Review of my poetry

I want to share a review of my poetry sent to me by an admirer of my poetry.

Remarkable Poetry
Recently I happened to go through some wonderful Urdu poetry written by S. Brijinder Singh ji "Sagar". I salute him for the kind of effort he has put in his work, ‘Qatra Qatra Khushboo’ presented in Devanagari script. The sheer power of his thought has forced me to express my feeling which got aroused while going through this work. Forwarded by the renowned writer S. Khuswant Singh ji, who has rightly said that it is indeed an unique shayari, the work reflects the poet-shayar’s vision and life in varying moods. The shayar has himself mentioned that his thought varies and wavers between what many would understand as extra-ordinary to even insane. He remarks that nobody seems to understand him. He writes:

‘Sagar’ ajeeb shakhas hai dost,
Kabhi dana to kabhi diwaana hai!

He complains that nobody understands him and everyone, even familiar people seem to be strangers to him. Even so-called intelligentia are asleep so he has no one who might empathise with him:
Kis say karayga shikway tu ja kay ai "Sagar"
‘Dana bhi so rahe hain ab ban ke na-aashna’

Indeed this world seems alien to his ways of life. Sometimes he finds himself alienated from even his ownself:
Meri tanhai bhi soee hai aaj umroN kay ba"ad
Mein khud se bhi mila huun, baad muddat ke



The poet-shayar seems to struggle with the very philosophy of the contemporary world.

At many places in the book, he talks of the contradictions in life. He uses phrases like, ‘aphsurda hasi’ (sad laughter). He is upset that hypocrisy is seen in almost every person he meets. We need to understand these in order to solve the entangled problems of life:

‘Khauf ko samajh kar bekhauf ho jana’
Hai uljhi karioN ka suljhanaa
Hai Ishq-o-ilm kay nau-manaazir ka nazzara
Hai kai raah-e-daanaa ka khul jaanaa

He is worried that life in general has become to a standstill due to worries of life:

‘Har chehre pe hai maazi ke naqaab,
Har samt hai jaise ek ruki ziNdagi’

The injuries suffered from others sometimes are so much that it becomes difficult to have faith in the good doers:

‘Dekhe hain tere sitm ke daur itne,
Ki karam pe tere yakin ab aata nahi’

He wants us to enlighten our innerself without which life will remain as dark as night even with all the light of the world:

‘Gar bujh jaye kisi ke andar ki aag
Hazar chirag bhi phir ziNdagi roshan nahi kartay’


He writes that he is still searching for the real ‘man’ in us by looking for the enlightenment deep inside:

‘Meri talash, talash aadami ki,
Khud mein pinha roshani ki’

He says that to meet him (the real meaningful world), you have to leave your own ‘make-believe’ world:

‘Meri tarah meri duniya mein aana ‘Sagar’
Chaho jo kabhi aana uth ke apne jahan se’


He is also concerned that so many revolutions, religions and saint-incarnations of God have not been able to change the ways of thinking or behavior:

‘Bagawaten aayi kitni fikr-e-insaan wahi quayam’
Koi samjhay na itna sa kyuNkar
Ki daur-e-waqt mornay say kuch nahiN hota
Fitrat-e-insaaN samjhnaa zaroori hai

Instead of understanding the philosophies or thoughts behind them, people like just to worship them:

‘Ye janoon-e-bandagi-e-ahad-e-mustar
Hai bus zulm-o-wahshat ki fitrat

He is sad that there is lack of thought and sensitivity in general:

‘Khirad ke gulshan hai na ehsas ki hawaein,
‘Sagar’ hai kya ye zindagi bhi ziNdagi?’


On polity, riots and traumas in life:

He is critical of the role of government machinery in the oft-occuring riots- the politicians, the police system and the judiciary all seem to be part of the ills which perpetuate injustice:

‘Bade maan se bithate ho baithakon mein jinko
AaNkh inki hi rehti hai aapki khwaabgaahoN pay

He wants revolutions within everyone to aspire to reach the heights of thought:

‘Mujhse puchte ho jagao khud mein junoon aisa,
Patjhar mein bhi jo kare koshish-e-phasl-e-gualab’

He seems to be telling not to live in the past traumas of life:

‘Bhare zakhm kuredoge to inki boo-e-lahoo se,
Phir harkat mein aa jaeinge tanhaiyon ke ukaab’

He warns against spreading hatred and spoiling our future by sowing such seeds in the future generations to avoid a dark future for ourselves:

‘Aur ye phrda ki umeedein
Phir ban jayein inroz ke khauf’

On love and romance
(especially failed love):

He has commented in fair detail on the romantic side of life. His (presumed or real) beloved seems to have deserted him to honour the traditional values of family in the Indian life and married someone else. But he is unable to forget her. He remembers the close physical proximity he had with her but insists that his love is far superior to hers:

‘Thi woh ulfatein teri,
Dekh ab ishq mera’

He writes about the importance of involving the soul in true love:

‘Ishq ka yaro ab naya mayaar ho,
Jismo ki dosti mein rooh ka didaar ho’


He says that the world has unfairly given him a bad name ignoring the fact that it has never given him enough love itself:


‘Teri zafaaiN sab nazar-andaaz wah ri duniya
Ho gaya bas ‘Sagar’ badnaam phir aaj’


He blames the flame for its inability to appreciate love. It has in its nature to burn the insect who lovefully comes to it:

‘Kitna bhi ho parwanaa wafa-shiyaar lekin
Shama baaz nahi aati use zalane se’


He talks about his deep memories of his beloved which threaten even the very life itself:

‘Yaad-e-dost kuch is tarah se aayee hai,
Tanhayee bhi meri jindagi se ghabrayee hai’


Even time itself is afraid when the writer finds that the writer is almost madly sad in his love:


‘Waqt bhi sahmaa sa ek aur ja khada hai’
‘Sagar’ aa raha hai suna hai saudaai hai’


But he smiles even in his tears whenever someone(?his beloved) finds an excuse to tell him the argument-of-love:

‘Tarak-e-mohabat ki usne kuch is bahane se,
AshkoN mein bhi reh na sake hum muskurane se’


He wants to get lost in the deep sea of his sad memories by penning down his intense feelings for his beloved. He wants to enjoy the painful wounds of love through his shayri.

‘Ek jaam-e-udasi aur piyun sarur-e-tanhayee aur badhe’
Aaj chaluN phir dard ki mehfil rutba-e-saudaai aur badhe

On meeting his beloved after a long period in later life as strangers,

‘Tera milna baad muddaton ke
Do ajnabi jaise faasiloN pe’


he gets upset when his beloved cries and repents her decisions:

‘Au barh gayi pashemani meri,
Roya koyi jab apne faisaloN pe’


He says that he redeems his life in the ghazals that he writes:
Kya diya ishq nay puchay ahbaab meray
Zindagi mili hai mujhe zindagi lutane se’



‘Likh lo ghazal koi yadon ki roshani hai’
Jalay haiN shamm-e-tassvur pay lamhay kuch puraanay say



On old age:
Towards the last compositions, he talks of the old age and the wisdom that it has broughtalong with it:


‘Aql jab kuch aanay lagi
Tab umr larkharaany lagi’


But his soul wants to sing the songs of future:
Jism kahay yaadoN maiN chalo
Ruh furda ke geet gaane lagi’


On the importance of independence of thought and expression:


‘Kalam zanjeerein laye yahan khud apne liye
Adab mein lafzoon ka kaarobaar dekha hai’

End-note:

I have tried to capture the salient features of the thought process that the writer has focussed on in his intense work almost spanning his lifetime. But I think, it is difficult to summarise the vastness of his wisdom in so few words and you have to really go through his book many times over to get to the deeper meanings of his words as my comments are limited by my own limits and of course, only a brief reading of his compositions in the work. I intend to go through it repeatedly in future and expect to understand it better.

Congratulations to S. Brijinder Singh ji again.

From:,
Dr. Gurdev Singh
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