Two Forgotten Female ‘Marsiyakhwans’- Fatima Zaidi and Shohrat Begum
By Dr.Mazhar Naqvi
Two great female marsiya writers of India remain unknown even today despite the dominant role of women in observance of Muharram ceremonies all over the world. Every admirer of Imam Husain knows that it was his sister Hazrat Zainab who had organized the first Majlis in Damascus and also recited marsiya (elegy) in memory of the martyrs of Karbala. Since then, her followers have been participating enthusiastically in azadari. In India, women are considered to be the source behind the great affection showered on the martyrs every year during Ayam-E-Aza (Period of Mourning).They are held in high esteem by male followers of Ahle-Bait, for they spare time from their daily routine to erect household Imambaras, organize Majlises at their own homes and participate in mourning sessions at other places. The working women find even little time for sleep as the observance of rituals leaves them with time constraint only.
It therefore seems very strange as to why even very few female composers of marsiyas did not get the prominence they deserve? The shabby treatment meted out to two leading marsiya writers of 20th century is a pointer to the fact that they too have been victim of the traditional tendency that women can’t surpass their male counterparts in Zakiri or Marsiyakhwani. However, a close look at the works of Begum Fatima Zaidi ( Lucknow) and Begum Shohrat (Hyderabad Deccan) only establish them not only as accomplished marsiya writers but also reminds the reader that their work is greatly influenced by Mir Anis and Mirza Dabeer who still remain front-runner in the league of premier marsiya writers across the globe.
Begam Fatima Zaidi, born in Panipat in 1900, hailed from a respected family of Ulema and literary figures. She was a great-granddaughter of Urdu critic and poet Maulana Altaf Hussain Hali. Although she never attended school, she picked up the art of marsiya recitation and writing from the atmosphere she found in her pre and post marriage life. Her work is considered remarkable because she lacked any sort of regular mentoring by an Ustad.
Begam Zaidi initially used to recite marsiyas at Majlises and her favorite poet was Mir Anis. She began writing her own marsiyas after she moved to Aligarh following the death of her husband. She was about thirty-five years of age and burdened with the responsibility of upbringing of five young daughters. In a bid to find solace from the depressing and difficult circumstances, she began writing religious poems of various sorts, as well as commemorative poems for family events. A collection of her poetry, Chamanistan-E-Aqeedat, contains naats, manqabats, salams and rubaiyats as well as marsiyas. The quality of her work can be gauged from the following verse of a long marsiya composed by her:
“The Syed’s corpse on the burning
Sand, Hai, Hai, Hai
They’ve wounded his entire body,
Hai, Hai , Hai
How can such regret and trouble be
Borne? Hai, Hai, Hai
The arms of the Prophet’s family, and
Bonds, Hai,. Ha, Hai”
She recited marsiyas in Tahtul-Lafz style that is now far more common among men than among women. Her marsiyas depicts the horrific scene of battlefield of Karbala and jubilation in the forces of Yazid that greeted Imam Husain’s survivors immediately after his death.
The second forgotten female marsiya writer Shohrat Begam was roughly one generation younger to Begam Fatima. Her background was similar to Begam Zaidi.One of her ancestors was Ashar, a famous poet of Haiderabad. Her sister Riyat also composed marsiyas and her daughter Fatima also specialized in marsiya. Like Begam Zaidi, Shohrat also enjoyed reputation for remarkable piety, and maintained a tradition of recitation in Tahtul Lafz while participating in Majlises.
Her marsiyas rely on traditional meters adopted in 19th century Lucknow and covers a wider range of standards as compared to Begam Zaidi.
Shohrat’s marsiya about Imam Husain’s beloved daughter Hazrat Sakina portrays the young girl’s interactions with her family members in prison and her intense love for her martyred father. The poetess writes:
“Father, the world is desolate without
you
In my eyes, the whole universe is
desolate
Settlements, desolate; the breadth of the
desert, desolate
Death is better; the whole framework of
life is desolate
Call to you the one who cries day and
night, Father dear
Call to you the one who sleeps on your
breast, Father dear”
Her family has been organizing a three-day series of Majlises from 19th to 21st of Muharram every year to pay glowing tributes to Imam Husain’s daughter Sakina who died in the prison in Syria. In these Majalises the following marsiya is usually recited:
“When she said this, beating her own
head and weeping loudly
The head of Husain appeared upon the
prison wall
He called to Sakina, “Oh, light of my
eyes,
My heart is not at peace, even after
death
I have neither comfort in the day, nor
relief at night
Daughter, it’s for your sake that I’m so
distressed”
The marsiyas of Begam Fatima and Shohrat Begam have been in circulation orally till date mainly because of the efforts of their respective families that kept and preserved their manuscripts and used them during muharram Majalises. The daughters of these marsiya writers have also played an important role in sustaining the works of their worthy mothers through manuscript collection, editing and publication of marsiyas in simple books. However, more research work is needed to bring out other female marsiya writers in focus or else no one would be able to recall their poetic devotion to Ahle-Bait. It is high time for admirers of Imam Husain to realize that no full fledged research institution to study the azadari rituals is functional in India even today. The sooner it is established, the better it would be, for most of the works of poets who composed only in praise of Masoomeen or produced Nauhas to recall their tragic end at Karbala remain in unpublished and untraceable.( Reference available on request)
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