Shamm-e-aman [Gandhi Jayanti ke mauqe par ek tasur] - nazm by Ali Jawad Zaidi

Shamm-e-aman
[Gandhi Jayanti ke mauqe par ek tasur]

      - Ali Jawad Zaidi

Khushada haath ke sardi bhare andhere mein
nikaali jisne dil-e-sang se bhi chingaari
Khushada log jinhone ye aag bujhne na di
kisi ne raakh ki chadar se dhaanp kar rakha
kisi ne shola-ba-shola ise farogh diya
kisi ne iski parastish aashti paayi

                                Ye aag jalti rahi, zindagi machalti rahi
                                ragon mein garm raha isse khoon-e-insaani

Ye aag vo hai ke laakhon ke haath jhulsaaye
magar isi ne shab-e-taar ko jamaal diya
khushada zehen ke jisne zara se sholey ko
andhere ghar ke diye ki chamak mein dhaal diya
Diye ki lau se ladi.n tez andhiyaa.n sau baar
Kahin to champayi aanchal hi ban gaya deewar
kahin subuk si hatheli bani haseen hisaar

                                 Kisi ne band kiye rozano.n ke darwaaze

                                 kisi ne oat ki khatir bana liye fanoos

Kahin darogh kahin mahshar-e-nifaaq-o-jidaal
Kahin pe jahal-o-toham, kahin pe istehsaal
Hazaar shaklon mein dekha gaya andheron ko 
hazaar baar andheron ne saazishein ki hain
hazaar baar hui hai shikast-e-faash unhein 

                                 Badha hai le ke diya dast-e-shauq mein koi
                                 na khauf-e-sarsar-o-toofan, na khauf-e-daar-o-saleeb

Ye saamne se guzarta juloos sadiyo.n ka 
Kisi ke sar pe chamakta hai taaj kaanto.n ka
kisi ke dast-e-qavi mein hai zeher ka pyaala 
kisi ke paaye mubarak mein aahani zanjeer
kisi ke halaq pe hai zeher mein bujhi shamsheer 

                                      Har ek baar andhere ko ye gumaan guzra
                                      kisi bhi shamm ki lau ab na thar-tharaaegi
                                      magar har ek jagah intezaam-e-shamm bhi tha
                                      jahaan-jahaan se andheron ka kaarwaa.n guzra

                                      Vo neem barahnagi ka jalaal-e-shahaana
                                      jo zindagi ko jalaata raha diye ki tarah
                                      ke khud jale to jale bazm jagmagaati rahe
                                      gudaaz qalb-o-nazar, shamm bhi tha, tesha bhi tha 
                                      Pighal-pighal gaye kohsaar, gir padi deewar
                                      bhala ye kis mein tha dum kham ke raasta roke? 

Ye ik naheef musafir jafaa ki raaho.n ka 
tamaam umr nabard aazma raha gham se 
koi sawaal liye seena-e-shahadat mein 
kisi jawaab ka taalib hai aaj bhi hum se.

  
***

Word meanings:

Shamm (shama): flame/lamp 
Khushada: liberal or generous
Aashti: peace

Subuk: light-weight

Hisaar: encirclement or fortress

Sarsar: cold and wild winds

Daar o saleeb: gallows

Rozan: vent or gap
Oat: shelter or veil

Fanoos: lampshade or chandelier

Darogh: falsehood

Mahshar: related to ressurection

Nifaaq: saleable or hypocrisy or malice

Jidaal: to make strong, or altercation
Jahal o toham: ignorance and superstition

Istehsaal: to make gains, or exploitation

Qavi: robust

Aahani: iron

Neem barahnagi: half-naked

Gudaaz: molten or soft 

Qalb: heart

Tesha: axe

Kohsaar: mountains

Jafaa: tyranny or unkindness

Kham: twist, bend, or curve 

Naheef: weak 

Nabard: battle

Taalib: seeker, student, or one who asks a question

Kya kisi se kam tha ishq beimaan apna?

Transcribed an old ghazal written by my grandfather, Ali Jawad Zaidi, for those who are into this sort of thing but don't know the Urdu script. 

Kya kisi se kam tha, ishq beimaa.n apna?
Intizaar kyun karti marg e nagahaa.n apna?

Jab Tahu ke deta hai dard e bekaraa.n apna
Gungunaane lagta hai shauq e naghmakhwa.n apna

Jis jagah havaon se shole baat karte hain
Bas vahin kahin par tha gosha e imaa.n apna

Manzilon mein shabkhoon hain, raaston mein rahzan hain
Hum ko phir bhi chalna hai leke kaarwaa.n apna

Uske saare taaqon par rang o buu ki devi hai
Dair e khush-navaayi hai sang e aastaa.n apna

Dost agle waqton ke daude bahr e hamdardi
Kaash main bhi sun sakta shor "Ala maa.n" apna

Sau payaam ulfat ke kaanpte hain hothon par
Ajnabi si galiyon mein kaun hum-zabaa.n apna

Zindagi ki mahroomi tohfa e mohabaat hai
Humne inse paaya hai dard e raigaa.n apna

Daastaa.n faroshi to shaayri nahin Zaidi
Fan kahin na ban jaaye zeb e daastaa.n apna

- Ali Jawad Zaidi (page 37, Naseem-e-dasht-e-aarzu)

Translated poems by Amitabh

I have translated a few more poems by the Hindi poet Amitabh. Some of them are from his first collection, Samastipur aur anya kavitayein. Three of them ('Living is What They’re Thinking About', 'The Metro-dwellers', and 'Story') have been published online in Antonym. Another two ('Sajda Khatun, A Witch? Oh, No' and 'The Life of a Grave') will appear in the print version of the journal. Link to the website here: 

https://www.theantonymmag.com/three-poems-by-amitabh-bachchan/

New poem: The Station Ghazal

I have a new poem out in the Stone Circle Review. 

Read it here:  https://stonecirclereview.com/the-station/

Some poetry videos

 I have been experimenting a bit with poetry videos in recent months. Here's the channel link: 

https://www.youtube.com/@AnnieZaidi-writer/videos

Here's a five part poem to start with. If you're into poetry and things, listen, watch, and share etc: 

Five conversations I can no longer bear to have in person: 1

Five conversations I can no longer bear to have in person: 2

Five conversations I can no longer bear to have in person: 3

Five conversations I can no longer bear to have in person: 4

Five conversations I can no longer bear to have in person: 5

Missing Weather

 This poem appeared in issue 113 of Acumen literary magazine in 2025. 

A video review for The Comeback

 A video review by Sayari for The Comeback on Scroll's video channel: 

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/cqC3o4_sY-A

A new review for The Comeback

Veda Pahurkar writes about The Comeback in the Asian Age:

'What begins as a story of friendship slowly reveals deeper layers of rivalry, regret and the lingering weight of past decisions. Zaidi approaches the narrative with subtlety rather than spectacle. The drama here is not loud or exaggerated; instead, it lies in the emotional spaces between the characters. Through carefully drawn scenes and internal reflections, the novel captures the quiet turbulence that accompanies ambition, the desire to succeed, the fear of being forgotten, and the pride that sometimes blinds people to the consequences of their actions.'

Link: https://www.pressreader.com/india/the-asian-age/20260325/282321096536708?srsltid=AfmBOooKOmqcpULZEatcn_u3CkUHJDQa6Y6OGwZrQ9NfSqtsABVj7eDW

An interview from The Quarantine Tapes

I had forgotten to post this when it first appeared but during the pandemic, in 2021, I did this wide-ranging conversation with Naveen Kishore for The Quarantine Tapes. One of the things we talked about was call-out cutlure and here is a brief extract from the interview:

The thing with calling-out culture is that it does not affect people who are, in any case, not wanting to respond to your critiques. For example, if you critique a patriarchal film, the makers of the patriarchal film are unlikely to be affected because they know why they’ve made it. If you critique a person for their transphobia, for instance, if they are genuinely transphobic, the chances of your critique influencing them in some way are very small. Not that anybody is not influenced or affected by other people, but the chances are small. The people who are most likely to be affected are people who do, in some sense, remain receptive to critics, want to change as much as you do in society.
So I think sometimes the way in which debates and criticism is framed is often quite hostile. And I find that when I frame my critiques, I like to just think a little bit about what is the nature of my critique and what is the other person actually like, or what impression do I have of the other person? Is this person essentially hostile to me?

I think that when we, especially in an anonymous framework, especially on the internet—and because we consume so much internet news, views, opinions—I have begun to feel a little bit like that it does have some kind of freezing impact on authentically open debate and critiques. So that is one part of my fear for sure.

Apart from that, of course, there are all other kinds. If you are in a highly patriarchal environment, as I am—in fact, India is quite a patriarchal country—there are other fears around that, too. I really do have to gather up my courage to say things, because it’s not just about how a fringe group might react. It is actually about how your neighbors will react, how your relatives might react, how your colleagues might react, whether your opinions will make them respect you less. All these things.


You can listen to the whole interview here: 

https://lithub.com/annie-zaidi-on-the-fears-of-writing-inside-a-patriarchal-and-call-out-culture/ 

Essay: Because we live in this world and no other

When was the last time you read a story that well and truly blew your mind?

I suppose, in order to answer that question, you’d have to first consider what it means to have your mind blown? To me, it means coming upon a story that makes me reconsider the very foundations of society, and which challenges my assumptions about what it means to be human.

Because we live in a human body, and because we can see it, smell it, inhabit it and drink of it, we imagine that we know it. We certainly fall into the trap of thinking that we know what human culture is (or what it ought to be) because that’s how we already live, and we’d like to keep it this way. At most, we might need to stretch the frontiers of what we can achieve, how far we can travel, and the limitations of our bodies. That’s the kind of science, and also the kind of fantasy, we like to conjure up. But every once in a while, along comes a story that shakes our self-assurance, and forces us to reconsider humanity...

Read the full essay in Outlook magazine: https://www.outlookindia.com/books/because-we-live-in-this-world-and-no-other

Essay: White sheets and white lies

Imagine then, my perplexity when I found myself trudging from hotel to hotel, baggage in tow, and my friend refusing to check in anywhere. The rooms looked fine to me, the hotels reasonably secure. What could be the matter? At the third hotel, my friend finally explained: she refused to stay at any hotel that didn’t have white sheets.

White bed linen. White towels. White robes. Code for luxury. All five-star hotels have them, and most four-star and three-starred hotels too, since they model themselves on the five-starred ones. But oh! The quiet boredom of five-star décor! Over the years, I have also written a few stories for travel magazines, which involved staying at five-star hotels with the implicit understanding between the editors and the hotels (who were also advertisers for the magazines) that the article should subtly nudge the reader towards the joys that were on offer. For a writer like me, this is a hard ask. Part of the problem is that I don’t like to do as I’m told, but even when I am willing, there’s the additional problem of not having much to write about. Every fancy hotel is more or less like another fancy hotel. They celebrate this monotony by putting out advertising jargon that describes the experience of staying at such hotels as ‘home’.

Now, my home is nothing like a fancy hotel. For starters, my sheets aren’t white...

Read the full essay in Frontline: https://frontline.thehindu.com/other/travel/luxury-hotels-white-sheets-class-illusion/article70486103.ece

New year, and a new book review

'Annie Zaidi’s The Comeback is about one man’s journey from self-absorption to consideration for others staged as an ode to theatre as an artform. It asks important questions of popularity, selfishness, stoicism and leadership, about life on social media, and about working in cinema, TV and OTT — all of which represent contemporary India. Also thrown in is a bit of the magic of small towns and possible models for theatre to thrive there.'

             - Akankshya Abismruta in the Hindustan Times

Link: HT review of The Comeback