In the Land of the Pure and Beyond

OUTCRY OF AN ANGUISHED SOUL ‘In the Land of the Pure and Beyond’ is an emotive response of a conscience-smitten, sincere and sensitive soul to the deteriorating moral standards of Pakistani society. Feza Aazmi has bled his heart out in lamenting their tendency, as a nation, to utilitarianism combined with moral hedonism with emphasis on riotous living and opportunistic approach. It is a thematic poem, which presents a subtle and thoughtful account of what has gone wrong with the psyche of that nation. Although this poem is largely Pakistan-specific, but it also has elements of universal relevance. In the words of poet himself “Pakistan is a mere euphemism for the entire civil society of the world , be it the common citizen, the political leader, the religious scholar, the literati, the intellectual, the academician, the journalist, the bureaucrat, the businessman et al.” These characters are the subject matter of poem. They exist everywhere and in all nations, Pakistan, India, Israel and the rest. Their names may be different, but their ideologies, their modus operandi and their objectives are not very different from each other. They oppress, they kill, they maim, they ostracize in the name of religion, civilization, nation. Often they do so in the name of peace, liberty, democracy and war against terror etc.” According to Feza Aazmi , Pakistan is just a microcosm of the world and the people that inhabit this earth. Bush is no different from Advani , Modi and the people of the United States are no different from the people of China, Iran and Pakistan. They are equally gullible. They are all the same when it comes to chicanery, stratagem, lying, brutality, greed, expansionism, lust for hegemony and what not. The record of democracies is no better than that of dictatorships in this regard. According to Feza Aazmi , the political slogan ‘For the people, of the people, by the people’ , at best is a dream of lotus eaters. The people are dumb and decrepit. They are driven to wage wars against weaker countries on the basis of fraudulent information; they are brainwashed to commit suicide, to kill and be killed; they are goaded to slit open the womb of a woman and dance in the streets of Gujarat with fetus on tip of the sword, they are beguiled into committing heinous crimes in the name of religion, democracy, human rights, freedom , liberty and national sovereignty. . The first canto of the poem entitled ‘The Virtual Penitentiary’ is a stand-alone poem complete in itself. It is profound in impact, intense in poignancy, esoteric in its multi-layered metaphors, and rich in emotive imagery. Incidentally, it has beautifully and very accurately captured two concepts of Freudian analytic theory, that is, id and superego. The id is infantile, amoral, and non-rational. The superego, on the other hand, is a moralist of the most fanatical coercive and intolerant kind- it embodies quite arbitrary and non-rational notions of 'right' and 'wrong in this perspective now. Feza Aazmi says : SUPEREGO This blighted conscience of mine That has me imprisoned Turns violent Overpowers me With razor-sharp assaults On my whole being Hammers my mind perpetually With thoughts irreverent Vanquished it has fully My heart and my soul And left my feet in fetters entangled Dripping with blood My hands bleed With festering sores Shackled in handcuffs ID Fearless I set out then On the wanton path of greed Like an elephant berserk In a state of stupor running amok Each object I obliterate That hinders my way I am free now Of all shackles, all constraints Free like a vagabond Wandering aimlessly I feed my ego, nurture it With the fodder of conceit I have broken the bondage, at last Of my conscience Of my voice of reason In the last canto written in the Iqbalian tradition, the poem's canvas enlarges. God, answering the prayer, addresses the man generally who was destined to be His viceroy on earth. Decipher your status Before you weep and wail Evaluate your strength Scrutinize your character Before tears ye shed To no avail Venture forth into arena Of your obligation Fearless of reprisals all Perceive the will divine Before you seek Pleasure divine This world would see then A new dawn, a new era Glad tidings would be yours O repentant Listen to the clarion call Heed the urgency And collect the bounty Of happiness that would surround Your world all around ‘ In the Land of the Pure and Beyond’ is a poetry of protest and resistance, not in its narrow sense of activism but resistance at intellectual and philosophical levels. Within the parameters of refined expression permitted by the medium of inspirational poetry with a purpose Feza Aazmi wages his struggle against social evils and presents his vision of a better future. In the Land of the Pure and Beyond is part of a series of seven book-length poems of Feza Aazmi. Of these, five have been translated into English from Urdu : From the Graveyard of Civilizations ( A protest against the theory of clash of civilizations), To Dust Consigned (Poetic discourse on the timeless issue of the relationship of man and woman in its historical and cultural perspective), The Agony Trail (An impassioned plea for peace and harmony in Indo-Pak subcontinent), Poet, Beloved and Philosopher (a reflective dialogue on real purpose of life) and the present volume In the Land of the Pure and Beyond is inspirational poetry at its best . With these book-length poems Feza Aazmi has joined an august galaxy of international poets who are working hard to make this world a better place to live in. According to a critic “ Such potent and thought-provoking poems are not to be found in Urdu literature. Now that these are available it is incumbent on the rulers of the country not only to read it themselves but to make it sure that it becomes part of the curricula of schools and colleges.”