Daste-Saba is Faiz Ahmed Faizs second collection of poems, one that holds historical significance not only in his own work but also in progressive literature as a whole. When it was published in November 1952, Faiz was imprisoned in Hyderabad Central Jail (Pakistan) as part of the Rawalpindi Conspiracy case. During his college days, the romantic Faiz had encountered the realities of the country and the world, considering Gham-e-Jaan and Gham-e-Dauran as two aspects of the same experience, and they had become even more vivid. But now, this experience had been joined by something elsethe experience of prison. Referring to this, Faiz himself wrote, Jail, like love, is a fundamental experience in itself, in which a new window of thought and perspective automatically opens. Therefore, in this collection, we can see Faizs passion, which he once expressed by saying, Why not embrace the worlds sorrow, becoming even stronger. Along with this, there is also a steely resolve to fight for his principles, saying, Whats the harm if the iron and pen are taken away?
