SIX RUBAIYAATS BY MIRZA ARIF

 POEM:

If an old tree-trunk sends out a tender sprout,

will one who knows give it a different name?

The old order has just been pruned, no more,

An idiot may, perhaps, call it democracy.

Bullets chase a poor fellow; bread eludes his grasp.

Even in freedom helpless, hapless he

Sheep like must submit to one who kills

Butcher alone has changed; the cut is as it used to be.

will hail, hail and pubic audience aught avail?

will mere bits of raw thread ever dam the wounds?

As long as the knife-blade reaches no the abscess-root

will the commissions remedy the nations cancer, ah?

The ministers doggie frolics up the sofa sets,

some kiss it, some others embrace it.

behold the labourer, ah, still with the rope on his.

shoulder, furrows on his brow,

belly sunk in, heart aburn, liver heating up.

A cool capitalist you, O chinar!

Green you look in spring, turn bloody in autumn,

The empty-bellied poor you lull to sleep.

what fire, the, is it that consumes you within?

This, the Hindus day, that, the Afghans, O!

Different arc the days of Bhagavan and Rahman,

Blessed indeed the day when people say our own day has come,

Arif aspires to see the day of Man adawn.

 

MIRZA ARIF: His full name was Mirza Ghulam Hassan Beg Arif(1910-2005) . He was a Kashmiri poet. He was a scientist who wrote poetry as well as. He remained a foremost figure of Kashmiri literature for about five decades. His work has something known as rugged originality that is full of criticism of social and political life in Kashmir. 

The title explanation: "six rubaiyaats", in this the word "Rubaiyaats”, it is a Persian form of several quatrains. "Rubai" is a quatrain or a set of two couplets. According to the title "six rubaiyaats” it should have four lines in each stanzas. But in the poem we can see that poem doesn't follow that. He addresses the different aspects of society and politics. The six rubaiyaats presents his views on six issues such as democracy, violence, poverty, corruption, injustice and capitalism. This poem reflects the poet’s aspirations for better future.

Poem summary/analysis: 

In the first stanza he deals with democracy. The poet questions whether a new name can be given to the old order which has been pruned. He says, the current state of affairs which we call as democracy, is not true democracy. The system which we have now is a modified system from old order. He suggests that an idiot may call this system as democracy. From this, it’s clearly visible that the poet is not satisfied with the political system.

The second stanza expresses his views on poverty. He points out the real world where the bullets chase only the poor people and bread is elusive. Even in the freedom, the poor are helpless and hopeless.

Here he personifies sheep as a common people, where the people have to submit themselves to butcher to kill. The butcher may change but the cut is same. That is, the leader may change but the poor suffering remains the same. Through this we can see the violence prevailing in the state.

In the third stanza, he deals with the subject of corruption and also injustice. The poet says that hail and mere bits of raw-thread cannot heal wounds. Here, he says corruption as nation’s cancer. Cancer is the disease which spreads everywhere and it can be cured only when its root is been cut. In the same way, corruption spread all over the world. It can be abolished only when each and every individual stop giving and receiving bribe.

In the fourth stanza, the poet focuses on injustice and capitalism. The poet shows the injustice happened to labourer where the minister’s doggie is embraced and kissed and labourer continues to suffer. The poet describes the hard work and suffering of labourer by saying “belly sunk in, heart aburn, liver heating up”. The poet symbolizes the contrast between rich and poor. He compares them to chinar tree, which looks beautiful in spring and bloody appearance in autumn. The empty bullied poor people are lulled to sleep while the cool capitalists enjoy the fruits of labour.

In the last stanza, he again focuses view on capitalist. The poet question what is the fire consuming the capitalist within, with his frustration over the economic views. He ends by saying that there are different days for Hindus and Afghans, where people say this is the day of Bhagavan and this is the day of Rahman. And he says he aspires to see the people saying “my day has come”.