Written by: Waseem Abbas
Posted on: May 23, 2023 | 
| 中文
Jaun Elia
A few months ago, Farhat Abbas Shah, a poet and journalist from Lahore, launched a critical campaign on social media against Jaun Elia. Farhat Sahib alleged that there is no broader vision, uniqueness or philosophical depth in Jaun's poetry, which solely focused on rhetoric and was pessimistic. Farhat Abbas Shah was of the view that Jaun is neither a great poet nor a good human, and touting Jaun as a great poet is a planned scheme, which will make our youth purposeless and negative. Many other literary figures joined the bandwagon, harshly ostracizing the poet who has inspired many writers in the contemporary era.
Jaun with his friends
Counter-narratives were offered, providing contextual analysis of Jaun’s poetry and his influence on contemporary poets. The caliber of any poet is gauged by two factors: the depth of content and diction. While the philosophical depth of the content is contested, there is no denying that Jaun has developed his unique style that now many upcoming poets emulate. It is his success that he is posthumously the most famous poet in Pakistan, eclipsing the likes of Faiz, Faraz or Muneer Niazi, who are all considered better poets than him. Whether one likes it or not, acceptance by a wider audience is one of the main yardsticks to gauge the greatness and relevance of a poet to any society. And Jaun is certainly one of the most popular poets amongst Urdu poetry aficionados in the current era.
Jaun with his wife, Zahida Hina, and daughter
Perhaps it is Jaun’s focus on existentialist themes that prompt critics to accuse him of superficiality, but it is also his strength that draws today's youth towards him, who find solace in his poetry. Jaun has explored existentialist themes such as loss, love and death in his poetry, in a language easily understood by the commoners. Iftikhar Arif commented that Jaun’s poetry is more about life than literature, and he was able to communicate with a large audience precisely because of his simple language. Professor Sahar Ansari is of the view that “Jaun’s writing style is both oblique and simple. He uses simple language to express complex ideas that stay with you.”
Hasil-e-kun hai ye jahan-e-ḳharab
yahi mumkin tha itni ujlat mai
(a world of problems
was all that could be achieved in haste)
Jaun Elia and Rahat Indori
Jaun was a rebel, preferring his own company, a non-conformist and a radical, whose life was full of tragedies and contradictions. He called Pakistan “a scheme of Aligarh’s boys”, remained in India for ten years for the woman he loved, when his family had already migrated to Pakistan. His relations with his family and his married life were in such disarray that Mushtaq Yusufi joked 'Jaun would call anybody and everybody Jani, except his wife'. All these personal tragedies led him to depression-related issues, about which he confessed in the preface of his book 'Shayad’. He admitted that he had confined himself to his room for ten years, between 1976 and 1986, and he neither wrote anything in this period nor met anyone. These personal experiences shaped his personality and his poetry, consequently, his poetry dwells on the themes of death, loneliness, loss and tragedy. Not surprisingly, today’s youth who are facing similar issues as Jaun, are finding solace in his poetry.
Karb-e-tanhai wo shai hai-
ke khuda! Aadmi ko pukaar uthta hai.
(Agony of loneliness is a thing – that makes even God
call out to man)
Jaun Elia and his wife, Zahida Hina
Jaun's poetry is influenced by Marxist ideas, as his worldview is marked by class consciousness and social justice. He has called for an egalitarian society in his poetry and getting rid of plutocrats, who have a monopoly on power. For Jaun, even the notions of beauty are shaped and influenced by wealth.
Jo ra’anaai nigaaho ke liye firdaus-e-jalva hai
Libas-e-muflisi me kitni be-qimat nazar aati
Yaha to jaazbiyat bhi hai daulat hi ki parvarda
Ye ladki faqa-kash hoti to badsurat nazar aati
(The splendor of beauty for sight
Would have looked worthless wearing a pauper’s attire
Here attraction is also fostered by money
If starving, this girl would have looked ugly)
Jaun was a progressive and staunch critic of the religious orthodoxy and papacy, an unexplored aspect of his life. He writes:
Dharam ki baansuri se raag nikle
vo sooraakhon se kaale naag nikle
Rakho Dair o Haram ko ab muqaffal
Kayi paagal yahan se bhaag nikle
Wo ganga jal ho ya ho aab-e-zam zam..
Yeh wo paani hain jinse aag nikle
Khuda se le liya jannat ka waada..
Yeh Zaahid to bade hi ghaag nikle
(Many black serpents emerge from the pit of religion, like music comes from a flute
Keep the sacred places locked because many crazies have emerged from them
Whether it is Ganga’s water or ZamZam, it is the water that spreads fire
These ascetics came out to be very transactional; they took the promise of heaven from God)
(L to R) Jaun Elia, Intizar Hussain and Zahida Hina
Jaun the poet needs to be looked at separately from Jaun the person, and it is only then we would be able to do justice to the complex personality of Jaun. While his personal life would appear to be a complete mess, his poetry is too eloquent and sensitive to be dismissed as ‘not good enough’. Making Mirza Ghalib the yardstick for measuring and judging every poet is gross injustice, as every poet is the product of his times. Ghalib and Meer’s metaphysical overtones, Akbar Allahabadi’s Muslim awakening, Iqbal's Muslim nationalism, and Faiz's communist ideals, are all products of their times. The times we are living in, is Jaun’s era, as today’s Urdu poetry is being written in Jaun's style, as he says:
Ghalib Rahay hain Pechli Sa’dii Kay naamwar
Yeh Jaun ki Sa’dii hai, Sabhi Eliyaee Hain
(Ghalib was a great poet of the last century
This is Jaun’s century, everybody is Eliyaee)
Syed Hussain Sibt-e-Asghar Naqvi, famously known as Jaun Elia, was born in 1931 and belonged to a religious, literary and scholarly family from Amroha, Utter Pradesh, India. His father, Shafiq Elia, was a scholar of Arabic and Persian, while his elder brother, Rais Amrohvi, was also a famous poet and scholar. His first poetry collection, Shayad, was published in 1991, when he was 60 years old, and it was the only collection that was published in his life. His other poetry collections including Ya’ani (2003), Gumaan (2004), Lekin (2006) and Goya (2008) , all were published posthumously. Besides poetry, Jaun is also known for his translation works and prose, as he translated various Mutazalites and Ismaili treaties, when he worked with the Ismaili Tariqah and Religious Education Board in Karachi.
(From R to L) Jaun Elia, Raaghib Muradabadi, Aalamtaab Tashna, Dilip Kumar and Razi Akhter Shauq
Jaun breathed his last on November 8th, 2002, and was buried in Karachi. His epitaph reads his famous couplet that sums up his life:
maiñ bhī bahut ajiib huuñ itnā ajiib huuñ ki bas
ḳhud ko tabāh kar liyā aur malāl bhī nahīñ
(I am a very unusual and a unique person,
who has destroyed himself and still has no regrets)
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