Bashir Shaab’s life journey and his poetic expressions are profoundly moving and filled with emotion. Here the writer has emphasized several of Bashir’s life stories relevant to our contemporary society through a selection of his couplets on love, separation, and romance. Writes Bibhuti Pati
The riots’ flames turned his home in Meerut, Uttar Pradesh, into mere ashes. Before his house was engulfed in fire, communal thugs plundered all his material possessions. Consequently, the poet lost everything—including his unpublished works—to those destructive flames, save for his faith in humanity!
For an extended period, Dr. Bashir Badr lived in isolation. His sense of despair was so profound that he even ceased writing poetry. Many years later, at the urging of his supporters, he relocated to Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh. It was in the city known for its lakes that the poet of hearts and rainbow flowers—whose verses are frequently cited by political figures such as Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, and others both in and out of Parliament—encountered Dr. Rahat, his life partner.
With a child-like smile, the poet proclaimed, “God has blessed me with the city of ghazals; I dedicate this ‘Sultanate’ to the essence of love.” The delicate aroma of his poetry emerged like a phoenix from the ashes of despair, this time. Thus, he introduced us to his philosophy of hope and resilience: “One who has not burned like an oil lamp stands no chance of blooming like a rose in life.” Once Bashir Badr remarked in an interview, “Behind the straightforward and numerical reality that newspapers present, life is significantly more intricate, beautiful, and authentic.” He perceived life beyond the headlines in a remarkably innocent manner and conveyed each experience with that same purity. “Poetry is the voice of the universe that resonates through your heart and poets; when writing, a true poet must immerse himself in the character of the situation to depict emotions akin to a painter or any other artist.” In the interview, he further stated, “Even the experience of beautiful things in life can sometimes feel bitter, if not ugly.” He articulated, “It’s a moonlit night, my home resembles a place of sunshine, and my heart feels like a feather ignited by fire.”
In February 2018, Bashir Saab was last seen on NDTV. Despite the diligent efforts of his family and the journalist, he could not recall even his most renowned verses, exhibiting clear signs of total memory loss. He is reported to be struggling with dementia. Throughout his life, the love for humanity remained a central theme in his poetic journey. His subsequent couplet appears more pertinent than ever:
People go broke while getting one home constructed,
You don’t feel any qualms before setting ablaze the localities.
If you permit me, may I speak a lie?
I’ve begun to hate this world.
Truth is too occupied from politics to judiciary,
Speak lies, for lies still exude so much love.
I am also a river, I am well aware of my brilliance,
Whichever direction I take; a thoroughfare will begin to follow me.
Under the gloomy sky, how lonely is my heart,
Like a forlorn bird sitting on a dusky bridge all alone.
May the lord not endow me with such authority,
That beyond myself, I stop seeing anything else.
Today, laugh to the extent where your noise,
Doesn’t let you hear the sound of the sobs.
That someone, I was a tear in whose eye, didn’t value me,
Now that I’ve scattered, tell her to pick me up from the sand.
You’re happy after getting separated from me,
Just like me, you too are a liar.
Let the glow of your memories stay with me,
Who knows in which street the dusk of life shall set in.
When I fell silent, the wind came to a standstill,
Everyone understands the language of emotions.
Fill seven boxes with all the hatred and give them a burial,
Today, it’s love that’s needed the most for the humankind
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