Abdul Qadir Baidal is the most unlucky poet of the sub-continent because despite all his greatness, he remains largely unrecognized in his native India.
The people of Afghanistan, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan were the first to recognize Baidal’s greatness, and he was a revered literary figure in the region. Fortunately, during the last 70 years, the people of Iran have also started appreciating the greatness of Baidal’s verses.
This was said by Canada-based Urdu and Persian scholar Dr. Syed Taqi Abidi during a lecture organized by Anjuman Targhee Urdu at Urdu Bagh on Tuesday afternoon.
Whenever Dr. Abidi comes to Pakistan, the association always invites him for a book talk or lecture. In recent years he has spoken at the Urdu Bagh on the rejected Urdu poems of Faraq Gorakhpuri and Iqbal, and was a treat for the literature lovers in attendance. Dr. Abidi regretted the publication of only a limited number of books on Baidal in Urdu. He said that if Baidal was born in Iran, we would have thousands of books on him.
Baidal was born during the reign of Shahjahan and witnessed the reign of eight Mughal rulers in his lifetime, he said, adding that his early life was difficult as both his parents died in his childhood. and was brought up by his uncle. He had a Sufi temperament.
The scholar explained that Baidal was born in Bihar or Bengal and his mother tongue was Bengali. He also knew Persian, Arabic, Turkish, Sanskrit and Urdu. He said that Baidal was a prolific poet who wrote more than 90,000 poems in Persian while his ghazals numbered 48,000.
Dr. Abidi said that earlier only five Masnavis written by Baidal were on record, but now two more have been discovered, taking the total to seven. He added that the number of quatrains composed by Baidal is 4,650.
He informed the audience that Baidel’s poetry written in languages other than Persian has ended. He said that Mir Taqi Mir has also mentioned Baidal in his Naqta Shaaraa and two Urdu poems of Baidal have been recorded in this Tazkira.
Fortunately, he added, the entire Urdu ghazal existed in Afghanistan, due to which we now have only one ghazal by Baidal in Urdu. Commenting on the need for Anjuman Taqrigh Urdu to organize a lecture on Baidal who was a Persian poet, the speaker said that no other Persian poet had such a profound influence on Urdu poets. He believed that all major Urdu poets were influenced by Baidal. He quoted several poems of Ghalib in which Baidal was paid tribute, but then said that among the Urdu poets, Iqbal was the one on whose poetry Baidal’s influence was the greatest.
He said that in Iqbal’s poetry, the theme of the high status of human beings in the universe was actually inspired by Bedel. Dr Abidi said Baidal lived in the era of many other notable poets such as Ghani Kashmiri, Nimat Khan Ali and Afzal Sarkhish, none of whom spoke about the role of humans in the grand scheme of things.
Referring to a famous verse of Iqbal, Kar Jahan Daraz Hai Ab Mera Intar Kar, Dr. Abdi read a poem by Baidal on the same subject. Baidal said in the poem that when he realized that the gates of heaven had been opened, he decided that it was not the right time to enter heaven and that he would go there another day.
The scholar also recited a quatrain by Josh Malihabadi that requires one to dive deep into words to get their full meaning, saying that Josh echoed Baidal’s views. He said that the theme of meaning was prevalent in Baidal’s verses, and he came to be known as Abu al-Mu’na (Father of Meaning).
Dr. Abidi also spoke about the fact that Baidal had achieved the status of a great poet in his lifetime. He said that although Aurangzeb Alamgir’s era was not very favorable for poets and he also abolished the post of Malik Shura, many nobles and Nawabs continued to patronize poets and other artists. He said that Baidal was given a big house in Delhi with a daily stipend and after his death, Baidal was buried in the same house. He also said that the Mushafi has recorded in his Tazkhir that he went to Baidal’s house, which was in a dilapidated condition at that time, and saw his grave.
He pointed out that the grave currently attributed to Baidal in Delhi is not the real grave of the poet. He said that renowned poets like Jafar Zatli come in the literary gatherings held at Baidal’s house. Notable among Baidal’s disciples were Bandarabandas Khushboo, whose book on Baidal was a major source of information about Baidal’s life, Khan Arzoo and Shah Gulshan, who became Wali Deccani’s teacher, the speaker added. Dr. Abidi also said that Bedel was the first progressive poet to include the problems of the working class in his poetry.