Sahir Lazawaal 💝

 Badi khushi hoti hai ye dekh kar ke Sahir Ludhianvi ko unn ki centenary year meiN itni mohabbat aur respect ke saath yaad karaa jaa rahaa hai 

 

Unn ke geet , unn ki love life , unn ki arrogance ... unn ki position of power when he could dictate his terms to producers / directors ... aur bhi bahot kuchh ... 

Like jis ko jitnaa yaad hai , aur jaisa yaad hai , wo sunaa rahaa hai 

All this is very interesting 

But I have a feeling ke kaafi saari baateiN word of mouth se hi phaili hoNgi and there is every possibility that ab jo kuchh hum tak pahoNch rahaa hai wo sab sach naa ho

Except for Javed Akhter I dont think anyone who speaks about Sahir Ludhianvi really knows him 

Like that video which came God knows from where and went viral on social media !!!

The voice and kalaam was apparently Sahir Ludhianvi's 

Batayaa gayaa ke ye "Main zindgi ka saath nibhata chalaa gayaa ... " ke unrecorded stanzas haiN

Then came Javed Saheb's tweet saying ke naa voice Sahir Ludhianvi ki hai aur naa hi wo poetry unn ki hai 

Tab phir kuchh chhaan-phatak kari gayi aur pataa ye chalaa ke Jaidev ji ki awaaz meiN ye kalaam Abdul Hameed Adam Saheb ka hai

So I ll skip the stories about his life and instead share the impact that his writing has had on my life

I strongly believe that Sahir Ludhianvi has now transcended beyond being a man or a poet / lyricist 

He is now a philosophy and a mindset ...  

And I discovered this mindset called Sahir much later in life when I read his anti war poetry on Facebook 

Ek aisi duniya jahaaN taaqat ka matlab show of muscle power hai , jahaaN har masaley ka solution violence and war batayaa jataa hai , wahaaN Sahir keh rahey haiN ke jung to khud hi ek masala hai bhai , ye masloN ka hal kya degi 

When I read Sahir's poetry I realized ke iss aadmi ka dil sirf insaaniyat ke liye dhadakta tha ... Unn ka maan-na tha ke har mazhab ka Khuda apney bandoN se ek hi baat keh rahaa hai ... ke bhaiyya insaan bann jaao ... 

Sahir ne ye msg apney ek geet meiN kuchh aisey dia hai :

" Tu Hindu baney ga naa Musalmaan baney ga insaan ki aulaad hai insaan baney ga " 

Also reminding his readers ... 

" Har ek daur kā maz.hab nayā ḳhudā laayā 

kareñ to ham bhī , magar kis ḳhudā kī baat kareñ"

And who forget the song "Sansaar se bhaagey phirtey ho ... " which is among the most honest and bebaak description of the humiliation of insaaniyat in the name of religion  

If his song "Aurat ne janam diya mardoN ko ... " shocked and frustrated my conscience , then there was " Wo subah kabhi to aaye gi ... " jahaaN Sahir hazaaroN mehnat-kash logoN ke khwaaboN ki tabiireiN talaash kar rahey thay 

When I heard "Dekh tere Bhagwaan ki haalat kya ho insaan ... " I was speechless for a while 

How could anyone be so blatantly and truthfully straight forward 

But then everyone is not Sahir Ludhianvi !!!

Sahir ki ek aur baat mujhe badi pyaari lagti hai

Jaisa ke Bhagvad Geeta meiN bhi kahaa gayaa hai ke karam kiye jaa , phal ki chinta mat kar , ussi andaaz meiN Sahir ne likha ... 

" Manaa ke iss zamiiN ko naa gulzaar kar sakey

Kuchh khaar kam to kar gaye guzrey jidhar se hum " 

Interestingly Sahir Ludhianvi ne apni shaaeri ke collection ki kitaab jab chhapvaai to uss ka naam “ TalkhiyaN “ rakha , lekin unn ki zindgi ki talkhiyoN ne uNheiN naa to revengeful banayaa ,  aur hi unhoN ne apne dil meiN nafratoN ko jagah di 

In fact unhoN ne to nafratoN ki duniya meiN pyaar ki bastiyaN basaaney baat kari hai 

He developed an intense courage to stand up for all the underprivileged people , and gave words to their dreams and aspirations 

“ ab koi gulshan naa ujdey ab watan azaad hai “ 

and 

" Aao ke koi khwaab buneiN kal ke waastey ... " 

Also earnest prayers for world peace 

“ Teri hai zamiin tera aasmaan tu badaa meherbaan tu bakhshish kar ... “

" Khuda e bartar teri zamiiN par zamiiN ki khaatir ye jung kyoN hai ... "

Ya phir ye ke “ Sab ko sanmati de Bhagwaan ... “ and "Balwaano ko de de gyaan ... "

Incidentally the first song I shared on Facebook was "Aap ki mehki hui zulf ko kehtey haiN ghataa ... " 

And from there began my journey of discovering Sahir Ludhianvi , the philosophy , the cult ... 

So geet unn ke mujhe bahot pehlay radio par mil gaye thay lekin Sahir mujhe dus saal pehley hi miley Facebook par

The songs that come to mind immediately when I think of the radio days from my childhood are 

"Mera sunder sapna ... " 

and 

" hum aap ki aankhon meiN iss dil ko basaa deiN to ... " 

So Sahir aur Geeta Dutt se ek lamba aur gehra nataa hai hamaraa 😊😊😊

I find this immensely fascinating that a man who has left nothing but his writings behind him is being celebrated and remembered by almost all sections of the society including people jinki zubaan Urdu yaa Hindi nahi bhi hai 

It is now upto us to introduce Sahir Ludhianvi's poetry to our children because that will be our best tribute to the man who has proved beyond doubt that there are few like him on this planet and even after more than sixty / seventy years or so , his writings continue to inspire and encourage human rights and anti war activists , and supporters of peace in homes and among communities and countries 

Koi to baat hogi jo har koi ek tukda Sahir ka apney hissey meiN kar lena chaahta hai ... Sahir beshak keh gaye hoN ke " maiN pal do pal ka shaaer hooN ... "  ... Lekin unhoN ne poorey tariiqe se ye ensure kar liya hai he will be remembered as " har ek pal ka shaaer ... "

Sahir lives on , and my journey , discovering him through his writings also continues ...

Tributes to Abbi

MushkileiN to hamaarey parents ke time meiN bhi thiiN , aur unn se pehlay waali generation bhi koi perfect duniya meiN nahi ji rahey thay

Lekin unhoN ne apne kirdaar ki taaqat aur imaandaari ke saath hum ko zindgi ki khoobsoorti dikhaai 

Mohabbat ki zubaan sikhaayi 

Chhoti chhoti khushiyoN ki ahmiyat samjhaayi  

Ghar ki Maa-betiyoN-bahuoN ke dupattey chaahey jitney bhi lehraaeiN lekin sarkeiN kabhi nahi 

Zubaan meiN har waqt mithaas naa ho koi baat nahi lekin tehziib ki kami kabhi naa aaney paaye 

School / College meiN hum ne kuchh bhi padha ho ... lekin hum ko shaaeri , mausiqui , literature se rubaru hamaarey parents ne karayaa ... they made sure we value and contribute to the beautiful composite culture of our country 

Aaj ke iss kadvey-kasailey daur meiN to aur bhi zaroori ho jataa hai ke hum apne bachchoN ki shanasaai life ke inn khoobsoorat raNgon se karaaeiN jo hum ko viraasat meiN apne waaldain se miley haiN 

That's the best tribute we can offer to our parents , remembering my father on his birth(day) anniversary , and among so many memories , I ll share one when he made me feel very special and loved as he gifted me a Bush transistor for passing my class five exam with good marks

Some more memories ... 

A day before the world will celebrate Father's Day , I am celebrating my late father ... wishing him a very happy birthday ... 🎂🎂🎂

Kuchh yaadeiN tazaa kar leiN ... 💐💐💐

In July 2017 we had gone to Bhivpuri , a beautiful lush green place near Karjat , where my father was posted many years back 

The 2017 visit was mainly to enjoy the mountains and the rain , and also experience the gushing flow of water on our bodies sitting under the breathtaking waterfalls that spring up in the quiet of the jungle during monsoon 

As we set out , we noticed a dog tagging along 

He had appeared as if from nowhere 

And stayed with us through the entire outing , disappearing as "magically" (as it had appeared ) when we reached the guest house where we were staying 

Reminds me of a dog that used to follow my father like an escort from one end of Bhivpuri Tata Camp where our house was , to the extreme other end , may be a kilometer or so away , where the Hydro Electricity Generating Power House was :-)

This dog was not our pet 

It had come on its own 

And it never missed a single day escorting my father ( from home to work and work to home )

Heart warming Memories of another Era 

😊😊😊💝💝💝😘😘😘😘😘

When Father's Day coincided with Abbi's birth anniversary ... 

Deepest respects and Salaam to our fathers , who may have lacked in expressing the measure of their love for us , and often seemed harsh and angry with us .... but, that was their extreme love for us and their concern for our well being ... 

They worked hard not just to give us a comfortable life , but also to show us through their deeds and actions the right way to a better living ... 

We enjoyed a carefree childhood because they were around to take care of everything we needed ....

 

Chalo Ek Baar Phir Se ...

With a few exceptions who can move from pain to happiness on their own , most people have this intense urge to pour out the bitter repercussions of an anguished experience , so sharing agony and distress with a genuine well wisher is neither weakness nor abnormal.

The winning , and also the tricky point however is that this outpour of bitterness must not create more bitterness 

This is easier said than done 

I was deeply touched when I saw the documentary " Soz: Ballad of Maladies " 

Among other things , the documentary introduced it's viewers to the youth in the terror-torn Kashmir Valley who have turned to writing poetry in a bid to bury the deep anguish of a painful past and also as a means to deal with an unjust present

Also there is Sahir Ludhianvi whose birth centenary is being celebrated this year ...

Incidentally his mother belonged to Kashmir 

Most of his poetry is a narration of his life's anxieties and suffering 

He saw and understood through his own struggle the deprivation of others and poured out his compassion , sympathy and empathy for all the oppressed people through his timeless poetry that is remembered and discussed even today 

" Chalo ek baar phir se ajnabi bann jaaeiN hum dono ... " has become one of the most iconic and timeless pieces of Urdu poetry that has ever been written

The thought expressed in words is so matchless that it seems like once-in-a-lifetime kind of writing  

Its uniqueness never ceases to amaze even the best of writers and it has been among one of the most loved , listened and discussed Hindi film songs 

It was actually not written for a film situation but used most appropriately in the film "Gumraah" by Chopra Saheb 

And the rest is history 

Sahir Ludhianvi's words set to music by Ravi and sung by Mahendra Kapoor , this is a masterpiece that sinks in gradually as Kapoor Saheb brings the words to life with a depth that is engrossing and overpowering , delicately untangling a multi layered tapestry of human feelings , and as you listen , the magical play of emotions engulfs you completely 

How does one go about becoming a complete stranger to someone with whom they have shared life's most beautiful moments ?

Don't we deliberately cling on to memories 

And who can ignore the fact that the most touching poetry is most definitely made from memories that are precious and closest to one's heart

Hence this song stands out in its uniqueness.
The poet apparently is comfortable in choosing to let go of a loved one with whom he cannot carry on any further.

But hold on.
He is moving on , and although well wishers might advice him to "forget the past " he is not doing anything like that ...

In fact he is taking along with him a bagful of memories too endearingly deep-seated to just let them go ...

And seemingly this baggage is neither burdensome nor tiresome
So he casually and yet so profoundly remarks :

"Wo afsana jisey anjaam tak lanaa naa ho mumkin

Ussey ek khoobsoorat mod de kar chhodna achcha ... "

Moving on is apparently a part of one's existence.
Indeed and truly so.
But Come to think of it , how much inner turmoil must one undergo before finally accepting life as it comes.
" Ta'aruf rog bann jaaye to uss ko bhoolna behtar

Ta'aluq bojh bann jaaye to uss ko toddna achcha ... "

And so if life must go on in separate compartments for two people who once travelled intimately together , can there be another better option than the one provided by Sahir Ludhianvi ?

"Naa maiN tum se koi ummid rakkhooN dil nawaazi ki

Naa tum meri taraf dekho ghalat andaaz nazroN se ... "

It is a feeling of profound peace and contentment that comes after you have unraveled the layers of a relationship and discovered the truth 

You have shed the old skin .....

Now you are clothed with a much better resolve and determination.

So what if ...

"Mere hamraah bhi rusvaaiyaN haiN mere maazi ki

Tumhaarey saath bhi guzri hui raatoN ke saaye haiN "

You have learned to deal with it all without hurting yourself or anyone else 

"Naa mere dil ki dhadkan ladkhadaaye meri baatoN meiN 

Naa zaahir ho tumhaari kashmakash ka raaz nazroN se "

You are now better prepared for a happier and more enriching journey ... 

So 

Chalo ek baar phir se ... 😊