Daak Weekly: What’s Courage Got to Do with Love?
Love has many seasons; from initial obsessive attraction to deep, lasting love, the spectrum is influenced by complex psychological, emotional, and interpersonal factors. However, both narratives hold undeniable charms, which is why stories about passionate love affairs are as popular as tales of lifelong devotion. Beyond the passion and drama, we are essentially drawn to love stories because they are tales of human courage. They teach us to question rigid social norms and power dynamics, and the best of them serve as anti-authoritarian narratives that challenge our lack of agency in a prescriptive social order.
One interesting example of this transgression is Mohammad Sanaullah Dar (1912–1949), better known as Meeraji, an Urdu poet of Kashmiri-Punjabi origin. His curious choice of pen name, “Meeraji,” has a lovely backstory; legend has it that he fell in love with a Bengali woman, Meera Sen, in Lahore, and his devotion was such that, despite social mockery, he embraced her name in his writing. Like his name, his personality, lifestyle, and sartorial choices were also unconventional for his time. He adopted a bohemian lifestyle, wandering from place to place while sporting long hair, a twirled moustache, and hoops in his ears. In his poetic style, too, he broke tradition and became a pioneer of blank and free verse in Urdu poetry.
On the other end of the spectrum lies the quiet strength of a love that transcends the personal. For most couples, the concerns of the larger world hold little value. Savitribai Phule and Jyotiba, however, represent a different breed of lovers. Savitribai was married to Jyotiba at the tender age of nine. Driven by a keen desire to emancipate women through education, Jyotiba decided to first educate his wife, even against the wishes of his own parents. Together, they established India’s first school for girls in Bhidewada, Pune, in 1848. Despite the harassment they faced daily, they persisted in their mission and graduated their first class with nine girl students. In her letters to Jyotiba, Savitribai often describes her struggles and expresses indignation at the social injustices rampant in society. Yet, beneath it all is a deep, unspoken admiration for Jyotiba and a firm commitment to the cause that unites them.
Whether rooted in passion or shared ideals, love demands courage. And those who answer its call overcome even the most unrelenting divisions.
Love,
Team Daak
Tired of the same old flowers and chocolates? Check out our range of art and poetry-inspired Valentine’s Day gifts.
