APNE HUEY PARAYE

apne apne hue paraye

kismat ne kya din dikhalaye

kuch socho aur kuch ho jaye

haye re dhiraj kaun bandaye

apne apne hue paraye

gham ki jo taqdeer na hoti

jo itni bepir na hoti

dil par itna bojh na hota

pairon me zanjir na hoti

jin rahon pe koi na aaye

baithe unpe naina bichhaye

dil nadan kahey jata hai

shayad vo shayad laut aaye

kaun hain hum kyun jane koi

apna humein kyun mane koi

bahatar hai iss badhali me

ab na humein pahchane koi



apne apne hue paraye

kismat ne kya din dikhalaye

kuch socho aur kuch ho jaye

haye re dhiraj kaun bandaye

apne apne hue paraye

Sometimes I feel life seems to be saying," a heart needs to be broken just to test its strength." Which is why people love, hope, dream-and then have all that love, hope, and dreaming shatter. Which is why hearts break. We picture one thing, and get another. Our very own turn away from us, leaving us numbed.



Everyone talks of good and bad luck. Here we have a poet who speaks of sorrow  having its  own luck! ' Gham ki jo taqdeer na hoti'. The enormity of that kind of  pain!A pain that has been humanized. And has its own fortunes. At least I have not seen or heard this kind of expression before, after this song. And, the poet continues, this pain has a merciless fortune life. The crushing strength of this sorrow, that has a sorrowful fortune that, in turn, has a merciless fortune! 'Gham ki jo taqdeer na hoti ,jo itni bepir na hoti.' Uff!



And the hopelessness of hope- longingly waiting for someone on a path no one ever traverses.The pathos, the utter pity of the still-alive-in-death hope-shaayad...

'shayad vo, shayad laut aaye' notice the double usage of 'shaayad' to such wonderful effect, underlining the hope in a hope in a hope. Such a simple device used to such powerful effect by Shailendra. Not a lyricist, surely a poet.



And then the final acceptance that no one will come, no one will return.With a despairing sense of humiliation. The stars have turned to dust. One is utterly insignificant, simply a nobody. And yes, it is better to be in the shade, than to be seen and ridiculed in this miserable state. ' bahatar hai iss badhali mein, ab na humein pahchane koi'. Such sadness in the word 'badhali'.. No wonder this song brings tears to the listener's eyes. 

Definitely, a song to treasure. 

CHHOTI SI YE ZINDAGANI RE CHAR DIN KI KAHANI MERI

Chhotii Sii Ye Zi.Ndagaanii Re
Chaar Din Kii Javaanii Terii
Haay Re Haay
Gam Kii Kahaanii Terii

Shaam Huii Ye Desh Biiraanaa
Tujh Ko Apane Balam Ghar Jaanaa, Sajan Ghar Jaanaa
Raah Me.N Muurakh Mat Lut Jaanaa, Mat Lut Jaanaa
Chhotii Sii Ye ...

Baabul Kaa Ghar Chhuutaa Jaaye
Akhiyan Ghor A.Ndheraa Chhaaye, Jii Dil Ghabaraaye
Aa.Nkh Se Tapake Dil Kaa Khazaanaa
Chhotii Sii Ye ...

Saans bhar ki zindagi, uff kitni uljhi hui! Aur us pe turra ye, ki hum sabhi us mein apni aur apnon ki khushi ke liye kya kuchh nahin kar daltey! .Mutthi bhar aksharon mein Kaviraj ne is lambi daud ki kahani keh di hai. 'Chhotii Sii Ye Zi.Ndagaanii Re,Chaar Din Kii Javaanii Terii'
A philosophical song, Shankar-Jaikishen's music, Mukesh's voice and presence, and life in a teardrop. The poet says this life is a brief breath-and in it is the still briefer youth that we often let slip through our fingers. We are left just with the wails of childhood and the tears of old age- 'haaye, ghum ki kahani teri'.
It is a plaintive cry, this song. In it, Shailendra ji speaks of life as a brief stay- like a girl who lives for a few years at her father's house, only to go away to her ultimate home, to her beloved. He  calls this world 'baabul ka ghar', and the other world, 'balam ghar, sajan ghar'.Here is the Sufi essence in his work. God/the Creator is seen as the Beloved. And He is the ultimate destination we all strive for. This world, the father's house is a mere stop, a pause in this eternal tale of creation. The final destination can be none other than the arms of the Loved One.
This is exactly what Sufi thought is. This is what I read about Sufism:
"The journey of the lover is a one-way street of love, and our tears carry us into an abyss of longing, of aloneness and anguish. ... Our soul senses the intimacy of its Beloved, that He is as close as the tears that run between the eye and the eye-lid. We begin to experience a love affair that is as intoxicating as it is painful, as wondrous as it is terrifying."
 And now read Shailendra:
Chhotii Sii Ye Zi.Ndagaanii Re
Chaar Din Kii Javaanii Teri
Haay Re Haay
Gam Kii Kahaanii Teri

Wohi baat, kitni saral, kitni saadgi se, kitney kam shabdon mein. YAHI hai Kaviraaj ka hunar.Amazing.

I further read about  Sufi thought:
"Love embraces us and love tears us apart. Love is a knife that cuts us and a softness that kills us. We are taken away from our self and given to our Beloved It is not easy. We cry, we pray, we fight to remain looking towards our Beloved. We strive to keep our heart clean. "
Shailendra's words:
Shaam Huii Ye Desh Biiraanaa
Tujh Ko Apane Balam Ghar Jaanaa, Sajan Ghar Jaanaa
Raah Me.N Muurakh Mat Lut Jaanaa, Mat Lut Jaanaa
Akhiyan Ghor A.Ndheraa Chhaaye, Ye Dil Ghabaraaye
Aa.Nkh Se Tapake Dil Kaa Khazaanaa

Yahi hain Aadhunik Kabir.Shailendra deserves to be in  literature books, library shelves, not just film lyrics.It is up to us, his Family, to ensure he does.

ARE YOU SANE?

ARE U SANE, OR NUTS?

Quick! Flip open any magazine. What do you find? More likely than not, you will see a pop quiz to find out stuff like, 'Are you tough or not?'Are you a good friend or not?' 'Are you a man's woman, or a woman's man?' 'Are you a man or a woman?' So we thought we'd jump onto the gravy train, and see if we could earn a few rupees, and oodles of reputation by concocting our very own 'scientifically framed' questionnaire that tells you 'Are you sane or nuts?'

1. Do you generally walk on your
a. head
b. hands
c. nose
d. feet
2. You speak only when
a. spoken to
b. shoved away
c. you're hungry
d. no one is present
3. You never cry unless
a. you're sad
b. you can't find a toilet
c. you're happy
d. you have an audience
4.You like to eat
a. all day long
b. three square meals a day
c. twice a week
d. if someone feeds you
5. Your favourite reading is
a.  anything written backwards-barring Arabic languages which are to be read forwards
b. railway timetables
c. labels on cans
d. every sentence written in every encyclopedia ever
6. Your favourite clothes are
a. your mother's if you are a man
b. your grandmother's if you are a teen-aged boy
c. your maid's
d. your own
7. Your dream home would be
a. made of quicksand
b. under the sea
c. on top of the statue of liberty
d. made of gingerbread
8. You love spending money on
a. yourself and family
b. your enemies
c. your pet cockroach
d.  your neighbour's phone bills
9. You heartily wish to spend happy hours in
a. an asylum
b. your dog's kennel
c. an airtight, padded room
d. behind the large cupboard in your mother's room
10. You are happiest when
a. singing in the dark
b. sitting on graves
c. brooding in the toilet
d. walking backwards

Now mark yourself plus ten for every answer that tallies with ours, and minus ten for every answer that doesn't tally with ours.
These are the right answers.
Questions 5,7,9,10 are trick questions- all answers are right
1-c
2-b
3-b
4-d
5-a
6-a and b are correct
8-d

50-60 - you are reasonably sane
70-80 - you are vibrantly sane
80-90 - you are high up on the sanity scale, and could assist psychologists
90-100 - congrats! you are the only sane person alive. How do you put up with all the crazies around you?!
If your scores exceed 50 in the minus scale, it is time you visited your friendly neighbourhood shrink.
If you are above -90, chances are, you already are,

THE LANGUAGE OF EXCESS

If there's one thing that characterizes the times it is excess .And among these excesses, one of the most jarring is the excess of language. Listen, and read, and you will find it sticking out its unpleasant neck everywhere.

So, it  is not enough to be laughing. It must be 'laughing out loud'-L.O.L.(ugh), or 'rolling on the floor laughing; R.O.F.L. or, well, you know..In a way, the social media like Facebook and Twitter has created its own barrage of excessive language.
Thus, it is never enough to 'like'. It must be 'super like'. It is not enough to be impressed, you need to stamp it 'awesome' or 'super-duper' or 'super-duper awesome'. And worse, the trend has moved to twisting words -and hence, 'anyway' cannot be expressive enough-change it to-uff! 'anyways'!
This kind of jumping excess, a kind of verbal hyperventilation is as distracting and exasperating as a hyperventilating sham. By using such hyperbole, language is beginning to lose its muscle, and gathering sheer flab. The beautiful economy of language, giving it both flow, and sinew has been lost in this garbage of verbiosity.
Our education taught us simplicity and strength of language. But all we encounter now is flaccid, literally fat language, pumped up with distasteful  verbiage.
People need to show that not only are they happy, they are very happy-not only are they excited, but very excited-not only are they puzzled, but very puzzled. And so we have the phenomenon of multiplicity. Multiple exclamation marks and question marks. For example,  'How are you??????????'  'It was so super-exciting!!!!!!!!!!!'. Another casualty is block letters. 'YOU saw the film!!!!!!!' Of late, a weird new trend has cropped up-adding a series of dots mid-sentence. The finished sentence would read something like, 'Did you....read the...BOOK???!!!!'.
I remember being taught, 'You will get a total of 8 exclamation marks to use in life. Use them judiciously.' And now we have an embarrassment of riches.

Another surprise was the joyous 'hellozzzzzzzz' that greeted me when a friend came online. When I replied with 'hello', she went into a sulk saying, 'You're  welcome was so cold.' Caught in a bind- I either accept that I was lukewarm in my greeting, or point out that she was bizarre in hers. I took refuge in the language of the times by typing out three emoticons portraying embarrassment and affection.

But it is not all disgust. You could even come across some unintended hilarity. I came across an ad for a beauty salon which undauntedly hawked its 'stylish, fearlessly blow-dried hairstyle'. Ab...

OF FRAUDS, AND CHARLATANS, AND GODMEN

                                   OF RATIONALITY AND BLIND FAITH

In an age increasingly relying on the intellect and rationality, why do we still find ourselves hovering around the fringes, if not plunged into blind faith and irrationality like superstitions and obsessive rituals to ward off the 'evil eye' and such like? Is this some kind of inbuilt instinct to prevent us from becoming machine-like creatures moving between two large blocks of black and white, 'yes' and 'no', unequivocality? Who can tell.

Yet, it is very difficult for a thinking person to accept the 'god-like' stature of a mere human who shares our frailties and weaknesses. In recent times, we have had many supposed 'gurus' and 'god men' discredited by their acts of venality. The most recent case is that of Asaram, who has been accused of sexual misdemeanour by a minor. The kind of uproar created by his supporters has been staggering-blocking roads, vandalism, threatening the victim's family. He himself tried every possible trick in the book to evade arrest, till he was left with no option-certainly not behaviour expected of a 'god'-like creature who promises succour to his disciples.Hiring Ram Jethmalani is the kind of  black humour stand-up comedy thrives on.

And yet, it is not that I speak for the majority when I say this. Depending on their leanings, people would go so far as saying, ''Haan, it could be right in his case, though his oratory had me fooled. But you know, X/YZ is not like that. He is the REAL thing. You feel such peace of mind when you listen to him(better still 'Him')"..and the beat goes on.
 Though it should come as no surprise in a land that happily tosses around things like 'If you wash your hair on Tuesday, your brother will die', or 'If you sweep your house the day someone leaves, he will be felled', 'If you cut your nails at night, there will be a theft in your house'.

Not that it is only us who have these 'gurus'. Who can beat the West for their astonishing cults and 'masters' who often ask them to commit suicide en masse, or unleash terror and mayhem in the land? Other sects, peoples, and beliefs fall prey to the same kind of thing. Which returns us to the same question-'Why and how are we susceptible to this kind of irrationality, even as we lead absolutely normal and rational lives?' Maybe it is a deep-rooted insecurity that  yearns for magical remedy as a last resort, that is desperate to believe that 'There are more things in heaven and earth...Than are dreamt of in your philosophy.' Till we live, we need to believe that there is a power of last appeal. That there is hope .That there is stardust somewhere, that will cover the dark spots in our skies.

PATRIOTISM TODAY

My kids grew up on a steady diet of fiery patriotism. Looking back they laugh, "Mama, you used to always get a patriotic film for us to see on Independence Day, and Republic Day, and play Manoj Kumar songs to enthuse us with fervour." With time, I began to discourage them from leaving the country and enhancing another country with their talents. "India has given you your education. It should be used for her good." Even as a teacher, I did the same with my students. Aflame with love of my country, I tried to inculcate as much of a sense of duty to the nation and a civic sense as I could.

Looking back today, I don't regret a moment of it, but wonder how, in all conscience, I could do the same thing now. The devil's tandav being brazenly performed by people in power has shaken most of us up. Uncomfortable  questions-and answers crop up in the mind. A small voice asks me  if I would try to dissuade a youngster today from going abroad  if he had a chance, and I have no answer, simply a headful of doubts. Apart from the usual second class citizen and so on, there is less to be said against than for the idea.

While on the subject of our so-called 'leaders', it is a subject that could be discussed till they kingdom come, so it is better to simply leave it at that. Where is a nation headed, if it is being 'led'-if you  will- by murk and muck? Today, can one tell a child an inspiring story about a recent, or current national leader? The stream dies up some time after the Bangladesh War. Can we truly expect children today to be inspired by any leading figure in politics? Is there anyone with the moral character of a Shastri, a Nehru?

I distinctly recall women parting with their jewelry to help in the war in 1961. Sweaters were knitted, eatables made and canned, blankets and clothes were sent from many a home so that our soldiers could have some basics at a time when we were sorely unprepared. All at one word from the Prime Minister. If today such a call was made, the concerned politician would probably have shoes and sticks rained on him.

What happened, and why? Like they say, 'Yatha Raja, Tatha Praja'. The defiant question is, 'If THEY can, why not WE?'. Respect for public property has never been our strong point. Now hooliganism and vandalism are the rule. There is so much anger and frustration in people, hunger, unemployment, unmet needs, that abstractions like 'patriotism' make no sense to the man on the street. 'Humein kya diya hai desh ne, jo hum uski parwah karein?'.

Try as one may, there is very little to enthuse our children with. They laugh in our faces-perhaps rightly so-when we try to speak about love for the country. What integrity? What service? What returning to the nation?
Do we have the right answers?

It is no wonder that people's icons and role models today are film stars, cricketers, and industrialists -all with fat purses and influence, none  particularly rich  in  ethics. Young people today want to be wealthy and influential. They want to be looked up to in awe. There is paucity of recruitment to the armed forces. Why risk one's life for the corrupt?  Surveys show that the services are last on a youngster's preferred career choices. They love the life of glamour. How empty, how hollow our aspirations have become.

To each his own, as the 'Me First' generation is gradually changing to 'Only Me'. Who would blame them? This is not the India of Gandhi-Nehru-Shastri's dreams. This is not the India our martyrs died for. With what moral worth can we point to the nation as an ideal today?
I often quote Yeats to describe the current scenario:
"Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold;
Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world,
The blood-dimmed tide is loosed, and everywhere
The ceremony of innocence is drowned;
The best lack all conviction, while the worst
Are full of passionate intensity."

The only hope is that this cycle changes, for nothing remains the same.

DAYS ON END

Our entire year is cut-up into Days, not just Health Awareness, but others like 'Mother's', 'Father's', 'Earth Day', and where the West is concerned, can the ridiculous be far behind?  'Have a Bad  Day Day'(19th Nov.'13),'False Confession Day'(21st Nov'13),'Pi Day'-yes, the famous 3.14 one! When it came to deciding which day would be marked as Pi Day, it was decided that it would be 13th March because it was 3/14. It also happens to be Einstein's birthday.

The story about how May Day came into being is a fascinating study of  how a 'day' grew into a powerful movement. Workers had been in a constant struggle to shorten their working day from a 10 to 16 hour one to an 8 hour one. As they plaintively said, 'We want to feel the sunshine; we want to smell the flowers.' The national strike for the eight-hour day  was called for on May 1, 1886--it was the first May Day. The movement was sought  to be mercilessly suppressed by the powerful owners of factories, and  climaxed in the hanging of four innocent agitating workers. Their final words before being publicly hanged were prophetic: "There will be a time when our silence will be more powerful than the voices you strangle today." Labour Day continues to this day.

Valentine's Day is essentially the Feast of St. Valentine, who lived in the third century. He is supposed to have been killed while trying to help Christians escape harsh Roman prisons. There are many legends associated with this day, but this is the one I like. Emperor Claudius believed single men made better soldiers, and outlawed marriage for them. Valentine, a priest, felt this was unfair, and continued performing their marriages in secret. When he found out about this, the emperor ordered him to be killed.

All Fools' Day/April Fools' Day has 2 interesting stories about its origin. The Gregorian calendar is now observed worldwide. It was adopted by France in the 1500s so that the New Year would begin in January to match the Roman calendar instead of beginning at the start of spring, in late March or early April .Word of the change traveled slowly, so many people in rural areas continued to celebrate the New Year in the spring. These country dwellers became known as "April fools."
Another story has it the practice began during the reign of Constantine, when a group of court jesters and fools told the Roman emperor that they could do a better job than him,of running the empire. Constantine, amused, allowed a jester named Kugel to be king for one day. Kugel passed an edict calling for absurdity on that day, and the custom became an annual event.


So, in the middle of all the Days in this month, let's have a Day to beat all Days :)