THE HIMALAYAS
Introduction
This poem belongs to the first period of ‘All«mah Iqb«l's poetic and
intellectual evolution, which ended at the time of his departure to Europe in 1905 for
higher studies. This period is considered to be the period of ‘All«mah Iqb«l's
nature poetry. "Him«lah" is the opening poem of B«ng-i-Dar«. It
eulogizes the physical beauty and geographical importance of the Himalayan Range. Though
mountains are equated with natural beauty all over the world, and the beauty of many
mountain regions has been extolled by poets and other intellectuals alike, the Himalayas
stand out as a shining star in the galaxy of the world's mountain ranges.
The Himalayas form an extensive mountain range which stretches across the northern side of
the Indian sub-continent from Kashmâr to Assam, between the valleys of the Indus and
Brahamaputra Rivers. It is bout 2,400 km. long and 160-240 km. wide and joins the
Karakorums and the Hindu Kush Ranges. It is the highest mountain range in the world and
includes some of the world's highest peaks, viz. Everest (8,847 m.), Kanchenjunga
(8,579 m.), N«ng« Parbat (8,126 m.) Annapurna (8,078 m.), and Nand« Devi (7, 817 m.).
The word "Himalaya" is derived from the Sanskrit word "Himachal",
meaning the "Abode of Snow". The name reflects the long range of permanently
snow covered peaks, which are among the highest in the world and form a continuous wall of
shimmering silver. Words cannot describe the beauty of this mountain range. It must be
seen to be appreciated. "A hundred divine epochs would not suffice to describe the
marvels of the Himalayas", says a Sanskrit proverb. For getting a glimpse of the
beauty of the Himalayas see Appendix III, No. 46 which includes some breath taking
photographs.
‘All«mah Iqb«l, a native of the Indo-Pakistan sub-continent was of Kashmâr origin.
Kashmâr , which is a part of the Himalayan Range, and in itself is beauty par excellence,
must have inspired him with a special love. However, his object in writing this poem was
not merely to sing the praises of this mountain tract. Being an ‘«rif, the
beauty of God's countenance as reflected in His creation had become manifest to his
insight. He was moved by the beauty and the grandeur of the Himalayas. To him the
Himalayas were one of the innumerable master pieces of the Creative Power and Artistry of
God. To him it was one of the shuhëds of God's artistry, and a way of witnessing
His Tajallâ-i-Öërâ. This feeling bursts out in verse 3. I myself had the good
fortune of living and working in the sylvan beauty of the Himalayas for about twenty years
of my life and of sharing the feelings of Sa‘dâ, when he says:
(158) The leaves of green trees in the wise man's perception
Every leaf is an encyclopedia of the Creator's cognition
(See Appendix I, No. 66 for Sa‘dâ)
Modern knowledge of the anatomy and physiology of the plant leaf attests to these attributes.
Translation
O Himalah! O rampart of the realm of India!
Bowing down, the sky kisses your forehead
Your condition does not show any signs of old age
You are young in the midst of day and night's alternation 1
The Kalâm of ñër Sân« witnessed but one Effulgence
For the discerning eye you are an embodiment of Effulgence
To the outward eye you are a mere mountain range
In reality you are our sentinel, you are India's rampart
You are the diwan2 whose opening verse is the sky
You lead Man to the solitudes of his heart's retreat
Snow has endowed you with the turban of honour3
Which scoffs at the crown of the world-illuminating sun
Antiquity is but a moment of your bygone age
Dark clouds are encamped in your valleys
Your peaks are matching with the pleiades in elegance
Though you are standing on earth your abode is sky's expanse
The stream in your flank is a fast flowing mirror
For which the breeze is working like a kerchief
The mountain top's lightning has given a whip
In the hands of cloud for the ambling horse
O Himalah! Are you like a theater stage
Which nature's hand has made for its elements?
Ah! How the cloud is swaying in excessive joy
The cloud like an unchained elephant is speeding
Gentle movement of the morning zephyr is acting like a cradle
Every flower bud is swinging with intoxication of existence
The flower bud's silence with the petal's tongue is saying
"I have never experienced the jerk of the florist's hand
Silence itself is relating the tale of mine
The corner of nature's solitude is the abode of mine"
The brook is melodiously descending from the high land
Putting the waves of Kawthar4 and Tasnâm
4 to
embarrassment
As if showing the mirror to Nature's beauty
Now evading now rowing against the rock in its way
Play in passing this orchestra of beautiful music
O wayfarer! The heart comprehends your music
When the night's Lailah unfurls her long hair
The sound of water-falls allures the heart
That silence of the night whose beauty surpasses speech
That state of silent meditation overshadowing the trees
That dusk's beauty which shivers along the mountain range
Very beautiful looks this rouge on your cheeks
O Himalah! Do relate to us some stories of the time
When your valleys became abode of Man's ancestors5
Relate something of the life without sophistication
Which had not been stained by the rouge of sophistication
O Imagination! Bring back that period
O Vicissitudes of Time speed backwards 6
Explanatory Notes
1. The alternation of the day and night is what produces time. This verse also alludes to the relative recentness of the Himalayas in terms of geological ages. This range came into existence 5-10 million years ago in the Pliocene epoch.
2. Diw«n- A book containing the poetical work especially ghazals , of a poet.
3. The successful completion of education in the institutions of higher learning in the Muslim world culminates in a turban being conferred on the scholar as an insignia of his academic degree. It corresponds with the cap and academic hood in the Western world.
4. Kawthar and Tasnâm- They are two fountains in Paradise. The name includes their streams also.
5. This refers to the antiquity of the Himalayas in archaeological times. Kashmir was an inhabited area at the time of the Indus Valley civilization in the third millennium B.C. (Appendix III, No. 11). It also alludes to the tradition that the Hindu sages wrote the Vedas in the Himalayas under the inspiration of its beauty.
6. This is an outpouring of the poet's heart in which he yearns for the revival of the Islamic civilization, of which the Asian civilization was a precursor and a part.