Wahab Abdul(12/7/2012
7:12:00 AM)
Its my
sheer pleasure to write on a man who is a giant dramatist a poet par excellence
and gentle like elephant, a friend like shadow, his mind is as high and wide as
the vast sky, he is deep in his thinking like the pacific ocean, he never
swayed way with the biased and negative notions of life, humanity in diversity
is his philosophy of life drives his activities, he has an accuracy to say on
everything, on every topic as he has seen in his long life the flood and
drought, storms, high and low tides. his experience glitters on the rims of his
writings, a fountain of joy, on which we can quench our thirst for the days to
come, a river always flows with warm and affectionate water for ever.
He was born
in a Kashmiri Pandit/hindu family in Srinagar, capital of Jammu & Kashmir
in India on 1stJanuary,1946. The word ‘Pandit’ denotes a man/woman of great
wisdom and knowledge. A very learned person. It is derived from the Sanskrit
word ‘Pandita’ meaning scholar/an intellectual. The title ‘Pandit’ stuck with
kashmiri hindus during the Mughal King Akbar’s(1552-1605) rule for their
mastery in every field of governance, literature and religious philosophies. He
spent the early phase of his childhood in Srinagar till the age of seven and then
visiting his native place often to sustain his love towards his birthplace. He
befriended Jhelum, the river, for learning to flow constantly without
stagnating, He prayed in the lap of temples and visited mosques believing in
two different faiths enriching brotherhood, peace and love. He remained in the
company of flora and fauna which always surprised him witnessing the wonderful
creation of that one entity, whom we call Ishwar, Allaha, or the God.
Since the
concept of pre-schooling was not there in Kashmir and children were put in
school only after turning six, the beautiful surroundings, the festivities,
blending of two different cultures of hindus and muslims became natural
teachers to his upbringing during his impressionable years.
His father
Sh. B.N.Kaul was a teacher in National High School but soon migrated to New
Delhi(Capital of India) for better prospects. During his formative years in
Delhi, He was exposed to kavi sammelans/ mushairas(both poetic meets) held at
various places and sufi singing by Qawwaals at Darghah Nizammudin Aullia. This
exposure to varied thoughts of different personalities and cultural ethos
remained ingrained in his conscience. He started writing few poetic verses and
then mixing them with simple one-act plays, also written by himself, on which
he used to mono-act at various forums in front of august gathering that
included Late Aruna Asaf Ali, the then Mayor of Delhi, Kavi Harivansh Rai
Bachchan and Ellsworth F Bunker, the then Ambassador of America in India
(1956-57) .
Later in
1959 at the insistence of a publisher and with the able guidance of his father
he compiled all his one-act plays into a manuscript form, which were published
in a book titled ‘ Nanhe Muno Ke Rupak’. He was thirteen years old that time.
He recollect distinctly that he was made editor of the school magazine after
his book was published.
College
life was for exploring new frontiers, to enjoy new found freedom, indulging in
youthful dreams and fulfilling them as far as practicable. His creative acumen
gave him a chance to become member of dramatic club and he won several prizes
including a silver medal in acting at University Level. Attending various kavi
sammelens and listening to poets of great repute like Bal Kavi Vairagi, Gopal
Dass Niraj, Kaka Haathrasi, Harivansh Rai Bachchan, Gopal Dass Vyas etc.
nurtured his ambition to express his feelings in verses culminating in hindi
compositions in diaries.
This was
the time when he also learnt about literary art of Shakespeare, Wordsworth,
Keats, S T Coleridge and their poetry, and he started writing poems in English
too but was always shy of showing them to others.
Once the
college was over and a degree earned, the onus fell on him to search for a job
to financially support his family as this was the natural way of survival in
every lower middle class Indian family. More so as he was the eldest of the
siblings in the family.
He joined
the Indian Air Force in the logistic cadre(1967-2005) , and the entire period
of service till retirement was a sort of hibernation of his talent barring few
occasions every year when he could showcase his talent and win accolades and
prizes. Occasionally his poems got published in magazines/ in house journals
too. He also came to terms with selection and rejection as he understood that
these two words were part and parcel of a writer’s/poet’s life.
He has
always maintained that writing makes one a complete human being, as it brings
out the true person behind the physical facade, besides having a calming effect
on the writer.
Writing
poems and expressing his feelings in verses had always been his hobby, but
became his passion after retirement from the post of CGO(EQ) /Assistant
Director in December2005. Two anthologies of his hindi poems titled as ‘Sab
Rang’ and ‘Mann Ki Tarang’ were published in the years 2010 and 2012
respectively. He also started writing English poetry. The real impetus to write
in English language came in the year 2009 when one of his poems ‘Trauma’ was
published in Dr. Aroona Reejsinghani’s book- ‘How to prevent rape &
molestation.’ His English poems were highlighted under the column ‘Poems to
Ponder’ on www.verdurez.com (a social networking site for the elderly and the
young at heart) , and were also posted on few other poetic websites like www.poemhunter.com
and www.poetfreak.com.
Though his
forte is writing poems in free verses both in Hindi and English, he always
strives to excel in other forms of poetry as well.
Although
his association with ‘The Heart of Global Poets- a Workshop & the Publishing
Platform’ a facebook group is recent, it allows him to grasp the finer points
of poetic excellence and expression on various subjects. This group has given
him the confidence to stand with much more accomplished Indian and
international poets.
In short
his journey to the kingdom of poetry is through the feelings absorbed and
observed by the happenings within him, around him and in the world. As much as
possible he tries to portray facts as Plato, the Greek philosopher who said,
“poetry comes nearer to vital truth than history.”
His spouse
Lalita, an elegant lady, and the love of his life, has always been supportive
of all his poetic endeavours. He is able to follow his passion vigorously
because of her unconditional love and support though the years.
As written
by Abdul Wahab,
MD ‘The Heart of Global Poets- a Workshop &
the Publishing Platform’
Via www.poemhunter.com
Abdul Wahab
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