Life Sketch

of Mareez The Poet

 

 

Every great work of art has two faces, one towards its own time & one towards the future, towards eternity.
 

 

Jyare kala kala nahi jeevan bani jashe Maru kavan jagat nu nivedan bani jashe

 

Pratham jo thai che aa zindagi tamaam gazal Pachhi lakhai to enu che ek naam gazal

 

Birth
 

About birth he says :
 

Te nakki kareli che te dhab thi aavya Tu chaah to tho, taari talab thi aavya Jeevan ne lai ne aa jagat ni andar Be haath ame vaali adab thi aavya

It is universal fact that when any human being is born, his/her hands are crossed on their chest (Adab).

The same view he puts differently in religious poem as under :

Muzlemain Karbala no che shuru thi gham Tute nahin kadi aa kudrat no niyam Rahe che banne haath chhati ni upar Balak ne janamtaj che maatam no hukum

 

The first verse represents pleasure while the latter represents sorrow.

 

Known as the Ghalib of Gujarati Poetry, Mareez aka. Abbas Vasi was born on 22 Feb 1917 in Surat, India.

---

Childhood :

Mareez lost his mother at a very young age. She died of TB. He studied only upto 2nd Standard. He was not interested in studies; instead he used to go to Surat Railway Station & look at the train engine at close range during school hours.

Due to the non-attendance and poor performance in the school, his father, who was a teacher by profession, had no option but to discontinue his studies and sent him to Mumbai to earn his livelihood at a very young age.

He was interested in Marashyas (lyrics written on the martyrdom of Imam Husain at Karbala) from a very young age. His elder sister, Rukhaiya recited the marashiyas penned by great urdu poets “Anis” and “Dabir”.
 

---

Young Age

At the age of 14, he penned down his first poem on the occasion of the first birthday of his eldest sister’ daughter.

In those days in Surat few people gathered at Zhapa Bazaar & recited Urdu & Gujarati Gazals. Here Late Mareez met Late Mr Ameen Azad, his friend, whom he acknowledged as his Ustad.

At the age of 15, he came to Mumbai and got a job at Universal Rubber Works, manufacturers of rubber shoes. He received very paltry amount as salary. But his zest for reading good meaningful books was so great that he spent substantial amount of his salary in purchasing books from Urdu, Gujarati and English literature. As his academic qualification was only up to second standard, he always kept English, Gujarati and Urdu dictionary with him.

 

He wrote about his quest for literature :

 

Kadi mari duniya kitabon ni duniya Nasho sthir, evi sharabon ni duniya Hakikat no shangaar, khwabon ni duniya Uge khoonthi te gulabon ni duniya Kadi mari duniya kitabon ni duniya

 

Mareez had excellent memory power. He used to recite marashiyas of Anis and Dabir which runs into many volumes without referring to them. But unfortunately, the same did not apply when it came to remembering his own poems. He did not preserve his writings thinking he would be able to recall them at any point of time and did not carry his book whilst attending mushairas. Besides this, when he recited his gazals under the influence of liquor, he used to forget the verses and would helplessly try to remember. This made his position ridiculous in the eyes of public. People made fun of him but he was least bothered or affected. On the contrary he wrote:
 

Kahi dao to pachi lokonu rasranjan mari jashe Ke mari haajri mara tamasha ma nathi hothi

 

---

Love life:

He fell in love with his cousin (aunt’s daughter). She also professed her deep love to him. This phase ended when his marriage proposal to her was turned down by her father who felt that he was not earning a regular income to run the household and had vices viz. drinking and smoking. He was completely shattered when his one-time beloved addressed him as “Bhai Abbas” from only “Abbas”. He expressed his anguish in the following verse:
 

“Mareez” ae jyare amne bolave che aadarthi Pratishthathi bharelu naam kadvu naam lage che.

I recall his friend and gazalkar, late Asim Randeri’s verse and would also like to add that he was instrumental in bringing Mareez to his first mushaira at All India Radio:
 

Aa kankotri thi aatlu purvaar thai che Nishfal jo jaye prem to vahevar thai che

 

In his own Gazal he quoted the following verse : 

Kadhi ene madshu to puchhi laishu   Vachan kone didha kyan jai nibhavya

 

This jolt of rejection was so deep that he developed aversion to love which is aptly reflected in his following gazal and nazam :

 

Nazam: Chhutkaro Dosto tamari pase hun farithi aavyo chun Lagni ne shodhu chun, lagnithi avyo chun

What happens to a person when his love is not reciprocated? His heart yearns for a person who would reciprocate his love and accept him as he is and who else could do that than a loving mother whose love is selfless.

 

Mohabbatna dukh ni ae antim hud che Mane maari premaal maa yaad avi

 

---

Mareez, the journalist

Mareez now realized that working for shoe manufacturing company will not take him anywhere in life. As he was inclined towards literature and poetry, he opted for journalism which he thought was a good platform for expressing his views.

He worked with “Vatan”, “Matrabhumi” initially. Then he tried to become self-employed by publishing magazines viz. “Azaan”, “Khusbu” & “Umeed”, but due to the financial constraint, the publication of these magazines were stalled. During 1960, he became editor of “Insaaf” a weekly for Dawoodi Bohra community.
 

---

Marriage & Family Life:

1940-1947 was the period when very few mushairas were organized. But people used to arrange a meeting (Baithak) at their residence. Around 3-4 shayars were called to recite their shayaris. In one such meeting, he was introduced to his wife, Sona, who was his fan and took interest in Gujarati literature. They came close to each other by exchanging books on literature and slowly friendship turned into love.

The marriage took place in 1946.

The family lived in the small house about 200 sq. ft. which had slanting roof; hence, it reduced the space for utilization. The narrow portion where the roof slanted was used for sleeping. There was one low watt bulb in the main room, one in the kitchen and one in the bathroom. There was no fan. Payments of rent and electricity bills were taken care of by his elder brother.

 

Even in such adverse circumstances, he did not feel uncomfortable as the following verse would explain :
 

Game tyan utho beso, game tyan haro faro Sagvad jo saachi puchho to veraan ghar ma che

 

---

Participation in the Freedom Movement:

During the period 1940-1947, he came into contact with late Mr. Salehbhai Abdulkader (his wife’s uncle) who was a freedom fighter and joined Gandhiji in Quit India Movement (incidentally, Salehbhai Abdulkader was the President on the occasion of the first felicitation of Mareez in 1968).

 

At that point of time, congress workers convened some meetings at night in different areas and the leaders used to deliver speeches against the British rule. Mareez was often called by Salehbhoy Abdulkader to recite poems against the British Raj. Few verses now available are given hereunder :

 

Gulamon ne swatantra ta maut dai nathi shaktu Gulamina kalank ne kafan dhanki nathi shaktu.

 

Amara prashna no aadhar London ni sabha upar Bhaar Sita no che jyaane raavan na khabha upar

 

 

Je je hata pravas razalpaat thai gaya Vachche thi uchki ne disha kon lai gayu?

 

Ja, jai Mareez pooch zafar na mazaar ne Kehse tane badhu ke bhala kon lai gayu

 

---

When I was five years old, my sister Lulua was born on 17 May 1952.

Frustrated for not getting proper reward for his work, he was inclined towards liquor. It became financially difficult to make both ends meet. On one hand household expenses increased & on the other children education expenses mounted up. The whole family felt pinch of poverty.

 

One writer has rightly said

“ Poverty is good in poem, but bad in house. It is good for maxims & sermons but very bad in practical life.”
 

So, what could be done! Once when Oscar Wilde was at London Airport, custom officials asked him if he had anything to declare. He replied “I have nothing to declare but my genius!”

Similarly, Mareez had only his genius to offer to the world. He sold his gazals to meet his household expenses,

 

Je ma hoi tamam laachari e guna o jata kare koi Jeevan ma nahi to swapna ma mari jaga kare koi

 

Khele che khel lok amara naseeb saath Amne mali jo jai, ame pan ramadiye

 

 

Duniya ma kaik no hun karazdaar chun “Mareez” Chukvu badhana den jo Allah udhar de

 

The transition from hand to mouth survival to a fairly secured financial phase came about slowly with the blessings of His Holiness Late Syedna Taher Saifuddin Saheb (A.Q). He was appointed as the editor of the community weekly paper “Insaaf”. He was conferred the title “Areeb” by His Holiness which means “Knowledgeable.”

His love and devotion for His Holiness could be seen from his following verse:

 

Jyare “Mareez” nu ho aa jag ma thi gaman Dharti no chu rahish, game tya male dafan Maula magar araz che anokhu male kafan Koi ekad aapjo utrelu paheran Bijiu to shi jinas che bhala mari pass ma Jao khuda na pas tamara libasma

After the demise of Dr Syedna Taher Saifuddin (AQ), the publication of “Insaaf” stopped and he returned to the freelance journalism once again. However, one good thing was that he was established as one of the great Gazalkars of Gujarati Literature by then. His circle of well wishers & friends had also widened.

In 1964 he had an attack of T.B. He vomited a lot of blood. At that point of time, my mother and my cousin, Rashida Songerwala, were there with him. My sister and I were in school. My cousin rushed to the doctor who advised hospitalization for him. As there was no money available for his treatment, my mother went to Shri Pravinbhai Pandhya – of Amratlal Bhurabhai, an ardent fan of his gazals & his well-wisher and informed him about his critical health. He immediately provided monetary help. Mareez was then admitted to Sarvodaya Hospital, Ghatkopar for the treatment. His condition slowly improved & was discharged from the hospital after 2 months. My father was so touched by his good gesture that he dedicated his book “Aagman” to Pravinbhai.


After coming back from the hospital, he did some freelance work such as writing Idd & Diwali cards etc.

In 1965, one wealthy person wanted to become poet overnight. He chose the best – Mareez. The book “Dard” containing around 125 pages was published in September 1966. There was an uproar of protest among the public and many Gujarati poets as well as well-wishers of “Mareez” objected to it and the book was withdrawn from the market.

In 1970 his well-wishers decided to felicitate Mareez with the purse of Rs 15,000/- to enable him to buy a flat in the suburbs of Mumbai. They contributed whole-heartedly and the target amount of Rs.15,000/- was collected easily. The felicitation was under the Presidentship of late Salehbhai Abdul Kader (Ex Mayor of Mumbai) & Chief Guest was Late Shri Jabirbhai Mehta. However, the person who was in charge of distributing the amount to him did not give him the entire amount.

My mother was running from pillar to post to collect the money. Sometimes, I also accompanied her but all the efforts were in vain. She was heart-broken and understood the meaning of her husband’s following verse:
 

Kadmo thi pan vishesh thakavat hathi Mareez Manzil upar thi pachhi fareli nigah ma

My father being Surti and also being a poet, he used to take hardest aspects of life lightly. So when his dream of owning a house did not materialize, he wrote:
 

Hawe jo ghar na rahyu to kare che kem vilaap Tane ye kya hati parvah Mareez ghar baabat

However, this time “Mareez” elder brother Late Mr Shaikhadam Vasi gave him Rs.14,000/- and he shifted with his family in a one room kitchen flat at Kurla in 1971.

As I and my sister started earning, the financial crisis to a great extent was over. In fact, we used to give him certain fixed amount per day for his expenses. His activity of writing gazals continued but with a slow pace. He wrote his Gazals unsystematically. He also translated “Siqva Jawab E Siqva” poem written by great urdu poet Iqbal in Gujarati. This work was only partly completed.

As responsibility of running the household expenses was over for him, he rarely went to the town and confided to home only.

In 1981 Mr.Sobhit Desai visited Mareez & informed him that Mr. Jaivardhan Takhtawala, a well known industrialist, wanted to felicitate him by organizing one Mushaira and a sum of Rs 71,000/- was offered. The Mushaira was held at Tejpal Hall (Mumbai) on 20th Oct 1981 and was a grand success.

After 2nd facilitation (in fact first) his popularity reached at its peak. A few lines reflecting the above are reproduced below :
 

Jeevan ma kai evi pratibha ave Satkarva same badha rasta ave Chalu to jamana no mane saath  male Thobu to mohabbat mane leva aave

At last, hard life for him came to an end and last 2 years of his life was peaceful. He wanted to publish his second book “Naksha” (name he wanted to give) which was published after his death. From 1981 – 1983 he practically remained at home but many people visited him at his residence. On the eve of 13th October 1983, while crossing the road opposite the gate of the society, he was knocked down by the fast passing rickshaw. He fell on the road & had multiple fractures on his thigh. The people brought him to the house. His brother Taher Vasi immediately came to the house and all the family members took him to the hospital at Ghatkopar East. Dr Mehta was a well known Orthopedic Surgeon. He gave primary treatment to him. My mother stayed at his bedside till end. The medical report came on 18th October 1983. The doctor suggested for an operation to be carried on 19th October 1983 at 9.30 am. When his family members reached the hospital in the morning he looked cheerful and was reading the newspaper. He was all prepared for an operation without any fear. He was carried on a wheelchair by the nurse & before entering the operation theatre he said – “Khuda Hafiz” we also reciprocated.
 

Aa to shuru no dard che Mrutyu ni jhankna na kar Hamna to Shri Ganesh kar, Hamna to Shri Charan nahi

Dr. Mehta knew him as “Mareez” and asked him to recite some of his verses in the operation theatre. My father quoted the following verse:
 

Na maang eni pase gajaa thi vadhu jeevan Ek pal evi deshe vitavi nahi shak-e

The operation took about an hour and was successful. He was transferred to the ward. He gained consciousness about 1.30 pm. Soon he felt uneasiness and felt intense pain in the operated area. The Resident Doctor gave some injection and medicines. He said such things are normal after the operation. However within no time he became restless again and suffered a massive heart attack just before 2 pm. When he realized that this was his last time he told me “Mohsin, I am going” and he collapsed in my arms. Dr. Mehta was called and he tried to revive his heart but could not do anything as he had already started his final journey toward heaven.

 

Maaru jeevan jeevan nahi Maaru maran maran nahi Taro anant kal che Mari to ek kshan nahi

 

Duniya ma mokli pastayo hato tu Mrutyu nu bahano kari aa pacho fariyo le

The Burial took place on 20th October 1983. His body was brought inside the mosque for the last prayers and I recollect his following verse:

 

Rakho Masjid ne saaf ke ek din Muj janazani tya namaz hashe

 

 

Ante thayo namazi hato sharabi Mareez Juo kabar ma enu mukh kaaba taraf rahyu

Many of his well wishers stood outside the Kurla mosque. I recalled his following verse:

Maran ke jeevan ho, ae banne stithi ma „Mareez“ ek laachari kayam rahi che Janazo jashe to jashe kandhe kandhe Jeevan pan gayu che sahare sahare

His body was brought to the Kurla Dawoodi Bohra Kabrastaan and laid down to rest in peace by noon:
 

Maati didhi Mareez badha e jhooki jhooki Jyare mari gayo to aa duniya jhooki mane

 

Shu mast thai su e che badha vahre Mareez Maati and kafan ma gazab ni sharaab che

 

Kai ketli e sankdamano ma sthir thai ne rahi gayo Aa Mareez evo shaks je potanama bandhay na Maut jo avi kahe chupchaap mari sath chal Apna thi to e pachi ek akshare bolay na