IMPRESSIONS OF SOME WELL KNOWN PERSONS ABOUT STALWART KASHMIRI POET DINA NATH NAADIM

                                                                  

                                                                           
                                                     ( Dina Nath Naadim 1916-1988 )

According to Braj  B kachru ( kashmiri Literature page 66):-

“ In 1950, Naadim Provided a contrast with the traditional  kashmiri Poetic forms by introducing  Blank Verse  “ Ba Gyava na Az”  ( I shall not sing Today ). This new poetic form caught the imagination of kashmiris , Illiterate and Literate . Other poets ,considering it an emancipation from rigid formal poetic constraints , soon followed this style. Rehman Rahi’s “Gevun Chhum”  ( I have to sing ) clearly shows  Naadim’s  Influence . Not only did “ Ba Gyava na Az”   demonstrate that Blank verse could be used as an effective poetic form in kashmiri , But in that poem , he also showed his subtle  feelings for an appropriate Lexical choice and for proper blend of sound and sense. This effect is created  neither  by  Persianization  nor by sanskritization ; rather , he firmly established the process of Kashmirization.”  

Syed Zeeshan Fazil  ( Retired  Senior officer  Door Darshan ) writes :

 “ It was 1986. Soon after my transfer from jalandhar when I  was asked to make some documentaries on some eminent personalities under the title Great Masters for National telecast. one of the films was on Nadim sahib. After finalising the shooting schedule,  I along with my Co- director Jenab B.A.Butt reached Nadim sahib’s residence  at Jawahar Nagar Srinagar .He was about to start his lunch and his wife was serving  kashmiri Haa’k and Bataa ( vegetable and cooked rice )  in a traditional Thaal ( Plate ). We started shooting the scene. After lunch , we took him around Dal lake,  Stopped near Oberoi Hotel (  Previously Maharaja Hari Singh’s  Palace ) gate where he narrated his poem " che’tii  Vaa’tii ku’nni vizi Vaae’r" in his typical style narrating  some memories of his youth. Then our second stop was at Pari Mahal.He narrated  so many things from his memory though he was  not well. He also  narrated his poem " Mae chhum Aash pagaahe’ ch and Ba gyaaava Na Az " with so many anecdotes.  The Production  of this Documentary was completed and telecast on time. It was received well. We also repeated it after its national telecast . This 45 minutes documentary was preserved in DD Srinagar  archives. Srinagar Doordarshan Kendra Srinagar  production unit ignorantly or intentionally erased the tape along with some more archival documentaries causing a great loss to the viewers and students  / Lovers of Kashmiri literature. We had documentaries  On Mir Gh.Rasool Nazki sahib,  Gh.Muhammad Qaleenbaf, Ale Ahmed Saroor, Begum Akbar Jahan and many more in this series . All Great Masters.  Alas ! All missing. I have made a comprehensive mention of this tragedy in my autobiography Golden Harvest published in 2013 .”

Prof Krishna Misri  ( Former Principal Girls College Srinagar ) Adds :

“ Nadim is undoubtedly one of the greatest poets of post 1947,a watershed landmark in the cultural renaissance of Kashmir. Kashmiri Art, language,literature,poetry ,dramatics and  broadcasting etc.etc flourished as never before. His poetry of this era is full of hope and  rising expectations. Subsequent historical developments impacted Nadim equally. From a forward-looking poet he was a disillusioned and tormented soul. His poetry towards the end is an expression of pain, agony and  alienation.”

Well known Kashmiri Poet Muzaffar Aazim writes :

“ Remembering the time I spent with him and the kind attention he gave me mostly in my personal affairs, I miss him more than many.His special field was nazm and he was 'educated and seasoned'. Truly a human being he did not hide his bias behind his amiability and popularity.”

Dr.Shashi Shekhar Toshkhani ( Noted Scholar , Linguist and Poet )  writes :

“ I wrote in an editorial note in an issue of the Praznath ( a journal edited by me), which carried Arvind Gigoo's translation of some poems of Nadim, "When Nadim made his appearance on the Kashmiri literary scene in the late 1940s, it was like "an explosion of creative energy" never witnessed before. I would like to excerpt some lines from this editorial note. It said: "The innovative dynamism of his writings radically changed the way in which poetic activity was understood in Kashmir. Kashmiri poetry now became a site for meaningful experimentation and innovation aligned to a strategy for communicating the poet's deep and urgent involvement with questions related to human condition and human situation." A public poet like Pablo Neruda, Nadim loved to engage immediately with his audience. His ability to connect with them openly and directly through the sheer flow and force of his rhythmic utterances heightened their emotional involvement and made his poetic recitation more of a power-packed performance ... It was a heady mix of poetry and politics... Nadim's strength lay in his bold sense of innovation and constant experimentation, his "unexpected dynamics of words and rhythms", to borrow the words of K. Sachidanandan. Apart from introducing the blank verse in Kashmiri poetry, he experimented with a number of verse forms, old and new... ... Isn't it strange that Nadim is still identified with the few, undoubtedly powerful but over-simplistic and palpably propagandistic, poems of the 1950s? Yet, though the Nadim era has long ended, the powerful resonance of his poetry has overstepped the boundaries of time and even today continues to sway the minds of those who love Kashmiri poetry. As Krishna Misri Ji has pointed out, Nadim was a bitterly disillusioned man after the progressive movement, of which he undoubtedly was the most powerful voice, lost its thrust and relevance. He was derided by those very contemporaries of his who had earlier developed their poetic careers under his shadow but were now trying to crawl out of it, calling themselves "modern". Nadim knew that the so-called "modernism" they flaunted was fake, and he rejected it, even as he continued to experiment. This is how I found him when I met him a few months before he passed away.”    

Well Known Kashmiri Poet *Prof. Rehman Rahi  (Gyanpeeth Awarded) inform :

“ Dina Nath Naadim was elder to me by 10 or 12 years  . His  poetry appeared like   a gush of fresh water suddenly emerging out  from the heart of a Mountain. New words , New style and a language that was close to every kashmiri or what we say the spoken language.  He made our minds conscious about the great scope and potential  of kashmiri Language  as a tool for  poetic expression .  Many times we  would  feel small before him. He was tall in every aspect. As a young Boy , I would listen to him and say to Myself : “ This is poetry . When can I write like him ?” ”

      

( Autar Mota )

PS



(1)
This material has been extracted from the  comments of  readers  to   my Facebook  post of January 2017    relating to  Shri.  G R Hasrat Gadda 's book On Dina Nath Naadim       .  

(2)

  *Pof.Rehman Rahi’s  Interview on Kashmiri Literature Uploaded on Youtube in 2013      



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