by MJ Aslam
His poems are mostly romantic Kashmiri Gazals which have earned him a permanent place in the history of Kashmiri literature. His pro-feminist poem is Gastivesiye lal mah doorei, which had a connection with his love.
Rasul Mir was an eminent Kashmir poet who was born in Mirmadan Dooru Shahbad in 1840. By nature, he was a romantic poet. Like Wordsworth, he was also a great lover of natural beauties.
Mehmood Gami was his neighbour. One day, Mehmood Gami had foretold that Rasul Mir would die very young. He died at the young age of 31 years only like the eminent English poet, John Keats (d 1821), who died at 25 only.
Rasul Mir composed only 62 poems in his short span of life but his poetry is one of the richest contributions to the Kashmiri poetry. Some say that he composed 110 Gazals. However, a more reliable and authentic source writes that he wrote 67 poems or 79 poems in Kashmiri. Of 79, the authorship of four is doubtful, so the remaining 75 poems are genuinely attributed to the poet.
His poems are mostly romantic Kashmiri Gazals which have earned him a permanent place in the history of Kashmiri literature. His pro-feminist poem is Gastivesiye lal mah doorei, which had a connection with his love. The poem aptly describes the woes of a lady caught in a dilemma, it is said. A Kashmiri academician has drawn a comparison between him and John Keats. Doubtless, he was the most romantic poet of the early nineteenth century.
Rasul Mir has certainly the sweetness of rich poetic words and melodious tunes in his poetry. See, for example, Eid Ayi Ras e Rase, Eidgah Vasvi… O, my God, such bead of beautiful, thrilling and enchanting everlasting song. Even if Kashmiri Muslims are not going to Eidgahs on blessed occasions of Eid festivals now but it is a Sunnah. It gives one a touch of real traditions and culture overwhelming the land. His selection of rhyming words is par excellence.
It is a recorded fact that he in his very young growing adult age was enchanted by his lady love. However, in one of his poems, he asked …..for ambrosia, an eternal food for his changed thoughts. Iterating he died very young, though Abdul Ahad Azad has said that he died in 60 or 70 years of age. But the overwhelming majority hold that he died at a tender age.
When Rasul Mir was a boy, he was sent to a Maktab (school of those days) in his village to learn Persian and Arabic. The boys and girls of his village and other adjoining villages received education in the Maktab. There was a Pandit girl in the Maktab. Her name was Kongi or Kong (saffron). She was fair and extremely beautiful. He too was beautiful. He was attracted by the childlike extraordinary charms of Kongi. They became intimate playmates at the Maktab. His heart and mind were filled with poetic frenzy. With the passing days, the childhood frolic changed into deep love. But, then, one day parents of Kongi married her to another man. This dealt a merciless blow to his desires and dreams. He became lovelorn and in separation and estrangement, he wandered on moonlit nights and often would talk in poetic tune to his lady love.
The two most popular folksongs or Gazals of Rasul Mir are Rindi Poshmal Ghindini Drayi Lo Lo (My carefree beloved goes out to frolic) and Kongi Hav Ti Paan (Kongi, My Love, I am dying for a glimpse of you). These poems depict his yearning for his beloved, Kongi, like John Keats of England for Fanny Brawne who was also Keats’s neighbour.
(The author is a historian and columnist)
