MEMORIES OF 2012 – A YEAR OF HUMAN SPIRIT SOARING AND CRUSHED

The year 2012 started with Laura Dekker, a sixteen year old Dutch/German/New Zealander becoming the youngest person to circumnavigate the globe single-handed inLaura-Dekker a boat. (Read: ‘The Lure of Going on A Limb’) That was on the 21st of January. The year ended with a 23 years old girl in Delhi being gang-raped in a bus (on the evening of 16 Dec); which finally resulted in her death (13 agonising days later). A newspaper called her Nirbhaya (Hindi for Fearless) not only in deference to the identity of a rape victim to be protected but also to express the hope that human spirit can never be crushed even by the act of the rapists.

Nevertheless, we in India, and especially our women, cannot be faulted in forming the opinion that it is easier for a girl to go around the earth in a boat; but, it is fraught with untold dangers and risks for her to take a bus-ride in Delhi, the (rape) capital of India.

Caption: wired.com
Caption: wired.com

Similarly, on 15th of Oct this year Felix Baumgartner jumped from the edge of space and had a free-fall so as to break the sound-barrier at Mach 1.24 or 833 mph. He jumped from a height of 128,000 feet or 25 miles and landed safely in the desert.

A week before that, The Times of India reported that one in every ten deaths in road accidents in the world occur in India; which is in sharp contrast to India having only 1% of vehicles in the world. This makes it 14 people dying of road accidents in India every hour. We don’t have to go to the edge of the space and jump to get the thrill of near death; we get it everyday on our roads. Yes, the authorities are to be blamed for the poor state of our roads. However, making driving dangerous in India is our own doing. We have no one to blame. (Read: ‘Why Must We Love Indian Roads’ and ‘We Are Like That Only’ and ‘If You Drive In India – Part I’, and Part II)

Courtesy: dayandnightnews.com
Courtesy: dayandnightnews.com

India now has some of the richest people in the world. We have as many as 61 billionaires (counting only those with declared income and not the Ponty Chadha types who grew empires under the very nose of the authorities). The Forbes magazine reported in Oct 2012 that the net worth of 100 richest Indians is $ 250 billion. The estimate of our GDP is $ 1.84 trillion. We are now the tenth largest economy in the world in real terms and third largest in purchasing power parity. And yet, we have the largest populations of poor in the world; a UN Survey in Nov 2011 showed that in the eight northern states of the country we have more poor than in the whole of African continent. Our farmers routinely commit suicide unable to pay loans they take for crops. We are ranked between 120 to 150 in all indices of human growth. However, our state arrogance routinely tout us as very close to becoming a “world power”. We have between 40 to 60 per cent of our people living below the UN designated $1.25 per day mark for poverty.

Courtesy: wikipedia
Courtesy: wikipedia

One in every six people in the world is now an Indian. Yet, in the Olympics, with our best performance ever in the number of medals (2 silver and 4 bronze) we were ranked 55th. (Read: ‘Olympics Are Biased Against Indians’) Cricket is the only game in which we are somewhere in the top; but, getting there makes us so complacent that we again start competing for the bottom immediately after reaching those heights. Indeed, a jamboree called IPL shows that we like to gloat in money power more than any finesse in the actual game.

Our judicial system is so bad (Read: The Great Indian Judicial Circus) that most Indians do not hope to get any justice during their life-time. The Times of India reported on 05 Oct 2012 that we have now 43.22 Lakh cases waiting only in High Courts. As far as numbers in lower courts are concerned one can only say that whilst in positive indices we are at the rock-bottom, in negatives (like road accidents) we are the toppers.

On 5th of Dec this year The Indian Express reported that despite all the focus on anti-corruption campaigns in India (Read: ‘Anna Hazare and the Indian Democracy’; and ‘Anna Hazare and the Indian Middle Class’; and ‘Indians Bartering Character for Prosperity’), India is ranked 94th in Corruption Perception Index (CPI)Ratings by Transparency International.

Our cities and towns are now unliveable with filth and chaos everywhere. Diseases like dengue are assuming alarming proportions (Read my humorous take on potential for energy through waste: Good New for Mumbai). Mumbai recently got ranked as the filthiest big city in the world and Delhi is not far behind.

I can go on and on. Lets see where the hope lies. Some said at the height of our anti-corruption demonstrations this year that the end of patience of our people has been reached and people are now prepared to show zero-tolerance towards corruption. My take on this was that corruption doesn’t exist only in higher circles in India; we are all part of it when we indulge in petty bribe taking and giving. We too have to stop this scourge from spreading just as we accuse those in power.

One of the best programmes that came about the problems that the country faces was Aamir Khan’s Satyamev Jayate. The programme research and presentation were of very high order. It cautioned people against seeking quick-fix solutions but wanted people to at least take the first steps towards putting things right. (Read: ‘Born Free? Satyamev Jayate? Lets Work Towards It’)

That outstanding programme shouldn’t be a distant memory with us as we show angry response from one issue to the other. As 2012 comes to an end lets all resolve that we shall actually do all those things that are necessary to make India a great country and Indians happier, safer, securer, healthier and more knowledgeable.

Here is wishing all my readers a very happy new year: 2013.

NIRBHAYA’S RAPE – A NATIONAL SHAME, TIME TO LOOK WITHIN

One of the media needs to be congratulated for naming her ‘Nirbhaya’ (Fearless). The epithet not just describes her spirit but also what we want women to be in India. While writing in his famous poem (that he wrote in 1910), ‘Where the Mind is Without Fear’ (nirbhaya), Rabindra Nath Tagore, wanted his country, India, to awaken “in that heaven of freedom”. A hundred and two years later, India has not awoken in such freedom as envisaged in the poem. Worse, Indian women, cower and cringe in fear constantly and are as far from being nirbhaya as can be conceived. Indeed, I had questioned in an essay two years back in this blog: ‘Is There Reason to Celebrate Women’s Day in India?‘ And, I continue to ask this question year after year.

With the brutal gang-rape of this 23 old girl in the capital of India and her subsequent tragic death in a Singapore hospital two days ago, once again our national consciousness has been agitated enough to demand capital punishment and stringent laws. The emotionally charged atmosphere in the country in general and in the capital in particular gives hope that perhaps a change through peaceful revolution is just around the corner; and the Nobel Laureate Tagore would finally have his dream come true and “the clear stream of reason” would once again find its way “through the dreary desert sand of dead habit”.

Courtesy: digitaljournal.com
Courtesy: digitaljournal.com

Nothing wrong in this; it is traumatic and intensely sad to be raped. It is equally abhorrent to think that there are people in our society who can think of raping someone and kill someone’s life and happiness for a few minutes of utterly selfish and vicarious enjoyment. However, stringent laws and capital punishments are never a cure; unless we dupe ourselves to believe, for example, that with the Jessica Lall murderer having been brought to book, lives of women at their job places became more secure.

For making women nirbhaya in our country we have to hit at the cause and not just tinker at the symptoms. We have to understand how did we reach this stage of social and moral depredation and degradation? Unless we understand this, we shall once again be wanting to achieve with laws and penal action that we should achieve through awareness, realisation and understanding.

What is the problem with the laws? Section 375 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), 1860 would give a ‘legal’ definition of rape which is intended, with the assistance of other laws in Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC), and Indian Evidence Act, 187vv2, to being the guilty to book. The main pillar behind the Indian Law is: Let a thousand guilty get away but let not one innocent be punished. Hence, every accused has to be tried out in a court of law and his guilt established beyond “reasonable doubt”. Unlike the courts in China, whereat the Judges have been given freedom to ask any questions to the accused to establish ‘the facts’ having bearing on his or her guilt or innocence, Indian judges have to go by the evidence as presented in the court. Hence, a judge cannot be a prosecutor. Many cases, therefore, however strong they are held in the public eye or the media, fall flat in our courts “for want of evidence”. This can be due to the inefficiency and/or vested interests of the police and the prosecution.

Courtesy: lexcontigo.com
Courtesy: lexcontigo.com

Besides, due to the underlying principle of an accused to be treated as innocent until proved guilty beyond reasonable doubt, every accused is provided with the best defence possible (Remember Kasab?). It would be a travesty of justice if any accused in the country is to be hanged or given any punishment through mob or media trials. This often results in the defence exploiting every loophole in the law to secure the acquittal of the accused including such technicalities as whether ‘penetration’ took place or not as defined in the law. Understandably, the rape victims and their families have to go through this ordeal, which is often as traumatic, if not more, as the act of rape itself.

I noticed in the debates in the electronic media that the women panellists, suddenly sensing an advantage through mob response – an advantage that they never had – are not prepared to listen to anything coming in the way of immediate dispensation of justice for all women. Those essaying to vent any arguments that appears to them as specious or delaying justice are quickly pronounced as sad spectacles of typical male mentality and hence worthy of social scorn. Six years back I was a victim of an assault by a woman in my home-place, which is two thousand kilometres from my place of work, in the Indian Navy. She was trying to achieve through force what the courts had decreed as encroachment on my widowed mother’s land; my mother living there alone after the accidental death of my father 28 years back. They broke through the fence after we left out the encroached portion and I went to repair the fence. The woman charged at me with a stick. And when she was arrested it came out that there were five able bodied men in her house who were waiting to charge at me if I would hit back in reflex action. The police, media and the courts would then believe her story immediately and I could see the headlines: Uniformed Navy Officer, on Leave, Tries to Outrage Modesty of a Woman in his Village. My training stood in the way of their design. I did nothing of the sort as predicted by them. I merely informed the police. She was arrested and produced in a court. The prosecution’s (my) case automatically fell through after six months due to my non-appearance (I had already taken leave twice that year because of their antics). She filed a counter private complaint and for the last six years I am called every now and then to the court to appear as accused at considerable expenditure and agony.

If you think this is an isolated case, there are several I can relate where innocent men are victims of what has come to be known as ‘reverse dowry’. A few years back, in President Hotel in Mumbai, a lady judge accused the Chief Justice of South Africa with Rape after she visited his room at 2 AM. After the Chief Justice spent a night in the Cuffe Parade jail, it came out that the charge against him was palpably false.

Hence, there is no question of the courts letting go of principle of fair-play simply because in one or two cases (as in Nirbhaya’s case) there is overwhelming evidence against the accused. Hence, however stringent we make the Rape Laws and however hard the punishment may be, the rape victims and their families will have to go through this procedure, which may be quite humiliating and agonising to them; just as it has been to me having been wrongly and deliberately framed by a woman in connivance with wrong-doers. Even the retribution of humiliating the accused publicly would not be able to heal the wounds. My plea is that in this emotionally charged atmosphere lets not forget these harsh and practical realities.

Therefore, after having exhausted easy answers that our society sometimes seeks (for example in the case of corruption), sane voices would tell us to look within to make our society respect not just female rights but all rights better. And make our society less intolerant and less violent than it has become lately.

Besides the legal definition of rape, my request is that after the immediacy of Nirbhay’s case has died down, we have to consider two things:

  1. Don’t be like Indian drivers who drive safely for about ten kilometres after seeing an accident.
  2. Shun all attempts to make our society intolerant and violent.

The second point above merits some consideration here. Of course, Rape in the legal definition is a physical act against a female or male (in the recent definition). However, a sensible society should take a more holistic and inclusive definition: it is a mental or physical rape or both if a person or group of persons impose(s) his/her/their will on a person with the intention of killing, injuring, humiliating helpless victims or cause trauma to them.

Courtesy: mental-health-abuse.org
Courtesy: mental-health-abuse.org

This is a small essay and hence I am not taking you through my complete analysis of the present state of affairs in our country. However, I have reached the conclusion that conscientious law-abiding citizens in our country irrespective of their sex, standing in society, colour and creed, would never be nirbhaya; not in the near future, at least. We are now a certified intolerant and violent society both in our actions and in our thoughts. Not just stray aberrant elements in the society, the state itself could think nothing of arresting and putting behind bars a harmless cartoonist critical of the government: Aseem Trivedi (Read: A Dangerous Profession) under the draconian law on treason and sedition (Section 124A of the Indian Penal Code). We cannot forget the arrest of Shaheen Dhada and her friend Renu under section 505(2) (statements creating or promoting enmity, hatred or ill-will between classes), two Mumbai girls who questioned (on facebook) the state and people going into a tizzy post the death of Balasaheb Thackeray recently. Her facebook status was so harmless that one wonders if she actually had the courage to comment on the alleged lawlessness of his followers, whether she would have met a fate similar to that of Malala Yousafzai in Swat (Pakistan) at the hands of Taliban?

Of course we are in this miserable condition because of the selfishness of our elected representatives and indifference, inefficiency and corruption amongst our so called public-servants (Read: ‘How Proud Should We Be of Indian Republic at 62?’) and our ire is often directed against them in public debates, rallies and demonstrations. However, if we look within, we cannot escape reaching the conclusion that “in a democracy we not only get the government we vote for, we get the government we deserve”. There has been a general decline in our societal norms so much so that I wrote last year an article titled ‘Indians – Bartering Character for Prosperity’. The state and the people are fast learning to hold each other to ransom. Hence, against a rape or killing in Delhi, people goad the government to take immediate action; but, the government doesn’t have to do anything in a hurry against rape in the North East.

Within the national capital itself, approximately 5000 innocent Sikhs including women and children were killed, butchered, tortured (with burning tyres put around their necks) and all that the anointed Prime Minister had to say was, “When a big tree falls, the earth shakes.” This one unfortunate pronouncement by the most responsible representative of the government laid seeds for and sanctified a violent society seeking immediate retribution through violence. What happened in Godhra a few years later was another manifestation of this mind-set; both these being with the tacit support of the state itself.

Courtesy: ablazingindia.blogspot.com
Courtesy: ablazingindia.blogspot.com

Not just collectively, even individually, Indians are now, forever, on short fuse. In Mumbai, a driver killed another with a screw-driver when the latter jumped the queue at a Toll Plaza. In Gurgaon, a driver killed the Toll Plaza attendant because the latter demanded change.

Religious and parochial intolerance is so much on the increase that we perpetually cower in mortal fear lest some remark or comment of ours should be viewed as offensive by those whose blind loyalty to religion, region, party or community is often manifested in burning people, buses, vehicles, vandalising, killing and looting.

It is, therefore, being suggested that we now have two India: one comprises  a motley minority of people with liberal, progressive thinking; and the other who are relentlessly being encouraged by politicians and other vested interests to stay medieval, parochial, and seeped in retarded thinking.

In Orissa, a few years back, a man called Dara Singh, was so convinced of his extreme religious ideology that he and his cronies burnt alive in a vehicle a Christian missionary Graham Staines and his two sons Philip (10 years) and Timothy (6 years).

Courtesy: southasianconnection.com
Courtesy: southasianconnection.com

Biases, parochialism, deep-rooted suspicions and vengeful tendencies are, through individual and collective designs, are now prevalent in Indian society more than ever before. We have no patience and no tolerance of others’ views. We commit rapes, in one way or the other, everyday and every minute. And, when shown the mirror, even our intellectuals gloat over our being better than China, Pakistan or other countries taking several steps backwards just as they modernise; it is as if being somewhat pious is considered better than being totally immoral.

I grew up in the state of Himachal. In my school, because of my having inherited my parents religion (which almost all people do without making a choice) and since that was and is a minority religion, the other boys in my school (physically stronger than me), relentlessly teased me about my long hair and being different in other ways. Most of these abuses are unprintable but they had to do with what they thought of my mother, sister and other female members of my family. I was physically and mentally abused on an everyday basis. I should know what rape is all about.

We are very far from being nirbhay, the dream of Tagore and of one of the media. We should learn to be less exploitative and more tolerant and do not allow ourselves to become pawns in the hands of manipulative parochial interests that rape us everyday and every few years we go to the poll booths to vote the same criminals back in power; or, look helplessly when medieval, backward, parochial India votes them back to power.

I am sorry but there are no easy answers to rape; just as there are no easy answers to other national problems that are fast becoming endemic. We have to start at the grass-roots level and liberate our minds of all violence, intolerance, parochialism and medievalism. Yes, laws, deterrence, and other steps to make our women nirbhay are necessary. Yes, exemplary punishment for Damini’s case is necessary. Yes, male mentality has to become better, more benign and less partial. But, simultaneously, we have to take strong steps to make our complete society nirbhay. This cannot be done by people who drive carefully for ten kilometres after witnessing an accident.

To start with, one of my friends has suggested and I endorse his view that in order to express our deep remorse at Nirbhaya’s tragic fate (a fate that could be of any one of us), lets boycott the next Republic Day Parade that is held to showcase India’s modernity and cultural diversity. How can we showcase these virtues when we are seeped in medievalism? Where, as Tagore wrote: Where the world has been broken into fragments by narrow domestic walls.

Rapes are committed in the psyche and the minds much before these are physically done; Abhijeet Mukherjee should know, a Minister in Goa should know, MLAs in Karnataka assembly should know (Guardians of Porn and Morality), ND Tewari should know and all those engaged in contorted moral policing should know.

SEASON’S GREETINGS – 2012

Dear Friends,

[lineate][/lineate]Christmas is always a welcome day,[lineate][/lineate]The coming amidst us of our Lord,[lineate][/lineate]At Midnight Mass we gather to pray:[lineate][/lineate]“Thank you, for being with us, O’ God”[lineate][/lineate]

christ-is-born

[lineate][/lineate]“Thank you for giving us great friends,[lineate][/lineate]Our loving family, near and dear ones,[lineate][/lineate]Thank you for giving us enough to meet ends,[lineate][/lineate]And yet have some for cakes and buns.”[lineate][/lineate]

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[lineate][/lineate]It is also time to pen a few words,[lineate][/lineate]About our life, family and home,[lineate][/lineate]We hope you’d find them better than forwards,[lineate][/lineate]And you’d be tempted to share your own.[lineate][/lineate]

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[lineate][/lineate]We are still at Kharghar, Navi Mumbai,[lineate][/lineate]Our abode after my retirement,[lineate][/lineate]It is not Paris, London or Shanghai,[lineate][/lineate]But it brings us great contentment.[lineate][/lineate]

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[lineate][/lineate]After all, it is a little nest of our own,[lineate][/lineate]So what if it is really very small?[lineate][/lineate]It never makes us feel alone,[lineate][/lineate]We are, as they say, ‘having a ball.’[lineate][/lineate]

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[lineate][/lineate]My mother lives with us here,[lineate][/lineate]She is now in better health,[lineate][/lineate]Her second childhood makes her doubly dear,[lineate][/lineate]Her blessings are our greatest wealth.[lineate][/lineate]

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[lineate][/lineate]Lyn keeps us all comfy and well fed,[lineate][/lineate]Whilst she battles through her ailment,[lineate][/lineate]She looks as lovely as the day we wed,[lineate][/lineate]Smilingly keeping many an engagement.[lineate][/lineate]

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[lineate][/lineate]Arjun is with OML, doing his stuff on NH7,[lineate][/lineate]He has merged indiecision with his new portal;[lineate][/lineate]With his girl Samira he is in seventh heaven,[lineate][/lineate]Though he is, like us, a mere mortal.[lineate][/lineate]

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[lineate][/lineate]Arun is happily with Rhythem and Hues,[lineate][/lineate]Doing his bit on producing animation,[lineate][/lineate]His band Riot Peddlers was recently in the news,[lineate][/lineate]Their performance in I-Rock won them admiration.[lineate][/lineate]

Riot Peddlers

[lineate][/lineate]Arun too has Kirti as his chosen one,[lineate][/lineate]They are happy to be together,[lineate][/lineate]They too joined us for Christmas fun,[lineate][/lineate]No what, why, where and whether.[lineate][/lineate]

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[lineate][/lineate]That leaves me, I am still with Reliance,[lineate][/lineate]Working six days in a week,[lineate][/lineate]Old age has somewhat subdued my defiance,[lineate][/lineate]And made my rebellion a little weak.[lineate][/lineate]

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[lineate][/lineate]However, I run a blog called sunbyanyname,[lineate][/lineate]My little window to my own world,[lineate][/lineate]I am not after money, applause or fame,[lineate][/lineate]I simply don’t belong to the herd.[lineate][/lineate]

sUNBYANYNAME

[lineate][/lineate]So that is about all of us,[lineate][/lineate]We hope to hear from you, dear,[lineate][/lineate]We wish you a very Merry Christmas[lineate][/lineate]And a Happy New Year.[lineate][/lineate]

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EVER-FRESH ROMANTIC SONGS OF KASHMIR KI KALI

The other day I was tempted to do a blog on the contribution of Bengalis to Hindi cinema and music. I would eventually do it; since there are too many stalwarts: Hrishikesh Mukherjee, Hemant Kumar, Pandit Ravi Shankar, Salil Chaodhary, Kishore Kumar etc, it will take me time to condense this into an average sized blog. Another name that comes to mind is that of Shakti Samanta; the maker (producer and director) of such popular movies as Howrah Bridge, the first film he made, with Ashok Kumar and Madhubala after he founded Shakti Films in 1957. He was born in Burdwan, Bengal, on 13 Jan 1926 and he completed his education from Calcutta University in 1944, though his schooling was in Dehradun.

A total of 43 movies were directed by him (37 in Hindi and 6 in Bengali). He had joined the Hindi films in 1948 and initially he was an assistant director (he had actually joined to become an actor!) for a Raj Kapoor starrer Sunhere Din and a few other movies. His first directorial film was Bahu in 1954. Some of his most successful movies, in addition to Howrah Bridge were Kashmir Ki Kali, Aradhana, China Town, Kati Patang, An Evening In Paris, Amar Prem (about which I have already written), Pagla Kahin Ka (with one of my favourite songs: Tum mujhe youn bhula naa payoge), Ajnabee (Shakti Samanta could actually make Zeenie baby act), Anurodh and Balika Badhu.

His first directorial ventura Howrah Bridge had this Geeta Dutt song: Aaiye mehrabaan baithiye jaane jaan, sung in the movie by Madhubala. What was so catchy about the song; other than the huge-eyed Madhubala? Well, you have guessed it: the inimitable music by OP Nayyar.

So, before I introduce you to the movie of today, let me tell you a wee bit about OP Nayyar. The other day I was watching a tribute to OP Nayyar on a late night show on the telly. He didn’t let Lata Mangeshkar sing any of his songs. The reason? He didn’t find her voice sexy enough! So, it was Geeta Dutt and his heart-throb (in the programme he called her “almost a wife to me”) Asha Bhosle. He was the only music director who gave some of the best numbers to supporting actors; the best that comes to mind is ‘Ai dil hai mushkil jeena yahan, yeh hai Bomabay, meri jaan’, which was picturised on Johnny Walker. OP Nayyar’s music was foot tapping, horse-trot, and so popular that he must be having a record of sorts for having the maximum number of super hit songs in movies.

With this lets come to the movie of today: Kashmir Ki Kali (Blossom of Kashmir), the debut film of Sharmila Tagore (another Bengali and the great grand niece of Nobel Laureate Rabindra Nath Tagore); she having acted in and as Kashmir Ki Kali.

Sharmila Tagore in and as 'Kashmir Ki Kali', hewr debut film.
Sharmila Tagore in and as ‘Kashmir Ki Kali’, her debut film.

Lets take a brief look at the story before we come to the ever-green songs of KKK:

Wealthy and pampered Rajiv Lal (Shammi Kapoor) is the only son of widowed Rani Maa. At the silver jubilee of the mill that his father, the late Sanjiv Lal, opened 25 years ago, he announces a prize reward of 5 lakh rupees for all the workers, annoying his mother. A servant at the house, Karuna (Mridula Rani), suggests marrying him off to stop his immature antics, to which Rani Maa agrees. Her manager, Shyamlal, arranges for her to meet some girls, as she insists that Rajiv will marry a girl of her choice. Rajiv returns home and sees all the girls – he correctly surmises that his mother is getting him married, and he pretends to be a mute who walks with a limp in order to chase all the prospective suitors off. His plan succeeds, although he is in a dilemma – what should he do now? His mother is furious at him. One of his friends suggests that he should run away to their bungalow in Kashmir – after all, Rani Maa never goes there.

Upon arrival, he finds that his estate manager, Bholaram (Dhumal), has made a hotel out of their bungalow and has even rented out some rooms for the season. He tells the tenants that he is Rajiv Lal, although when he meets Bholaram, the latter informs him that Rani Maa had called him, and told him not to let Rajiv stay at the bungalow, should he come. Rajiv manages to convince Bholaram to tell Rani Maa that he is not there. Bholaram tells the tenants in the house that Rajiv is in fact mad, and in his madness, thinks that he is the real owner of the estate.

The next day, Rajiv meets Champa (Sharmila Tagore), a girl who sells flowers for a living. He buys her flowers for 20 rupees when they are priced at 5 for the whole basket, and tells her that he is not the owner, but the driver. Soon enough, after a few misadventures, they fall in love and decide to marry, but there are a few obstacles. First of all, Mohan (Pran), the forest manager, has loaned out some money to Champa’s father, Dinu (Nazir Hussain), and he insists that he will marry Champa if Dinu cannot repay the debt.

With this background, lets now look at Kashmir Ki Kali’s songs that were penned by SH Bihari and music was composed by OP Nayyar. Before that, shouldn’t we say a bit about the lyricist SH Bihar, who was – you guessed it – from Bihar; that was rather easy, isn’t it? But, how many of you would know that besides writing in Hindi and Urdu, he was also fluent in Bengali? He is the lyricist of my chosen best-love-song-ever written: ‘Na ye chand hoga na tare rahenge’ for the 1954 movie Shart and sung by two of my favourite Bengali singers: Hemant Kumar and Geeta Dutt. I often quote this song for a becoming directness displayed by a woman in the year 1954 when even to look at a man longer than a few seconds was considered bold. Taste this:

Kahun kya mere dil ka armaan kya hai
Tumhen har ghadi choomna chaahata hai
Kahan tak bhala dil ko maare rahenge
Na ye chand hoga…

Some of the other songs of SH Bihari are:

Aap se maine meri jaan mohabbat ki hai
Zulfon ko hata lo chehre se
Raton ko chori chori
Unse mili nazar ke mere hosh ud gaye
Lakhon hain yahan dilwaale
Kajra mohabbat waala
and, Zara haule haule chalo mere sajana

Okay, then, the long wait is over; and we are ready to re-introduce you to ever-fresh songs of Kashmir Ki Kali.

My choice number one is Isharon isharon mein dil lene waale, a duet between Mohammad Rafi and Asha Bhosle, and Sharmila coyly telling Shammi Kapoor who is more used to openness in love:

Mohabbat jo karte hain vo,
Mohabbat jatate nahin;
Dhadkane apne dil ki kabhi,
Kisi ko sunaate nahin…

Enjoy:

Guys and gals, if you have liked the post so far, do I have your permission to put on the second song: Ye chand saa roshan chehra; in which OP Nayyar has done wonders with just one word Taareef? Thank you, here goes. Sound of Taareef is accompanied by clapping or applause in the song that only OP Nayyar could have accomplished.

However, before we proceed to the song, and even though I have written volumes about Mohammad Rafi, it is still alright to take a pause and think of his excellence of singing and getting into the personality of the hero through his singing. Knowing that Shammi Kapoor was boyish and sexy (a la Elvis Presley), he has given him that kind of voice in the song.

Enjoy: Ye chand sa roshan chehra

And if you feel that Mohammad Rafi did wonders in the previous song, then you better know how to receive the next one! These are the songs through which we feel Mohammad Rafi was God of Songs. This is the song about describing the beauty of the flower girl Sharmila. The other day, I did mention that when it came to singing about women’s husn (beauty) there was nothing to beat Mohammad Rafi. Oh, you didn’t read that? Well go on Lyrical and watch Mohammad Rafi sing for Dharmendra: Zikar hota hai jab qyaamat ka, or Chaudhvin ka chaand, or Husn waale tera jawaab nahin, or Main nigaahen tere chehre se, and Aapke haseen rukh pe aaj naya noor hai.

Anyway, here, enjoy: Suhaan allah, hai, haseen chehra, hai….

Bhangra artists were specially taken from Punjab to Kashmir for this song but the weather turned bad and they had to wait for a few days before it was sunny. Well, it was well worth the wait. Here is the Bhangra song: Hai re hai ye mere haath mein tera haath….meri jaan balle balle…What would a Bihari know about Bhangra? Isn’t that the greatness of India and Hindi movies?

Enjoy:

Having declined to marry at the behest or urging of his mother, Rani Maa, here is Shammi Kapoor telling you why. According to him the world belongs to him who has someone to love. Youth and the equisite beauty of Kashmir would stand witness to these sentiments. It required someone like SH Bihari to capture them and OP Nayyar to set the chords afire and Mohammad Rafi to voice them so lyrically.

Enjoy: Ye duniya usi ki, zamana usi kaa… 

The lyrics of this song are outstanding to express young first love and the interlude o ho ho, aa haa haa sets the pace for the song: ye dekh ke dil jhooma, li pyaar ne angdaayi…diwana hua baadal.

Now that Shammi Kapoor has left us, can you just close your eyes and imagine him sing this lovely number with his boyish romantic antics? When pyaar takes angdaai, he takes angdaai himself! And she? Well, she says she was reduced to being a mere twig in the current of love.

Enjoy: Diwana hua baadal…

You have to now think of Shammi Kapoor running away from the bondage of an impending marriage to the freedom of Kashmir and talking aloud (singing) that finally he would have to fall in love (just as good as that a man has to find a job or become a graduate!). To express these feelings, SH Bihari wrote the most wonderful lyrics.

Enjoy: Kisi na kisi se dil lagana padega…

And if Shammi Kapoor is thinking of romance in the invigorating air of the Paradise on Earth: Kashmir, Sharmila is not far behind. Here is Asha Bhosle singing for her in her “sexy” voice: Balmaa khuli hawa mein…

Enjoy:

No sad song in KKK, you will ask me? Is OP Nayyar only about lively songs? No, guys and gals, you have another guess coming. And the same is true for Asha Bhosle too. She too can sing a sad number with ease.

Enjoy: Phir thes lagi dil ko, phir yaad ne tadpaya…

If you think the only love affair was between OP Nayyar’s heroes and heroines in the movies, you haven’t heard all. The moment Asha Bhosle stopped singing for OP Nayyar, he took a vow never to compose music again. Real time love is greater than reel time love, is it?

What about Shakti Samanta? He received the Best Film awards for Aradhana, Anuraag and Amaanush…..however, Kashmir Ki Kali remained a favourite with him until he died on 9th April 2009. Sharmila Tagore remained his favourite actress…..Amar Prem?

Kashmir may be considered by Pakistan as a bone of contention. However, as far as India and Indians are concerned, it is a symbol of love….an ever-fresh love….like Kashmir Ki Kali.

BEYOND THE MIRAGE – A FAIRY TALE

Hungry and thirsty
Wandering in “the dreary desert sand of dead habit”
He finally came across a pool
Different from most Indian pools
It had lucid water
He could clearly see the base
It was unlike other bottomless pits.

The man was fascinated
He longed to drink of it
Have a dip in it
And come out clean and quenched
All sins forgiven and forgotten
Darkness of past merging with future’s shine
Despite living in the filth and mire of present.

Courtesy: surprisinglyamazing.com
Courtesy: surprisinglyamzing.com

He removed his clothes
Including the last shred of false decency
And stood naked but proud
That finally he could swim in purity and openness
A great weight was about to be lifted
As soon as he’d take the plunge
Into the pond of purgation.

“Stop”, he heard a commanding voice
Though he couldn’t see anyone
He looked all around him for the speaker
But, he couldn’t find anyone
Defeated he was about to give up
But then he noticed in a tree near the pond
A parakeet.

“Who are you?” he asked
“You are an Indian, you won’t know me”
Replied the parakeet sadly, “I am named ‘Charitra‘”
“Strange name” said the man, “Never heard of you”
“Yes, nowadays I am rare” said the parakeet,
“But, I nested all over India before I became extinct”
“I am the last of my species.”

The man was happy he saw something rare.
“Why did you stop me from jumping in the pool?
“This is a pool of honesty” said the bird
“People come out changed and pure;
But become misfits to survive”
“I don’t want you to die;
You may jump if you want to, though”

‘Washing away sins is one thing’ thought the man
‘But, dying in the process is undesirable’
Suddenly, a thought occurred to him
And he spoke it out loud:
“What can I do to survive a dip in the Honest Pool?”
“Simple” replied Charitra, “Don’t let me become extinct,
Return me to live with people.”

“What do I have to do for that?”
Asked the man confused
“Simple” said Charitra, “Go to people and ask them to own me,
To have me back.”
“It will take ages” bemoaned the man,
“I will be dead before they accept you back.”
“Try” said the parakeet, “I will give you wings to fly.”

The man flew with Charitra
And went to all classes and conditions of people
Netas, babus, doctors, engineers
Religious leaders, sports people, industrialists
Even media people and
Sadly no one wanted Charitra back
Having bartered it for money and fame.

“What can Charitra do for us” many asked,
“Why should we want it back?”
To this the man gave his recently learnt reply:
“It can make you have a dip in Honest Pool,
“And make you survive the plunge.”
“Not good enough” they all crowed,
“We have the best dips that money can buy.”

He kept flying with Charitra on his side
Only to become disillusioned, defeated, frustrated
‘Not one person in my country’ he thought
‘Has any use for this dying parakeet’
He wanted to have a dive in the pool
But, alone, he didn’t want to die
What could he do, he was alone and weak?

Suddenly, his powers to fly were gone
And he was grounded again
And the parakeet flew towards a sunset
And total darkness engulfed the nation
With people groping helplessly
Looking eastwards wistfully
For a golden sunrise
Bringing back Charitra, the elusive parakeet.

IMMORTAL SONGS OF MUGHAL-E-AZAM

Mughal-e-Azam (The Greatest of the Moghuls) was a film that starred Prithviraj Kapoor as Emperor Akbar, Durga Khote as the Queen, Dilip Kumar as the young prince Salim (later to become Emperor Jehangir) and Madhubala as Anarkali, a court dancer with whom Salim falls so much in love with that he wants to make her his wife, the future queen of India. She only has to reckon with two things: Nigar Sultana as Bahar, a high-ranked court dancer who wishes to ascend to the throne; and the wrath of Mughal-e-Azam. Salim takes head on the wrath of his father and is defeated in war. His life is spared by Anarkali accepting to have nothing to do with him much against her heart’s desire, so that the emperor would spare Salim’s life. Finally, Anarkali’s life too is spared by the Emperor in gratitude for an earlier favour done to him by her mother. The movie was directed by K Asif and produced by Shapoorji Pallonji for a that-time-princely-budget of 1.5 Crores Rupees.

(Courtesy: cineplot.com)
(Courtesy: cineplot.com)

The movie was released on 5th Aug 1960 and big budget was not the only milestone of Indian Cinema that the movie crossed. It was considered so much of a classic in every respect that on 12 Nov 2004, it was released again in colour. The soundtrack of Mughal-e-Azam received universal acclaim from critics in India, and is often cited as one of the best soundtracks in Bollywood history. Shahid Khan, writing for Planet Bollywood, gave the soundtrack a perfect 10 out of 10 stars. In 2004, Subhash K. Jha reviewed the re-mastered release of the soundtrack, praising the technical quality of the re-release, and the original vocals of Lata Mangeshkar, whom he called the “Indian nightingale”.

The movie was not just crowning glory for Madhubala and Lata Mangeshkar but also for the Lyricist, my favourite one, Shakeel Badayuni (of Mere Mehboob and Cahudhvin Ka Chand fame) and Music Director Naushad (Read: The Best of Old Hindi Songs: ‘Rafi, Shakeel, Naushad and Dilip Kumar Together‘). Its songs, therefore, became iconic and even today when we hear them, we think of the glorious rule of Emperor Akbar and the initially brazen but later tragic love story of Salim with Anarkali against impossible odds. Lets kick off the great songs of this ever great movie with Pyar Kiya to Darna Kya, the brazenness of the young Anarkali in the court of Emperor Akbar.

https://youtube.com/watch?v=TdOS-0sIW-Y%3F

Bahar’s (Nigar Sultana’s) jealousy of Anarkali (Madhubala) and seeing in latter an unwanted competition for becoming the queen are brought out superbly by Shakeel Badayuni in this super number: Teri mehphil mein kismet aazmaan kar hum bhi dekhenge. Lata sang for Madhubala as in all other songs of the movie and Shamshad Begum sang for Bahar. Music is by Naushad who won the Best Music Award for the movie.

https://youtube.com/watch?v=36NsUgr5Heg%3F

Lovers of that era often compared themselves with Krishna and Radha irrespective of their religion, so powerful was the fascination for Krishan leela. Salim and Anarkali were no exception. So when Anarkali was to bring out her feelings of ecstasy at Salim having given her the loving glance flirtation, she couldn’t help draw the contrast between Radha going to fetch water at the well and Krishan teasing her and even breaking her pitcher with a pebble.

Enjoy: Mohe panghat pe nandlal chhed gayo re…

Mughal-e-Azam swept the Filmfare Awards nominations for the year 1961 (the Indian equivalent of the Oscars): Best Film, Best Director (K Asif), Best Actress (Madhubala), Best Playback Singer (Female) (Lata Mangeshkar), Best Music (Naushad), Best Cinematography and Best Dialogues. It won in three categories: Best Film, Best Cinematography and Best Dialogues. Bina Rai as Parvati/Jamuna in Ghunghat beat Madhubala to the award; however, critics acclaim Madhubala’s performance in Mughal-e-Azam as her best.

The God of Songs: Mohammad Rafi sang just one song in the movie and it was excellent indeed, more so because of Shakeel’s lyrics that conveyed exactly how Love conquers over everything including King of Kings, Riches and Power. Salim, after his defeat in war, is to be killed and one of the poor singers had to say that Love will eventually win.

Enjoy: Zindabad, zindabad, ai mohabbat zindabad…

This one is a very poignant song. Anarkali is finally allowed to marry Salim just for a night before he is decreed to be killed (unknowing to her) and she whisked away to dungeons.

Enjoy: Ye Dil Ki Lagi kam kya hogi ye ishq bhala kam kya hoga
Jab raat hai aisi matwaali phir subah kaa aalam kya hoga.

The contrast between the meaning of the words and what is destined for the lovers is as sharp as Robin Williams playing Louis Armstrong’s What a Wonderful World in the midst of the carnage during the Vietnam War.

Enjoy: Ye dil ki lagi…

Madhubala, as Anarkali, is thrown into the dungeon for the offence of not only falling in love with Salim but also making Salim love her. Once there, it is natural for someone as young as her, to wonder if love always leads to misery, pain and agony (a la many years later in Mehboob Ki Mehndi: Jaane kyun log muhabbat kiya karte hain). Looking at the simplicity of this song (great songs always have simple words) one wonders if anyone other than Shakeel could have written this:

Khabar kya thi hontho ko seena padega
Mohabbat chhupa ke bhi jeena padega
Jiye to magar zindgaani pe roye
Mohabbat ki jhooti kahani pe roye…

I love the following number for its pain, agony, forlorness, frustration and defeat and mercy. The best thing about the number is, I feel, the lyrics by Shakeel bringing out exactly what Anarkali would be going through in the dungeon.

Enjoy: Bekas pe karam kijiye sarkar-e-madeena… and please pay attention to the lyrics for their greatness.

The above number would have clearly brought out  why Madhubala got nominated for the best Actress award for her role in the movie. Was it too late for Anarkali to sing: Hamen kaash tumase mohabbat naa hoti. I am repeating the lyrics of Shakeel Badayuni here so that you will get the full flavour of the beauty of the words.

Enjoy: Hamein Kaash Tumase Mohabbat naa Hoti…

Hamen kaash tum se muhabbat na hoti
Kahaani hamaari haqeeqat na hoti
 
Na dil tum ko dete na majabur hote
Na duniyaa na duniyaa ke dastur hote
Qyaamat se pehale qyaamat na hoti
 
Hamin badh gaye ishq men had se aage
Zamaane ne thokar lagaayi to jaage
Agar mar bhi jaate to hairat na hoti
 
Tumhin phoonk dete nasheman hamaaraa
Muhabbat pe ehsaan hotaa tumhaaraa
Zamaane se koi shikaayat na hoti

Just before Anarkali is being taken for execution and before Emperor Akbar pardons her, this lovely song plays in the background. It is as poignant as it shows the big eyed beautiful Madhubala at the peak of her acting.

Enjoy: Khudaa nigehabaan ho tumhaaraa
 Dhadakate dil kaa payaam le lo
 Tumhaari duniyaa se jaa rahen hain
 Utho hamaaraa salaam le lo

The film has been used as a model for perfect love story in the years that followed. Filmmaker Subhash Ghai was quoted as saying that a film like this could never be repeated. “Mughal-e-Azam is an all-time classic and has been the ultimate love story in Hindi cinema at all levels. So it will always remain alive for generations to come.”

I saw thew movie with my parents and at the end of the movie I had decided that it is better to live and love than to “become something” that my father required of me!

I decided later that:

Ai ishq ye sab duniyaa vaale
 Bekaar ki baaten karate hain
 Paayal ke gamon kaa ilm nahin
 Jhankaar kii baaten karate hain
 
Har dil men chhupa hai pir koi
 Har paanv mein hai zanjeer koi
 Puchhe koi un se gam ke maze
 Jo pyaar ki baaten karate hain
 
Ulfat ke naye divaanon ko
 Kis tarah se koi samajhaaye
 Nazaron pe lagi hai paabandi
 Deedaar ki baaten karate hain
 
Bhanvare hain agar madahosh to kyaa
 Paravaane bhi hain khaamosh to kyaa
 Sab pyaar ke nagamen gaate hain
 Sab yaar ki baaten karate hain

Mughal-e-Azam was a great movie; its songs were great, its scenes were elegant. Finally the premiere of the movie was a grand event. Bombay’s Maratha Mandir where the premiere was held was decorated in the likeness of a mughal palace. The sheesh mahal set from the song jab pyaar kiya to darna kya was transported from the set to the theatre. Invitations were sent in the manner of royal scrolls on silk cloth. And finally when the film’s reel arrived, these arrived atop an ornate elephant to the tunes of bugles and shehnai. A great movie required great premiere indeed.

The premiere, the sets, the movie and even the story may be forgotten one day. But, Mughal-e-Azam had the songs that would never fade from our memories.

Yeh dil ki lagi kam kya hogi,
Yeh ishq bhala kam kya hoga?

POOR COMMUNICATOR HAD THE LAST LAUGH

Officers of all other branches in the Indian Navy can argue with me until cows come home (if at all they do) but I am convinced that there is no more thankless job on board a ship than being a SCO or Signal Communication Officer. Presumably, officers of all other specializations (ND, ie, Navigation and Direction; ASW, ie, Anti-Submarine Warfare, G, ie, Gunnery etc) would have done wonders in their own areas of expertise if the ruddy signals had reached them in time. So, as the anecdote goes, when a retired communicator went to apply for a job on the civil street, in his interview, they told him, “We are looking for a very responsible man for this job.” At this our man confidently and gleefully replied, “I am the man, sirs; I have been a SCO in the navy and whenever anything went wrong on the ship they told me: ‘You are responsible’.”

Anyway, to add to my woes as SCO, I was to serve with the navy’s hottest navigators (about one of whom I have already penned an anecdote). In comparison to their shine and halo, somehow, I came out a cropper. I was always on the receiving end except when bouquets were being distributed.

One such incident was when my ship (Himgiri) was detailed as a consort for Rajput at sea. We were to sail from harbour and make R/V (rendezvous with Rajput) somewhere in the Arabian Sea as per promulgated R/V Position, which, the HNIF (Hottest Navigator In the Fleet) had plotted on the chart and had worked out course and speed to reach there at the scheduled hour. As per the SOP (Standard Operating Procedure) we were to establish communication  on Tactical Secondary (TS, a communication circuit on High Frequency or HF) with Rajput four hours before the R/V Time and on Tactical Primary (TP, a communication circuit on Very or Ultra High Frequency or V/UHF) an hour before the R/V Time.

Himgiri was a standard Royal Navy design (Leander design) and Rajput was of a class we acquired from the Soviets. As in real life globally, there were always communication glitches between the two; much to the chagrin of the Fleet Communication Officer (FCO; his woes at sea were in multiples of those of his SCOs). Now, anyone familiar with naval communications would appreciate that, at least during those days, to establish successful communication on Tactical Secondary was considered a feat of higher value and difficulty than the one accomplished by Neil Armstrong on 20 Jul 1969. Hence, an R/V was generally said to have occurred when the two ships would be in touch on TP. This being a V/UHF circuit the range is Line of Sight only (max of about 14 nautical miles depending upon the heights of the antennae).

INS Himgiri
INS Himgiri

To cut a long story short, we on Himgiri kept on trying to establish communication on TS and TP with Rajput, a few hours before the R/V Time, but there was no joy. As was generally the case, the entire Command Team including the Captain kept looking at me suspiciously and accusingly. Anil Kapoor’s Mr India hadn’t yet been released but I dreamt of doing the disappearing act in the barrage of all the accusations that were coming my way; the mildest of these being, “When the f- -k would the communicators do anything right?”

I couldn’t achieve Anil Kapoor’s Mr India feat but I made a quick dash to MSO (Main Signal Office) to see if change of communication sets, antenna and lines would accomplish wonders. There was no joy. I hung my head in shame when I returned to the Bridge and received the by-now-familiar command, “Come on, SCO, DO SOMETHING.”

I heard it and my guardian angel heard it too. The latter guided me to go to the chart table and re-check the R/V position. A smile returned to my face when I verified that the HNIF had plotted the promulgated R/V position out by a full degree of Latitude (sixty nautical miles). Instead of 19 degrees 50 minutes, he had plotted it as 18 degrees 50 minutes.

I announced this to the Captain with great relish (the earlier wounds were still wincing) and mercifully there was a quick change in the target of derision of the Captain.

Anil Kapoor was a lucky guy, indeed. Had his vanishing trick film Mr India been released five years before its actual release, first me and then the HINF would have given him a run for his money.

AWKWARD SENTRY

My civilian friends would be thinking of the epithet ‘Awkward Sentry’ as well suited for a blundering, bumbling guard. Wait until I explain the term. I was the Ship’s Commander of our aircraft carrier Viraat. A carrier is a large ship, almost like a floating town. You can easily get lost on board in hundreds of compartments; this was especially true of Viraat, the old lady (as navy men fondly call her). Not many people know that Viraat’s hull is older than that of the already decommissioned carrier Vikrant. To keep her afloat was a herculean effort. The incidents that happened during my tenure were strange, mammoth, and at frequent intervals. Luckily our Damage Control teams were exceedingly good and we came out of many tricky situations unscathed. My Captain, Jaggi Bedi, had answers to all operational problems and I had trained myself to have answers to all Fire, Flooding and strange problems.

One day we sailed from alongside Berths 3 and 4 (Viraat being so large it occupies two berths) of South Breakwater of Mumbai harbour and we settled on our course out of harbour about 45 minutes after casting off and about one and half hours of Special Sea Duty-men for Leaving Harbour having been closed up. We had FOST (Flag Officer Sea Training)’s sea work-up team embarked. My CO and the ship’s company and all of us were on edge because of their presence since these worthies normally put you through various situations in order to gauge your responses and also to correct your mistakes.

We were nearly abreast of the Sunk Rock and the time was about 7:30 AM. From the Bridge of the ship the Captain noticed a smart sailor going up and down the Flight Deck wielding a baton. Imagining that FOST team had ordered some exercise, he asked me what was going on. I was stumped that my team had not kept me posted and a drill/exercise had been ordered about which I had no intimation.

INS Viraat at sea
INS Viraat at sea

The sailor meanwhile kept his beat; regularly going up and down with what appeared to be song on his lips. A little investigation on the walkie-talkie brought the strange explanation: he was the Awkward Sentry and no one had told him that the ship had sailed off. (For my civilian friends Awkward is a code-word of operations against clandestine attacks in harbour by enemy agents. A ship in harbour requires a number of these sentries to guard against such attacks. However, these guards are not required at sea since no one can board the ship at sea or carry out saboteur attacks when the ship proceeding at speed). Our Awkward Sentry, therefore, really looked awkward for the simple reason that so busy was he patrolling on the Flight Deck that he hadn’t noticed that the ship was not alongside.

If you think this is strange, you probably won’t believe that one of our friends came to visit us on Vikrant (when I was posted there) to do morning PT with us in Bombay harbour and whilst he had a snooze after the PT, the ship sailed off and he was taken to Cochin with us. All he had was his sports rig for the next fortnight.

DIL KI NAZAR SE – A FACEBOOK GROUP FOR OLD HINDI SONGS

Why do we like old Hindi songs or as some call – Bhoole Bisre Geet?

The first reason is because of nostalgia. Nostalgia is such a curious feeling; it lends enchantment to even those things that we nearly hated during their currency. For example, if you ask a middle aged man about his childhood and boyhood, he is bound to bring out nostalgic memories of his ‘school-days’. He would have hated going to the school but years later, he forgets about being made to stand on a bench as punishment; but, only remembers the first “love note” he got from Nina, Meena, Tina or Madhu. Distance always makes things look more beautiful. People vie with each other to get a glimpse of the Marine Drive or Chowpatty from the distance and height of the Hanging Gardens but, when there, you can’t get over the filth and the stink.

A man turned to a guide whilst climbing a hill and in the midst of rocks and thorny bushes, and said, “Where is that beautiful scenery that you were talking about?” The guide replied, “You are standing in it now; which you will see when you reach the top.”

But, I think our love for Bhoole Bisre Geet is little more than just nostalgia made fascinating by distance and time. I think the main reason is the Urdu poets of that era who knew what to do with words and emotions and spin a tale or dream. I sometimes feel that they must have been in love themselves. When Kaifi Azmi wrote, “Dil ki naazuk ragen toot ti hain, yaad itna bhi koi naa aaye“, he must have placed himself at her position in Hanste Zakham. When Rajinder Krishan wrote, “Rukhsat ke waqt tumane jo aansu humein diye, humne un aansuyon ke fasaane bana liye“, he must have felt those deep agonising emotions. I think Lyrics is the main reason for our love for Bhoole Bisre Geet. Everytime we hear them, we get newer and deeper meanings. Thirdly, thanks to the versatility of these Lyricists, Old Hindi Songs have a song (indeed several songs) for every emotion that we go through. We relate to them. If I want to thank friends for giving me a good time; there are several songs I can choose from. If your beloved has cheated on you, you have countless songs through which you can express what you are going through. BBGs are, in this way, windows to your heart.

Fourthly, as one grows, one gathers memories. Many of these are related to songs. In the last one year or so many of our favourite actors died. All of us relate their memories to their songs. I remember Rajesh Khanna singing to Sharmila Tagore in Aradhana, “Roop tera mastaana…” and I can see myself, sitting in the hall, being mesmerised by the fires within and without. Fifthly, the music directors of that era helped build up the atmosphere of the lytrics. In this I would like to give the example of Salil Chaudhury giving music for ‘O sajanna, barkha bahaar aayi, ras ki phuhaar layi, akhiyon mein pyaar layi.” The music brings out pitter-patter of rain, the desire, the longing and the joy.

Lets now turn to the singers of that era: Mohammad Rafi never sang like Mohammad Rafi. He transcended into the being of the actor and brought out his (the actor’s) emotions and not his own. Unlike these days when, for example, several news readers consider themselves more important than news-makers, Rafi ji had the humility to consider that the actor was more important than him. Now that I have spoken to you about it, next time you hear Rafi, think about the actor for whom he sang; it would be different style of singing for Dharmendra (Main nigaahen tere chehre se) than for Dev Anand (Aise to naa dekho ke hamko nasha ho jaaye). Mukesh, mostly stuck to one actor: Raj Kapoor but did wonders to bring out his romanticism (Dil ki nazar se), deep hurt (Hamane tujhako pyaar kiya hai jitana), and even levity (Mere man ki ganga aur tere man ki jamunaa kaa) and quest for beyond (Sajan re jhoot mat bolo).

Hemant Kumar? What can you say about him? No other singer could build an entire scene merely by singing, eg, Chup hai dharti chup hai chand sitaare, or Ye raat ye chandni phir kahan, or Yaad aa gayin woh nasheeli nigaahen. You would never be where you were when you’d start listening to his songs.

   Geeta Dutt could sing diverse emotions: Baabuji dheere chalna to Chand ghatane laga raat dhalne lagi. Asha Bhosle too from chulbule to udhas songs. But, Lata Mangeshkar as young nightingale went straight to your heart with classical based songs (Rasik balmaa) to sad (Youn hasraton ke daag) to happy ones (Mere haathon mein nau-nau choodiyan hai). Her songs with the Music Director Madan Mohan can all bring out intense and poignant feelings. No wonder the nation has an unending love with her voice.

Finally, the actors; they stood out as men and women of emotions, character, style and uniqueness. Dev Anand was full of boyish charm. But, if you would hear his sad songs, your heart’d melt. Raj Kapoor could sing an entire song of four stanzas standing in front of a mike with only acting being done by his eyes and facial expressions (Watch the Dulha Dulhan song ‘Humne tujhako pyaar kiya hai jitana, kaun karega itna?”

        Nargis, Nutan, Vyjayantimala, Waheeda, Mala Sinha, Raj Kumar, Balraj Sahni…..etc etc all brought out the beauty of facial expressions and eyes to the fore in singing their songs.

Yes, guys and gals, we love Bhoole Bisre Geet for several reasons. But, those of us who lived in the era would tell you they are neither Bhoole nor Bisre. They are as much part of our lives as Eyes and Heart. “See it with your heart”, as the poet said, “’tis mere joy”. A joy that will never fade.

        Dil ki nazar se dekho….they are as fresh as when they were penned, composed, sung and acted upon.

Nutan singing Dil Ki Nazar Se in Anaadi

All this and more on facebook group: Dil Ki Nazar Se. The url is:

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