“Will there be singing in the dark times. Yes there will be songs of the dark times.”

In this short poem with three verses, Gulzar responds to Javed Akhtar’s heartfelt call for writers to be vocal and tells us that in every age it is the poet who speaks up and raises his voice against the tyrannies of the time.

Invoking a long tradition of Urdu poetry, he reminds us of Faiz Ahmed Faiz and Mirza Ghalib who dipped their pens in their hearts’ blood and turned them into the clang of clashing swords.

For Javed Akhtar Jadu, we have heard your call

You are not alone, we have heeded that challenge A price was set yesterday, several thrones were up for sale

We heard an auction take place in the market yesterday You too have dipped your fingers in your heart’s blood

We have heard the clangour of the pen earlier too — Translated from the Urdu by Rakhshanda Jalil

~~~

Javed Akhtar ke Naam Jadu, bayaan tumhara, aur pukaar sunii hai

Tum “ekla” nahi, hum ne woh lalkaar sunii hai Boli lagi thhii kal, ke singhasan bikau thhe

Nilaam hoti kal, sar-e-bazar sunii hai Tum ne bhi khoon-e-dil mein duboii hain ungliyan

Hum ne qalam ki pehle bhi jhankar sunii hai

Also read:

This new ghazal by Javed Akhtar is a clarion call for writers to wield their pens in dark times

Eight poems by Gulzar we need to read on Republic Day

Gulzar: As a poet, I think I write intelligently, but I’m not an intellectual