stad Daman was a poet of extraordinary courage, writing without fear despite frequently facing consequences in both physical and economic terms.

Economically, he had little to lose, apart from his lack of material possessions. He fashioned himself after the mould of Punjabi poets known for their fearlessness and refusal to compromise. Their courage stemmed from their detachment from material accumulation.

Ustad Daman also lived where Shah Hussain is said to have spent much of his life, following in the footsteps of his role model. He embraced a life largely free from material wants and possessions, in harmony with his poetic and philosophical ideals.

His poetry lacked stylised nuance, carrying the raw and direct tradition of folk poetry. Its unvarnished nature often made it too confrontational for those it criticised, frequently landing him in trouble. Yet, he faced the repercussions without complaint or regret.

This tradition of poetic expression was cherished by those who distanced themselves from privilege, avoiding the machinations of power and the lure of wealth. The mystical tradition in the Punjab also upheld this fearless form of expression, providing centuries of poetic idiom where a spade was called a spade without doubt or misgiving. Ustad Daman was deeply rooted in this legacy, continuing its bold and uncompromising spirit.

He adhered to the oral tradition, where poetry was primarily spoken and received directly by listeners, without any mediated agency. This ancient practice, followed for centuries, regarded oral outpourings as purer in their inspirational form compared to efforts shaped by the human mind and emotional intelligence acting on the received inspiration.

The full impact of his poetry was felt in the immediacy of its transmission, as pure inspiration flowed directly from the poet to the listener. Any subsequent effort to replicate it lacked the pristine impact of the original delivery. Unsurprisingly, much of Ustad Daman’s poetry was never recorded or preserved in printed form. Many of his verses were simply spoken, received and lost to time, never documented for permanence.

Daman was critical of the laidback protagonist, such as the passive Ranjha, who allowed Heer to take charge.

Poetry’s greatest virtue in the oral tradition was its simplicity and its ability to be absorbed effortlessly—what might be called dil mein utar jana (settling in the heart). This immediacy was cherished and valued across generations. However, the rise of the printed word introduced more intricate verse patterns, reflecting the increasing complexity of life compared to the earlier directness of oral poetry.

With the growing prominence of Urdu, the oral tradition of Punjabi poetry saw a decline in its reach and reception, becoming more centred on the cultivated elite rather than the rustic populace. This social and cultural shift created a divide that significantly stifled Punjabi expression – a divide that remains as damaging today as it was then.

True to himself, Daman sought a hero who was neither hesitant nor indecisive. He envisioned a figure with the courage to leap into the fire and brimstone of life. Daman was critical of the laidback protagonist, such as the passive Ranjha, who allowed Heer to take charge. Instead, he crafted an active hero who shaped events rather than being shaped by them. His hero reflected his own uncompromising, unyielding nature, modelled after poets like Shah Hussain and Bulleh Shah.

In 1984, three iconic figures – Faiz Ahmed Faiz, Khursheed Anwar and Ustad Daman – passed away within two months. They were close friends who shared common causes and similar approaches to the challenges and constraints of their times.

As time passes, poets who insisted on writing their poetry have largely remained anonymous, as Punjabi is not taught in schools. Meanwhile, those who communicated solely through oral traditions have fallen victim to the inherent fragility of the spoken medium.

However, with new technologies and the resurgence of the spoken word in digital formats, the revival of oral traditions seems more promising than at any time since the dominance of the printing press. It appears that the society remains more at ease with the spoken word than with the written one.

The writer is a culture critic based in Lahore