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Raath Ki Rani

By Sham-e-Ali Nayeem

Dedicated to the 40,000-200,000 Muslims killed in Hyderabad, Deccan in the aftermath of the Indian annexation of Hyderabad (Operation Polo) in 1948.  Known as the Hyderabad Massacres, this history of the mass killings of Hyderabadi Muslims was contained in the Sunder Lal Committee Report that was submitted in 1949 and suppressed by Nehru and subsequent governments until 2013.

 

The other night I sensed her
fragrance makes presence
known before witness.

Heard faint flowers
unseen anklets worn by
ghosts of  Hyderabadi streets.

Drooping inflorescences
of light and gloss cluster
tasbeeh rain clouds as

night prayer punctuates
non linear space,
shadow and sky.

Can’t suppress scent 
perhaps cover it up, cloak it
but its essence

seeps into everything
present, undeniable
length of a grandmother’s arms.

Difficult to eradicate what
belongs to the land.
She makes herself known.

No flower has a stronger song.


 

 

 

Listen as Sham-e-Ali Nayeem reads Raath Ki Rani .
Added: Friday, September 6, 2024  /  Used with permission.
Sham-e-Ali Nayeem
Photo by Les Talusan.

Sham-e-Ali Nayeem is a multidisciplinary artist, poet, sound practitioner and recovering social justice lawyer with Hyderabadi (Deccan) Muslim roots. She is the author of the poetry collection City of Pearls (Upset Press, 2019), and has released two albums: City of Pearls (2019) and Moti Ka Sheher (2023) featuring self- composed musical interpretations from her book. She is the recipient of the 2022 Leeway Transformation Award, the 2016 Loft Literary Center Spoken Word Immersion Fellowship, and the 1997 Echoing Green Fellowship.

Image Description: In a black-and-white portrait, Sham-e-Ali Nayeem stands in front of a marble wall. She tilts her head to the left and looks toward the camera. She has bangs with long dark hair and wears a black top with a circle pattern. 

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