When we hear word, “poem”, “Couplets”, “Sher” or “Shayari”, the things comes on our mind are “love”, “romance” and love story. We simple relate Sher / Poem to love. But this is not just about love. Poems are far deeper than a love story.
Dr. Abdul Kalam said, “Poetry comes from the highest happiness or the deepest sorrow”
A poet writes thought relevant to life. He/she deals with almost everything that is related to emotions and human life. If you read the verses deeply, you will come to know that poets have written about mental health a long ago. Poets like Mirza Ghalib, John Elia, Amrita Pritam, Ibne Insha and Parveen Shakir etc had a deep understanding of psychology.
They have described symptoms related to mental illness (depression, anxiety, insomnia etc) in their poems. Personally, I believe that hardly anyone else can understand the nuances of temperament and feelings as deeply as a poet can understand. In the first segment of this chapter we are going to decode some verses of Mirza Ghalib, Shaad Azimabadi and Fahmi Badayuni.
Table of Contents
Mirza Ghalib on Depression and Insomnia
Mirza Ghalib was a prominent renowned poet of urdu. his life was full of sorrows and tragedies. He lost his father at the age of five. His younger brother Mirza Yousuf died due to Mental illness “schizophrenia”. Ghalib had seven children but None of his seven children survived beyond infancy. He has faced adversity and misery in life. The grief of losing loved ones had created mental illness like depression and insomnia in him. In his verse, he describes his experience in this following manner.
On Insomnia:
maut kā ek din muayyan hai
neend kyuñ raat bhar nahīñ aatī [1]
When for death a day has been ordained
What reason that I cannot sleep all night?
According to psychology insomnia is one of the primary sign of mental illness. Mirza Ghalib was well aware about mental health. In above Sher, He discussed insomnia. He described the difficulties of an insomniac. When a person has insomnia, his life becomes really challenging. He gets restless. Every night feels like death to him. Ghalib says that he understands that he will die one day, but that his insomnia makes him feel as though he is dying every night.
On Depression:
ham vahāñ haiñ jahāñ se ham ko bhī
kuchh hamārī ḳhabar nahīñ aatī [2]
I’m there, from where
I don’t even know my own existence.
Depression is a prevalent form of mental illness. More than 264 million individuals of all ages suffer from depression around the world. Hundreds of years ago Ghalib describe exactly what Mental health specialist tells about the temperament of a person suffering from depression.
According to mental health professionals, a person suffering from depression feels as if his life has come to a halt. He is stuck somewhere. That person has no idea what is going on with him. Ghalib expresses it best when he adds, “I feel like I’m lost somewhere.” Somewhere, I’m not even aware of my own existence.
Shad Azimabadi on Importance of Emotion Expression
Shad Azimabadi was one of the acknowledged masters of Urdu ghazal. He is counted among the illustrious poets of the Ghazal who have made a notable contribution to the growth and enrichment of this poetic form. Shad Azimabadi had a profound insight of human psychology. In his writings, he demonstrates this characteristic. When I read one of his couplets, I was taken aback. In just two lines, he has wonderfully stated the root cause of the mental health illness and its cure. Mental health experts take hours of conversation to explain the same.
Expressed and Suppressed Emotion:
ḳhamoshī se musībat aur bhī sañgīn hotī hai
taḌap ai dil taḌapne se zarā taskīn hotī hai [1]
Silence only intensifies one’s grief
Cry out heart and you will find relief
Experts say suppressed emotion can make you physically and mentally unwell. No matter it is anger, grief, pain, sadness or happiness. You should never suppress any of your emotion. Express whatever you are feeling or going through. Let it vent out. Mental illness like Depression, anxiety and insomnia etc can occurs due the emotion you suppressed earlier. You can keep yourself physically and mentally well by simply expressing your feelings. You are even allowed to cry in order to vent out your emotions.
Shad Azimabadi explains the importance of emotion expression in above line. He says that by keeping quiet and suppressing emotions aggravates the pain. Whereas expressing feelings reduces the pain. So don’t suppress your emotions. Express it. He says. Cry out, the heart gets peace and comfort even by crying. Here by crying, he means to express emotions.
Fahmi Badayuni On Importance of Checking Out Someone
Fahmi Badayuni is a well known poet. His writing includes the importance of mental health support. In his Sher he explains the value of asking someone about their well being. Mental health advocates tells that by just asking someone about how they are doing, we can help them heal.
Importance of Checking out Someone:
pūchh lete vo bas mizāj mirā
kitnā āsān thā ilaaj mirā [1]
He would have just asked my condition.
How easy was my medication.
Mental health advocates and experts say that it is not necessary that we help someone economically or physically. We can help someone even emotionally. It is a fact that if a person is depressed or in some trouble. And in such condition you talk to him. Ask the reason for his sadness. So he himself can feel lighter by explaining the reason for his sadness. If you just listen to his words, then he gets relief. If you merely listen to someone’s words, you would notice that they feel relieved.
Fahmi Badayuni Explains the same in his sher. Badayuni says that even by asking someone’s wellness, you can help them. By listening carefully to the people, you can help in reducing their struggle. Ask your friends, your relatives and close ones about their wellness. Don’t just do formality by asking just once. Rather ask twice. So that they know you care about them.
