Kubla Khan and the Palace of Ghani Khan

Much has been written about Coleridge and Kubla Khan in the course of two centuries but quite little is available for international readers about Ghani Khan. Ghani Khan is the most representative modern Pashtun poet widely read in both Afghanistan and Pakistan. A relevance of his poetry may be important for several reasons.  His poetry may give us a renewed understanding about poetry in general and Pashtu poetry in particular. By comparing his work with one of the most widely read English poets such as Coleridge we may be able to place his genius among international poets. His reading may also give us an insight into the conflict in Afghanistan and Pakistan and we may be better equipped to know about Pashtuns and their literature.

Perhaps the only technical difference between Kubla Khan of Coleridge and the Palace of Ghani Khan is that the former remained incomplete due to opium intake that Coleridge was addicted to. The Palace, on the other hand touches the zenith of artistic perfection: a complete romantic thought of escapism woven into different kinds of sensory images turned into subjective symbols which further inspire a vivid spectrum of beauty and love. Kubla Khan, on the other hand, is lacking this unity of thought due to “incompleteness” but deals with the same theme of escapism mostly through conceptual imagery and with a highly refined artistic taste.

Both the poems are fine examples of how do human feelings transcend time and space and remain universal. Coleridge, an English poet nurtured in the 18^th century philosophical and artistic ethos finds his palace in the remote and mysterious Asian land of Xanado whereas Ghani Khan, a 20^th century Pashtun poet deeply immersed in the oriental philosophy and mysticism, starts building  the same palace from the sands of his own river. Perhaps Coleridge finds it difficult to build his palace by himself and all alone in the tough and inaccessible terrain of Xanado.  So he imagines Kubla Khan ordering his subjects to build it with all the artistic intricacies. For Ghani Khan the choice is simple i.e. he feels to be the master of his own “sand” and there is enough of artistic tools and expression to enthrone him as the “king” of his own created palace.

Escapism is one of the dominant themes of romantic poetry. It is an imaginative world of the poet where he/she is free to make the impossible possible. It is often the pain or dullness of the real world that force the poet to flee to a world of imagination unaffected by the ruthless agents of the real world. Both Coleridge and Ghani Khan find this escape in their own imaginative palaces where they want to experience the things of their own choices. In escapism the poet often draws a comparison between the real and the imaginary but what is remarkable about both the poems is that we do not find any complaints of the pain, miseries or dullness of the real life; rather we see the poets narrating the stories of what they had already created and experienced. They seem to tell us that they had their own worlds of art, beauty, love and perfection and that they did not care about the world of flesh and blood. These are parallel worlds or multi-universes where the poets may switch in-between whenever they want.

Kubla Khan and The Palace are the most representative poems of Coleridge and Ghani Khan respectively. They are windows through which we can look into the full details and artistry of the poets. Kubla Khan has already received its due recognition from the readers and critics alike and is regarded as one of the most widely read poems of all times. In Kubla Khan Coleridge’s deliberate attempt to render “supernatural as natural” is very evident. The poetry is largely subjective and composed in fine lyrics. The imagery is subtle, catchy and elusive. The thought process is exquisitely developed and twisted in the final lines where the poet’s imagination is tossed up; having no reigns and is unstoppable. Despite technical “incompleteness” as claimed by Coleridge himself, the poem is never regarded as incomplete and has been enjoyed till date since its first publication in 1798.

The Palace, on the other hand, is technically a complete poem. It tells us a great deal about the poetry of Ghani Khan in one poem and one single thought of romantic escapism. An ardent reader of Ghani Khan may find in it most of Ghani Khan’s themes and artistry filtered through a very refined poetic sense.  The poet selects very keenly from a whole range of oriental images and metaphors, and then innovates by transforming them into personal or Pashtun symbols; and he finally uses them in a befitting manner to develop the thought process and to create the desired rhythm. His imagination is alert at every point not allowing unnecessary details to detract his highly exalted mood. The rhythm is subtle and rare in the oriental or sub-continental traditions of poetry.

Criticism of poetry in the sub-continental languages such as Urdu or in local languages such as Pashtu largely focus on the subject matter and poetic form and diction is mostly taken for granted as something that is merely ornate or that serves as conduit to the subject matter. According to Pervaiz Akhtar, a music teacher and music therapists from Baha ud Din University Multan, poetry itself is never taken in isolation and it is considered as part of Sangeet which is roughly synonymous to music. There are also traditions of poetry recitals called Mushaairas where the poet may either recite his/her poetry or sing it without any musical instruments. Poetry books are also enjoyed by a small section of educated class. Majority of poetry is orally enjoyed or when it is sung with musical instruments or performed. Sangeet has remained a combination of poetry, music (instrumental) and performing arts such as dance. Perhaps musical instruments and dance overshadow poetic form and diction and the listeners and critics mostly miss it in the overall impression that Sangeet creates. This may be one of the reasons that the Palace has received little attention from the readers and critic of Ghani Khan as compared to his other poems that show him as an iconoclast or the poet who breaks the stereotypes, myths and taboos.

Contemporary Pashtun poet, singer and musician Amjad Shehzad has also noted this thing about the Palace. He goes on to say that the Palace uses one of the rarest meters that has been evolved from the Indic or sub-continental music.