these lines are from movie SHAADI 1961 and according to movie credits the lyricist is RAJENDRA KRISHAN.
mr.H.K.L. SACHDEVA has made a big mistake by claiming that the movie is DHARAMPUTRA
and lyricist is SAHIR.as far as panini’s comments about SAHIR’s poetry is concerned;it shows his or her little knowledge about SAHIR and his poetry.of course there are many sayings like BANDAR KYA JANE ADARAK KA SWAD,GADHE KO DHOOL MEIN LOTNE ME HI MAZA AATA HAI etc.

Undoubtedly, Saahir counts as a towering figure in last century’s poetry. His only fault (or misfortune) was that he wrote a lot of his profound poetry for films and in an extremely simple language. I do not recount many films made with a poet as a protagonist. (Leave apart Mirza Ghaalib and Mahakavi Kalidas). But the one’s which were produced had Saahir writing the lyrics. Pyaasa, Kabhie Kabhie…What greater proof is required?

His Ishq, Ishq quawaali is almost legendary in philosophical thought. Or the 4 great songs from hum dono, (three of them greatly philosophical and the other eternally romantic). His belief that song is a poet’s creation and I also read somewhere that he charged a rupee more than the music director for this reason!

I cannot agree with the people who believe he was a sub-standard shaayar…

Ishq na puchhe deen dharam nu,
ishq na puchhe zaataaN,
ishq de haththoN garam lahoo vich,
DubbiyaaN lakhkh baraataaN!

from the famous qawwali “yeh ishq ishq hai ishq ishq”

I cannot help think of my favourite poet again in these troubled times….a man who always rejected religion that stood before human values and human life…..A man, who gave voice to the secular, the humane and the ideal….what better way than to capture the imagination through poetry…..?…Sahir Ludhianvi was a poet beyond his times…His poetry/ lyrics are more meaningful today than ever before….His poetry engages me and is a constant reminder of the sanity that is elusive and desirable……Even if it means.. to be moved by allah tero naam ishwar tero naam…sabko sanmati de bhagwaan…..I will unashamedly claim…..yes, I wish the world that he created in his poetry could really exist….I am happy I can still escape into that world…..

How can I then not admire him, who helps me and perhaps many others make sense of our worlds?…

I shall be back – once I return to India – with my comments soon.

In Sahir, I find a poet, who has the poetic conscience to engage with the ‘real world’……sahir was writing at a time when the euphoria of a new nation was glossing over the harsher realities…there were only some lyricists during his times, who wished to look beyond the romanticised image of the great Indian nation, the perfect heterosexual romance, the desired female body, or the overt sense of patriotism. To be able to construct a poetic narrative of the challenges of the times was an arduous task…..to articulate the failures of the Nehruvian vision was difficult….or rather to put it simply…to put in words the myriad emotions of human life and relationships was not easy…At a time when idealism was rampant…to be able to state the obvious, that too so beatifully…and yet retain the idealism tells us much about his poetic abilities…..I have always found a rupture between Sahir’s life and his poetry and am not too sure his personal…was also his political or poetical if u please……He was an arrogant man….probably even a mysoginist…even an egotist whose concern was to be better than others…to stand out……He did have feudalistic tendencies expressed in his interactions…even with his best friends…..He wasn’t a feminist perhaps…and in real life didnt think much of women…..But to be able to then….even articulate the voices of the ‘subaltern’…including women…was a phenomenal job that only a born poet could achieve…If only in terms of how he managed to express things….his literary skills were unsurpassed….he was truly the ‘magician’…..of words!!!!At a time when we are all worried about who can speak for whom….and who can represent whom……I am convinced of his abilities to represent the secular, the feminists, the post modern, the idealists, the realists….and many more…and therein lies his greatness….

And surely those who have read Sahir might ponder on the fact that his lyrics are engaging…in the way he questions…rasm…riwaaz…dharm..and samaj…..and yet manages to dream…of wo subah…kabhi to aayegi…..His idealism was intact in the way he saw the different aspects of life…khak ko but aur but ko devta karta hai ishq…..he maintained a delicate balance of questioning without offending……and perhaps….poetry didn’t flow out of him…but he evolved out of his poetry….

poetry and music is a political statement about the time as well as a personal expression of ideas…..we read these forms of art also in the ways in which our worlds are constructed…The ‘politics of location’ works both ways…for the reader and the writer….Being an ardent admirer of Sahir’s writings/poetry…I am not too sure…how it would be to have met him…if he were alive….but his poetry talks to me…engages me..in a constant conversation…Perhaps even for those who lived during his times…his poetry was better to relate to and engage with than sahir himself!!!! And the Sahir-Amrita story does exemplify this….

Sahir’s poetry is not dull or dead…It speaks…..and how it speaks to us…depends a lot on our own positionings…….Thanks sahir for telling us…’hooren’ milti hain kise…iski parwah se gaye………!!!!!….those who find it difficult to see beauty in sahir’s writings or meaning in his words….might want to locate themselves…..and position themselves….afterall we do experience things differently…but the difference between those who appreciate the writings of sahir and those who dont lies in the argument that the earth does not revolve around the sun, or that we dont need air and water to survive!!!!!It would be too stark….and unneccessary……!!! cheers

“Where else can we find such deep and meaningful lyrics that too in movies ..for instance..ye mahlon ye takhton ye tajon ki duniya..”

Since you, albeit vitriolically, concede that I am a MR CRITIC I would like to state my position unambiguously on this rather sadly extolled poem of Janab Sahir Ludhianvi Saheb. It seems to me to be amongst the shoddiest poems I have read in a relatively short literary life-span of let us say of ten years of serious reading. And have I read a lot!!! I requires some guts to be moved by Janab Sahir’s almost feudalistic command in this poem:

“mere saamne se haTa lo ye duniya”

Are kyoN bhai! Hum kyoN haTaayeN? Koi naukar lage haiN tumhaare? Agar itni lakleef hai to haTa lo na khud hi! Sahir ki yehi problem hai. Uska politics ekdum begana hai – uninvolved or phuss. YahaN to vo darmiyaani shayari se bhi niche utar aata hai.BaNde meiN koi dam nahiN lagta, kam-az-kam yahaN par to nahiN hi

“Ye duniya agar mil bhi jaaye to kya hai”

Kya hai? Aisi duniya agar mil jaaye to bhaiyye laanat hai!!!

You jumped to a conclusion with remarkable alacrity. Baqaul Faiz:

Woh baat saare fasaane meiN jiska zikr na tha,
woh baat unko baRi naagawaar guzri hai!

Read your recommendations of Sahir on Lenin. I do not think there is much to write home about such poetry. His filmi stuff is a lot better even if it confirms the age-old belief: Great minds think alike. We have a Sahir and Neruda in a creative shadow play. Maybe Neruda is the Sahir of Latin America in much the same way as Godard is the Mrinal Sen of France. We have furious commentators here, the rasiks in unbridled kaifiat, who would hear no evil… etc.

Cheers

Aap kahte hain to theek hi kahte honge..Sahir ne aaj tak Shayeri hi nahin ki..he was merely thriving on the profession of plagiarism. Seems you have some vendatta against the departed poet. Due to shortage of time im unable to reply in full so will surely do the catching up.

Hats off to you for penning down our (pro Sahir) heart here. I went a step ahead in saying that how can we criticize Sahir or any other poet when we qre not one up as compared to them.

I am sure, you would have read Mr. Guri’s write up wherein he has given virtually a step by step analysis of the changes which he observed in Sahir’s writings.

I am a die heard fan of Sahir Saheb. Read what he write in “Kissii ko udaas dekhkar”. First he talks of her sadness and his concern for it and then he talks of the sadness of everybody around him and then says :-

ye Gam hai.n bahot merii zi.ndagii miTaane ko
udaas rah ke mere dil ko aur ranj na do

Read his “Mere Giit” reporoduced by me above wherein he categorically says that he is not averse to the love songs and poetry but he can’t stand the torture of human sufferings around and that is why his pen womits fire.

This only Sahir Saheb could write.

Hope to have more interaction in times to come.

Regards,

H.K.L. Sachdeva

You can get in touch with me at :-

sac.harry@gmail.com

I would be very much inclined for your sharing with me your thoughts about your father’s writing. I will feel privileged.

H.K.L. Sachdeva

I have happened to enjoy the best of poetry from the great poets like, I think I should start with Janaab Qamar Jalalabadi (Ik dil ke TukRhe hazaar huye, koyii yahaan giraa, koyii wahaan giraa) and then Kaifi Azmi, Sahir Ludhianvi, Shalendra ji, Harat Jaipuri, Majrooh Sultanpuri, Pt. Gopaldas Neeraj, Rajendra Krishan, Anand Bakshi, Gulshan Bawra, Sampooran Singh Gulzar, Javed Akhtar and many others.

I beleive all of it is for enjoyment and not for criticism. All that a poet writes, is his thought process which he shapes them into words which gets weaved into the music by the Music Director or may be sometimes it is vice-versa also. It is agreed that sometimes the poet has to compromise his thought process or even the words according to the demand of situations in the movies. Like I gave the examples of Sahir Saheb having written “sanaa_Khwaan-e-taqdiis-e-mashriq kahaa.N hai.n?” which was later simplified by him at Guru Dutt’s request as “Jinhein naaz hai Hind par woh kahaan hain?”

Yeh log toh hameshaa hii aallah-zarf log rahe hain (people of higher intelect), how can we imagine to put ourselves at a higher level vis-a-vis them and do the critiqing on them because we can do critiqing on another person only when we are at a level which is “one plus” the person we are attempting to criticise.

I also write and I know how the thought process develops and takes the shape of words. I will share with you one beautiful couplet (not mine) which I think is the best couplet I have heard so far :-

Naamuraad-e-mohabbat ko hikaarat kii nazar se naa dekh,
Yeh baRhe log hain, jiine kaa hunar jaante hain.

This is referring purely to their aallah-zarfii and the same is equally true with all these great poets. Inn sabb kaa darjaa toh aasmaan par biThaane kaa hai aur jabb hum unnko aasmaan kii uunchaaii par dekhte hain toh hamein sabb uunche hii nazar aane chaahiyein.

Hoping for a better inter-acion in this forum,

H.K.L. Sachdeva

It was heratening to get your email. please accept my condolences as well. Thank you for sharing with us your grief

I couldnt agree with you more that we should try to enjoy nad get what we can from these great lyricists. I am a great admirer of sahir saab’s poetry and it aggrieved me to see malicious criticism of his works. I would be similarly saddened if we speak against the other great lyricists of the times including your father…if at all, we should build a systematic critique of the films today which have eroded the culture of lyrical poetry and social sensitivities. Most songs produced today are enough to shame us forever….

I am in india at the moment and would definitely like to speak to you sometime. I was wondering if you might have some insights on any minor or major interactions between your father and sahir saab if at all. Or any opinion shailendra saab had of sahir’s writings. Also if you would like to share with us the story behind the making of the movie Teesri Kasam, and Shailendra saab’s experinces with it. It would be something we would all be grateful for. Is there anything else you might like to share about your brother?

Many thanks for getting back to the blog. Its like a breath of fresh air!!!

warm regards
Swati

Please accept our heartfelt condolenses on the demise of your eldest brother. We pray that The Almighty may bless peace to the departed soul and courage to the bereaved family to bear this unbearable loss.

H.K.L. Sachdeva

As I said…..I do not even understand the need for ur doing so…unless you really have an attention problem…..i reiterate that my reason to join this blog….is to learn about the mystical sahir….not to hear prejudiced opinion………..It doenst matter now what u have to say…..

You are not the only one who understands the value of a nuanced crtique and surely not the only one who understands the importance of addressing uncomfortable questions…….I reiterate…..my humour comes from the fact that you arent even making relevant remarks and indulging in self obsession which is abominable……

I cannot speak for everyone…but for myself…..I think of myself as a feminist, and certainly not the kinds you imagine feminists to be…that Sahir was not a feminist at all even when he wrote aurat ne janam diya mardon ko…is not rocket science to figure out…..the point is that when you make a crtique, an intelligent one that too, esp of poems nad writings, it has to be usually on what was written and not on what wasnt even intended or mentioned or written about!!! Poor Sahir must be turning in his grave thinking folks like you expected him to carry out a revolution, and carry further the emancipatory agenda of feminists of his time…and articulate through his artistic medium of poetry something as important as ‘feminine desire’…Poor man…who probably didnt ever have a woman in his life,…and partly his problem that too!!!!…I am certainly not in awe of sahir…i do recognise the problems in his poems as well and as a feminist I have several issues there…but it is the quality of his writings that is phenomenal..and the context that is so relevant….the content and the form of his poetry calls for a greater understanding than simply pointing out…. he didnt address this and that!!!!!And If u think I am in awe of him…well you are also determined to reject him in not even an intellectual sort of way…but on petty matters……as I said…the poor man…didnt write about George Bush and Osama…he didnt write about womens write to divorce, to abort….well that rascal…didnt even talk about gays and lesbians and his poems just reinforced gendered streotype of heterosexual longing and desire!!!!!…..and so he is a mediocre poet!!!!What do u expect me to do? To not laugh?….as i sad…do write….I like ur posts……for the fun they generate…..coz unfortunately…intellectaully they are definitely prejudiced nad hollow!!!!

‘It saddens me even more to note what a completely misplaced and poor sense of interpretation scholars pursuing higher studies and doctoral research from Indian Universities have when it comes to dealing with uncomfortable issues’….wow…what a statement!!!!clearly you have no idea of what has been happening in the universities….and the amount of questioning that goes on…..STOP making generalisations like this!!!!!

So you also think you are ‘original nd dare I add theoretically challenging’….I honestly wish you challenged one enough to respond in an intellectual way……your prejudiced posts have been hell bent on proving sahir mediocre or even non engaging on issues…the poor fellow hadnt even probably thought about!!!!! Thats why I find ur posts amusing…and you call this theoretically challenging!!!!!I am beginning to pity you because I am seriously thinking you like to prove a point…only because u are an attention seeker…not because u really care about either sahir or his ‘bad’ poetry!!!!I am beginning to see that you are not bothered about criticising sahir as much as interested in proving a point!!!! In a way that relieves me……

I wish you luck……I will still be a part of this blog…coz I look forward to some greater insights on sahir and his poetry from those who have something to contribute..I shall certainly read your messages…and needless to say will get amused…..unless u atleast recognise ur prejudices…..which is least likely!!!! Haar nahin manoonga….keep up the spirit…Mr. original thinker…and theoretically engaging……intellectually sound…better than us , products of uni systems, Mr. panini pothoharvi…..the SAD TRUTH is that it is you who doesnt see the grey areas…in your quest for the white and the black!!!!!!!

Cheers!!!!

About Behen Swati, what is one to say except hate oneself for having been the cause of such strange behaviour and bile?

should read as:

About Behen Swati, what is one to say except one hates oneself for having been the cause of such strange behaviour and bile?

So completely self-enclosed this adulation of Sahir is! Either you like our Sahir or quite simply get lost. These worthies have been throwing broad hints to me to literally leave this blog which I believe is trully frightening. Maybe I am not as learned and well-read or well-informed as the Gods and Panditas of Truth, but I have a non-plagiarist’s – I am quite self-consciously original and dare I add theoretically challenging – right to exist and express my opinions even if they make very little sense. If my posts make someone roll with laughter, it makes me shudder in pain at someone’s open, blatant and hubris-engulfed anti-intellectual self-positioning. It saddens me even more to note what a completely misplaced and poor sense of interpretation scholars pursuing higher studies and doctoral research from Indian Universities have when it comes to dealing with uncomfortable issues. I may be wrong but I do not fiond Sahir very convincing when it comes to the ontology of feminine desire. Where is it articulated in his oeuvre? I would loe to be enlightened. The questions I raised remain important and cannot simply be wished away just because someone is blindly in ‘awe’ of Sahir.

Cheers…..

and with all your claims of gender sensitivity….I cannot help think that you have such a simplistic understanding of womens sexuality or feminine desire as you claim…..that it again makes me laugh…….Actually on second thoughts…please do keep writing……atleast you offer good entertainment………one gets to know…..what someone who hasn’t read sahir thinks of him!!!!!!!please do write…..and even if I may not be able to reply all the time…because of all my travels….I will atleast read them for sure…..to keep myself in good cheer..!!!!!

Cheers

Most men, articulate womens sexuality in the way they would like to see it, and sahir as a poet was not above that….neither were the other poets you mentioned…….You also mention the ‘ feminine desire’ in the way you would like to see it expressed…..and even then….you havent even read sahir to have written the last post!

Do not insist on articulating uninformed and prejudiced opinions….just because you are used to doing things for the sake of doing them! Why be averse to knowledge and learning?

Cheers

You say that you have seen the film Phir Subah Hogi and other than its music, it has nothing much to recommend itself.

After reading this, I am sorry to say that I am again compelled to express my doubts as to whether you have really seen the movie.

The hero who very well knew that there is neither any witness or evidence to the crime which got comitted by him, suffers a sort of mental agony and the turmoil that he undergoes in his mind, ultimately falls prey to the traps of the Police Inspector who magnificiently attempts to exploit the hero’s mental turbulence and ultimately the hero is just not able to resist but to confess to the murder.

In the scenario, as above, the roles played by Raj Kapoor, the hero and Mubarak, the Police Inspector are just superb and par excellence and other supporting cast also did full justice to their roles.

And my dear friend, you say that you have seen the film and other than its music, it has nothing much to recommend itself.

I pity myself for having to respond to this.

May God be with you.

H.K.L. Sachdeva

What Sahir (or for that matter any other Poet/writer) writes, if you like it enjoy it, if you don’t like it forget it. Baal kii khaal nikaalne se kuchh milne milaane waalaa nahiin. issii liye maine apnii last but one post mein likhaa thaa :-

QUOTE

Baakii aur jo bhii bhaav apne vyakt kiye hain unke baare main maatr yahii kahuungaa “Main Chup Rahuungaa” kyonki Sahir Saheb ke naqsh-e-paa par chalte huye main unn baaton ko ek khuubsuurat moRh dekar chhoRhnaa hii behtar samajhtaa huun.

UNQUOTE

and I stick to it.

Hamein toh jo achhaa lagtaa hai woh hum sabke saath share karte hain aur jo nahiin achhaa lagtaa usse bhool jaate hain. Criticism (just for the heck of cricticising) is not my cup of tea whereas I feel, with you it is the only cup of tea. Aur agar aapkaa yahii vyavhaar barkaraar rahaa toh yahaan shaayad hamein apnii aamad par bandish lagaanii paRhegii.

Dhanyavaad,

H.K.L. Sachdeva

In addition to your Hindi example perpetuating the stereotype of the mother-in-law being highly objectionable – gender-insensitive as it is – you are not even in the least bit remorseful about your unacknowledged lifts from other sites. I must say that you are a very determined soul.

Plagiarism is a culpable offense. It is illegal to just “cut and paste” without acknowledging the source. People in universities – barring those teaching in the Okhla type of academic rackets where junior dons with proven acts of plagiarism get appointed as Professors without interviews – lose their jobs and research scholars their Ph.Ds if found out in this ethically unsustainable activity.

You don’t seem to realize the gravity of the issue at stake so confident you are about the so-called ‘content’ of your(?) wisdom about which I have absolutely no comment to make.
Incidentally, I have seen the film Phir Subah Hogi and other than its music, it has nothing much to recommend itself.

For other people on the blog, I have the following queries:

a) Was Sahir ever a part of PWA or IPTA?
b) Did he ever write about or express any opinion about Lenin and Stalin – especially the latter?
c) Was he relatively closer to the Nehruvian model of the industrial development – the so-called ‘temples of modernity’ than he was to the left?
d) Was he ever critical of the left?

Pannu

The write up has not been penned down by me. It has been straight picked up from an iternet site and put here for the perusal of people here.

It appears that you are only concerned with criticizm in one way or the other and not really interested in the content part. Tell me if you have anything to comment on the contents, may be you don’t have any because you may not even have seen the movie.

Mr. Pannu, if you can take somebody’s advice seriously, please drop this attitude of “aaTTaa goondhate hiltii kyon ho” as usually displayed by a mother-in-law as it will not lead you anywhere. You have yourself admitted that you are a loner and now I am saying you will remain one. And there is no pun intended in it.

May God be with you.

H.K.L. Sachdeva

“see you missed the point again”

What am I to say except that the missed point remains missing. So it is better we miss the missing point Miss.

Having said that more about Mr HKL Sachdeva’s write-up on Phir Subah Hogi:

Been wondering if the entry on Phir Subah Hogi at http://www.upperstall.com/films/phirsubahhogi.html has indeed been penned by our own Shri HKL Sachdeva ji for his ‘write-up’ on the film in his last post reads suspiciously like the one carried at the above website. If indeed the two pieces are indeed written by two different people, it involves some truly uncomfortable questions about copyright violations.

Here are a few similar sounding extracts from the two pieces:

“Phir Subah Hogi (1958)” – a film by Ramesh Saigal -
is basically a film version of Fyodor Dostoevsky’s
“Crime and Punishment (1866)”…
The film concentrates
on the various malevolent aspects of city life like
exploitation, crime, unpleasantness & slums and the
struggle of the downtrodden even for their basic needs
for their day-to-day living.

From Sachdeva ji’s

Though Phir Subah Hogi is loosely based on Fyodor Dostoevsky’s Crime and Punishment published in 1866

The city became synonymous with jobs, wealth and excitement. But this was just one edge of the sword. The other edge was exploitation, crime, sleaze and slums as the poor and dispossessed struggled even with basic day-to-day living

From Upperstall

The film successfully brings out, in an extremely
convincing manner, both the external and the internal
conflicts of its characters. It is more or less a
philosophical dealing of the guilt and mental mayhem
which go through the mind of the hero who accidentally
murders someone. Raj Kapoor, in fact, gave one of his
life best performances in this film. The character
played by Raj Kapoor was, virtually, internalized by
him and rendered mind blowing performance and in a
perfectly befitting manner. His performance depicting
a man fighting with himself and his guilt was par
excellence.

From Sachdeva ji’s

Phir Subah Hogi is one of those rare films that are able to successfully bring out not just the external conflicts but also more importantly the internal conflicts of its characters extremely convincingly. The film stays with its characters so we can see what they are going through. It is a fine study of the guilt and emotional turmoil that goes through the hero’s mind following his accidental murder of another man. In fact Raj Kapoor gives one of the best and most insightful performance of his career in Phir Subah Hogi. While physical acting is easier, it is much tougher to internalize oneself and portray the state of the mind and Raj Kapoor does exactly that perfectly. It is a marvelous performance of a man fighting with himself and his guilt and an attribute to his great skill as an actor.

From Upperstall

Mala Sinha was in the female lead in the film and this
film was amongst the better performances of her career

From Sachdeva ji’s
Mala Sinha was on her way up following the success of Pyaasa where she had made a major impact when she did Phir Subah Hogi. This is among the better performances of her career

From Upperstall

Among the supporting cast, Rehman appearing as hero’s
munificent friend who tries to help him out as much as
he can and makes the most of it creating a character
who though cannot be of much help but walk along as a
true friend. Mubarak reflects strong screen presence in
playing the role of the police officer trying to exploit
the hero’s mental turbulence and ultimately to make him
confess to the murder.

From HKL Sachdeva Ji

Among the supporting cast, Rehman has a rather unusual and bindaas role of Rehman, Ram’s benevolent friend who tries to help him out as much as he can and Rehman makes the most of it creating a character you cannot help but like and smile along with. Mubarak uses his strong screen presence to play the police officer trying to play on Ram’s mental turmoil and to get him to confess to the murder even employing unorthodox methods if he has to. Well fleshed out, it is the scene-stealing role of the film. Nana Palsikar plays the suffering retired patriarch who cannot take care of his family and so drowns himself in alcohol while Leela Chitnis plays his long suffering wife. Here is an extremely interesting characterization of a woman who actually chides her husband and unbelievably for a Hindi film even expresses relief at his death after what he has put the family through

From Upperstall

Though released way back in 1958, the film still has
relevance in the present times. In fact, the problems
of poverty, homelessness, exploitation of the poor and
corruption have multiplied manifold and even 60 years
after of the Independence, we pray Woh Subah Kabhi to
Aayegi…

From Sachdeva ji’s

Released in 1958, Phir Subah Hogi continues to be as relevant in today’s time. The same problems of poverty, homelessness, exploitation of the poor, corruption plague the nation today in fact more so. In fact for millions even today it is a fact of life that Sone ko Ghar Nahin Hai Sara Jahan Humara. Today 56 years after Independence one cannot help but still pray Woh Subah Kabhi to Aayegi…

From Upperstall

Yeh aapkii nazar. Umiid hai ki aap isse apnii pasand ke anukuul paayeingii.

H.K.L. Sachdeva

************************************************************

Janaab-e-Sahir kaa zikr ho aur Film “Phir Subah Hogi”
ke liye likhe gaye unke naayaab nagmon kii baat naa ho,
toh yeh baat unke tamaam muriidon par naagwaar guzregii.

Here is a brief write-up on the film “Phir Subah Hogi”,
a must see for everybody to make a true assessment
of “Meraa Bhaarat Mahaan”.

PHIR SUBAH HOGI

“Phir Subah Hogi (1958)” – a film by Ramesh Saigal -
is basically a film version of Fyodor Dostoevsky’s
“Crime and Punishment (1866)”. From the point of
view of Indian scenario, it is an emotional piece of
work to inculcate a culture of social justice in tune
with the human compassions. The film concentrates
on the various malevolent aspects of city life like
exploitation, crime, unpleasantness & slums and the
struggle of the downtrodden even for their basic needs
for their day-to-day living.

The film successfully brings out, in an extremely
convincing manner, both the external and the internal
conflicts of its characters. It is more or less a
philosophical dealing of the guilt and mental mayhem
which go through the mind of the hero who accidentally
murders someone. Raj Kapoor, in fact, gave one of his
life best performances in this film. The character
played by Raj Kapoor was, virtually, internalized by
him and rendered mind blowing performance and in a
perfectly befitting manner. His performance depicting
a man fighting with himself and his guilt was par
excellence.

Mala Sinha was in the female lead in the film and this
film was amongst the better performances of her career.

Among the supporting cast, Rehman appearing as hero’s
munificent friend who tries to help him out as much as
he can and makes the most of it creating a character
who though cannot be of much help but walk along as a
true friend. Mubarak reflects strong screen presence in
playing the role of the police officer trying to exploit
the hero’s mental turbulence and ultimately to make him
confess to the murder.

The film had excellent self-illuminating lyrics containing
a Compendium of Sahir’s writings sung beautifully by
Mukesh ji, Rafi ji and Asha ji with excellent Music Score
composed by Khayyam Saheb.

Some extremely beautiful songs, written by Sahir Ludhianvi
with Music by Khayyam were sung by Mukesh and Asha Bhonsle,
the most glaring of which were :-

- Aasamaan pe hai khudaa aur zamiin pe ham
- Chiin-o-arab hamaaraa, hindostaan hamaaraa
- Phir naa kije merii gustaakh nigaahii kaa gilaa
- Woh subah kabhii to aayegii, Woh subah kabhii to aayegii

The best part for the song “Woh subah kabhii to aayegii”,
of course was the modification from “Woh Subah Kabhi To
Aayegi” to “Woh Subah Hum Hii Toh Laayeinge” at the end of
the film which depicts Sahir’s leaning towards a system of
collective change.

Though released way back in 1958, the film still has
relevance in the present times. In fact, the problems
of poverty, homelessness, exploitation of the poor and
corruption have multiplied manifold and even 60 years
after of the Independence, we pray Woh Subah Kabhi to
Aayegi…

************************************************************

Naajaayaz hotti hai woh aulaad,
Jo baap ko khabti samajhtii hai.

Yeh toh maine mahaz Akbar allahabadi Saheb ke sher ke jawaab mein kahaa thaa aur isskaa aapke saath yaqiinan koyii lenaa denaa nahiin hai.

Baakii aur jo bhii bhaav apne vyakt kiye hain unke baare main maatr yahii kahuungaa “Main Chup Rahuungaa” kyonki Sahir Saheb ke naqsh-e-paa par chalte huye main unn baaton ko ek khuubsuurat moRh dekar chhoRhnaa hii behtar samajhtaa huun.

Chaliye Sahir Saheb kii ek aur bahut hii naayaab chiiz se aapkaa taa’ruf karwate hain :-

Dharamputra film mein ek qawaalii thii jiske zarriye Janaab
Sahir Sahib nein Shamaa aur Parwaane kii kashish ke baare
mein amooman jo kuchh bhii kahaa jaataa hai uss sab ko
Parwaane kii jaanib se naqaar diyaa thaa. Dekhiye Parwaane
kii jaanib se woh kyaa kehate hain. “I am the lover of
the dark night. If shamaa is lit in the daytime, I don’t
come and shamaa is a message for my destruction.”

The actual verses go somewhat like this :-

Main toh aashiq hoon raat kii syaahii kaa
Shamaa din ko jale toh main aataa nahin
Shamaa paigam hai merii tabaahii kaa

With best wishes,

H.K.L. Sachdeva

aap self obsession se bahar nikalkar is blog par kuchh contribute kijiye….to achha rahega…..hum ye nahin chahte ki aap na likhen….aur Nehruvian sense mein constructivist hone ki zarurat bhi nahin….see you missed the point again….I reiterate all my last comments and want to reserve more since u have already quoted Ghalib and I do not wish to be predictable! :)

well, since its not a great idea to move into the realm of personal, I would like to revert the attention to Sahir and his poetry. I thought its not about what YOU think of Sahir but WHAT you think of Sahir that is important….

Its interesting how sahir’s poetry moves easily between dream and reality, hope and resignation….he offers a very complex understanding of life situations…but to me what is infinitely interesting is the fact that he couldnt not as a poet separate the personal from the political!!! the poet and his poetry would have to be considered together…..he wrote what he felt/ experienced….

hum gham zada hain…laayen kahan se khushi ke geet
denge wahi jo payenge is zindagi se hum…..

As Javed Akhtar had put it once….he didnt take to the film medium, the film medium accepted him!!!!!

cheers!!!

Aapne apne pichhle khat me baNde ki jo taweel aur hairataNgez mazammat ki hai, use paRh kar to waqi’ee hamaare hosh fakhtaa ho gaye. Aisi baraf-baari to bas Stalin ke Siberia meiN, bazariya bedakhal danishwaraaNaan,suna hai siyaah-waqtoN meiN huaa karti thi. MeiN koshish karuNgaa ke kuCh sudhar jaauN par iski ummeed to ab kam hi nazar aati hai. Aapne durust hi farmaaya ki aap jaise shareefoN aur baasaleeqa deconstructivists ki basti meiN mujh sareekhe be-adab aur shaoor se mehroom bashar ka kya kaam. Kam-az-kam jis tarah se hum “Dear Mr Panini” se “Panini ji” aur ab “Mr Panini” hue haiN us se to hameN yahi sandes mila hai ki ‘bahut huaa miyaaN ab jaayiye yahaaN se’. Ham koshish kareNge ke aapko aur aap jaise “most of us” ko is blog par aur takleef na deN. Par koi pakka vaada nahiN – kam-az-kam us vaqt tak nahiN jab tak Bhai Shivam Vij ya Mehmud Faruqui sahab khud iska ishaara na kareN. Ham jaise bhaTke hue logoN ki beherhaal ek pareshaani hai: jaayeN to jaayeN kahaaN. YahaaN kuCh bahut umda logoN ka – masalan Aditya, Nivedita, Shivam aur hairaaN mat hoyiye khud Faruqui saahab – virtual saath naseeb hota hai jinheN kisi doosri shakl meiN mil paana mere jaise haashiye pe paRe hue insaan ke liye namumkin hai. BaRe hausle, koshish aur paRhaayi likhaayi (‘meri Chalakti huii adhjal gagri’ – khaasa gender-insensitive muhaavra hai) se hamne ye ghalat-fehmi paal rakhkhi hai ke hum kisi bhi soorat mein “stereotypical” nahiN – hargiz, hargiz nahiN – aur kisi bhi riwaayati shakl meiN hum apni position ko hargiz hargiz nahiN badalte. Ye donoN ilzaam saraasar ghalat haiN. Is se ziaada harsh hamse nahiN huaa jaata. HameN cynicism ke ilzaam se bhi inkaar hai. Aapko hamse “constructive mail” ki tawakko hai to aapko ye bhi zaahir kar deN ki hum kisi Nehruvian sense meiN “constructivists” nahiN haiN. Haal hi ke vaqtoN meiN hum SiNguraaye gaye haiN. Isi liye namaaz kuCh ziaada hi paRte haiN.

Aakhir meiN, on a lighter note, Ghalib ke ek sher se apni baat baNd karta hooN:

qaasid ke aate aate khat ek aur likh rakhooN
meiN jaanta hooN jo woh likheNge jawaab meiN

Aapka naalaayaq bhaai

Pannu

you have this wonderful quality of missing the point – dont you? You perhaps must read the comments seriously to see the context in which they are made.

Its a good thing you sent in this last post. Confirms my belief that you are a self obsessed person, incapable of deconstructing your own conflicting views, in the light of constructive criticism!!!! I notice how you keep changing your arguments!!!! Good for you…perhaps to attract attention it works as a strategy. A self obsessed person like you will fail to see the COMPLEXITIES in others’ arguments because all you want is a point to prove and to disagree!!!I am supremely disappointed since u mentioned your age. If that is true, I am forced to think that I belong to a generation of self obsessed cynics, like yourself or people who are too cynical of cynicism itself!!

You reinforce stereotypes unfortunately!!!! If this last self obsessed mail was to also prove to us about ur urdu skills, you only disppoint. Because you had mentioned being in Gujarat,I had mistakenly assumed that you still have some sensitivities left despite all your negativity!!!

Good luck with your cynicism and narcicism!!!! You might have a use for it for your self esteem, most of us dont!!! and with your COMMAND over the Urdu and even Punjabi languages which you have emphasised from time to time….was wondering if you still understand hindi?

Adhjal gagri chhalkat jaye!!!!!

We would still look forward to a constructive mail from you which adds to the discussion here and not takes away from it!!! and just incase I have been too harsh on your unintended sarcasm and self obsession, self righteousness etc etc….well you might want to even develop a COMMAND over the medium of expression in any language…and perhaps express urself better!!!!

Cheers!!!!

Choonki aapne “pun intended” ka ailaan karte hue hameN apne adhure sher meiN naajayaz qaraar diya hai:

“Naajaayaz hotti hai woh aulaad,
Jo baap ko khabti samajhtii hai.”

to janaab shukraane meiN hamaari gardan khud-b-khud jhuk gayi hai. YaaN phir filmi andaaz meiN kaheN: “shukriya, karam, navaazish”. Aur choonki behen Swati bhi aapke khatoot se intahaayi hudood tak mutaasir haiN to yaqeenan aap jo bhi keh rahe haiN ghalat to woh sab nahiN hi hoga. Aapke 62 aur hamaare 26 (ya Allah, kaisa ulaT pher hai!) – aapki gaaliyaaN (hum kis zabaan se ise “petty” qaraar deiN – nahiN, nahiN yeh hamse nahiN hoga) huzoor sar aakhoN par. Zaraa ghaur farmaayeN, Janaab Sahir ka apne abba miyaaN se kaisa rishta tha yaa phir Janaab Javed Akhtar Saheb ki Janaab JaaN Nisaar Akhtar se taa-umr kis tarah ki guftgu rahi. Janaab Hegel ne kisi jagah Preface aur Text ke hawale se yeh farmaaya hai ke inke beech ka rishta homage aur parricide ka hota hai. Is hawaale se kam-o-besh sabhi nahiN to bahut baRi taadaad meiN daanishwar “najaayaz” Theharte haiN. Vaise ise hum “pun intend kiye bagair” COMPLEXITY ka naam dete haiN jo “binary oppositions” meiN baNdhi huyee soch ko ek hi choT meiN nestnabood karne ki quwwat rakhti hai. Aapko aapki jaayaz aur zarkhez zameen-o-rutba, aapka laal-o-chaman, aapka firdaus mubarik hameN hamaari “najaayaz” dasht. Jaisa ki kehte haiN – “apna apna naseeb hai!” Sach ke DevoN se hum vaise bhi bahut ghabraate haiN. So khush raho ahl-e-watan, hum to safar karte haiN.

Aapki shakhsiyat se Daraa Daraa,

Panini ya phir, batarz Bulle Shah, Pannu

Its so wonderful to realise that pple like you are still around with your warmth that comes through your ermails and the knowledge and sensitivities that you articulate. I esp liked the way you responded to panini jis comments…ITS HEARTENING that we as individuals can build communities even using modern technology like the internet….

I will definitely join the forums you mentioned. I really want to learn and grow. Sahir’s poetry has appealed to me in a kind of uniqueness…and has been the source of inspiration at various stages in personal and professional life….I unfortunately belong to a generation that refuses to even look for anything relevant in the past and is dismissive of all old songs and poetry as outdated, slow and boring!!! I have had to struggle to find like minded pple with whom to discuss ideas and share my passions….Always had to depend on the older generation like yourself….Its a pity…but I feel that the youth are also restless and constantly feel lost and directionless because there is a strong cultural vaccuum…..there is an identity crisis, that I find within friends around me…I am thankful that I still have things to retain my sanity!

I thank you for your last post and look forward to your insights. I liked your last poem. I also look for paniniji’s comments…because they do generate a good amount of intellectual exercise. I do hope this community and this forum will continue to grow.

Thanks to everyone…and looking forward to more thoughts….I must confess, I cannot read urdu and write urdu…have read all of sahir, Faiz, Ghalib etc only in hindi script…but the wonderful thing is that I have started learning Urdu!

Cheers and regards

Having read your message to Swati regarding your having spent time looking helplessly at death and devastation in Mr Modi’s Gujarat and the strident ’sounds’ of Jai Shriram, I feel very much aggrieved by the turbulence you have been through and I share my concerns with all those who have been through this type of meances.

After the Brecent Bombay Blasts, I was so much disturbed that taking a lead from Sahir Saheb’s :-

khoon apnaa ho ya paraayaa ho
nasl-e-aadam ka khoon hai aakhir

jang mashriq meiN ho ke magHrib meiN
amn-e-aalam ka khoon hai aakhir

I wrote a small poem titled “Wahshat Ka Nagaa Naach” :-

Kal yahaan aisaa ik kohraam uThaa ki havaayein bilakhne lagii,
Maut nein kiyaa kuchh yoon taanDav ki zindagii sisakne lagii,
Laashon ke TukRhe uRhkar kuchh yoon bikhre fazaa mein ki -
Mahoul royaa khoon ke aansuu aur insaaniyat taRhapne lagii.

Mulq ko kyaa yahii tavakko hai tumse ki wahshat naachne lage,
Mulq nein kyaa yahii diyaa hai tumko ki haivaaniyat hansne lage,
Jaahilo, jis thaalii mein khaate ho, ussii mein chhed karte ho -
Mulq kaa mustakbil kyaa hoga jo juutiyon mein daal banTne lage.

UTho gairatmand insaano, jawaab do ki haivaaniyat taRhapne lage,
Utho mulq ke jawaanon, muqaablaa karo ki wahshat sisakne lage,
Keh do inn darindon ko ki khud bhii jiyein auron ko bhii jiine dein -
Warnaa yoon muhn kii khaayeinge ki inkii ruuh bhii kaampne lage.

Aur mere bhai, main to Nawaaz Deobandi Saheb ke iss sher kaa bahut hii qaayal huun :-

Bhaaii se bhaaii ke kuchh takaaze bhii hain
Sahan kii biich kii diiwaar apnii jagah

H.K.L. Sachdeva

I had started one thread with the title “sahir ludhianvi – the romantic rebel – a biography” in “Aap Kaa Nazrana” Forum of ryze.com. The thread was very much liked by the members.

But to read that you have to become member, firstly of RYZE and then of “Aap Kaa Nazrana” Network within Ryze. After that you can go through this thread on the link :-

http://www.ryze.com/postdisplay.php?messageid=1472921&confid=791

However, I append, hereunder, the intoductory post that I had posted to start the thread.

Regards,

H.K.L. Sachdeva

************************************************************

SAHIR LUDHIANVI – THE ROMANTIC REBEL – A BIOGRAPHY

Sahir, like his name, was a “magician” of words. He wove
fascinating images in songs and ghazals, spellbinding his
listeners and readers for decades. For about thirty years,
he remained associated with the Hindi film industry. He
composed hundreds of songs for Hindi/Urdu films. Most of
his songs became hugely popular and are even today sung
and hummed by people of all generations. Sahir`s most
remarkable contribution is that through his lyrics, he
catapulted the standards of Hindi film songs to a level
that became the benchmark for quality poetry. His lyrics
have immortalized many songs in the memory of Hindi film
lovers.

For a moment, imagine and visualize the scene from Guru
Dutt`s Pyaasa (1957):

Jinhe naaz hai Hind par wo kahan hain !

The song succinctly portrays the decadence in Indian
society, even as the accompanying visual is the camera
tracking through a street of brothels. Or remember a
dashing Devanand in Hum Dono (1961), bellowing curls of
smoke and singing :-

Main zindagii kaa saath nibhaataa chalaa gayaa
Har fikr ko dhuwein mein uRhaataa chalaa gayaa

Take a romantic Amitabh Bachchan, ambling about a bed of
flowers and crooning in the sylvan color riot of Yash
Chopra`s Kabhi Kabhi (1976).

Early life: A soul rending journey

Abdul Hayi (later Sahir Ludhianvi) was born in 1921 in a
jagirdar (feudal) family in Ludhiana, Punjab. He had
several stepmothers but he was the only son of his father,
a rich landlord. His childhood was hardly normal. When he
was in his early teens, his parents separated. Sahir
stayed with his mother choosing penury over luxury. His
mother and uncle took care of him. The formative years of
Sahir were steeped in fear and financial deprivation.

He studied at Khalsa High School, Ludhiana, and then went
to the Government College there. He soon became popular
for his extracurricular activities, especially poetry. He
fell in love with one of his fans, the daughter of a rich
man. But, the affair ended because of Sahir`s poverty and
he was finally expelled from college. The streak of
tragedy developed early in his life — his mother`s
suffering, while his father enjoyed a comfortable life,
and his own failure to find love.

The result was a collection of Poems, Talkhiyaan
(Bitterness Galore), his first serious work. He left
Ludhiana for Lahore and after struggling for two years
succeeded in publishing his work. He then took up the
editorship of Adab-e-Latif, Shahkaar and later on, Savera,
which were reputed Urdu magazines.

Sahir`s inflammatory writings in Savera got him an arrest
warrant from the Pakistan government, and he had to leave
Lahore. He fled to Delhi and stayed there for a few
months. Finally, he went over to Bombay and settled there.
For the next 30 years, he created history. He wrote more
than 200 amazing ghazals, geets (songs), nazms (a genre of
Urdu poetry), and songs, which have become a part of the
evergreen and immortal body of Hindi film music. His style
of writing lyrics revolutionized song writing in Bollywood.

A bachelor to the end, Sahir, later, fell in love with
writer Amrita Pritam and singer Sudha Malhotra,
relationships that never fructified in the conventional
sense and left him sad. Ironically, the two ladies’
fathers wouldn’t accept Sahir, an atheist, because of his
perceived religion. Had they seen the iconoclast in him,
that would have been worse; being an atheist was worse
than belonging to the ‘other’ religion. Sahir, perhaps,
had an answer to such artificial barriers in these lines
written for Naya Raasta (1970):

Nafraton ke jahan mein humko pyaar ki bastiyaan basaani hain
Door rehna koi kamaal nahin, paas aao to koi baat bane

Vignettes of tragedy and revolt

duniyaa ne tajrubaat-o-hawaadis ki shakl meiN
jo kuchh mujhe diyaa hai vo lauTaa rahaa houN maiN

This couplet appeared on the first page of Sahir’s first
poetry book : ‘talkhiyaaN’ (Bitterness), and aptly so.

Ashkon me jo paya hai, woh geeton me diya hai…

Sahir was basically a romantic poet. He had failed in love
many times and therefore, his poetry is full of tragic
emotions. He excels in portraying tragedy without going
overboard. He talks of personal romance and the ensuing
disillusionment. Then he talks of universal romance, and
the inevitable frustration that follows it. His poetry is
an amazing canvas of romantic shades.

Bichchad gaya har saathi de kar, pal do pal ka saath
Kisko fursat hai jo thaame deewanon ka haath
Humko apna saaya tak, aksar bezaar mila
Humne to jab kaliyan mangin, kaaton ka haar mila !

The style is simple, straight, and direct. He minces no
words. He expresses his thoughts directly without
sublimating emotions. Sahir at times gets angry too. His
anger can be against God or society. He challenges God and
he challenges moribund traditions of society. He throws a
gauntlet at the bourgeoisie members of society and their
feudal mentality:

Are O Aasmaanwale! Bata isme bura kya hai
Khushi ke chaar jhonke gar idhar se bhi guzar jaaen

As a poet, Sahir belonged to the Progressive Writers`
Movement. His poetry had a clear leaning towards socialist
philosophy. Sahir was a multifaceted poet. Though his
poetry was mostly tragic, romantic, and socialist, he also
gave his perspectives on humanism, secularism, and
feminism :

Sansaar kii har ek besharmii,
ghurbat kii god mein paltii hai
Chaklon mein hii aake ruktii hai,
faaqon mein jo raah nikaltii hai
Mardon kii hawas hai jo aksar,
aurat ke paap mein dhaltii hai

A colossus among song writers, Sahir fought for, and
became the first film lyricist to get, royalty from music
companies. He would deeply involve himself in the setting
of tunes for his songs. Any wonder why they are extra
melodious? There was a negative trait too: Sahir would
insist he be paid a rupee more for each song than Lata
Mangeshkar was.

Sahir will always find place in the hearts of his fans and
his words will always echo …

maiN pal do pal ka shaayar houN
pal do pal meri kahaanii hai
pal do pal meri hastii hai
pal do pal meri javaanii hai

mujhse pahle kitne shaayar aaye
aur aa kar chale gaye
kuchh aaheiN bhar kar lauT gaye
kuchh naGhme gaa kar chale gaye
vo bhi ik pal ka qissa the
maiN bhi ik pal ka qissa houN
kal tumse judaa ho jaaouNgaa
go aaj tumhaaraa hissaa houN

The truth is, that Sahir, the magician of lyrics, was
perhaps the last of his tribe. His place in Hindi film
music remains at the top, unchallenged, and untouchable.
We lost this magician to death, in 1980.

Sahir`s Works

Talkhiyaan (1943), Parchhaiyaan (1953), Tanhaiyaan Aao Koi
Khwaab Bune (Collected works), Gaata Jaaye Banjaara (Movie
songs)

His famous nazms include Parchhayiaan, Taj Mahal, Gurez,
Kabhi kabhi, Kisi ko Udaas dekh kar, Chakley, etc. among
others.

************************************************************

Now whatever I will be writing in this post, will be more with pun intended.

Your these statements :-

“I think Sahir is a minor poet but culturally an important phenomenon – perhaps, even more important than Faiz Ahmed Faiz.”

AND

“Mukesh, for instance, was now and then besura but that does not stop him from being such a ‘huge’ singer with genuine soz in his voice or, was it, heart.”

AND

“I cannot even begin to tell you how much I love Mukesh. I even love Sahir, in an intellectually ‘unsound’ way. But this doesn’t stop me from being sceptical.”

AND

“During my adolescence I was a die-hard Shiv fan. I have since fallen on degenerate ways and put his poetry under erasure which doesn’t mean that I do not read him any more.”

remind me of a jyotishii who gave a roled slip to a pregnant lady to predict about her forthcoming child and the slip read, “Putrii naa Putraa”. If the lady gets son, the slip will mean to say “Putrii naa, putraa” and if she gets a daughter, the slip will mean to say “Putrii, naa Putraa”.

It also reminds me of a dialogue from the film “Chalti ka naam gaddii”.

and that is “Chit main jiitaa, paT tum haare”.

Liijiye, aapke iss formule se hum apnii haar maan lete hain.

Baakii rahaa Shiv ke pratii blind bhaktii bhaav toh chalo aisaa hii samajh liiliye, lekin blind bhaktii bhaav bhii koyii kissii ko tabhii detaa hai agar woh ussko isske qaabil samajhtaa hai.

Regarding Akbar Allahabadi’s sher you have quoted, I go a step ahead and put it more plainly like this :-

Naajaayaz hotti hai woh aulaad,
Jo baap ko khabti samajhtii hai.

But I am happy to note that you feel :-

Sahir is culturally an important phenomenon

AND

You love Mukesh and Sahir

AND

you, even now, read Shiv.

And all this brings you more close to me.

With love for all and malice to none,

Hari Krishan Lal Sachdeva

Muslim caste-politics is itself quite complicit as far as the phenomenon of the Muslim social is concerned. That is, the latter is perhaps the logical consequence of a cultural elite speaking — and standing in — for Muslims “as a whole”. The elite has long chosen to wield Urdu as the very sign of the Muslim, regardless of the fact that the cultural traditions of (for instance) the Muslims of the North are considerably more diverse than that, and hardly reducible to the “chaste Urdu” norm. Naturally, this symbolic universe ensured that the elite’s privileged cultural position stayed privileged, and the traditions, cultural expression, the very language, of other Muslims ended up being de-legitimized (as a linguistic matter, often dismissed as “bad Urdu”/dialect/ehat-have-you). The rise of “lower caste” politics over the last couple of decades (combined with the erstwhile elite’s own abandonment in favor of Western-style education, a far more reliable status marker in contemporary India) strongly suggests to me that privilege is unsustanable. To the extent it leads to a recognition of the many Urdus/Hindis/Hindustanis (we see welcome signs of it in the writings of someone like Shamsur Rahman Farooqi), there might yet be a silver lining…

I hope my non-radical intervention is forgiven just this once :-)

awtaar payambar janti hai….
phir bhi shaitaan ki beti hai….

mardon ke liye laakhon sejen
aurat ke liye bas ek chita…..

mardon ki hawas hai jo aksar…
aurat ke paap mein dhalti hai…..

most wars….political, communal, religious have always been fought over territories…..the territories of women’s bodies, their physical and mental beings…..and in that when it comes to wars and conflicts….there are only two sides…men against women…all other differences merge…..women are the ‘other’…..have always been the ‘other’…..was just struck by the coincidence of women’s day and sahir’s Birthday!!!!

Mardon ne banayi Jo Rasmen, unko hak ka Farmaan kaha
Aurat ke Zinda jalane ko, Kurbani aur Balidaan kaha
Ismat ke badle Roti dee, aur usko bhi Ehsaan kaha………

even with a strong feminist movement…truth for many women hasnt changed from what it was during sahir’s time….I still see the resonance of his poetry…..from the leser known corners of the world……as he had himself said…

Duniya ne tajurbaat-o-havadis ki shakl mein
jo kuchh mujhe diya hai, wo lauta raha hun main