This week, let’s return to another of the unforgettable poet and lyricist, Kaifi Azmi’s, poems. Similar to “Daera/The Circle” (دائره), Azmi uses his knowledge of diverse belief systems and cultures to enrich his verse and complicate his philosophical stance. This quality of Azmi’s poetry, in addition to his seemingly simple, yet at times abstruse and complex verse, makes this poet stand out amongst writers the world over. In this particular poem, notice Azmi’s at times irregular and seemingly casual syntax, his use of repetition and lists and bare yet meticulous and enigmatic verse that is rife with double meanings.

Kaifi Azmi is pictured front, second from the left. Image by Bpldxb on Wikimedia Commons, licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.

The Son of Mary

ابنِ مریم

Image by Theonlysilentbob on Wikimedia Commons; public domain (no license).

*”Payambar/پیمبر” can mean both “messenger” and “prophet” (as in a title of Muhammad, the prophet of Allah). In some ways, the two terms overlap in that Muhammad, the prophet, was a messenger of God in the sense that he reported his visions of Allah to people unaware of him and thus initiated the religion of Islam. Here, of course, Azmi is referring to the “son of Mary” or Jesus, who is also considered a prophet and a messenger sent from God, his father.

*”Imaam/امام” is a bit difficult to translate into English without just keeping the original Arabic. This is a term for a religious leader and priest of a mosque.

*The terms for different types of drugs here do not all have tidy English equivalents. “Bhang/بھنگ” is a term for hemp that is often made into a drink from the plant’s leaves. “Charas/چرس” is a resinous concoction made from hemp or cannabis, “Ganja/گاںجا” refers to hemp leaves and their preparation when smoked and “Afyoon/افیون” refers to opium.