ANDAAZ- E - BAYAAN

ANDAAZ – E – BAYAAN

Mirza Ghalib the famous 19^th century Persian/urdu poet of India had the following to say regarding his poetry :

Hain aur bhee Duniya Mein Sukhanwar Bahut Achche

Kahte hain ki ‘Ghalib’ ka hai ‘Andaaz-e-Bayaan’ aur

( there are many good poets in the world, but it is said that the manner of expression of ‘Ghalib’ is different /unique)

Despite the self praise, indeed it is ‘Andaaz-e-Bayaan’ which is the root of the creative work . The manner of expression, style, composition, perspective, angle, approach, combination of words, formation of sentences, a certain newness is what matters. This of course does not imply lack of ideology and substance, for it is assumed that a writer/poet will speak for the society and its conflicts as Premchand aptly said in his address to the newly formed ‘Progressive writers’ association in the year 1935 that a writer has to be progressive because he cannot be otherwise.

A few days past I was reading a book on Al Pachino. It was an interview of his in many sittings. What struck me was his views /perspective on various subjects—Shakespeare, other artistes . When we read the interview of such stars the intent is to extract information on them which is not visible in cinema. However this interview was so very different and displayed his depth as a thinker . A thinking actor truly. It is not surprising that Larry King rates his interview with Al Pachino to be the best among the many he took during his stint.

Premchand stands out in the realm of manner and matter. Simple and brutally honest account. An ordinary reader may not decipher but after reading his biography by his son it emerges that the famous novelist, short story writer, editor of journal and newspaper could come out so honestly as all the struggles and conflicts which he depicted in writing he encountered in his personal life. His deep and sincere commitment to society provided him with a consciousness and courage in his short stories and novels. There was much to invent but it was an extension of the reality which he had seen. What makes these writers /artistes unique is their perception. They see the world from an angle which we readers/viewers are unable to perceive ourselves but marvel the same, and concur with their representation. We have seen it in the paintings of Picasso and Hussain in the plays of Shakespeare and Ibsen and in the performance of Brando and Amitabh. We cannot perceive their portrayal but we acknowledge it.

Amrita Pritam’s biography ‘Rasidi ticket’ gives us an insight to her life and ideology. It is filled with many happenings in her life , meetings with other artistes etc. As she expresses her opinion on the subject of ‘relationships’ her ‘ANDAAZ-E-BAYAAN’ is revealed to us which is distinct. Her honesty grips us. Her narration of the various incidents in her life is striking. Similar honesty and boldness I saw in the autobiography of Harvanshrai Bachhan.

These writers were true to their convictions and interpreted those circumstances in a manner so different than us. But when we read them we realize; yes; indeed this is the way it is. Why it did not strike us ? yes. It is true. These remarkable qualities in possession of the artistes makes them different and therefore---- ‘Andaaz-e-bayaan’.

Sadat Hassan Manto’s short stories are brilliantly written. He knows the art of compressing many incidents and images in a few sentences; yet making it interesting. Plenty of action occurs within a few hundred words. All his stories are from day to day life. Shocking and stark. He was charged for obscenity on four occasions during his short life of 43 years . Truth was obscene during the turbulent times he wrote. We were struggling for independence. The cleft created between Hindus and Muslims had deepened and lead to widespread atrocities and violence by both sides. He remained neutral in his narration of his stories of that phase. Probably the best story writer of that era claimed by both to be theirs. His stories reveal the ugly side of both the communities. He also wrote sketches on the hindi film personalities of the pre independence era through which the reader gets a ‘unique’ look of the developing film industry. I marvel his ‘Anddaz-e-Bayyan’.

MERIT AND MARKETING

MERIT AND MARKETING

Maya is what ‘seems’ but ‘exists not’ and ‘marketing’ is the technique which creates this illusion. This marketing technique when applied to human world creates imbalances where ‘true merit’ suffers as proponents of ‘Maya’ wean away the ‘truth’.

Last month ‘Dabang’ made history by opening to a thunderous response and eclipsed the record set by ‘ The Three Idiots’ . Salman Khan the notorious Super Star was in the forefront of all News Channels resurrected after the debacle of his film ‘Veer’. There was one more person who created history last month; the wrestler Susheel Kumar won the world wrestling medal in his weight. He was the first Indian to do so and had won a bronze medal at the last Olympics. In a country where wrestling is a way of life and ‘Hanuman’ is worshipped and inspires the many youth in remote rural ‘Akharas’ this ‘Glory’ was truly representative of our merit as a Nation. But since marketing is the mode to make mediocrity thrive it was Salman the notorious Super Star who basked in the glory and applause while ‘Susheel’ searched for attention between the Sports minister Mr M. S. Gill and his Guru Satpal. Was not Susheel the true ‘Dabang’?

Marketing overshadows ‘merit’ and curbs the merits of merit to flower. It is a deception legalised by the ill usage of ‘ freedom of expression’ by the corporate institutions. This is visible in many areas--- politics ( rise of Rahul Gandhi), private sector ( creation of Dhiru Bhai Ambani as Karmyogi!),religion ( Osho cult and Sri Sri Ravi Shankar’s Art of Living) etc. It directs all noble ideas toward money making. It is materialism at its best and is representative of westernism where creation of ‘wealth’ is the prime purpose of existence.

Cinema utilizes the marketing methods to the fullest. Many meritorious films do not get the response they truly deserve from the public and many sub- standard films reach the winning post by way of marketing. The technology has helped to make many prints at reasonable cost and therefore movies are released in large number of cinema halls and the Multiplexes have multiple shows in the same complex so that the ‘harvest is reaped’ before the shortcomings are revealed.

A film like ‘Sholay’ has earned its place in history of Cinema on merit as not only as the film of the ‘Millenium’ but also the highest grosser film, but it took many months for it to achieve this feat as in those times the print cost was high and therefore films were released in few halls and made profits after long runs , Silver and Golden Jubilee was the norm of the day. People were carriers of information and not the paid TV channels, the audience was not enticed by the Blitzkrig of media. Other films such as ‘Mother India’, ‘Mughal-e-azam’, ‘Sangam’ and ‘Awaara’ were blockbusters on only merit. Nowdays, films break records on the promotion it gets even if the content is disappointing. The true test of a Great film is its longevity; it should be able to attract the next generation. Do films such as ‘Gazini’ or ‘Dabang’ posses that charm and value to merit attention of the next generation?

There is a distinct difference between ‘publicity’ and the ‘marketing’ of today though publicity may appear to be part of greater marketing. Publicity is a necessary part prior to the film being presented, audience are required to be informed, earlier it was done by way of posters, radio and trailers in Cinema halls and by loudspeakers and even drumbeats and remained within reasonable limits. In present times the ‘ marketing techniques’ are ingenious but deceptive as they hide the truth and weaknesses. All means at hand are exploited , the media is choked and even the news channel are roped in for support. After the wide criticism ‘Kabhi Alvida Na Kahna’ received for promoting adultery it requisitioned Prominent News channel for ‘Panel discussions’ in order to drum support for the film .It is evident from the profile and practice of the perpetrators of marketing that they are influenced only by the promotion of wealth and employ all means and guile to progress it. It is the wealth oriented culture which drives marketing to extreme limits. It is a cruel and cunning culture where ‘merit’ is set aside. Shri Amir Khan has perfected the Art of such marketing and despite his talent he remains so insecure that he applies all means to the fullest. We can be sure of the fact that he is no leader of the downtrodden but a crafty filmmaker with a corporate mind who offers service only for media consumption displaying sympathy for special children and toward Farmers’ cause.

Therefore there should be some norms which should be set by the filmmakers’ associations to restrict the monopoly of the corporate world who have entered the territory of Art and Culture to multiply their wealth . The number of days a film is permitted to promote similar to the code of conduct of ‘Election Commissioner’ should be laid down, also the number of prints and cinema halls be regulated. This will bring healthy competition , protect small and talented and moreover independent cinema makers and will see that that attention is on ‘script’ and not on the ‘shell’.

SONGS OF INTEGRATION

SONGS OF INTEGRATION

After many years I visited Vizag ( Visakhapatnam ) recently. My friends, those who had stayed in that city were in praise of its rapid progress and development. It was hailed as the ‘Goa of the east’ during the NTR era.

As my vehicle moved toward the city from the Airport the Telugu film posters drew my attention and I slipped into the past reminiscing of my tenure in the city in 1983 when large number of ‘Hindi’ cinema was screened and ‘Telugu’ cinema was emerging. People saw Hindi films as probably they had no option. However when I returned to the city in 1989/90 the ‘Telugu’ cinema had taken over along with the NTR wave. Hindi cinema was hardly available and was pushed to the fringes. On this occasion too I noticed that the hoardings of cinema were dominated by Telugu stars. When I explored the city further I noticed that all the advertisements, notices and signboards were either in English or Telugu, Hindi was not traceable nor any film posters were visible, though my driver spoke to me in Hindi. Therefore there was wide spread development and also the regional culture was in upswing along with the Ganesh festival and many pandals were decorated and immersions at the prescribed dates were occurring. One remarkable aspect of Vizag has been its adoption of other cultures. Durga pooja too is celebrated with devotion and zeal befitting the occasion; a culture imbibed from the adjoining states of Orissa and West Bengal. Ganesh, of course popularised by Tilak in Maharashtra and celebrated with gusto has made impact on Telugu culture by the reach of Television.

As is customary a few of my friends invited me to dinner at a prominent sea side Hotel. After some time my host asked me if I was interested in listening to the ‘live music’ by one ‘Babu’, so as not to displease my friend I agreed and we moved to an open space near to the sea in the Hotel premises where Babu ,with a cap on was singing Hindi film songs. His songs were not of recent times but of the sixties and seventies- Hemant Kumar, Mohamad Rafi and Kishore Kumar. He played some of our requests too and the guests seemed to be enjoying themselves including some children, I wondered as to how many of those were ‘Hindi speaking’. The next day the organisers of the conference held a ‘Dinner party’ in another sea side Hotel, there too one ‘David’ was singularly enthralling the guests with his fine selection of Hindi film songs mostly of the ‘Golden era’.

On my return to my Hotel room I was thinking that a fortnight in September is devoted to the promotion of Hindi in Government Offices. The National language is relegated to such a status that it requires such ‘steroids’ for sustenance and even then most participate to register attendance , in real terms it has not helped in usage of the Language.

Real promotion of the ‘Hindustani Zuban’ is being made by the songs of Hindi films specially from the old era when ‘emotion’ was of value. They sure were ‘songs of Integration’ ; of Hearts.

CULTURE AND CINEMA

CULTURE AND CINEMA

Any form of Art be it painting, dance, music or Cinema is rooted to a culture; though it may be an attempt to escape from it. However it does not necessary imply that since it is linked to a culture it lacks universal appeal. Culture remains a backdrop against which it operates. Though ‘Fine Arts’ is a field which has a universal appeal as these are appreciated more through our senses than our mind. Expressions of Art which are conveyed through people as medium are more popular and yet more rooted to a ‘ geographical location’. My reference is to Cinema and Theatre which are more people oriented than the other expressions . These are also collective expressions unlike painting and music which are largely individual . Cultural exchanges among Nations also takes place between popular Art as it involves people.

Understanding and appreciation of Art requires a mind which is free of prejudice as well as suppression. Our generation watched English Cinema and Theatre not only for entertainment but also under the compulsion of the ‘cultural imperialism’ which was the result of colonialism. It is true that we hardly understood the ‘dialogues’ and the setting too was alien to us . Be it the Westerns depicting gunfights in the bars with liquor bottles and furniture breaking whilst the actors muttered something incomprehensible to us , but we posed to have understood and enjoyed it under the colonial burden. The romantic interludes between Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton too was away from our reality though subconsciously we were enamoured of the explicit love making scenes and revealing attire as the same was unavailable amidst our environment . However despite the complexity of our response , we were fascinated by the drama and spectacle and did feel the universal emotion and themes of Roman Holiday, Benhur, The ten Commandments and the many silent movies of Charlie Chaplin era. The conflicts presented in these Cinema were universal and transcended cultural barriers. Over the years owing to the impact of television the urban masses too have been drawn to the Hollywood science fiction , adventure and action thrillers. The flatness of the world has helped in enhancing understanding.

However the purpose of my writing this article was not to explore for justification for invasion of western culture in cinema but to highlight the importance and relevance of ‘culture’ in cinema and how it affects our very appreciation of the medium in general and understanding of performance of characters in particular. Often we rave about performance of great actors such as Marlon Brando, Al Pachino, Robert de Nero, Richard Burton and very many. We participate in animated discussions about their roles and in our zest to emphasise or to make a point we rate them on higher pedestal than our Indian actors. But, is it really true? Or we are according superiority of performance to superiority of technology ? How competent we are to be so assertively declare the western performance paramount ? As said earlier, each performance is rooted to a ‘culture’ which has a geographical and historical context. Therefore those who are familiar with that culture are better equipped to understand and be critical of that performance. However in most cases we are affected by the ‘dominance’ of the alien culture and cover our ignorance or lack of comprehension by according appreciation and offering exaggerated praise. There is undisputed opinion about the greatness of Marlon Brando for his performance in ‘A Street car named desire’, ‘ on the waterfront’, ‘Julies Caesar’ and finally culminating ‘The Godfather’. He underplayed his role ,spoke little, even when oratory was expected such as in his role as Mark Anthony in Julies Caesar but he delivered his speech in a casual manner without much formal trappings of the Roman period. But it appears quite strange for us to be in the forefront of the critical appreciation when our understanding of the mannerism, language, dressing style is limited. We are so blinded by the standards of ‘western acting expressions’ that we tend to overlook our ‘local’ talent as much of it remains unnoticed. We should accord the same seriousness in understanding the acting of our legends such as Moti Lal, Balraj Sahni , Ashok Kumar and others as we do to foreign actors and judge them by our ‘cultural’ standards rather than looking for ‘western’ style in them and feeling unsatisfied.

Ironically in a heterogeneous society of ours the ‘dominant’ or the ‘ruling’ class sets the cultural standards and despite remarkable performances of Artistes depicting rural culture/small town milieu the urban elite sets the parameters of critical appreciation.

END GAME

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END GAME

     As in chess so in life the ‘end game’ matters the most; all is well that ends well ! You may not live well, but must die well! ( in peace! ) The good taste must linger on! The end is indeed important; though few care for it, busy as they are to make the ends meet! The philosophy of beginning, middle and end is applicable to so many aspects of life, in addition to life itself ! In our early days we were taught that an ‘essay’ has three parts: introduction, main body and the conclusion. After initiating the topic it is expected that the core issue will be discussed in the main body and finally in the conclusion the issues discussed are reemphasised to make an impact, the reader is expected to form an opinion on the basis of the complete work , but relies on the last  sentences and its impact.

    In fact ‘the end’ is the sum total of life. Few cases would only be there who have led a steady-straight life, ' copy book' style . Life is like the oceanic tide - 'ebb and flow' ; as the moon phase controls the tides it controls the human life;' waxing and waning'; yet few pass out of the night with ‘full moon’ glowing peacefully. Usually many infirmities and inadequacies strike us as we enter old age; illness of body and mind, lack of love of partner ( companionship)or attention of children and therefore the gains of youth and manhood seem waste. Of what avail is the sweetest fruit if it does not ripen well !Eeven though it may have flowered and taken perfect shape on the most prosperous tree! But if we achieve solace of mind and heart on own or through help the life spent is successful, but then the Indian view on after life gives chance to all those who do not make to the post ! It is not ‘nirvana’ that most seek though, but all wish to board the train to eternity with confirmed booking !!

A few illustrations from the life of the imminent figures of the past should suffice here to clarify my view: Shah Jahan the 17^th century Moghal Emperor was married to the beautiful Mumtaj Mahal ( Arjumand) and sired 14 children; in those times this was one way to show your love! The Empress died in the battle field whilst delivering their last child. In her memory and to convey to the world her beauty and his love of her he built the famous Taj Mahal – the symbol of beauty. He is known to be the biggest builder of that era and Lal Quila, Juma Masjid are credited to him,but he died a broken man as his son Auranzeb captured him and put him in the Agra Fort in caged condition , he died in very old age and for his living he had to teach children ‘Quran’. He was defeated in the ‘end game’. We know the story of King Lear as dramatzsed by Shakespeare: King with three lovely daughters who deceived himself with some bad decisions. Nehru led a life of challenges and glory, he was the man truly loved by the masses. He would have preferred to die in a satisfied manner handing the baton to the generation next; but that was not to be: the Chinese betrayal shattered him , his image also suffered setback and he died a very sad man; the debacle curtailed his life span.

    The aspect of ‘end game’ could  be discerned in the field of literature and Art. Sahir Ludhiyanvi the famous Urdu poet who wrote successfully for films was of known leftist leanings, the people remember him for the last few lines he wrote on Taj “ik Shahenshah ne daulat ka sahara lekar hum garibon ki mohabbat ka uraya hai mazak” (The emperor has mocked on the poor on the strength of his wealth). The famous American Poet Robert Frost is known from the last four lines of his poem ‘Stopping by the woods on a snowy evening’:

"The woods are lovely dark and deep

But I have promises to keep,

And miles to go before I sleep

And miles to go before I sleep".

     Cinema is the place where this theory is well defined. Many a famous Director fail at the end ; so often we have witnessed the audience walking out of the cinema as the film  reaches the climax. The ending has a tremendous impact on the feedback which is given by the audience and often decides the fate of the film at Box office. Directors ‘unfold’ the plot well but when the time comes to ‘fold’ the plot and reach the end they falter , in most cases it is evident that the script is weak and not much attention is given to the foundation and therefore they reap what they have sown. Imminent filmmakers such as Raj Kapoor, Bimal Roy, Mehboob Khan,  Guru Dutt ,Vijay Anand balanced the plot in such a manner that the end was uplifting, the audience experienced catharsis ( purgation of emotion). The last scene of ‘Pyasa’ where Guru Dutt denounces the world and the flimsy fame and walks into the sunset  holding the hand of Waheeda Rehman is imprinted in the minds of the public; that is the way we would like to retreat to our cocoon with our loved one , far from the material world. The ending of ‘Guide’ as filmed by Vijay Anand is different from the book; the book shows that ‘Raju Guide’ dies in the end after many days of fasting for the rains but in the film it finally rains on the hills and the villagers are overjoyed as Raju passes away . This ending is very rejuvenating as it depicts that Raju has finally purified himself, sort of redeemed himself and the effect is tremendous.

   The end of Mahabharata the longest epic poem is with the Pandavas handing over their kingdom to Parikshit the son of Abhimanu and proceeding to the Himalayas to die one after the other, only the truthful Yudhisthir the eldest of them is sent a chariot to be taken to the higher abode. After achieving name , fame , glory, kingdom and victory in the war of ‘principles’ and restoring their honour it was the most appropriate ‘end’ for the Pandavas as well as for the poem; in harmony with the theory of renunciation and temporariness of material happiness. It remains the bestseller to this day.

   The Indian concept of the four phases of life- brahmacharya( student age), grihasta ( married life), vanprastha( life in forest) and sanyas( renunciation) teach us to lead a balanced and satisfactory life giving adequate attention and emphasis to each phase . Hardly few attain the concept envisaged by our sages. Though even in such times their seems hope of turnaround.

   Life will end one day. But the day must end peacefully as we recede into the night to attend to another day, and each day will count to make our ‘end game’!!

SHAILENDRA SAHIR SHAKEEL

SHAILENDRA - SAAHIR - SHAKEEL


My grudge is that our ‘Geetkars’ have not received that respect and recognition which they deserve by the nation who have regaled to their songs generation after generation.
Shailendra, Saahir Ludhiyanvi and Shakeel Badayuni were not only ‘geetkaars’ of hindi cinema who reigned the cinema scene from forties to early seventies ( though Sahir made songs till early eighties) but were true poets of superior standard. Their poetry has withstood the test of time as when we listen to them we not only acknowledge their poetic depth but are saddened with the standards of present times where there is only ‘sound’ but no ‘soul’.
Shakespeare wrote his plays hurriedly borrowing from the various Italian stories and history to meet the deadlines of the theatre owners. In many instances the play was performed the very day or next. It is to the credit of that genius that we do not notice any casualness in his work and today it is the foundation of English Literature and the Bard’s relevance to English speaking culture is the same as what Mahabharat and Ramayan are to Indian culture. But, whilst he was writing those plays he could have never imagined that his works would conquer many continents. After all who decides if a person deserves to be categorised as an artist/poet or a mere craftsman/geetkaar? It is the public ( Aawaam) , the people the masses who saw and heard Shakespeare made him a legend. Similarly our ‘geetkars’ ( lyricists who have given so much of joy and emotional tonic to the people that they deserve a higher status.

In my assessment the poets( Shayers/geetkaars) who wrote for Cinema in the 40s/50s/60s were of high calibre and their talent was even superior to that of many film makers for whom they composed songs. We are fortunate that they were compelled to write for cinema in order to survive economically otherwise we would have been deprived of ‘poetry’ of ‘high seriousness’. Cannot we make out from the songs that are played on TV sometimes that the visual display does not match the audio creation. The words used are very simple of everyday usage so that the common man could understand and relate to them. The vast movie goers also understood the ‘subtext’ of such songs as they had experienced it all, suffered depravity, poverty, rejection etc.

Shailendra started his career with Raj Kapoor’s ‘Barssat’ and thereafter never looked back. During his lifetime he was rated the best. He formed a formidable team with Raj Kapoor, Shankar Jaikishen, Hasrat Jaipuri,Lata Mangeshkar and Mukesh. Apart from the R K Banner he gave memorable songs with S D Burman and Salil Chaudhary for Dev Anand ,Bimal Roy films. Who can ever forget the music of Barsaat, Awaara, Shree 420, Sangam, Jis Desh Mein Ganga Behti Hai, Teesri Kasam, Anari, Madhumati, Bandini , Parakh, Guide, Kala Bazaar ……. The list is endless. I will not dwell here on the songs he wrote for that will require a separate dedicated space but it is sufficient to mention that the lyrics he wrote formed an integral part of the film.His songs added character to the film--- what is ‘Guide’ without “ gata rahe mera dil…”? Can we think of ‘Sangam’ without “ dost dost na raha” ? or ‘Madhumati’ without “ suhana safar ye mausam hansi..”, ‘Teesri Kasam’ devoid of “ sajan re jhoot mat bolo”?. The inherent simplicity with depth of meaning is the most endearing quality of his songs.
I wonder as what was the status of our ‘Bhakti’ poets during their lifetime? Tulsidas, Kabir, Rahim, Surdas,Raskhan, Tukaram etc because they created in popular voice and not in the language of the ruling class. They have been made famous not by the imminent scholars of Universities or by the ruling class of that era but by the common folks to whom they have provided spiritual sustenance; a source of survival! Deep in the Indian villages in ‘choupals’ such poets are remembered for they wrote for the masses. Are Shailendra-Sahir- Shakeel less important in their literary substance to Sumitra Nandan Pant, Mahadevi Verma, Harvansh Rai Bachhan or Maithalisharan Gupt? I do not think so . Or their folly for writing for films is so unpardonable that they will be denied their true status?
. Sahir could be categorised as a revolutionary poet. He used words which few could imagine or had courage to write at that time—‘Aurat ne janam diya mardon ko mardon ne uce bazaar diya’( Sadhna), ‘ye mahlon ye thakton ye tazon ki duniya’( Pyasa). His poetry appealed particularly to the youth who were frustrated with the unemployment post independence and the failure of the leaders who had promised a progressive India. Sahir’s romantic poetry is as famous and appealing as his songs on social subjects ,and his language was the fine balance between Hindi and Urdu- a true Hindustani ‘zuban’ . He was a very successful ‘geetkaar’ and produced many immortal songs with ‘Roshan’ ( Chitrelekha, Taj Mahal, Barsaat ki Raat ), ‘Ravi’( Sadhna, Waqt, Gumrah, Hamraaj), ‘Khayyam’( Kabhi Kabhi, Woh Subha Kabhi To Ayegi) and with Sachin Dev Burman (Jaal, Devdas, Munimji ,House no 44,Taxi Driver,Pyasa, Baazi)and even his son R D Burman( Aa gale lagja). Nav Ketan films of Dev Anand should be indebted to him for providing immortality to their music—
‘ jayen to jayen kahan samjhe ga kaun yahan ( Taxi Driver), ‘dukhi man mere sun mera kahna jahan nahi chaina wahan nahi rehna’ ( Funtoosh), ‘tadbir se bigdi hui taqdeer bana je kismet me bharosa ha to ye dav laga le ( Baazi) ‘ mein zindagi ka saath nibha ta chala gaya har fikr ko dhuan me ura ta chala gaya’ ( Hum Dono). However he composed lyrics for most of the films of B R Chopra and fo Yash Chopra right upto ‘Kala Patthar’, though he touched his peak with Guru Dutt’s ‘Pyasa’ in which Guru Dutt himself played the role of poet ‘Vijay’.His romantic songs are rated as one of the finest and are hummed even to this day—‘ abhi na jao chod kar ke dil abhi bhara nahin’ ( Hum Dono), ‘jane kya tune kahi jane kya maine kahi bat kuch ban hi gayi’ ( Pyasa),’’ mere dil mein aaj kya hei tu kahe to mein bata dun’( Daag),’chalo ik bar phir se ajnabi ban jayen hum dono’( Gumrah), ‘aye meri zohrazanbi tujhe maloom nahin tu abhi tak he hansi aur mein jawan’( Waqt ), ‘zindagi bhar nahi bhulegi ye barsaat ki raa( Barsaat ki raat). Sahir’s lyrics fo Kedar Sharma’s ‘Chitrelekha’ and in particular the Rafi song ‘ man re tu kahi na dhir dhare o nirmohi moh na jane jin ka moh kare’ stands tallest among songs of all eras probably a notch higher than his more popular philosophical song ‘mein zindagi saath nibha ta chala gaya har fikr ko dhuen me ura ta chala gaya’ of ‘Humdono’. Some of the very good songs of Sahir would have been even more popular had they been sung by Rafi instead of Mahendra Kapoor who was regular with Ravi , but an ordinary singer
Shakeel did most of his work with with Naushad, it is ironical that he received the three filmfare awards for songs composed with Ravi ‘ Bharonsa’ and ‘chaudhivin ka chand’ and Hemant Kumar composed ‘kahin deep jale kahin dil’ for ‘bees saal baad’. His poetry has more urdu words but he was at ease with the rural tongue and created compositions for ‘Baiju bawra’, ‘Mother India’ and ‘Ganga Jamuna’ which were soaked in rural soil. It is to his credit that he provided lyrics to wide ranging themes --a historical ‘Mugal e-azam’ a romantic film such as ‘Mera Mehboob’, a typical eastern UP song for ‘Ganga Jamuna’- ‘nein lar jahiyen to manwa ma khatak hoebe kari’. The depth of his understanding of Hindustani culture, knowledge of various north Indian dialects such as Awadhi, Bhojpuri and Braj could be ascertained from the songs he wrote relating to Hindu mythology and ethos to which the masses connect: ‘mohe panghat pen and lal ched gayo re’- ‘Mughal-e-azam’, ‘tu ganga ki mauj mein jamuna ka dhara ho rahega milan’-‘ Baiju Bawra’,’man tadpat hari darshan ko aaj’- ‘Biju Bawra’ are some examples. I think he was as good as Sahir in his love songs epitomized in ‘Mere Mehboob’- ‘mere mehboob tuzhe meri mohabbat ki kasam’ and longing for love ‘koi door se awaaz de chale aao’, from ‘Sahib Bivi aur Ghulam’ and finally the song which will never be forgotten as long as there exists women and beauty—‘Chaudhivin ka chand ho ya aftab ho job hi ho khuda ki kasam la jawab ho’.
It is not the elite ruling class who accord status of ‘poet’ to a person, but it is the people in the streets in a democracy, who do not even need literacy certificate to understand and enjoy the sound of music created by these poets. We need not conduct any opinion poll for we can fathom the popularity of such poets from far as their songs and sounds are heard in the nook and corner of our cities, towns and even villages. Their songs supply love songs to young and old alike and remain submerged in our consciousness even if we forget the film. The ‘Antakshari’ programme is testimony to their popularity, and perhaps the only original Indian live tv programme
It is my firm belief that very soon the poetry of Shailendra-Sahir-Shakeel will be taught in colleges and Universities imparting lessons on Indian Cinema. Their status as ‘Poets’ of serious stuff will soar and they will attain what they deserved , even though posthumously

IN WHOSE HONOUR?

IN WHOSE HONOUR ?

This week ‘Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge’ will complete 800 weeks run at Maratha Mandir Cinema hall at Mumbai, it is a record for a hindi film in India. The story if we recollect is of ‘Raj’ and ‘Simran’ who meet during a European tour, initially dislike each other but fall in love. Simran’s traditional father wants her to marry the boy of his choice in India ( Punjab) and returns to his roots leaving his well established business in London. Raj follows her to India and despite the stiff opposition from her father wins her. The movie is a benchmark in the love stories genre . The present generation seems to relate to it in the same manner as our generation related to ‘Bobby’ in the seventies.
The reality is that in Democratic India ‘Honour Killings’ are on the rise. In last one year 326 ‘ honour killings’ have been reported , out of these 72% are related to couples who married outside their ‘caste’ , ‘community’. As the Nation prepares to counter the economic conflicts which the liberalization has created we are caught unaware with the ‘social churning’ stimulated by the internet, television and to an extent by ‘economic independence’ . The freedom of interaction and communication which exists has given new confidence to the new generation and by taking their own decision they are not only questioning the old values but are in fact undermining the existing ‘Authority’ of family and Village elders. But then the insecurity of parents and village elders is to such an extent that they feel no guilt or remorse in killing their kith and kin?
Democracy is dynamic , as it moves forward the established practices will be challenged. We have seen it in case of poll reforms, code of conduct etc where it was inconceivable to think that booth capturing, criminal record of candidates will ever be controlled, but gradually the things have changed. Similarly the society will have to accept this change that the young will not only think independently but will ‘feel’ independently too. The false sense of honour will have to shed, though parents will have their own plans and recommendations and in the matter of marriage even the most revered leaders have faulted , not many of us know that Pandit Nehru was not in favour of his daughter Indira marrying a Parsi Firoj Gandhi, he had desired that she should marry Mohan Kumar Manglam a promising left oriented leader, he even persuaded Bapu to influence Indira to change her mind. It is known that Bapu also counselled her but she was adamant. Therefore difference of understanding/ opinion/interest will always remain but a civilised society reacts differently. They do not kill or consider such steps as an affront to their honour. There may be break in relationship, complete distance from each other, removal from share of property but all within the socially accepted behaviour.
The visible social change is a healthy sign of a confident generation who intend to carve their own destiny even at the peril to their lives .

RELEGATED RURAL INDIA

RELEGATED RURAL INDIA

I am stating the obvious and my observations are mere reiterations of the existing facts on the plight of rural India. We should be aware that still about 70% of India dwells in villages, the rural India as we refer to it. It also provides the food grain to the entire nation, if it slips we feel the effect. Though it should have equal share in the prosperity of the nation , but we have sidelined it to a sorry state. Farmers committing suicide was unheard of earlier despite the overall poor economy, because the poverty was not so sharp and was spread over the rural-urban areas alike . The farmers were not tempted to seek short term gains. Women and children suffering from malnutrition is the highest in rural India. They work the most and eat the least, such is the anomaly of liberalization. The stories of Munshi Premchandra depicting the rural India have not changed much, the mass of humanity is the same, though certain fruits of telecommunication, computerization are visible but fundamentals are still weak.
The urban picture specially in Metros tells a different tale; it is so ironical. My wife drew my attention to a weekly report of an ‘obese’ executive in a city Tabloid it carried the trials and tribulation of the man who was about 100kg and gradually reduced the weight to 80 kgs in six months time; though in itself the effort is noticeable, but when we compare the same with the consumption levels in villages where large number of people still starve on a regular basis and here we are in safe urban haven overfed to such an extent that ‘weight reduction’ is an industry in it self. News papers and magazines employ experts who comment daily on weight and health ideas. The best of hospitals, education and living is provided in urban areas. The gulf is unlikely to reduce in near future. The dream of Mahatma Gandhi to have a village Republic will remain on paper. Food security schemes, various rural employment schemes will be mere crumbs which will not change their lot. But; our exploitation will continue in the field of Dams and mining and poaching. Is it not tragic that the people of Tehri where the infamous Dam was constructed to generate electricity and channelize water on the river Bhagirthi receive only about 5 ltrs water per head whereas the people of Delhi receive more than 20ltrs.

Moreover the corporate march continues toward the rural areas. The creation of SEZ have provided a new asset in the corporate kitty for those who were not short of funds—land. Land acquisitions are rampant and the gullible farmers are selling their ancestral assets at astronomical price but forsaking their ‘ roots’. The downfall of our principles is to such an extent that there is plea of imminent lawyer Fali Nariman inSupreme Court that the word ‘Socialism’ should be deleted from our Constitution as the Government in last 20 years has veered away from the path of socialism by decontrolling the economy and now the market forces are more dominant and determine the trends and set the pace. He , therefore stated that the political parties need not be compelled to swear by the constitution as they will not be able to adhere to its Aims. The plea was rejected on the grounds that it is the political parties who should raise objection! That day may well be near and would indeed be the last nail on the coffin of ideals of our founding fathers. But; I am sure some worthy lawyer will raise the issue of not tampering with basic ‘structure of the constitution!’
There was a Prime minister who was sadly at helm for a short while. His slogan was “ Jai Jawan- Jai Kisan” implying that the farmer will provide and the soldier will protect. The ground reality has not changed for if the farmers will not provide the production and economy will crumble and even the soldier will not have the means to protect. But; the illusion of market economy and the culture which it has unleashed is seducing and restraining the people to adopt the right path . The farmers continue to suffer.

SPARE THE CHILD

SPARE THE CHILD

Should the children be physically beaten in schools or not is in debate these days. Sparked by the news of a 13 year old boy of La Martiniere college , Kolkata who on being beaten by his teacher and mentally tortured thereafter committed suicide. Shockingly what emerges is the aloof and insensitive stance of the school management. Though ‘corporal’ punishment is banned in India it is practised widely. As is normally the case such atrocities get highlighted when it affects the urban rich. Poor rural India suffers such tragedies perennially but the matter never gets reported nor resolved. We are not even aware as to how the teachers treat children and young students in far flung areas in rural India where the Diktat of the ‘Masterji’ runs supreme. Many schools have only one teacher who teaches all subjects to all the primary classes and caning , abusing and physical assault is a routine to maintain discipline. Much of it emanates from the misuse of power . As we say the future of the child is in the hands of the teacher , but this authority cannot be handled by many , specially in areas where the supervision is non existent on teachers. Children do complain to the parents but the parents too are socially downtrodden and hence hesitant to approach for justice . In some cases the parents are willing to tolerate such atrocities if it ensures their child’s future . Children therefore continue to suffer.

The ‘violence’ need not necessarily be physical it could be ‘verbal’ and therefore mental. I remember my son studying in class 1 in Mumbai, when often I waited outside the class in order to take him back home, I found him quietly sitting in his chair. The teacher was all praise for his behaviour . It was later I learnt that students were terror stricken of her and so remained quiet as she would not only smother any whisper but not hesitate to beat the children. My son therefore withdrew himself for a while. There was this another teacher by the name ‘Gayatri’ who in order to punish my daughter who was slow in writing would make her sit on the floor. This had such an ill affect on my child that she lost her appetite for more than three months. I had to confront the teacher requesting her to dilute her novel disciplining techniques. I ; as a parent have been voicing my opposition to any kind of violence on children. At various Schools the issue was raised by me during the Annual parent teacher meet and conveyed that corporal treatment is no means to apply on children. Once a hindi teacher slapped my daughter for some minor error. The next day I confronted the teacher, though she denied having slapped; thereafter she treated my daughter with care. There was this famous Mrs Kashyap at a Convent School in Mumbai who was full of self praise for making children mentally stronger by shouting and screaming at them. In my opinion she was a poor teacher but the school management had taken favour from her and therefore she was their favourite. Once when I noticed my daughter reluctant to go to school fearing fearful treatment from Mrs Kashyap I met her and communicated my opinion on verbal and mental violence on children.
Children in my opinion should study in free and fearless environment . Few schools practice such principles in letter and spirit . The issue is that teachers are employed from the wide cross section of Indian society where teaching is considered as a means to mere employment and the nobility of the profession is never emphasised . Many of our children have battered childhood at home which gets extended to school. The memory of Charles Dicken’s novel Nicholas Nickleby are revived where in the story in a scene which is the turning point of the novel Nicholas snatches the whip from the hands of the cruel master who is whipping a boy , he then whips the master much to our delight. Situation in many parts of India may not be much dissimilar to the times of Dickens, when the poor were not only ill treated but humiliated to the point of torture.


Many of my own school teachers at St Joseph Dehradun and later Allahabad were famous for hitting children. Some names are unforgettable; Mr Thapa the well dressed hindi teacher was famous for slapping even the senior boys occasionally. Though Hindi teachers are not much feared in English medium schools Mr Tripathi did not spare any case of indiscipline. During my time despite a case of caning pending in court our Head master Father A G Rego continued with his missionary zeal. It was said that he had mercilessly caned one student and his father had initiated legal action. I remember that Father Rego did consult my father who was then a lawyer at the High Court. This aberration of father Rego was condoned by students as he was an educationist of high order and had published books on English language which were held in high esteem by students past and present. I too was caned at least on two occasions by Father Rego for having failed in class tests . The caning was on hands—Father would firmly hold the right hand palm with his left hand and and carry out execution from his right hand. It was a quick fire action and we were left nursing our pain for long in addition to the humiliation of having failed. Mr Benedict was our class teacher in class viith who was known for cold blooded tight slaps he seemed to enjoy it and would bring his victim closer by pulling him prior to the act. Soon he got married and we learnt that his wife could not tolerate the physical abuse and left him. Mr More my class teacher of class vith of Anglo Indian descent , once thrashed me for not being attentive during the assembly when the prayer was being said. Though later we met cordially on many occasions I have neither forgiven nor forgotten him because I felt that he was not fair, there was no need to hit me , he could have just scolded me . All these caning and slapping leave a mark on the mental health of children and affects them adversely in life. Disciplining children may appear to be an impossible task and teachers may find physical threat as the easiest option but we have to teach our teachers in handling situations in an innovative and subtle manner.


Parents therefore can play an active role to restrain corporal punishment but the huge gap in social and economic levels restricts us. Rousseau , Tagore and Wordsworth recommended free and fearless environment for children. That may be a utopian concept but certainly we can adopt some of their principles. Tagore and Wordsworth practiced what they preached.

THICK SKINNED SIDDHARTH

THICK SKINNED SIDDHARTH

The opposition to corporal punishment is raging, after the fatal death of a young student who was caned and humiliated by the staff of the prestigious La Martinier college, Kolkata. The ‘Outlook’ weekly magazine has covered the menace of corporal punishment as a lead story and also carried out a survey on the subject seeking opinion of the parents as well. In order to make the publication interesting with varied opinions the views of Mr Siddharth Shankar Ray were also taken. As we know that he was a famous barrister who has been the Chief Minister of West Bengal, Governor of the Punjab , Ambassador to U S A and Cabinet Minister at centre. Probably his views were obtained as he too is a resident of Kolkata where the tragedy occurred and was educated in similar school. He seemed not much affected by it and narrated his days in St Xavier’s Kolkata when he was caned on many occasions for being late. He also mentioned that the late Jyoti Basu too studied in the same school as he and he too was subjected to caning. He looked back to those days with fondness and accepted that such treatment never affected him.

The caning and corporal treatment may not apparently bother Shri Ray at this juncture, but he is known to be a tough politician who carried out counter attack on Naxalites in early seventies as Chief Minister of the State. Based on his success in quelling the naxal threat he was sent to Punjab to restrain the terrorist movement in the state in the eighties. He was also among the coterie which imposed emergency and the repression which followed it. History will therefore look at Ray as someone who was insensitive and hard on people. Could it be the caning in school which made him so ‘thick – skinned’?

SHE LOOKS OUT

SHE LOOKS OUT

She stood out there on the curving road against the Mahim-Worli skyline looking beyond the bay resting on the rails, motorcycle parked a few feet away talking to her husband ( or may be her friend ). She made an immediate impression on me, though I could hardly see her face what marked her was her ‘burkha’ clad attire. She was not alone as there was another with her child and husband watching the waves move up and down the bay. It seemed in her presence she had set aside all the stereotypes the society possessed of her. She was known to be secluded from the society ; and was expected to step out for necessities and hardly for recreation. Her desire for fun and joy was to be satiated within the four walls of her household. But; here she was witness to the wide eyed passerby delightfully speeding toward the sea link.
She must have ventured out in such a manner on many occasions leaving her home from the routine of T V programmes and fixedness of domestic life to watch the waves, the sea the bridge and the sun. The sea link approach road has recently acquired prominence with large number of couples seeking solitude and calm sitting on the rails looking bayward. A new perspective has been provided to the young and restless in addition to marine drive and worli sea face. What is distinct about this place is that it is not crowded. The vehicles move at a distance and the couples can have their peace and silence in the Mumbai metropolis. There is certainly some secular representation on the sea side in the visitation of so many ‘burkha’ clad women. The joy which she shares with other women has a common emotion , an unseen thread of camaraderie connects them. Being close to nature the secular symbol of God!!
The ‘burkha’ has been in much debate and controversy in recent times. At one end is the French initiation of ban on its wearing as they claim it to be a symbol of ‘backwardness’. The other extreme is in Iran where recently according to a newspaper report about 62,000 women were fined for being ‘badly veiled’, there seems to be policy of crackdown on even slight expression of freedom among women in that state. In India she seems to have adopted it of her free will, accepted it as part of her religious identity, with some moments of liberty such as these when she can lift her veil and watch the waves on the bay.
So let it be her decision to adopt or to abandon. For us it is good enough to admire her stance as she rests on the rails and watches the ebb and flow of sea.

TEMPLE ON THE COAST

TEMPLE ON THE COAST


Sea link has gained to be an international landmark in the Mumbai skyline. It has also enhanced the prominence of suburbs and more particularly the Mahim bay. Mumbai will no more be identified by the Gateway of India and the marine drive –the colonial legacy. The addition of sea link which offers a panoramic view of Worli sea face and area around has diluted the importance of the other ‘city’ landmarks. Many visitors look forward to driving in/out of sealink in order to experience the thrill of moving above the sea and watching the skyline and the promising bay which has been created.

Most of us whilst speeding in our cars ( two wheelers are not permitted) look up only toward the tall towers but if we slightly depress our angle of sight we will witness sprawling hutments of worli sea face . Image makers may make face and pass remarks on the ugliness of the sight but that is the truth. It keeps reminding us that the select few who have sped ahead have done so at the cost of the people in the poor hutments who are the true inheritors of the worli village and the sea face. The capitalist intruders will soon swallow the remnants of their existence. Who will protect them?

On a careful look there stands a small fort probably it is the Worli Fort ( Worli I think was one among the original 7 islands of Bombay). What role that Fort played in history is not known, may be it is just symbolic, though behind the remnants of Worli village a Naval establishment looks toward the sea and during the British time its guns protected the harbour from enemy aggression. But the question is that who will protect the people and their temporary/semi-permanent residents from the might and greed of builders.

Perhaps that small temple which is so distinct among the hutments making a mark with its bright orange/pink colour, the flag fluttering atop.

When the citizens have no hope from the State they rely on such symbols of protection and solidarity and that is why among such areas we see flowering of religious structures. For secularism to flourish the poor and unprotected must be secured by the firm power of the State so that they do not have to seek recourse to powers beyond. Religion should play role only for spiritual enlightenment and be a personal matter and not a symbol of public posturing.

THE CRY OF CUCKOO


The cuckoo commences its call by 20th of march at Mumbai. I have been observing this sound since years amusingly as my birthday falls on that day. I am not sure if it is to herald the spring or the approaching summer or to announce the mango flowering and ripening thereafter or an advance notice, invitation or caution of the monsoons but there is melody and distinct pain in her call. I understand that she calls to invite the male cuckoo for mating. Though it sings in spring the call can be heard even in early june
when the first showers of monsoons reach Mumbai. During my early student days I always connected cuckoo to summer and mangoes after having heard a classical song in raag ‘malkaus’ during School Annual day function – “ koyaliya bole amuva ki daar par.”

In Kochi I was alarmed to hear the cuckoo almost through the year as the mangoes are available on trees much prior and beyond the standard summer months. Could it be the mango which motivates the cuckoo to sing? And mangoes do appear by end march/ early april and keep us company till the middle of monsoon. Hapus arrives first being the King followed by baiganphali of Andhra, kesar , langra, dusheri and culminating with the naughty chaunsa.

Strange it may appear I observe that the cuckoo- mango-monsoon have a link to the character and personality of us Indians. ‘Wait’ ( intezar) is the first emotion which the above process generates followed by ‘exasperation’, ‘hope’, ‘arrival’, ‘rejoicing’, ‘celebration’, ‘separation’ , ‘disappointment’. Like the twist in monsoon tale which sometimes approaches but retreats or withers our emotional cycle too behaves similarly. Mangoes rejuvenate wavering health, so do the monsoon. Therefore the emotional quotient of Indians is heavily hinged on cuckoo-mango- and monsoon. Year after year the wait and embrace makes our emotional system superior to the logical mind system, it also explains our variety of cultural expressions during the monsoon months. In addition to reviving our economy the monsoon-mango and cuckoo give us emotional therapy to sustain for a year.

LAL QUILA

LAL QUILA

I had promised myself that in my next visit to Delhi I will not only visit Lal Quila but other historical places as well which in the past I had admired from distance. So on the International Labours’ day I was out at 0730 am . First stop was at the Tomb of Safdarjang where the colour of spring was in the air with the approaching summer , birds ,leaves and flowers were all very expressive. It was calm around the tomb the only other visitor was quickly clicking photographs probably to complete a pending schedule . Built with red sandstone and marble it is known to be one of the last architecture piece of the Mughal era. And indeed it is last as it reflects the Empire in wane , the class seems to be on decline and it represents dying efforts of a slain warrior.

The next was the visit to the Tomb of Humayun which his widow had built as a tribute. It is part of the World Heritage site. Some experts rate it as one of the finest Tombs; a precursor to Taj ! Built in the 16th century with marble and sandstone it has many graves and is known as the dormitory of the mughals . More than the beauty the aesthetic of geometry is catching. Well spread structures with large spaces left on each side depicts that it was well thought and executed first on paper and then on ground.

My next visit was to the Mazar of Nizamuddin Aulia and Amir Khusrow at Nizamuddin. It was a sad picture of neglect and decay as the narrow lanes with Butchers busy mincing and slicing the sanctity and spirituality of the place. I did have my darshan but the pressure of the host of mediators seeking alms was an irritant. In India both Hindus and Muslim religious centres suffer from such deficiencies. There is ‘Mazar of Ghalib’ which was under beautification by the Ghalib Academy and therefore put under lock and key. I wondered what the ‘Greats’ resting in honour and peace ! would have felt and said on the pitiable state of humanity surrounding their remains.

There was a long queue at Lal Quila as I lined up to purchase the entry ticket. It is surprisingly sensible of the tourism department to open all Historical places of intertest in capital from sunrise to sunset. The ‘May Day’ heat was strong and I was protecting my head with a wet handkerchief and there I met an old man wearing a bright pink turban he had come from Aurangabad ( Maharashtra ) in the summer heat to visit the capital . There was also a long line of probably Gujrati women being led by a vocal lady passing instructions. I asked the sentry near the ticket window if the visitors strength is the same round the year, he said that ‘ Lal Quila ‘ attracts visitors throughout the year but the months of may-jun and oct have more visitors than the other months. Vacation in schools and preference of visitors for summer than winters could be the reason.

I wondered if the queue at ‘Lal quila’ remains the same the Indian democracy and faith in secularism will be retained. It is not in temples, churches and mosques that the strength of Indian people resides but it dwells in the secular structures of our past and present which inspires Indians of all castes, class and religion to ‘queue’ and register their solidarity with modern democracy.

GOODBYE COMRADE !

The Chinese have instructed their conductors, drivers and those interacting with the tourists to abandon the usage of addressing tourists as ‘comrades’ and instead use addresses such as ‘sir’ and ‘madam’. Amusing and interesting it is to learn that how far nations have progressed ! in the matters of marketing. They have stooped to subservience in order to achieve economic prosperity. It is known that only the façade of communism exists there otherwise the regime is immersed in capitalism. The comrade culture was but for name sake, but that too matters. With the introduction of ‘sir’ system the last traces of communism too have been drained down.

The shift of stance by the Chinese authorities have prompted me to ponder over the genesis of the two words popular among the opposing ideologies. The ‘sir’ word originated from the French word sire (messire) , however it became famous as the ‘knights’ were addressed as ‘Sir’. The tradition and practice is still prevalent and to this day the ‘Queen’ of England accords title of ‘Knight’ on the citizens of the British commonwealth and the gentlemen Knighted are officially addressed as ‘Sir’. Over the years the sound and power of the word engulfed the disciplined services , bureaucracy , the arena of education and now the corporate world . However, in metros even the ‘proletariat’ address their superiors and peers as ‘sirji’ in jest. It remains an expression of acceptance of subordination. In our subcontinent it has replaced vernacular expressions such as ‘huzur’, ‘janab’ ‘sahab’ and socially people prefer to be prefixed as ‘Sir’ rather than be approached with other Indian feudal salutations. The fact is that if today we cease the usage of the colonial legacy and adopt our previous forms of addresses it will be construed as insubordination and effrontery of the highest order.

The creation of ‘Comrade ‘ is under more romantic circumstances as it gained currency during the ‘French Revolution’ though the origin is Spanish from the ‘camarada’. The English adopted in late 19th century. It is indeed more democratic as treats the person being addressed as equal as it replaced the word ‘mister’. The socialist and communists societies adopted it wholeheartedly and over the years it is identified with the left leaning people but it brought a dramatic change in the society and is associated to those days when revolutionary zeal was alive and spreading. What gives extra strength to the word is that it is unisex and does not distinguish the genders. I remember during our student age one felt elated when addressed as comrade. Notwithstanding its association with the left it is a ‘feel good’ word and spreads goodness owing to its path breaking origins and linked to those who have made sacrifices for society.

Therefore , the surrender of once robust exterior and embarking on the path of submissiveness is not a healthy sign for any society as it will have far reaching consequences difficult to fully calculate at this point. The rural based revolution made them a front line nation and comrades have given confidence to the vast community but ‘sir ‘ will surrender the gains of so many years . The once ‘opium addict’ people have been seduced afresh!

THE SACRED CORNER

THE SACRED CORNER

With age and experience, observation and assimilation we consider certain Artistes, writers, leaders as close to our own ideology. In fact; our own ideology to a large extent is influenced by these people, whom we consider as our own almost sacred. In the sense that we refer to them from time to time, verify our opinions and defend their ideas and actions in our social discussions and debates often at the cost of annoying our colleagues and friends, sometimes even the family members. They in fact remain in one corner of our consciousness , well guarded by us as our back-up support for sustenance and survival.

There are many of them; whom I have idolised over the years, but at this point I will discuss only Munshi Premchand. Only yesterday I was reading his most famous short story ‘Idgah ‘, which tells the story of a four year old boy Hamid who spends the only three paise he had for iid celebration to purchase a ‘chimta’ ( metal tong ) for his grandmother ‘Amina’ to ensure her hands and fingers remain safe from fire while making chappatis , whilst his other friends purchase expensive toys he sacrifices his desires and even defends bravely his purchase.The grandmother is so moved by his gesture that she weeps uncontrollably showering blessings on the lad thus becoming childlike in front of the young boy who for that moment becomes her guardian. It is poignant story, which is one of the best and representative work of Premchand. Innocence of childhood, child psychology, games children play! The atmosphere during iid, the village setup all are depicted so minutely and accurately in the short story of 7-8 pages.

Prem chand was a keen observer of Society. He wrote for the victims of socio-economic oppression, well the entire nation was oppressed under the British regime but his heart was with the poor. Though he was a graduate he had modest and humble upbringing his father being a clerk in the postmaster office. He learnt Persian under the tutorship of the village Moulvi and along with Persian learnt Urdu too. However Persian was his pet subject and was with him till B. A. Love of reading he imbibed from urdu novels from the village Bookshop with whom he worked part time in turn was able to get books on loan. Rest he imbibed by direct observation of society. No great human influences other than his mother whom he lost as a young boy were in his life. No influential politician or religious or social reformer carved his ideas. Gandhi made a big impact on him but that influence was on the entire Nation. He was man of the masses and remained one till last. The greatest happenings in his life were his writings consisting of stories , novels and writings in newspapers which he edited from time to time.

I return to him regularly to refresh and rejuvenate myself. Each of his story is material for research on subjects such as sociology and literature. Like Pundits who dissect and narrate ramcharitramanas and similar literature with detail analysis investing hours on each word and line and chowpai Premchand too deserves that attention. Some puritans may propagate that literature should be appreciated as literature and should not sermonise, however traditional Indian literature has always sermonised. Sermonising if precise and accurate is indeed pleasing, it should not be superfluous. Premchand is measured and precise in his preaching and therefore endearing.
A story such as Idgah is not merely literature but history, economics, psychology and much more. Such is the greatness of Premchand who resides in my sacred corner; secured.

SACRIFICE AND NATION - A CASE OF PREMCHAND

SACRIFICE AND NATION- A CASE OF PREMCHAND

Premchand died in 1936 at the age of 56. He left an indelible mark in the field of literature. Though he wrote in Hindustani his works are translated in all the major Indian Indian languages and many other languages of the world. He wrote about 300 short stories and 14 long and short novels.

He is still widely read and quoted. His stories are reflection of his humanism and concern for the downtrodden. Yet, his language and observations are so interesting that readers remain captivated. In the present times his underlying secularism in his stories make them relevant for our present generation and generations after. A Dramatic group in Mumbai only enacts Drama based on stories of Premchand.

Here, I do not wish to narrate his life story but narrate only one important incident of his life. We are all aware that all his life he lived in economic scarcity, after completing Matriculation he could not get admission in Intermediate ( though he passed B. A. later ) however he secured a job of a Teacher in Chunar near Benaras. This job he held for 21 years as he was unable to sustain on only his writings and had to seek regular employment all his life; he could never afford the luxury of leasure.

In 1921 Gandhiji visited Gorakhpur where Premchand was posted as a teacher. Gandhi gave call to the nation for non cooperation , he urged those holding Government jobs to resign. Premchand was deeply motivated to plunge into the movement but had a pregnant wife and two growing children to support. He consulted his wife Shivrani, both contemplated for some days and on the sixth day she gave signal to resign. Thus Premchand resigned his secured Government job of 21 years along with the Government quarter. Thereafter he continued to struggle and survive till his premature death in 1936.Premchand; however was just one among the thousands who made similar such sacrifices in order to attain independence . Such was the spirit of the National movement that it not only aroused the great but many ordinary and deprived. Compare it to our present times;so immersed we are in consumerism that our character has changed . There is no Premchand among us nor we have the capacity to create one !

TURNING A BLIND EYE

TURNING A BLIND EYE

The English daily with much history and name announced in jubilation that their survey has shown that the number of children in English medium Government schools have increased in Mumbai since last five years, the figures stood at about 35000. The report intended to convey that the priority of people is shifting from vernacular to English as it showed that the number of students in Marathi medium schools have declined by about 10,000 ;though it was a matter unreported that the number of students were still above 1 lakh way ahead of English! When the figures of other languages were observed closely it was interesting to see that the figures of Hindi was the highest above one lakh and to my surprise the urdu school goers was also above one lakh slightly behind Marathi. The report shows that how our proponents of English are blind to the existence of other Indian languages and in fact are insensitive. The longing to enrol one’s children in English medium schools among urban Indians is understandable because it is English which will fetch them jobs, but at the same time the fact that the vast majority is seeking education in its mother tongue should not be ignored. The largest daily in English should take note of the fact that it is not Marathi which is at number one but Hindi and Urdu and Hindi combined are above two lakhs. It is not to be ignored that the large number of Muslims of Mumbai are sending their children to Urdu medium schools and urdu therefore is still alive way ahead of English even if the English daily feels flattered on the rise of English. It is for the citizens to know the facts on ground and analyse other communities too in their survey, as they too are making progress.

BEARD AND THE SYMBOLIC APPEARANCE

‘BEARD’ AND THE SYMBOLIC APPEARANCE

Beard is a symbol of wisdom, renunciation ,carelessness ,austerity ,mourning ,authority and probably much more. In the recent times it has however gained significance in view of the prevailing terrorism and unfortunate identification of it with religious groups. Since my childhood I have held sporting of ‘Beard’ in high esteem as the photo-image of our Indian ‘Rishis’ ( sages) is deeply embedded – Valmiki, Vashist, Vishvamitra, Bharadvaj all had flowing Beard, this image was further strenthened during the dominant period of ‘Mahabharat’ and ‘Ramayan’ on TV. But, the image of all sages is with ‘Beard’ across the party! Line- Guru Nanak, Guru Govind, Moses,Christ, Ahura Mazda ( Parsi God ),. In the recent times barring the Pope most of the religious heads have beard including that of jews. I often wonder as to why, Buddha and Mahavir are shown clean shaven, Christ is shown with long hair and slight Beard. Realism dictates that during their time having long hair and Beard was rather compulsion than desire, but faith creates strange images and we the followers want our venerated leaders in a certain image and so they exist to satisfy our image of them. During our time in college when leftist leanings were wide spread many kept beard under the influence of Marx, Fidel Castro and Che Guevera, I think colleges are still enamoured by the revolutionary ideas though not action. In India I find the state of Kerala fancying the beard most and under Karl Marx complex !! French Beard is popular among urban elite. Though it looks good on a fair and slim face many sport it nevertheless. Our dear Bachhan is believed to be most attached to his beard that he refuses to cut it even for meaty roles. I think a beard is also grown to improve looks more particular by those having a weak chin as it makes the face a little more square, Naseeruddin Shah the famous cinema- theatre personality does hide his chin with his beard.

Beard is historically related to seafarers , our sailors are permitted to grow beard as part of Naval tradition. This privilege is for only Naval personnel and not extended to Army and Airforce. In fact originally one could grow beard but not moustache, later the rule was amended.

Certain professions are associated with sporting beard and among them it is accepted as normal to have beard -- Art film makers, poets, painters, professors, Ayurvedic Doctors ( Baba Ramdev ). The manner in which the beard is kept also conveys the ideology of a person. Some Sikhs keep full flowing beard whereas some merely maintain symbolically,it was interesting to see the full flowing beard of cricketers Amla ( South Africa ) and Mohamad Yusuf / Saeed Anwar ( Pakistan) it did convey their commitment to their religion and cricket?
Therefore it can be said that Beard is associated with ‘Mankind’ since ages , in some cases the meaning remains unchanged in some it is to convey definite ideology/association though silent and symbolic the meaning should not go unnoticed and therefore the reaction of our society changes .

LANGUAGE AND CINEMA

LANGUAGE AND CINEMA



Though pure cinema should be beyond language we, as a collective society, have not reached that level of refinement and homogeneity to detach from spoken words in cinema. The period of ‘silent cinema’ produced some great works of Art such as the cinema of Buster Keaton and Charlie Chaplain which made dialogues redundant for a while. But, the fact that with the advancement in technology the cinema makers clung to the sound of words such firmly that the question of abandoning it does not arise . The dialogue writing has come of age too and realism is the order of the times. In hindi cinema too the earlier text and delivery of dialogues has been handed over to the television soap opera operators and much emphasis is applied to write lines which are spoken by characters in day to day life .Often we see that the characters speak the dialect of the region they represent though in the name of artistic freedom certain dialects are spoken to provide humour only and geographical location of the character is of little importance. In the sixties , seventies and eighties though standard hindi was spoken by the actors, but whenever rural depiction was shown the dialect was ‘ bhojpuri’. Perhaps if we trace the origin of this norm the influx of migrant population to the then ‘ calcutta’ where cinema started eventually in a big way could be the reason. Much of the migrants to the city of Mumbai and Calcutta were from UP and Bihar who carried their culture with them and did influence the rural characterisation in films. Dilip Kumar immortalised the rural dialect in his rendition of the role of a farmer turned dacoit under oppressed circumstances. The song in bhojpuri ‘ nain larjayen to manwa ma khatak hoe be kari’ is sung and fondly remembered to this day. Many actors tried to emulate him but could not match his fluidity and rhythm , later Amitabh Bachhan surpassed him, but only slightly on the strength of his larger body of work and having been born in Allahabad. Bachhan matched Dilip in his portrayal of ‘ khai ke paan banaras wala’ in ‘Don’ and also in ’Adalat’ and ‘ Ganga ki Saugandh’.

In recent times Vishal Bharadwaj engaged the audience in ‘Omkara’ with its typical western U. P. accent . Shekhar Kapoor used the dialect spoken in the ravines of the ‘Chambal’ in ‘Bandit Queen’ very effectively, it added to the seriousness of the subject. However; the wide usage of the the ‘dialects’ of Hindi language spoken in eastern and central U.P. and parts of western Bihar ranging from ‘avadhi’ to ‘Bhojpuri’ and its variants have reigned supreme. Other accents have been attempted and the hindi with ‘Haryanvi’ dialect is gaining currency in comedy and with time other dialects will also emerge. Mani Ratnam does provide a distinct dialect to his minor actors but is random in selection as he is not faithful to the geographical region.

Shyam Benegal in his recent film ‘Well done Abba’ has set the film in a village near the city of Hyderabad and therefore his actors speak hindi in the typical accent of that place popularized by the great comedian Mehmood in films ‘ Gumnam’ and ‘Kunwara Baap ‘.What I observed was that this restricted the flow of the film and the dialect lacks the melody which is inherent in Bhojpuri. Perhaps the choice of the dialect marred the fate of the film at Box office as the audience has limited patience for such jarring experiments .Coincidently; I saw a day after I had seen ‘Abba….’ ‘Welcome to Sajjanpur’ a film also of Shyam Benegal released last year which was not only a surprise Hit of the year but also of his career. This film too has a rural setting but with ‘Bhojpuri’ dialect, there is such flow and beauty in that language that it contributes largely to its success. The comparison is apt because the dialogue, and screenplay writer is common to two films . It is my belief that had he retained the Bhojpuri dialect in ‘Abba’ and changed the lead actor to someone more conversant with language variation such as ‘Naeer’ the result would have been better.

At times reason may dictate that a certain dialect is mandatory but the inherent sweetness of certain tongues is beyond debate . It is ironical that the region from where this dialect emerges is one of the poorest economically but has given much emotional joy to the society with its melodious dialect. No wonder why most vocal Hindustani classical music is performed and created in Bhojpuri dialect.