Laila Cries Over Majnu's Grave by Sarada Ukil and Rang Hai Dil Ka Mere by Faiz Ahmad Faiz

This week in Daak:

1. Laila Cries Over Majnu’s Grave by Sarada Ukil

2. Rang Hai Dil Ka Mere by Faiz Ahmad Faiz

3. Lots of love-themed goodies

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1. Laila Cries Over Majnu’s Grave, Sarada Ukil, Wikimedia Commons

The story of Laila and Majnu consistently tops the list of star-crossed lovers in the subcontinent. From references in stories and songs to portrayals in cinema and art, their passionate love and tragic fate has become deeply woven into our subconscious. Despite their intense love, Majnu was rejected by Laila’s father and wandered the forests in despair and madness, and eventually found dead in the wilderness. In this delicate, gorgeous painting, Sarada Ukil (1888 - 1940), a Bengali actor and artist, portrays Laila’s regret and agony, as she weeps over her lover’s grave. The blue palette of the approaching dusk, and her drooping figure and garment — all create a sombre mood and convey her anguish at the loss of her beloved.

2. Rang Hai Dil Ka Mere by Faiz Ahmad Faiz

tum na aaye the toh har ik cheez wahi thi ki jo hai
aasmaan hadd-e-nazar, raahguzar- raahguzar, sheesha-e-mai- sheesha-e-mai

aur ab sheesha-e-mai, raahguzar, rang-e-falak
rang hai dil ka mere, khoon-e-jigar hone tak
champaai rang kabhi, raahat-e-deedaar ka rang
surmayi rang ki hai sa’at-e-bezaar ka rang
zard patton ka, khas-o-khaar ka rang
surkh phoolon ka, dehekte hue gulzaar ka rang
zehar ka rang, lahu rang, shab-e-taar ka rang
aasmaan, raahguzar, sheesha-e-mai
koi bheegaa hua daaman, koi dukhti hui rag
koi har lehzaa badaltaa hua aaina hai

ab jo aaye ho toh thehro ki koi rang, koi rut, koi shai
ek jagah par thehre
phir ik baar har ik cheez wahi ho ki jo hai
aasmaan hadd-e-nazar, raahguzar-raahguzar, sheesha-e-mai- sheesha-e-mai

Moscow
August 1963

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Before you came things were just what they were:
the road precisely a road, the horizon fixed,
the limit of what could be seen,
a glass of wine was no more than a glass of wine.

With you the world took on the spectrum
radiating from my heart: your eyes gold
as they open to me, slate the color
that falls each time I lost all hope.

With your advent roses burst into flame:
you were the artist of dried-up leaves, sorceress
who flicked her wrist to change dust into soot.
You lacquered the night black.

As for the sky, the road, the cup of wine:
one was my tear-drenched shirt,
the other an aching nerve,
the third a mirror that never reflected the same thing.

Now you are here again—stay with me.
This time things will fall into place;
the road can be the road,
the sky nothing but sky;
the glass of wine, as it should be, the glass of wine.

(Translation by Agha Shahid Ali)

Can one say anything about Faiz that hasn’t already been said? If you find yourself falling in love with someone, read this poem to celebrate its intoxicating ability to turn the mundane into the sublime. And watch too, as the road, skies and wine change colour even though they are exactly the same as they were before!

3. Love-Themed Goodies

Had your fill of love? We’ve got more! As you can tell, we love stories of love and we’ve collected them into two sets of postcard boxes:

The Postcard Box on Love: 20 postcards with stories, artworks and poetry celebrating all kinds of love.

Love Shayari: 20 postcards with Urdu shayari on the dilemmas and complexities of love.