REHMAT ULLAH DARD AND PASHTO GHAZAL

HIKMAT YAR YAR — 2024-12-19

Rehmatullah Dard and Pashto Ghazal

Rehmatullah Dard is a well-known name in Pashto ghazal. Despite the fusion of classical and modern thought in his work, his themes remain unique. In his ghazals, he has instinctively balanced the demands of modernity with tradition. Dard has maintained a deep and strong connection with the ghazal, incorporating themes of personal and worldly matters in a simple, gentle, and beautiful style. He blends themes of personal experience and the era with love, making romanticism the dominant mood of his ghazal. He delicately and subtly expresses the emotions of beauty and love, which are core to his romantic nature. Dard’s ghazals are well-known for their portrayal of the rose and nightingale, and themes of love and beauty. Wit, deep meaning, and keen observation are hallmarks of his craft. Besides romantic depictions of the rose and nightingale, his ghazals also express a strong love for the homeland. His work reflects Pashtun values and traditions, with subtle yet evident psychological insights that enhance the flavor of his ghazal. Although the depiction of rural life is part of romanticism, Dard’s romantic style gives this portrayal an even more heartwarming feeling.

The themes of youthful aspirations, personal tragedies, tribal identity, and the mention of art are central to his ghazals. He has also expressed mystical emotions related to secrets and spiritual connections in a romantic language. In addition to the sorrow of love and the hardships of life, a progressive inclination is also prominent in his ghazals. His work connects with social realism, purpose, and even revolution. In these progressive elements, social awareness, social issues, class inequalities, freedom of thought and expression, resistance, justice, humanity, war, peace, and the effects of war on Pashtun society are clearly visible. His ghazals advocate for the rights of the weak and oppressed, regardless of race, tribe, religion, or nationality. Dard’s ideas have never clashed with Islam or Pashtun values. He is an advocate of modern thinking and scientific thought. Rehmatullah Dard has raised his voice against dictatorship, imperialism, ignorance, superstition, and poverty. However, he has kept his distance from political propaganda, with his indirect, romantic, and symbolic style adding to the artistic beauty of his ghazals. His ghazals offer a psychological study of the trends of his time. Few poets of the 20th century have conveyed such profound, elevated, and inspired thoughts in a simple and natural style as Dard. His unique style elevates his ghazals to the level of idiomatic and effortless expression. His romanticism, grounded in earthly realities, and his technical mastery over the psychology of the ghazal, are hallmarks of his craft. Deeply in love with beauty, Rehmatullah Dard considers his city to be divinely inspired. The eloquence and rhetoric in his ghazals are deeply impactful, allowing him to accurately convey human emotions. This article considers all the themes present in Dard’s ghazals