The Solitary Reaper

These days I am rediscovering William Wordsworth. Just fell upon the 'The Solitary Reaper' after ages and enjoyed every word to the core. No pretence or higher purpose in here. Just transports us to those 'Scottish highlands'. Simplicity at its best

Behold her, single in the field,

Yon solitary Highland Lass !

Reaping and singing by herself ;

Stop here, or gently pass !

Alone she cuts and binds the grain,

And sings a melancholy strain ;

O listen ! for the vale profound

Is overflowing with the sound.

No nightingale did ever chaunt

More welcome notes to weary bands

Of travellers in some shady haunt,

Among Arabian sands :

A voice so thrilling ne’er was heard

In spring-time from the cuckoo-bird,

Breaking the silence of the seas

Among the farthest Hebrides.

Will no one tell me what she sings ? –

Perhaps the plaintive numbers flow

For old, unhappy, far-off things,

And battles long ago :

Or is it some more humble lay,

Familiar matter of to-day ?

Some natural sorry, loss, or pain,

That has been, and may be again ?

Whate’er the theme, the maiden sang

As if her song could have no ending ;

I saw her singing at her work,

And o’er the sickle bending ; –

I listened, motionless and still ;

And, as I mounted up the hill,

The music in my heart I bore,

Long after it was heard no more.

The Enchantress of Florence

Following is the first paragraph of Salman Rushdie's latest book 'The Enchantress of Florence'. Is he a wordsmith? Beyond doubt.

In the day's last light the glowing lake below the palace-city looked like a sea of molten gold. A traveller coming this way at sunset - this traveller, coming this way, now, along the lakeshore road - might believe himself to be approaching the throne of a monarch so fabulously wealthy that he could allow a portion of his treasure to be poured into a giant hollow in the earth to dazzle and awe his guests. And as big as the lake of gold was, it must be only a drop drawn from the sea of the larger fortune - traveller's imagination could not begin to grasp the size of that mother-ocean! Nor were there guards at the golden water's edge; was the king so generous, then, that he allowed all his subjects, and perhaps even strangers and visitors like the traveller himself , without hindrance to draw up liquid bounty from the lake? That would indeed be a prince among men, a veritable Prestor John, whose lost kingdom of song and fable contained impossible wonders. Perhaps (the traveller surmised) the fountain of eternal youth lay within the city walls - perhaps even the legendary doorway to Paradise on Earth was somewhere close at hand? But then the sun fell below the horizon, the gold sank beneath the water's surface, and was lost. Mermaids and serpents would guard it until the return of daylight. Until then, water itself would be the only treasure on offer, a gift the thirsty traveller gratefully accepted.

The whole book is such a joy to read. I dare say that, though Midnight's Children may be a better book, this one is immensely breathtaking and a treat to the senses. A must read.

Khudai ka bharam

I am awed by the following couplet by Habib Jalib. It is timeless and has multiple connotations. Sometimes a few words encapsulate the whole universe in its purview.

Tujh sey pehley jo ik shakhs yahan takht nasheen thha

Usko bhi apney khudaa honey ka itna hi yakeen thha

Aah ko chaahiye

This ghazal by Mirza Ghalib beautifully captures the feelings of a forlorn lover whose beloved seems elusive.

Aah ko chaahiye ik umr asar honey tak

Kaun jeeta hai teree zulf ke sar hone tak

Daam-e-har mauj mein hai halqa-e-sad kaam nihang

Dekhein kya guzrey hai qatrey pey guhar hone tak

Aashiqee sabr talab aur tamannaa betab

Dil ka kya rang karoon khoon-e-jigar honey tak

Hum ne maana ki taghaaful na karogey lekin

Khaak ho jaayenge hum tumko khabar honey tak

Partav-e-khur se hai shabnam ko fanaa ki taalim

Main bhi hoon ek inaayat ki nazar hone tak

Yak nazar besh nahin fursat-e-hastee gaafil

Garmi-e-bazm hai ik raqs-e-sharar hone tak

Gham-e-hastee ka Asad kis se ho juz marg ilaaj

Shama har rang mein jaltee hai sahar honey tak.

  

We have a wonderful musical rendition of the same by the virtuoso ghazal singer Begum Akhtar and also a more popular and contemporary one by Jagjit Singh.

Dasht-e-Tanhai

To begin with, a beautiful poem by Faiz Ahmed Faiz on longing and love in times of separation.

Dasht-e-tanhai mein ai jaan-e-jahaan larzaan hain

Teri aavaaz kay saaey, teray honton kay saraab

Dasht-e-tanhai main dooree kay khas-o-khaak taley

Khil rahay hain teray pehloo kay saman aur gulaab

Uth rahee hai kaheen qurbat teri saans kee aanch

Apnee khushboo main sulagti hui madham madham

Door ufaq paar chamaktee hui qatra qatra

Gir rahi hai teri dildaar nazar ki shabnam

Is qadar pyaar say ai jaan-e-jahaan rakha hai

Dil kay rukhsaar pay is waqt teri yaad ne haath

Yun gumaan hota hai gerchey hai abhi subh-e-firaq

Dhal gaya hijr ka aa bhi gaee wasl ki raat.

Also check out this mesmerizing rendition of the same by Ghazal singer Tina Sani. Simply outworldly.