It is the fourth poetic piece, a ghazal in the book titled Sad-Barg by Parveen Shakir that reveals her story in its matla’a (first couplet). She writes: “Mar bhi jaaoon toh kahan log bhula hi deingay/ Lafz meray, meray honay ki gawahi deingay” (Even if I die, people will not forget me/I will be remembered through the words I have written). December 26, 2010 was her 17th death anniversary. She was born on November 24, 1952 and died at the young age of 42. Parveen died in a fatal car accident in Islamabad, but her poetry, engraved in the hearts of millions of poetry lovers, has kept her alive to date. While reading her poetry in her books titled Inkaar, Khushboo, Mah-e-Tamam, Khud Kalami, Kaf-e-Aina and Sad-Barg, one tends to get the impression that Parveen matured at a very young age, perhaps due to the struggles of her personal and professional life. She was a civil servant and in 1986, she was appointed second secretary, Central Board of Revenue, in Islamabad. In 1990, she taught at Trinity College, Connecticut, US, followed by getting a master’s degree from Harvard in 1991. She married a doctor who she later divorced. She had a son, Syed Murad Ali.
This reviewer has read Parveen’s poetry umpteen times and always finds a new dimension in it. The couplet printed on the title page of the new edition of her book Sad-Barg printed by Jehangir Book Depot is, “Apni tanhayee meray naam pe aabaad kare/Kaun hai jo mujhey uss ki tarah yaad karey’ (Who would populate his emptiness with my memories?/Who else would remember me the way he does?).
Parveen observes in the prologue to her book that in this satanic world, if truth approaches dusk, then the only cry that remains loud in the house is that of ‘Hal min nasir yansarna’ (Is there anyone to assist me). She feels that in a society where self-respect is considered a worthless commodity, anybody belonging to this category of people like her, must be considered worthless too. She refused to become subservient to the norms of society reserved for females, fully aware that her fate may not turn out good in the long run. In such a frame of mind, she writes “Mera sar hazir hai lekin mera munsif dekh le/Kar raha hai meri fard-e-juram ko tehreer kaun” (O judge, I am here to obey your word, but see before pronouncing the verdict/ Who is preparing the charge-sheet against me). Parveen is sceptical about the authenticity of her crime as well as the justice she would receive.
The more one reads Parveen’s books, the more one finds the sensuous touch of various emotions that she goes through. On the other hand, her bravery in rebelling against the norms of her society is the theme of many of her poems. Thus, she comes out as a representative of a comprehensive collective vision of throbbing minds. Parveen writes about experiencing a sense of independence in this world, where she has to struggle to maintain her identity all the time. She has expressed such feelings in her poem titled ‘Working Woman’. In this poem, she expresses her liberty in the lines: “Mein ab har mausam se sar ouncha kar ke mil sakti hoon/ Aik tan-aawar pairr hoon ab mein” (I can face all kinds of weather holding my head high/ I am a mature tree now) but ultimately she succumbs to the desire of wanting a strong partner as well and that she expresses in the next lines: “Laikin meray ander ki ye buhut purani bail/ Kabhi, kabhi, jab taiz hawa ho/ Kisi buhat mazboot shajar ke tan se lipatna chahati hai” (But I still have an old vine somewhere hidden inside me/ When the wind blows hard/ That desires to entwine around a strong tree). In this couplet, she has beautifully expressed the emotions of a woman. She says no matter how much a woman progresses in life, how independent she is, at the end of the day she is a woman who loves and desires to be loved.
Parveen wrote a poem titled ‘Zil-e-Elahi Ke Problems’. Establishing in the first two lines the fact that the lives of the rulers are always under threat, she writes, “Raj paat karney walon ki jaan/ Hatheli par rehti hai/ Becharon ke masaail kaisay ajab hotey hain/ Kabhi iss bajguzaar riasat ki shoreeda sari/ Kabhi us zair-e-nageen soobey ki nafarmani” (The life of rulers/ Is always under threat/ How strange are their problems/ Sometimes they have to handle a tributary colony’s revolt/ Sometimes another subordinate state’s rebellion). Parveen analyses enemies and friends. The latter, she writes, are more difficult to tackle than enemies. She says, “Dushman jald hi khul jaatay hain/ Uljhao to paaon choomaney walon sey parta hai!” (Enemies get exposed easily/ It is the friends who claim to love you who are difficult to test).
Overall, Parveen Shakir’s style is subtle, her diction strong, her vocabulary that of a well-read and well-groomed person and her boldness that of a mature and older person with a strong background. Parveen is a poet of her inner strengths. Had she lived longer, she would have mesmerised the world with more of such poetry as in her book titled Sad-Barg.
The reviewer is based in Lahore and can be reached at [email protected]