Notes Poetic World of Ali Sardar Jafri
Abstract
Ali Sardar Jafri was one of our major Urdu poets who enjoyed not only national distinction but also international fame. His poetry is distinguished by a breath of vision, secular and progressive outlook, deep involvement in life, intensity of thought and feeling, striking rhythmic patterns, bold and colourful imagery and high flown poetic style. He often employed a dramatic mode of expression. His best poems also have an intricate pattern of symbols and metaphors, presenting his vision in a concrete form. Some of these attributes bring to mind the stylistic features of modern English poetry in the early decades of 20th century.
Among the progressive group of poets, the thought element is quite strong in the poetic contributions of Faiz Ahmed Faiz and Ali Sardar Jafri. While felt thought lends subtle nuances and richness of texture to Faiz’s poetic expression, Sardar Jafri’s thought, gaining strength from his passion, translates itself into bold images and metaphors. Infact, he often seems to be thinking in a pictorial language. Sardar Jafri’s images and symbols embrace all manifestations of life from earth to heaven. But as ‘man’ is the centre of his poetic universe, there is a special emphasis on social and cultural aspects and man’s achievements through the ages. Often human creativity and magnificent creative energy of nature seem to blend together in a rich harmony. A fine example of this pattern is ‘Zindagi Ka Tarana’ (song of life) in his dramatic poem ‘Nai Duniya Ko Salam’. Even otherwise this remarkable creation of Jafri is not only a dramatic presentation of the freedom struggle but also abounds in themes of universal significance, such as the essential unity and continuity of life, the process of evolution, magnificent creativity of nature, vast possibilities of human existence and awe inspiring greatness and breathtaking beauty of the universe. Translating scientific and philosophic thought into imaginative forms was a striking aspect of Sardar Jafri’s poetic talent.
