammad Iqbal, Nasir Kazmi, Sahir Ludhiyanvi, Makhdoom Mohiuddin, Morza Rafi Sauda, Majrooh Sultanpuri. Singers who made ghazals in Asia popular include Kundan Lal Saigal, Ustad Barkat Ali, Begum Akhtar, Mehdi Hassan, Noor Jehan, Iqbal Bano, Amanat Ali Khan, Jagjit Singh, Farida Khanum, Ghulam Ali, Begum Akhtar. Mohammad Rafi popularized them through films. Bengali and Gujarathi have quite a number of ghazals. Telugu, Kannada and Malayalam languages in South India also have many ghazal singers.

When someone wants to build a collection of ghazals which are first class ones worthy of being listened to again and again and which also are recorded and available for purchase, the main problem he faces is, every CD has good and bad ghazals. Not all singers are good. There is the other option of searching for selected songs and downloading them from You Tube as videos or from pay or free sites as audios. Here is a selection, the really first class ones without which no collection will be complete.

01. Amanat Ali….1. Ghar Wapas Kab Aaoge. 2. Honton Pe Kabhi. 3. Insha Ji Utho.
02. Anup Jalota….1. Dil Hi Nahin To Dil Ke. 2. Do Din To Junoon Ke Hain 3. Ruk Jao Subah Tak. 4. Tumne Kitne Sapne Dekhe.
03. Fareeda Khanum….1. Kuch Ishq Tha Kuch Majboori. 2. Woh Ishq Jo Hum Se.
04. Ghulam Ali….1. Ae Dard E Hijre Yaar. 2. Chamakte Chand Ko. 3. Chhup Chhup Ke Piyo. 4. Gugunati Hai Hawa. 5. Hum Tere Shahar Me Aaye Hai.
05. Gul Bahar Bano….1. Dard Kay Saz. 2. Dhal Gaee Raat. 3. Hamain Jahan Mai. 4. Kabhi Kabhi To. 5. Kya Kya Ye Rang. 6. Tu Pass Bhi Ho To.
06. Habib Wali Muhammad….1. Aa Hum Thode Zindagii. 2. Chaahat Ki Har Geeth Niraalii. 3. Deir Lagii Aane Mein Unko. 4. Kab Mera Nache Man. 5. Lagta Nahin He Dil Mera. 6. Pehla Sahaal Pehle Hii. 7. Thume Meri Na Mujh Ko Na. 8. Yeh Na Dhi Hamari Hota.
07. Iqbal Bano….Daag-e-Dil Hum Ko.
08. Jagjit Singh….1. Aap Aaye Janaab Barson Mein. 2. Aap Se Gila Aap Ki Kasam. 3. Jhuki Jhuki Ki Nazar. 4. Nazar Nazar Se Mila Ker Sharab.
09. Mehdi Hassan….1. Aye Kuchh Ab Kuchh. 2. Gali Gali Teri Yaad. 3. Yun Zindagi Ki Raah.
10. Munni Begum….1. Chaman Roye. 2. Koi Humnafas Nahin. 3. Koi Mujh e Gul Se. 4. Kuch Din Kate Hain. 5. Is Jagah Pyar Karna Ma’na Hai. 6. Tumharaa Shaharka Musam Bara.
11. Musrat Nazeer….Raat Dhammi Dhammi.
12. Nayyara Noor….1. Ae Jazba-e-Dil. 2. Mor Macha Way Sor.
13. Noor Jehan….Dil Ke Afsaane.
14. Talat Mehmood….1. Aaja Tujhe Mohabbat. 2. Aansoo Samajh Ke Kyu.
3. Bechain Nazar. 4. Hum Se Aaya Na Gaya. 5. Jalte Hai Jiske Liye.
6. Zindagi Denewale Sun.

And of course, 15. Salman Alvi.

Salman Alvi, the last bird from the golden age of ghazals and the music ambassador of Asia.

The latest and one of the finest ghazal singers is Mr. Salman Alvi in Pakistan whose services in keeping the interest in ghazals are invaluable. The other equally enchanting gentleman singer from Pakistan is Habeeb Wali Muhammad. In the modern age, the biography of almost all singers is available in the internet. Wikipedia is the first and foremost and then comes the famous and popular music downloadable sites. And there is Face Book too. But Salman Alvi is the most elusive bird in the world of ghazal singers. Not a line regarding his life is available anywhere in the whole digital world, except three or four lines in his Face Book page. You Tube Channels including tahayyur, hilalconfectionery, Sain Shaada, kukdila, tauseefqau and RAORASHID1982 have selected and uploaded his songs. They are available as audio compact discs and video compact discs in music stores around the world. His is perhaps the finest ghazal orchestra in the world now, a few pictures of which are included here, as graciously allowed by him, as a concession to an admirer. Also links to his most famous ghazal videos are attached here. Today, if someone wants to know what ghazals are, his is the best introduction. If someone follows these links and becomes an addict of ghazals, do not blame the author.

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Dedication
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We dedicate this article to Ghazals Guitarist Qamar Allahditta who thrilled us through his many vibrant performances and who is no more.

Salman Alvi’s immortal ghazals can be viewed here.

1. Yeh Kiya Keh Sab Se Bayan Dil Ki Halatain Karni 7:09 RAORASHID1982
http://youtu.be/_QhUIi2eGa8

2. Sakht Hai Isaq Ki Rah Guzar 7:29 tauseefqau
http://youtu.be/PDITr4XdRfA

3. Us Ki Gali Mein Phir. Salman Alvi 7:37 kukdila
http://youtu.be/WoMZT-l0aS0

4. Nazm, Jan-e-Pidar 6:42 tahayyur
http://youtu.be/tKvMvsAgitA

5. Dil Dhoondta Hai – Live Tribute 6:58 tahayyur
http://youtu.be/sdjD1l_Xe5k

6. Is Jagah Pyaar Karnaa Mana Hai 4:17 tahayyur
http://youtu.be/6IZnAIF2RJ4

7. Meri Kahani Bhoolney Waley 4:10 tahayyur
http://youtu.be/LUgO-lm8blQ

8. Jinhe Bhoolne Mein 3:48 Sain Shaada
http://youtu.be/2LVXWlLa1hY

9. Ae Mere Noor-e-Nazar by Salman Alvi 5:14 tahayyur
http://youtu.be/Z5BujlbLI_o

10. Zindagi Mein Ek Pal Bhi 3:21 tahayyur
http://youtu.be/xwNE2GyhQk8

11. Tumhe Pukarlo Tumhara Intezar 4:48 hilalconfectionery
http://youtu.be/-ZR2NsKEqk8

12. Apni Soi Hui Dunya 6:21 tahayyur
http://youtu.be/uNnGta07xWI

13. Muhabbaton Mein Agar 6:30 tahayyur
http://youtu.be/A1LqOVoGH2k

Sahyadri Books & Bloom Books, Trivandrum, with his permission, has set up a venue where Salman Alvi’s ghazals can be reached and downloaded from You Tube. It is ‘Bloom Books Channel Kerala’ in Google Plus, constituted via Weebly.

Bloom Books Channel Kerala
bloombookstrivandrum.weebly.com

__________________________________________
Pictures Courtesy: Dear Salman Alvi.
Via his Face Book Page. With his permission
__________________________________________

Dear Reader,
If you cannot access all pages of P.S.Remesh Chandran, Editor, Sahyadri Books & Bloom Books, Trivandrum, kindly access them via this link provided here:
https://sites.google.com/site/timeuponmywindowsill/wiki-nut-articles

To read about the life and people of Kerala, the author’s native land, visit KERALA COMMENTARY here.

For more articles of this kind, visit SAHYADRI BOOKS here or BLOOM BOOKS, TRIVANDRUM.

 

Comments

author avatar Madan G Singh
25th Aug 2013 (#)

Must congratulate you for a wonderful and interesting post

A Poet’s Death Is His Life.

15. A Poet’s Death Is His Life. Kahlil Gibran. Recast in the true poetic form by P.S.Remesh Chandran.

Editor, Sahyadri Books & Bloom Books, Trivandrum.

15th Apr 2011.  Short URL http://nut.bz/5lvc_3ta/  [4th Jan 2011]

This poem is Kahlil Gibran’s tribute to all human souls dying uncared for in this world. It is perhaps the most majestic portrayal of death in poetry. Gibran designed this poem as a psychic black hole of immense gravity which continues its journey through the abyss of time, consuming human souls on the way.

The golden gates and arch leading to eternity.

Gibran, the Philosopher, Poet, Painter, Sculptor.

Gibran describes the departing of a very lonely and lofty soul from this world when everyone is present except men. Loneliness of human soul and ingratitude of the world have never ever been painted in words more beautifully. ‘A Poet’s Death is His Life’ means when he dies he is living. By his death he has begun to live. It is the gravest song in the book Tears And Laughter. The more we are immersed deep in the song, the brighter are we shown a glimpse of the golden gates and arch leading to eternity. But once we have a glimpse of that threshold, it will be hard for us to return to immediate realities. That is how the magic and charm of this poem led many appreciators astray. So beware of this song. It may permanently change you and most often there might not be a return to our former self.

A poet who wrote beautiful poems in bronze.

The famous Adastra Sculpture by Gibran.

Gibran wrote this poem in blank verse which prevented its full enjoyment and singing. P.S.Remesh Chandran, Editor, Sahyadri Books & Bloom Books, Trivandrum slightly edited and recast this song in the true poetic form so that all the world may sing. This is the Fifth Song from Tears And Laughter that has been recast in the true poetic form. Hints and suggestions for singing the song have been marked, so that anyone who tries to sing it won’t stumble and fall. Readers, learners and researchers are advised to read Gibran’s original blank verse text as well.

The dim oil lamp flickering in a deserted hovel.

A Hovel in the Suburbs of a Town.

From Kahlil Gibran’s
Tears And Laughter.

A Poet’s Death Is His Life.


________________________________________
Slightly edited and recast in the true poetic form
by P.S.Remesh Chandran, Editor,
Sahyadri Books & Bloom Books, Trivandrum.
________________________________________

One.

Dark wings of night enfolded the city
Upon which Nature’ad put a pure and white
Garment of snow; and ‘men deser’ted the streets
For their ‘houses in search of warmth while the north wind probed,
In contemplation of laying the gardens waste.
There in the suburb an old hut heavily stood
La’den with snow and on the ‘verge of falling. In
A dark recess of that ‘hovel was ‘a poor bed
In which was lying a dying youth staring
At the dim ‘laaight of his oil lamp,
‘Made to flicker by th’entering winds.
He ‘was a man in the ‘spring of life who fore – saw
‘Fully that the peaceful hour of freeing
Himself from the clutches of life was fast nearing.
He was awaiting Death’s visit gratefully
And upon his ‘paaile face appeared the dawn
Of hope; and on his lips a sorrowful
Smile ‘aand in his ‘ey’es forgiveness.

A lone hungry visitor on an alien world.

The stoning of a poet.

Two.

He was a poet perishing from hunger
In the city of the living rich. He was placed in
The earthly world to enliven the heart
Of Man with his profound beautiful sayings.
He was a noble soul sent, by the Goddess
Of Understanding, to smoothe and make gentle
The human spirit. But a’las! He gently bade
The cold earth farewell without receiving
A sm’aeel from its stra’eenge occupants.

Will far away stars bow down to soothe this trodden soul?

The mind of a dying poet.

Three.

He was ‘breathing his last and had no one at his bedside
Save the ‘oil lamp, his ‘only companion, and
Some parchments ‘upon which he had inscribed his
Feeling. As he sal’vaged the remnants of
His withering strength, he lifted his hands heavenward;
He moved his ‘ey’es hopelessly, as if
Wan’ting to p’ene’trate the ceiling so
To ‘see the stars from be’hind the veil of clouds.

He who speaks the language of angels is doomed in the world.

The dream of a dying poet.

Four.

He said: Come beautiful Death, my soul ‘is longing
For you. Come close to me and unfasten
Th’irons of life, I am weary of dragging them.
Come sweet Death, deliver me from my neighbours
Who look upon me as a stranger because
I interpret the language of th’angels.
Hurry, oh peaceful Death, and carry me
From these ‘multitudes who left me in the dark
Corner of oblivion because I do not
Bleed weak as they do, come oh gentle Death.
En’fold me un’der your ‘wha’ight wings, for my
Fellowmen are ‘not in ‘want of me, embrace me
Oh Death, ‘full of love and mercy; let your lips
Touch my ‘lips which ‘ne’ver tasted a mother’s kiss,
Nor ‘touched a ‘sister’s cheeks, caressed a sweetheart’s
Finger’tips. Come, and take me, my beloved Death.

A divine beauetee came down and closed his eyes.

Beyond the Golden Gates and Arch.

Five.

Then at the bedside of the dying poet
A’ppeared an ‘angel who ‘possessed supernat’ral
And divine beauetie, holding in her hand
A wreath of li’llees. She enbraced him
And closed his eyes so he could see no more
Except with the eye of his spirit. She im’pressed a deep
And long and gentlee withdrawn kiss that left
An e’ternal smile of ful’fillment upon his lips.
Then the ‘ho’vel ‘be’caime empty and ‘nothing was left
Save parchments and papers which the poet had
‘Strewn about with bitter fu’tility.

Deny the poet food and love. When he is dead erect a monument.

Gibran Memorial in Washington D.C.

Six.

Hundreds of years later ‘when people
Arose from the diseased slumber of Ignorance
And saw the Dawn Of Knowledge had ‘erected
A ‘monument in a most ‘beautiful garden of
The city, and celebrated ‘a feast ‘every year
In honour of the poet, whose writings had
Freed them. How cruu’el is Man’s ignorance!

Note:

The same good old wind and rain and sunshine nurture us through generations. Rumi and Hafiz along with Gibran and many other Persian poets created heavenly music. They are far above my reach. To reach them I have to leave the ground. I simply try to introduce them to the growing siblings and keep alive the interest in them.

_________________________________

Pictures Courtesy: Wikimedia Commons.

_________________________________

Dear Reader,

If you cannot access all pages of P.S.Remesh Chandran, Editor, Sahyadri Books & Bloom Books, Trivandrum, kindly access them via this link provided here:

https://sites.google.com/site/timeuponmywindowsill/wiki-nut-articles

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Arabic Poets, English Language, English Literature, English Poems, English Songs, Kahlil Gibran, Khalil Gibran, Lebanese Poets, P S Remesh Chandran, Poems Recast, Sahyadri Books And Bloom Books Trivandrum, Tears And Laughter, U S Poets

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PSRemeshChandra
Editor of Sahyadri Books & Bloom Books, Trivandrum. Author of several books in English and in Malayalam. And also author of Swan : The Intelligent Picture Book.

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rama devi nina
He is one of my favorite authors, along with Rumi and Hafiz—nice to see this post..and to meet a fellow keralite here, too.  I’ve lived most of the past 20 years in Kerala (Malayalam Ariyam)–though at the moment am in USA.

Salaams and Namaste-

Rama Devi Nina

 

Song Of The Wave.

14. Song Of The Wave. Kahlil Gibran. Recast In The True Poetic Form by P.S.Remesh Chandran.

Editor, Sahyadri Books & Bloom Books, Trivandrum.

15th Apr 2011.  Short URL http://nut.bz/12biqfdd/ [5th Oct 2010]

The sea, clouds and waves and the ever patient shore are a wonder to the new born babe, the steam engine like youth and the old man who is like a fading sunset. This energetic, thrilling, restless dame that is the ocean is shy and submissive to only one, her eternal and beloved lover, the shore. Their unending love story which has been going on and will continue to be so through the ages is presented here in the true poetic form.

Man brought back a piece of ocean with him which he still can hear in his blood and soul.

A piece of ocean is inside all beings.

Standing on the shore seeing the perpetual mounting, rolling and thundering of the waves, one will wonder how much water is there on the ocean and if there is an opposite shore, how far and distant that would be. Sea-going boats men and yaughts men won’t admit that their fascination for the sea would never be satiated. From time immemorial ocean waves lapping on the shore has been reminding man of the eternity of time and of the beautiful perceptions of it’s creator. Expanse of the ocean is the first thing that presented man with a glimpse of the immenseness of space and eternity of time. Since life forms migrated to shore from the ocean, man brought back a piece of ocean along with him which in still silent nights he can still listen to reverberating in his blood and soul.

It is easier to count the number of poets who did not write about the ocean.

Ocean blue: The intriguing mystic attraction.

Sea shore and the ocean blue has always been an intriguing and mystic attraction to mankind. The poetical mind of the world gradually began to think of them as lovers, meeting kissing embracing and departing eternally, their’s being the most magnificent love story in the world. It is easier to count which poets did not retell this lovely love story than going after the countless number of poets who celebrated this ardence and affection of the ocean for the shore. Kahlil Gibran’s Song Of The Wave surpasses every other one in it’s unique poetic conceptions, beauty of diction and musical thrill. He wrote it in blank verse to mask his tune which Sahyadri Books & Bloom Books, Trivandrum recast in the true poetic form for all the world to sing. Song Of The Wave is included in his book Tears And Laughter. It is hoped that world music lovers and Kahlil Gibran fans in all continents will enjoy and benefit from being able to sing this song naturally for the first time. It is expected that beautiful orchestrations and musical albums and films of this immortal song will be made by those interested and talented. Readers, learners and researchers are advised to read Gibran’s original blank verse as well.

Song Of The Wave from Tears and Laughter. The Poem Recast.

Drowning souls lifted tenderly towards shore.

4. SONG OF THE WAVE.

[Slightly edited and recast in the true
poetic form by P.S.Remesh Chandran,
Editor, Sahyadri Books & Bloom Books,
Trivandrum]

The strong shore is my beloved, and
I am his sweetheart, united we are at last
By love; and the moon draws me then from him,
I go to him in haste and depart
Reluctantly, with many little farewells.

I steal swiftly from behind the blue
Horizon, to cast the silver of my foam
Upon the gold of his sand;
And we blend in melted brilliance.

No love song equals the majesty and perfection of this scene.

When all sleep, I sit up singing in the night.

I quench his thirst and submerge his heart,
He softens my voice and subdues my temper,
And then I recite the rule of love upon
His ears, and he embraces me longingly.

At eventide I sing to him the song
Of Hope, and then print kisses smooth upon
His face; I am swift and fearful but he
Is quiet patient and thoughtful. His
Broad bossom soothes my restlessness,
As the tide comes we caress each other;
When it withdraws I drop to his feet in prayer.

Lifted drowning souls and carried them tenderly to shore.

His broad bossom will soothe my restlessness.

Many times have I danced around mermaids
As they rose from the depths,
And rested upon my crest to watch the stars;
Many times have I heard lovers complain
Of their smallness and I helped them to sigh.

Many times have I teased the great rocks
And fondled them with a smile, but never have I
Received laughter from them; many times
Have I lifted drowning souls and carried them
Tenderly to my beloved shore,
He gives them strength as he takes mine.

In the dead of night when all creatures seek slumber, I sit up singing.

The wave and shore. Their’s an eternal love story.

Many times have I stolen gems from the depths
And presented them to my beloved shore,
He takes in silence but still I give
For he welcomes me ever.

In the heaviness of night when all
Creatures seek the ghost of slumber, I
Sit up singing at one time,
At another I am awake always.

Alas! Sleeplessness has weakened me!
But I am a lover and the truth of Love is strong;
I may weary but I shall never die.

Note:

The number of poets in all languages, lands and ages who wrote about the magnificence, might and beauty of the ocean are as many as there are stars in the universe. The primitive man sitting on the moonlit ocean shore under star studded skies might have been the first creator of a song. His exclamations in wonder at the series of meteorites and shooting stars raining on the blue expanse were the first poetry. No doubt Kahlil Gibran’s mind synchronized with that lone singer’s soul from an unthinkably far distant past. What love, caring and consideration were stored in the ocean’s depths by the creator for man is beautifully conveyed verbatim by Gibran in the Song Of The Wave. The shore is none but man in a philosophical perspective. And the ocean, the creator’s eternal inexhaustible kindness.

________________________________

Pictures Courtesy: Wikimedia Commons.

________________________________

Dear Reader,

If you cannot access all pages of P.S.Remesh Chandran, Editor, Sahyadri Books & Bloom Books, Trivandrum, kindly access them via this link provided here:

https://sites.google.com/site/timeuponmywindowsill/wiki-nut-articles

 Tags

American Literature, American Poets, Arabic Poets, English Literature, English Poems, English Songs, Kahlil Gibran, Khalil Gibran, Lebanese Poets, P S Remesh Chandran, Poetry, Sahyadri Books And Bloom Books Trivandrum, Song Of The Wave, Tears And Laughter

Meet the author

PSRemeshChandra
Editor of Sahyadri Books & Bloom Books, Trivandrum. Author of several books in English and in Malayalam. And also author of Swan : The Intelligent Picture Book.

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Rathnashikamani

PSRC,

This a lovely literary tribute to the true purpose of spiritual poetry.

Marvelous appreciation and an excellent composition of an enchanting poem.

Song Of The Rain.

13. Song Of The Rain. Kahlil Gibran Poem. Recast In The True Poetic Form by P.S.Remesh Chandran.

Editor, Sahyadri Books & Bloom Books, Trivandrum.

11th Apr 2011.  Short URL http://nut.bz/lbv9utb9/  3rd Jan 2011.

It is alleged that Kahlil Gibran hid his exquisite tunes behind a mask of blank verse to prevent the dull wits and the half wits of his times from enjoying his songs. This song is for the first time recast in the true poetic form by Sahyadri Books & Bloom Books, Trivandrum so that all the world may sing. It is expected that beautiful orchestrations of this immortal song will follow from other quarters of the world.

Through the skies she comes, down to the earth, to sustain a planet.


Song Of The Rain is included in Kahlil Gibran’s famous collection of poems Tears And Laughter. It is written in the form of the rain herself singing her song as she comes down. In scientific perfection, this song can be compared only to P.B.Shelley’s Ode To The West Wind, which will leave readers which one excels. Rain is beautifully personified in this song. Gibran was a close observer of not only human nature, but nature’s creations and elements also. It is the first time in literary history that someone tells about the inner feelings and thrill of the rain in pouring out, spreading on the ground, seeping into the inner bowels of the earth and sustaining this planet.

Dotted silver threads, delivering love messages.

Rain on Trees

Rain is dotted silver threads dropped from heaven by Gods, which nature takes away then to adorn her fields and valleys. She is beautiful pearls plucked by the Daughter of Dawn from some sovereign’s crown, to embellish her gardens. The clouds and fields are lovers and she is a messenger between them. By pouring out the rain cures the cloud and by coming down to the ground she quenches the thirst of the field. The voice of thunder declares her arrival and the rainbow her departure. When she cries coming down the skies the hills laugh, when she reaches the ground the flowers rejoice, and when she has seeped down deep into the soil all things are elated.

Listen to the rain: it is an incessant song.

 

Shelter in Rain under a Tree.

Rain emerges from the heart of the sea and soars with the breeze. When she sees a field in need, she descends and downpours and embraces the flowers and trees in her own million little ways. In human houses, she touches the windows with soft gentle fingers and all can hear her welcome song which but the sensitive can understand. She is born out of heat in the air which in her turn she kills, exactly as a woman overcomes a man with the strength she takes from him. Rain is the sigh of the sea, the laughter of the field and the tears of the Heaven and Love. One will wonder how scientific and close Kahlil Gibran was. It was as if he entered the very soul of the Rain to sing on her behalf. This song is only one of Gibran’s many exquisite creations. Just listen to the rain: it is the tune that made this song. Gibran did not invent or create a tune for this song, he copied it.

Rivers, meadows and mountains all sing songs after rain.

Wet Grass after Winter Rain.

As the rain reaches earth, life in the planet rejuvenates. Rivers, rivulets, streams, ponds, lakes, lagoons and oceans replenishes. Nature appears as if she has been washed out clean and lain to dry in sunshine. Grass turns lush green, squirrels birds and cows come out and the sky is once more serene. Rivers, meadows and mountains all sing songs after a rain.

Song Of The Rain. The Poem Recast.

Rainbow above Water.

3. SONG OF THE RAIN.

Slightly edited and recast in the true
poetic form by P.S.Remesh Chandran, Editor,
Sahyadri Books & Bloom Books, Trivandrum.

I am dotted silver – threads
Dropped from heaven by Gods,
Nature takes me then – to
Adorn her fields and valleys.

I am beautiful pearls – plucked
From the crown of Ishtar,
By the daughter of Dawn – to
Embellish her gardens.

Rain, the most joyful thing in this world.

 

A Song Thrush after a Torrential Downpour.

When I cry the hills laugh – and
When I humble myself
The flowers rejoice, and when I
Bow, all things are elated.

The ‘field and cloud are lovers – me a
Messenger of mercy between them,
I quench the thirst of the field – and
Cure th’ailment of the cloud.

The ‘voice of thunder declares
My ‘arrival and the rainbow
A’nnounces my departure – ‘am like
Earthly life which begins at
The ‘feet of mad elements, ends
Un’der th’upraised wings of death.

I gently touch the windows with my soft fingers.

 

Green Pasteure, blessing of the Rain.

Heart ‘of the sea I emerge from – and
Soar with the breeze. When I see
A ‘field in need I descend and
Em’brace the flowers and trees – in my
‘Million little ways.

I ‘gently touch the windows
With my s’oft fingers – And my
An’nouncement is a welcome – song
‘All can hear but only – the sensi-
Tive can understand.

I am the laughter of the field.

Rain on House front and Pavement.

I ‘am the sigh of the sea,
The laughter of the field,
The ‘tears of the Heaven,
‘And so is with love.

Sighs ‘from deep sea of affection,
Laugh’ter from colourful field
Of ‘spirit; and tears from th’endless
‘Heaven of memories.

Note:

Rain is legendary. It is what caused and preserved life in this planet. Life which arrived in some meteorite particle and remained in the sky was brought down to the earth in a rain. When it rained incessantly for months and months, the world submerged in floods but Noah with a few samples of life forms escaped in his Ark. When water subsided he offered a sacrifice and prayer to God who solaced and assured man that he will never again destroy world through water. As a token of his covenant, he laid his beautiful bow on the rain clouds. After the rain, when the rainbow appears God is reminded of his promise to man that he will not destroy the world again with rain. It is true, after the rainbow there is no rain, though there is excellent scientific reason for the same.

________________________________

Pictures Courtesy: Wikimedia Commons.

________________________________

Dear Reader,

If you cannot access all pages of P.S.Remesh Chandran, Editor, Sahyadri Books & Bloom Books, Trivandrum, kindly access them via this link provided here:

https://sites.google.com/site/timeuponmywindowsill/wiki-nut-articles

Tags

 

 

American Literature, American Poets, Arabic Poets, English Literature, English Poems, English Songs, Kahlil Gibran, Lebanese Poets, P S Remesh Chandran, Poetry, Sahyadri Books And Bloom Books Trivandrum, Song Of The Rain, Songs, Tears And Laughter

 

Meet the author

PSRemeshChandra
Editor of Sahyadri Books & Bloom Books, Trivandrum. Author of several books in English and in Malayalam. And also author of Swan : The Intelligent Picture Book.

 

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Rathnashikamani
Great compilation.

A true literary commentary on the poetry of the spiritual poet Kahlil Gibran.

 

 

 

 

 

The Creation Of Man And Woman.

12. The Creation Of Man And Woman. Kahlil Gibran. Recast in the True Poetic Form by P S Remesh Chandran.

Editor, Sahyadri Books & Bloom Books, Trivandrum.


8th Apr 2011.  Short URL http://nut.bz/i7sjvwju/  [30th Sep 2010]

Kahlil Gibran is mistakenly considered to have written his poems in free verse or blank verse but actually he was hiding his exquisite tunes behind a mask, so that the dull wits and half wits of his times won’t attempt to sing them. Songs from his immortal work Tears And Laughter are fine examples of a poet locking out his lines. Two poems from Tears And Laughter, Creation Of Man and Creation Of Woman are presented here, slightly edited and recast in the true poetic form by P.S.Remesh Chandran.

A poet suspected of hiding exquisite tunes behind a mask of blank verse.

Statue of Eve in Eve Fountain, St.Petersberg.

Kahlil Gibran was a U.S- Arabic- Lebanese poet who thrilled the world with exotic tunes and captivating ideas common to all Arab and Persian poets. This wonder that was Gibran brought excellent imagery unheard of and unthought-of of before to the pages of English poetry. His poems have been a source of unending inspiration to poets and poetry appreciating public alike. He is widely accepted as a writer of what is called free verse, blank verse or prose-poems. Considering the sweetness and mellowness of his lines, it is improbable that his mind had not been impregnated with some heavenly music at the time he wrote these lines. His poems can be compared only to such brilliant and musically inspired Persian poets as Gulchin, Sana’i, Rumi, Nizami, Jami, Hafiz, Amir Khusrau, Firdausi and of course Omar Khayyam. So it was only natural there was a hilarious tune concealed behind each song and poem written by Kahlil Gibran. In almost all his poems can be found traces of slight reference to brilliant geniuses being ignored, neglected or condemned by the half wits and the jealous of their times. Thus we come to guess that Kahlil Gibran hid his exquisite tunes behind a mask of blank verse so that the dull wits and half wits of his times won’t attempt to sing them.

Statutory Warning: Whoever goes after Gibran will have to suffer the same fate depicted in his poems.

Creation of the World. Painting by Brueghel.

It has been a challenge to music and poetry appreciators all over the world to rediscover the tunes hid by Gibran in his songs. A Dialectical Metaphysicist himself, some uncanny mystic fate surrounded and enveloped his poems which made them immune to unripe persons. Whoever went after Gibran to find out the hidden music in his poems had to suffer and undergo the same misery, poverty, isolation, neglect and suppression depicted by the poet in his poems. That is why those tunes and versifications which were discovered earlier never came out to the printer’s press. The strike of fate on those unfortunates who attempted to recast his poems earlier might have been such forceful and complete that they never could have risen again in their lives. Recasting Gibran poems to bring out the rich musical content in them is easy, but surviving and surpassing the fatal strikes extended from the mystic hallo surrounding each poem is not at all easy. This author also did not escape unscathed. Someday I wish to write about my horrible experiences. And I hope someday the results of those other attempts would come to daylight and be published. When Gibran in one of his poems wrote about manuscript pages of the dying poet blown away to future generations by the wind, no one thought it to be a key to the mysticism surrounding the real life of this magical poet.

Dedicated to those who attempted Gibran poems earlier, but did not escape unscathed.

 

Created the Garden of Eden for housing man.

Tears And Laughter is one of the immortal works of Kahlil Gibran, the others being The Broken Wings and The Prophet. All poems in these works are good to be read and sung. Poems from Tears And Laughter have since been slightly edited and recast in the true poetic form by P.S.Remesh Chandran, Editor, Sahyadri Books & Bloom Books, Trivandrum. The following songs from this book are now released online so that all the world may sing them and enjoy them. Hope copyright restrictions if any won’t hamper the zeal of the world and dampen the cherished wish of Gibran Fans in all countries. This work is dedicated to those creative minds from all corners of the world that attempted recasting Kahlil Gibran poems earlier, but did not survive the mystic and fatal blows from the poems.

The Creation Of Man
The Creation Of Woman
A Poet’s Death Is His Life
Song Of The Rain
Song Of The Wave
A Lover’s Call

Someone someday somewhere will recast all Gibran poems to bring out the rich musical content in them.

Paradise painted in oil by Brueghel.

It is hoped that Kahlil Gibran’s other works will also be brought out in the true poetic form by others elsewhere. In coming years, recasting of more songs in Tears And Laughter will be undertaken and published. Beautiful orchestrations also will be made which finally will show to the world what a U.S- Arabic- Lebanese combination means. Sahyadri Books & Bloom Books, Trivandrum presents the first song in this series, The Creation Of Man before the poetry-appreciating public.

1. Creation Of Man. The Poem Recast.

After creation, Man was shown to other creatures.

Furnace of Anger gave consuming fire,
Desert of Ignorance gave searing wind,
The shore of Selfishness sharp-cutting sand,
And feet of Ages coarse earth from under.

Combining them God fashioned Man and gave
To him a blind power, raging and driving
Him into madness which extinguishes
Only before gratification of Desire,

And placed in him Life which is the spectre of Death.
God laughed and cried, felt overwhelming Love
And Pity, and beneath his guidance sheltered Man.

Burning fire in one eye, rolling ocean in the other.

God created man out of fire, wind, sand and earth provided by anger, ignorance, selfishness and ages respectively, leaving no mighty element untouched and unutilized for his creation. It was expected that the raging blind power blown into him would drive him into his inborn madness which would extinguish only upon attainment of gratification of his desire, consuming him finally. That was the scheme. Desire was invented and designed for him, and placed in him naturally. Then God placed life in him which is in fact a manifestation and the haunting ghost-like presentiment of death. God knew that man would die someday which man alone did not know until he ate the fruit, lost his innocence and divined the ultimate knowledge of life and death. The instant he ate the fruit, the first dead leaf fell in the garden. God did see in advance his creation going after gratification of his desire and after a brief span of life, lying somewhere dead and still. That was why he laughed and cried at the same time, feeling overwhelming joy and pity for this doomed fragile creation, and decided to stay with him and to protect him under his guidance like a child who will never grow.

2. Creation Of Woman. The Poem Recast.

Woman created in elegance in the garden.

God separated Spirit from himself,
Fashioned it into Beauty and showered upon

All blessings of gracefulness and kindness
And gave the cup of Happiness and said:

“Drink not from this cup unless you forget past
And future, happiness but this moment.”

He also gave a cup of Sorrow and said:
“Drink from this cup and you will understand

The meaning of the fleeting instants of
The joy of life, for Sorrow ever abounds.”

Versification and orchestration of Gibran poems will become the most pleasant verbal exercise in future.

Expulsion from home: The price of sin and learning

These slightly edited and recast poems of Kahlil Gibran are the first of its kind that got published ever. Only a mind perfectly thrilled at creating such perfect and exquisite tunes can write those lines. It is theorized that Gibran wrote them in this exact way, and then to mislead readers, he rearranged his lines to make them look like blank verse. Considering the majesty and loftiness of his theme, it is not unlike him to disguise his poetry in this manner and divert readers from the dazzling glory of divinity. Many poets like Rabindranath Tagore and Sarojini Naidu also have successfully locked their lines before appreciators. It is contextual to note that these two poets were admirers of Kahlil Gibran. To perfectly appreciate their poems, the readers will have to unlock or rediscover their original writing. Readers, learners and researchers are advised to read the original blank-verse text of Gibran as well. It is hoped that more Gibran poems will be recast to bring out the rich musical content in them. Versification of Kahlil Gibran poems and orchestrating them in their original tunes will become the most pleasant verbal exercise in future in the English speaking Arab world.

Note:

What Gibran wrote, he experienced. Not that what Gibran experienced, he wrote. Poetry should be fact melted down in philosophy. Philosophy is to be derived by an individual from the experience he gains. Therefore, a person who writes philosophical poems incommensurate with his age, without adequate back support of experience, will be forced to experience the very things he wrote. That is Nature’s balancing. The author and the commenter of this article has undergone this trial and punishment for attempting works unbecoming of age. It happened so in regard to my own literary creations. Regarding the additional punishment I have had to bear for recasting Gibran poems, I have decided to write about it in detail sometime, if allowed. One thing is certain. Kahlil Gibran wrote superb philosophical poems which fitted not his age. And he escaped from experiencing the very things. So the gravity of the residual energy envelops the poems like a black hole, draining the energy of all who deal with those poems. There have been equally disturbing stories about Shakespeare’s certain plays which cause untoward incidents at wherever they are acted. The last time I heard, it was a chandelier that broke down from the roof and fell ‘accidentally’ on the stage.

_______________________________

Pictures Courtesy: Wikimedia Commons.

_______________________________

Dear Reader,

If you cannot access all pages of P.S.Remesh Chandran, Editor, Sahyadri Books & Bloom Books, Trivandrum, kindly access them via this link provided here:

https://sites.google.com/site/timeuponmywindowsill/wiki-nut-articles 

Tags

Arabic Poets, English Language, English Literature, English Poems, English Songs, Kahlil Gibran, Lebanese Poets, P S Remesh Chandran, Poem, Poetry, Sahyadri Books And Bloom Books Trivandrum, Sahyadri Books Bloom Books, Tears And Laughter, The Creation Of Man, U S Poets

Meet the author

PSRemeshChandra
Editor of Sahyadri Books & Bloom Books, Trivandrum. Author of several books in English and in Malayalam. And also author of Swan : The Intelligent Picture Book.

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