Tonight — Ghazal by Agha Shahid Ali — A Brief Summary
Where are you now? Who lies beneath your spell tonight?
Whom else from rapture’s road will you expel tonight?Those “Fabrics of Cashmere — ” “to make Me beautiful — ”
“Trinket” — to gem — “Me to adorn — How tell” — tonight?I beg for haven: Prisons, let open your gates —
A refugee from Belief seeks a cell tonight.God’s vintage loneliness has turned to vinegar —
All the archangels — their wings frozen — fell tonight.Lord, cried out the idols, Don’t let us be broken;
Only we can convert the infidel tonight.Mughal ceilings, let your mirrored convexities
multiply me at once under your spell tonight.He’s freed some fire from ice in pity for Heaven.
He’s left open — for God — the doors of Hell tonight.In the heart’s veined temple, all statues have been smashed.
No priest in saffron’s left to toll its knell tonight.God, limit these punishments, there’s still Judgment Day —
I’m a mere sinner, I’m no infidel tonight.Executioners near the woman at the window.
Damn you, Elijah, I’ll bless Jezebel tonight.The hunt is over, and I hear the Call to Prayer
fade into that of the wounded gazelle tonight.My rivals for your love — you’ve invited them all?
This is mere insult, this is no farewell tonight.And I, Shahid, only am escaped to tell thee —
God sobs in my arms. Call me Ishmael tonight.
Agha Shahid Ali, an American-Kashmiri poet introduced formally and subsequently popularized the ancient Arabic poetry style of Ghazal. Earlier, Ghazals would revolve around women, erotica and romance. Ghazals were used to entice women, however with time the scope of themes of Ghazals also saw a makeover. Ghazals follow the typical monorhyme — couplets of uniform length and meter ending with the same sound. The striking feature of Ghazals is that each couplet in a ghazal has the property of standing on its own in meaning and syntax. The first couplet has similar radif and qafia, and in the subsequent couplets only the second verse has similar radif. I’ll take a famous Ghazal “Naqsh e Faryadi” by Mirza Ghalib to explain it.
Couplet 1 : naqsh fariyaadii hai kis kii shokhii-e-tahariir kaa
kaagazii hai pairahan har paikar-e-tasviir kaa
Couplet 2 : kaave-kaave sakht_jaanii haaye tanhaaii na puuchh
subah karanaa shaam kaa laanaa hai juu-e-shiir kaa
In the first couplet, in both verses the bold words are qafia and have a similar rhyme, the one in italics is called radif. In the second couplet, only the second verse follows the rhyme of the first couplet. This is the basic premise of a ghazal. In Urdu, the poem is assumed (for academic clarity) to be addressed to a beloved, the beloved can be anyone — a lover, God, place or even a totally abstract idea. The poet’s background gives a clarity on who the poet has addressed the ghazal to.
Agha Shahid Ali grew up in Kashmir, and later went to the US after his graduation. His poems reflected his longing for the land which was scarred with violence. This becomes very necessary in understanding the context of many of his ghazals especially the aforementioned one.
“Tonight” is a spectacular ghazal, a clear classic in Ghazals in English. Each couplet in itself is very bold and stands on itself as a complete narrative. Overall it depicts a longing for home, reluctance to accept the orthodoxy of religion, a lament of grief and spiritual loneliness. A paradox of standing against the Lord and at the same time finding refuge in Him. The ghazal dives straight into the whirlpool of strong emotions in Shahid’s heart.
Where are you now? Who lies beneath your spell tonight?
Whom else from rapture’s road will you expel tonight?
The first line is from a poem by Laurence Hope titled “Kashmiri Song” — Where are you now? Who lies beneath your spell?”
In the first couplet, Shahid is addressing his homeland — Kashmir. Where are you now? He feels a double identity and at the same time questions whether he’s even either of them. Is Shahid a Kashmiri or an American? The “spell” could mean the longing of home which has put his heart at unease. An exile living in America who just cannot stop thinking about his homeland.
Those “Fabrics of Cashmere — ” “to make Me beautiful — ”
“Trinket” — to gem — “Me to adorn — How tell” — tonight?
Here, he invokes Emily Dickinson’s poem — “I’m Ashamed I Hide”. In the poem, Emily Dickinson is saying that she’s unfamiliar with dressing sense, those mere fabrics of Cashmere won’t change anything. She has her soul to make her beautiful. Perhaps, Shahid invokes it to depict otherwise. That how can he adorn himself when there’s no beloved (Kashmir). This is the signature style of Shahid where he repeats the word “Kashmir” in one way or the other through tremendous use of dashes which show a deliberate break just before it catches pace.
I beg for haven: Prisons, let open your gates —
A refugee from Belief seeks a cell tonight.
Shahid is running away from religion. Or more precisely he’s running from religious intolerance or he’s running from the confusion the principles of religion have put him in. He is wary of punishments these come with, hence the word “Prisons”. Yet, he finds haven in those prison walls of blasphemy.
God’s vintage loneliness has turned to vinegar —
All the archangels — their wings frozen — fell tonight.
“Tonight” is one ghazal which has blasphemic references. The couplets are heavily infused with religious references. This is one such couplet which talks of God’s loneliness. God is angry with his loneliness, his mood has turned sour. God has broken the flight of angels — their wings frozen with God’s sour frost.
Lord, cried out the idols, Don’t let us be broken;
Only we can convert the infidel tonight.
This verse loosely refers to destruction of Hindu temples, and also shrines in Kashmir back in the 90s. But it’s a very deep meaning attached to it. Idols or symbols in the form of buildings like shrines stand as an abstract vision of God through a physical construction. No human can have the heart to destroy the symbol of God be it in any form. The idol could speak to the destroyer — tell him it’s no glory to destroy the symbol of God. Anyone who does that is an infidel and only idols (the truth of religion) can save him from doom.
Mughal ceilings, let your mirrored convexities
multiply me at once under your spell tonight.
Shahid is in awe of Mughal architecture. Kashmir has a large number of Mughal gardens and also buildings of Mughal era. He wants to drown in the magic of these architectural marvels. Just a slight reference to how much Shahid loved the architecture back home. “Mirrored” could mean the Indian and Islamic features which were prominent in Mughal Architecture.
He’s freed some fire from ice in pity for Heaven.
He’s left open — for God — the doors of Hell tonight.
It seems to be a taunt at God. Being harsh on His subjects, the coolness of heaven is reserved for his best subjects. For the majority are sinners, and the doors of Hell are open for them and they are getting pushed into the hellfire. There is no magnanimous pity on God’s end for his subjects.
In the heart’s veined temple, all statues have been smashed.
No priest in saffron’s left to toll its knell tonight.
The faith doesn’t exist in his heart anymore. All the beliefs stand smashed. Heartbreak has rendered him angry. Love doesn’t exist in his heart anymore. He’s unapologetic too. He won’t ask for forgiveness either by getting on his knees. His beloved has left him too heartbroken to get back on his knees.
God, limit these punishments, there’s still Judgment Day —
I’m a mere sinner, I’m no infidel tonight.
This is where the paradox hits. Though these verses don’t follow a chronology which could produce a consistent flow of a story. Yet, you can bring out a contrast. He was taunting his Lord, escaping the faith, calling out God for his harshness. Yet, he stands in front of God — enduring the punishment. I’m just a sinner, not an infidel. I have just sinned, not announced severance.
Executioners near the woman at the window.
Damn you, Elijah, I’ll bless Jezebel tonight.
In an interview to Suvir Kaul in 1997, when asked to recite this ghazal, Shahid in middle of the narration remarks — “I had been writing this Ghazal and I then came across this TV programme on Jezebel and she has always been described as this bad woman, a harlot. But I now realise that she was quite a brave woman, there is this Elijah who’s screaming at her like a raving fundamentalist. When they come to kill her, she stands at her window, she makes an incredibly heroic picture.”
The hunt is over, and I hear the Call to Prayer
fade into that of the wounded gazelle tonight.
The Ghazal fades literally as well as metaphorically. Shahid tries to make amends with his faith. He hears the call to prayer and perhaps makes his way to the place of worship.
My rivals for your love — you’ve invited them all?
This is mere insult, this is no farewell tonight.
There’s a connection between the previous couplet and this one. If he did make his way to the place of worship, he is surprised to see many people there competing for the love of God. He feels cheated. This could mean that God is not alone contrary to what the poet believes. “This is no farewell tonight” — a hint that the poet didn’t give up on his faith.
And I, Shahid, only am escaped to tell thee —
God sobs in my arms. Call me Ishmael tonight.
Ishmael is a character in Herman Melville’s Moby-Dick, which opens with the line, “Call me Ishmael. Ishmael is also the one of Muslim tradition. This cross between East and West is again repeated. Again, he repeats a blasphemy and this time a very huge one. God isn’t the one to make mistakes or the one to ‘cry’. God has made Shahid suffer a lot. Put him through pain of loneliness, a spiritual heartbreak and the dreadfulness of exile. God sobs for all this in the arms of Shahid. “Call me Ishmael tonight” because I’ve been exiled.
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