Raga CDs of the months (06/09): Raags, Ghazals and Goethe…

The word Ghazel originates from the Arabean-Persian word Gazal. Its roots back to the Arabian world of the 6th, 7th century. In Turkish we find this poetry form as Gazel.

Beside in Parsi, the Persian language of the Pashtunes, and in Hindi and Urdu, which is spoken in Pakistan, Ghazals have been established in many other languages as expression and verse form of poetry. Far beyond India, Pakistan and Afghanistan to Anglo-American, Hebrew and German linguistic area inside Ghazals experienced a large interest; in Spanish Federico Garcia Lorca experimented with the Ghazal form.

The traditional Ghazal form has love as a melancholy expression, life and metaphysical questions as literary objects.

In the literature Ghazel pretty often is defined as a form of Indian light classical style within the Indian classical music. IMC OnAir’s show will demonstrate that it behaves differently with this structural form of poetry.

date of broadcasting: 15th June 2009 – 10:00 p.m. (MESTZ)
(repetition: —)
broadcasting plan | streaming (Internet Radio & Mobile Radio) | podCast

The Ghazal wins it’s expressiveness by an „impersonal note“, into which the reader respectively listener can interprate the own individual mental state. Ghazals live in their emotional expression by a coding, a symbolic, indirect address and of opposed characters, as for example the separation pain of an unfulfilled love in divine form, on a metaphysical, universal, spiritual level…

The film industry of India and Pakistan contributed substantially to the popularization of the Ghazals. Their variety in the expression of love and emotional state like togetherness, desire, pain of separation, apathy and in the form of sullenness or regret, the priority meaning of the word and gentle nature of the Ghazals found a multiplicity of interpreters in Mumbai, the Bollywood metropolis and in Lollywood, the analogue of Pakistan’s film industry.

Outstanding Ghazal composers of India & Pakistan (Urdu ghazals)…

Hafiz or Hafez (1315-1390)	Muhammad Jalaluddin Rumi (13th century)	Mirza Assadullah Khan Galib (1797-1869)

Daag Dehlvi (1831-1905)	Muhammad Iqbal (1877-1938)	Faiz Amed Faiz (1911-1984)	Mehdi Hassan (1927)

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

J.W. v. Goethe

J. W. v. Goethe is considered as a founder of the „world literature“. Beside his work for music, theology and sciences he showed large interest in the Persian and Arabian literature.

By a non-fictional writing style in aphorisms together with Friedrich Schiller as the prominent figures of the Weimar classicism Goethe had a relevant influence onto Germany’s philosophy and far beyond the European borders.

Goethe & Hafiz – „West-Eastern Divan“

Goethe wrote the compilation “West-Eastern Diwan” as one of his late works, between Schiller’s death in the year 1805 up to its dying in March 1832.

The compilation was probably written between 1814 and 1819. It was published in the year 1827 in an extended edition. The West-Eastern Divan covers completely in the sense of its original meaning 12 books (see Gutenberg project).

The „West-Eastern Divan“ may be understood according to its time as an expression of intercultural exchange, a Western-Eastern approach between the Orient (Asia) and Occident. In the second book, the book Hafis (Hafis name) Goethe had concretely taken reference to the Persian poet and Ghazal maestro Hafiz.

Hafiz Goethe monument (Weimar)

Goethe had been influenced by Hafiz (or Hafez) for his interest in Persian literature Goethe had been influenced by Hafiz (or Hafez) considerably. Till today the Hafez-Goethe monument in Weimar reminds of this relationship.

Goethe found large acknowledgment for the „West-Eastern Diwan“ in the Middle East and in South Asia. As the answer to Goethe’s Diwan the national poet of Pakistan Muhammad Iqbal published 1924 his work „Payam e Mashriq“ (The Message of the East).

Also companions of Goethe were concerned in similar way with eastern, Arabean or South Asian topics and availed the Ghazal for their poetic arts. The German poet J. M. Friedrich Rückert (05/16/1788-01/31/1866) was translator and professor for Eastern languages and wrote 1839 the „Brahmanische Erzählungen“ (Brahmin narrations). It covers 6 volumes, in which Rückert used extensively the Ghazal as poetry form.

The poet August von Platen (Karl August Georg Maximilian Count of Platen Hallermünde – 10/24/1796-12/05/1835) published 1821 “Die Ghaselen” and 1823 „Die Neuen Ghaselen“.

The philosopher Georg Friedrich Daumer (03/05/1800-12/14/1875) showed with „Hafis“ his exeptional poetic virtuosity published in 1846 in Hamburg, a free interpretation of the songs of famous Persian poets.

Faiz-Ghazal: Aaj bazaar main pa ba jolan chalo – CD “Faiz Ki Yaad Mein” (2004) | singer: Nayyara Noor (English translation by poet Anis Zuberi (Toronto, Canada))

aaj bazaar main pa bajolan chalo Chashm-e-nam, jaan-e-shoreeda kafi nahin Tohmat-e-ishq-posheeda kafi nahin aaj bazaar main pa-bajolan chalo Dast afshan chalo, mast-o-raqsan chalo Khak bar sar chalo, khoon badaman chalo Rah takta hai sub shehr-e-janaan chalo Hakim-e-shehr bhi, majma-e-aam bhi Teer-e-ilzam bhi, sang-e-dushnam bhi Subh-e-nashaad bhi, roz-e-naakaam bhi Unka dum-saaz apnay siwa kaun hai Shehr-e-janaan main ab baa-sifa kaun hai Dast-e-qatil kay shayan raha kaun hai Rakht-e-dil bandh lo, dil figaro chalo Phir hameen qatl ho aain yaro chalo

let us walk in bazaar in shackles wet eyes and restless soul is not enough being charged for nurturing concealed love is not enough let us walk in bazaar in shackles let us go with afshan in hand, in trance and dancing go with dust on head and blood on garb Go as the city of my beloved is waiting Citys ruler and crowd of commoners arrow of false charge, stone of accusation morning of sorrow, day of failure who is their friend except me who is untainted in the city of beloved who deserve the killers or executioners hand get ready for the journey of heart, go wounded heart let me go to be executed