Rain & Poetry

By Raza Elahi

After a hot and humid summer when the skies open up and it just pours, there is nothing better than sitting in the balcony watching the little raindrops beating feverishly on the railings and sensing the aroma of the wet earth. Succulent jamuns, irresistible bhuttas, garma garam chai-pakoras and mouth-watering jalebis are inseparable part of the monsoon and so is the romance with poetry during the season.

Whether it is the Bangla song Brishti pore tapur tupur; node elo baan, baaner jole bhaslo pukur, bhaslo golar dhaan or a Hindi movie song Rim jhim ke tarane leke aayi barsaat, rain and poetry always go hand-in-hand. For some poets love blooms in the rains, while for others it is the excuse to drink some wines.

For a few, it is the moment to recall old memories, while for others it is time to describe pain.

According to famous poet-lyricist Gulzar, romance exists in the rain itself. In one of his poems, he said: Der tak baithe huye, Hum dono ne baarish dekhi, Woh dikhati thi mujhe, taaron pe chalti hui boondein (We sat till late and watched the rain; she showed me raindrops walking on the stars).

Years ago, Mir Taqi Mir eloquently described romancing in the cool monsoon breeze when he sought:

Mausam-e-abr ho subuu bhii ho

Gul ho gulshan ho aur tuu bhii ho

But for the famous poet Mirza Ghalib, rainy season had some other meaning. He often sought to give up drinks, but like an intelligent man he made exceptions when he said:

Ghalib chhuti sharab, par ab bhi kabhi kabhi

Peeta hoon roz-e-abr, shab-e-mahtaab mein

(Ghalib, I gave up drink but even now sometimes I drink on a cloudy day and on moonlit night).

Another Urdu poet Faiz Ahmad Faiz also used to wait for the rains when he said:

Aaye kuch abr, kuch sharaab aye

Uske baad aaye jo azaab aaye

(Let there be some clouds, and let wines come. After that let any disaster comes).

Moin Ahsan Jazbi, a contemporary of Majrooh Sultanpuri, too, was not far behind:

Main thakaa haaraa thaa itane mein jo aaye baadal

Kisi matwale ne chupke se badha di botal

But poet Rajendra Krishan penned a sombre mood when he wrote for the movie Sharabi (1964):

Sawaan ke mahine mein,ek aag si seeney mein lagti hai to pee leta hoon,

do char gharee jee leta hoon

However, Majrooh on the one hand became naughty when he said: Ek ladki bheegi bhaagi si (Chalti Ka Naam Gaadi; 1958), while on the other, he described the feeling of separated lovers during rains when he penned lyrics for the movie Dharti Kahe Pukaar ke (1969): Jaa re kare badra balam ke dwar, woh hain aise buddhu ke samjhe na payaas

Rain songs have always been there in the Hindi filmdom. While lyricist Yogesh wrote rim jhim gire sawaan for the film Manzil, Javed Akhtar penned rimjhim, rum-jhum, rum-jhum, Bheegi bheegi rut mein, tum-hum, hum tum … for 1942: A Love Story.

Songs like Barsaat main hum se mile tum; Zindagi bhar nahin bhoolenge woh barsaat ki raat; Payaar hua iqrar hua, and the title song of aaya sawan jhum ke are a few among others which show the lyricists have signified monsoon as a season of celebration, joy and romance.

But the effect of rains, which is highly beneficial and life-giving, varies on different substrata. One of the best Persian poets and philosophers Shaikh Sadi said: There is no doubt in the beneficial effect of rain. If it rains in a garden, tulips grow; if it rains in arid ground, thorns and brambles glow.