Bazm-E-Urdu Poem by Nidhi Bhati

Bazm-e-Urdu

I
It was while waiting for lunch time in
my office in Okhla Phase II that it hit me;
Okhla sounds so much like khokla - hollow.

Its becoming hollow.
the heart; the mind; the sorrows.

Abandoned,
is the word that hits me next.
restrained; deserted; hollowed.

Abandoning the city,
restraining its history,
deserting the old lanes
for new origins and ways.

II
Transcending Hollowness. Raya Kari.

A hollowness has arrived - in time;
for a time that has been forgotten,
and a hollowness will arrive - in time;
for a time that will need forgetting.

III
Abandoned shops. Ghantewala (1790-2015) .

A confectionery that once
sold history lessons along with
joys of Ghalib's gulab jamun;
is now hollowed.

IV
Forgotten Origins.

Gulab Jamun.
A crafty little "indian" sweet
sold by mithaiwalas and halwaiwalas
in lanes big and small, some of which
are now forgotten.

Crafty, as it forgets
the time when a
"Persian' speaker traded
not just his "Persian" goods
but also his "Persian' sweetooth.
A sweetooth that knew how to spell,
gol-ab-jaman (flower-water-jamun) .

Jalebi.
A winter heart longs to be
kissed in the sun;
just like the jalebi longs to be
dipped in doodh like the saffron sun.

This desi mithai always
finds its way to bhakts on days
of Republic and Independence.
Yet it fails to remind them how these
sweet perfumed "Persian" zalibiya
came to our land of not so welcomed guests
and became "our" very own jalebiyan.

Naan.
Butter Chicken,
Karahi Paneer and
Moolchand's Chur Chur Naan;
would have never been #foodporn
if nān with its 'Persian' roots
had not touched and got baked in "our' land.

V
Forgotten Tongue. zaban-i-urdu.

An Indic language closely related
to Hindi but written in "Persian' script.

People always forget,
they forget the history,
they forget the origins but
they always remember the sound.

VI
Aaj kal kitaabe siyahi se nahi
khoon se likhi jaati hai.
Aisa chalta raha to
khoon ki siyahi to nahi
par ye jahan zaroor
khatam ho jayega.

VII
Hollowed togetherness and
Forgotten ham-bazm
(associated togetherness) .

'It is not praised if you are the only one to understand what you speak; interesting is the situation when you speak and the others understand.'
- Hakeem Agha Jaan Aish.

'I don't need appreciation neither do i need any return
let not be if there is no meaning in my couplets.'
- Ghalib.