Hyderabad's Baigan: A Vegetable that Smells as Sweet as Satire
What’s in a name? Shakespeare may have believed that a rose would smell as sweet by any other name, but he clearly never visited Hyderabad. Had he done so, he would have realised that a humble brinjal – better known here as baigan – isn’t just a vegetable. It is an emotion, an exclamation, a punchline, a philosophy and, as it now turns out, the title of a book. For the uninitiated, baigan is a perfectly respectable, nutrient-rich vegetable found in kitchens across India. But in Hyderabad, it has achieved celebrity status. It has quietly slipped out of the frying pan and into everyday conversation, becoming an inseparable part of Dakhni. Someone is boring you? Say “ Baigan ke bataan nakko karo .” You couldn’t care less? “ Baigan sati .” An argument gets heated? Someone is bound to threaten, “ Baigan mein mila doonga !” And when tempers cool, everyone sits down to relish the evergreen baghare baigan. How this purple vegetable acquired such linguistic stardom is anyone’s guess. Classical Urdu gives us the proverb thali ka baigan for a person who keeps changing sides. Hyderabad, however, has promoted baigan far beyond the status of a mere proverb. Here it happily wears several hats – or perhaps several crowns. Naturally, it was only a matter of time before baigan found its way onto the cover of a book. Enter humour poet, Moin Amar, who writes under the delightfully unusual pen name “Bamboo.” If your takhallus (alter ego) is Bamboo, why settle for an ordinary book title? His latest offering proudly announces itself as “Baigan Ki Shayeri.” The title alone is enough to raise eyebrows and curiosity in equal measure. Is it poetry about brinjals? Poetry fit only for time pass? Or simply a clever Hyderabadi prank? The answer, as readers soon discovered, is a delicious mixture of all three – minus the actual vegetable. Published by the aptly named Fools Paradise Cultural Society, the book was released at Urdu Hall, Himayathnagar, in an evening where laughter was the chief guest. After his earlier collections – Bamboo Bazaar and Qahqahon Ka Parcel – Bamboo returns with another serving of satire generously garnished with Hyderabadi humour. Keeping with the spirit of the occasion, programme organiser Javeed Kamal entertained the audience with his hilarious essay, “Ahmaqon Ki Jannat,” ensuring that the laughter began well before the poetry did. The gathering wasn’t large, but those who attended laughed enough for a packed auditorium. Even the book’s price carried a joke. Costing Rs 420, it was mischievously described as “ Ek Muskurahat Ki Qimat ” — the price of a smile. Considering the number of laughs packed into its pages, it may well qualify as Hyderabad’s cheapest stress-relief package. At first glance, the title Baigan Ki Shayeri suggests that the book may be full of worthless verses. But appearances, like Hyderabadi promises of “five minutes,” can be deceptive. Bamboo uses humour as camouflage. Hidden behind jokes, puns and witty one-liners are sharp observations on everyday life, politics, inflation, cricket and society. He doesn’t preach – he tickles. And while readers are busy laughing, he quietly slips in a thought or two. He even introduces a cricketing flavour by calling his four-line verses “chavve” – a playful nod to hitting boundaries. Some of his verses on the famous baigan read: Deccani muhaware ki okhli main isne ghota Baigan ka chakh lo bhurta baigan ki shayeri main Aane ka wada karke wo baigan bata diya Karta raha main shab bhar shayeri Main ne ghazal sunai jab usko pyar se Sunte isne keh diya baigan ki shayeri Bamboo’s satire isn’t confined to vegetables. Financial scandals also come under his poetic microscope: Masjid banate bol ko chanda to le liya the Masjid ka pata nahin, Maulana kidhar hai ki Regional politics gets similar treatment: Batware ka natija hai, bijli hai na pani hai Andhra andhere main hai, Telangana kidhar hai ki And when it comes to the ever-rising cost of living, Bamboo proves that even inflation can become funny: Insanon ke janaa khari, kya hota ki kya nai ki Mehngai itni badhti jaari, kya hota ki kya nai ki Ek tanqah mein ab to guzara bahut mushkil hai Biwi bhi kamane ko jaari, kya hota ki kya nai ki Every verse landed with perfect comic timing, sending the audience into peals of laughter. Other humour poets who followed kept the mood alive, but Bamboo’s trademark blend of wit and satire remained the highlight of the evening. Perhaps the biggest achievement of Baigan Ki Shayeri is that it elevates a vegetable into a literary metaphor. In Hyderabad, where language is seasoned with humour and everyday conversations are sprinkled with baigan, the title feels perfectly at home. The moral? Never judge a book by its cover, or by its vegetable. In Hyderabad, even a baigan can become a bestseller, a punchline and a poet’s muse, all at the same time. After all, this is the city where humour is always served hot… preferably with a side of baghare baigan.
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