Originally posted on rec.music.indian.misc in 1997
Allow me to return to one of my favourite topics of the first season of ASAD. Lyrics Plagiarism. Yet another case. Have you heard this song from Vijaypath (MD Anu Malik, *ing Ajay Devgan, Tabbu).
der lagi aane me tumko, shukr hai phir bhi aaye to,
aas ne dil_ka saath na chhoda, waise hum ghabaraaye to
Who is the Lyricist ??? It's an exact copy of a Matla of a GHazal by Andaleeb Shaadani ! Not a single word has been changed !! Too much.
Once again, what do you think of such acts ? To me lyrics plagiarism is much worse than Music Plagiarism. When a MD copies, he still has to do some work. Arrange the orchestra, train the singers etc. But when a lyricist copies, he becomes a total parasite. Deplorable.
Anyway. Here is a nice sher from the same GHazal ....
taariKH = history
jhooth hai sab ! taariKH hamesha, apane_ko doharaati hai !
achchha ? mera KHWaab-e-jawaani, thodaasaa doharaaye to !
- Andaleeb Shadani
Asking History to repeat one's dream of youth is quite an interesting idea, isn't it ? It also indicates that for the poet, the dream was as good as reality. And now, it's history. Whatever way you look at it, it's an interesting sher.
- Abhay.
ASAD _also_ stands for "A Sher A Day" !
Tuesday, January 27, 2009
ASAD - 84
Originally posted on rec.music.indian.misc in 1997
I am sure most of you are going to like today's sher ! Not because it's simple (after a difficult one by GHalib) :-) but it describes a very common situation. Even if you have not been in that situation, it's easy to imagine, what it would be to be in that situation :-) :-)
It doesn't matter which part of India you are from. "mehendi" is a very important thing for the ladies. Everywhere. Especially in marriages.
But have you ever come across a husband, who says ...
heena = mehendi
ye bhi nayaa sitam hai ! heena to lagaaye ghair,
aur daad uski chaahe wo, mujh_ko dikhaa_ke haath !!!
- Nizaam Raampuri
Ghair_se mehendi laga'o, aur uparse chaahati ho ke maiN tarif karuN ? Never. :-)
Such a marvel ! A wonderful gem. Top class poetry. The mock jealousy, that childish complaint is so well captured here !
This is from a very famous Ghazal written by MiyaaN Nizaamshah, who lived in Raampur (UP) from 1819 to 1869. (Also sung by Pankaj Udhas).
Can you figure out that Rafi-Asha(?) duet which has a bit similar feelings in the lines of the 'mukhada' ? Let me give you 3 'keywords' from the first line. -- "banjaaraa", "chuDiyaaN", "mauj". Easy ? :-) Not in the class of this sher, certainly, but similar.
- Abhay.
ASAD _also_ stands for "A Sher A Day" !
I am sure most of you are going to like today's sher ! Not because it's simple (after a difficult one by GHalib) :-) but it describes a very common situation. Even if you have not been in that situation, it's easy to imagine, what it would be to be in that situation :-) :-)
It doesn't matter which part of India you are from. "mehendi" is a very important thing for the ladies. Everywhere. Especially in marriages.
But have you ever come across a husband, who says ...
heena = mehendi
ye bhi nayaa sitam hai ! heena to lagaaye ghair,
aur daad uski chaahe wo, mujh_ko dikhaa_ke haath !!!
- Nizaam Raampuri
Ghair_se mehendi laga'o, aur uparse chaahati ho ke maiN tarif karuN ? Never. :-)
Such a marvel ! A wonderful gem. Top class poetry. The mock jealousy, that childish complaint is so well captured here !
This is from a very famous Ghazal written by MiyaaN Nizaamshah, who lived in Raampur (UP) from 1819 to 1869. (Also sung by Pankaj Udhas).
Can you figure out that Rafi-Asha(?) duet which has a bit similar feelings in the lines of the 'mukhada' ? Let me give you 3 'keywords' from the first line. -- "banjaaraa", "chuDiyaaN", "mauj". Easy ? :-) Not in the class of this sher, certainly, but similar.
- Abhay.
ASAD _also_ stands for "A Sher A Day" !
ASAD - 83
Originally posted on rec.music.indian.misc in 1997
The "Lata sings GHalib" album has some very difficult tunes by the MD Hridaynath. On top of it, the poetry is by GHalib, which has never been simple to understand. Here is a sher from this combination, which I found to have both these qualities.
The way I see it, it's a great/very good Sher, but GHalib has made it difficult by using contrasting words. As an aside, I think Gulzar picked up only this habit from his Idol and forgot to learn other qualities :-) Khair, jaane do. :-)
mudda'i = enemy [Remember "mudda'i laakh bura chaahe to kya hota hai" ?]
qayaamat hai ! ki howe mudda'i ka ham_safar, 'GHalib'
wo kaafir, jo KHuda ko bhi na sauNpaa jaaye hai mujh_se
- GHalib
Give this a thought before you proceed. What is GHalib trying to say ?
IMHO, this is a difficult sher. Let me offer my interpretation. The poet is in love with someone. He sees her going (or coming) along with a person whom GHalib considers his enemy (in love). Hence in frustration, he says, "I won't trust even God Himself to take care of her, and here
she is - with my enemy. Kya qayaamat hai !".
Interesting to note here is the usage of contrasting words like 'muddai' and 'ham_safar', also 'kaafir' and 'KHuda'.
The idea of not trusting even God, has been used in atleast one Hindi song. Can you figure out the song ? :-) Here are some hints. It's a SJ-Rafi-Shammi song. Enough ? :-) Ok, the movie *ed Sadhana. Now ? :-) Ok, let me give you the way the stanza starts ....
maiN kaise khuda haafiz keh duN,
mujh_ko to kisi ka yakin nahiN .....
That should be enough :-)
- Abhay.
ASAD _also_stands for "A Sher A Day" !
The "Lata sings GHalib" album has some very difficult tunes by the MD Hridaynath. On top of it, the poetry is by GHalib, which has never been simple to understand. Here is a sher from this combination, which I found to have both these qualities.
The way I see it, it's a great/very good Sher, but GHalib has made it difficult by using contrasting words. As an aside, I think Gulzar picked up only this habit from his Idol and forgot to learn other qualities :-) Khair, jaane do. :-)
mudda'i = enemy [Remember "mudda'i laakh bura chaahe to kya hota hai" ?]
qayaamat hai ! ki howe mudda'i ka ham_safar, 'GHalib'
wo kaafir, jo KHuda ko bhi na sauNpaa jaaye hai mujh_se
- GHalib
Give this a thought before you proceed. What is GHalib trying to say ?
IMHO, this is a difficult sher. Let me offer my interpretation. The poet is in love with someone. He sees her going (or coming) along with a person whom GHalib considers his enemy (in love). Hence in frustration, he says, "I won't trust even God Himself to take care of her, and here
she is - with my enemy. Kya qayaamat hai !".
Interesting to note here is the usage of contrasting words like 'muddai' and 'ham_safar', also 'kaafir' and 'KHuda'.
The idea of not trusting even God, has been used in atleast one Hindi song. Can you figure out the song ? :-) Here are some hints. It's a SJ-Rafi-Shammi song. Enough ? :-) Ok, the movie *ed Sadhana. Now ? :-) Ok, let me give you the way the stanza starts ....
maiN kaise khuda haafiz keh duN,
mujh_ko to kisi ka yakin nahiN .....
That should be enough :-)
- Abhay.
ASAD _also_stands for "A Sher A Day" !
ASAD - 82
This sher was alos discussed in ASAD - 46.
Originally posted on rec.music.indian.misc in 1997
What's in a name ? A famous question, with it's answer included in the tone of it. Let's see a different answer today.
Consider the following sher.
koi samjhaa'e, ye kya rang hai maikhaane ka,
aaNkh saaqi ki uTHe, naam ho paimaane ka !
Would you accept it if I told you that the Shayar is Iqbal ? It's a good sher, but by the standards of great Iqbal it's a cheapo. The style of presentation is also unlike him. It's really difficult to associate his name with this sher.
This is a GHulam Ali ghazal. Long time back, my friend told me that the name written on the cassette cover is Iqbal. I couldn't swallow it.
Now, a couple of years back, I found this sher in one of the books, and was 'relieved' to find the name of the shayar to be 'Iqbal Safipuri'.
Does anyone have this GHazal in original cassette ? What is the name of the Shayar written on the cover ? If it's just 'Iqbal' then IMHO it's a very wrong thing to do. Because just Iqbal means Mohammed Allama Iqbal. No one else. That's how it should be with the names of such great poets like GHalib, Meer, Jigar and others. For other poets sharing the same alias, complete name should be used.
So what's in a name ? Respect, I would say.
- Abhay.
ASAD _also_ means "A Sher A Day" !
Originally posted on rec.music.indian.misc in 1997
What's in a name ? A famous question, with it's answer included in the tone of it. Let's see a different answer today.
Consider the following sher.
koi samjhaa'e, ye kya rang hai maikhaane ka,
aaNkh saaqi ki uTHe, naam ho paimaane ka !
Would you accept it if I told you that the Shayar is Iqbal ? It's a good sher, but by the standards of great Iqbal it's a cheapo. The style of presentation is also unlike him. It's really difficult to associate his name with this sher.
This is a GHulam Ali ghazal. Long time back, my friend told me that the name written on the cassette cover is Iqbal. I couldn't swallow it.
Now, a couple of years back, I found this sher in one of the books, and was 'relieved' to find the name of the shayar to be 'Iqbal Safipuri'.
Does anyone have this GHazal in original cassette ? What is the name of the Shayar written on the cover ? If it's just 'Iqbal' then IMHO it's a very wrong thing to do. Because just Iqbal means Mohammed Allama Iqbal. No one else. That's how it should be with the names of such great poets like GHalib, Meer, Jigar and others. For other poets sharing the same alias, complete name should be used.
So what's in a name ? Respect, I would say.
- Abhay.
ASAD _also_ means "A Sher A Day" !
ASAD - 81
Originally posted on rec.music.indian.misc in 1997
Today's sher doesn't need any introduction at all. Really. Nevertheless, let me say this. It's similar to the thoughts expressed by Rajeev Gandhi in his early days, while openly admitting the corruption that prevails in Indian bureaucracy.
yahaaN tak aate aate, sookh jaati haiN ka'i nadiyaaN,
mujhe maalum hai, paani kahaaN THaharaa hu'aa hoga !
- Dushyant
Perfect commentary on many "Sarakaari yojanaa'e" ! Of course, he may have something else in mind, this is just my interpretation.
To make this short post a bit long, here is some obligatory trivia. Kavi Dushyant was born on 1st September 1933 in Rajpur (UP) and died on 30th Dec 1975 in Bhopal.
- Abhay.
ASAD _also_ stands for "A Sher A Day" !
Today's sher doesn't need any introduction at all. Really. Nevertheless, let me say this. It's similar to the thoughts expressed by Rajeev Gandhi in his early days, while openly admitting the corruption that prevails in Indian bureaucracy.
yahaaN tak aate aate, sookh jaati haiN ka'i nadiyaaN,
mujhe maalum hai, paani kahaaN THaharaa hu'aa hoga !
- Dushyant
Perfect commentary on many "Sarakaari yojanaa'e" ! Of course, he may have something else in mind, this is just my interpretation.
To make this short post a bit long, here is some obligatory trivia. Kavi Dushyant was born on 1st September 1933 in Rajpur (UP) and died on 30th Dec 1975 in Bhopal.
- Abhay.
ASAD _also_ stands for "A Sher A Day" !
ASAD - 80
Originally posted on rec.music.indian.misc in 1997
Have you ever wondered why the Poets use only a handful similes or very limited imagery ? I mean, the lover is either Maahtaab (moon) or Shamma or Aaftaab (suraj) or Gul or Saaqi or Kaafir or whatever. But it's very rare to hear a different comparison. There are many reasons, why this is so. Maybe I can plan a mini-series on it someday.
But today, let's see an exception. A comparison you could have never thought about. Something radically different !! I am sure, this sher will take you by total surprise. I bet !
Allow me to present this wonderful sher and dedicate this article to our good old Indian Railway :-)
tu kisi "rail"_si guzarati hai !
maiN kisi puul_sa thartharaataa huN !!
- Dushyant
:-) :-)
Kavi Dushyant Kumar Tyagi 'Dushyant' is a big name in the world of Hindi poetry in general and Hindi GHazals in particular. I think we had his poems in our text-books. I am not able to remember them. I don't know a lot about his GHazals, but since his name has come up, I will use it as an excuse and tomorrow I will present another great sher by him. :-)
- Abhay.
ASAD _also_ stands for "A Sher A Day" !
Have you ever wondered why the Poets use only a handful similes or very limited imagery ? I mean, the lover is either Maahtaab (moon) or Shamma or Aaftaab (suraj) or Gul or Saaqi or Kaafir or whatever. But it's very rare to hear a different comparison. There are many reasons, why this is so. Maybe I can plan a mini-series on it someday.
But today, let's see an exception. A comparison you could have never thought about. Something radically different !! I am sure, this sher will take you by total surprise. I bet !
Allow me to present this wonderful sher and dedicate this article to our good old Indian Railway :-)
tu kisi "rail"_si guzarati hai !
maiN kisi puul_sa thartharaataa huN !!
- Dushyant
:-) :-)
Kavi Dushyant Kumar Tyagi 'Dushyant' is a big name in the world of Hindi poetry in general and Hindi GHazals in particular. I think we had his poems in our text-books. I am not able to remember them. I don't know a lot about his GHazals, but since his name has come up, I will use it as an excuse and tomorrow I will present another great sher by him. :-)
- Abhay.
ASAD _also_ stands for "A Sher A Day" !
ASAD - 79
Originally posted on rec.music.indian.misc in 1997
In old Hindi movies, one meets GHazal every now and then. The poets of previous generation were very comfortable while using this form of poetry to express the emotions. The Music Directors were capable of tuning a wide variety of GHazals. As a result, we have some top-class tunes for top-class GHazals. Let's see a wonderful sher from such a combination today.
The bitter sarcasm of this sher is really extra-ordinary.
tumhi_ne gham ki daulat di, badaa ehsaan farmaayaa,
zamaane_bhar ke aage, haath failaane kahaaN jaate ?!
- Shakeel
I just love this sher! One of the best in movies. Lata has poured all her magic into this song. A great song in all aspects. BTW, which song is it ? :-) This should not be very difficult, right ? :-)
- Abhay.
ASAD _also_ stands for "A Sher A Day" !
In old Hindi movies, one meets GHazal every now and then. The poets of previous generation were very comfortable while using this form of poetry to express the emotions. The Music Directors were capable of tuning a wide variety of GHazals. As a result, we have some top-class tunes for top-class GHazals. Let's see a wonderful sher from such a combination today.
The bitter sarcasm of this sher is really extra-ordinary.
tumhi_ne gham ki daulat di, badaa ehsaan farmaayaa,
zamaane_bhar ke aage, haath failaane kahaaN jaate ?!
- Shakeel
I just love this sher! One of the best in movies. Lata has poured all her magic into this song. A great song in all aspects. BTW, which song is it ? :-) This should not be very difficult, right ? :-)
- Abhay.
ASAD _also_ stands for "A Sher A Day" !
ASAD - 78
Originally posted on rec.music.indian.misc in 1997
Poverty is not new to India and in Poetry too, it has always been used. Today I will present 2 shers on this same topic, but from 2 different. Shayars from two different Eras. But first a clarification ! There is absolutely _NO_ intention of comparing the Shayars. The intention is to present the change that has taken place between these two Eras.
First a great sher by no other than Meer:
muflis = poor
shaam hi se bujha bujha_sa rahata hai,
dil hu'aa hai, chiraagh muflis ka !
- Meer Taqi Meer
What a sher! A poor man doesn't have enough money to buy the oil for burning the lamps. So "shaam hi se bujha bujha_sa rahata hai". Similar is the "haalat" of my heart. Shaam hote hi udaas ho jaata hai ! The comparison is so clever ! Salutes to Meer.
But poverty is not the main topic here. The focus is on "haal-e-dil". Here is a sher from Nida Fazali which has a focus on economics and society only. And he hits you hard.
akhabaar = News paper
so jaate haiN, footpath par akhabaar bichhaa_kar,
mazdoor kabhi neeNd ki goli nahiN khaate !
- Nida Fazali
What do you say ? There is no "nazaakat", just cruel reality. It's presented in a "matter-of- fact" manner. This is the new trend in Urdu Shayari. Symbolism is it's strength. Many a times, it's presented with a bitter sarcasm as done here. The real aim, again, is to say a lot, by saying very little.
- Abhay.
ASAD _also_ stands for "A Sher A Day" !
Poverty is not new to India and in Poetry too, it has always been used. Today I will present 2 shers on this same topic, but from 2 different. Shayars from two different Eras. But first a clarification ! There is absolutely _NO_ intention of comparing the Shayars. The intention is to present the change that has taken place between these two Eras.
First a great sher by no other than Meer:
muflis = poor
shaam hi se bujha bujha_sa rahata hai,
dil hu'aa hai, chiraagh muflis ka !
- Meer Taqi Meer
What a sher! A poor man doesn't have enough money to buy the oil for burning the lamps. So "shaam hi se bujha bujha_sa rahata hai". Similar is the "haalat" of my heart. Shaam hote hi udaas ho jaata hai ! The comparison is so clever ! Salutes to Meer.
But poverty is not the main topic here. The focus is on "haal-e-dil". Here is a sher from Nida Fazali which has a focus on economics and society only. And he hits you hard.
akhabaar = News paper
so jaate haiN, footpath par akhabaar bichhaa_kar,
mazdoor kabhi neeNd ki goli nahiN khaate !
- Nida Fazali
What do you say ? There is no "nazaakat", just cruel reality. It's presented in a "matter-of- fact" manner. This is the new trend in Urdu Shayari. Symbolism is it's strength. Many a times, it's presented with a bitter sarcasm as done here. The real aim, again, is to say a lot, by saying very little.
- Abhay.
ASAD _also_ stands for "A Sher A Day" !
ASAD - 77
Originally posted on rec.music.indian.misc in 1997
In the tele-serial Sadhana, Bhimsen Joshi remarked that "Mile sur mera" has made him more famous than all his classical singing put together ! He might be exaggerating, but the power of TV is undoubtable.
Similarly, due to the title song of TV serial Sailaab, the name of Nida Fazali is known to many who are not seriously interested in Urdu Poetry. It's a nice tune by Talat Aziz and sung very well by Jagjit Singh. If you are in India and haven't yet watched this serial, give it a try.
But as I said yesterday, Nida Fazali is quite well known to GHazal fans. Let's see a superb sher by him.
ghar_se duur hai masjid, chalo yuN kar chale,
kisi rote hue bachche_ko hasaayaa jaaye !!
- Nida Fazali
This is not just a sher to read, enjoy and forget ! It's a profound thought. In those two small lines, so much thinking about religion, humanity and our social duties has been packed ! I love the way the entire thing is presented. Wow, "ghar_se duur hai masjid" !! Superb ! So much can be said in so few words !
- Abhay.
ASAD _also_ stands for "A Sher A Day" !
In the tele-serial Sadhana, Bhimsen Joshi remarked that "Mile sur mera" has made him more famous than all his classical singing put together ! He might be exaggerating, but the power of TV is undoubtable.
Similarly, due to the title song of TV serial Sailaab, the name of Nida Fazali is known to many who are not seriously interested in Urdu Poetry. It's a nice tune by Talat Aziz and sung very well by Jagjit Singh. If you are in India and haven't yet watched this serial, give it a try.
But as I said yesterday, Nida Fazali is quite well known to GHazal fans. Let's see a superb sher by him.
ghar_se duur hai masjid, chalo yuN kar chale,
kisi rote hue bachche_ko hasaayaa jaaye !!
- Nida Fazali
This is not just a sher to read, enjoy and forget ! It's a profound thought. In those two small lines, so much thinking about religion, humanity and our social duties has been packed ! I love the way the entire thing is presented. Wow, "ghar_se duur hai masjid" !! Superb ! So much can be said in so few words !
- Abhay.
ASAD _also_ stands for "A Sher A Day" !
ASAD - 76
Originally posted on rec.music.indian.misc in 1997
Let's turn our attention to a poet whose name hase been mentioned on RMIM a few times in association with the music of RDB. I learned it here on RMIM that the songs of Harjaai were written by Nida Fazali. So in return, let me offer what I know about this poet. And since RMIMers have liked the songs, let's spend some time on him.
Nida Fazali is not an unknown name to GHazal fans. I think some of his GHazals have been sung by singers like Jagjit Singh, Talat Aziz etc. Here is a sher from a GHazal sung by Jajgit Singh ...
achchha_sa koi mausam, tanha_sa koi aalam,
har waqt ka rona to bekaar ka rona hai !!
- Nida Fazali
Samajhe ? Rone ke liye bhi muhurat dekhana chaahiye :-) The contrast between the first and second line is amusing ! I won't claim to have studied his poetry. But still, to me he is a representative of the modern trends in Shayari. The Shayari which is not just about love and beauty but about life and reality. The Shayari which hits you hard, shakes your soul. We will see such shers by Nida Fazali in coming days.
- Abhay.
ASAD _also_ stands for "A Sher A Day" !
Let's turn our attention to a poet whose name hase been mentioned on RMIM a few times in association with the music of RDB. I learned it here on RMIM that the songs of Harjaai were written by Nida Fazali. So in return, let me offer what I know about this poet. And since RMIMers have liked the songs, let's spend some time on him.
Nida Fazali is not an unknown name to GHazal fans. I think some of his GHazals have been sung by singers like Jagjit Singh, Talat Aziz etc. Here is a sher from a GHazal sung by Jajgit Singh ...
achchha_sa koi mausam, tanha_sa koi aalam,
har waqt ka rona to bekaar ka rona hai !!
- Nida Fazali
Samajhe ? Rone ke liye bhi muhurat dekhana chaahiye :-) The contrast between the first and second line is amusing ! I won't claim to have studied his poetry. But still, to me he is a representative of the modern trends in Shayari. The Shayari which is not just about love and beauty but about life and reality. The Shayari which hits you hard, shakes your soul. We will see such shers by Nida Fazali in coming days.
- Abhay.
ASAD _also_ stands for "A Sher A Day" !
Thursday, January 22, 2009
ASAD - 75
Originally posted on rec.music.indian.misc in 1997
Another quarter is over. And keeping with the tradition (!) it's time to have a sher by GHalib. So here it is, a typical GHalib sher. Enjoy !
[ These are not necessarily difficult words, but still ... ]
goyaa = "jaise" (as if)
dabistaaN = school
naale = plural of naalaa meaning weil/lament or "aart_naad"
ghazal_KHWaaN = GHazal gaane_waalaa [ That's how the dictionary defines this word. So it seems to indicate a singer and not poet.]
maiN chaman me kya gayaa, goyaa dabistaaN khul gaya !
bulbule sun_kar mere naale, ghazal_KHWaaN ho gayi !!
- GHalib
What a sher ! What a sher !! His going into a garden opened a school, where even "bulbul"s became "ghazal_KHWaaN" by listening to his wails. Amazing imagination. It says so many things. He says he was unhappy, and so he cried. His cries were so powerful that, just by listening to them even birds learned how to sing GHazals. You can also also say that the world (chaman) has joined him in his sorrows. It also equates poetry (or a part of it) with expressing one's pains and sorrows.
Simply beautiful !
[ Can ghazal_KHWaaN mean a poet ? I think yes, why not ? It's not be the literal meaning according to my dictionary, but should we stick to it ? In old times, in absence of the print media, poems were recited, sung in Mushaairas and were spread by mouth. Many a times we see the phrase 'GHazal kehanewala' being used for a poet. Also I think there were not many 'GHazal singers' at that time :-) So, IMHO, we can consider it to mean a poet. Then the sher becomes more beautiful !! ]
And as is his habit, he is also subtly praising himself, IMHO ! And for all this and many other reasons, I am a GHalib-bhakt.
- Abhay.
ASAD _also_ stands for "A Sher A Day" !
Another quarter is over. And keeping with the tradition (!) it's time to have a sher by GHalib. So here it is, a typical GHalib sher. Enjoy !
[ These are not necessarily difficult words, but still ... ]
goyaa = "jaise" (as if)
dabistaaN = school
naale = plural of naalaa meaning weil/lament or "aart_naad"
ghazal_KHWaaN = GHazal gaane_waalaa [ That's how the dictionary defines this word. So it seems to indicate a singer and not poet.]
maiN chaman me kya gayaa, goyaa dabistaaN khul gaya !
bulbule sun_kar mere naale, ghazal_KHWaaN ho gayi !!
- GHalib
What a sher ! What a sher !! His going into a garden opened a school, where even "bulbul"s became "ghazal_KHWaaN" by listening to his wails. Amazing imagination. It says so many things. He says he was unhappy, and so he cried. His cries were so powerful that, just by listening to them even birds learned how to sing GHazals. You can also also say that the world (chaman) has joined him in his sorrows. It also equates poetry (or a part of it) with expressing one's pains and sorrows.
Simply beautiful !
[ Can ghazal_KHWaaN mean a poet ? I think yes, why not ? It's not be the literal meaning according to my dictionary, but should we stick to it ? In old times, in absence of the print media, poems were recited, sung in Mushaairas and were spread by mouth. Many a times we see the phrase 'GHazal kehanewala' being used for a poet. Also I think there were not many 'GHazal singers' at that time :-) So, IMHO, we can consider it to mean a poet. Then the sher becomes more beautiful !! ]
And as is his habit, he is also subtly praising himself, IMHO ! And for all this and many other reasons, I am a GHalib-bhakt.
- Abhay.
ASAD _also_ stands for "A Sher A Day" !
ASAD - 74
Originally posted on rec.music.indian.misc in 1997
Some people have everything in life. One such person lived during the period of GHalib. He was from a rich and aristocratic family, quite handsome, fair, tall, sparkling eyes, well-dressed. He was a good chess player, knowledgeable about Music and a scholar of Persian Language. What else ? Yes, he was well trained in Yunani Medicine and as well as Aayurved. Impressive ? :-) Of course, but what's this got to do here ? Because he was a Shayar too ! He wrote in his spare time, Shayari was not his main profession. But what level he achieved !! He was one of the most famous poets in his time and today we consider him to be the second best of his era, only after GHalib ! Amazing !!
If you still haven't figured out his name, then let me tell you that we have been discussing his Shers in last 2 articles ! Here is the third one from him, in his vintage style ...
pehar = I think it's derived from Sanskrut "prahar" (1 prahar = 3 hours)
roya karenge aap bhi, peharo isi tarah,
aTaka kahiN jo aap_ka dil bhi, meri tarah
- Momin
Simple, delicate and very touching ! After Meer nobody else reaches this level of Nazaakat in GHazal. No one.
Hakim Muhammad Momin KHaaN 'Momin' was born in 1797. He never accepted any employment offer from any King or even by the British. His answer - "Gustakhi maaf, ham kisi ki naukari nahiN karate" ! Unfortunately at the age of 55 he fell down from the terrace and died after 3-4 months on 12th May, 1852. After his death MiyaaN Nazir KhaaN, (a famous Veena player of that time) packed his Veena, saying "ab Delhi me koi rasiyaa nahiN bachaa".
- Abhay.
ASAD _also_ stands for "A Sher A Day" !
Some people have everything in life. One such person lived during the period of GHalib. He was from a rich and aristocratic family, quite handsome, fair, tall, sparkling eyes, well-dressed. He was a good chess player, knowledgeable about Music and a scholar of Persian Language. What else ? Yes, he was well trained in Yunani Medicine and as well as Aayurved. Impressive ? :-) Of course, but what's this got to do here ? Because he was a Shayar too ! He wrote in his spare time, Shayari was not his main profession. But what level he achieved !! He was one of the most famous poets in his time and today we consider him to be the second best of his era, only after GHalib ! Amazing !!
If you still haven't figured out his name, then let me tell you that we have been discussing his Shers in last 2 articles ! Here is the third one from him, in his vintage style ...
pehar = I think it's derived from Sanskrut "prahar" (1 prahar = 3 hours)
roya karenge aap bhi, peharo isi tarah,
aTaka kahiN jo aap_ka dil bhi, meri tarah
- Momin
Simple, delicate and very touching ! After Meer nobody else reaches this level of Nazaakat in GHazal. No one.
Hakim Muhammad Momin KHaaN 'Momin' was born in 1797. He never accepted any employment offer from any King or even by the British. His answer - "Gustakhi maaf, ham kisi ki naukari nahiN karate" ! Unfortunately at the age of 55 he fell down from the terrace and died after 3-4 months on 12th May, 1852. After his death MiyaaN Nazir KhaaN, (a famous Veena player of that time) packed his Veena, saying "ab Delhi me koi rasiyaa nahiN bachaa".
- Abhay.
ASAD _also_ stands for "A Sher A Day" !
ASAD - 73
Originally posted on rec.music.indian.misc in 1997
A noted critic Allama Niyaaz Fatehpuri once said, "If I have all the Deewans, old and new, in front of me, and if I have to select only one Deewaan, apart from Meer's, then I will say that -- mujhe kulliyat-e-Momin de do aur baaki sab uTHaake le jaao" !! [Translation, mine] He was referring to the quality of the meter in Momin's poetry. It seems that people have found faults with respect to meter, in the poetry of almost all the major poets, including GHalib and Iqbal. But not Momin. He is supposed to have written technically perfect GHazals !!
But today, we are going to have a look at this sher from a different perspective. Find the keyword in this sher! :-)
taab = "chain" (in Hindi !) or patience [ It has other meanings too ].
hijr = judaai
wasl = milan
na taab hijr me hai, na aaraam wasl me,
kambaKHt dil ko chain nahiN hai, kisi tarah
- Momin
Be it "milan", be it "judaai", there is no peace of mind ! A typical state of anyone in love :-) Ok, now, what do you think is the keyword in this sher? In which word lies the power of the punch ?
IMHO, this is an example, where a sher has become great not by any novel thought, not by sticking to meter but rather by a great way of presentation. And in this great presentation, the word that strikes the most is "kambaKHt". Replace it by something like "paagal" (or a similar word which fits according to meter) and the grandeur is lost. Needless to say, this is IMHO.
- Abhay.
ASAD _also_ stands for "A Sher A Day" !
A noted critic Allama Niyaaz Fatehpuri once said, "If I have all the Deewans, old and new, in front of me, and if I have to select only one Deewaan, apart from Meer's, then I will say that -- mujhe kulliyat-e-Momin de do aur baaki sab uTHaake le jaao" !! [Translation, mine] He was referring to the quality of the meter in Momin's poetry. It seems that people have found faults with respect to meter, in the poetry of almost all the major poets, including GHalib and Iqbal. But not Momin. He is supposed to have written technically perfect GHazals !!
But today, we are going to have a look at this sher from a different perspective. Find the keyword in this sher! :-)
taab = "chain" (in Hindi !) or patience [ It has other meanings too ].
hijr = judaai
wasl = milan
na taab hijr me hai, na aaraam wasl me,
kambaKHt dil ko chain nahiN hai, kisi tarah
- Momin
Be it "milan", be it "judaai", there is no peace of mind ! A typical state of anyone in love :-) Ok, now, what do you think is the keyword in this sher? In which word lies the power of the punch ?
IMHO, this is an example, where a sher has become great not by any novel thought, not by sticking to meter but rather by a great way of presentation. And in this great presentation, the word that strikes the most is "kambaKHt". Replace it by something like "paagal" (or a similar word which fits according to meter) and the grandeur is lost. Needless to say, this is IMHO.
- Abhay.
ASAD _also_ stands for "A Sher A Day" !
ASAD - 72
Originally posted on rec.music.indian.misc in 1997
We have been discussing Radeef for quite some time now. Today's article is the last on Radeef. The word itself, comes from Arabic, where it's a feminine word, with plural "Radeefa" and meaning "pillion rider on a camel" ! In a way, it is a "pillion rider" as it comes after Qaafiyaa.
Today's Radeef is one of the longest I know ! From a fascinating GHazal by Momin which has a Radeef - "tumhe yaad ho ke na yaad ho".
The entire GHazal contains "memories of a forgotten love". The small things, which a lover cannot forget. Wo nazar, wo ishaare, wo hasana aur wo ruTHana ! At the risk of sounding sexist I will say that, "ruTHana" is a very feminine "nakhara". It's a Birth Right of women, and boy, they know really well how to exercise it !! In a way, it's fun too :-)
Here is a sher from this masterpiece ...
wasl ki raat = milan ki raat
har aaN sadaa = every time the same reply/sound
[ "Sadaa" means 1.sound 2.voice 3.call and I don't know how to precisely put the
complete phrase in English. But it's not at all difficult to guess what the Shayar intends
to say ...]
wo bigadana wasl_ki raat_ka,
wo na maanana kisi baat_ka,
wo "nahiN, nahiN" ki har aaN sadaa,
tumhe yaad ho ke na yaad ho
- Momin
Such simple words ! Such great poetry ! That's Momin. To understand and appreciate this sher, all you need to know is "what is it to have fallen in love" ! If you have loved, this sher will touch your heart. If you haven't loved, well, then what's the point in talking Shayari to you :-)
- Abhay.
ASAD _also_ stands for "A Sher A Day" !
We have been discussing Radeef for quite some time now. Today's article is the last on Radeef. The word itself, comes from Arabic, where it's a feminine word, with plural "Radeefa" and meaning "pillion rider on a camel" ! In a way, it is a "pillion rider" as it comes after Qaafiyaa.
Today's Radeef is one of the longest I know ! From a fascinating GHazal by Momin which has a Radeef - "tumhe yaad ho ke na yaad ho".
The entire GHazal contains "memories of a forgotten love". The small things, which a lover cannot forget. Wo nazar, wo ishaare, wo hasana aur wo ruTHana ! At the risk of sounding sexist I will say that, "ruTHana" is a very feminine "nakhara". It's a Birth Right of women, and boy, they know really well how to exercise it !! In a way, it's fun too :-)
Here is a sher from this masterpiece ...
wasl ki raat = milan ki raat
har aaN sadaa = every time the same reply/sound
[ "Sadaa" means 1.sound 2.voice 3.call and I don't know how to precisely put the
complete phrase in English. But it's not at all difficult to guess what the Shayar intends
to say ...]
wo bigadana wasl_ki raat_ka,
wo na maanana kisi baat_ka,
wo "nahiN, nahiN" ki har aaN sadaa,
tumhe yaad ho ke na yaad ho
- Momin
Such simple words ! Such great poetry ! That's Momin. To understand and appreciate this sher, all you need to know is "what is it to have fallen in love" ! If you have loved, this sher will touch your heart. If you haven't loved, well, then what's the point in talking Shayari to you :-)
- Abhay.
ASAD _also_ stands for "A Sher A Day" !
ASAD - 71
Originally posted on rec.music.indian.misc in 1997
Small Radeef, BIG Influence
Well, a big Radeef (more words) can easily have considerable influence. Can a small Radeef have such a big influence ? Yes, why not ! Can you think of any example ? It's a very famous GHazal sung by GHulam Ali. It has been discussed many times on RMIM. Also taken in a movie. Enough clues :-) So have another look at this from the Radeef angle ...
beshaql ki aawaaz = faceless voice (superb !)
kal shab mujhe, beshaql ki aawaaz ne chaunka diya,
maine kahaaN, "tu kaun hai ?", usne kahaa, "Aawaaragi"
- 'Mohsin' Naqvi
The Radeef is just one word - "aawaaragi". But you don't need me to explain the influence of Radeef. Here all the shers of the GHazal are about Aawaaragi ! The Radeef is the topic ! Superb GHazal. Approx an year ago, the Shayar Mohsin Naqvi died. A victim of Karachi's riots and violence.
- Abhay.
ASAD _also_ stands for "A Sher A Day" !
Small Radeef, BIG Influence
Well, a big Radeef (more words) can easily have considerable influence. Can a small Radeef have such a big influence ? Yes, why not ! Can you think of any example ? It's a very famous GHazal sung by GHulam Ali. It has been discussed many times on RMIM. Also taken in a movie. Enough clues :-) So have another look at this from the Radeef angle ...
beshaql ki aawaaz = faceless voice (superb !)
kal shab mujhe, beshaql ki aawaaz ne chaunka diya,
maine kahaaN, "tu kaun hai ?", usne kahaa, "Aawaaragi"
- 'Mohsin' Naqvi
The Radeef is just one word - "aawaaragi". But you don't need me to explain the influence of Radeef. Here all the shers of the GHazal are about Aawaaragi ! The Radeef is the topic ! Superb GHazal. Approx an year ago, the Shayar Mohsin Naqvi died. A victim of Karachi's riots and violence.
- Abhay.
ASAD _also_ stands for "A Sher A Day" !
ASAD - 70
Originally posted on rec.music.indian.misc in 1997
Radeef and RJGK-36
This is not a rule, but just an observation. More the words in a Radeef, more is it's influence. Why, consider the longer Radeefs in the RJGK-36. Sahir's "bula rahi haiN tumhe" or "qareeb aa jaao". Even the "bura maan gaye" one. They also helped you in solving the quiz :-), right ? It's easy to note, the influence of Radeef is nontrivial in all these cases.
There could have been one more song in the quiz with an influential and long Radeef. I am sure, you would easily guess this Khayyam song.
iz'haar = disclosure (here, izhaar hona = raaz khul jaana)
KHoon dil ka, na chhalak jaaye, meri aaNkhoN se
ho na jaaye kahiN iz'haar, KHuda khair kare
- ??
I may not be able to hide the pain, so my love will no longer be a secret ! Such a superb sher! It can be interpreted to equate love with pain, but there is no complaint. In fact the worry is about the poet's own strength or the lack of it. Nice ?
Are you surprised to know that this is a GHazal ? What do you think about such a tune for a GHazal ? A masterpiece by KHayyam. As has been mentioned on RMIM around 2 years back, the name of the singer is Kabban Mirza, who may be from Lukhnow (courtsey Ikram and Ashok).
- Abhay.
ASAD _also_ stands for "A Sher A Day" !
Radeef and RJGK-36
This is not a rule, but just an observation. More the words in a Radeef, more is it's influence. Why, consider the longer Radeefs in the RJGK-36. Sahir's "bula rahi haiN tumhe" or "qareeb aa jaao". Even the "bura maan gaye" one. They also helped you in solving the quiz :-), right ? It's easy to note, the influence of Radeef is nontrivial in all these cases.
There could have been one more song in the quiz with an influential and long Radeef. I am sure, you would easily guess this Khayyam song.
iz'haar = disclosure (here, izhaar hona = raaz khul jaana)
KHoon dil ka, na chhalak jaaye, meri aaNkhoN se
ho na jaaye kahiN iz'haar, KHuda khair kare
- ??
I may not be able to hide the pain, so my love will no longer be a secret ! Such a superb sher! It can be interpreted to equate love with pain, but there is no complaint. In fact the worry is about the poet's own strength or the lack of it. Nice ?
Are you surprised to know that this is a GHazal ? What do you think about such a tune for a GHazal ? A masterpiece by KHayyam. As has been mentioned on RMIM around 2 years back, the name of the singer is Kabban Mirza, who may be from Lukhnow (courtsey Ikram and Ashok).
- Abhay.
ASAD _also_ stands for "A Sher A Day" !
ASAD - 69
Originally posted on rec.music.indian.misc in 1997
So the "aahista aahista" Radeef has been used many times. Is this any plagiarism ? Can the term "Radeef Plagiarism" make any sense ? We have talked a lot about Lyrics Plagiarism in the first season of ASAD. Here let's see a case, which can be called "Radeef Plagiarism".
There is a famous GHazal sung by Pankaj Udhas, written by Rashid (?). Here is the Matla, the first sher ...
nam = geeli, bheegi (moist)
dard ki baarish sahi, mat tham, zaraa aahista chal
dil ki mitti hai, abhi tak nam, zaraa aahista chal
A nice sher, isn't it ?
The Radeef is "zaraa aahistaa chal", which is also very nice. Quite delicate. It takes talent to think such a Radeef and use it effectively. It's possible (just possible) that the Radeef is due to someone else.
Here is a sher by a contemporary and top rank poet.
gharib-e-shahar-e-na_pursa = stranger in a city of indifferent people
[ This is a long phrase ! Let's decipher it :-)
pursa = one who inquires about one's well-being
Hence na_pursa = indifferent, one who does not care etc
shahar = city
gharib = means 1.poor or 2.starnger
Hence my translation, which I hope conveys the general meaning :-) ]
is nagar me zulf ka saayaa, na daaman ki hawaa,
ai gharib-e-shahar-e-na_pursa, zaraa aahistaa chal
- Ahmed Faraz
Again, a nice sher.
Note that, this Radeef is obviously more influential than the ones we have seen before. With every article, the influence of Radeef goes up. I am sure, by now, you must be wondering - is "inventing" a Radeef so important ? For an accomplished and talented poet, no, it's not THE important thing. To him/her, it's a part of a big picture. Sadly many amateur poets, spend a lot of time thinking about a good combination of Radeef and Quaafiya and forget that it's the complete sher that clicks.
- Abhay.
ASAD _also_ stands for "A Sher A Day" !
So the "aahista aahista" Radeef has been used many times. Is this any plagiarism ? Can the term "Radeef Plagiarism" make any sense ? We have talked a lot about Lyrics Plagiarism in the first season of ASAD. Here let's see a case, which can be called "Radeef Plagiarism".
There is a famous GHazal sung by Pankaj Udhas, written by Rashid (?). Here is the Matla, the first sher ...
nam = geeli, bheegi (moist)
dard ki baarish sahi, mat tham, zaraa aahista chal
dil ki mitti hai, abhi tak nam, zaraa aahista chal
A nice sher, isn't it ?
The Radeef is "zaraa aahistaa chal", which is also very nice. Quite delicate. It takes talent to think such a Radeef and use it effectively. It's possible (just possible) that the Radeef is due to someone else.
Here is a sher by a contemporary and top rank poet.
gharib-e-shahar-e-na_pursa = stranger in a city of indifferent people
[ This is a long phrase ! Let's decipher it :-)
pursa = one who inquires about one's well-being
Hence na_pursa = indifferent, one who does not care etc
shahar = city
gharib = means 1.poor or 2.starnger
Hence my translation, which I hope conveys the general meaning :-) ]
is nagar me zulf ka saayaa, na daaman ki hawaa,
ai gharib-e-shahar-e-na_pursa, zaraa aahistaa chal
- Ahmed Faraz
Again, a nice sher.
Note that, this Radeef is obviously more influential than the ones we have seen before. With every article, the influence of Radeef goes up. I am sure, by now, you must be wondering - is "inventing" a Radeef so important ? For an accomplished and talented poet, no, it's not THE important thing. To him/her, it's a part of a big picture. Sadly many amateur poets, spend a lot of time thinking about a good combination of Radeef and Quaafiya and forget that it's the complete sher that clicks.
- Abhay.
ASAD _also_ stands for "A Sher A Day" !
ASAD - 68
Originally posted on rec.music.indian.misc in 1997
Allow me to take a diversion from Radeef and write something important related to "aahista aahista" here. It's such a great choice for a Radeef. Almost assures the "nazaakat" for which Urdu poetry is famous. Naturally, there are many GHazals with this Radeef. Which is the first ?
I doubt whether we can be sure. But the following is the oldest sher I could dig up with this same Radeef. It, IMHO, may be from the first one. Why ? It's by a poet who lived before many other famous poets, and his contribution to GHazal is incomparable to anyone else.
He is considered to be the Father of Urdu Poetry ! And here is a sher by him with the same Radeef ...
lutf = mazaa
shab-e-KHalwat = milan ki raat [ actually KHalwat = privacy, solitude ]
ajab kuchh lutf rakhataa hai, shab-e-KHalwat me dilbar se,
sawaal aahistaa aahistaa, jawaab aahistaa aahistaa !
- Wali Dakhani
Milan ki raat ko, dheere_se sawaal puchhane me aur dheere_se jawaab paane me, kuchh aur hi mazaa aataa hai ! I know this prose is so far away from the effect the sher creates, but hey, I am no poet :-).
Wali lived from 1668 till 1742 in Aurangabad. During his lifetime he visited Delhi twice. His visits to Delhi, his poetry and his influence on the character of the GHazal are going to pop up many times in this series. For now, let me say just this, whatever we generally think of GHazal is mainly due to him !
- Abhay
ASAD _also_ stands for "A Sher A Day" !
Allow me to take a diversion from Radeef and write something important related to "aahista aahista" here. It's such a great choice for a Radeef. Almost assures the "nazaakat" for which Urdu poetry is famous. Naturally, there are many GHazals with this Radeef. Which is the first ?
I doubt whether we can be sure. But the following is the oldest sher I could dig up with this same Radeef. It, IMHO, may be from the first one. Why ? It's by a poet who lived before many other famous poets, and his contribution to GHazal is incomparable to anyone else.
He is considered to be the Father of Urdu Poetry ! And here is a sher by him with the same Radeef ...
lutf = mazaa
shab-e-KHalwat = milan ki raat [ actually KHalwat = privacy, solitude ]
ajab kuchh lutf rakhataa hai, shab-e-KHalwat me dilbar se,
sawaal aahistaa aahistaa, jawaab aahistaa aahistaa !
- Wali Dakhani
Milan ki raat ko, dheere_se sawaal puchhane me aur dheere_se jawaab paane me, kuchh aur hi mazaa aataa hai ! I know this prose is so far away from the effect the sher creates, but hey, I am no poet :-).
Wali lived from 1668 till 1742 in Aurangabad. During his lifetime he visited Delhi twice. His visits to Delhi, his poetry and his influence on the character of the GHazal are going to pop up many times in this series. For now, let me say just this, whatever we generally think of GHazal is mainly due to him !
- Abhay
ASAD _also_ stands for "A Sher A Day" !
ASAD - 67
Originally posted on rec.music.indian.misc in 1997
Radeef
Let's move on to a little more influential Radeef. This is also the most famous Radeef of all time ! Can you guess it ? There are many GHazals with this Radeef. The ultra-super- mega-famous "aahista aahista".
The following shers are in Amir Minai's GHazal sung by Jagjit Singh. Let me mention this. The lines he sings before and which begins like "mazaar-e-Qais par jab ruh-e-Laila ...." is most certainly not a part of the actual GHazal by Amir Minai. Such lines are a topic of future articles. Same about the sher which ends like "udhar aahista aahista", where the Qaafiya just doesn't match. This again, will be discussed later. Let's talk about Radeef today.
It's interesting to note how Amir Minai uses this seemingly restrictive Radeef in two totally different Shers. They happen to be Matla & Maqta.
ruKH = chehra
naqaab = parda
aaftaab = suraj (contrast this to maahtaab [Moon] another usual simile )
sarakati jaaye hai, ruKH se naqaab, aahista aahista
nikalata aa rahaa hai, aaftaab, aahista aahista
wo bedardi_se sar kaate, 'Amir', aur maiN kahuN use
"Huzur, aahista aahista ! Janaab, aahista aahista"
A marvel ! Who on this earth won't say "Wah wah" to the last sher?? So you see, Radeef doesn't force any restrictions on a good poet. But it has some influence on the character of the GHazal. In fact this GHazal is known by it's Radeef ! A sure sign of influence !
- Abhay
ASAD _also_ stands for "A Sher A Day" !
Radeef
Let's move on to a little more influential Radeef. This is also the most famous Radeef of all time ! Can you guess it ? There are many GHazals with this Radeef. The ultra-super- mega-famous "aahista aahista".
The following shers are in Amir Minai's GHazal sung by Jagjit Singh. Let me mention this. The lines he sings before and which begins like "mazaar-e-Qais par jab ruh-e-Laila ...." is most certainly not a part of the actual GHazal by Amir Minai. Such lines are a topic of future articles. Same about the sher which ends like "udhar aahista aahista", where the Qaafiya just doesn't match. This again, will be discussed later. Let's talk about Radeef today.
It's interesting to note how Amir Minai uses this seemingly restrictive Radeef in two totally different Shers. They happen to be Matla & Maqta.
ruKH = chehra
naqaab = parda
aaftaab = suraj (contrast this to maahtaab [Moon] another usual simile )
sarakati jaaye hai, ruKH se naqaab, aahista aahista
nikalata aa rahaa hai, aaftaab, aahista aahista
wo bedardi_se sar kaate, 'Amir', aur maiN kahuN use
"Huzur, aahista aahista ! Janaab, aahista aahista"
A marvel ! Who on this earth won't say "Wah wah" to the last sher?? So you see, Radeef doesn't force any restrictions on a good poet. But it has some influence on the character of the GHazal. In fact this GHazal is known by it's Radeef ! A sure sign of influence !
- Abhay
ASAD _also_ stands for "A Sher A Day" !
ASAD - 66
Originally posted on rec.music.indian.misc in 1997
Radeef
Let us start with a Radeef that has minimal or absolutely no influence on the character of the GHazal. GHalib was particularly fond of such types of Radeef. Most of his GHazals have very liberal Radeef. Words which allow maximum freedom to his thoughts. Doesn't this sound quite logical ? You see, I may have a point when I say all this about Radeef.
The Radeef here is "nahiN aati". So all we can guess is, that the Shers will have some kind of negation expressed. That's hardly any incluence.
No difficult words this time ! In spite of a sher by GHalib :-).
aage aati thi haal-e-dil pe haNsi,
ab kisi baat par nahiN aati
- GHalib
Certainly, this Radeef doesn't lend any character to the GHazal.
It's sung by Begum Akhtar, the music may be by Khayyam. There is Lata version also, music by Hridaynath.
I had a hard time convincing a group of my friends that there is indeed something good in this Sher. In fact I couldn't convince them. "What's this ?" exclaimed one. "Is this any poetry ? First he could laugh, now he cannot. So what ?? Secondly, it sounds like plain prose. Not poetry." Another said that, just because it's by GHalib, I am praising it. I disagreed.
The poets usually cry about "haal-e-dil". Sometimes they go a step further and laugh about it. GHalib is going another step and saying that he can't even do that now. The only reason he had to laugh about, was his own condition. Now even that is not possible. Great !! The state of numbness ( OR the feeling of "all is lost" ) is expressed so nicely and simply here !
What do you think ?
- Abhay
ASAD _also_ stands for "A Sher A Day" !
Radeef
Let us start with a Radeef that has minimal or absolutely no influence on the character of the GHazal. GHalib was particularly fond of such types of Radeef. Most of his GHazals have very liberal Radeef. Words which allow maximum freedom to his thoughts. Doesn't this sound quite logical ? You see, I may have a point when I say all this about Radeef.
The Radeef here is "nahiN aati". So all we can guess is, that the Shers will have some kind of negation expressed. That's hardly any incluence.
No difficult words this time ! In spite of a sher by GHalib :-).
aage aati thi haal-e-dil pe haNsi,
ab kisi baat par nahiN aati
- GHalib
Certainly, this Radeef doesn't lend any character to the GHazal.
It's sung by Begum Akhtar, the music may be by Khayyam. There is Lata version also, music by Hridaynath.
I had a hard time convincing a group of my friends that there is indeed something good in this Sher. In fact I couldn't convince them. "What's this ?" exclaimed one. "Is this any poetry ? First he could laugh, now he cannot. So what ?? Secondly, it sounds like plain prose. Not poetry." Another said that, just because it's by GHalib, I am praising it. I disagreed.
The poets usually cry about "haal-e-dil". Sometimes they go a step further and laugh about it. GHalib is going another step and saying that he can't even do that now. The only reason he had to laugh about, was his own condition. Now even that is not possible. Great !! The state of numbness ( OR the feeling of "all is lost" ) is expressed so nicely and simply here !
What do you think ?
- Abhay
ASAD _also_ stands for "A Sher A Day" !
ASAD - 65
Originally posted on rec.music.indian.misc in 1997
Radeef
What is Radeef ? Simple. It's a set of words with which EVERY sher in a GHazal ends. eg. "pe rona aayaa" as we were discussing about the GHazals by Shakeel and Sahir. So Radeef is syntactically very important. Is there anything more ? IMHO, yes. Radeef has a very important role to play in the "semantics" ! I haven't read anything in any book along these lines. But I have some of my ideas here. It's too obvious, probably that's why we miss it. The words in Radeef have a meaning. What's the big deal ? Ok. Consider the following:
kabhi KHud pe, kabhi haalaat pe ronaa aayaa,
baat nikali to, har ik baat pe ronaa aayaa,
kaun rota hai, kisi aur ki KHaatir ai dost,
sab_ko apane hi, kisi baat pe ronaa aayaa
- Sahir
Simple, yet profound ! The 2nd sher can be interpreted in many ways. Now once the poet has chosen on a Radeef "pe rona aayaa", he has to write shers which end in these words. That means, all the shers will talk about "rona". Not a rule, but a good and easy guess.
Now you see what I mean. The choice of Radeef can be a decisive factor when it comes to the emotions expressed !! Radeef has a semantic value ! Of course, this is not true always. If the Radeef is anything like "aati hai", "nahi hai" etc. then it's not so influential. But in many (not most) cases Radeef is semantically influential. Note that Radeef DOES NOT FORCE the poet to choose particular emotions. But it can give a direction to the GHazal. A character of its own. How, when, how much etc. ? That's exactly what we are going to see !
- Abhay.
ASAD _also_ stands for "A Sher A Day" !
Radeef
What is Radeef ? Simple. It's a set of words with which EVERY sher in a GHazal ends. eg. "pe rona aayaa" as we were discussing about the GHazals by Shakeel and Sahir. So Radeef is syntactically very important. Is there anything more ? IMHO, yes. Radeef has a very important role to play in the "semantics" ! I haven't read anything in any book along these lines. But I have some of my ideas here. It's too obvious, probably that's why we miss it. The words in Radeef have a meaning. What's the big deal ? Ok. Consider the following:
kabhi KHud pe, kabhi haalaat pe ronaa aayaa,
baat nikali to, har ik baat pe ronaa aayaa,
kaun rota hai, kisi aur ki KHaatir ai dost,
sab_ko apane hi, kisi baat pe ronaa aayaa
- Sahir
Simple, yet profound ! The 2nd sher can be interpreted in many ways. Now once the poet has chosen on a Radeef "pe rona aayaa", he has to write shers which end in these words. That means, all the shers will talk about "rona". Not a rule, but a good and easy guess.
Now you see what I mean. The choice of Radeef can be a decisive factor when it comes to the emotions expressed !! Radeef has a semantic value ! Of course, this is not true always. If the Radeef is anything like "aati hai", "nahi hai" etc. then it's not so influential. But in many (not most) cases Radeef is semantically influential. Note that Radeef DOES NOT FORCE the poet to choose particular emotions. But it can give a direction to the GHazal. A character of its own. How, when, how much etc. ? That's exactly what we are going to see !
- Abhay.
ASAD _also_ stands for "A Sher A Day" !
ASAD - 64
Originally posted on rec.music.indian.misc in 1997
Before embarking on a mini-series on Radeef here is an unconnected article. Many songs got dropped off the RJGK-36. This is one of them. I wanted to take a few good GHazals from newer films. We all know about the contribution of Jagjit Singh, Pankaj Udhas etc to Filmi GHazals. (BTW, no one complained about their absence in the quiz.) But somehow these newer songs never made it to the quiz. The reason following clue got deleted from the quiz was, it may not be so easy. Also I am not aware of the Pstats !
saahil = kinaara
naakhuda = maazi
tufaaN me hume chhod_ke, saahil pe aa gaye
naakhuda ka, hum_ne jinhe naam diyaa hai
- ??
I know the picturisation of this song. It's a party song and sung by Smita Patil. Other actors are Rajesh Khanna, Tina Munim and Rajesh Roshan. This sher is sung by Smita Patil. RajeshK also joins later and sings a sher or two. He is also recording the party on his Video camera. Rajesh Roshan and Tina Munim look like the target of the song. The movie name might be "Aakhir KyuN". I am not sure. I won't be surprised if the MD happens to be LP/RajeshRoshan/BappiLehri. Got the song ? :-) A decent sher, by today's standards. The tune is also OK and the song was quite popular. So guys, can you guess the song ? :-)
- Abhay.
ASAD _also_ stands for "A Sher A Day" !
Before embarking on a mini-series on Radeef here is an unconnected article. Many songs got dropped off the RJGK-36. This is one of them. I wanted to take a few good GHazals from newer films. We all know about the contribution of Jagjit Singh, Pankaj Udhas etc to Filmi GHazals. (BTW, no one complained about their absence in the quiz.) But somehow these newer songs never made it to the quiz. The reason following clue got deleted from the quiz was, it may not be so easy. Also I am not aware of the Pstats !
saahil = kinaara
naakhuda = maazi
tufaaN me hume chhod_ke, saahil pe aa gaye
naakhuda ka, hum_ne jinhe naam diyaa hai
- ??
I know the picturisation of this song. It's a party song and sung by Smita Patil. Other actors are Rajesh Khanna, Tina Munim and Rajesh Roshan. This sher is sung by Smita Patil. RajeshK also joins later and sings a sher or two. He is also recording the party on his Video camera. Rajesh Roshan and Tina Munim look like the target of the song. The movie name might be "Aakhir KyuN". I am not sure. I won't be surprised if the MD happens to be LP/RajeshRoshan/BappiLehri. Got the song ? :-) A decent sher, by today's standards. The tune is also OK and the song was quite popular. So guys, can you guess the song ? :-)
- Abhay.
ASAD _also_ stands for "A Sher A Day" !
ASAD - 63
Originally posted on rec.music.indian.misc in 1997
Shakeel Badayuni
Today's sher is from one of the best renditions by Begum Akhtar. It's the 'Maqta', the last Sher of a GHazal in which the poet uses his 'takhallus' (name/alias). No difficult words this time !
jab hu'aa zikr, zamaane me, muhabbat ka 'Shakeel',
mujh_ko apane hi dil-e-naakaam pe rona aayaa
- Shakeel Badayuni
The mere mention of "love" makes me cry !
You may not have heard this GHazal. But don't the words strike a chord ? A filmi GHazal by Sahir and sung by Rafi ? For Devsaab. MD Jaidev. Got it ? From Hum Dono ? :-) I know, any RMIMer will guess the song. :-) [ Yes, even the KKKlaners :-) ]. But what is similar in the two GHazals ? Yes, the words "pe rona aaya". The words come at the end of every Sher in both the GHazals. Therefore these words constitute the "Radeef" of both the GHazals. Such GHazals which have the same Radeef are called "ham_radeef" GHazals. And Radeef is going to be our topic of discussion for next few days.
- Abhay.
ASAD _also_ stands for "A Sher A Day" !
Shakeel Badayuni
Today's sher is from one of the best renditions by Begum Akhtar. It's the 'Maqta', the last Sher of a GHazal in which the poet uses his 'takhallus' (name/alias). No difficult words this time !
jab hu'aa zikr, zamaane me, muhabbat ka 'Shakeel',
mujh_ko apane hi dil-e-naakaam pe rona aayaa
- Shakeel Badayuni
The mere mention of "love" makes me cry !
You may not have heard this GHazal. But don't the words strike a chord ? A filmi GHazal by Sahir and sung by Rafi ? For Devsaab. MD Jaidev. Got it ? From Hum Dono ? :-) I know, any RMIMer will guess the song. :-) [ Yes, even the KKKlaners :-) ]. But what is similar in the two GHazals ? Yes, the words "pe rona aaya". The words come at the end of every Sher in both the GHazals. Therefore these words constitute the "Radeef" of both the GHazals. Such GHazals which have the same Radeef are called "ham_radeef" GHazals. And Radeef is going to be our topic of discussion for next few days.
- Abhay.
ASAD _also_ stands for "A Sher A Day" !
ASAD - 62
Originally posted on rec.music.indian.misc in 1997
Shakeel Badayuni
My many favourites are of no importance to RMIM. I am not complaining. I have got used to it now. One such great person is Shakeel Badayuni. A great poet who was equally good at GHazals and general Nazm. Fortunately Begum Akhtar did not share RMIM's opinion and sang many GHazals by him. One of her best, is a GHazal by him. (Tomorrow).
But what did Shakeel think about himself ? Consider the following Sher.
tarjumaaN = translator
raazdaaN = friend (one who knows your "raaz"/secrets)
faKr = pride
maiN, 'Shakeel', dil ka huN tarjumaaN,
ki muhabbatoN ka huN raazdaaN,
mujhe fakr hai, meri shayaari,
meri zindagi_se juda nahiN
- Shakeel Badayuni
It's indeed great, if one's poetry is true to his life. If you want to know what is "ishqiaana shaayari" then Shakeel's poetry in movies can serve as a case study ! In his songs you will find all the features of classical Ishqiaana Urdu Shayari - the similes, the styles, the ways of expression, the phrases and everything. In short, Shakeel is mainly a poet of love (an important subject in Urdu Shayari). In this context, you can appreciate the sher more.
Shakeel was born on 3rd August 1916 in Badayun and died on 20th April 1970 in Bombay. BTW, Shakeel means "handsome", which I think he was.
- Abhay.
ASAD _also_ stands for "A Sher A Day" !
Shakeel Badayuni
My many favourites are of no importance to RMIM. I am not complaining. I have got used to it now. One such great person is Shakeel Badayuni. A great poet who was equally good at GHazals and general Nazm. Fortunately Begum Akhtar did not share RMIM's opinion and sang many GHazals by him. One of her best, is a GHazal by him. (Tomorrow).
But what did Shakeel think about himself ? Consider the following Sher.
tarjumaaN = translator
raazdaaN = friend (one who knows your "raaz"/secrets)
faKr = pride
maiN, 'Shakeel', dil ka huN tarjumaaN,
ki muhabbatoN ka huN raazdaaN,
mujhe fakr hai, meri shayaari,
meri zindagi_se juda nahiN
- Shakeel Badayuni
It's indeed great, if one's poetry is true to his life. If you want to know what is "ishqiaana shaayari" then Shakeel's poetry in movies can serve as a case study ! In his songs you will find all the features of classical Ishqiaana Urdu Shayari - the similes, the styles, the ways of expression, the phrases and everything. In short, Shakeel is mainly a poet of love (an important subject in Urdu Shayari). In this context, you can appreciate the sher more.
Shakeel was born on 3rd August 1916 in Badayun and died on 20th April 1970 in Bombay. BTW, Shakeel means "handsome", which I think he was.
- Abhay.
ASAD _also_ stands for "A Sher A Day" !
ASAD - 61
Originally posted on rec.music.indian.misc in 1997
Malika-e-GHazal
Let me start the series with an artiste who is the most deserving to be called -- Malika- e-GHazal. No points for guessing ! Begum Akhtar !! And as per the tradition (!) we must begin with a Sher by GHalib. So here it is. The ultimate combination.... A nice article about her can be found in the RMIM Archive maintained by Satish and Prince. It was posted by Rajan Parrikar. Here in this series we will discuss only her GHazals.
Not many would doubt the statement that the best rendition of "yeh na thi hamari qismat" is by Begum Akhtar. You have to listen to it. It's fabulous. You won't blame the people who _equate_ GHazal singing with her. She is also credited for making GHazal singing a respected art. So here is a wonderful sher ....
masaa'il-e-tasawwuf = problems in philosophy (mysticism/Suffism)
bayaaN = comments
wali = Saint (rishi)
baadaa_KHWaar = drunk person
ye masaa'il-e-tasawwuf, ye tera bayaaN, 'GHalib',
tujhe hum wali samjhate, jo na baadaa_KHWaar hota !
- Mirza AsadullaakhaaN GHalib
It has some difficult words. But the rewards of understanding this Sher are more than the pains to figure out the meaning. It's a typical GHalib Sher. A thought-provoking gem. GHalib often likes to talk about himself and his poetry. Here he is saying that his philosophical musings are of such a class, that he would have called himself a Saint -- had he not been a drunken ! Superb, na ? Is he praising himself ? Or is he ridiculing ? You decide for yourself ! That's typically GHalib.
- Abhay.
ASAD _also_ stands for "A Sher A Day" !
Malika-e-GHazal
Let me start the series with an artiste who is the most deserving to be called -- Malika- e-GHazal. No points for guessing ! Begum Akhtar !! And as per the tradition (!) we must begin with a Sher by GHalib. So here it is. The ultimate combination.... A nice article about her can be found in the RMIM Archive maintained by Satish and Prince. It was posted by Rajan Parrikar. Here in this series we will discuss only her GHazals.
Not many would doubt the statement that the best rendition of "yeh na thi hamari qismat" is by Begum Akhtar. You have to listen to it. It's fabulous. You won't blame the people who _equate_ GHazal singing with her. She is also credited for making GHazal singing a respected art. So here is a wonderful sher ....
masaa'il-e-tasawwuf = problems in philosophy (mysticism/Suffism)
bayaaN = comments
wali = Saint (rishi)
baadaa_KHWaar = drunk person
ye masaa'il-e-tasawwuf, ye tera bayaaN, 'GHalib',
tujhe hum wali samjhate, jo na baadaa_KHWaar hota !
- Mirza AsadullaakhaaN GHalib
It has some difficult words. But the rewards of understanding this Sher are more than the pains to figure out the meaning. It's a typical GHalib Sher. A thought-provoking gem. GHalib often likes to talk about himself and his poetry. Here he is saying that his philosophical musings are of such a class, that he would have called himself a Saint -- had he not been a drunken ! Superb, na ? Is he praising himself ? Or is he ridiculing ? You decide for yourself ! That's typically GHalib.
- Abhay.
ASAD _also_ stands for "A Sher A Day" !
Wednesday, January 21, 2009
ASAD - 60
Originally posted on rec.music.indian.misc in 1995
har mulaaqaat ka anjaam, judaai kyuN hai ?
ab to har waqt, yehi baat sataati hai hame
All good things come to an end, and so must this series ! I know, I am flattering myself, but please allow me, as this is the last installment of this "A Sher A Day" series.
It has been a wonderful experience in compiling this series. I love GHazals, it's my obsession, so I loved talking about it. But it takes a lot of time to pick a good Sher which is easy to understand and at the same time, easy to appreciate, and then write an enjoyable article on it. And then it has to be relevant to RMIM ! This and Chitrahaar leave me hardly any time to get engaged in real music related discussions as I used to. The work pressure in the office is also increasing. Therefore in the past few days, the frequency had gone down, to the extent where the name of the series was becoming more and more irrelevant. So at least for the time being, I am calling it a day for this series.
but_kadaa = house of the beloved (quite apt !!)
ab to jaate hai, but_kade se, 'Mir'
phir milenge, agar KHudaa laayaa
- Mir Taqi Mir
I won't claim that I discussed all the important aspects of GHazals. But I did try to give a sample of many. From the singers and the Shayars to the versatality of the topics found in GHazals. Not all topics were discussed. And not all great Shayars were discussed either. The Shayar most neglected by this series was GHalib himself. Ironic, as the name of the series was forcibly related to GHalib's real name. There remains lot more to be said, I could have said all those things. Perhaps I will start again. But that will be after a long break. I had planned only 25 articles in the beginning. But then the series was liked by RMIM. Thanks to the encouragement, I could get till 60 articles. I should take this opportunity to all those who supported this series. Not everyone liked it though !
But as GHalib himself said ...
vaaiz = orthodox/pious
'GHalib', bura na maan, jo vaaiz bura kahe
aisa bhi koi hai, ki sab achchha kahe jise
- Mirza ASADulaakhan Ghalib
The series unnecessarily became a reason for some unpleasant posts. But at least it proved for once and all that RMIM really likes to discuss finer aspects of Shayari. I am really glad for all the support I got.
I intended this series as an enjoyable introduction to the treasure of Urdu Shayari in general and GHazals in particular. I did not want to write only for those who already like GHazals, but also for those who are still outsiders, but are potential GHazal lovers. I hope, I succeeded in creating some awareness about this very much Indian treasure and it's relevance to the sphere of Hindi Movies and Lyrics.
So once again, thanks to you all. It was a very very enjoyable experience overall, and I loved it. Thanks a lot !
- Abhay.
zamaanaa bade shauq se sun rahaa thaa
hamiN so gaye, daastaaN kehate kehate
- Saaqib
har mulaaqaat ka anjaam, judaai kyuN hai ?
ab to har waqt, yehi baat sataati hai hame
All good things come to an end, and so must this series ! I know, I am flattering myself, but please allow me, as this is the last installment of this "A Sher A Day" series.
It has been a wonderful experience in compiling this series. I love GHazals, it's my obsession, so I loved talking about it. But it takes a lot of time to pick a good Sher which is easy to understand and at the same time, easy to appreciate, and then write an enjoyable article on it. And then it has to be relevant to RMIM ! This and Chitrahaar leave me hardly any time to get engaged in real music related discussions as I used to. The work pressure in the office is also increasing. Therefore in the past few days, the frequency had gone down, to the extent where the name of the series was becoming more and more irrelevant. So at least for the time being, I am calling it a day for this series.
but_kadaa = house of the beloved (quite apt !!)
ab to jaate hai, but_kade se, 'Mir'
phir milenge, agar KHudaa laayaa
- Mir Taqi Mir
I won't claim that I discussed all the important aspects of GHazals. But I did try to give a sample of many. From the singers and the Shayars to the versatality of the topics found in GHazals. Not all topics were discussed. And not all great Shayars were discussed either. The Shayar most neglected by this series was GHalib himself. Ironic, as the name of the series was forcibly related to GHalib's real name. There remains lot more to be said, I could have said all those things. Perhaps I will start again. But that will be after a long break. I had planned only 25 articles in the beginning. But then the series was liked by RMIM. Thanks to the encouragement, I could get till 60 articles. I should take this opportunity to all those who supported this series. Not everyone liked it though !
But as GHalib himself said ...
vaaiz = orthodox/pious
'GHalib', bura na maan, jo vaaiz bura kahe
aisa bhi koi hai, ki sab achchha kahe jise
- Mirza ASADulaakhan Ghalib
The series unnecessarily became a reason for some unpleasant posts. But at least it proved for once and all that RMIM really likes to discuss finer aspects of Shayari. I am really glad for all the support I got.
I intended this series as an enjoyable introduction to the treasure of Urdu Shayari in general and GHazals in particular. I did not want to write only for those who already like GHazals, but also for those who are still outsiders, but are potential GHazal lovers. I hope, I succeeded in creating some awareness about this very much Indian treasure and it's relevance to the sphere of Hindi Movies and Lyrics.
So once again, thanks to you all. It was a very very enjoyable experience overall, and I loved it. Thanks a lot !
- Abhay.
zamaanaa bade shauq se sun rahaa thaa
hamiN so gaye, daastaaN kehate kehate
- Saaqib
ASAD - 59
Originally posted on rec.music.indian.misc in 1995
As promised yesterday, here is the complete version of the GHazal, "chupake chupake", by Maulana Fazal-Ul-Hasan Hasrat Mohani. The source is the book by K.C.Nanda - "Masterpieces of Urdu Ghazal : From 17th century to 20th century". It's a long post, but I promise, it's worth it ! There are 15 Shers !!!
But first some background ! Thanks to GHulam Ali, this GHazal is the most will-known GHazal to the general public. Who will forget the way he starts the GHazal - "Hmmm hmmm aaaa.. hmmm". Superb tune, ultimate "adaakaari". This GHazal made both GHulam Ali and GHazal itself, famous throughout the country. It was also taken into the movie Nikaah, and featured on TV shows.
But it's not a common knowledge that this GHazal is also a landmark GHazal in Urdu Shayari. As Dr.Arshad Jamaal says in Aaina-e-GHazal, that with this GHazal, "the mehboob (beloved) didn't remain just a mehboob, but also became an aashiq (lover)" ! Indeed, the portrayal of the beloved is different here from the traditional "sangdil/zaalim" etc. Here she (!) is also shown to have loved as much deeply, with as much emotions and has suffered as much sorrows as the Shayar.
Since this GHazal has a rare distinction of being famous with the elites and the masses equally, I made the controversial statement yesterday !
There are some difficult words, but it will pay to understand them. I have included the meaning from the same book.
Also, you must clear your mindset to accept great shers built up from quite normal situations. Those small small things, which a lover cannot forget. The greatness is in its simplicity. There are no philosophical discussions, no complicated similes. Pure "nazaakat" ! Very touching !!
chupake chupake raat din aaNsu bahaanaa yaad hai
hum ko, ab tak, aashiqui ka wo zamaanaa yaad hai |01|
----------
[ The first line of the following Sher is quite difficult. It means, "with restlessness unbounded, eagerness unconfined" ]
iztaraab = restlessness
ishtiaaq = longing
baahazaaraa iztiraab -o- sad'hazaaraa ishtiaaq
wo tujhse pehale pehal, dil ka lagaanaa yaad hai |02|
----------
bebaak = bold
tujhse milte hi wo kuchh, bebaak ho jaanaa mera
aur tera daaNtoN me wo, ungali dabaanaa yaad hai |03|
----------
daf'atan = suddenly
kheNch lenaa wo mera, parde ka konaa daf'atan
aur dupatte se tera, wo muNh chhipaanaa yaad hai |04|
----------
qasad-e-paabosi = effort to kiss her foot
jaan kar sota tujhe, wo qasad-e-paabosi mera
aur tera THukara ke sar, wo muskuraanaa yaad hai |05|
----------
az raah-e-lihaaz = with due caution
tujhko jab tanha kabhi paanaa to az raah-e-lihaaz
haal-e-dil baatoN hi baatoN me jataanaa yaad hai |06|
----------
jab siwa mere tumhara, koi diwaanaa na thaa
sach kaho, kya tumko bhi wo kaarkhaanaa yaad hai |07|
----------
ghair ki nazroN se bach_kar, sab ki marzi ke khilaaf
wo tera chori chhipe, raatoN ko aanaa yaad hai |08|
----------
wasl ki shab = milan ki raat
zikr-e-firaaq = mention of parting
aa gayaa gar, wasl ki shab me kahiN zikr-e-firaaq
wo tera ro ro ke, mujhko bhi rulaanaa yaad hai |09|
----------
dopehar ki dhoop me, mere bulaane ke liye
wo tera koTHe pe nange paaoN aanaa yaad hai |10|
---------
bargashtaa = turned against (here "rooTHa huaa")
dekhanaa mujhko jo bargashtaa, to sau sau naaz se
jab manaa lenaa to phir, khud rooTH jaanaa yaad hai |11|
---------
chori chori hum se tum, aakar mile the, jis jagah
muddate guzariN, par ab tak wo THikaanaa yaad hai |12|
---------
baawajud-e-idda-e-ittqa = despite my vow of piety
ahd-e-hawas = sensuous days
baawajud-e-idda-e-ittqa, 'Hasrat' mujhe,
aaj tak ahd-e-hawas ka yeh fasaanaa yaad hai |13|
---------
There are two more Shers I remember hearing from GHulam Ali, but which are surprisingly not present in the book. They are also marvelous! I may have made some mistake, as I am presenting them from my memory.
beruKHi ke saath sunanaa, dard-e-dil ki daastaaN
aur tera, haathoN me wo, kangan ghumaanaa yaad hai |14|
---------
waqt-e-ruKHsat = at the time of parting
waqt-e-ruKHsat alwidaa ka lafz kehane ke liye
wo tere sukhe laboN ka, thartharaanaa yaad hai |15|
---------
I hope, it was worth the longest post of this series !
- Abhay.
ASAD _also_ stands for "A Sher A Day" !
As promised yesterday, here is the complete version of the GHazal, "chupake chupake", by Maulana Fazal-Ul-Hasan Hasrat Mohani. The source is the book by K.C.Nanda - "Masterpieces of Urdu Ghazal : From 17th century to 20th century". It's a long post, but I promise, it's worth it ! There are 15 Shers !!!
But first some background ! Thanks to GHulam Ali, this GHazal is the most will-known GHazal to the general public. Who will forget the way he starts the GHazal - "Hmmm hmmm aaaa.. hmmm". Superb tune, ultimate "adaakaari". This GHazal made both GHulam Ali and GHazal itself, famous throughout the country. It was also taken into the movie Nikaah, and featured on TV shows.
But it's not a common knowledge that this GHazal is also a landmark GHazal in Urdu Shayari. As Dr.Arshad Jamaal says in Aaina-e-GHazal, that with this GHazal, "the mehboob (beloved) didn't remain just a mehboob, but also became an aashiq (lover)" ! Indeed, the portrayal of the beloved is different here from the traditional "sangdil/zaalim" etc. Here she (!) is also shown to have loved as much deeply, with as much emotions and has suffered as much sorrows as the Shayar.
Since this GHazal has a rare distinction of being famous with the elites and the masses equally, I made the controversial statement yesterday !
There are some difficult words, but it will pay to understand them. I have included the meaning from the same book.
Also, you must clear your mindset to accept great shers built up from quite normal situations. Those small small things, which a lover cannot forget. The greatness is in its simplicity. There are no philosophical discussions, no complicated similes. Pure "nazaakat" ! Very touching !!
chupake chupake raat din aaNsu bahaanaa yaad hai
hum ko, ab tak, aashiqui ka wo zamaanaa yaad hai |01|
----------
[ The first line of the following Sher is quite difficult. It means, "with restlessness unbounded, eagerness unconfined" ]
iztaraab = restlessness
ishtiaaq = longing
baahazaaraa iztiraab -o- sad'hazaaraa ishtiaaq
wo tujhse pehale pehal, dil ka lagaanaa yaad hai |02|
----------
bebaak = bold
tujhse milte hi wo kuchh, bebaak ho jaanaa mera
aur tera daaNtoN me wo, ungali dabaanaa yaad hai |03|
----------
daf'atan = suddenly
kheNch lenaa wo mera, parde ka konaa daf'atan
aur dupatte se tera, wo muNh chhipaanaa yaad hai |04|
----------
qasad-e-paabosi = effort to kiss her foot
jaan kar sota tujhe, wo qasad-e-paabosi mera
aur tera THukara ke sar, wo muskuraanaa yaad hai |05|
----------
az raah-e-lihaaz = with due caution
tujhko jab tanha kabhi paanaa to az raah-e-lihaaz
haal-e-dil baatoN hi baatoN me jataanaa yaad hai |06|
----------
jab siwa mere tumhara, koi diwaanaa na thaa
sach kaho, kya tumko bhi wo kaarkhaanaa yaad hai |07|
----------
ghair ki nazroN se bach_kar, sab ki marzi ke khilaaf
wo tera chori chhipe, raatoN ko aanaa yaad hai |08|
----------
wasl ki shab = milan ki raat
zikr-e-firaaq = mention of parting
aa gayaa gar, wasl ki shab me kahiN zikr-e-firaaq
wo tera ro ro ke, mujhko bhi rulaanaa yaad hai |09|
----------
dopehar ki dhoop me, mere bulaane ke liye
wo tera koTHe pe nange paaoN aanaa yaad hai |10|
---------
bargashtaa = turned against (here "rooTHa huaa")
dekhanaa mujhko jo bargashtaa, to sau sau naaz se
jab manaa lenaa to phir, khud rooTH jaanaa yaad hai |11|
---------
chori chori hum se tum, aakar mile the, jis jagah
muddate guzariN, par ab tak wo THikaanaa yaad hai |12|
---------
baawajud-e-idda-e-ittqa = despite my vow of piety
ahd-e-hawas = sensuous days
baawajud-e-idda-e-ittqa, 'Hasrat' mujhe,
aaj tak ahd-e-hawas ka yeh fasaanaa yaad hai |13|
---------
There are two more Shers I remember hearing from GHulam Ali, but which are surprisingly not present in the book. They are also marvelous! I may have made some mistake, as I am presenting them from my memory.
beruKHi ke saath sunanaa, dard-e-dil ki daastaaN
aur tera, haathoN me wo, kangan ghumaanaa yaad hai |14|
---------
waqt-e-ruKHsat = at the time of parting
waqt-e-ruKHsat alwidaa ka lafz kehane ke liye
wo tere sukhe laboN ka, thartharaanaa yaad hai |15|
---------
I hope, it was worth the longest post of this series !
- Abhay.
ASAD _also_ stands for "A Sher A Day" !
ASAD - 58
Originally posted on rec.music.indian.misc in 1995
I think the time has come to discuss the most famous of all the GHazals. Yes, the ultimate ...
chupake chupake raat din aaNsu bahaanaa yaad hai
humko ab tak, aashiqui ka, wo zamaanaa yaad hai
Hardcore GHalib fans may object to this statement :-) But I am not just making an empty remark. I will justify it tomorrow :-) Today I will talk about the poet.
Very less is known to the general public about Hasrat Mohani, creator of this masterpiece. Hence this post.
Maulana Hasrat Mohani, was born in 1875 at Mohaan, a small town in UP. He did his education at Aligarh University. One of the many Mushaairas he organized, caused displeasure to the college authorities, and he was expelled from the college. Although he was allowed to complete his BA privately.
After his education, he devoted himself completely to the Independence Movement of India. His views were more in tune with Lokamanya Tilak and Arvind Ghosh, rather than Mahatma Gandhi. He founded and edited a journal called Urdu-e-Mualla, and was imprisoned because of his articles in it. Later, when the British Govt. ordered closure of his printing press, he started a Swadeshi goods shop to earn his living.
After a long association with the National Congress, he switched over to Muslim League and became a champion for the Muslim cause, including the demand for Pakistan ! He was jailed several times, and once in jail with him was Firaq Gorakhpuri, who has been discussed in the last 3 posts.
He was elected to the UP Legislative Assembly on Muslim League ticket, and entered the Paliament also.
Whatever his political affiliations were, he always remained a frank, honest and fearless person. He was a deeply religious man, simple in habits and firm in convictions.
I haven't studied his Poetry enough to comment anything about his style. But I know that he is known as a preserver of the old and pioneer of the new trends in Urdu GHazal. This can very well be, due to his famous GHazal, "chupake chupake". I will discuss it tomorrow, and give the entire GHazal, all the Shers !
Today, I will leave you with this definition of a good Sher, by him.
sher dar'asal wohi hai, 'Hasrat',
jo sunte hi dil me utar jaae
Did you like the Sher the moment you read it ? If yes, fine, then it's indeed a good Sher. But if you didn't like, then ? Well then, what it says is still true ! So it's again a good Sher !! Right ? :-) Isn't self-reference a wonderful thing ? Both myself and Douglas Hofstadter, (author of Pulitzer Prize winning book : Goedel, Escher, Bach) feel that self- reference is a curious thing ! Great minds think alike ! :-) :-)
- Abhay.
ASAD _also_ stands for "A Sher A Day"
I think the time has come to discuss the most famous of all the GHazals. Yes, the ultimate ...
chupake chupake raat din aaNsu bahaanaa yaad hai
humko ab tak, aashiqui ka, wo zamaanaa yaad hai
Hardcore GHalib fans may object to this statement :-) But I am not just making an empty remark. I will justify it tomorrow :-) Today I will talk about the poet.
Very less is known to the general public about Hasrat Mohani, creator of this masterpiece. Hence this post.
Maulana Hasrat Mohani, was born in 1875 at Mohaan, a small town in UP. He did his education at Aligarh University. One of the many Mushaairas he organized, caused displeasure to the college authorities, and he was expelled from the college. Although he was allowed to complete his BA privately.
After his education, he devoted himself completely to the Independence Movement of India. His views were more in tune with Lokamanya Tilak and Arvind Ghosh, rather than Mahatma Gandhi. He founded and edited a journal called Urdu-e-Mualla, and was imprisoned because of his articles in it. Later, when the British Govt. ordered closure of his printing press, he started a Swadeshi goods shop to earn his living.
After a long association with the National Congress, he switched over to Muslim League and became a champion for the Muslim cause, including the demand for Pakistan ! He was jailed several times, and once in jail with him was Firaq Gorakhpuri, who has been discussed in the last 3 posts.
He was elected to the UP Legislative Assembly on Muslim League ticket, and entered the Paliament also.
Whatever his political affiliations were, he always remained a frank, honest and fearless person. He was a deeply religious man, simple in habits and firm in convictions.
I haven't studied his Poetry enough to comment anything about his style. But I know that he is known as a preserver of the old and pioneer of the new trends in Urdu GHazal. This can very well be, due to his famous GHazal, "chupake chupake". I will discuss it tomorrow, and give the entire GHazal, all the Shers !
Today, I will leave you with this definition of a good Sher, by him.
sher dar'asal wohi hai, 'Hasrat',
jo sunte hi dil me utar jaae
Did you like the Sher the moment you read it ? If yes, fine, then it's indeed a good Sher. But if you didn't like, then ? Well then, what it says is still true ! So it's again a good Sher !! Right ? :-) Isn't self-reference a wonderful thing ? Both myself and Douglas Hofstadter, (author of Pulitzer Prize winning book : Goedel, Escher, Bach) feel that self- reference is a curious thing ! Great minds think alike ! :-) :-)
- Abhay.
ASAD _also_ stands for "A Sher A Day"
ASAD - 57
Originally posted on rec.music.indian.misc in 1995
Have you ever faced the problem of writing a letter long due to someone back home ? :-) We all do ! Generally we get stuck even before we begin. The letter should have been written a long time back, and an apology will sound too formal. What do you start with? Well, perhaps you can start with the following Sher by Firaq.
ek muddat se teri yaad bhi aai na hame
aur ham bhool gaye ho tujhe, aisa bhi nahiN
- Firaq Gorakhpuri
And hopefully, he/she understands and appreciates !
Raghupati Sahai, the person, is as much famous as Firaq Gorakhpuri, the poet. He was born in 1896 at Gorkhpur in UP. His father, a lawyer, was a poet himself. Firaq, was always known as an intelligent student. After his B.A., he was appointed as Deputy Collector. But his career in Govt. service was short, as he chose to get involved in political and patriotic work. He was imprisoned for one year thereafter. For a long time, when Pt. Nehru was the General Secretary of Indian National Congress, Firaq was Under-Secretary. He then had a long career with Allahabad University as a professor of English.
He married at 18, but unfortunately, it was not a happy marriage and he made no secret of it. His frank, outspoken and short-tempered personality made him a feared, respected and influential 'buzurg'.
He has written a large number of Ghazals, Nazms, Kavita, Rubaai etc. His critiques in prose is also well-known. In view of these services by him, he has been awarded the 2 most prestigious awards - the Sahitya Academy Award (1960) and the Jnanpith Award (1969). He died in 1982.
- Abhay.
ASAD _also_ stands for "A Sher A Day" !
Have you ever faced the problem of writing a letter long due to someone back home ? :-) We all do ! Generally we get stuck even before we begin. The letter should have been written a long time back, and an apology will sound too formal. What do you start with? Well, perhaps you can start with the following Sher by Firaq.
ek muddat se teri yaad bhi aai na hame
aur ham bhool gaye ho tujhe, aisa bhi nahiN
- Firaq Gorakhpuri
And hopefully, he/she understands and appreciates !
Raghupati Sahai, the person, is as much famous as Firaq Gorakhpuri, the poet. He was born in 1896 at Gorkhpur in UP. His father, a lawyer, was a poet himself. Firaq, was always known as an intelligent student. After his B.A., he was appointed as Deputy Collector. But his career in Govt. service was short, as he chose to get involved in political and patriotic work. He was imprisoned for one year thereafter. For a long time, when Pt. Nehru was the General Secretary of Indian National Congress, Firaq was Under-Secretary. He then had a long career with Allahabad University as a professor of English.
He married at 18, but unfortunately, it was not a happy marriage and he made no secret of it. His frank, outspoken and short-tempered personality made him a feared, respected and influential 'buzurg'.
He has written a large number of Ghazals, Nazms, Kavita, Rubaai etc. His critiques in prose is also well-known. In view of these services by him, he has been awarded the 2 most prestigious awards - the Sahitya Academy Award (1960) and the Jnanpith Award (1969). He died in 1982.
- Abhay.
ASAD _also_ stands for "A Sher A Day" !
ASAD - 56
Originally posted on rec.music.indian.misc in 1995
Once in a Mehfil in Bombay, stalwarts like Sahir, Kaifi Aazmi, JaaN Nissar AKHtar, were present. Another famous Shayar, Raghupati Sahai, began reading out his GHazal ...
maut ek geet raat gaati thi
zindagi jhoom jhoom jaati thi
Sardar Jafery didn't like this Sher at all, and said loudly -- "gustaKhi maaf ho, hame aap sher sunaaiye, bakwaas mat kijiye"!
There was no way, a hot tempered person like Raghupati Sahai could have taken this. He immediately retorted -- "maiN to Sher hi suna raha huN, bakwaas to aap kar rahe haiN" !
After that he honoured the Mehfil with a long discourse on Philosophy of Life and Death! There are indeed many Shers by him on this topic.
maut ka bhi ilaaj ho shaayad
zindagi ka koi ilaaj nahiN
Raghupati Sahai has also given the world, a sentimental definition of GHazal. When a hunter and his killer dogs are trying to catch a deer, and when the deer gets trapped in the trees, from where it cannot escape, then at that time it cries with a voice full of sorrow and helplessness. Such a tune is called a GHazal!
Now, now, don't tell me, you haven't heard this name before. Raghupati Sahai is one of the most famous of contemporary Shayars, a lot of his GHazals have been sung and he has been awarded the 2 most prestigious literary awards - the Sahitya Academy Award and the Jnanpith Award!!
Perhaps you are right :-). Because he is better known to the world by his 'taKHallus' - Firaq Gorakhpuri !!!
Again, 2 more articles on this great and interesting personality will follow in coming days.
- Abhay.
ASAD _also_ stands for "A Sher A Day" !
Once in a Mehfil in Bombay, stalwarts like Sahir, Kaifi Aazmi, JaaN Nissar AKHtar, were present. Another famous Shayar, Raghupati Sahai, began reading out his GHazal ...
maut ek geet raat gaati thi
zindagi jhoom jhoom jaati thi
Sardar Jafery didn't like this Sher at all, and said loudly -- "gustaKhi maaf ho, hame aap sher sunaaiye, bakwaas mat kijiye"!
There was no way, a hot tempered person like Raghupati Sahai could have taken this. He immediately retorted -- "maiN to Sher hi suna raha huN, bakwaas to aap kar rahe haiN" !
After that he honoured the Mehfil with a long discourse on Philosophy of Life and Death! There are indeed many Shers by him on this topic.
maut ka bhi ilaaj ho shaayad
zindagi ka koi ilaaj nahiN
Raghupati Sahai has also given the world, a sentimental definition of GHazal. When a hunter and his killer dogs are trying to catch a deer, and when the deer gets trapped in the trees, from where it cannot escape, then at that time it cries with a voice full of sorrow and helplessness. Such a tune is called a GHazal!
Now, now, don't tell me, you haven't heard this name before. Raghupati Sahai is one of the most famous of contemporary Shayars, a lot of his GHazals have been sung and he has been awarded the 2 most prestigious literary awards - the Sahitya Academy Award and the Jnanpith Award!!
Perhaps you are right :-). Because he is better known to the world by his 'taKHallus' - Firaq Gorakhpuri !!!
Again, 2 more articles on this great and interesting personality will follow in coming days.
- Abhay.
ASAD _also_ stands for "A Sher A Day" !
ASAD - 55
Originally posted on rec.music.indian.misc in 1995
A Chitra Singh GHazal goes like ...
raat bhi, neend bhi, kahaani bhi
haaye, kya cheez hai, jawaani bhi
This is a typical crisp creation by Firaq. His poetry was nurtured by many diverse influences. He admired Mir and Momin, the kings of classical 'nazaakat'. This is evident from the following Sher.
hizr = judaai
hizr me aaTH pahar ka rona
baat itni_si, gham itna_sa !
He was also influenced by English Romantic Poetry. In addition, he had full respect for ancient Hindu Culture and thoughts as found in Sanskrit Literature. Consequently his style acquired a unique flavour.
He tried to bring the Urdu Poetic Diction close to the Indian Soil, by blending with Hindi words and indigenous imagery. His Ghazals have a native Indian flavour and very important - soft, subdued music. In contrast, he has been criticized for a coarse sensuality in his treatment for women and love.
All the properties described in the above paragraph can be found in this one Sher.
ladakpan ki ada hai jaan-levaa
GHazab ye chhokari hai haath-bhar ki
But normally he does not allow his sensuousness to sink into vulgarity. That's why, he always features on the list of all time greats !
Tomorrow, something about his life.
- Abhay.
ASAD _also_ stands for "A Sher A Day" !
A Chitra Singh GHazal goes like ...
raat bhi, neend bhi, kahaani bhi
haaye, kya cheez hai, jawaani bhi
This is a typical crisp creation by Firaq. His poetry was nurtured by many diverse influences. He admired Mir and Momin, the kings of classical 'nazaakat'. This is evident from the following Sher.
hizr = judaai
hizr me aaTH pahar ka rona
baat itni_si, gham itna_sa !
He was also influenced by English Romantic Poetry. In addition, he had full respect for ancient Hindu Culture and thoughts as found in Sanskrit Literature. Consequently his style acquired a unique flavour.
He tried to bring the Urdu Poetic Diction close to the Indian Soil, by blending with Hindi words and indigenous imagery. His Ghazals have a native Indian flavour and very important - soft, subdued music. In contrast, he has been criticized for a coarse sensuality in his treatment for women and love.
All the properties described in the above paragraph can be found in this one Sher.
ladakpan ki ada hai jaan-levaa
GHazab ye chhokari hai haath-bhar ki
But normally he does not allow his sensuousness to sink into vulgarity. That's why, he always features on the list of all time greats !
Tomorrow, something about his life.
- Abhay.
ASAD _also_ stands for "A Sher A Day" !
ASAD - 54
Originally posted on rec.music.indian.misc in 1995
After another break, damn the workpressure, the series continues. I missed the discussion :-( on Faiz's famous poem, "mujhse pehalisi muhabbat", which I had mentioned in my first article on him. Here is the promised 3rd and last article on him, about his life.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
The opening line/Sher from this song/GHazal composed by Preethamacharya's favourite MD :-) goes like ...
kisi nazar ko tera intezaar aaj bhi hai
kahaN ho tum, ke ye dil beqaraar aaj bhi hai
It may not be a case of plagiarism, but this is very similar to an ending of another Faiz creation. I am giving the last 3 lines of this Nazm.
KHuda wo waqt na laaye, ke tujhko yaad aaye ...
wo dil, ke tere liye beqaraar ab bhi hai
wo aaNkh, jisko tera intezaar ab bhi hai
Similar words ? Yes.
But the first line gives a splendid and totally different 'vazan' to the next two lines ! The "mood" changes amazingly.
Faiz Ahmed Faiz was born at Sialkot in 1911. He studied English Literature and Philosophy at Lahore. Then he began his career in Amritsar as a lecturer. During the World War II, he joined the Welfare Dept. of Army and became a Lt. Colonel, from 1940 to 1947. His socialist ideology forced him to leave military. Then he became a distinguished and much respected editor of "The Pakistan Times". He was charged with complicity in the Rawalpindi conspiracy, and was jailed from 1951 to 1955. In jail, his intellect was still free to write 2 of his 4 books.
As he himself said
mata-e-lauh-o-qalam = likhane ka saamaan [pen, ink etc.]
mata-e-lauh-o-qalam chhin gayi, to kya gham hai
ke khoon-e-dil me dubo li haiN ungaliyaaN maine
- 'Faiz' Ahmed Faiz
An admirer of Karl Marx, he was the most popular poet in Pakistan. He was a poet who did not believe in "Art for Art's sake", and was a true poet of the people. He was honoured by Soviet Union with the prestigious Lenin Award for Peace.
He died in 1984, but his creations have become immortal treasue of Urdu Poetry in the Indian subcontinent.
- Abhay.
ASAD _also_ stands for "A Sher A Day" !
After another break, damn the workpressure, the series continues. I missed the discussion :-( on Faiz's famous poem, "mujhse pehalisi muhabbat", which I had mentioned in my first article on him. Here is the promised 3rd and last article on him, about his life.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
The opening line/Sher from this song/GHazal composed by Preethamacharya's favourite MD :-) goes like ...
kisi nazar ko tera intezaar aaj bhi hai
kahaN ho tum, ke ye dil beqaraar aaj bhi hai
It may not be a case of plagiarism, but this is very similar to an ending of another Faiz creation. I am giving the last 3 lines of this Nazm.
KHuda wo waqt na laaye, ke tujhko yaad aaye ...
wo dil, ke tere liye beqaraar ab bhi hai
wo aaNkh, jisko tera intezaar ab bhi hai
Similar words ? Yes.
But the first line gives a splendid and totally different 'vazan' to the next two lines ! The "mood" changes amazingly.
Faiz Ahmed Faiz was born at Sialkot in 1911. He studied English Literature and Philosophy at Lahore. Then he began his career in Amritsar as a lecturer. During the World War II, he joined the Welfare Dept. of Army and became a Lt. Colonel, from 1940 to 1947. His socialist ideology forced him to leave military. Then he became a distinguished and much respected editor of "The Pakistan Times". He was charged with complicity in the Rawalpindi conspiracy, and was jailed from 1951 to 1955. In jail, his intellect was still free to write 2 of his 4 books.
As he himself said
mata-e-lauh-o-qalam = likhane ka saamaan [pen, ink etc.]
mata-e-lauh-o-qalam chhin gayi, to kya gham hai
ke khoon-e-dil me dubo li haiN ungaliyaaN maine
- 'Faiz' Ahmed Faiz
An admirer of Karl Marx, he was the most popular poet in Pakistan. He was a poet who did not believe in "Art for Art's sake", and was a true poet of the people. He was honoured by Soviet Union with the prestigious Lenin Award for Peace.
He died in 1984, but his creations have become immortal treasue of Urdu Poetry in the Indian subcontinent.
- Abhay.
ASAD _also_ stands for "A Sher A Day" !
ASAD - 53
Originally posted on rec.music.indian.misc in 1995
Art cannot be restricted to the confines of any man-made boundry. That's why Hindi movies and songs are popular in Pakistan. Similarly singers like GHulam Ali and Mehadi Hasan are liked in India. There are many, including me, who like Pakistani TV dramas. My favourite is Dhoop-Kinaarey. If you haven't seen it then you have missed something in life. During this TV serial, a haunting song is often played at the background, and goes like ...
seharaa = desert
baade-naseem = gentle breeze
raat yuN dil me, teri khoyi hui yaad aayi
jaise veeraane me, chupake se bahaar aa jaaye
jaise seharaaoN me, haule se chale baade-naseem
jaise beemaar ko, be-vajah qaraar aa jaaye
Such simple, delicate and beautiful Shayari is a typical Faiz creation !
He is a Shayar of this era. But still he maintains the foundation of his Shayari on the old traditions. Name of his first book is taken from the first words of "Deewaan-e-GHalib" - "Naqsh-e-faryaadi". This shows his respect for GHalib, but his style is quite different. Initially his Shayari was mainly "ishqiana shayari", but then the sociologist in him took over. He is given the credit of being among the pioneers of the style of Shayari, which goes beyond "husn-o-ishq" and talks about the problems of day-to-day life. And because of all these, Faiz is so much respected on both sides of the border.
It's because of his style, his sociologist ideals and his popularity in Pakistan ; that I said he is Pakistan's answer to our Sahir. Tomorrow I will post something about his life.
Since "yaad" is the topic of the lines given above, let me present two of his Shers on the same topic. Both are simple and magnificient !
kar rahaa tha gham-e-jahaaN ka hisaab
aaj tum yaad, behissab aaye
And
tumhari yaad ke jab zaKHm bharane lagate haiN
kisi bahaane tumhe yaad karane lagate haiN
- Abhay.
ASAD _also_ stands for "A Sher A Day" !
Art cannot be restricted to the confines of any man-made boundry. That's why Hindi movies and songs are popular in Pakistan. Similarly singers like GHulam Ali and Mehadi Hasan are liked in India. There are many, including me, who like Pakistani TV dramas. My favourite is Dhoop-Kinaarey. If you haven't seen it then you have missed something in life. During this TV serial, a haunting song is often played at the background, and goes like ...
seharaa = desert
baade-naseem = gentle breeze
raat yuN dil me, teri khoyi hui yaad aayi
jaise veeraane me, chupake se bahaar aa jaaye
jaise seharaaoN me, haule se chale baade-naseem
jaise beemaar ko, be-vajah qaraar aa jaaye
Such simple, delicate and beautiful Shayari is a typical Faiz creation !
He is a Shayar of this era. But still he maintains the foundation of his Shayari on the old traditions. Name of his first book is taken from the first words of "Deewaan-e-GHalib" - "Naqsh-e-faryaadi". This shows his respect for GHalib, but his style is quite different. Initially his Shayari was mainly "ishqiana shayari", but then the sociologist in him took over. He is given the credit of being among the pioneers of the style of Shayari, which goes beyond "husn-o-ishq" and talks about the problems of day-to-day life. And because of all these, Faiz is so much respected on both sides of the border.
It's because of his style, his sociologist ideals and his popularity in Pakistan ; that I said he is Pakistan's answer to our Sahir. Tomorrow I will post something about his life.
Since "yaad" is the topic of the lines given above, let me present two of his Shers on the same topic. Both are simple and magnificient !
kar rahaa tha gham-e-jahaaN ka hisaab
aaj tum yaad, behissab aaye
And
tumhari yaad ke jab zaKHm bharane lagate haiN
kisi bahaane tumhe yaad karane lagate haiN
- Abhay.
ASAD _also_ stands for "A Sher A Day" !
ASAD - 52
Originally posted on rec.music.indian.misc in 1995
A famous Madanmohan composition begins like - "teri aaNkhoN ke siwa duniya me rakkha kya hai". The lyricist is Rajendrakrishna.
The line appears as it is in one of the most famous of all Nazms. This Nazm, is also a representative of the Shayar's socialist ideology, who says that love is not the only thing in life. Quite a la Sahir ! If you remember the male part of "tum mujhe bhool bhi jaao to ye haq ...".
Allow me to present the ending lines of this touching and famous Nazm.. The two middle lines from this have become immortal !!
wasl ki raahat = milan ka sukh
ab bhi dilkash hai tera husn, magar kya kije
aur bhi dukh haiN zamaane me muhabbat ke siwa
raahate aur bhi haiN, wasl ki raahat ke siwa
mujhse pehali_si muhabbat, meri mehboob, na maang !!!
Truly fantastic !
The same Shayar echoes somewhat similar thoughts in this Sher, sung by Mehdi Hasan.
dil-fareb = attractive/tempting
rozgaar = day-to-day life
duniya ne teri yaad se begaanaa kar diya
tujhse bhi dil-fareb haiN, gham rozgaar ke
Just one post on this great Shayar is not enough. So I will post a couple of more, including his life, his style in coming days.
I know, I know ! I haven't given the name of the Shayar. I wanted to build up the suspense as the Shayar is not an Indian !
He is Pakistan's answer to our Sahir Ludhiyanvi. And his name is - Faiz Ahmed Faiz !
- Abhay.
ASAD _also_ stands for "A Sher A Day" !
A famous Madanmohan composition begins like - "teri aaNkhoN ke siwa duniya me rakkha kya hai". The lyricist is Rajendrakrishna.
The line appears as it is in one of the most famous of all Nazms. This Nazm, is also a representative of the Shayar's socialist ideology, who says that love is not the only thing in life. Quite a la Sahir ! If you remember the male part of "tum mujhe bhool bhi jaao to ye haq ...".
Allow me to present the ending lines of this touching and famous Nazm.. The two middle lines from this have become immortal !!
wasl ki raahat = milan ka sukh
ab bhi dilkash hai tera husn, magar kya kije
aur bhi dukh haiN zamaane me muhabbat ke siwa
raahate aur bhi haiN, wasl ki raahat ke siwa
mujhse pehali_si muhabbat, meri mehboob, na maang !!!
Truly fantastic !
The same Shayar echoes somewhat similar thoughts in this Sher, sung by Mehdi Hasan.
dil-fareb = attractive/tempting
rozgaar = day-to-day life
duniya ne teri yaad se begaanaa kar diya
tujhse bhi dil-fareb haiN, gham rozgaar ke
Just one post on this great Shayar is not enough. So I will post a couple of more, including his life, his style in coming days.
I know, I know ! I haven't given the name of the Shayar. I wanted to build up the suspense as the Shayar is not an Indian !
He is Pakistan's answer to our Sahir Ludhiyanvi. And his name is - Faiz Ahmed Faiz !
- Abhay.
ASAD _also_ stands for "A Sher A Day" !
ASAD - 51
Originally posted on rec.music.indian.misc in 1995
During the last fifty episodes, I have received numerous mails regarding good books on Shayari. Here is an attempt to give some good sources. These books will not only make you appreciate GHazal, but they are of a great help, even while understanding difficult lyrics. From these books, you can also trace the origin of many songs, as I have done in the articles related to Lyrics Plagiarism. Read on.
I cannot read Urdu :-( ! So I am talking about books only in Hindi and English script. Almost all the books give meaning of the difficult words as well as some biographical notes. And very important - these books (in Hindi script) are unbelievably inexpensive !! The English versions are relatively costlier.
Perhaps this is exactly what you want. So read on !
BOOK SHOPS
==========
I am from Bombay, but I know about the shops in Delhi only! This info. is mainly due to Guri !! I have been to these shops.
a) The Sri Ram Centre near Mandi House has a small bookshop, and has a few books on Shayari. Worth visiting.
b) The Triveni auditorium, again near Mandi House has a book shop. One can find a lot of books on Shayari, Hindi Poetry. Must visit.
c) In CP there are a few shops which sell Shayari/Kavita stuff. But you have to hunt and you have to have luck.
d) Urdu Ghar and GHalib Institute near New Delhi Railway Station. These are closed on Saturdays and Sundays. So I have not yet managed to enter inside. :-(
1. Deewan-e-Ghalib
===================
There are many many compilations of this. Naturally ! It's perhaps the "best-seller" of Urdu Shayari. All the compilations are based on the original by GHalib himself. There are compilations explaining EACH sher in detail, in the price range of Rs 500/-. There are inexpensive ones too. The one I have is by Ali Sardar Jafferey, and costs only Rs 35/-. It's a paperback version in Hindi, by Raajkamal publications. Printing is excellent. Meaning for all the difficult words is present. A superb book, except that the introduction to GHalib's Poetry is as complicated as the Poetry itself :-) . Go for it.
2. Deewan-e-Mir
===============
I know of just one. Again by Ali Sardar Jafferey, in Hindi paperback version costing Rs 35/- by the same Raajkamal publications. It's based on many sources. He also gives very interesting facts about the real Shers by Mir. There seem to be many Shers which are not by Mir, but are still credited to him. Majrooh Sultanpuri has helped him in compiling this. A very nice introduction has been written. Meaning for all the difficult words is present. In all, again a must.
3. Urdu Ke Lokapriya Shayar
===========================
This is a series of books by Prakash Pandit. Each book contains representatives of all types of poetry (Nazm, GHazal, Rubaai) by one popular Shayar. Not all the work of the Shayar can be found here, but his choice for selection is fairly good. All the books contain some biographical notes. Printing is OK. While giving the meaning, some words have got omitted. The paperback versions cost Rs. 20/- each and the hardbound versions cost Rs. 35/- each. Some of the prominent Shayars in this series are Sahir Ludhiyanavi, Shakeel Badayuni, Faiz Ahmed Faiz, Firaq Gorakhpuri, Zauk, Iqbal, Hafeez Jalandhari, Zafar etc. All these are worth buying. It is from such books, you can trace origins of some film songs. eg. Sahir's book will give you the original versions of many songs like "kabhi-kabhi", "taajmehal" etc.
4. TalKHiyaaN
=============
This is Sahir's first book and he shot to fame overnight with it ! It's a must buy, but quite difficult to obtain. I yet to have a copy for myself. There have been 11 editions of this, and it has been translated into 14 different languages, including some European languages too !! You can find a lot of his film songs in this book.
5. Other books
==============
There are a lot of compilations by Prakash Pandit, like Shers grouped by certain themes or featuring one poem by all the great Shayars. These are neither great nor bad. There are some books in English too. Here the GHazal is presented in English script, sometimes alongwith Hindi or Urdu script and English translation is given. I personally do not like these translations at all. But the discussions given in the books can be interesting. My recommendation is - have a close look at the book and only then buy - if you are sure that you will like it.
6. Dictionary
=============
With all these books, you will benefit a lot by having a dictionary with you. There are again many. From Urdu to Hindi or Urdu to English. Some give the words in Urdu script, some in Hindi and some in Roman script. From my experience these are difficult to find. The one I have is from Urdu to Marathi, and is published by Maharashtra State Govt. No idea, how to obtain it. There is one interesting 'Lughat' (transliterated dictionary) from Urdu to English, which also gives a few hundred Shers at the beginning. I saw it in a shop in CP, but did not buy, due to the price. (Rs 400/-)
But the top position goes to .........
7. Aaina-e-GHazal
=================
This is a real treasure ! It gives meanings of the most commonly found difficult words in Urdu Shayari. It's NOT a dictionary in the normal sense of the word. But the words are arranged according to the Hindi Alphabet. The complete book is in Hindi and English script. It's written by Dr.Vinay Vaikar (a medical Dr by profession) and the late Dr. Zarina Sani ( a Shaira herself).
Some salient features of this book are.
(i) Meaning of over 7000 words.
(ii) Meaning of each word is given in 3 languages. Hindi, Marathi and English, thereby making the meaning really clear.
(iii) With each word there is one great Sher, to emphasize the meaning ! There are over 6000 unique Shers. This makes it a great collection of Shers too ! Most of the Shers, in this series have been taken from this book alone.
(iv) There is a superb essay at the end "GHazal Kya Hai" . The definition of Ghazal present in the FAQ is due to this. The essay of course has much more than just definition.
(v) There is an alphabetical index for the word-begining. This makes the search fast. ie. it's given at the begining at which page words beginning with 'ka', 'kaa', 'ki' etc. are.
(vi) I have the very first edition. In the later editions, I believe, sketches of famous
Shayars are also given.
(vii) Excellent printing, binding and paper quality.
(viii) I bought it only for Rs. 75/- !!! This was more than a decade ago. The current price is around Rs. 250/-. Still very affordable.
(ix) Jagjit and Chitra Singh have given a warm review and introduction at the begining.
Isn't all this very attractive ? If you buy this book, you will thank me for the rest of your life :-)
One problem you might face is the difficulty level of the Shers. Not all are easy, in fact the average level is quite high. But this is not a bug, rather a feature ! Remember that each Sher is a classic.
I do not know if this book is available in Delhi. But it should not be difficult to obtain it from Bambay/Pune/Nagpur. The publication is Amit Prakashan from Nagpur. So if you know anybody from Nagpur, you can request him/her to get a copy for you.
-----------------
That's all for this unusually long article in this series. But Prince and Saitsh can perhaps reward me by putting this info in FAQ :-)
Since I must present a Sher, here is one, which is relevant to this discussion of books. It explains how Mir compiled his "deewaan".
ranj-o-gham = dukh-dard
deewaan = compilation of Shayari
ham ko shaa'ir na kaho, 'Mir', ki saahib ham ne
kitane ranj-o-gham jamaa kiye, to ik deewaan kiya !
- Mir Taqi Mir
I hope this amazing Sher sufficiently rewards you for taking the trouble to read such a long post. :-)
- Abhay.
ASAD _also_ stands for "A Sher A Day" !
During the last fifty episodes, I have received numerous mails regarding good books on Shayari. Here is an attempt to give some good sources. These books will not only make you appreciate GHazal, but they are of a great help, even while understanding difficult lyrics. From these books, you can also trace the origin of many songs, as I have done in the articles related to Lyrics Plagiarism. Read on.
I cannot read Urdu :-( ! So I am talking about books only in Hindi and English script. Almost all the books give meaning of the difficult words as well as some biographical notes. And very important - these books (in Hindi script) are unbelievably inexpensive !! The English versions are relatively costlier.
Perhaps this is exactly what you want. So read on !
BOOK SHOPS
==========
I am from Bombay, but I know about the shops in Delhi only! This info. is mainly due to Guri !! I have been to these shops.
a) The Sri Ram Centre near Mandi House has a small bookshop, and has a few books on Shayari. Worth visiting.
b) The Triveni auditorium, again near Mandi House has a book shop. One can find a lot of books on Shayari, Hindi Poetry. Must visit.
c) In CP there are a few shops which sell Shayari/Kavita stuff. But you have to hunt and you have to have luck.
d) Urdu Ghar and GHalib Institute near New Delhi Railway Station. These are closed on Saturdays and Sundays. So I have not yet managed to enter inside. :-(
1. Deewan-e-Ghalib
===================
There are many many compilations of this. Naturally ! It's perhaps the "best-seller" of Urdu Shayari. All the compilations are based on the original by GHalib himself. There are compilations explaining EACH sher in detail, in the price range of Rs 500/-. There are inexpensive ones too. The one I have is by Ali Sardar Jafferey, and costs only Rs 35/-. It's a paperback version in Hindi, by Raajkamal publications. Printing is excellent. Meaning for all the difficult words is present. A superb book, except that the introduction to GHalib's Poetry is as complicated as the Poetry itself :-) . Go for it.
2. Deewan-e-Mir
===============
I know of just one. Again by Ali Sardar Jafferey, in Hindi paperback version costing Rs 35/- by the same Raajkamal publications. It's based on many sources. He also gives very interesting facts about the real Shers by Mir. There seem to be many Shers which are not by Mir, but are still credited to him. Majrooh Sultanpuri has helped him in compiling this. A very nice introduction has been written. Meaning for all the difficult words is present. In all, again a must.
3. Urdu Ke Lokapriya Shayar
===========================
This is a series of books by Prakash Pandit. Each book contains representatives of all types of poetry (Nazm, GHazal, Rubaai) by one popular Shayar. Not all the work of the Shayar can be found here, but his choice for selection is fairly good. All the books contain some biographical notes. Printing is OK. While giving the meaning, some words have got omitted. The paperback versions cost Rs. 20/- each and the hardbound versions cost Rs. 35/- each. Some of the prominent Shayars in this series are Sahir Ludhiyanavi, Shakeel Badayuni, Faiz Ahmed Faiz, Firaq Gorakhpuri, Zauk, Iqbal, Hafeez Jalandhari, Zafar etc. All these are worth buying. It is from such books, you can trace origins of some film songs. eg. Sahir's book will give you the original versions of many songs like "kabhi-kabhi", "taajmehal" etc.
4. TalKHiyaaN
=============
This is Sahir's first book and he shot to fame overnight with it ! It's a must buy, but quite difficult to obtain. I yet to have a copy for myself. There have been 11 editions of this, and it has been translated into 14 different languages, including some European languages too !! You can find a lot of his film songs in this book.
5. Other books
==============
There are a lot of compilations by Prakash Pandit, like Shers grouped by certain themes or featuring one poem by all the great Shayars. These are neither great nor bad. There are some books in English too. Here the GHazal is presented in English script, sometimes alongwith Hindi or Urdu script and English translation is given. I personally do not like these translations at all. But the discussions given in the books can be interesting. My recommendation is - have a close look at the book and only then buy - if you are sure that you will like it.
6. Dictionary
=============
With all these books, you will benefit a lot by having a dictionary with you. There are again many. From Urdu to Hindi or Urdu to English. Some give the words in Urdu script, some in Hindi and some in Roman script. From my experience these are difficult to find. The one I have is from Urdu to Marathi, and is published by Maharashtra State Govt. No idea, how to obtain it. There is one interesting 'Lughat' (transliterated dictionary) from Urdu to English, which also gives a few hundred Shers at the beginning. I saw it in a shop in CP, but did not buy, due to the price. (Rs 400/-)
But the top position goes to .........
7. Aaina-e-GHazal
=================
This is a real treasure ! It gives meanings of the most commonly found difficult words in Urdu Shayari. It's NOT a dictionary in the normal sense of the word. But the words are arranged according to the Hindi Alphabet. The complete book is in Hindi and English script. It's written by Dr.Vinay Vaikar (a medical Dr by profession) and the late Dr. Zarina Sani ( a Shaira herself).
Some salient features of this book are.
(i) Meaning of over 7000 words.
(ii) Meaning of each word is given in 3 languages. Hindi, Marathi and English, thereby making the meaning really clear.
(iii) With each word there is one great Sher, to emphasize the meaning ! There are over 6000 unique Shers. This makes it a great collection of Shers too ! Most of the Shers, in this series have been taken from this book alone.
(iv) There is a superb essay at the end "GHazal Kya Hai" . The definition of Ghazal present in the FAQ is due to this. The essay of course has much more than just definition.
(v) There is an alphabetical index for the word-begining. This makes the search fast. ie. it's given at the begining at which page words beginning with 'ka', 'kaa', 'ki' etc. are.
(vi) I have the very first edition. In the later editions, I believe, sketches of famous
Shayars are also given.
(vii) Excellent printing, binding and paper quality.
(viii) I bought it only for Rs. 75/- !!! This was more than a decade ago. The current price is around Rs. 250/-. Still very affordable.
(ix) Jagjit and Chitra Singh have given a warm review and introduction at the begining.
Isn't all this very attractive ? If you buy this book, you will thank me for the rest of your life :-)
One problem you might face is the difficulty level of the Shers. Not all are easy, in fact the average level is quite high. But this is not a bug, rather a feature ! Remember that each Sher is a classic.
I do not know if this book is available in Delhi. But it should not be difficult to obtain it from Bambay/Pune/Nagpur. The publication is Amit Prakashan from Nagpur. So if you know anybody from Nagpur, you can request him/her to get a copy for you.
-----------------
That's all for this unusually long article in this series. But Prince and Saitsh can perhaps reward me by putting this info in FAQ :-)
Since I must present a Sher, here is one, which is relevant to this discussion of books. It explains how Mir compiled his "deewaan".
ranj-o-gham = dukh-dard
deewaan = compilation of Shayari
ham ko shaa'ir na kaho, 'Mir', ki saahib ham ne
kitane ranj-o-gham jamaa kiye, to ik deewaan kiya !
- Mir Taqi Mir
I hope this amazing Sher sufficiently rewards you for taking the trouble to read such a long post. :-)
- Abhay.
ASAD _also_ stands for "A Sher A Day" !
Thursday, January 15, 2009
ASAD - 50
Originally posted on rec.music.indian.misc in 1995
This is the half-century of this series! And keeping with the tradition (!), it's time for a Sher praising a great Shayar and also for a Sher by GHalib. Of course, both the objectives can be met as usual in one Sher :-) Mehdi Hasan has done a truly fantastic job with this GHazal.
dekh to, dil ki jaaN se uTHataa hai
ye dhuaaN sa, kahaaN se uTHataa hai
So much 'dard' in just one Sher is possible only with 'Mir' Taqi Mir !
But very surprisingly, there are very very few GHazals by Mir which have been sung ! I don't remember anybody except Mehdi Hasan singing a GHazal by Mir. What surprises me, is not just because of the fact that Mir is perhaps the greatest of all the Shayars. But his GHazals are amazingly simple to understand and appreciate. Also, *music* is integral part of Mir's Shayari. His style was conversationalist, using more of Urdu and Hindi than Farasi. And the fluidity, the rhythm is always present.
About his style, the great Zauk (a contemporary of GHalib) said ...
na huaa, par na huaa, 'Mir' ka andaaz naseeb !
'Zauk', yaaroN ne bahut zor, GHazal me maaraa !!
In his compilation of "Deewan-e-Mir", Ali Sardar Jafferey says a lot about Mir's greatness in just one paragraph. I cannot resist the temptation of loosely translating it.
"Shayar has been given the status of "KHuda ka shishya", and has been placed as "Paigambar" too. But Mir Taqi Mir is the only Shayar who is called as "Shayari ka KHuda"!! Mir is not the only one to be called as the greatest ever. But still it's a fact that Mir tops the list of Urdu Shayars. Today, Ghalib and Iqbal are more popular than Mir. Their books sell more, their Shers are more known. But the greatness of Ghalib and Iqbal has been challenged. But no Shayar in any period has dared to challenge Mir's greatness."
What a praise !
And if you are not yet convinced, here is one by GHalib ...
aqeedaa = belief
bakaule-'Naasikh' = according to Naasikh (another poet)
be-bahara = unfortunate/stupid
motaqid-e-'Mir' = Mir ke prati shraddha rakhane_waale
'GHalib', apanaa to aqeedaa hai bakaule-'Naasikh'
aap be-bahara haiN, jo motaqid-e-'Mir' nahiN
Forget the Urdu, what GHalib says is - if you are not a worshiper of Mir, then you are stupid !!
Now you can sure appreciate, why Mir is so respected! I would try to find every excuse to post a Mir's sher. Promise.
- Abhay.
ASAD _also_ stands for "A Sher A Day" !
ASAD - 49
Originally posted on rec.music.indian.misc in 1995
Not all good Shers present a novel idea. One can like a Sher just because of the word- tricks involved in it. Mind you, such Shers are not always cheapos. Let me illustrate this by an example.
This is also a typical Sher by one of my favourites - Daag Dehlvi. Not a great Sher, but still nice and enjoyable.
makeen = tenant, one who dwells
rahaa na dil me wo bedard, aur dard rahaa
makeen kaun huaa hai, makaan kis ka thaa !
- Daag Dehlvi
Calling his "dil" as a 'house' is not new, but I like the word-tricks of "dard" v/s "bedard" and "makeen" v/s "makaan" !
Needless to say, it's sung beautifully by GHulam Ali in "tumhare KHat me nayaa ik salaam kis ka tha". And related to this I would like to ask a query.
Is it really written by Daag Dehlvi ? The 'kaafiyaa' or the rhyming pattern of this GHazal, which MUST occur at the end of each Sher, is words like "salaam, naam, qalaam, shaam' etc. And they indeed are present in the GHazal. But the word 'makaan' dosen't go well with it. Why is this ? I don't think Daag would have overlooked this technical issue. ( For a detailed explanation of 'kaafiyaa' refer to the FAQ :-) )
- Abhay.
ASAD _also_ stands for "A Sher A Day" !
ASAD - 48
Originally posted on rec.music.indian.misc in 1995
Allow me to present a few Shers today, instead of just one. The reason is that, although all these Shers are very well known, the correct name of their creators may not be known to everybody. This will also serve an additional purpose of giving the correct version of the Sher. (As far as my sources are concerned.)
A common thing about all these Shers is, they have almost become popular 'muhavara's, or idioms. They are used frequently in speech, in movies and in songs too. I am attaching a few questions to the Shers. Consider this as a quiz too :-), where the answers are not known to me. :-) :-)
1.
sarfaroshi = aatmabalidaan
baazu-e-qaatil = qaatil ki baahoN me
sarfaroshi ki tamanna ab hamaare dil me hai
dekhanaa hai, zor kitanaa, baazu-e-qaatil me hai
- Bismil
Q: In which movie has this been taken ?
2.
ham aah bhi karate haiN, to ho jaate haiN badanaam
wo qatl bhi karate haiN, to charcha nahiN hota
- Akbar Ilahabadi
The Shayar Akbar Ilahabadi, was a contemporary of Iqbal.
Q : Who has mentioned this Sher a few days back on RMIM ? :-)
Note that, the following Shers speak a lot about the styles of the Shayars. You can try to
guess the name of the Shayar from the Sher. Of course, this depends on whether you
remember previous articles :-) I am giving the names at the end. Just another little quiz
for you :-)
3.
ibtidaa-e-ishq = begining of love
ibtidaa-e-ishq hai, rota hai kya
aage aage dekhiye, hota hai kya
Q : Which Mukesh song has a similar 'mukhada' to this one ?
4.
mudda'i = opponent
mudda'i laakh bura chaahe to kya hota hai
wahi hota hai, jo manzure-KHuda hota hai
Q : This has also been taken into a song, right ? Which one ?
5.
lutf-e-mai = sharab ka mazaa
zaahid = orthodox/pios
lutf-e-mai, tujh se kya kahuN zaahid
haay KambaKHt ! tune pi hi nahiN
Here are the name of the Shayars.
3rd is by of course Mir Taqi Mir, 4th is again of course by Iqbal, and the last is by Daag Dehalvi.
There are many more famous Shers, not all can be included in one post. And as I have said before, I do not know answers to all the questions. Asking questions is my job, answers are to be provided by the Gurus. :-)
- Abhay.
ASAD _also_ stands for "A Sher A Day" !
ASAD - 47
Originally posted on rec.music.indian.misc in 1995
Let me come back to the Lyrics Plagiarism topic again. You would hardly be surprised, if I tell you the following 'mukhada', written by the greatest Lyrics Tycoon Sameer, is taken from an old Sher.
raah me unse, mulaqaat ho gayi,
jis se Darate the, wohi baat ho gayi
(the song from Vijaypath *ing Vijay Devgan, Tabbu)
The Sher I have, goes like ...
raaste me unse, mulaaqaat ho gayi
ji Dar raha tha jis se, wohi baat ho gayi
- Unknown
It's better if we don't talk about the tune by Anu Malik and the singing by Kumar Sanu. :-) But unfortunately, I have not been able to find out the name of the Shayar. Prakash Pandit has not credited this Sher to anybody in his compilation. Hardly a good Sher, but what else can you expect from Sameer ? He could not pick even a good Sher for "chori". Really in a class of his own ! :-)
A song from the new movie Baazi, goes like
dhire dhire aap mere dil ke mehamaaN ho gaye
pehale jaaN, phir jaane-jaaN, phir jaane-jaanaaN ho gaye
According to my dictionary, both the words "jaane-jaaN" and "jaane-jaanaaN" mean the same thing - "beloved". So I am not sure about the fine difference between the two words. Somebody can perhaps explain. The original Sher has the same second line, but much better first line.
rafta-rafta = slowly [same as "dhire dhire"]
rafta-rafta wo meri hasti ka saamaaN ho gaye
pehale jaaN, phir jaane-jaaN, phir jaane-jaanaaN ho gaye
- Taslim Faazali
Isn't "hasti ka saamaaN" better than "dil ke mehamaaN" ?
I do not know the name of the lyricist in this case. What scares me though, is that there are only two lyricists for Baazi - and one is Majrooh, while other one's name I have forgotten. I hope that the lyricist for this song is not Majrooh !
Anyway, let me ask this question to RMIM again. Isn't lyrics plagiarism much worse than music plagiarism ?
- Abhay.
ASAD _also_ stands for "A Sher A Day" !
ASAD - 46
Originally posted on rec.music.indian.misc in 1995
GHazal came to India from Middle-east, perhaps Persia/Iran. It was perhaps during the 13th century. After that from Farasi, GHazal came to Urdu, called ReKHta at that time. With it, not only the structure and the syntax came, but also the standard concepts. One such concept is 'saaqi' !
A small discussion on this 'saaqi' business is in order. It's quite commonly used in GHazal. In a "maikhana", one is usually served wine by a beautiful waitress - "saaqi". And the Shayars do not get tired of comparing the wine to her beauty! I do not know, whether in Mughal India, such types of pubs existed. It doesn't seem likely. But who is complaining ? :-)
I certainly like the concept of a beautiful "saaqi" serving a "paimana". More so, as my wife rarely reads RMIM :-) :-)
Here is a typical Sher.
rang = here it dosen't mean 'colour' but rather 'style'.
koi samjhaa'iye, kya rang hai maikhaane ka,
aaNkh saaqi ki uTHe, naam ho paimaane ka
Of course, another standard concept, "aaNkhoN ki madira" is also used here.
It's sung of by GHulam Ali. The way he sings "uTHe", goes to say a lot about his efforts to bring out the meaning of the words. My memory tells me that, the Shayar is Iqbal. But my knowledge about his style says that my memory could be wrong ! Hence I haven't mentioned the name of the Shayar.
- Abhay.
ASAD _also_ stands for "A Sher A Day" !
ASAD - 45
Originally posted on rec.music.indian.misc in 1995
It is quite obvious and still it is often overlooked! That a Sher is a complete poem in itself !! Shers are self-sufficient in conveying the thought. Any couplet that is not self- sufficient, is not a Sher. Therefore all the Shers in a GHazal can be understood even when they are read as a single couplet. This is mandatory.
Very rarely I have heard Shers, which by themselves do not make any sense. One such Sher is given below.
hum bhi wahiN maujud the, hum se bhi sab puchhaa kiye
hum haNs diye, hum chup rahe, manzur tha pardaa tera
- Ibne Insha
I may be wrong, but this Sher (which is the second Sher in the GHazal) sounds senseless to me. Only when it is heard _AFTER_ the following one, (which is the first one) it makes any sense.
shab_bhar = raat_bhar
kal chaudaviN ki raat thi, shab_bhar rahaa charchaa tera
kisne kahaa ye chaand hai, kisne kaha cheharaa tera
- Ibne Insha
Now read the previous Sher again. Well, they were having a debate in this Sher, and in the second Sher (the previous one :-) ) the Shayar says, he kept mum about it.
Frankly I don't like such Shers. But the GHazal is sung beautifully by both GHulam Ali and Jagjit Singh. Another rare phenomenon, to like two tunes of the same GHazal.
- Abhay.
ASAD _also_ stands for "A Sher A Day" !
ASAD - 44
Originally posted on rec.music.indian.misc in 1995
After all those battles ASAD continues ! It was a mixed experience. I felt like the one responsible for creating so much disturbance on our beloved RMIM. But I am most grateful to all those who gave the support at the most crucial time.
To thank you all, here is a very very famous Sher, reserved for such occasions :-) And to relate it to RMIM, let me hasten to add that, it's written by the famous lyricist Majrooh :-) :-) This also makes it the first Sher by him, in this series.
jaanib-e-manzil = towards destination
maiN akelaa hi chalaa thaa jaanib-e-manizil, magar
log saath aate gaye, kaaravaaN banataa gayaa !
- Majrooh Sultanpuri
Thanks again !
Without any support, I wouldn't have come this far.
- Abhay.
ASAD _also_ stands for and will stand for "A Sher A Day" !
ASAD - 43
Originally posted on rec.music.indian.misc in 1995
In 1857 both the hometowns of Shayari, Delhi and Lakhnow, were virtually destroyed. Shayars had to migrate to other cities. As a result of this, both the styles of Shayari, Dehalvi and Lakhnawi, came together and a combined style, a synthesis immerged. This effect is most evident in the Shayari of one of my favourite Shayars Daag Dehalvi, who along with Amir Minai ["aahista aahista"] was a prominent Shayar of this era.
So at times, his Shers sound Lakhnawi cheapos like ...
shab-e-wisaal = milan ki raat
bazm = mehfil
shab-e-wisaal hai, roshan chiraag gul kar do
KHushi ki bazm me kya kaam jalane waaloN ka
- Daag Dehalvi
[ A few days back this Sher was wrongly credited to Momin by S. Bajwa ]
At other times he was superb and at his Dehalvi best. I will stick to his Dehalvi gems for the time being. Let's start with one of his best.
ranj = dukh
guftagu = baatcheet
ranj ki jab guftagu hone lagi
aap se tum, tum se tu hone lagi
- Daag Dehalvi
Barriers of formality start falling down when matters of common grievances are discussed. Nothing new, but what a way to say it !
- Abhay.
ASAD _also_ stands for "A Sher A Day" !
ASAD - 42
Originally posted on rec.music.indian.misc in 1995
Shakeel Badayuni is one of my favourite lyricists. [This doesn't mean that I will come out with flying colours, when an RJGK on him comes :-)] He was also a famous and respected Shayar. I am not presenting his Shers with the usual purpose, but rather to make a totally different point.:-) Hopefully the upcoming Shayars of RMIM would like to ponder on this. :-)
See how Shers of an accomplished Shayar have - that something called "vazan". Even when the ideas are not so novel, their presentation sets him apart from an ordinary Shayar. To make this point, here are 3 shers by him. One in each broad category of metre - short, medium and long.
iqbaal-e-jurm = confession
aur iqbaal-e-jurm kya ho 'Shakeel'
thartharaate laboN par aah to hai
irfaan = knowledge
apani hasti ka bhi insaan ko irfaan na hu'aa
KHaaq phir KHaaq thi, aukaat se aage na badhi
gulacheeN = one who plucks flowers
gulacheeN ne to koshish kar Daali, suni ho chaman ki har Daali
kaaNtoN ne mubarak kaam kiya, phooloN ki hifaazat kar baithe
One of our fellow RMIMers, I am sure, likes the second Sher :-)
- Abhay.
ASAD _also_ stands for "A Sher A Day" !
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