MAKHDOOM MOHIUDDIN poem Darkness(Andhere)

SRR Govt.Arts& Science College Karimnagar

Darkness(Andhere) poem by MAKHDOOM MOHIUDDIN

Satavahana /OU/KU/TU -Telangana State-

M.A. English Sem.1

(Paper-V.Modern Indian Literatures in Translation)

Makhdoom Mohiuddin, a romantic and revolutionary poet, was born in Anthole, Medak district of erstwhile Hyderabad state. He was the founder of the Progressive Writers Union in Hyderabad State. He fought against the tyranny of Nizam of Hyderabad as a communist party leader. This poem reflects the conditions that prevailed in the society of Hyderabad State during the peasant struggle. The state was in turmoil with the Telangana  peasant armed struggle during 1946-51.

The night has nothing but a begging bowl

The twinkling stars and shining moon

In borrowed robes, reflected glory

Their wedding gown,  in shroud

The night that unfolds,

The groans of dying bodies,

The ambuscade of the dogs of devil,

The scars of civilization.

Moats,

Barbed fence,

Entangled bodies in the fence,

Vultures perched on those bodies,

Crackling of skulls,

Bodies with chopped limbs,

Through one end of skeletons to the other

The Chilling wind

Wailing, crying, complaining

Sounds of sobbing infants and mothers

In the stillness of night

Silent mourning

Of the moon, the stars

A cluster of forlorn stars on the forehead of night

-only till the break of the dawn

The night has nothing but darkness

The night has nothing but darkness

DARKNESS

Author(s): Makhdoom Mohiuddin

Shiv k kumar English translation

Source: Indian Literature, Vol. 38, No. 6 (170), urdu writing today (Nov. - Dec. 1995), p. 58

Published by: Sahitya Akademi

Stable URL: https://www.jstor.org/stable/23335

Analysis

Darkness is a symbol of fear, danger, and evil. Evil forces venture out to hunt innocent people in the cover of darkness. The poet emphasises in the concluding couplet that night has nothing but darkness. The night is gloomy; it has nothing of its own. Even the twinkling of its stars and the shining of its moon are borrowed from the sun. The night is hiding its reality by covering itself with its shiny wedding gown. The night opens up with terror,moans of dying bodies, and the ambush of the devil's henchmen. The imagery reveals the atrocities on women and killings of communists by Jagirdars, Jamindars, and Razakars during peasant rebellion in Telangana.

Hungry vultures are sitting on the men's bodies, which have cut limbs and cracked skulls strewn all over the area. The poet hints at the horrifying civilization that prevailed during the time in Telangana. Feudal landlords enslaved the peasants and crushed the rebels with their henchmen. The chill wind blowing in the night symbolises harshness and impending danger. Children and mothers are wailing and crying, and their desperate plea to rescue them from the clutches of evil forces is going unheard. 

A group of hopeless stars at the forefront of the night are mute spectators, witnessing atrocities against women till the daybreak. The poet laments the state of his people under tyrannical rule and wishes to see a new dawn.

Andhere (Darkness) in  Urdu For Urdu poem 

Rekhta.org

Razakars= Private army( MIM) under the leadership of Qasim razvi, attacked and committed atrocities against Hindus during Nizam rule.