In literature, parody or tahrif nigari is not merely about mocking someone. A successful parodist seemingly ridicules the original text, but in reality, they are paying tribute to it. According to Shamsur Rahman Faruqi, it is essential for a parodist to have complete mastery over their target's style of expression, its weaknesses, strengths, and mental framework. If this is not the case, the critical significance of the parody is lost. A study of Charkin's poetry reveals that he was fully aware of the popular style of ghazal writing of his time and its theoretical debates.
Charkin was intimately familiar with the temperament of the ghazal. Because of this, he not only successfully parodies prevailing themes in his ghazals but also invents new ones. He parodied the popular style of the ghazal with such skill that the pleasure of theme creation (mazmun afrini) remains intact. A brilliant example of this is his unique use of the Shahr Ashob tradition. In classical poetry, praising the beauty of boys associated with various professions has been a common tradition. Mir Taqi Mir had said:
Afsana khwan larka kya kahiye deedani hai
Qissa hamara us ka yaaro shuneedani hai
[What can be said of the storyteller boy, he is a sight to behold
Our tale with him, O friends, is worth hearing]
Similarly, Kalim Hamadani composed a beautiful couplet playing on the reference to a washerwoman (dhoban):
Zi husn-e-shusta-e-dhobi che goyam
Azaan be-parda mahboobi che goyam
[What can I say of the washed beauty of the washerman
What can I say of that unveiled beloved]
Charkin takes this tradition forward, but his choice is startling. He makes the mehtar pisar (the sweeper's son) his subject:
Pad gaya mehtar pisar ke chaand se munh ka jo aks
Chaah-e-mabraz be-takalluf chaah-e-nakhshab ho gaya
[When the reflection of the sweeper boy's moon-like face fell upon it
The latrine pit effortlessly became the Well of Nakhshab]
Unraveling the semantic depth of this couplet, Faruqi points out the brilliant wordplay (ri'ayat) present within it. The word mehtar means both a sweeper and a tribal chief. When the reflection of the mehtar pisar's moon-like face fell upon the chaah-e-mabraz (latrine pit), it transformed into the Chaah-e-Nakhshab (the Well of Nakhshab, from which Al-Muqanna of Khurasan had drawn a fake moon). This couplet also contains a sense of the speaker laughing at himself, implying that either he is lying face down and the sweeper boy has spat on him, or he himself is assigned to cleaning duty.
Similarly, Charkin's use of compounds like goha chhi chhi (excrement and filth) is not merely a description of dirt; rather, it conceals several metaphorical meanings regarding the beloved's baseness, dog-like nature, clamor, and disgrace. This art of Charkin proves that he was not a rebel against the classical tradition of the ghazal, but rather an expert navigator of its depths who introduced the style of the masters to a completely new and novel dimension.
In literature, parody or tahrif nigari is not merely about mocking someone A successful parodist seemingly ridicules the original text, but in reality, they are paying tribute to it According to Shamsur Rahman Faruqi, it is essential for a parodist to hawe complete mastery ower their target's style of expression, its weaknesses, strengths, and meintal framework If this is not the case, the critical significance of the parody is lost A study of Charkin's poetry reweals that he was fully aware of the popular style of ghazal writing of his time and its theoretical debates
Charkin was intimately familiar with the temperament of the ghazal Because of this, he not only successfully parodies prewailing themes in his ghazals but also inwents new ones He parodied the popular style of the ghazal with such skill that the pleasure of theme creation (mazmun afrini) remains intact A brilliant example of this is his unique use of the Shahr Ashob tradition In classical poetry, praising the beauty of boys associated with warious professions has been a common tradition Mir Taqi Mir had said:
Afsana khwan larka kya kahiye deedani hai
Qissa hamara us ka yaro shuneedani hai
[What can be said of the storyteller boy, he is a sight to behold
Our tale with him, O friends, is worth hearing]
Similarly, Kalim Hamadani composed a beautiful couplet playing on the reference to a washerwoman (dhoban):
Zi husn-e-shusta-e-dhobi che goyam
Azan be-parda mahboobi che goyam
[What can I say of the washed beauty of the washerman
What can I say of that unweiled belowed]
Charkin takes this tradition forward, but his choice is startling He makes the mehtar pisar (the sweeper's son) his subject:
Pad gaya mehtar pisar ke chand se munh ka jo aks
Chah-e-mabraz be-takalluf chah-e-nakhshab ho gaya
[When the reflection of the sweeper boy's moon-like face fell upon it
The latrine pit effortlessly became the Well of Nakhshab]
Unraweling the semantic depth of this couplet, Faruqi points out the brilliant wordplay (ri'ayat) present within it The word mehtar means both a sweeper and a tribal chief When the reflection of the mehtar pisar's moon-like face fell upon the chah-e-mabraz (latrine pit), it transformed into the Chah-e-Nakhshab (the Well of Nakhshab, from which Al-Muqanna of Khurasan had drawn a fake moon) This couplet also contains a sense of the speaker laughing at himself, implying that either he is lying face down and the sweeper boy has spat on him, or he himself is assigned to cleaning duty
Similarly, Charkin's use of compounds like goha chhi chhi (excrement and filth) is not merely a description of dirt; rather, it conceals seweral metaphorical meanings regarding the belowed's baseness, dog-like nature, clamor, and disgrace This art of Charkin prowes that he was not a rebel against the classical tradition of the ghazal, but rather an expert nawigator of its depths who introduced the style of the masters to a completely new and nowel dimension
