[Reader-list] Arnimal - A Love-Lorn Poetess

[Pawan Durani]

Arnimal-A Love-Lorn Poetess

It is a pleasing yet strange coincidence that Lal Ded (14th Century),
Habba Khatoon (16th Century) and after a lapse of two hundred years
Arnimal adorned Kashmiri literature through their poetical geniuses.

Not unlike Habba Khatoon love-songs of Arnimal (1337-78), 'Vachan' in
Kashmiri, are with us as a treasured bequest. Songs as extant in
'Banasaur Katha' & 'Sukh-Dukh Carit' testify that Kashmir had an
entrenched and long-standing tradition of writing lyrics. In Kashmiri
semantics 'Vachan' is the original form of lyrics embodying the
lilting lyricism of folk-songs. As 'Vachan' is deeply imprinted by
folk-songs, it is not quite easy to tell it from the genre of
folk-songs. In fact, the very recognition of 'Vachan' as such is
equally difficult.

The historians of yore have written next to nothing informative of
Kashmiri language and literature. There are some stray references
about Lalla Ded as a yogic practician and Sheikh Noor-ud-Din alias
Nunda Rishi as a devotees of God and also about Habba Khatoon as the
beloved wife of Yusuf Shah Chak.

The lyrics of Habba Khatoon available via oral tradition are sung in
accompaniment with musical instruments like 'tumbaknari' and 'naut' on
marriage festivities in Kashmiri homes. The tradition has lasted for
umpteen generations. Even today a good number of her lyrics are found
scribbled in the song-books of folk-musicians.

Arnimal lived during the tyrannical and barbaric rule of Afghans
(invited to Kashmir by Kashmiri Muslims). Prem Nath Bazaz has
characterised Afghan rule as 'dark age' in the history of has Kashmir.
When girls for fear of being lifted away were married off before the
onset of puberty. The social structures of that period were as
iniquitous and discriminatory as the present-day society is. The
status of women was worse than what it was in the Mughul rule. Their
life and living with in-laws was a woeful and ignominious saga. They
were treated as life-less commodities by a male-dominated society and
were fraudulently posed as models of renouncement, patience, piety and
love when actually they were subjected to untold oppression and
exploitation and were ruthlessly traumatised and rejected.

Arnimal Kachru was also married off at a pre-puberty stage - a stage
of sheer innocence. She attained maturity and youth-fulness in the
house of her in-laws, a respectable family of Kachrus living at
Rainawari, Srinagar. Her husband, Bhawani Das Kachru, was a high
calibre Persian poet, historian and politician. He was an achiever in
the domain of Persian language and wrote under the pen-name of 'Neku'.
The Afghan governor, Juma Khan (1788-92) was a shade removed from his
tribe and respected scholars and literatuers. It was in this period
that Bhawani Das Kachru scaled heights of success and fame. The
Afghans too valued his innate creative abilities that were
multi-pronged and varied. Bhawani Das Kachru as a poet of poetic
symposia that were held in honour of the Iranian, Afghanian and other
literatuers and earned a loud applause for the recital of his
scintillating Persian poems. Neku achieved tremendous reputation for
innovation of a new metre (bahar) in Persian. His celebrated poetical
work, 'Bahar-i-Tawil', written in the same metre became a land mark in
the realms of Persian poetry. The scholarly and talented poet moulded
in the feudal ambience of Muslim courts grew absolutely indifferent to
his spouse who was mad in love with him.

Arnimal spared no effort to establish an emotional bond with her
beloved husband. She picked up the tunes of music and tried hard to
acquire the graces behaving Muslim court ambience. But, to her
ill-luck, she failed to achieve much of success. The distance between
the duo yawned into a wide chasm. Neku turned sullen and indifferent .

Burning in the agonising fires of separation Arnimal in all disgust
and melanchoby returned to her partents living at Palhalan, a hamlet
(in Baramulla district). A line from her sufficiently supports it -

O golden Jasmine, you blossomed in jungles, bushes and shrubs

but Palhalan is your parental abode.

Her captivating songs ooze out varied shades of pain and agony.
Separation from her spouse was what tormented her. Rejected love was
what agonised her. Here is a lyric soaked in pain and agony -

Wreaths of flowers I wove for my husband

Would that he were to accept it

Cups of wine I filled for him

Would that he were to come

I yearn to clasp him in my arms.

Stung by intolerable pangs of separation she is deeply pining for her
husband who is distances away from her. In agony she addresses her
friend -

O friend, tell him about my agony

I know not what my fault is

Repaired he to my cruel co-wife -

He is hers, since I learnt it

My whole being is set afire I lost my appetite

I am eagerly waiting for him

How I wish he were with me

Despaired and for saken forsaken Arnimal expresses her pathos -

Soaked in tears my hem is

awaiting you my days dragon

Why this futile vanity -

She again sings in melancholy -

When will your solf feet touch our threshold.

I place them on my pate

In agony I came out searching for you

removing veils and barriers all

Pray come to me

The marital life of Arnimal Kachru was seething with pain and anguish.
Says she -

O friend, why my husband separated from me

I bathed clean for him

All adornments went useless, he did not come,

O loveless, I can't bear with your separation any longer

Without you I shall fade away

Now no more can I wait even for a short while

Arnimal has sought ample succour from nature to ventilate her
heart-ravaging pain and anguish. The creepers (hiya), yellow roses
(arni-posh) and narcissuses (nargis) have oft found a mention in her
lyrics. Multi-form manifestations of nature like vast green fields,
flowing rivers and murmuring rivulets, awesome mountains and
snow-capped peaks have deftly been delineated in the context of her
gloomy moods and pathos-laden feelings caused by separation from her
husband.

For him have I filled brimful cups of wine

O  friend, could you go to summon him

On way to meadow, back from peaks

O friend, take my blessings to him.

Rendering me hapless he frisked away like a deer

Call him, platefuls of sweets & candies are awaiting him

Tears are dribbling incessantly from my eyes

How to bear with pain and agony

Call him loud and clear

Again she says -

O friend, why does he kill me by inches?

I left my native abode for him

Why does he not take care of me?

He deserted me in the dense darknight

**

I am a youthful beauty, abandoned my abode for him whole day passed awaiting him

His gnawing indifference has rendered me mad

I bear with taunts flung by one and all

Addressing her husband she in all despair busts out -

O, my love,

You were the friend of my youth

Initially I knew not how to value it

Wasted it away, Now I am pining and withering

Show me your countenance, I am dying for a mere glimpse

O, friend of my youth.

There is an exemplary confluence of hope and despair in the love-laden
lyrics of Arnimal. Helplessness, unfathomable perseverance, endless
wait and incessant agony are the emotional states that weave the warp
and woof of her lyrical orchestrations. But the world of her intense
emotions is lacking in broad sweep. Her lyrics limpidly mirror the
mind of a deserted woman who is in deep despair, lonely and yearning
for a rendezvous with her spouse distances away from her. She is in
anguish yet she is hopeful and optimistic. She is a broken reed, yet
she yearns for a concourse with her husband who has forsaken her.
Malice and ill-will never come her way. She could have screamed fire
and fury at her husband who has cruelly left her high and dry. But she
maintains her calm and poise. Says she -

Your love impelled me to abandon my abode you knit up your brows and
frowned at me

I wished you long life as that of Lomesh Rishi

Who ill-advised you not to return to me?

Pouring out her heart Arnimal says -

Would that he were to come once

I would sacrifice my life for him

Why he trampled me, a creeper that has fully bloomed

O friend, I have none to confide

I am teased and mocked at

What if he does not talk to me

Let him live long and be happy

Let him be with my co-wife

Arnimal is tormented by pangs of separation and is in hell-fires of
despair, yet she sings of hope and happiness -

O hope of the hopefuls! enliven my heart with hope

Remove dark despair from it

He repaired to Lahasa for benefits

I am eagerly awaiting him

Sow the seeds of warm friendship

And wish no hurt even to enemies

She is under the perpetual grip of blues and greys. She is wretched
and forlorn. Says she -

He never stood by his promises

He bewitched me & went away

O friend, can you manipulated his return?

Everything in this world is fleeting and transitory

Flowers bloom and soon fade away

Memories of her spouse cause her pain and anguish. She weeps and wails
for his quick return. In pain and grief she sings -

When will he return to me, a woman in bubbling youth?

I am shedding tears endlessly

Can I ever forget the deep craving for him?

My whole being is afire like a coniferous twig

My pains know no end, tears in torrents

Go on dripping from my eyes.

Despite her husband's indifference and sullenness Arnimal never ceased
to yearn and long for his close companionship. A lyric of hers opening
with the yellow-hued rose (arin) is highly popular with lovers of
Kashmiri poetry and music. She sings -

Mine is a life brimming with pain and agony

you got my heart perforated by the taunts of others

You got it burnt like a half burnt cloth-piece

Who will convey my wretchedness to him

When will he turn up to show his coantenance to me

**

Cheating me he stole away

He mocked at me in presence of  strangers

When should I expect him back?

This is quite a popular lyric, almost on the tip of every Kashmiri’s
tongue Mehmood Gami impressed so much by the lyric has in one of his
lyrics immortalised the refrain. Arnirung gom shrawn...". In fact, the
two lyrics are of different stamp and are not the same in feel and
style. Sh. AK Rahbar has dilated in detail on the two lyrics in his
work 'History of Kashmiri Literature' and made thorough comparative
study. His decisive conclusion is that the opening lines are that of
Arnimal and not that of Mahmood Gani. The lyric of Arnimal excels that
of the latter in its naturalness and lyrical melodiousness.

The following lyric of Arnimal is an exemplary specimen of highly
artistic use of word and meaning in Kashmiri language  -

When in slumber he pulled at my soft wrist

The ornament adorning my arm hurt me great

He snatched every bit of gold from me

O friend, he left me sad and forlorn

Who should believe whom?

Another famous and quite popular lyric of Arnimal is that of 'spinning
wheel' which became her inseparable companions after separatism from
her spouse. The lyric is bequeathed to us from our mothers and
grand-mothers and is typically Arnimalian in content and style.

O spinning wheel! do not murmur and grumble

Thy straw-rings I shall oil

Raise thy head from under the earth, O! hyacinth

Arnimal is a master craftsman of simple, bewitching and melodious
language, which is not excessively burdened with Persian and Sanskrit
vocabulary. Each word of hers is natural, plain, musical and lilting.
Her love-lorn mindscape is deeply touching and pathetic.

In an appraisal of Arnimal in his work 'Kashmiri Language and Poetry'
Abdul Ahad Azad, a poet critic, writers", Arnimal was masterly in
musical arts. This is why her lyrics are found in various works on
music. They have the same hue and tune of Habba Khatoon and
occasionally she even outstrips her".

In his editorial note Mohammad Yusuf Taing puts, "Azad has not
elaborately detailed out the statement that Arnimal outstrips Habba
Khatoon. It appears that his observation underlines naturalness and
lyrical potential of her songs". Taing has no reluctance to admit that
Arnimal's lyrics are quite touching and sensitizing.

Writes Shashi Shekher Toshkhani, "the deftness to weave captivating
images establishes Arnimal as an unrivalled poet of her times.
Masterly communication of heart-felt feelings and experiences is her
forte. She is free from laboured and unwanted ornamentation of word
and meaning. This features makes her language simple and musical with
powers to touch our hearts.

The lyrics of Arnimal are suffused with an optimism as she never let
go hope about the return of her husband. As per an oral tradition
Bhawani Das Kachru having been tired of ostentatious court life
returned to meet Arnimal. But the pangs of protracted separation had
seared her so much as to cause her death at a young age of forty-one.
The twain could not meet. Tragic as it is!

Source: Kashmir Sentinel