DEHATI-A SYMBOL OF PASSION AND PATRIOTISM
– Deepak Budki
There are many unsung poets and writers in Kashmiri literature; Gangadhar Bhat ‘Dehati’ is one of them. He contributed to both Urdu and Kashmiri, though Kashmiri was his mainstay. During his lifetime, he was not able to publish his writings, which, however, were done posthumously by his worthy son Kuldeep Kumar Bhat by compiling, editing and publishing his combined collection of poems in Kashmiri and Urdu titled ‘Sontuk Partav’ in 2024.
Gangadhar Bhat was born in Murran, Pulwama, on 7th February 1917. After completing his Post-graduation (Hon’s) in Urdu and B.Ed., he took to teaching in the State Department of Education in 1943, with a short stint on deputation as editor of Dehati Duniya from 1951 to 1954. He also obtained a Prabhakar degree in Hindi. Gangadhar started writing when he was just 14 years old and a student in the 9th class; his first short story was titled ‘Khooni Tamanna’, which was published in the Daily Martand, Srinagar. He adopted the pen name of ‘Dilkash Kashmiri’ but soon changed it to ‘Dehati’. From 1938 onwards, he remained associated with the Weekly Desh owned by the great social reformer and freedom fighter, Kashyap Bandhu.
Dehati wrote Urdu and Kashmiri short stories, poems (ghazals, nazms and Qata’at), dramas, and essays on social and political topics. His ghazals are mostly continuous and, like his nazms, deal with his favourite subjects such as existence, struggle, equality, justice and patriotism. A few couplets are reproduced here:
1) Gahe chum qatre bapat tamblawan,
Gahe baer baer thawan paymane myonuy
2) Wachus peth yemen zindagi khaetch kadith dub,
Paekh shrakh seenus, buthyan zan peyekh rub.
3) Athe khur yem waey Taemsey daulath gaye qurban,
Matche khash Yem dyut Taemsey ade tothev Bhagwan.
4) Pritchyomus me wantum chu kya zindagi mul,
Awezan dopun che akis aami dawe.
In the poem ‘Myaen Shaeyri’, he writes about what drove him to write poetry:
Hyatechi talkhyev dup ban tche shaeyir,
Dukhav daadev dopum zev tche metchrav.
Dehati’s literary endeavours came to fruition at a time when the Progressive Movement was at its zenith. Hence, he was deeply influenced by it, and even though he continued writing beyond the 60’s when Modernism replaced Progressivism, he remained insulated from the latter. His writings depict the patriotic fervour prevalent at his time (Watan Son, Myon Yaar, Hum Dushman ka Munh Toden ge), as well as the pain and pestilence, poverty, and helplessness of the peasants and labourers, and their exploitation by the zamindars and the capitalists (Shael Tarakh, Jande te Dyaar). He also focused on the social evils of his time. Mehjoor and Azad, his contemporaries, influenced his Kashmiri poetry. He believes that only the destruction of established systems can create a new ideal egalitarian society. He uses words such as Tongue, Fire, Revolution, Progression, and Self-respect as symbols of the pursuit of justice and equality in society. It can be noticed in his Urdu poem, ‘Hamari Duniya’, excerpt of which is reproduced below:
Aag laga do is duniya ko,
Jis se ho jaye ujyala,
Raj yahan hai andhyare ka,
Bhook, Ghulami, Bemari ka,
Sadti hai makhlooq khuda ki,
Tehkhanon men, zindanon men…
Raj yahan karta hai moorakh,
Gyani khata dar dar thokar…
Nirbal yaan par khoon rote hain,
Anndata marta hay bhookhon…
The situation remains unchanged to date. As regards the tongue, the poet believes that your speech must stand for truth even if it drags you to the gallows.
Zev gaye suye pez yues pez kath kare,
Paezi khaetre yus darus peth mare. (Zev)
He wrote against people's superstitious behaviour and religious rituals, as well as God’s indifference to the plight of the common masses, as in ‘Soen Khuda’. However, this did not mean that he was anti-religious, as he has written some beautiful poems on Lord Krishna, Herath (Shiv Ratri), Bhagwan Ke Darshan, Bhajan, etc.
Ashan sanyev chav sontuk wav,
Chukh bael beye tchael dillek aamtav,
Suey toshnavan beye aaye Haerath. (Haerath)
Dehati has also written poems on some great men of the past l, such as Shri Bhat, Lal Bahadur Shastri, Bakshi Ghulam Mohammad, G M Sadiq, Patrice Lumumba and Pt Deendayal Upadhyay. His translations from other languages include Tagore’s Bengali poem (Zenun te Harun), Iqbal’s Urdu poem (Ram) and Boris Pasternak’s Russian poem (Ehtejaj). Dehati’s elegy on the death of his daughter, “Boe Lekhus Name’ is both melancholic and poignant. A similar atmosphere is created in the poem titled ‘Vedwah’ (A Widow). On Mahatma Gandhi’s death h,e hawrote beautiful, heart-rending poem, ‘Theher Kahan Bhage Hatyare’.
One thing that characterises his poetry is his Optimism. Despite dwelling at length on vice prevailing over virtue in the modern world, he firmly believes that with the advent of independence and democracy, things are going to change for the better (Jamhoor, Nuv Farhad, Woh Shubh Garhi, Navyug ki Prabhat).
Dehati’s style is his own. He has a firm grasp of both languages, but his command of Kashmiri is complete. In his Urdu poetry, he frequently uses Hindi words, which at times seem unnecessary.
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