Ghananand: Poetry in Exile

This is a part of an ongoing series on ‘Lesser-known Indian poets’. A link to his book can be found at the end of the piece.

‘There are people who make poetry
But I am one who poetry makes’

Ghananand (1689–1757) was a poet in Nasir-ud-Din Muḥammad Shah’s court at a time when the foundation of the Mughal empire was starting to crumble. The larger part of his poetry focused on the subject of the union (Sanyog) of lovers and the distress of their separation (Viyog), which no doubt sprung from his own experience.

Legend has it that Ghananand was passionately in love with a courtesan called Sujan. Sujan herself wrote poetry and was well-regarded for her charm and musical talent. That Sujan bestowed all her attention on Ghananand was well-known and this caused him to be the recipient of much envy from other men, especially courtiers. The reigning Mughal emperor was a patron of the arts to the extent that he was often referred to as Mohammad Shah ‘Rangila’. He led a lavish lifestyle — bestowing all his powers on his courtiers while he chose to spend his days on food, dance, wine, and women.

With the jealousy steadily increasing, a plan was hatched by Ghananand’s peers. They convinced the emperor that Ghananad’s voice was incomparable and that he must honour the emperor with a performance. Ghananda refused to do so and the courtiers convinced Shah that he would only sing before his lady-love. On their insistence, Sujan was brought to court and when she asked Ghananand to sing, he did. She sang along, but stood with her back to the emperor, facing the poet for the entire length of the song. The courtiers seized this chance to convince the emperor that Ghananand had shown blatant disrespect to the throne by not singing at Shah’s insistence but starting when a mere courtesan asked him to sing. Convinced, Shah banished Ghananand from Delhi. The poet asked Sujan to come with him into exile but she refused. Dejected he left and proceeded to travel in exile for the rest of his life only pausing to write poetry, mostly on love and separation. Love, for him, was ordinary — not divine and complex, as it was for other poets of his time.

‘The path of love is pretty plain,
There is no curve, no turn anywhere
One may straight walk, unmindful of himself
Only the wicked demure and reach nowhere’

Later, living in Brindawan, in the company of sages, Ghananand went on to compose verses celebrating Lord Krishna. With the volume of his work increasing, his fame, as a poet and a musician spread. After Nadir Shah invaded Delhi in 1740, he invited the poet to come perform for him but his invitation was refused. Ghananand believed his life was coming to an end and had no interest in performing for others, no matter how powerful. He wrote:

‘They hardly knew that Ghananand was
No longer what he were once
He has already lost heart for a friend
playing foul.
The flame of life is now flickering..’

It was first believed that Nadir Shah was so furious at him declining his invitation that he ordered that the poets arms be chopped off which resulted in his death. There were several other debated accounts of his death until it was finally confirmed that he was killed in the first invasion of Ahmed Shah Abdali in 1757.

He also, on occasion, wrote on politics and contemporary events. For example, on Delhi and the inability of Muhammad Shah to fight of Nadir Shah’s invasion, He’d written-

‘Delhi is now like a cat
Scared at the wolfish dog
Mohammad Shah who blundered before, can do nothing
This is what comes to the
Dynasty of Babur and Humayun
The people who mourn
Can only curse themselves.’

His verse, like him refused to be confined and bow down to social norms. In it, his love and life lives on.

You can read more of his poetry in ‘Love Poems of Ghananand’, translated to English by KP Bahadur. Buy here.