I asked Abba once that how does he deal with criticism. "I don't respond to criticism at all. If it's coming from a well meaning source then I incorporate what I feel will help me in future, otherwise I just ignore it," he replied. Tell me more about how you don't let the critics affect you, I requested Abba. "Well there are times when I get letters where it's written that the meter of a particular couplet in any of my Ghazals is incorrect. I just simply throw the letter in the dustbin. My reasoning is that the person who is writing that letter and trying to criticise me is wasting his and my time. He should have rather tried and written a Ghazal that people would have loved unanimously. Why should I pay heed to someone who hasn't proved himself/herself in the world of Art? If someone makes a mark for himself/herself then he/she wouldn't be having so much of time to send a letter to me expressing criticism. People should rather invest their time and energy to hone their own craft," he said.
Abba was a very harsh critic of himself. He used to write and recite his Ghazals/Nazmz to me (I was his first audience for the15-18 years before he passed away). He used to rework on them and then recite the corrected version. He would himself know where he has gone wrong. There were occasions where I felt a Ghazal or Nazm was excellent but Abba rejected it. People haven't read some of his works because he didn't approve of it. He didn't want people to know of it.
Moral of the story is that be a harsh critic of yourself and ignore the self proclaimed 'critics' who may not be having the best of intentions. And they may be jealous of you as well.
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