‘Mashuq-E-Jaan': A mystical confluence of Indian poets and persian qalandars

Hans India

2 days ago

We have regularly been reviewing Dr. Shadab Ahmed's diverse and contrasting books. Dr. Shadab Ahmed is an Oral & Maxillofacial Surgeon, acclaimed columnist, translator, and author, renowned internationally in the academic community for his insightful translations and transliterations on Indian history, geopolitics, and ethnic culture. Today, we will be analysing his popular book 'Mashuq-E-Jaan', which commemorates love, longing, and desire for the beloved.
This book boldly declares spiritual and mystical poetry as two of the most powerful forms of devotion to the beloved. The verses in the book are carefully selected and edited from the Indian heartlands and Persian frontiers. You have a fascinating and captivating blend of Indian dramatists sharing space with Persian Qalandars, and seeing them co-existing in a single volume of translated poetry is pure literary grace. On one hand, you have the Indian leviathans—Kalidasa, Rajasekhara, Kabirdas, Jayadeva, and Jagannatha Panditaraja—churning out their visions of erotic love, and on the other, the Persian heavyweights—Jalal-ud-Din Muhammad Rumi, Abolqasem Ferdowsi, Saadi Shirazi, Attar of Nishapur, and Baba Taher—prophesying the mystical elements of love in transcendental fashion.
Through the passages of the book, the reader can discern that eroticism and mysticism in love often appear confusingly entangled and inextricable. It becomes hard to distinguish whether there is erotic love camouflaged under the illusion of mysticism, or mystical spiritual love tacitly masquerading as erotic proclivity.
The book stands as a testament to the fact that, despite sensual repression and carnal victimization, the passionate poets from both the Indian heartlands and Persian frontiers dared to write candidly and canonize their sybaritic love for the beloved. Many vanished, engulfed and eclipsed into their beloved. Others dispersed, subsumed, and merged subconsciously with their demiurge. Overall, 'Mashuq-E-Jaan' is a carefully curated collection of translated Shlokas, Kavyas (both Shravyas and Drishyas), Bhakti-kavyas, Mahakavyas, Khandakavyas, Sangam-kavyas, Natakas, Champus, Qitahs, Masnawis, Tadhkiras, Divans, Ghazals, and Rubais.
The verses and passages are meticulously researched and edited, accurately transmitting the essence and abstraction from which they originate. Compositions from Sanskrit, Pali, Prakrit, Brajbhasha, Arabic, Persian, and Turkish are translated into conventional American English to cater to an international readership. There is a distinct magnetism and allure within the pages and narratives—but nothing less is expected from the Indian playmasters and Persian Qalandars. This book is a definite gem in the collection of any true connoisseur of this genre.