The Dakhni razor-sharp wit and satire was on full display with Hyderabad parliamentarian Asaduddin Owaisi repurposing the wildly popular poem ‘Nai Boleto Sunte Nai’ to criticise Prime Minister Narendra Modi, his policies and his communal rhetoric.
“Ine kya khaara/ une kya pakaara/ jhaankte phirre/ ghareebaan bhukke marre/ nai bole to sunte nai (What is this person eating/ What is that person cooking/ the poor are dying/ you just don’t listen),” the All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen president recited at a recent public meeting to rapturous applause and cackles of the audience. The lines were an sarcastic reference to the Sangh Parivar’s objection on the consumption of meat in households.
“Hyderabad ka naam badal ke Bhagyanagar rakhte kathe/ Baap ki jaagir kaiku samajhre/ Nai bole to sunte nai (To rename Hyderabad to Bhagyanagar they say/ why do you think it your father’s property/ You just don’t listen),” he continued amid more applause, as he sought to take on the narrative put forward by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to rename Hyderabad to Bhagyanagar.
The Hyderabad parliamentarian criticised PM Modi’s handling of Chinese aggression along the Sino-India border and said, “Pakistan ku aisa kartaou/ Waisa kartou bolre thhe/ China se dar ke baithe/ Nai bole to sunte nai (You said you’d do this/ You’d do that to Pakistan/ But you’re sitting afraid of China/ You just don’t listen).”
“Muslmaan aurton ki jhooti fikar hai/ Rozaana aurton pe zulum karre/ Nai bole to sunte nai/ Karne ke jo kaamaan hai/ Woh jaise ke waise hai/ Nai karne ke kaamaan karre/ Nai bole to sunte nai (You fake concern for women/ Everyday there are atrocities on women/ You just don’t listen/ The things that needed to get done/ remain just the way they are/ The things that you needn’t be doing you do/ You just don’t listen),” Mr Owaisi recited.
‘Nai Bole Toh Sunte Nai’ was penned and recited by Ghouse Mohiuddin who took in the nom de plume Khamakhaa meaning “unnecessary” or “willingly-unwillingly”, depending on the context. The poem, which is the hilarious saga of an exasperated husband, went viral a few years ago.
“Ghouse Khamakhaa was a regular reciter at Zinda Dilaan-e-Hyderabad (a body comprising stalwarts of Urdu literature, including humorists and satirists such as Padma Shri awardee Mujtaba Hussain),” said Syed Mustafa Kamaal, an Urdu scholar and editor of the humour and satire magazine Shugoofa. “Nai Bole Toh Sunte Nai owes its immense popularity to its openness. The listeners (at a mushaira) love openness,” he opined.
According to Mr. Kamaal, the poet, born in Hyderabad, later moved to Mumbai, after he joined the irrigation department. He enjoyed popularity among the Urdu and Dakhni speaking South Asian diaspora in USA, Canada, Europe and West Asian countries such as Saudi Arabia and the UAE. “People used to listen to him for up to two hours, such was his prowess,” Mr Kamaal said.
