Six Ghazals from woh jo sha'irī kā sabab huā (The Indifferent Muse) by Kaleem Aajiz

Kaleem Aajiz is one of the foremost names among post-independence Urdu poets of Bihar. His inimitable classical style of ghazal composition has earned him a much-envied place in the world of letters, among listeners, fellow poets and critics alike who call him Meer (Meer Taqi Meer) although this sobriquet does not sit well with him. He had seen and suffered the horrors of Partition first-hand and makes it the central theme of his poetry. This translation is an attempt to understand and situate his poetry in the corpuses of Indian Urdu Literature, Urdu Literature from Bihar and Partition Literature. His sedated approach towards disconsolate grief during Partition troubles makes his poetry unique and lends it a rare authenticity. The translations of his ghazals tilt more towards retaining the sense and as such miss out on the seductive appeal of retaining the ghazal form itself in the English translation.