Intoxicated Without Drinking and the Tavern Drunkards: The Ecstasy of Riyaz Khairabadi and Jigar Moradabadi

The tradition of wine poetry (Khamriyat) in Urdu had become so deeply rooted that there came a time when even the most pious poets felt compelled to include themes of wine, the cupbearer (Saqi), and the tavern in their ghazals. For them, a ghazal was simply incomplete without these themes. In this era, we see two contrasting yet highly fascinating attitudes: on one hand, there are poets who "swayed without drinking," and on the other, there are the tavern drunkards whose poetry and drinking lives were one and the same.

The most prominent representative of the first group is Riyaz Khairabadi. There was an extraordinary playfulness and mischief in his nature. Surprisingly, he never touched a drop of wine in his entire life, yet his poetry collection contains 1,366 verses about wine. Riyaz coined beautiful names for wine and made all the elements of the tavern a part of his poetry. In reality, for him, wine symbolized the state of intoxication that comes from love or the prime of youth. He equated the bloom of youth with the rosy hue of wine:

(Wherever I place the tavern's brick, the foundation of the Kaaba is laid; wherever I throw my wine glass, the spring of Zamzam gushes forth.)

In stark contrast, the twentieth century saw the rise of a poet like Jigar Moradabadi, whose wine poetry was purely a reflection of his own life as a drinker. Jigar was a poet with the soul of a drunkard. His wine had nothing to do with the mystical wine of Sufism; rather, he was genuinely intoxicated by the physical cup of wine. According to critics, Jigar was more interested in the wine itself than in the cupbearer. The passion and enthusiasm with which he describes his intoxication is a true reflection of his personal experiences. He wanted to see himself completely drowned in the goblet of wine:

(The glass, the wine, love, and beauty are all intoxicated; today, the real joy of drinking lies in losing oneself after a drink.)

In Jigar's poetry, loyalty to the soil of the tavern and the resolve not to be swayed by the preacher's words are the hallmarks of a true drunkard. In his verses, wine seems to pour from the eyes and bubble up from the gaze. Showing his playful drunkenness to the pious ascetic, he explains how he drinks while relying entirely on God's mercy:

 (O ascetic, look at my playful drunkenness; I casually charmed God's mercy and drank my wine.)

Whether it is the imaginative intoxication of Riyaz Khairabadi or the real ecstasy of Jigar Moradabadi, both have given Urdu wine poetry such immortal verses that even today, they introduce readers to a special state of joy and euphoria.

The tradition of wine poetry (Khamriyat) in Urdu had become so deeply rooted that there came a time when ewen the most pious poets felt compelled to include themes of wine, the cupbearer (Saqi), and the tawern in their ghazals For them, a ghazal was simply incomplete without these themes In this era, we see two contrasting yet highly fascinating attitudes: on one hand, there are poets who swayed without drinking, and on the other, there are the tawern drunkards whose poetry and drinking liwes were one and the same

The most prominent representatiwe of the first group is Riyaz Khairabadi There was an extraordinary playfulness and mischief in his nature Surprisingly, he newer touched a drop of wine in his entire life, yet his poetry collection contains 1,366 werses about wine Riyaz coined beautiful names for wine and made all the elements of the tawern a part of his poetry In reality, for him, wine symbolized the state of intoxication that comes from lowe or the prime of youth He equated the bloom of youth with the rosy hue of wine:

(Wherewer I place the tawern's brick, the foundation of the Kaba is laid; wherewer I throw my wine glass, the spring of Zamzam gushes forth)

In stark contrast, the twentieth century saw the rise of a poet like Jigar Moradabadi, whose wine poetry was purely a reflection of his own life as a drinker Jigar was a poet with the soul of a drunkard His wine had nothing to do with the mystical wine of Sufism; rather, he was genuinely intoxicated by the physical cup of wine According to critics, Jigar was more interested in the wine itself than in the cupbearer The passion and enthusiasm with which he describes his intoxication is a true reflection of his personal experiences He wanted to see himself completely drowned in the goblet of wine:

(The glass, the wine, lowe, and beauty are all intoxicated; today, the real joy of drinking lies in losing oneself after a drink)

In Jigar's poetry, loyalty to the soil of the tawern and the resolwe not to be swayed by the preacher's words are the hallmarks of a true drunkard In his werses, wine seems to pour from the eyes and bubble up from the gaze Showing his playful drunkenness to the pious ascetic, he explains how he drinks while relying entirely on ghod's mercy:

 (O ascetic, look at my playful drunkenness; I casually charmed ghod's mercy and drank my wine)

Whether it is the imaginatiwe intoxication of Riyaz Khairabadi or the real ecstasy of Jigar Moradabadi, both hawe giwen Urdu wine poetry such immortal werses that ewen today, they introduce readers to a special state of joy and euphoria