Sahir Ka Khayal Aaya, a unique take on Sahir's 'Parchhaiyan'

Sahir Ludhianvi, the revered romantic revolutionary poet still finds reverence in the hearts of many. He had the capability to evoke any feeling and to create any imagery with his talent to play with words. While the romanticism in his poems often takes the cake, his poetry also had a different side all together, the side which made him the great artist he was. One of his most celebrated poems is 'Parchhaiyan', which is also perhaps the longest anti-war poem written in Urdu.

The poem, which starts with painting a beautiful picture of a moonlit night, eventually moves on to talk about the horrors of war. Pierrot Troup's 'Sahir Ka Khayal Aaya' is a mono act where the actor recites the entire poem.The play was recently staged at Alliance Francaise on July 24, 2022. In a sleeveless pullover on a shirt, beige pants, brown leather slippers and with his hair carefully and sleekly parted sideways, Shariq Aziz, the actor, transforms into the 28-year-old Sahir who is writing this poem. Throughout the play, Shariq is not just reciting, but enacting what the poem talks about, with just enough rage and sorrow in his voice. However, the play is not just that. Supporting Shariq on the stage were two seasoned singers, Naveen Anand and Sonal Saxena, who sang various Bollywood songs written by Sahir, carefully picked and placed between the poem, that too, without any music. No doubt, the songs, most of which are from Guru Dutt's Pyaasa, are sure to make you hum ad be a part of the play.

The play is certainly experimental in nature, saying a lot about Sahir without talking much. It didn't have to resort to talking about Sahir's affairs and professional conflicts to introduce him to the audience. Rather, the play puts forth an image of a young Sahir, going through the creative process of writing a  masterpiece that talks about something just as important and relevant today as it was back then.

Kudos to the actor for memorizing such an elaborate poem and not just reciting, but performing it. The poem is critical of the agonies of wars and how the wars affect the common man and thus, it still holds sheer relevance and importance today. Gauhar Raza, a poet himself from Delhi and an avid admirer of Sahir, says, "As long as there is a war of any kind in any part of the world, this poem will remain relevant. Sahir was a sensitive writer, he wrote about everything that affected the common man."

Raza is also an admirer of the poem 'Parchhaiyan' in particular. Talking about the poem, he says, "It is the only Urdu poem written in flashback. It is a long anti-war poem that is deeply romantic as well. It begins by saying that everything is good in life, and people are happy but then this serene life is disrupted suddenly. The imageries he has used in this poem are completely Indian imageries but used in a modern context and could be applied universally." Further in the conversation, Raza goes on to admire how the poem is written. He says that apart from being an anti-war poem, 'Parchhaiyan' is also a brilliant romantic poem and that's what made Sahir and this poem so special, it just has so much to talk about. Another important element of this poem, Raza says, is Sahir's love for nature and his lover and how the war will destroy it all.

Such a sensitive account of the horrors of wars finds immense and much-needed respect in Dr M Sayeed Alam's 'Sahir Ka Khayal Aaaya'. The play is produced by Sundeep Pahwa.