Farrukh Ahmad (10th June 1918- 19th October 1974) is one of the greatest poets of Bangla literature. He is commonly known as the poet of Muslim renaissance, as many of his poems embody the spirit of resurrection particularly in the hearts of the down-trodden Muslims of the then Bengal. The Muslim nation had a glorious past and a colourful history. Once they were the mightiest power and ruled all over the world. They had a strong ideological base and moral standard. During the time of the last and the greatest messenger of Allah, the Muslims, inspired by the teachings of Al-Quran and guided by the great Prophet himself, turned as models of humanism, fair play, and justice. They were unrivaled among the nations of the world in terms of knowledge, moral standard, character and high thinking. Though the Arab Muslims were known as the best warriors of that time, the Muslims conquered almost the whole world, not by their physical might alone, but by their wisdom, knowledge, scientific inventions, high morale and strong will and convictions.
But during the past centuries the Muslims lost all their might, supremacy in all fields of knowledge and human potentials. Instead, they were defeated by the imperialists and lost all their power, material achievements, and glories. They were down-trodden, subjugated to inhuman tortures and miseries. They forgot the teachings of the holy Quran as well as the guidance of the holy Prophet.
Farrukh Ahmad was born at a time when the country was under British rule. The Bengali Muslims at that time were mostly illiterate, socially backward and economically poor. Farrukh Ahmad appeared in the literary arena, when the Second World War was going on (1939-45) and the great famine of 1943 broke in. Millions of hungry people died as a result of famine. The wealthy, heartless greedy people amassed immense wealth creating artificial crises in the market. Farrukh Ahmad with his mighty pen, depicted the true picture of the society. He inspired the fellow Muslims to wakeup reminding them their glorious past and checkered history. He used symbols, similes and metaphors to describe the nation’s past and to awaken them to rise and take the highest position once again to show the true humanism and glories of human pursuits to the world, which are at present confronted with so many odds, miseries, wars, hunger, injustice and inhuman sufferings. He referred Islam as the true panacea to all odds and sufferings and advocated strongly that Islam alone can solve the problems, confronted with the present day world and the mankind as a whole. He symbolised Islam as Herar Rajtoron and asked the people to accept it as true and perfect guideline to the entire mankind. In his famous poem Sat Sagorer Majhi (‘The Sailor of the Seven Seas’) the poet said:
“I do not know how long has been the dark night before the breaking of this dawn.
The green leaves in the orange grove are quivering;
The seven seas’ tide is in, foaming on your doorsteps.
Yet you are still in deep slumber? Still you do not wake up?
O Sailor of the seven seas! Have a look, the ship calls at the door,
Motionless, she is standing at the door, like a painted
picture.
The helm is high and dry, the sails are drooping.
O Sailor ! Respond to my clarion call.
Do arise, arise and join the seamen.
You will find your ship at blue sea again
Like a full moon she will sail along
Braving clouds of waves and breaking down all barriers
Then do wake up, the morning is wearing on, it is long
since hasnahena petals withered and fell.
Yet you are still asleep ? Still you do not wake up?”
(Translated by
Dr Sadruddin Ahmed )
O Seeker, you will find this time at the end of the long
voyage
The gate of Hera in front of you.
Then weigh anchor,
Then you set sail,
Then you set sail. (Do : Do)
Farrukh wrote many poems, based on Islamic thoughts and ideals, particularly the books entitled Sat Sagorer Majhi and Sirajam Munira, to inspire the down-trodden Muslims to awaken and struggle for independence. During the 40s of the last century, he played a pivotal role to free the nation from the subjugation of the British rule. That’s why, he is called as a poet of independence and Islamic renaissance.
During the time of independence struggle, Farrukh cherished a dream of establishing a true Islamic state.
He was greatly inspired by the idea and wrote many songs and poems encouraging the Muslims to fulfill the idea. His famous book Sat Sagorer Majhi, as mentioned earlier (written in 1942-44 and published in 1944), was written under this historical context. It shows that Farrukh was a realistic poet and he intensely dealt with man and matter as well as the situation around him. He never ignored his society and his time, rather he truly represented the feelings of the people around him and the society he lived in. He also truly represented the hopes and aspersions of his nation and guided them to fulfill their cherished goal.
A real poet, he depicted his ideas through symbols, similes and allegories. His most famous symbols are Sindabad and Hatem Taiee. While the former represents true heroism, bravery, adventurism and strong determination, the latter represents true humanism, dedication and service to all creatures of Allah. In his famous poem namely Sindabad, he writes:
Time of colourful velvet days are over, starts a new voyage
I hear the call of the sea saline
The tribulent waves crowned with silver crests
The high top waves carry the call of the sea saline
O sindbad, these are new waters, unknown!
has beckoned us to touch the blue sky
This call is betwixt life and death
This journey would carry us to which
Streams who knows
In the forest of sandal wood and camphor,
senseless our minds have strayed.
Ivory had covered the stone strong teak
The musk smell of the pipul trees
have made me sleep heavy
Only the fearless sea eagle descends in the sea bath.
(Sindbad-the sailor, translated by: Suraiya Khanam)
In another poem: Panjeree (symbolising the leader), Farrukh Ahmad asked the leader of his down-trodden nation to rise on the occasion to give appropriate and inspiring leadership to the nation. He writes:
Is that the roaring of the sea? Is that the agony of the poor?
Is that the dying note of the hungry belly?
Navigator, O Navigator!
Wake up, I see angry scowls at the port.
Wake up with the silent frowning of countless hungry mouths.
Look and see how far the dawn is away! n
(The Navigator, translated by Dr Sadruddin Ahmed)
