Munawar Rana : A people’s poet

Hamare kuch gunahoon ki saza bi saath chalti hai,

Hum ab tanha nahi chalte dawa bi sath chalti hai

Munawar Rana has poignantly summed up his failing health in the above couplet. After battling a life-limiting illness for a few years, the intrepid bard died on January 14 in Lucknow. Rana's death has brought down the curtains on a beautiful era of poetry. The literary colossus has not only  touched different vicissitudes of daily life, but also gave a new direction to Urdu Ghazal. Rana's poetry played a crucial role in extending the canvas of Ghazal and enriching it further. The following couplet serves as a testament to it.

Ghazal who sinf-e-nazuk hai jisai apni rafaqat se

Wo mehbooba bana leta hai main beti banata hu

Rana’s flail love for his mother has remained a dominant theme of his literary pursuits. “Maa” (mother) is one of his most celebrated poems. He pulls out all the stops to elevate the status of mother in his poetry. Quoting one of his couplets.

Iss tarah mere gunahon ko vo dho deti hai,

Maa bohat gusse mein hoti hai to ro deti hai

Rana always employed simple expressions to convey his feelings rather succinctly and reaching out to a wider audience. In one of the poetic soirees in 2016, he said that he had learnt the skill of lifting the ordinary words from the ground and bestow upon them a sense of reverence. With simple words, he would touch the most complex and sensitive socio-political issues of contemporary times. Be it the Maoist insurgency in red corridor or the dacoits of Chambal valley, Rana used a plain language to delve deeper into such issues, attempting to scratch beneath the surface. For instance, the following couplet:

Samaaji bebasi har shehar ko maqtal banati hai

Kabi Chambal banati hai Kabi naxal banati hai

Rana throughout his life believed steadfastly in secular tradition of the country and vehemently opposed the communalism. He always stood against the divisive forces and pulled no punches in criticizing them. The actions of those driving a wedge between the communities would deeply disturb him. The growing communal tendencies among the people over the last few decades had unsettled him and it has found a plain reflection in his poetry. Rana writes:

Yeh daikh Ke patangain be harain hogayi

Ab to chatain bi Hindu Musalman hogayi.

Rana was a fearless poet and had the temerity to speak truth to power. He never gave in to political movers and shakers or other power players. For being shamelessly honest and blunt, he courted several controversies in the recent years and had many cases registered against himself. He, however, continued to raise his voice against what he believed was wrong. He fiercely upbraided the inhuman mob lynching incidents and returned the Sahitya Akademi Award in 2015 during a live television show in protest.

Rana was people’s poet who largely remained under-appreciated. He had realized it long back and few of his couplets poignantly expresses this sentiment. Sample this:

Hukumat ka har aik inaam hai bandook sazi pe 

Muje kaise mile ga mai to besakhi banata hoon

Rana’s couplets will continue to remain on the lips of poetry lovers. His unique style of reciting versus coupled with occasional wisecracks will be deeply missed in musharias.