Mumbai resident and poet Hussain Haidry recited this powerful poem at a poetry slam titled “Hindustani Musalmaan”. The poem has since gone viral because of the powerful message it delivers
Today, being a Muslim has resulted in a lot of stereotypes and challenges. With US President Donald Trump’s anti-Muslim stand, the rise of ISIS in the past three years, and the widespread Islamophobia around the world, things have just become tougher .
But then, Mumbai resident and poet Hussain Haidry recited this powerful poem at a poetry slam titled “Hindustani Musalmaan”. The poem has since gone viral because of the powerful message it delivers.
In this goosebump-inducing, powerful poem titled "Hindustani Musalmaan", Hussain Haidry echoes his sentiments about being an Indian Muslim.
“Mujhe ek nazar se dekh tu, mere ek nahi sau chehrey hai
Sau rang ke hai kirdaar mere, sau kalam se likhi kahaani hoon
Mai jitna Musalmaan hoon, mai utna Hindustani hoon.”
(“Take a look at me, I have not one face but a hundred, I play a hundred roles, I am a story written with a hundred pens, I am as much an Indian as I am a Muslim.”)
While speaking to DNA, Haidry said that he didn't expect the poem to go viral. "I was happy if 4,000 people saw it, but then I saw that it's been shared over 1,00,000 times on Facebook and is also being circulated on WhatsApp," he said.
The idea came to Haidry while travelling from Kolkata to Bhutan last year, and he wrote the first few lines in a diary. "I forgot most of the lines and I lost that diary, but the first stanza is something that I remember and I rewrote the poem two months ago. The poem is my personal experience of growing up in India," he addded.
A freelance writer and accountant by profession, Haidry grew up in Indore and went to Sri Sathya Sai Vidya Viha. "We grew up with a varied exposure to life, and as an adult, I ask why there are so many dimensions to an individual's identity? We are such a diverse nation that we can't look at the same topic with one lens," he said, adding that the poem was a personal observation and that he wasn't speaking on behalf of anyone.
Haidry says he is glad with the response and says that out of 100 people who have contacted him, three have been critical. "I'm not upset with that. Everyone has an opinion and I must respect it
Watch the powerful poem here
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