Kashmiri Poets have contributed immensely to the field of Kashmiri literature. The various poets and their works can be best discussed by taking a look at the poets as belonging to a particular time period.
Early Kashmiri Poets
The first Kashmiri poet believed to have been living sometime in the thirteenth century is Giti Kantha. His poems are sprinkled with Sanskrit expressions. After Giti Kantha comes the great lady of the land, Lal Ded also known as Lal Arifa or Lalleshwari (born in 1335 A.D.) Lalla was more a yogi, a sage and a philosopher than a pure poetess. She preached, monistic Kashmiri Shaiva Philosophy through the people`s language i.e. Kashmiri. Her language is mixed with Sanskrit language words or Sanskrit words are adopted in the then Kashmiri. The vocabulary and pronunciation of the Kashmiri language has undergone a marked change from her times, and it is not easy to understand and appreciate the metre and rhythm of her verses. Lalla`s sayings, which are called Vakhs (Yakyas), have been published under the little `Wak-i-Lalla Ishwari` or `La Dedi Hind Wakh`. After Lalla comes Sheikh Noor-ud-Din or Nund Rishi. Noornama is a compilation of his sayings. He is more didactic than Lalla, although he had come under the direct influence of this great lady. He lived in the later part of the fourteenth century and the earlier part of the fifteenth century. Nund Rishi`s followers are called Rishis. He too, like Lalla, was more a saint than a poet. Soma Pandit and Pandit Yodha Bhat, the author of Gaina Vilas, are famous poets who adored the court of Zain-ul-Abidin Badshah.
Poets in the Second Period of Kashmiri Poetry
Habba Khatoon was one of the most remarkable poets of this period. Her real name was Zoon and she came from a lower middle class family from the village Ghandarhar. She was the queen of Yusuf Shah Chak, who was forced to leave Kashmir by Akbar, the great Mughal Emperor. Habba introduced the `Lol` lyric (love lyric) in Kashmiri. The Kashmiri Ghandarhar melody is her addition to the charm of Kashmiri music. Habba was followed by Khwaja Habibullah Naushahri. He is followed by Roopa Bhawani Roopa`s poetry too is spiritual, and the language of her poetry is coloured with Sanskrit. Sahib Koul, who lived during the reign of Jahangir, wrote Krishan Avtar and Janam Charit. After Sahib Kaul comes Arinimal. She appeared on the stage in the middle of the Afghan rule. Mula Faqir, who died about the close of the eighteenth century, is famous for his odes. The author of Kashir Aqaid and Mukhtasar Waqayah (a religious poem) is Mir Abdullah Bahiqui. A copy of Amsar Maya Mooh Zal Sukh Dukh Charit, which bears 1815 A.D. as its year, is a composition by Ganga Prasad. He is followed by Mahmud Garni, the best known of poets who wrote in the Muslim style and the author of Yusuf Zuliakha. His Laila Majnu, Shirin Kkusro, Harun.ur Rashid, Shiekh Sanan are all based on familiar Persian models. Waliullah Mattu`s Masnavi Himalta Nagrai also cannot be ignored. Language is much simpler and more popular. The love poem entitled Gain-ul-Arab was composed by Abdul Ahad `Nazim`.
Kashmiri poets in the Third Period of Kashmiri Poetry
Some of the best Kashmiri poets of this period include Swami Parmanand and Prakash Ram, Maqbool Shah and Lachhman Raina, Rasool Mir and Shams Faqir. Pandit Nand Ram alias Swami Parmanand of Mattan (Martand) composed three long narrative poems- Shiv Lagan, Radha Swayamvar, and Sudama Chant. Parmanand is called the `Sanal` of Kashmir. The predominant theme of his poems is the quest of human soul for God and of God for Man, expressed in poetry charged with symbol and allegory. He sings as a Bhakta (lover devotee) of personal God. Like Mira he sings of his God in the form of Radha Krishna. His Lilas, Kashmiri name for Bhakti poems or lyrics, are full of joy and gaiety, a rarity in Kashmiri poetry. For the Lila group of Kashmiri poets this universe exists, it is real and good. Radha Swayamvara is the most musical of his poems and Sudama Charit is unsurpassed for the economy of language and the sublimation of its story with a spiritual allegory, which makes it a significant masterpiece of his narrative poems. There are lengendary and epic peoms like Aknandun, Ramavtar charit and Lav Kush Charit by Prakash Ram, though not in the genre of Parmanand`s poems. He (Prakash Ram), it seems, has composed these narratives with the purpose of piety and devotion rather than to tell a story in an effective way. However, his compositions can be counted as the first Veer Kavya (or Raznia Masnavi) of Kashmir which is written in simpler language. His language is neither overweighed by Sanskrit nor by Persian words. Prakash Ram was a contemporary of Sukh Jiwan Mai, a governor of Kashmir under Afghans.
Swami Parmanand`s disciple, Pandit Krihan Dass of Vanpooh village excels even his Guru in cleanness of language, in his description of nature and in `local colour`, and perhaps in the musicality of verse. His melodies deserve quite a fair place in Kashmiri poetry. His songs, very musical indeed, are popular with the women folk, and can be heard sung in chorus especially on auspicious occasions like matrimonial ceremony and others. His songs are so much popular among the Kashmiri Pandits that there can hardly be any home where these are not sung, especially during long winter nights, with the resonance of Harmonium and Tumbaknari (Kashmiri Kettle drum).
Azizullah Haqqani is another lyricist. Music is the keynote of his compositions. A collection of his love ballads and lyrical poems has been published under the title of Gazallat-i-Haqani. His famous poems Sailabnama and Atishnama describe the great floods of 1902-1903 A. D. and the great fire that engulfed the city of Srinagar in his life time.
Persian Influence on Kashmiri Poetry
With the advent of Muslim rule in Kashmir, Kashmiri Literature did not remain impervious to the influence of the Persian and Arabic language. A Kashmiri poet freely used Persian expressions. He borrowed metaphor and simile from Persian. He went to the extent of echoing Persian thought and imitating Persian style. Mahmood Garni, who flourished in the latter part of the nineteenth century, wrote completely in the style of the Persian poets. Kashmiris call him the `Nizami` of Kashmiri Language. He composed a collection of five books e-titled Khamsa or the Punj Gunj i.e. the five treasurers.
Maqbool Shah`s compositions Gulrez and Grees Nama are also coloured with Persian. Gulrez recounts the legend of Ajaib Malik and Nosh Lab, borrowed from a Persian book. Greest Nama, a satire, describes, in an interesting manner, the satanic spirit of a peasant and his entanglements. Grees Nama is the first and the best satiric poem of Kashmiri language. Maqbool`s other works are Peer Nama, Malla Nama, Bahar Nama, Mansoor Nama and Ayyub Nama.
Lachhman Raina, a disciple of Swami Parmanand, deserves to be better known for his Veer Kavya (Razmia Masnavis) entitled Sham Nama and his Prem Kavya (love or Bazmia Masnavi), Nalhamyanthi. In both of these he has succeeded in blending Persian to the genius of Kashmiri.
Rasool Mir Shahabadi, another poet of this period, has maintained the beauty and chastity of Kashmiri language. In odes and Ghazals he has surpassed Mahmood Garni and Maqbool Shah.
Modern Kashmiri Poets
The foremost among modern Kashmiri poets is said to be Ghulam Ahmad Mahjoor, as his poetry brought about a Renaissance in Kashmiri literature. He took up the cause of the downtrodden peasants who were being exploited by the feudal system and was also a strong advocate of Hindu-Muslim unity. He even wrote beautiful nature poetry as can be seen in his work Gulshan Vattan Chu Honey (Our Land is a Lovely Garden) where he sings of the beauty of nature. The simple language of his poems and the lyrical sweetness made his poems extremely popular. He was followed by poets like Abdul Ahad Azad who wrote strongly political poems full of revolutionary ideas and Zinda Koul, better known as `Masterji`, who wrote about issues like love, freedom and happiness. Following the formation of the people`s Government after Independence, a new crop of poets arose who upheld the principles of Socialist Realism, and they experiments with new forms and themes. Dina Nath Nadim was the leader of this group and the most significant poet of the new generation. Others include Abdul Rehman Rahi, Mirza Arif etc. Mohammad Amin Kamil, Noor Mohammad Roshan, Ghulam Nabi Firaq and Moti Lal Saqi etc are some of the other major modern poets of Kashmir.
Thus discussed above are the major Kashmiri poets who have contributed to the field of Kashmiri literature and their works.
