Abdul Ahad Azad (1903-1948) was a well known Kashmiri poet of the twentieth century. He was one of the pioneers of modernist movement and the first revolutionary socialist poet of Kashmiri literature. He belongs to the famous Dar tribe of Kashmir. He was one of the most explicitly political and nationalist poet of the Kashmiri literature. But Azad’s nationalist attitude is tempered by his socialism. Azad was a Marxist and also wrote one of the most influential literary histories of Kashmir in Urdu language, Kashmiri Zabaan aur Shaeri (1984). He was also closely associated with the progressive strand of the Kashmir nationalist movement in 1940.
Many literary critics of Kashmiri literature like Avtar Krishan Rehbar (1997), Trilokinath Raina (2002) and Naaji Munawwar (1998) unanimously estimate the two poets (Mahjoor and Azad) as harbingers of a sort of renaissance in Kashmiri poetry.
It will not be erroneous, perhaps, to suggest that at first sight Abdul Ahad Azad looks like a tiny current arising from the stream of Mahjoor’s poetry. In fact, much of his earlier poetry bears the colour and tone of Mahjoor’s romantic songs both in context and style. However, notwithstanding his indebtedness to his elder contemporary, Azad successively attained an estimable individuality as a Kashmiri poet.
According to Prem Nath Ganju (1987) and Chaman Laal Chaman (1979) two distinctive qualities which make Azad prominent as a perceptive intellectual and a powerful creative talent are: first, enjoying inspiration from Mahjoor and Iqbal both, he treated of the action-urging thought of his poems as the most dominant features of his radically untraditional poetry, and allowed that feature to take the central position amidst all his later poetic outpourings; and secondly, proceeding a few steps forward from Mahjoor’s pure and simple patriotism, Azad expresses not only his egalitarian views and his ardent belief in an all-embracing equality of men but also stresses the need for a socialistic, classless and universal pattern of human society. As such he established himself as the very first Kashmiri poet representing overwhelmingly three tendencies, namely, action urging, egalitarianism and social equality, synthesizing all the three into a single dominant and distinctive note of his later poetic utterance.
In one of his representative short poem entitled Revolution, Azad defines life as the book of change and revolution, according to him, what gives meaning to life is motion; life is not the name of being static, the real essence of life is restlessness, and what does restlessness mean — it means revolution. It is revolution that gave birth to faith and religion. Revolutions did away with doubts, intuitions and misconceptions and brought to our light firm faith. The wisdom and truth that revolutions brought in has put an end to prophesy, sooth saying and prophethood and has given reason the upper hand:
What is life but the book of Change?
Change — more change — and yet more change.
Flux is the living reality
And change the meaning of flux.
It is change that brought forth religion,
Banished doubt, revealed true faith
Now reason has banished prophecy
Only poetry and trade remain.
Azad further makes people aware of the utter lawlessness that prevails in the world around, it is a time where slaughter of innocent men is made permissible and is treated as righteous. Everything seems to be out of proportion and topsy-turvy, it is an age where the jackal of mean breed is found relishing on the lion’s blood. Whereas, for the innocent people, who become the victim of cruel and unjust authority it is one and the same thing whether one or the other person holds the reins, for power corrupts all:
To the sheep and the goat, the butcher and the wolf
Are alike — one slays, the other drains blood.
The law has sanctioned human slaughter;
Mean jackals are feasting on lions’ blood.
Keeping all the above things in mind, Azad laments on the condition of men where life has been reduced to mere compulsion, serfdom, slavery, helplessness and shame. They are caught up in these mind forged manacles. Azad urges men to rip off these obstructions, these curtains, lift up the veil of heart’s ambitions and bring forth revolution upon revolution:
Azad (1987:162):
O Compulsion! Slavery! Subjugation!
O restless, Helplessness heart, O Shame!
Mind confused, reason aghast, soul distraught!
To live a slavish life: a terrible torment!
Rend the veil! Uncover the seething, bubbling heart!
Change! Change! Bring a new change!
However, the most famous and appreciable poem of Azad is The River. According to Raina (2002) and Shafi Shauq ( 1992), prior to Major and Azad, the bulk of Kashmiri poetry treated of either the romantic emotions of human love or experience of mystic nature. That kind of poetry did not reveal any remarkable realization of the importance of issues like patriotism, nor did it present any action- urging message concerning the social, economic or political problems of the Kashmiri people hence, making the majority of the themes unrealistic and idealist.
Taking cognizance of its untraditional and modern thinking of Azad, it will be no exaggeration to describe his above mentioned poem (The River) as an epoch making poem in Kashmiri. Continuing his hatred for inertia and love for action Azad talks of how his unfulfilled wishes get fulfilled in his yearnings, restlessness and tumults, he gets pleasure not by staying at one place but roaming from places to place in search of new destinations. He, like a river, moves fearlessly day and night through all kind of surfaces, be it soft or rocky, be it ditches or crevices. His attitude towards the bat and the nightingale is the same, as he is not in need of any flattery nor is he eager for childish frolics. Neither does any one’s flattery nor anyone’s depreciation effect him, he knows the purpose for which he has come into existence and come what may he will act to achieve that purpose without fearing anything. He is not subservient to any authority so that they may keep him in their good books. He is not in favour of turning back, for him proceeding forward is the only rule of life. For him pleasure lies in convulsions, agitations, revolutions, change and earthquakes:
My yearnings find expression
In bubbles, commotion, tumult;
It is in wandering to distant goals
That i find the music of life.
I move on day and night
Through rocks, ravines and ditches;
I do not pause for raise,
I do not pause for play;
I am at home with the bats
As i am with the bulbuls.
Flattery cannot tickle me
Nor disparagement make me falter;
A purpose brought me here
And I live to see it through;
I am not fettered, as men are’
By the fear of disapprobation.
Forever faring forward,
I know no turning back;
My delight is in sweet eddies,
Revolutions and earthquakes.
Azad died a lonely death at the State Hospital in Srinagar, now the SMHS hospital, on April 4, 1948. He was diagnosed with appendicitis and died following surgery. He was known to be of weak health all his life and often suffered ailments. His death was not received with state and public mourning of the kind Mehjoor’s did, but his dearest friends knew Kashmir had lost a hero, a revolutionary. Shortly after his death, Mehjoor wrote a poem honouring Azad. Fortunately, Azad had left behind a corpus of work through which “his name will be counted among the pioneers of Kashmiri language and literature, who brought revolutionary ideas into this language. Among his famous poems, which include Inquilab (Revloution), Dariyaav (River) and Loal to Gaatijaar (Love and Reason), Shikwa e Iblees (Satan’s Complaint) caused considerable controversy and Shikwa e Kashmir (Kashmir’s Complaint) expresses his defiant patriotism. Azad died with these lines:
Alam Haa Karri Yaad Azad Azad Kuni Saat’e Wich’te Yaad Paavai Madno
(The world will remember me and cry Azad Azad My beloved someday I will remind you)
Azad rests in his grave beneath a maple tree in a cemetery located close to his home in Raa’nger. His name is carved on the white marble tombstone. The cemetery is ringed with a concrete fence. On a black marble stone, near the main entrance, is carved in bold letters: “AZAD THE FIRST REVOLUTIONARY POET OF KASHMIR”.