Bahadur Shah Zafar: Remembering The Last Mughal And His Poetry

By Sumit Paul, New Age Islam 24 October 2023 I often visit Burma (now Myanmar) to teach Theravada Buddhism (also prevalent and practised in Sri Lanka). Whenever I go to that country, I make it a point to visit Bahadur Shah Zafar's tomb in Rangoon and feel sad for the 20th and last Mughal emperor who passed away in exile. October 24 is Zafar's birth anniversary. Bahadur Sha Zafar/ File Photo ------- He was also a pretty good poet whose poetry was perfected by Ghalib's coeval Mohammad Ibrahim Zauq. It's often said that he was arguably the most versatile Mughal because he could write poetry in Persian and Urdu. He was an excellent music composer, a revered Sufi, a distinguished theologian, a brilliant calligrapher, an epicurean (he cooked as well and wrote a book on rare Mughal cuisine which is no longer available), a great connoisseur of art and poetry and also a sartorial expert! But he wasn't an able ruler and a firm leader of men because he wasn't shrewd and manipulative like his predecessors and other Mughals. Yet, what a dismal fate befell a gentle soul! His sons were decollated, he was stripped of all powers and banished to far away Burma where he breathed his last like a commoner. "It's fate that flings the dice and when it flings/ Of kings makes peasants and of peasants makes kings." John Dryden's immortal lines articulate the miserable life of an emperor who was a witness to a dynasty that ruled for more than three hundred years. As for his poetry, despite being an accomplished poet writing in Persian and Urdu (he also wrote a few Ghazals in Chagatai and it's strange that after only his great-great grandfather Babar, Zafar also knew Chagatai and wrote in it), he was never considered a very good poet by Momin and Ghalib. Zauq himself was not very happy with the emperor's poetry. It's said that had Zauq concentrated less on perfecting Zafar's (humdrum) poetry, he'd have been as great as his contemporary Mirza Ghalib. In his list of the seventeen greatest Urdu poets of 19th-century Delhi, Sir Syed doesn't mention Zafar. It's believed that even Ghalib, who took over as Zafar's Ustad (master and mentor) rather late in life, didn't consider him a particularly good poet. A deeply devout man, Zafar believed in the divinity of Allah: Kiski Himayat Dhoondhein Hum Aur Kis Se Marham Chahein 'Zafar' Rakhte Nazar Hum Apne Khuda Par, Voh Hi Humara Haami Hai (Whose favour shall I ask and whom should I ask for a cure, Zafar/ I've faith in my god. He alone is my benefactor). He was a liberal man with latitudinarian elements of a Sufi embedded in his persona. Born to a Hindu mother, he'd celebrate the Hindu festivals of Holi, Dussehra and Diwali with as much fervour as he did the two Eids. The entire life of Zafar was a saga of pain, pathos and failures. His life depicts Fani Badayuni's proverbial Misra: Naakaamiyan Saath Raheen, Jab Tak Saansein Chalti Raheen (Failures accompanied till I breathed my last). "Na Kisi Ki Aankh Ka Noor Hoon, Na Kisi Ke Dil Ka Qaraar Hoon/ Jo Kisi Ke Kaam Na Aa Sake Ma'in Vo Ek Musht-E-Ghubaar Hoon." Whether or not he really penned this couplet is a debatable issue, but it underlines Zafar's abject helplessness. By the way, one must listen to this Ghazal in the voice of Rafi for the film Laal-Qila (1960). The music of S N Tripathi and voice of Rafi will transport you to Rangoon! ------ A regular columnist for New Age Islam, Sumit Paul is a researcher in comparative religions, with special reference to Islam. He has contributed articles to the world's premier publications in several languages including Persian. URL: https://newageislam.com/islamic-personalities/bahadur-shah-zafar-mughal-poetry/d/130959 New Age Islam, Islam Online, Islamic Website, African Muslim News, Arab World News, South Asia News, Indian Muslim News, World Muslim News, Women in Islam, Islamic Feminism, Arab Women, Women In Arab, Islamophobia in America, Muslim Women in West, Islam Women and Feminism