! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! An Evening In The Company Of A Sufi...! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! Poem by Mamta Agarwal
! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! An Evening In The Company Of A Sufi...! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! !
The café was packed-event,
Book release and reading of excerpts
From ‘love and Longing’
A compilation of letters
Exchanged between
Imroz and Amrita
Over a time span
Of five decades.
Imroz took the dais,
Simply dressed in white
A pair of spectacles
Resting on his nose.
Began to shyly share
Sufi poems and
Anecdotes
On a reminiscent note…
Love shone in his limpid eyes,
In the delicate curve of his smile,
Reverence in his mellifluous voice,
Sketches made by him
Framed on the walls.
He said there were no laws
In their relationship- laws
Are for the irresponsible;
We gave each other space
And moved at our own pace.
Love is in small details;
Anticipate the needs of the beloved:
Amrita loved to write in
The silence of the night.
I could make out from the
Light filtering outside.
She loved tea;
I trained myself to wake
At mid night and make
Her a cup steaming hot,
Kept it, on her desk.
At times it
Remained untouched.
She didn’t explain
Nor I complain.
I called her my
Heer, as well as Fakir
Spoke he
Like a true Sufi.
Even today she is
With me.
I feel her in the gentle breeze,
Fragrance of Jasmine...
Spoke of her in present tense
With fondness.and affection.
His words
And demeanour
Left me
Bleary eyed…
it was a union
destined,
with God's blessings...
Amrita Pritam was hailed as the doyen of Punjabi literature and was world renowned.
She was the first prominent Indian women writers. She wrote many poems, novels, short stories and essays. A number of her works have been translated into English, Trench, Danish, Japanese languages.
Amrita and Imroz love story is a legend. They lived together for fifty years. ‘Some love stories reverberate like hymns in the universe’ said Uma Trilok, her biographer.
At her death, Imroz on being questioned said, ‘why be sad, what I couldn’t do, Nature did.’ Such words of love and wisdom, because her last years were painful and
Death came as a release.
Imroz is a noted painter and poet.
a lovely incident and the story behind in a lovely poem...human beings are nice aren; t they a lovely foot note...such relationships need to be cherished
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yes yes yes Mamtaji! You hav done it! I am spellbound! some words chosen very beautiful! And love! Oh love! Truely said- 'He said their were no laws In their relationship- laws Are for the irresponsible. We gave each other space And moved at our own pace.' For some people no need law! they are endowed with classic conscience! Hats off to you dear! 10101010101010+
most of us tend to speak of those living too in past tense, don't we? there lies the difference...
I should have liked to talk with such a mystic. Marriage to me is a relationship of equals.My wife and I are both writers and allow each other space to do as we wish when we wish.She too is a night bird whilst I am at my best in the mornings. It works for us love is accepting ones partner as she or he is without seeking to change
Absolutey beautiful. Brought out vividly the unique relationship bw Amrita and Imroz which is perhaps an example of the selfless heights that love can achieve. A perfect 10
In this beautiful memorable write, Mamta, you have preserved some timeless moments you spent in the company of Imroz. Amrita and Imroz are equally well known in Pakistan. Even a few weeks ago I read a detailed interview of Imroz in a Pakistani Urdu literary magazine 'Symbol'. One of Amrita's Punjabi poems, which she wrote after partition of the sub-continent, was so famous in Pakistan that almost every Pakistani of my generation memorized it. I remember this poem was sung for a very popular movie 'Kartar Singh' based on the partition. I never met Amrita but she was on honorary mailing list of 'Tasteer', a literary magazine I edited for several years. She was not well at that time and I don't think she remembered anything about 'Tasteer'. However she was a good friend of one of my friends Mazhar-ul-Islam, a famous storywriter. I don't know whether or not we can call Imroz a Sufi but Amrita and Imroz both are symbol of love and mutual respect in the literary worlds on both sides of the border. At her death several Pakistani journals and magazines published special editions dedicated to Amrita, still a lot of work on her is being published. It may be known to you that Sarojini Naidu was another prominent Indian poetess before Amrita. Regards Naseer
A tribute of breathtaking beauty. True love always is-it knows no barriers of time or distance.10/10 Love, SandraX
A great tribute to true lovers. Beautifully written. Vanita.
This poem has not been translated into any other language yet.
I would like to translate this poem
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4/24/2024 3:36:10 PM # 1.0.0.1119
Mamta, you could not have paid a better tribute to Imroz and Amrita....a wonderful piece...10+++++