Just Another Stupid Love Story

temporalji (#86):

Gustaakhi muaaf, Punditji, lekin…iss naacheez ki….

Kuchch To Suno

Justooju, maut, zindagi

To baaatein hain

Sabhi iskq ki…

Jab saans ruk jaati hai

Rooh ki aaghosh mein

Tab ghazal chhed kar bhi

Aisa lagta hai

Jaise labon se khoon beh raha ho…

To kya kahe aur kya sunaaye?

Ruswaai ya rehmat

Dono hi to saathi hai…

Unki wajah se lafson ko to

Quaid nahin kar sakte.

Ok, this no gajal, no najam, not even khaana hajam, but thought I had to say something kuchch thanda, kuchch garam. Hope you don’t call me besharam.

Signing off...Khuda khair kare...

Farzana

dost-mittar (#80):

I do not know whether somebody else penned some of Sahir’s poems, though I can check that out. But I do not agree with you that a region-specific background could have prevented him from writing anything. Anyway, what is a full-blooded Jallandhari Muslim like? Is that worth checking out:)

I have only seen bits and pieces of ‘Bandini’ on TV (Nutan is my absolute favourite, and she truly deserved that telephonic epistle, “Jalte hai jiske liye teri aankhon ke diye..” in ‘Sujata’) Regarding the “Ab ke baras…” number being more apt from a woman’s perspective, I guess this woman here is kinda different. This song has too much of pathos and a bidaai quality…for me childhood nostalgia means being able to recreate wonderful moments. Like, “Woh chidiya, woh bulbul, woh titli pakadna”….I still chase butterflies!

Why do Indians write ‘hain’ when they mean ‘hai’? I think there is a bit of confusion on this. I am not sure when to use which one. But although the Pakistani way of writing in the Urdu script may be more accurate, I find it easier to say ‘ladka’ (boy) rather than’larRka’, the way they do. And hey, it is ‘talaffuz’ not ‘talafaz’.

Shirin Ahmed (#81&90):

I am so glad kisi ko to jagaa diya! About Sahir, you must have heard the story of how Amrita Pritam, the well-known Punjabi poetess, was so madly in love with him that everytime he left her house after a visit, she would pick up the half-stubbed cigarettes and smoke them. It is true, she told me.

I do like Chandan Das a great deal. In fact he made his appearance at the right time, but his marketing is not too good. I hate to say this but he is a Bengali and to make inroads into the Urdu/Punjabi stronghold must be difficult. (Pankaj Udhas has managed it because he lives in Bombay and knows how to blow-dry his hair!) Of the numbers you have mentioned, I love “sabko dushman bana liya maine” (arre, déjà vu:) and “dil na milte to…” But I shall listen to him once again.

[“ur aap humaree Nayaara Noor ko kaisey bhool gaien !! yeh to behad buree baath hui ...”]

Ji nahin, padha and I made the mistake of posting this to a friend on Messenger before you gave the correct version…ab shaamat aaegee. Khair, aapka pata-thikaana bata denge unko…

But look at these lines,

“main us se jhuuTh bhii boluuN to mujhase sach bole

mere mizaaj ke sab mausamon Kaa Saathii ho”

Isn’t this what we all want? Sigh, aise nahin hota real life mein :(

What a co-incidence! I have been listening to Amjad Ali Khan’s Lalita Gauri, I especially like Teen taal. I have no patience to go to the website, but put this CD on when I have to soothe my nerves while responding to the ‘wonderful’ stuff they gift me at Chowk boards! Ah, the flute…heard Hariprasad Chaurasia in ‘Call of the Valley’? Great to hear that you might learn the Chinese harp. My attempts have been limited to the harmonium because I thought I would need it to accompany me on my concerts when I began to sing like Begum Akhthar! I had a nice Bengali teacher, but my attention was diverted to his lovely tangail dhoti borders…I always wanted to make dupattaas from them. His problem with me did not end there—he kept trying to teach me how to move my fingers without getting them tangled. So there…musical talent nipped in the bud. I am told there is still hope if I allow the keyboardist to drown my voice!

Hey, lovely sharing all this with you, whether you want it or not…

Studebaker (#82):

Look, I understand your anger about Indian Muslims, being one myself. Please check my response on the other board where the namak-halal/namak-haraam debate is on. Let us not start the salt march here. I am curious about your linguistic background though. You said something about Bengali…I think Tagore’s “Aikla chalo” should make sense to you.

[“``Arre, kebab khaaoge to haddi milegi hi``,

How do you know being vegeterian muslim that kebab Never contain haddi thats why occasional odd balls are called ``kebab meine haddi``]

I was just trying to be funny – and I did specify tangdi kebab. Besides, I was a vegetarian for four years. No more.

[“Iam not bollywood fan but i think in one dialogue hero says ``agar wafadar mulazim chaeye to kutte paal lo ``]

What the hell are you trying to say? Do remember that loyalty, especially in friendship and things that we value, is very important. Please learn to differentiate between ‘wafaadari’ and ‘ghair zimmedari”. Btw, did the Hollywood hero speak in Urdu? Just asking…

fzk (#83):

Can you pleeeasee handle three of Urstruly’s wrists? I am not used to “just looking” at anything in life…not even while window shopping!

Sameer (#84):

You are right that Sahir is perhaps omitted because he is well-known, but I did not reckon he would be put in the same category as Ghalib and Meer. Among Bahadur Shah Zafar’s kalaams I quite like, “Ya mujhe afsare shah na banaaya hota…”. And Jagjit-Chitra have done a good job of Shifai’s “Parainshaan raat saari hain sitaaron tum to so jaao.” (I am looking for Sahir’s ‘Parchaaiyaan’ in the devanagri script, since I cannot read Urdu. Any leads?)

I did not know that mere verses got popular in the fashion you mentioned…I think it is a wonderful way to popularize music. I heard ``har qadam zehmataiN her nafas uljhanaiN zidgi waqf hay dard-e-ser ke liye`` in Munni Begum’s rendition.

I do feel that K.L. Saigal is not recognized as a ghazal singer, although his “Ae katibe taqdeer mujhe itna bata de, tu mujhse khafaa hai kya maine kiya hai…” should rank very high. At least for me that is a summation of life in many ways. Sob, sob.

Regards,

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Dear All,

I wonder if any of you is a `` sarod `` fan ?

Ustaad Amjad Ali from India is a true maestro.You can sample a bit of the `` sarod sound ``, from Ustaad Amjad`s website

www.sarod.com

Happy tuning in ! I was pretty mesmerized.

Another beautiful instrument to hear is the ``chinese harp ``.It is truly therapeutic to listen to that, and i am inclined very much to learn to play it. A chinese dr. here gives lessons , and so i have to find the time hopefully. However a good friend of mine thinks there is nothing better than the sound of an emotionally charged flute!!!

Anyone ..... ????

Random Thoughts:

Another well known poetess besides Parveen Shakir is Ada Jafri. One of her ghazal, ``hontoN pe kabhi unke mera naam he aaye`` sung by Ustad Salamat Ali Khan was very popular 20+ years ago. It was about the same time when he sang Ibn Insha`s ``Insha jee utho ab kooch karo`` and Nasir Kazmi`s ``gaye dinoN ka suragh lekar kidhar se aaya, kidhar gaya woh``.

Sub-contracting songs writing with confidentiality in movie industry is well-known fact as dost-mittar alluded to Sahir and his friend. Sub-contractors are like interns hoping to get a step in the door usiing their Ustad`s connections and experience. One Pakistani poet is widely rumored to have been the author of many famous old Indian songs, during his early years. Later he made name for himself and known as Qateel Shifai. He and singer Iqbal Bano had similar loving and heart breaking relationship as Carly Simon and James Taylor had here. Carly Simon sang ``you are so wane`` and Iqbal Bano sang ``ulfat ki nai manzil ko chala tou daal ke bahaiN bahoN maiN-Dil tormey waley dekh ke chal, hum bhi tou parhey haiN rahoN maiN``. Many poeple consider this ghazal sung by Iqbal Bano, to be one of the best in sub-continent.

``Aah ko chahiyee ik umr asar honey tak`` is perhaps most sung ghazal from Ghalib`s poetry. Almost every well known singer has sung it, reminds me of a folk Punjabi song, ``mera long gawacha`` sung by Noor Jahan, Reshman, Tahira Syed, Mussarat Nazir, Surinder Kaur, Parkash Kaur, Manpreet Akhtar and countless others.

Pankhaj Udhas has been extremely careful with right urdu pronunciations in his singing. His selection of ghazals have much less persian words than generally found in urdu potry. That makes it easy to understand. Pankaj is good as far as ghazal singing is concerned but he not as versatlile as Jagit Singh is with folk singing. Pankaj Udhas once tried singing Punjabi folk songs and released a cassette titled ``Bisakhi`` few years ago but did not achieve the kind of success he has with ghazal singing. Both Pankaj and Jagjit Singh are much less interested in using classical music into ghazal singing while Begum Akhtar, Mehdi Hassan and Ghulam Ali are/were very fond of singing in dadra or thumri.

Dear Sadaf #84

Some of the finest pieces of chandan daas are compiled in his CD`s as follows :

1. Aik Mehfil

2. Umeed

3. Aaraaish

4. Sitam

Have you heard his song , `` jub zindagee ka zinaja uthe ga ...`` it is really a good one .

let me know how you do, otherwise just let me know , i will be very happy to copy the CD`s on the Cd burner and mail them to you.Please dont stand on any ceremonies !

Take care , and i am glad you enjoyed the post !

love,

Shirin

SameerJB

Thank you very much for letting me know the details of the sad demise of Parveen Shakir.Would you happen to know if she at that time was having a relationship with a high up govt. official ? i dont know if i should paste names , but ironically this gentleman`s wife and Parveen Shakir both died the same day. His wife was battling with cancer in England . I dont know who really to feel sorry for in this situation .

Temporal #86

What an exciting time that must have been ,to get together and discuss Ghalib, and compose poetry. It is really living life to its brim ! you lucky fellow ! Thanks for the beautiful , though hilarious ghazal. I can well imagine Pundit jee`s sentiments at that moment ! That must have been an entertainment on its own :)

Do keep sharing your masterful creations with us , i , as the rest on the board too , would love to read.

Thank you ,

love,

sa

Please read ``loh-e-mazar thee, na koi so`gawar tha-tum jis pe ro rahe the woh kis ka mazar tha`` instead of ``sang-e-mazar thee.......`` (sounds like stereotypical pathan style-khocha idhar sang-mazar thee) in my last post.

Good post temporal!

Ferz/Sameer/Shirin:

...interesting posts on ghazals and poets...love them...my favourite is ghalib... and others pale in comparison...but must admit there are the odd ones that I do enjoy occasionally...but when it comes to writing I prefer naz’ms...here is an old poem perhaps you might enjoy....wrote this years ago...used to meet every Wednesday then...six of us....all from diverse backgrounds...and try to understand ghalib...our mentor and ustaad would encourage us to write and bring some creative piece to the meetings...I would occasionally contribute a poem...this was not acceptable to Panditji...he would gently remind me to bring a ghazal...one evening this is what I read there... and god bless his heart... he never reminded me to write a ghazal next...

love,

t

__________________________________________________


KOOCH TU KAHO

Farmatay haiN punditji
choRRho yeh ehl-e-suk’hn ki baataiN
joostujoo kisi a’budi such ki
zindagi aur maut
dastaann-e-zul’m-e-azal
rakhha kya hay in baatouN maiN.

Farmatay haiN punditji
yeh bhee kaho woh bhee
ghazal chehRRo, mu’rassah woh bhee
junoon-e-pus-e-pardah ki
ish’q ki baataiN chehRRo
dil kay tareek konouN maiN
dera dalay dar’d kay qissay
hathouN ka l’mus
harkat-e-dil
saaNs ka ookhuRRna
shish jehat bay khub’ri
kooch to sunao, kooch tou kaho.

SAY SOMETHING

Urges Punditji
talk not
---of men of letters
---the strive for some eternal truth
---of life and death
---and tales of eternal injustices.
What is there in them eternal talks?

Urges Panditji
say this, and that
---recite a ghazal full of imagery
---talk of infatuation sublime
---of love supreme
---write of pain ensconced
in the corners of heart
---fleeing touch of skin
---that reverberating heart beat
---the heavy breathing
---that total one-ness, unawareness!
Say this, or that. Say something...

Shirin:

Thanks for putting up that Ghazal. Have to agree with you about Chandan Das. Long ago I once heard some of his ghazals, and I still remember his voice. Living in Canada, I have never been able to find any of his CDs. If you could give me the titles of his best works, maybe I could order them at our local Indian grocery store. Thanks,

Sadaf

Farzana: How can I ignore Sahir, when Talkhian was the first poetry book I bought as a teen-ager. My purpose in last post was to bring attention to lesser known but worth reading poets. Mentioning Sahir, Faiz, Ghalib and Meer does not add any additional interest that people already have in them. Unlike these great poets, many other are known for just one or two good ghazals, popularized by singers. For example, Hasrat Mohani for ``chupke chupke raat din aansoo bahana yaad hey``, Munir Niazi for ``us bewafa ka shehr hey aur ham haiN dosto``, Daagh Dehlvi for ``sang-e-mazar thee na koi sogawar tha`` (dost-mitter: This is one of my favorite ghazal sung by Jagjit Singh), Zauq by ``laie hayat aaye qaza le chalee chaley`` and BAhadur Shah Zafar for two :lagta naheeN hai jee mera`` and ``na kisi ki aankh ka noor hoon`` and so on.

There are even poets known for just one verse and there is popular poetry sung often by street singers with nobody knowing the poet. In Pakistan, you can hear street singers with harmonium singing in the buses, street corners and bazaars for small change. Few of their favorites are: ``Teri soorat nigahoN maiN phirti rahey``, ``na haram maiN, na kalisa maiN na but khaney maiN`` and ``har qadam zehmataiN her nafas uljhanaiN zidgi waqf hay dard-e-ser ke liye``.

Shirin: Parveen Shakir was a resident in a meighborhood where my parents now reside. I happened to be visiting them when the sad accident happened. It was late in the evening and Islamabad was under load shedding (no electricity), signals at major crossings were also dead. Her car was hit by a bus coming from the other street at a place called china chowk. She was brought to PIMS and passed away shortly without any of the doctors even realizing who she was. Even when an aide to Nawaz Sharif asked him to send his condolences, he inquired as to who she was. She was a federal government officer in grade 18 or 19 and was a tough lady. She was eaither divorced orseparated with a 10 year old son. She had a very close female friend who is probably now the custodian of her son. She was buried in Islamabad graveyard, so familiar place to most of Islamabadian. Even I have desire to be buried there. She rose to the top so suddenly and left this world in the same fashion leaving behind a permanent `Khushboo``.

Urstruly:

HAae HAae!

Eight! Kewl, the more the merrier, Farzana, Sadaf, Aaesha, Zehra Jr, Anika, Shirin, still room for one more, cmon up! We`ll all warmly share the wonderful wrists. Forget it, ill keep two, cuz i made u want to wish it anyway!

Are octopusii cute? OK forget it, i wont imagine wrists above, it wont be pretty picture- yuckee!

The wrists will do, and ill just stare at them.

:)

Now there wont be just another woman, theyll be other women!

Mera bhi dil kaafi jawaan hae, im a choti bachi

in my ways too, we`ll get along just fine as i refuse to grow up too! ;)

WWW, (Warmest Wishes for the Wrists)

Zehra Sr/Fawzia

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Urstruly #71

May i reproduce the nazm by Iftikhar Arif , in its proper order. please overlook the earlier one... enjoy !

``Dyar-e-Noor Mein Teerah Shibbi Ka Saathi Ho ``



dayaar-e-nuur men teraa shabon Kaa sathii ho

Koii to ho jo merii vahashaton Kaa saathii ho

main us se jhuuTh bhii boluuN to mujhase sach bole

mere mizaaj ke sab mausamon Kaa Saathii ho

vo mere naam kii nisbat se mo`atabar Thahare

galii galii merii rusvaaiiyon kaa saathii ho

main us ke haath na aauuN vo meraa hoke rahe

Main gir pa.Duu.N to meri pastiyon Kaa saathii ho

vo khaab dekhe to dekhe mere havaale se

mere Khayaalon Ke sab manzaron Kaa saathii ho

________________________________________

Farzana Versey # 71

Thank you for the wake up call ! I am ashamed at myself for leaving Sahir Ludhianvi out of my favourites ! jub key mein us ki itnee ghazalein itnae shouq sey suntee hoon .

Re.Chandan Daas , i am really surprised that he has been so neglected in India. I personally think he sings beautifully, and his choice of ghazals is super. I guess one has to be at the proper place at the proper time . Wahan Maar Kha Giya Ho Ga Becharra .I have almost all his cd`s. It is a real plight that the shopkepers dont want to keep his work in the shops . They are even selling it off as 2 for 1 . TSK, TSK, kiya ho gaya hai logon ko. I dont know if you are a fan of his , but anyone who has heard him sing cannot help but being his mureed .Some of the beauties he has sung are :

1. Na jee bhar key dekha , na koi baat ki [Bashir Badr ]

2.Apna gham leke Kahin Aur na jaya jaye [Nida Fazli ]

3.mujh ko to sirf aap ka farmaan chahiyae [Nida Fazli]

4.Yaadein ley kar nai purani ...

5. subko dushman bana liya mein ne

6.

aap ka piyar milae ga to sanwar jain gaiey

7. dil na miltae to mulaqaat adhooree rehtee

Ab sun key batain kaisae hain, that is if you have not already heard them.

Aur haan bilkul Urstruly and others will be enlightened from time to time by us two !!

lovely talking to you .....

sa

p.s. aur aap humaree Nayaara Noor ko kaisey bhool gaien !! yeh to behad buree baath hui ...

Urstruly (#62):

[“You must be thinking that what kind of person I am who picks up bones like this.”]

Arre, kebab khaaoge to haddi milegi hi, though it depends on whether it is tangdi or kalmi. My guess is it is the former, since we are discussing love – delicious, messy, and you just don’t know what to chew and what to throw away.

Ok, ok, I agree with you, love is never lost and never fails. We are all in love with ourselves, which is why we want to ‘share’ ourselves with others. But I think by analyzing it, we are in some ways reducing the ‘pakeezki’ of the feeling, not to speak about other honourable instincts:) I think an old film song defines it rather well….

“Mohabbat aisi dhadkan hai, jo samjhayee nahin jaati/ Zubaan par dil ki bechaineen kabhi layee nahin jaati…”

And stop calling all this a school of thought. Haven’t got over that phase? Ah, but who am I to say? As you said in another post, the kid in us never dies. You pull a weekly prank? Try it every day. And I don’t mean the uchchal-kood you indulge in here on various boards! Hey, since we are on the subject, heard Jagjit Singh’s rendition of “Woh kaaghaz ki kashti”? I think it is one of the most beautiful paeans to childhood. I am not pasting it here because I am sure you must have heard it.

And thanks for not falling “head over heels” and using the other name. This is perhaps the first time in my life that ‘rejection’ has been most welcome:) As for your wrists, I wonder whether your naazuk kalaai will be able to withstand the pressure. And now you are fantasizing about eight of them. I think dost-mittar will really get worried that whole khandaans will now be your daayein and baayein haath ka khel. Little black book to register a ‘tease’ list? Do you know what you are saying? Tauba!

Btw, what is this new style you have adopted of exclamation marks after names? What does it denote – Haaai! Or hai-hai! Kya??

Shirin Ahmed (#67)

Hi, this is my first interact with you, and I want to already pick a quarrel! Why have you left out Sahir Ludhianvi? Of course, it is a matter of choice, but you MUST love him. Huk’m nahin, iltijaa hain, please??? I am pleasantly surprised that someone has considered Chandan Das of a certain standing – he has been terribly neglected in India. As for Pankaj Udhas I sometimes get the feeling that he has a lot of phlegm in his throat that he wants to clear! I also don’t always like the ghazals he selects – have seen him in concert and I hate it when people get up to dance in the aisles when he starts on that appalling “Ghungroo” number.

You said, “Music and Shairi happen to be my passions .I could go on forever…” Ditto here, so please do. I am sure Urstruly won’t mind, as long as we occasionally keep him happy.

Sameer (#75):

You too? Why is Sahir being left out? Come to think of it, Kaifi Azmi and Majrooh too. I also feel that Bahadur Shah Zafar, although his oeuvre was limited, did have some very poignant sentiments conveyed through his poetry. “Lagta nahin hai ji mera ..” can be read at so many levels. And you equate Jagjit with Begum Akhtar? Kya ho raha hain? Much as I admire Jagjit Singh, Begum Akhthar was in quite a different league. Gosh, no one can touch her. I wonder why among the names from Pak, there are more prominent women singers – Mallika Pukhraj (she has done such a breathtaking rendition of Faiz), Farida Khanum, Abida Parveen and although Reshma is a folk singer she would qualify I think. Btw, what has happened to Habib Vali Mohamed?

Yes, you are right, nothing great happening on the ghazal front. Partly due to the commercialization that you mention, and I am afraid there is also this desperate need for experimentation. And these Arabian sounds were first added by dear Jagjit Saab himself (when all he needed was his voice)!

Scout (#70):

[“Urstruly #60, ``The ``other woman`` is never a comfortable subject for women.``

Yes, until they both realize the man is a custard (replace `cu` with `ba`).”]

No, no, no….you got it a little wrong here. Both women start with the knowledge of man being a b * * * * * * and strive to reform him. The battle between the two women is not over the male but about the superiority of one’s reformist zeal/ability over the other’s. Man, as always, is incidental. Or, should I say, accidental?

Urstruly#71

Here are some more verses .

``Dyar-e-Noor main teerah shibbi ka saathi ho ``

Daya-e-noor main tera shaboon ka sathi ho

Koi to ho jo meri vehshatoon ka saathi ho

vo mairay nam ki nisbat say mau`tabar thehray

Gali gali meri rusvaiyoon ka saathi ho

Vo khwab daikho to daikhay mairay hawalay say

merey misaz kay sub manjaron ka sathi ho

main uskay hath na aoon vo kera hokay rahay

[ i can`t remember the second line of this verse .sorry

sa

SameerJB #

Your choice of poets is excellent.I agree with you that todays`s music,movies,and poetry has really deteriorated,and really not worth listening /viewing to.

There is a concert of Punkaj Udhas in vancouver on 27th April.[Just letting everyone on the board know,in case anyone should be interested ].

I too feel both the singers[ P.U. & j.s.] along with so many nice ones are beginning to grow old.In fact a few months ago,i was on my cd shopping spree .The salesman brought out a cd of jagjeet and told me it was his latest.at that point released a week ago.I asked him if icould hear it before buying and he just laughed and commented ``Kabhi koi jagjeet key ganae sun ke bhi khareed ta hai ``.so i bought it.after listening to it ,the first thing that struck me was his voice had suddenly started to sound aged .The cd is caled ``Aaeena ``.if anyone has heard it,i wonder if they thought the same ?

SameerJB & Dost-Mitter

I think we share a common taste in music. I also agree with Sameer that new singers are not of the same class as that of relatively older ones. I think it has more to do with ``re-cycling`` i.e singing the old hit songs again and again and ....God! there should be a legislation against this kind of re-cycling. Thanks to these ``bad-awaz`` and ``bay-surray`` naalaique singers that I am almost begining to hate many oldies that I was in love with. Everyone against this kind of recycling- say ``Aye``.