THE LEGACY OF SHAILENDRA
Once I was listening
to a TV programme recorded by
Doordarshan in You-tube. It showed an old clipping of Firaq Gorakhpuri where he was explaining what Great Literature
was: “
Great literature was that literature which conveys great ideas/thoughts in a
vocabulary of a child”, he said. Thus implying that the beauty of language was in its simplicity.
Shailendra;the
legendary lyricist of Hindi Cinema in my
opinion belonged to the above category which Firaq Sahab enunciated. He did possess the talent to put across in
simple lines great social and political thoughts. Songs of Barsaat, Awaara, Shree420, Jisdesh
Mein Ganga Behti hai, Aah, Sangam, Guide , Madhumati, Anari, Kala Bazaar, Chori-Chori and numerous others are
witness. He wrote in Hindustani Zubaan which had more Hindi words than Urdu in
this he was different from his
contemporaries/rivals - Sahir, Shakeel and Majrooh who also wrote in Hindustani
but with more Urdu words.
Who then could be
called the inheritor of his legacy? No
one could rise to that level. But perhaps there were three lyricist who came
close to him unconsciously/subconsciously and were inspired/motivated by him, I feel -Neeraj,Indeevar
and Anand Bakshi.
Neeraj became famous
for his song in Nai umar ki nai fasal(
karwan
guzar gaya gubar dhek te rahe) and ,gave some memorable songs for Navketan Banner and other films - Prem Pujari( phoolon ke rang se…dil ki kalam
se…),Gambler( dil aaj shayar he gam aaj nagma hai…),Sharmili( megha chaye aadhi raat), Tere mere sapne ( han mene kasam li…).Neeraj
was also very prolific in Hindi Poetry circle and has many admirers. He
remained popular in Kavi-Sammelans for long. Indeevar was also contemporary of
Shailendra but Shailendra made his mark in forties and Indeevar came later.However
some songs of Indeevar are class and put him in Shailendra’s league- Saraswati Chandra( chandan sa badan, phool tumhe
bheja hai khat mein)), Anokhi
Raat ( ohre taal mile nadi ke jal mein nadi mile sagar mein..) Safar(
zindagi ka safar,jeevan se bhari teri aakhen).Indeevar wrote for long
and Kalyanji Anandji put music to his most songs. He was regular in films of Manoj Kumar
and Feroj Khan’s banner. Anand Bakshi needs no introduction ,he was simple and
sweet and wrote perhaps for the longest period. He was favourite of Laxmi Kant
Pyrelal, but also wrote many songs for R D Burman and even for S D Burman. Despite
writing so many songs he gave high standard music material – Aradhna( mere sapno ki rani), Aapki kasam( zindagi safar mein guzar jate
hein jo mukam who phir nahi aate)Do Raaste ( bindiya chamkegi, khiza ke phool
mein aati nahi bahar kabhi..mere nasib…),Ajnabi( ek ajnabi hasina se mulakat ho gayi, bheegi bheegi raton mein)Amar Prem( chingari koi bharke,kuch to log
kahenge) are few examples.
From the above some
justification could be given that Shailendra’s legacy was followed by some
important lyric writers, but no one can match the genius of Shailendra for his numerous
songs inspire young song makers and qualify the definition of Great Literature!
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