Badi der kar di aane mein,
Ummeed na thi miloge tum.
Hum to gungunaate hi reh jaate...
Wednesday, April 27, 2011
Thursday, April 21, 2011
Tasveer
Woh baithi hain humse nazrein churaaye,
Khafa hain shayad.
Par jaa baithi jo ek tasveer mein,
To bhala kaise manaaye koi!
Frame ko ghumaya, khud ko jhukaya,
Par aankh-micholi khelna chahti hain inki nigahein,
Chalo yeh bhi sahi hai,
Ab itminaan se dekha karenge tumhe.
Na rok sakoge, na tok sakoge,
"Kitne besharam ho!" bhi na keh sakoge,
Kisne kaha tha tasveer mein qaid hone ko!
Khafa hain shayad.
Par jaa baithi jo ek tasveer mein,
To bhala kaise manaaye koi!
Frame ko ghumaya, khud ko jhukaya,
Par aankh-micholi khelna chahti hain inki nigahein,
Chalo yeh bhi sahi hai,
Ab itminaan se dekha karenge tumhe.
Na rok sakoge, na tok sakoge,
"Kitne besharam ho!" bhi na keh sakoge,
Kisne kaha tha tasveer mein qaid hone ko!
Tuesday, April 19, 2011
One must begin somewhere...
Aaj teri bahut yaad aayi,
Ek hi pal mein aankh bhar aayi ?
Par maa, tu to pyaaz kaat-te hue roti na thi!
For more information, please refer to Triveni.
For much better examples, please refer to these ones.
But one must begin somewhere...
Ek hi pal mein aankh bhar aayi ?
Par maa, tu to pyaaz kaat-te hue roti na thi!
For more information, please refer to Triveni.
For much better examples, please refer to these ones.
But one must begin somewhere...
Monday, April 18, 2011
Correction: Know your Asoka
Looks like there is enough confusion surrounding the Asoka tree to merit an article in The Hindu to clarify it.
Thanks Ipsita! I feel much better knowing that I am not alone in it! :)
The article: http://www.hindu.com/mp/2005/11/26/stories/2005112600470400.htm
Thanks Ipsita! I feel much better knowing that I am not alone in it! :)
The article: http://www.hindu.com/mp/2005/11/26/stories/2005112600470400.htm
Friday, April 15, 2011
Udaan
Aaj phir khwaabon ne ek udaan li...
Aaj phir kuchh nazaare nazar aaye...
Badalon ki dhundh thodi chhatne lagi...
Chehron se parda thoda hatne laga...
Suraj ki roshni bhi sheetal si...
Hawa ka jhonka bhi humein lehrata raha...
Par shayad indhan ki kami mehsoos ho rahi thi...
Jo vimaan hamara ab utarne laga...
Ab zameen se phir se wohi badal dikhein...
Un nazaaron ki pahunch thodi seemit...
Par ehsaas hai us udaan ka...
Aur ummeed hai phir ek udaan ki....
Friday, April 8, 2011
Babumoshai!
"Babumoshai, yeh duniya ek rangmanch hai aur hum sub is rangmanch ki kathputliya hai jinki dor upar wale ke haath me hai jahapanah" - Gulzar
For some strange reason, I was completely oblivious to the existence of this man for the first twenty-three years of my life. Well, thats not completely true, I've known enough trivia about him to answer questions in quizzes, but its only now that I see all the pieces of the puzzle coming together.
Ranging from the most affecting lyrics to the very relatable movies he directed, going through a body of work spanning over 48 years puts me more and more in awe of Gulzar. From the little I have read about him, it began with Bandini in 1963 ("Mora gora ang lai le"), when Bimal Roy doubted whether a writer with name like "Gulzar" is capable of writing a Vaishnav bhajan :
"Bhadralok ki Vaishnav kabita jaani?"(What does this gentleman know about Vaishnav poetry?)
And Gulzar writes:
"Mora gora ang lai le,
Mohe shyam rang dei de,
Chhup jaaungi raat hi mein,
Mohe pii ka sang dei de."
In between, he writes:
"Apni tanhai ka auron se na shikva karna,
Tum akele hi nahin ho sabhi akele hain,
Ye akela safar nahin guzra,
Jaane kya soch kar nahin guzra..."
- Kinara (1977)
If you felt he was all for intensity, he would remind you of innocence in:
"Lakdi ki kathi, kathi pe ghoda,
Ghode ke dum pe jo maara hathoda,
Dauda dauda dauda, ghoda dum utha ke dauda"
- Masoom (1983)
"Jungle jungle baat chali hai pata chala hai,
Chaddi pehen ke phool khila hai phool khila hai"
- The Jungle Book (early 1990's)
Finally, you would have thought he cannot keep up with the new generation, but he chooses to walk a fine path:
"Jhoothi mooti shayari mein,
Likhti diya hai diary mein,
Aakhri khwahish ho tum,
Last farmayish ho tum,
Tu samajhta kyon nahin hai, dil bada gehra kuan hai,
Aag lagti hai hamesha, har taraf dhuan dhuan hai,
Kood jaa Priya milegi, phir zara duniya khilegi,
Warna my dear Harakiri kar, Harakiri kar, Harakiri kar!"
- Jaan-e-mann (2006)
"Kabhi zindagi se maanga, pinjare mein chaand laa do,
Kabhi laalten leke, kahan aasmaan pe taango"
- Kaminey (2009)
and to end with...
"Dil to bachcha hai ji..."
- Ishqiya (2010)
To think, that his work as a lyricist was admirable enough, he has been an accomplished craftsman as a filmmaker(Aandhi, Koshish, Parichay, Angoor, Mirza Ghalib (TV Series)), and has even written the story (Guddi) and dialogues (Anand, Bawarchi) for many of Hrishikesh Mukherjee's films. To combine the sensitivity of the heart with the sensibility of the mind is a tough ask, and yet Gulzar strikes a chord on both counts. I am yet to come to terms with Gulzar-the-poet, but I can't help but think that it is only the tip of the iceberg.
I often run the risk of extrapolating things to complete the missing information in my head - maybe we all do. All this information about Gulzar, makes me want to experience his state of mind. I might be neglecting the pieces of information that he had a strong training in Urdu, learnt Bengali so that he could read his favourite authors, or just had the natural gift as a writer. I am not sure if I would like to be present during the Indo-Pak partition or be part of the struggling years where he might have spent time as a mechanic in an auto garage either.
Lets see how things transpire... :)
For some strange reason, I was completely oblivious to the existence of this man for the first twenty-three years of my life. Well, thats not completely true, I've known enough trivia about him to answer questions in quizzes, but its only now that I see all the pieces of the puzzle coming together.
Ranging from the most affecting lyrics to the very relatable movies he directed, going through a body of work spanning over 48 years puts me more and more in awe of Gulzar. From the little I have read about him, it began with Bandini in 1963 ("Mora gora ang lai le"), when Bimal Roy doubted whether a writer with name like "Gulzar" is capable of writing a Vaishnav bhajan :
"Bhadralok ki Vaishnav kabita jaani?"(What does this gentleman know about Vaishnav poetry?)
And Gulzar writes:
"Mora gora ang lai le,
Mohe shyam rang dei de,
Chhup jaaungi raat hi mein,
Mohe pii ka sang dei de."
In between, he writes:
"Apni tanhai ka auron se na shikva karna,
Tum akele hi nahin ho sabhi akele hain,
Ye akela safar nahin guzra,
Jaane kya soch kar nahin guzra..."
- Kinara (1977)
If you felt he was all for intensity, he would remind you of innocence in:
"Lakdi ki kathi, kathi pe ghoda,
Ghode ke dum pe jo maara hathoda,
Dauda dauda dauda, ghoda dum utha ke dauda"
- Masoom (1983)
"Jungle jungle baat chali hai pata chala hai,
Chaddi pehen ke phool khila hai phool khila hai"
- The Jungle Book (early 1990's)
Finally, you would have thought he cannot keep up with the new generation, but he chooses to walk a fine path:
"Jhoothi mooti shayari mein,
Likhti diya hai diary mein,
Aakhri khwahish ho tum,
Last farmayish ho tum,
Tu samajhta kyon nahin hai, dil bada gehra kuan hai,
Aag lagti hai hamesha, har taraf dhuan dhuan hai,
Kood jaa Priya milegi, phir zara duniya khilegi,
Warna my dear Harakiri kar, Harakiri kar, Harakiri kar!"
- Jaan-e-mann (2006)
"Kabhi zindagi se maanga, pinjare mein chaand laa do,
Kabhi laalten leke, kahan aasmaan pe taango"
- Kaminey (2009)
and to end with...
"Dil to bachcha hai ji..."
- Ishqiya (2010)
To think, that his work as a lyricist was admirable enough, he has been an accomplished craftsman as a filmmaker(Aandhi, Koshish, Parichay, Angoor, Mirza Ghalib (TV Series)), and has even written the story (Guddi) and dialogues (Anand, Bawarchi) for many of Hrishikesh Mukherjee's films. To combine the sensitivity of the heart with the sensibility of the mind is a tough ask, and yet Gulzar strikes a chord on both counts. I am yet to come to terms with Gulzar-the-poet, but I can't help but think that it is only the tip of the iceberg.
I often run the risk of extrapolating things to complete the missing information in my head - maybe we all do. All this information about Gulzar, makes me want to experience his state of mind. I might be neglecting the pieces of information that he had a strong training in Urdu, learnt Bengali so that he could read his favourite authors, or just had the natural gift as a writer. I am not sure if I would like to be present during the Indo-Pak partition or be part of the struggling years where he might have spent time as a mechanic in an auto garage either.
Lets see how things transpire... :)
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