‘Karbala’-An Innovative Booklet in Hindi

 
 Front Cover of Karbala by Navodit 

Prof.Mazhar Naqvi

A Delhi based journalist has authored a booklet titled Karbala in Hindi for those who have no or very little knowledge about Muharram, Imam Hussain and his companions. The booklet aims at serving two purposes – To reduce the dearth of literature on Karbala both in prose and poetry and present Imam Hussain as a role model for those longing for peace in terror-shaken world. The author Navodit presented a copy of the book to blogger during his visit to Kanpur last week. Prior to it, he frequently called the blogger to know about the history of Karbala, philosophy of Imam Hussain and his connection with the Holy Prophet’s family. He never hinted what was going on in his mind and the blogger tried to satisfy his quest to the best of his abilities .it therefore turned out to be a pleasant surprise when he placed  in my hands a copy of the booklet with due credit given in the preface for the inputs given by me.

Apparently the booklet does not seem to be much impressive against the literature available in abundance on Karbala already. But it can easily be considered as a significant work if one looks at the literature produced in post Independent India on Imam Hussain .Another unique feature of the book is insertion of 21 ‘dohas’ as a part of the contents. I don’t know whether Navodit had any idea about the non- availability of Dohas in Karbala related literature but he surely deserves appreciation for his innovative effort. By composing dohas, he has filled up the vacuum. There is no dearth of Marsiyas, Nauhas, Salams, soz, essays, articles and Books  on Karbala in Urdu, Persian, English, Turkish, Arabic and several other languages  but composition of dohas on Karbala in Hindi is almost unheard so far. Even Navodit himself has no idea as whether anyone attempted before him to write dohas in Hindi on Karbala. While answering a query, he simply said” I can’t claim my work to be a pioneering. Someone surely must have tried, for Karbala has been a source of inspiration to writers and poets for centuries.

He may not be aware but my own research has also proved futile in locating dohas in Hindi on Muharram or Karbala. I could only lay my hands on the origin and history of Dohas. The research revealed that Doha is a very old "verse-format" of Indian poetry. It is an independent verse, a couplet, the meaning of which is complete in itself. Hermann Jacobi had suggested that the origin of doha can be traced to the Greek Hexametre, that it is an amalgam of two hexametres in one line. The word Doha is supposed to have derived from the Sanskrit words dogdhaka, dvipadi, dvipathaka or dodhaka .Iit is also known as duhaviya in Apabhraṃśa to which the earliest reference is in Vikramorvashiyam of Kalidasa. Dohas have also been found written and cited in a stray manner in older languages such as Prakrit and Pali. Dohas are considered to be quotations of worldly wisdom. The Heritage Guru could not find any Doha on Imam Hussain or Muharram in the works of Kabir, Rahim and other leading poets of Mughal India. The non- availability of Muharram poetry in the work of Rahim is quite surprising as he was Imami by faith and enjoyed considerable reputation among the courtiers of Akbar.  In Hindi, the best known work on Karbala can be attributed to Munshi Premchand. Before independence .Munshi Ji had written a drama under the title of Karbala and incidentally Navodit too has preferred to christen his prose cum poetic booklet as Karbala. Navodit needs acknowledgement from all those who love Imam Hussain. He has done what orators and telecast of their Majlises have not been able to create awareness among non- Muslims. How little people still know about   Imam Hussain despite observance of Muharram throughout the Indian sub- continent and availability of Karbala related literature with impunity was exemplified in one of the episodes    of the first edition of Kaun Banega Crorepati. The anchor Amitabh Bachchan had asked a contestant to name the person in whose memory Muharram is observed and he had failed to reply. It was least expected as name of Imam Hussain was also mentioned in the options. While the contestant lost lakhs of rupees, his inability also brought to fore the need for creating awareness about Muharram in addition to the traditional modes. Navodit has simply done it and set an example for others in the process. Instead of going for a full fledged book, he has used mainly his own articles and dohas to publish the booklet. The Anjumans can take a cue from Navodit .Each year they spend generously during Ayam-E-Aza. A little portion of their funds can easily be utilized to bring out literature on Karbala in Hindi in small booklets which can be distributed among the people during Muharram processions  as Tabarruk. Such work however needs to be undertaken with care. Some publishers have brought out books in Hindi but they are in fact transliteration of books already published in Urdu. Hence, the readers don’t find himself comfortable while going through the contents. An author has to feel in Hindi and also rely more on the language used by commoners to narrate the heart rending events at Karbala. Navodit has used this style and been successful in his attempt as it induces the reader to go through the booklet in one sitting. Some of Dohas that form of Navodit’s booklet are as under :    

1-Beemari Mein Jism hai, Zanjeeron Mein Deen,

Par Himmat Ka naam hai,Zainulabdeen(

2-Ik Bachchi ki aas par, Hamko Hai Vishwas,

Jahan Jahan par pyas hai, wahan wahan Abbas,

3-Barchi Akbar ke lagi, apne seene peer,

Matam se Taskin de, Gaye dard Faqir

4-Sankocho ko chor kar, aao to ik baar

Sabko sab kuch de raha, maula ka darbar

5-Kah Kar dekho Ya Ali,ban jayenge ke kaam

Yun hi nahi Mushil Kusha, hai Maula Ka naam

6-Himmat Taqat aur wafa,teeno jiski das

Duniya ke itihas mein, ik wahid Abbas,

7-Payi hain Khushiyan bahut, man mein hai ullas

Par Maula ke Gham Bina , Ye jeevan hai Vanvaas

8-Bas itni si baat par, duniya Hai hairaan,

Kaam baron sa kar gaya, kaise nanhi jaan

9-Aankhein barse raat din,gham mein har insaan

par jo dil mein roya nahin,usko pathar jaan