I went looking for interesting reads at The American Scholar. A long time ago, I got attached to reading it even though it was not the normal channel that made me aware of that publication. The "normal" is if one gets elected to the Phi Beta Kappa society. But, as a junkie for all things higher ed, I quickly came to know about PBK and the publication.
The magazine often has absolutely riveting essays. My all time favorite there is one by a black professor writing about discussing the n-word with a class of white students. There was another time when I read an essay by a professor recalling the experiences when he and Scooter Libby were school mates--this was when Libby, who was Darth Vader's dick Cheney's aide, was convicted on multiple counts for leaking the identity of a female CIA officer. I wrote to the author, who replied!
These days, I hit the paywall and end up reading only whatever freebies they offer. One of the freebies is their poetry section.
As they note there, poems are to read aloud. And, they do it wonderfully. Many poems I have blogged about after listening to the reading there.
This time, the magazine featured a poem by Gulzar. And there was a photo of Gulzar. It was nothing like the only Gulzar that I know about. This was Anand Mohan Zutshi Gulzar Dehlavi.
Who?
I suppose most of the world is no different from me. I live my life as is there is nothing more to know. I then get smacked everyday about how I don't know a damn thing. No wonder the university president wants to give me the pink-slip!
This Gulzar was a big time poet. And more.
I now know.
Gulzar's poem, Messiah, in translation from the Urdu, is short and conveys a lot. Listen:
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