Thinking Activity on I.A.Richards 'Figurative Language'

                           
 I will discuss and analyse some poetry, Ghazal and some poetic lines of different poets through the theory of I.A. Richards 'Figurative Language'.

Historical sense and use of metaphors

(1) 

कवि के खयालात है चाय,

नेता के बयानात है चाय

किसीके दिलोकी आस है चाय,

तो सबकीे रूहकी प्यास है चाय

खामोश लबों की जुबां है चाय,

भटकते बेरोजगारो का मुकाम है चाय

जिन्दगी में कर लो इकठ्ठा अमानत चाय की,

क्यों की मैदाने महेशर में, 

हम सब की जमानत है चाय.

Ramiz...

                                   

                                In first few lines poet tries to give a huge form/importance to the tea. We all use tea in our day to day life but rarely notice that it works as a kind of energy to us. we often heard that from people that I would get the headache, if I miss my morning tea. here poet comparing tea with such elements. 

for example... 

कवि के खयालात है चाय,

नेता के बयानात है चाय

किसीके दिलोकी आस है चाय,

तो सबकीे रूहकी प्यास है चाय

खामोश लबों की जुबां है चाय,

भटकते बेरोजगारो का मुकाम है चाय

                               poet tries say that if there is no existence of tea in this world then may be such valuable would be miss in this world like the valuable thoughts of poet's mind, speeches of political leaders etc. Because many times we found that many people can not start their day without having tea. This same situation is also of poets, because same time without tea they can not write much effective. So, here tea has compared to the thoughts of the poets. Though the important lines are the last few lines because it is actually concerns with the essay of I.A Richards' 'Figurative Language'.

जिन्दगी में कर लो इकठ्ठा अमानत चाय की,

क्यों की मैदाने महेशर में, 

हम सब की जमानत है चाय.

                               Here poet has gives tea a kind of higher position which is related to our Karma. let's understand how?

                               These lines has concern with the myth of Maidan-E-Maheshar related to the Islam. It is belief in Islam that a soul of all the person after their death will go to the place called Maidan-E-Maheshar where they will remain till the day of judgement. At the day of judgement Allah (God) will tab the sin as well as righteousness of each and every person, and on the basis of this tab it will be decided that who will go to the heaven and who will go to the hell.

So, here by giving more importance to the tea poet interchanges a tea with the Sin and righteousness and says that if you wants to get the heaven then you must loving to the tea otherwise you will not get the bail to the heaven from the prison of Maidan-E-Maheshar.

Now if we take to analyse these lines from the viewpoint of I.A.Richards' principal 'difficulties found in poetry', we can find that if someone would read these lines without knowing the myth of Maidan-E-Maheshar then he/she may not be able to understand these lines. So, a kind of historical sense can be found in these last lines.

Historical sense and use of metaphors. 

                            Now, if we talk about the use of metaphors in any poetic creation then none other can be better then the song Afreen Afreen originally sung by 'Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan' and written by 'Javed Akhtar'. In this song/Ghazal we can find many metaphors for a body and face of lady.

So, let's see what kind of metaphors has used in this creation.

(2)

ऐसा देखा नहीं खूबसुरत कोई

जिस्म जैसे अजंता की मूरत कोई

जिस्म जैसे निगाहों पह जादू कोई 
जिस्म नगमा कोई जिस्म खुशबू कोई

जिस्म जैसे महकती हुई चाँदनी

जिस्म जैसे मचलती हुई रागिनी

जिस्म जैसे किः खिलता हुआ इक चमन

जिस्म जैसे की सूरज की पहली किरण

जिस्म तरशा हुआ दिलकश ओ दिलनशीं 

संदाली संदाली

मरमरी मरमरी

                            In this lines we can find many comparison between natural elements like moonshine, blossoming garden, the first light of dawn, warm and smooth sandalwood, pure and delicate marble to the beautiful body of a lady. Poet compare these elements to praise the body of a lady. 
                    
                             Important metaphor to notice is found in the first line where poet says that body is like the idol of Ajanta, (The caves of Ajanta-Ellora, Mumbai, India.) where we can find that almost all the idols of woman in Ajanta cave are naked and indicate the 'Love Rasa' (शृंगार रस) one of the nine 'Rasas' described in the theory of 'Rasa' in Bharat Muni's 'Natyashastra', which is consider as the Hindu scriptures or texts. The 'Love Rasa' is all about the myth of Shiva and Shakti in which it is said that creation of human is only happened for the enjoyment of love (Shringara), when Shiva and Shakti, male and female energies, who were one, decided to play game of hide and seek. Love is the most extreme happiness that two people can create together, leaving as the God and Goddess in a universe of their own. In this the relationship becomes rehearsal of surrender to the universe and the divine. So, here poet wants to compare the beauty of a lady (may be of his lover) with a beauty of a lady described in the myth of 'Love Rasa' through the idol of Ajanta.

                           so it can also called the historical sense of a poet because if someone does not know about the 'Love Rasa' then he/she may not understand the meaning of first line of this creation.  

चेहरा इक फूल की तरह शादाब है 

चेहरा उस का है या कोई महताब है 

चेहरा जैसे ग़ज़ल चेहरा जान ग़ज़ल 

चेहरा जैसे कली चेहरा जैसे कँवल 

चेहरा जैसे तसव्वुर भी तस्वीर भी 

चेहरा इक खाब भी चेहरा ताबीर भी 

चेहरा कोई अलिफ़ लैला की दास्ताँ 

चेहरा इक पल यकीं चेहरा इक पल गुमां 

चेहरा जैसा के चेहरा कहीं भी नहीं 

माहरु माहरु 

महजबीं महजबीं

Javed Akhtar

This time poet compare the beautiful face of a lady with such things like to the fresh flower, to the sheer poetry, to the artist's thoughts and also to its translation, he says that face is both dream as well as retaliation, her face is like magical tale.

(4)

बडी मुदद्तो से बंद था आज खुल जाने दे,

ख्वाबो में भी याद रख्खा था,

मगर अब तुजे भूल जाने दे,

इस रेत भरे दिल के समंदर में

बारिश का तुफान आया है अरसो बाद,

अब तेरी महोब्बत की अधुरी स्याही को,

मेरे दि्ल के कागज से धुल जाने दे

या इस बेवफाइ के जख्म को 

तेरी वफाइ के मरहम में घुल जाने दे......

Ramiz...

Actually it is very easy to understand this Ghazal but one can find such over exaggeration fron the poet in such lines like रेत भरा दिल का समंदर, how heart can be a full of sand.

कहीं पे निगाहें कहीं पे निशाना (make satire or do taunt on something or someone by saying it through other context)

Richards talk about a element of Tenor which means that sometime such poems or poetic lines seem very simple and understandable, but according to I.A.Richards there are such creations which seem simple but has a deeper meaning, and to find that deeper meaning one has to open the tenor of that lines.(which could be difficult sometime)

Here are some example given below which are look simple but justifies something else.

(1)

अभी गनीमत है सब्र मेरा,
 
  अभी लबालब भरा नही हूँ ....
  

वो मुझको मुर्दा समझ रहा है,

     उसे कहो..... मैं मरा नही हूँ .....

वो कह रहे हैं कुछ दिनों में,

मिटा कर रख दूँगा नस्ल तेरी…

है उसकी आदत डरा रहा है,

     है मेरी फितरत, डरा नहीं हूँ…!!

Dr. Rahat Indori...

                                      What one would find on the first reading of this Ghazal. One would find that one person is warn to other that don't take him lightely he is stil alive and has the power to counter attack. We can interpreat this Ghazal in many ways for instance chalange to the God from human or chalange to the opponant country in the form of reaction, or it can also take as the reaction of a persom who has been a victim of someone.

(2) 

अगर ख़िलाफ़ हैं होने दो जान थोड़ी है

ये सब धुआँ है कोई आसमान थोड़ी है

लगेगी आग तो आएँगे घर कई ज़द में

यहाँ पे सिर्फ़ हमारा मकान थोड़ी है

मैं जानता हूँ के दुश्मन भी कम नहीं लेकिन

हमारी तरहा हथेली पे जान थोड़ी है

हमारे मुँह से जो निकले वही सदाक़त है

हमारे मुँह में तुम्हारी ज़ुबान थोड़ी है

जो आज साहिबे मसनद हैं कल नहीं होंगे

किराएदार हैं ज़ाती मकान थोड़ी है

सभी का ख़ून है शामिल यहाँ की मिट्टी में

किसी के बाप का हिन्दोस्तान थोड़ी है

Dr. Rahat Indori

                            

                            Now, once again on the first reading of this Ghazal one can not understand the deep meaning of this. If the last line derive from the Ghazal or if it would be represent anonymously one can't say for whose justice it has been written.

                             I think Rahat Indori has written this Ghazal for the particular community, who feels insecure in India (may be Muslim community) when some political leaders from different parties start to threaten them by give such kind of statements on media and on the platform of social medias. We can say that this is reaction to the action of that political leaders or (may be direct to the prime minister, Narendra Modi), but this is the sense of this poet that we can not prove what he actually wants to say or on whome he wants to taunt.

(3)

जुबा तो खोल, नज़र तो मिला,जवाब तो दे

में कितनी बार लुटा हु, मुझे हिसाब तो दे

तेरे बदन की लिखावट में हैं उतार चढाव

में तुझको कैसे पढूंगा, मुझे किताब तो दे

Dr.Rahat Indori

This is also a shayari in which it is seem that one beloved complaint about him/her failure to understand the nature of his/her.

But the actual meaning of this sher is that a person faced many difficulties and become failed many times in his/her life complaining to the Ggod and says that how can I understand the nature of you if you do not give me the strength/good luck to be successful, because as we all know unsuccessful people always believe God as a responsible element begind their failure, often it is seen that failed people have much more believe and faith in the spirit of God. 

                               So, both the things can be found in this shayari, first sher indicate a kind of complaint of human to the god and suddenly in second sher a kind of faithfulness but still complaint can be found.

(4)

तन्हाइ भी तन्हाइ में रोने लगी है,

तेरे खयालो से बेचेनी सी होने लगी है,

क्यां बेवफा किस्मत पाइ है मैने,

अब तो ये भी जाग जाग के सोने लगी है.

Ramiz...

The first two lines may be understand as a kind of relationship berween beloved and lover but now this relation has been broken and he/she does not want to think about him/her, because they become frustrate just by thought of him/her.

Then other sher is about the fate of human. Poet curse to his fate because his lover batrayed him.

But, this is not about the beloved and lover but it is written for the youth of India which youth striving hard to get the government job. But after lot of hardwork, somehow they become fail to get the job just because of few marks.

So, poet here says that now the youth of India has been tired by giving the compititive examination again again and become tire by being fail. Poet curse to fate by saying that fate is playiing to him because he passes the examination but still can not able to put his name inti the merit list and could not get the job that's why (किस्मत तो जागे के चलो पास हो गये, मगर मेरिट में ना आ पाए इस लिये लिखा गया है कि ये भि जाग जाग के सोने लगी).