Daud Kamal: Style and themes

Daud Kamal is one of Pakistan’s most accomplished poets. His poems convey a sense of loss and spiritual
displacement in the face of violence and cultural erasure. Kamal’s first book, Reverberations (1970), consists of
translations of the classical Urdu poet, Ghalib. His original poems in English appeared in Recognitions (1979), A
Remote Beginning (1985), and in such posthumous volumes as Rivermist (1992), Before The Carnations Wither
(1995) and A Selection of Verse (1997). Kamal’s translations of the Urdu poets Faiz Ahmed Faiz, Ahmed Nadeem
Qasimi, Munir Niazi and Ahmed Faraz appeared in Four contemporary poets (1992).

Kamal has a completely different style of writing poetry. He writes beautifully in fragments. The main themes of his
poems are rural and rustic. He plays with the idea of brutal injustice of kings on common men. His deep
observation of small things reflects through his poems in a vast manner. Kamal can also said to be a mystic poet
because images of sufi world can also be seen in many of his poems. In his poetry we can see graceful images of
nature as well. He talks innocently of great Himalyas, starry sky, sparkling waters and trees. As a poet he has a
deep connection with his soul as well as the soul of the universe (which is nature). Kamal’s sensitivity towards
changing world around him deeply affects his poetry.

His writing style is deeply influenced by the Imagists. He follows the style of W. B. Yeats and Ezra Pound. In his later
life, he was deeply moved by Latin American authors. A man of heightened sensitivities, he was not unaware of
what was happening around him. His poetry has a unique sense of history and the need of an artist. The need to
connect to the culture of the past can also be felt in his poetry. The images of monasteries, miniature paintings,
bullock carts and antiques are recurrent themes.

Kamal talks of poor men and their hardships in a simple manner. In his poem “An Ancient Indian Coin” he talks
about the tyranny of lords upon poor men. He says:

“The king’s hunting-dogs are better fed

than most of his subjects.”

These lines show the depth and anger of a sensitive heart towards brutal kings who seem to betray their own
people. They are so cruel that they consider dogs better than the human beings. In the same poem Kamal talks
about the poor system of division of wealth and the ill use of it. He says:

“But a piece of gold

does not take one very far.”

What he means to say is that money is nothing to be proud of if you cannot help the needy and poor, after all it
won’t stay forever. Money cannot buy moral values.

In his poem “Floods” Kamal talks about the cruelty of natural disasters and weather. He says that the nature can be
very tyrant at some times:

“How can one forgive

the treachery

of blind rivers.”

He describes the situation of poor rural people after the floods. In this way he uses the social themes in his poem.
His poem talks openly about the problems we face in rural areas:

“Their hut was

forty years old.

they had

three wooden boxes of dowry

and a sackful of expensive rice.”

In this poem Kamal has painted rural picture in a beautiful way.

His poem “A Narrow Valley” also describes the theme of flash-floods. In this poem he taunts the cruelty of nature
as well as the cruelty of men. He says in the hard times like these only prayers do not work, one must take
precautionary measures to avoid hardships of floods.

He says beautifully:

“Prayers

do not work

at times

such as these.”

In his poems, Kamal not only talks about the tyranny of nature and kings , but also the religious priests. He also
talks about the class difference that made has made. In his poem “An Ancient Indian Coin” he says:

“Men create their own gods

and a earned Brahmin is exempt

from all taxation.”

The Brahmins are considered to be the people of high class. This is why they are free to do whatever they like. It
shows the hypocrisy of society. Kamal criticizes this system.

Kamal also touches the sensitive matter of war. In his poem “Beirut” he talks about the bloody scene of war in
Lebanon. In a way he talks about the betrayal of men towards their fellow men. This poem represents his less faith
in humanity:
“Many died

dreaming of water

many burnt alive.

Shadows everywhere

the city has become

its own monument.”

The best part of this poem is the last four lines because in a way they talk about a ray of hope. He says:

“This mourning

must not cease.

Mother, dry your tears.

Your sons will return.”

In these lines he is trying to tell the people that martyrs never die. He gives their mothers the news of their eternal
life.

Kamal’s poems talk about a betrayed society, not only by their kings, but by the hypocrite priests, nature, as well
as by themselves. This betrayal is not only a physical one. It is a moral betrayal which wounds souls. Daud Kamal
can be referred as poet of deep buried feelings who knows the art of making these feeling visible in a soft and
simple manner.