After a hot and humid summer when the skies open up and bring rain with cool breeze, 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 Urdu shayari during the season.
For many Urdu poets love blooms in the rains while for others it is time to describe pain. And for a few, downpour is a time for remembrance as it weaves together the emptiness and contentment or the moment to recall old memories. Interestingly, for a good number of Urdu poets, rainy season is the excuse to drink some wines.
I consider something magical about rains - a season of love and joy. Here goes the two couplets of mine:
Kitna sehr-bayaan hai uff ye mausam-e-barsaat
Dekhta huun tera aks giirti buundon mein
#Raza Elahi
(sehr-bayaan = magical description)
Patte pe giri baarish ki ye do boonden
Jaise sadaf-saan si teri do aankhen
#Raza Elahi
(sadaf-saan = resembling sea shell)
Some more ashaar (couplets) on baarish, barsaat, abr (cloud), ghata, baadal, paani, and boonden (droplets) that best describe nature's bountiful creation - rains!
Barsaat ke aate hi tauba na rahi baaqi
Baadal jo nazar aaye badli meri neeyat bhi
#Hasrat Mohani
Mausam-e-abr ho subuu bhii ho
Gul ho gulshan ho aur tuu bhii ho
#Anonymous
Saath baarish mein liye phirte ho us ko 'Anjum'
Tum ne iss shahr mein kya aag lagaani hai koi
#Anjum Saleemi
Ghalib chhuti sharab, par ab bhi kabhi kabhi
Peeta hoon roz-e-abr, shab-e-mahtaab mein
#Mirza Ghalib
(Ghalib, I gave up drink but even now sometimes I drink on a cloudy day and on moonlit night).
Aaye kuch abr, kuch sharaab aye
Uske baad aaye jo azaab aaye
#Faiz Ahmad Faiz
(Let there be some clouds, and let wines come. After that let any disaster comes).
Main thakaa haaraa thaa itane mein jo aaye baadal
Kisi matwale ne chupke se badha di botal
#Moin Ahsan Jazbi
Ab bhi barsaat ki raaton mein badan tuTtaa hai
Jaag uThtii hain ajab ḳhvaahishein añgḌaai ki
#Parveen Shakir
Mujh pe chhaa jaa.e vo barsaat ki ḳhushbu ki tarah
Añg Añg apna isii rut mein mahaktaa dekhūñ
#Parveen Shakir
Yun barastain hain tasauvvar pe purani yaadein
Jaise barsaat main rim-jhim ka samna hota hai
#Anonymous
(Old memories fall on the surface of my mind, like raindrops in monsoon).
Barse baġhair hi jo ghaTaa ghir ke khul gayi
Ik bevafaa ka ahd-e-vafaa yaad aa gayaa
#Khumar Barabankavi
Baarish ho rahi thii kambakhat yaadein taaza kar gayii
Apni har ek boond ka hisaab mujh se le gayii
#Bushra Iqbal
Baarish hui to phuulon ke tan chaak ho gaye
Mausam ke haath bhiig ke saffaak ho gaye
Baadal ko kya ḳhabar hai ki baarish ki chaah mein
Kaise buland-o-baalaa shajar ḳhaak ho gaye
#Parveen Shakir
(saffaak = tyrant; shajar = tree)
Duur tak chhaa.e the baadal aur kahiiñ saaya na tha
Iss tarah barsaat ka mausam kabhī aayaa na thā
#Qateel Shifai
Der tak baithe huye, Hum dono ne baarish dekhi,
Woh dikhati thi mujhe, taaron pe chalti hui boondein
#Gulzar
(We sat till late and watched the rain; she showed me raindrops walking on the stars).
And one really goes down the memory lane and feels that childhood is the best time to enjoy rains if one listens to Jagjit Singh singing Sudarshan Faakhir’s poem:
