Miffed's Scribblings

हमेशा देर कर देता हूँ मैं हर काम करने में ज़रूरी बात कहनी हो कोई वा ' दा निभाना हो उसे आवाज़ देनी हो उसे वापस बुलाना हो हमेशा देर कर देता हूँ मैं मदद करनी हो उस की यार की ढारस बंधाना हो बहुत देरीना रस्तों पर किसी से मिलने जाना हो हमेशा देर कर देता हूँ मैं बदलते मौसमों की सैर में दिल को लगाना हो किसी को याद रखना हो किसी को भूल जाना हो हमेशा देर कर देता हूँ मैं किसी को मौत से पहले किसी ग़म से बचाना हो हक़ीक़त और थी कुछ उस को जा के ये बताना हो हमेशा देर कर देता हूँ मैं हर काम करने में ..... English Translation I’m always late in every chore of my life When something important is to be said. When one has to fulfill, a promise is made. When one has to call in for help… Or one has to summon an old friend…. It seems I’m always late… When it comes to lending a hand, reassuring enough to make the mend, to pace up on the roads solemn, to meet...

Known for his unconventional poetry, he was a poet and scholar who lived and died a revolutionary anarchist. Jaun Elia is regarded as one of the most celebrated Urdu poets of the 21st Century, perhaps even surpassing the fame and craze of Mirza Ghalib in this era. His unique style of poetry revolved around the power of love and destruction. He would turn the mushairas (poetry symposia) into magical events, dazzling the crowd and throwing them into a frenzy. Elia’s life was an interesting mix of his casual lifestyle, addiction to drinking and smoking, hatred for religion, Marxist ideas, blunt statements, admiration for Mir Taqi Mir, frivolous remarks on Mirza Ghalib’s poetry, and a forever conflict with most of his contemporary poets, mostly because of his caustic remarks on their supposed lack of knowledge and style of poetry. He found meaning in the meaninglessness of life; doubt in the existence led to a morbid fascination for death. His simple diction for such complex ideas stu...

I was introduced to Chekhov during my college days. For obvious reasons, this author was part of the syllabus. Before approaching Chekhov, I was introduced to "Russian Formalism", a school of literary criticism in Russia. Russian Formalism and its literary scholars never excited me. Hence, my initial reaction to Chekhov was somewhat similar. I could hardly deal with and understand the works of Viktor Shklovsky, Yuri Tynianov, Vladimir Propp, and others (all highly influential Russian and Soviet scholars). Therefore, my initial decision was to skip reading Chekhov. I had decided already, no more Russian literary giants! Thankfully that decision was revoked when my end-term exams approached. I had no choice but to read! And that was it! Once you are in Chekhov, there is no coming back. Until that time, I was judging a "book by its cover", and just for the sake of examination, I decided to take up another Russian literary scholar. But who would've known that Chek...

She is at once amongst the most known and most mysterious of American cultural figures. Emily Dickinson was a constant summons to me to think about language and its preciousness. And not only its preciousness but its power. For many years one of the most fascinating mysteries of American literature has been the personal life of Emily Dickinson. The first time when I read Emily, I was astonished with the kind of lifestyle she had. The themes in her poetry were something beyond its reach to her readers back then. The major poets of her day wrote epics, long pieces that tell a story. While these poets looked outward writing about history and culture, Dickinson wrote lyrics, and poems about the inner life of thoughts and feelings. Her themes and messages were considered too dark and gloomy at first but as of today, she is one of the most read and researched poets in the world. I always wanted to write something about Dickinson. During my college days, I hardly gave a thought to it and ...