– Dr. R. L. Bhat
Tharah tharah chham marah shayad
shar meh jigurook dravnai
Khosh yivon nundabon, vesiyae
Myon dilbar aav nai
I am all ashake, I may die/my heart’s wish has seen no fulfillment
that lovely, pleasing, my heart throb/he hasn’t come, ah Dear!
Rasul Mir, that skilled decanter of love, has a raging controversy shrouding his age. The local traditions recorded in 1940’s of by Ab Ahad Azad, spoke of a death in his prime. Folk history has it that, Mahmood Gani predicted his youthful death (Amis Chhi janhmargi handi koder). His poetry, its fervent youthfulness, its vibrant tenor, its tone of hearty yearning, its pristine emotions, all point to a poet, untouched by the cares of decaying age. Rasul Mir was said to have been alive in 1855 AD when Mahmood Gani passed away and died a few years before Maqbool Shah Kralawari (d.1874). Accordingly his demise was reckoned between (1867-1870). Rasul Mir was thus said to have lived between 1820s and 1870s. Mr. Teng in his Kuliyati Rasul Mir, refers to a document, in revenue records at Anantnag, which bears the signature of Rasul Mir, as Nambardar and is dated 5th of April 1889. On this basis, Rasool may have lived into the last decade of 19th century. That is as close to factual certainity as researches have gotten to.
For the rest, there is his poetic legacy, and, ah again oral traditions. Oral traditions say, Rasul Mir was tall, handsome fair complexioned person, and sported moustaches that tapered far into the face. He was graceful, fashionable fellow, with a youthful heart that throbbed with love, love, and lots of love.
Yi chho Rasul Mir Shahabad Doorey,
Tami chho trovmut lola dukaan
Yivu aashqow chevu torre torrey,
Mai chho moorrey lalavun naar.
This is Rasul Mir, at Shahabad, Doru. He has opened a love-kiosk. Come ye lovers, drink free cup. Love’s fire burns me deep
Love, is the waft and whoop, the craft and creed of Rasul Mir (He lived love, sang love, and lives for his love-ful passion). Love, the first strings of human heart that present the whole universe as an undulating poem. Love is the creed, beloved is the god and lyrics rush forth in bubbling streams to worship the deity. Singing, sighing and singing again they cascade over the expanses of life, in undating it in its fervor.
The object of Rasul’s love is said to have been a Hindu belle of his village. Tales of their having gone to the same mak-tab, and fallen in love have been woven. His poems of love, will yield a thousand tales of prolicy dalliance and passionate love, with little effort. Probably, such soul-full poetry is not possible without a passionate love. You have only to read Mahmood Gani, to know the bubbling heart in Rasul Mir’s lyrics. Henziyani, Hindu girl, is an unmistakable refrain in Rasul Mir’s Poems.
Raza henziyani naaz kyah anzni gardan,
Ya illahi chesma bada nishi rachhtan
Gatsi kam kyah chani baargahi lolo,
Rinda poshamal gindiney drayi lolo
How graceful the swans neck of henziyani looks, spare her from evil eyes, my Lord, Thy bounty, that won’t lessen, O God, Lo, the love goes on a frolicly outing
Whether the love was reciprocated or not is lost, like the details of Rasul Mir’s life, in the depths of past lost to us. It is also not clear whether the mentions would point to a specific person or an idealization of female beauty in the form of a Hindu-maiden (God lenons, they are beauty itself) Raza Henzyan, passes into Kongi, into Poshmal, Soundermal, Padmaeni, Kostouri, Kongi Padmani, take the primal place, for full lyric ‘Kongi
haavtai paan.
Bo veernagai hemai zagai
Lagai mot gaer zaan
Pooli to cheenagund kya drengi,
Kongi haa tai paan.
I’ll look for you at Veernag, in the garb of an unknown mendicent, at Pooli, cheeni-gund, Drengi. Give me a glimpse, Kongi
This is a virtual topographical map of the area, where Rasul Mir lived. The compiler of Q. Kulyati Rasul Mir has avered that Poshmaal too is a probable name of the Henziyaen. And so are Sondermaal, Kastour, Padmaan, Shama, which repeatedly occur in his verses.
Some where these heady portraits of the lover and beloved mingle into one whole. Kashmiri Gazal, says Abdul Ahad Azad, is a female seeking the lover, who is male. In Persian from where Kashmiri gazal derives its inspiration, the object of love is a male sought by a male singer. In Rasul Mir, the singer changes from woman to man, the poems, and the elements of female beauty get mixed with distinctly male attributes producing a bivalent image. Azad calls it a defect of conception. This defected concept,’ runs in the Kashmiri gazals from Mahmood to Gani to Mahjoor. It certainly mars a distinctive characteristic of Kashmiri gazals that set it apart from Persian and its offspring Urdu gazal. This trait has been preserved in female poetesses alone, like Habba and Arnimaal where there is no confusion. Rasul also gets into the gazal a boldness that is characteristically masculine.
gom hankli, drsh gom brai
Tsus gom valinja yaar ma aam
Taemi door seenh tai mae dari narey
Vantai vesiyey konai aam
The (door-) chain clanged the door was pushed my heart leapt, was my lover come’ His chest he proffered and I my arms. Tell my friend, why didn’t he come
Rasool Mir (died 1870) was one of the leading Kashmiri poets of the 19th century. He was born at Doru Shahabad, a historic town in Anantnag district of Jammu and Kashmir.
He has been titled as Keats of Kashmir for his powerful romantic poetry but at times he mingles with mysticism.
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