Faiz on Finding Moments of Peace in Darkness

Faiz Ahmad Faiz, one of the subcontinent’s most beloved poets, was sentenced in a Hyderabad prison in the early 1950’s for his involvement in a Soviet-backed coup against the then Pakistani Prime Minister, Liaqat Ali Khan. Some of his letters to his wife Alys have luckily survived the tides of time, showing his attempts to celebrate the little joys of life. While he acknowledges ​“blue” periods, he also describes calming moments such as waking up to the morning sun shining on his face or exchanging smiles with his friendly cell-mate, Arbab. His vivid descriptions of early mornings in jail and the comforting sounds of its gate locks suggest that he found moments of peace even amidst the darkness of prison life. 

25 March 1952

I think pain and unhappiness are distinct and different things and it is possible to go on suffering pain without being really unhappy. Pain is something external, something that comes from without, an ephemeral accident like a physical ailment, like our present separation, like the death of a brother. Unhappiness on the other hand, although produced by pain is something within yourself which grows, develops and envelops you if you allow it to do so and do not watch out. Pain, no one can avoid but unhappiness you can overcome if you consider something worthwhile enough to live for. Perhaps I am becoming pedantic again so I shall leave it.

The weather here is exactly as you left it – only the nights have become a little colder and the days slightly warmer. I am in good spirits and better health and thinking of you and the funny faces with all the love there is in my heart. Kiss the little ones for me. 

All my love. 

Faiz