Dr. Shaida Shabnum, a mystic composer
By: Tousif Raza
I’ve read a lot of Kashmiri poetry throughout the years. Finding the enlightening pearls of knowledge and spiritual insight up until this point has always seemed miraculous to me. Lal Ded initiated the development of feminist literature in Kashmiri literature and it hasn’t stopped since then. As a result, it can be said that our feminist literature is like a flowing river that has been reviving our hearts for millennia and will continue to do so. I will discuss Dr. Shahida Shabnum, my favourite female voice in our literature, in this literary analysis of poetry today.
She recently taught Kashmiri at her college, and I had the good fortune to meet her. At her college, she gave me a handful of her books. The day was amazing and profound, and it gave me a strong urge to learn more about her life and poetry as a woman. The event created a network that spans decades and was a lovely celebration of women poets from the past and present.
She is regarded as one of the best-known writers of the present time. She received the ‘Sanskriti’ Award recently in recognition of her literary achievements. At the moment, Dr. Shabnam is an assistant professor teaching Kashmiri at the Government Degree College Dangiwacha Rafiabad in Baramulla.
She has produced over 23 books, mostly dealing with issues affecting women, in Kashmiri, ranging from prose to poetry. Shahida Shabnum writes poetry that expresses spiritual thought, contains the contingent, and offers a perspective on the metaphysical universe. Her poetry fills the pot of consciousness and shows a path beyond the clouds of the materialistic world and artificial glitter makeup.
Poetry from her book “Tresh Te Sehra” is a lesson in love for heavenly apprehension, stating that to fly towards a secret sky and cause a hundred veils to fall each instant is what love is. Let go of life first. The act of moving forward without feet or a mountain causes an inner echo. That is the appropriate voice hold.
The poetry book by Shahida Shabnam is the outcome of a protracted period of abstinence and a spiritual quest. This extensive voyage has given rise to a notion and a route that welcomes us and invites others to brighten our hearts by leading us down many spiritual, mystic, and metaphysical routes.
The poetry of “Tresh Te Sehra” is the assurance of the soul’s enduring spiritual serenity while it is wrapped in the body. It informs us of the spiritual world’s emergence and also guides us in certain ways towards the eternal voyage of love and the aesthetic world. Each reader comments that this is not poetry but rather a mystery concealed in my heart since the poems provided in this book are a method to start the spiritual journey and are filled with wisdom and spiritual experiences.
This collection is a lesson in spiritual treasures, saying, “Don’t be satisfied with stories; see how things have gone with others. Unfold your own myth, your own path, and your own treasure of love and light. Talking about the subtlety of the language, Shahida Shabnam’s poetry is written in a smooth and simple language, but in some places the language has been used with great subtlety, which makes this poetry suitable for the common people as well as the intellectual class.
The Mujahid character in this poem is on an intriguing quest for everlasting peace. There are scarcely any topics that Shahida’s poetry does not touch on, from life’s suffering and grief to the experience of love. Shahida Shabnam has not only crafted but also mastered the art of interpreting the persecution of the times, speaking out for love on the other side, and drawing a connection between the two.
As a reader, I came to the predetermined conclusion that Shahida Shabnum is a poet who seeks to invite humanity to its source, where unmatched beauty and an olfactory scent await for the one who is constructing a path to eternal calm. When you finish reading Shabnam, I’m confident you’ll be asking, “When will you start that long journey into yourself?”
(The author hails from Tangmarg in north Kashmir)
