The Garden is a recurring theme in Urdu shairi. From serving as a metaphor of paradise to acting as a container for other motifs (the rose, the nightingale, the moth), gardens hold varying symbolisms in adab. This week we’ll explore the garden through a writing workshop. First we’ll read a collection of ashaar where the garden and its elements play differing symbolic roles, followed by working on our own poetry using the imagery discussed.
Elements of the Garden
The Garden (chaman) - A microcosm of paradise on earth. It may also represent the confluence of nature and man, the application of order onto the natural world, the systematic ordering of the universe.
The Nightingale (bulbul)- the nightingale that longs for the rose, usually symbolizing the soul’s desire to unify with the divine. May be captured by the hunter (sayyad) and imprisoned in a cage (qafas). Often invoked in the poetry of Mir, Ghalib, Daagh and Iqbal
The Rose (gul) - a symbol of the beloved. The ultimate form of beauty and perfection, both worldly (mijazi) and divine (haqiqi)
The Gardener (baghban) - caretaker of the garden. In contrast with the rose picker (gulchin)
Vocabulary & Expressions
Khilna (bloom), murjhana (wither), rang-o-bu (color and fragrance), khamosh guftagu (communication in the form of silence), Gul ka deewana (lover of the rose), aamad-e- mausam-e-gul (arrival of spring), naghma sarai (singing melodies), ruksathe-mausam-e-gul (departure of spring), aah-o-zaari (cry out in pain)
Ashaar
میں نے دیکھا ہے بہاروں میں چمن کو جلتے
ہے کوئی خواب کی تعبیر بتانے والا
Maiñ ne dekhā hai bahāroñ meñ chaman ko jalte
hai koī ḳhvāb kī tābīr batāne vaalā
تا پتا بوٹا بوٹا حال ہمارا جانے ہے
جانے نہ جانے گل ہی نہ جانے باغ تو سارا جانے ہے
pattā pattā buuTā buuTā haal hamārā jaane hai
jaane na jaane gul hī na jaane baaġh to saarā jaane hai
مگر دیوانہ تھا گل بھی کسو کا
کہ پیراہن میں سو جاگا رفو تھا
Magar diwana tha yeh gul bhi kasu ka
Ki pairahan me sau jaagah rafoo tha
گلوں میں رنگ بھرے باد نوبہار چلے
چلے بھی آؤ کہ گلشن کا کاروبار چلے
Guloñ meñ rañg bhare bād-e-nau-bahār chale
chale bhī aao ki gulshan kā kārobār chale
ہمیں سے رنگ گلستاں ہمیں سے رنگ بہار
ہمیں کو نظم گلستاں پہ اختیار نہیں
Hami se rang-e-chaman Hami se rang-e-bahaar
Hami ko nazm-e-gulisthan pe ikhtiyar nahin
Prompt
Write the beginning of a nazm (or the first couple ashaar of a ghazal) centered on the Garden. What does the garden and its elements represent? How does it relate to classical themes in Urdu poetry? How could those themes be reimagined or inverted?
Further Resources