Thinking with Ghalib - Poetry for a New Generation by Amit Basole & Anjum Altaf

Author:Amit Basole & Anjum Altaf [Basole, Amit & Altaf, Anjum]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Roli Books
Published: 2021-11-15T00:00:00+00:00

Note

1.

The original rhyme (radiif) of this ghazal was ‘hote tak’ which has been modernized in later divaans to ‘hone tak.’

14

On the Screams of Silence

Why would I not scream because I am remembered

Only when my voice is not heard

kyuuN nah chiikhuuN kih yaad karte haiN

miri aavaaz gar nahiiN aatii

Yet another example of Ghalib’s use of paradox.

The beloved derives pleasure from the lover’s lamentations and ignores him. She only pays attention when he stops lamenting, irritated by the suspicion that he may no longer be besotted with her. But when he is silent, even though the beloved is attentive, no dialogue is possible. So he screams in frustration but of course the screams go unheeded because he is only remembered when he is silent. A case of paying attention to the dog only when it does not bark.

Ghalib exploits the ambiguities allowed by the Urdu language to omit the subject of the phrase yaad karte haiN. It could be the beloved but it could also be the king or the ruler who is ignoring the shouts and pleas of a supplicant who is appreciated only when he is silent. At which point, being silent, he is unable to state his case.

Note, in this context, that in Urdu ‘yaad karna’ has an active meaning of calling into one’s presence, not merely recalling to mind which might be expressed as ‘yaad aana.’ This double meaning has been cleverly exploited by Ghalib.

We can use this couplet to explore relations between the rulers and the ruled in our land today. During fieldwork among weavers in the city of Varanasi, in the context of protest and government policy, one of the authors (AB) often encountered the refrain, jab tak bachcha rota nahi, maa bhi uski taraf dhyaan nahi deti (until a child cries, even its mother does not pay it heed).

The majority of the ruled are voiceless. When they do raise their voices, they are either ignored or labelled as a handful of miscreants who need to be dealt with an iron hand.

When they remain silent, they are lauded as their silence is taken as a sign of approval. They are trumpeted as the Silent Majority that fully supports the policies of the day.

Thus, the ruled find themselves in a no-win situation. It is not that they do not have grievances but voicing or not voicing them in public makes little difference to their fate. So, they voice them silently telling whoever cares to listen that no one cares about them. These are the screams of silence. But those who control the reins of power are impervious to the screams of silence.

What is the way out of a no-win situation of this sort? Why, in an electoral system, is there no political party that gives voice to the voiceless? Why are huge numbers of the Silent Majority so irrelevant in a system based on the vote of every individual? How is such an outcome possible in a democratic system? Why are the screams of silence falling on deaf ears? What can make the screams be heard?

Let us look to our history for inspiration.

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