Phir Tanha (Asim Tanha)- Poetry Book Review by Shoby

Phir Tanha (Asim Tanha)- Poetry Book Review by Shoby

Douglas Coupland said, The time you feel lonely is the time you most need to be by yourself. Perhaps this is why this young artist has found his true self and has exhibited all of his own through his poetry. While reading Asim Tanha's preface which he has written for his debut poetry book "Phir Tanha", one thing was striking my mind times & again. He has very innocently & intelligently revealed his true identity with this introduction and believe it or not, the biggest challange for someone in life is to reveal his true identity in front of this filthy, brutal & barbaric world.

He hails from the deserted land of Thal (Punjab) and it is obvious from his preface that his motherland has never been so kind to knowledge dissemination leave the art & literature things but one thing that has literally compelled him to write was his sheer imagination and thirst of discovering & sharing his own self.

Coming towards his poetry, let me tell you one thing, you can witness the very real Asim Tanha in each & every poetic piece he has written. To start of, he has given a mandatory homage & tribute to the personalities for whom this whole Universe was created Prophet MOHAMMAD (saww) o AAL e MOHAMMAD (saww):

Meri pehchaan bhi hain AAL e RASOOL (saww)

Mere her sher ka hawala bhi

NABI (saww) ki AAL (asws) pe jo Karbala mein guzra hai

Zamee'n pe is se bara saniha nahi hona

It is quite obvious from the very first glimpse of his writing that all the pain, agony, helplessness, rage, love, and above all the strongest feeling of being alone that he has went through in the span of his life has become an essential component of not only his personality but also his poetry. I feel, this is one thing that you actually will feel in his poetry. He was alone but his lonliness has never tenpered with the artist developing inside him. In fact, he has pictured his loneliness in an extremely engaging manner through his words:

Saath mat chor meri tanhai

Mujh ko rehna yahan hai phir tanha

Kiya hua dost chor den tanha,

In ke hotey bhi hum akeley hain

Hai assaasa hayat ka meri

Ishq soghaat or tanhai

Ik tamasha meri tanha ka

Dekhiye shehr baam per nikla

On one note, if Asim Tanha has written some beautiful Ghazals, he has also penned some extremely innocent full of gloom Nazm (poems). I just loved his way of expression in the poem "Zero". Just like his couplets & Ghazals, his poems are also full of feelings. Feelings that have been originated as a byproduct of being alone.

Somewhere in his poetry & prose (in preface) I have observed the social phenomenon which he has been going through all of his life. In totality, his every poetic piece be it a Nazm, Ghazal or a couplet, he has told a comprehensive story which will surely leave a strong impact on the readers when they will get to read the book.

I would like to congratulate Asim on his debut poetry book and wish him best of luck for the super success of his poetry. I believe the journey he has started is sort of no-ending trail and he will certainly leran mroe with hte passage of time and his learnt lessons will surely be exhibited in his future poetry. 

At the end, I would like to share some of his very beautiful couplets with you... Enjoy reading...

Chaand ki chhhilmano mein doob gai

Woh jo chehra shanaas thi meri

Dua mein manga tha tum ko, miley bhi, kho bhi gaey

Tumharey baad kisey ab dua ki khuahish hai

Mere sir per bhi aa ke beth huma

Or mujhey jhat se badshah ker de

Teri yaadon se lipat ker rona

Mashghala shaam ka yehi to hai