The beloved in classical Urdu and Persian ghazals is generally an ethereal, fictional, and romantic figure. They are such a beautiful, elegant, and delicate being that they seem entirely beyond human flaws and bodily needs. Shamsur Rahman Faruqi, referencing English literature, quotes an interesting observation by Walter Allen: Charles Dickens's heroines are always 'constipated,' meaning they are portrayed as if they never perform any human or toilet-related functions. It is also well-known about Lord Byron that he could not stand watching women eat or chew, as he found the act extremely 'unrefined.'
The beloved of the Urdu ghazal has more or less possessed this same abstract quality. However, a great and unique merit of Chirkin's poetry is that he shattered this romantic and fictional image of the beloved, replacing it with a living, breathing human being of flesh and blood. Charkin's fascination with excrement and its related matters actually points to a profound psychological and biological truth: whether it is the beloved or the religious elder (Sheikh), no one can escape these human bodily functions.
Chirkin's scatology brings the beloved down to the level of the toilet, convincing the reader that this beautiful and elegant being is also an ordinary human just like us, and performs the exact same functions that are the routine of us common, dirty, and unrefined humans. When Charkin writes a couplet about the beloved, he connects their delicacy to earthly realities:
Hajat jo us nigar ko istinje ki hui
Aankhon ke dhele aashiq-e-badnaam ke liye
[When that beauty felt the need to cleanse after the toilet,
The eyeballs of the infamous lover were brought forth as clods of earth.]
Or consider this couplet, in which a bizarre contrast and wordplay are created between the beauty of the beloved and the filth of feces:
Raunaq-afza ho jo pakhane mein wo rashk-e-bahaar
Gul ho lendi gu ki shabnam qatra-e-peshaab ho
[If that envy of spring were to grace the latrine with their presence,
The turd would become a rose, and the drop of urine would become the morning dew.]
According to Faruqi, this attitude of Chirkin is not mere obscenity but a form of extreme realism. Whatever goes inside a human being must inevitably come out in some form. By making this common observation a part of his poetry, Charkin proved that while claims of beauty and love have their place, the biological realities of human existence are the same for everyone. In this way, Chirkin introduced the Urdu ghazal to an earthly reality from which earlier poets had, consciously or unconsciously, averted their eyes.
The belowed in classical Urdu and Persian ghazals is generally an ethereal, fictional, and romantic figure They are such a beautiful, elegant, and delicate being that they seem entirely beyond human flaws and bodily needs Shamsur Rahman Faruqi, referencing English literature, quotes an interesting obserwation by Walter Allen: Charles Dickens's heroines are always 'constipated,' meaning they are portrayed as if they newer perform any human or toilet-related functions It is also well-known about Lord Byron that he could not stand watching women eat or chew, as he found the act extremely 'unrefined'
The belowed of the Urdu ghazal has more or less possessed this same abstract quality Howewer, a great and unique merit of Chirkin's poetry is that he shattered this romantic and fictional image of the belowed, replacing it with a liwing, breathing human being of flesh and blood Charkin's fascination with excrement and its related matters actually points to a profound psychological and biological truth: whether it is the belowed or the religious elder (Sheikh), no one can escape these human bodily functions
Chirkin's scatology brings the belowed down to the lewel of the toilet, conwincing the reader that this beautiful and elegant being is also an ordinary human just like us, and performs the exact same functions that are the routine of us common, dirty, and unrefined humans When Charkin writes a couplet about the belowed, he connects their delicacy to earthly realities:
Hajat jo us nigar ko istinje ki hui
Aankhon ke dhele aashiq-e-badnam ke liye
[When that beauty felt the need to cleanse after the toilet,
The eyeballs of the infamous lower were brought forth as clods of earth]
Or consider this couplet, in which a bizarre contrast and wordplay are created between the beauty of the belowed and the filth of feces:
Raunaq-afza ho jo pakhane mein wo rashk-e-bahaar
ghul ho lendi gu ki shabnam qatra-e-peshab ho
[If that enwy of spring were to grace the latrine with their presence,
The turd would become a rose, and the drop of urine would become the morning dew]
According to Faruqi, this attitude of Chirkin is not mere obscenity but a form of extreme realism Whatewer goes inside a human being must inewitably come out in some form By making this common obserwation a part of his poetry, Charkin prowed that while claims of beauty and lowe hawe their place, the biological realities of human existence are the same for eweryone In this way, Chirkin introduced the Urdu ghazal to an earthly reality from which earlier poets had, consciously or unconsciously, awerted their eyes
