Baaba Fareed Ganjshakar --
Within Reach
Series: Masterworks of Punjaabi Sufi Poetry
Author: Muzaffar A. Ghaffar
Publisher: Ferozsons (Pvt) Ltd.
Pages: 345. Quarto Hardback Boxed
Price: Rs.995/-

By S Abbas

Poetry has been around since verbal language became commonplace. Rhyming was devised to aid memorability and to make songs which people could sing. Since Punjabi is an old spoken language, old poetry is available mostly in fragments. Baba Fareed Ganjshakar is the first major Punjabi poet whose work has reached us in a substantial quantity. This verse is entirely in two line poems called dohras. One reason why this work is available is that Baba Nanak, the inspiration of the Sikh religion, secured Baba Fareed's poetry from his later progeny and used it in his own singing of ashloks. Baba Fareed's works were included in the Granth Sahib, the first scripture of the Sikh religion and were preserved. Some dohras which are not in Granth Sahib have also reached us.

Here we may record a phenomenon. Several poets have followed the nom de plume of 'Fareed' (his given name was Masud). This has created a difficulty for editors to identify the original works. The works of other earlier Punjabi poets is only available in fragments.

Scholars are uncertain when Baba Fareed was born but the date of 1188 CE is generally agreed. He died in 1280 CE (this date is also disputed). His Urs is held on the fifth of Muharram every year. With the ten day shifts in the lunar year the Urs of Baba Fareed comes in every season. His verse presents the human condition with great imagination -- making him a poet for all seasons.

Muzaffar A. Ghaffar has undertaken the monumental task of introducing all the major poets of Punjaabi to an English-reading public. These poets may be classified as belonging to the Sufi tradition. This book too has been written after extensive research, hard labour of love, the skills of a high quality English poet and translator who has vast knowledge and very astute observation. His translations are of high merit and his notes bring the period and Baba Fareed's verse into our comprehension.

The plan of this book is the same as for all the series. It is to first present an edited text (in this case, since the text is drawn from the Sikh holy book, Granth Sahib, Ghaffar has presented the text mostly as in that book). Three dohras which are not a part of Granth Sahib are also included in the selection made for this book. The text is presented in nastaleeq, gurmukhi and a specially devised Roman for Punjabi by Ghaffaar. Then there is a glossary of hard words, followed by a poetic translation which follows the rhyme scheme of the great master. This is followed by a discussion on each of the two-line complete poems which gives the historical, political, intellectual and social background and content of the verse. At the end of the book is an alphabetical glossary for the convenience of readers. The entire project must have involved immense research and writing effort. Such work has never been done before, in any language, for any poet presented in this series.

Baba Fareed was a later contemporary of Ibn Arabi. Thus his verse does not have much influence from the conception of Wahdat al-Vujood, which is attributed to Ibn Arabi, but the influence of bhakti is very much there. Take for example the following (with an excellent translation by Ghaffaar): Chal chal gajyyaan pankhiaan, jinhin vasa'ae tall/Fareeda sar bharya bhi chalsi, tehkai kaul ikall. (O Fareed, winged ones moved on, those who settled lowlands/Brimming source-waters will move on too; beaming the lone lotus stands).

Muzaffar Ghaffaar's special achievement is that each line of the original is aptly translated in a single line, the rhyme scheme of the original is followed, and the meaning, ethos and the poetry flows through. This too has never been done before.

We can look at a few more translations from this book, which are randomly selected: Fareeda jae toon aqal lateef, kaalae likh nah laekh/Aapanrae giraevaan maen, sirr neevaan kar deakh. (O Fareed don't write black words, if you've a delicate sensibility/Lower your head, into your own collar see). Fareeda mann maedaan kar, toae tibbae lab/Aggai mool nah aavsi, dozakh sandi bhaa. (O Fareed Level the open field, hollows, mounds quell/Ahead won't come at all, the fires of hell). The third two-liner picked is, Aap sanwaaraen mean milaen, mean milyaan such hoae/Fareeda jae toon maera hoae rahaen, sabh jag taera boae. (Make yourself right, meet the I, meeting I is joy unfurled/O Fareed, if you remain mine, yours will be the world).

Baba Fareed Ganjshakar's verse, as mentioned on the back cover of this beautifully produced book says, "Baba Fareed's austere rhythms, social comment, poetic expression, deep devotion, and imagery from the experience of common folk, which are presented as complete poems in two lines, is a marvel." The austere rhythms and surprising endings are recreated by Ghaffaar in this fine book which should certainly help putting this remarkable poet 'within reach'.

Theatre and theatrical presentation has been deeply embedded in the English concept of recreation. Once the East India Company was firmly established in India, the Colonists lost no time in establishing a theatre in Calcutta, their headquarters and capital. It was in the racially segregated Sans Souchi Theatre on Park Street that an incredible 'incident' took place in 1848.

James Barry, the Manager of the Theatre (effectively, the director-producer in today's terms) announced that he would present Shakespeare's Othello, the Moor of Venice and that the part of Othello would be played by a 'Native gentleman', a Bengali, by the name of Bustomchurn Addy.

Barry must have heard of the exploits of the black American actor, Ira Aldridge, who some years before, had played Othello in Philadelphia, and had since moved to England to play not only the Moor but many other leading parts on the London stage. (Incidentally Aldridge, who settled down in England -- he never went back to America -- is still the only black actor to have played Othello, Aaron, Richard III, Shylock, Macbeth and King Lear in England and Europe). Barry cannot be blamed for thinking that if London could accept an African-American in the role of Othello, Calcutta would welcome a son of the soil playing a leading Shakespearean role.

Two Indian Shakespearean scholars, Sudepto Chatterjee and Jyotsna G. Singh have written a penetrating account of this adventurous undertaking. The news of Barry's forthcoming production created a furore amongst the Colonisers. In San Souci theatre all non-white characters in English plays had always been played by white actors. Ira Aldrige or no Ira Aldrige, they were determined to keep their theatre segregated. The first performance of 'Addy's' Othello at the Sans Souci theatre was cancelled under instructions from high-ranking army officials of the East India Company.

In their exhaustively researched piece, Chatterjee and Singh reveal that James Barry's recruitment of a Bengali actor came about under the auspices of both an English and Indian patronage. (The actual name of the actor was Baisanab Charan Adhya, but it was Anglicised to make it sound less alien). They quote the Calcutta Star (August 4, 1848):

"Under the patronage of Maharajah Radkaunt Bahadur; Maharajah Buddinauth Roy... Maharajah Prawnkissen Mullick and Brothers; Baboos Greeschunder Dutt and Brothers... Mr Barry having obtained the services of a Native Gentleman in conjunction with the valuable aid of several Gentleman Amateurs will present to his Friends and the public a novel evening's entertainment... On Thursday Evening, August 10th 1848, will be acted Shakespeare's Tragedy of Othello... [b]y a Native Gentleman."

The Maharajah and the Baboos had backed the idea strongly; they had probably financed the production. The other (English) actors and actresses had no objection to appearing in a play in which the leading actor would be a 'Native'. But the English community did. A vigorous campaign was launched to deter James Barry from continuing his foolish venture.

Why did Barry not bow down? Was he genuinely convinced that Addy's histrionic ability needed to be given a public exposure? Or was it a ploy to revive the dwindling finances of the Sans Souci Theatre? The play was bound to be a box-office success; Barry had been assured of substantial support by the 'natives' of Calcutta.

On the opening night -- August the 10th -- the local military commanding officer refused permission for his men to play extras in the production. The police was sent to the theatre, having received military notice, to arrest the (English) members of the cast "should they have attempted to make their appearance."

A huge crowd who had booked their seats in advance, gathered outside the theatre on the opening night. The Calcutta Star published a letter on the 12th of August which described the crowd:

"At last we crept on inch by inch and people began to wonder if their seats were kept for them. How full it must be.

By Jove Barry and the Nigger will make a  fortune... No play, said the stout gentleman. What? said the multitude. Othello sick!! No he aint painted. Desdemona inebriated. Iago not come -- one gentleman in a white choker roared out, how could you expect him when his name is Aye a go?"

The aborted first might have had serious political implications and the upshot was that a week later, the lights at the Sans Souci were lit again and 'Addy' appeared as the Moor.

The notice in the English paper was patronising, to say the least. "His delivery was cramped, but his pronunciation of English was for a Native remarkably good." The reviewer slated 'Addy' for his incompetence in the third act, but praised him for his 'passion'. The review was a mixture of praise and condescension. It admitted, however, that the play ended with "thunderous applause at the end of the show". This was the most charitable review. Another reviewer adopted a blatantly racistic tone: "Natives ought to perceive the propriety of confining themselves to the representation of dramas to which their complexion may be appropriate."

In their essay on the Bengali Othello -- a searching discourse on the racial implications of Othello as a play in the colonial and the post-colonial era -- Chatterjee and Singh observe that  in the 19th century, Othello had disturbed many people in England including eminent poet-critics like Coleridge and Lamb. Coleridge had questioned the tragic stature of the play. According to him, "it would be something monstrous to conceive this beautiful Venetian girl falling in love with a veritable Negro". Lamb found "something extremely revolting in the courtship and wedded caresses of Othello and Desdemona."

The English reviewer of 'Addy's' performance had written that in the final act, when speaking the beautiful soliloquy: "It is the cause, it is the cause, my soul..." the actor was scarcely audible. "And that vile lack of turning his back upon the audience told greatly to his disadvantage." Commenting on this piece of action, Chatterjee and Singh point out that Addy's back, had to be turned to the audience in the final moments of the tragedy because the Native 'Addy' despite the license of drama, could not be seen by the public to kiss and hold Desdemona (played by an English actress) and breathe her "balmy breath". The enactment of potential miscegenation on the stage was a subject that was a taboo in the colonial setting.

The thunderous applause that had greeted the first performance motivated Barry to offer one other performance of the Native Moor a month later, but this time the same reviewer was for more scathing: "Let it suffice for us to observe that the performance was tame, languid, affected, tedious and imperfect." Bustomchurn Addy's career as Othello was over, forever.

'Addy' did not bridge the racial divide, but he and Barry paved the way for a regular Bengali theatre -- albeit based on Western theatre practices -- that came about by the middle of the 19th century.