Omar Abdullah invokes Faiz's iconic couplet on hope to draw tourists back to Kashmir: ‘Lambi hai gham ki shaam'
Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on 28 May chaired a meeting of administrative secretaries and other top officials in Gulmarg health resort as part of his governmentís efforts to bring back tourists to Kashmir after the deadly Pahalgam terror attack.
The visit came a day after he held a symbolic cabinet meeting in Pahalgam, the site of the April 22 terror attack that killed 26 people, mostly tourists. Abdullah is leading from the front the campaign for revival of tourism in the Valley, which was hit by the unprecedented terror attack.
The chief minister's visits have infused a new hope among stakeholders and increased the chances of a turnaround after the tourist season this year was washed out due to the terror attack.
In Gulmarg, speaking with media, Abdullah also quoted a couplet of Pakistani Urdu poet Faiz Ahmad Faiz, 'Dil na umeed to nahi, nakaam hi to hai, lambi hai gham ki shaam, magar shaam hi to hai,' as he tried to explain why optimism is pivotal in adversity.
'These lines, which I also quoted at the recent NITI Aayog meeting, serve as a reminder that even in dark times, hope must prevail. What happened recently marks one of the most difficult phases in recent years, but we have endured worse over the past four decades and always found a way to bounce back,' Abdullah was quoted as saying by local newspaper Greater Kashmir.
The couplet loosely translates to: 'The heart is not hopeless, just defeated for now. The evening of sorrow is long, but after all — it is only an evening'
Born in British Punjab (now in Narowal District, Pakistan), Faiz was considered one of the most celebrated, popular, and influential Urdu writers of his time. His revolutionary ideas remain widely influential in Pakistan and beyond.
People who analysed his work often say that it was difficult to differentiate if Faiz's beloved in his Ghazals is his country or a person.
Urdu poetry lovers cite this and other couplet as an examplify Faiz's ability to blend sorrow with resilience. The 'Dil Na Umeed to Nahi..' line is actually a couplet from Faiz's famous Ghazal 'Hum par tumhari chaah ka ilzam hi to hai…(All I am accused of is loving you)' that he wrote in 1954 while in Rawalpindi's Montgomery prison.
On March 9, 1951, Faiz was arrested with a group of army officers under the Safety Act, and charged with the failed coup attempt against Liaqat Ali Khan's government that became known as the Rawalpindi Conspiracy Case. He was sentenced to death and spent four years in prison before being released
After chairing the meeting at the Gulmarg Club on 29 April nestled in the meadows and surrounded by mighty pine trees and sparsely snow-clad mountains, Abdullah took a Gondola (cable car) ride to Kongdori, a bowl-shaped area that lies between Gulmarg and the summit of Apharwat mountain range where the first phase of the ropeway ends.
At Kongdori, a group of tourists from Gujarat and Mumbai requested the chief minister's security detail for a meeting with Abdullah. The chief minister promptly acknowledged the request. He met the tourists with warm hand shakes and smile, and sought from them feedback about their Kashmir visit.
Abdullah lauded the courage of the tourists, and happily posed for photographs and selfies with them.
The chief minister appealed to the tourists to promote the Valley as a safe and peaceful destination. The visitors expressed gratitude for Kashmir's hospitality. They lauded the government for the arrangements that made their stay comfortable.
The visits by Abdullah are seen as an effort counter the "boycott Kashmir" campaign. "Terrorists also want this, that you don't go to Kashmir. Those people are enemies of this country. They are not only enemies of Kashmir, they are enemies of the country. Of India. They are enemies of India who are running such a campaign. Because they are doing the same work as the terrorists did on April 22," Abdullah told NDTV.
Two weeks after the Pahalgam terror attack, India on 7 May conducted precision strikes on at least nine terror camps in Pakistan in what is now known as 'Operation Sindoor'. India and Pakistan indulged in four days of military action post Operation Sindoor. The two nations agreed on an understanding to halt military action on 10 May.
The CM also said that if Prime Minister Narendra Modi could convene a meeting to review tourism in J&K and tour operators from Maharashtra and Gujarat could visit the region voluntarily, not because they were invited, but because they want to contribute to the normalisation process. 'Then it was imperative for the J&K government to take the matching steps,' he said.
Dil na umeed to nahi, nakaam hi to hai, lambi hai gham ki shaam, magar shaam hi to hai.
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