Kis-wal akheya we Majnu-nu, O teri Laila disdi kaali we! Majnu ne jawab ditta, O teri ankh wekhan-waali we! Je tu dekhe meri ankh naal, Teri surat na jaaye samhaali we! Ved bhi chitta ter Quran bhi chitti, Vich shyahi rakh ditti kaali we! Ghulam Farid jitthe ankhiyaan lagiyaan, Utthe kya gori, kya kaali we!

I know this is not the right title for the poem, but I am putting it anyways.
It is one of my favorite poems, written by the Ghulam Farid.

Contrary to the common notion, Laila wasn’t really fair. The peom talks about Majnu’s reaction, when someone states that Laila is black. To this Majnu replies, “Your eye hasn’t been able to see her real beauty. If only you could see through my eyes, you’ll be awed and wouldn’t be able to handle it“. He then goes on to say my favorite lines, “Although Ved (Hindu holy scriptures) and Quran are nothing but white papers, the real value comes with the ink, which is black in color“. Ghulam Farid closes the stanza by saying that if Ghulam Farid has fallen for someone, the back-white color matters no more.

As with all the Sufi poets, Ghulam Farid basically uses Laala-Majnu as mere symbols to express lot deeper messages.

Udd ke jaate hue panchhi ne bas itna hi dekha,
Der tak haath hilaati rahi wah shaakh fiza mein.

 

Alvida kahne ko? Ya paas bulane ke liye?

 

Here Gulzar Saab uses the relationship between a bird and the branch of a tree. Literally it means that the bird which flew away from the branch could see that the branch moved to-and-fro (probably because of the pressure that the bird put on it before flying). The motion resembled very closely to the hand movements of a human being.

The bird, however, could not make out whether the movement was to wish the final Goodbye… or to call him back…

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Bas hawa bhari hai golon mein,
Sui chubh jaye to pichak jayein.

 

Log gusse mein bam nahi bante.

 

This couplet depicts the situation when a kid/beloved gets angry. The cheeks swell and resemble a balloon filled with air. A tip of a needle would do the magic of bringing the situation back to normal.

After all, people don’t become bomb in anger

———————————————————–

Na har saher ka woh jhagda, Na shab ki bechaini,
Na chulha jalta hai ghar mein na aankhein jalti hain.

 

Kitne aman se ghar mein udaas rahta hoon.

 

Relationships are strange… and one such strange face, can’t-live-with-you–can’t-live-without-you, is described in the above lines… very neatly. Gulzar saab says that neither do I have those every morning (saher) quarrels, nor any mental distress at nights (shab).

I live peacefully upset in the house.

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Note: These couplets have been taken from Gulzar Saab’s book Triveni published by Rupa. Triveni is the sangam of three rivers, Ganga, Jamuna, and Saraswati. Similary, the first two lines represent Ganga and Jamuna, and provide complete meaning to the topic. However, the third line, Saraswati provides a completely new dimension to what’s being said.

I was supposed to post some poem of Baba Bulleh Shah. Unfortunately, each time I pick up my laptop to scribble down the words, I feel a sense of failure….. I feel like I am not doing justice to the poem.

I know that’s a little crazy, and I know I’ll be over it all pretty soon. For now, I decided to post a very small, yet one the most enlightening Ghazals I’ve ever read. It’s by Ahmed Faraaz.

Pertaining to the title of the Ghazal, Shayad, each and every sher leaves you with sense of hopelessness, and yet makes you discover hope within this hopelessness.

Phir usi Raah-guzar par shayad,
Hum kabhi mil sakein, magar….. Shayad!

Jaan Pehchan se bhi kya hoga,
Phir bhi ae dost gaur kar…. Shayad!

Muntazir jinke hum rahe, unko
Mil gaye aur hamsafar….. Shayad!

Jo bhi bichhade hain, kab mile hain Faraaz,
Phir bhi tu intezaar kar….. Shayad!!!

I love the makta of the Ghazal the most.

I hope that you like it as much as I do.
…and I wish you don’t relate to it.
By the way, it’s been sung by Jagjit Singh/Ghulam Ali at a couple of live concerts in the past. Let me know if you don’t have it.

p.s. The best way I remember this Ghazal is Gaurav sending it to me via sms, before
leaving for Pune.

Again, a masterpiece by the maestro. The choice of “Urdu ke Alfaaz” together with the message in every “sher” and the depth of it is impeccable. This is one more example where Ghalib shows his ability to express his feeling without having any problem with the words, to express it, and the “meter of the ghazal(beher)”. Keeping to the rules of Ghazal writing(like “kaafiya bandi”and the use of “radeef”) and expressing a feeling with a limited choice of words is something which is very difficult to achieve. This is exactly what “Chacha Ghalib” has done in this ghazal. Truly awesome!!!!!!!!

Wo firaaq aur wo visaal kahaan

Wo shab-o-roz-o-maah-o-saal kahaan

(those meetings and departures are no more,

Gone are those days and months and years)

Fursat-e-kaarobaar-e-shauq kise

Zauq-e-nazaara-e-jamaal kahaan

(Who has the time to pursue with hobbies,

I am deprived of the delight of praising my loved one)

Thee wo ik shakhs ke tasavvur se

Ab wo raanaai-e-khayaal kahaan

(Her existence was merely a result of somebody’s thought,

Now those tender thoughts are no more)

Aisa aasaan nahin lahoo rona

Dil mein taaqat jigar mein haal kahaan

(It’s not easy to cry your heart out (the phrase” lahoo rona” literally means to cry out tears of blood),

There’s no physical and emotional strength left in me)

Fikr-e-duniya mein sar khapaata hoon

Main kahaan aur ye wabaal kahaan

(I try to find a solution to the problems of this world,

I forget every time that it’s not my cup of tea)

Muzamahil ho gaye quwaa Ghaalib

Wo anaasir mein eitdaal kahaan

(All my natural powers have been abated,

Now my words don’t carry any weight)

 

I see some traffic coming to the blog.

There has been too much going on the personal as well as professional front, which has prevented us from updating the blog. We would like to apologize for the same.

I came currently working on a few and would post them in a couple of days.