Two Forgotten ‘Marsiyakhwans’- Fatima Zaidi and
Shohrat Begum
Prof.Mazhar Naqvi
Two great female
marsiya writers of India remain unknown even today despite the dominant role of
women in observance of Muharram ceremonies all over the world. Every admirer of
Imam Husain knows that it was his sister Hazrat Zainab who had organized the
first Majlis in Damascus and also recited marsiya (elegy) in memory of the martyrs
of Karbala. Since then, her followers have been participating enthusiastically in
azadari. In India, women are considered to be the source behind the great affection
showered on the martyrs every year during Ayam-E-Aza (Period of Mourning).They
are held in high esteem by male followers of Ahle-Bait, for they spare time
from their daily routine to erect household Imambaras, organize Majlises at
their own homes and participate in mourning sessions at other places. The working
women find even little time for sleep as the observance of rituals leaves them
with time constraint only.
It therefore
seems very strange as to why even very few female composers of marsiyas did not
get the prominence they deserve? The shabby treatment meted out to two leading
marsiya writers of 20th century is a pointer to the fact that they
too have been victim of the traditional tendency that women can’t surpass their
male counterparts in Zakiri or Marsiyakhwani. However, a close look at the works of Begum Fatima Zaidi ( Lucknow) and
Begum Shohrat (Hyderabad Deccan) only establish them not only as accomplished
marsiya writers but also reminds the reader that their work is greatly
influenced by Mir Anis and Mirza Dabeer who still remain front-runner in the
league of premier marsiya writers across the globe.
Begam Fatima
Zaidi, born in Panipat in 1900, hailed from a respected family of Ulema and literary
figures. She was a great-granddaughter of Urdu critic and poet Maulana Altaf
Hussain Hali. Although she never attended school, she picked up the art of
marsiya recitation and writing from the atmosphere she found in her pre and
post marriage life. Her work is considered remarkable because she lacked any
sort of regular mentoring by an Ustad.
Begam Zaidi initially
used to recite marsiyas at Majlises and her favorite poet was Mir Anis. She
began writing her own marsiyas after she moved to Aligarh following the death
of her husband. She was about thirty-five years of age and burdened with the responsibility
of upbringing of five young daughters. In a bid to find solace from the
depressing and difficult circumstances, she began writing religious poems of various sorts,
as well as commemorative poems for family events. A collection of her poetry, Chamanistan-E-Aqeedat,
contains naats, manqabats, salams and rubaiyats as well as marsiyas. The quality
of her work can be gauged from the following verse of a long marsiya composed by
her:
“The Syed’s
corpse on the burning
Sand, Hai, Hai,
Hai
They’ve wounded
his entire body,
Hai, Hai , Hai
How can such
regret and trouble be
Borne? Hai, Hai,
Hai
The arms of the
Prophet’s family, and
Bonds, Hai,. Ha,
Hai”
She recited marsiyas
in Tahtul-Lafz style that is now far more common among men than among women. Her
marsiyas depicts the horrific scene of battlefield of Karbala and jubilation in
the forces of Yazid that greeted Imam Husain’s survivors immediately after his
death.
The second
forgotten female marsiya writer Shohrat Begam was roughly one generation
younger to Begam Fatima. Her background was similar to Begam Zaidi.One of her ancestors was Ashar, a famous poet of Haiderabad. Her sister Riyat also composed marsiyas and her daughter Fatima also specialized in marsiya. Like Begam Zaidi, Shohrat
also enjoyed reputation for remarkable
piety, and maintained a tradition of recitation
in Tahtul Lafz while participating in Majlises.
Her marsiyas rely
on traditional meters adopted in 19th century Lucknow and covers a wider range of standards as compared to
Begam Zaidi.
Shohrat’s
marsiya about Imam Husain’s beloved daughter Hazrat Sakina portrays the young
girl’s interactions with her family members in prison and her intense love for
her martyred father. The poetess writes:
“Father, the
world is desolate without
you
In my eyes, the
whole universe is
desolate
Settlements,
desolate; the breadth of the
desert, desolate
Death is better;
the whole framework of
life is desolate
Call to you the
one who cries day and
night, Father
dear
Call to you the
one who sleeps on your
breast, Father
dear”
Her family has
been organizing a three-day series of Majlises from 19th to 21st
of Muharram every year to pay glowing tributes to Imam Husain’s
daughter Sakina who died in the prison in Syria. In these Majalises the following
marsiya is usually recited:
“When she said
this, beating her own
head and weeping
loudly
The head of Husain
appeared upon the
prison wall
He called to Sakina,
“Oh, light of my
eyes,
My heart is not
at peace, even after
death
I have neither
comfort in the day, nor
relief at night
Daughter, it’s
for your sake that I’m so
distressed”
The marsiyas of Begam
Fatima and Shohrat Begam have been in circulation orally till date mainly
because of the efforts of their respective families that kept and preserved their
manuscripts and used them during muharram Majalises. The daughters of these
marsiya writers have also played an important role in sustaining the works of
their worthy mothers through manuscript collection, editing and publication of marsiyas
in simple books. However, more research work is needed to bring out other
female marsiya writers in focus or else no one would be able to recall their
poetic devotion to Ahle-Bait. It is high time for admirers of Imam Husain to
realize that no full fledged research institution to study the azadari rituals is
functional in India even today. The sooner it is established, the better it
would be, for most of the works of poets who composed only in praise of Masoomeen
or produced Nauhas to recall their tragic end at Karbala remain in unpublished and
untraceable.( Reference available on request)
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