POWER OF THE CRACKERS

                                        POWER OF THE CRACKERS

Well Diwali has come and gone and one big gain from it appears to be the reduction in ’Crackers’. The Supreme Court ruling in stopping sales in Delhi NCR and the overall environment awareness helped in the matter. However; this is only a beginning and we have much to travel to eliminate this tendency. One newspaper article did point out an      

interesting fact that usage of ‘fire crackers’ is a 20^th century phenomenon when in 1920s the ‘Nadars’ established the Cracker  factory in Shivkashi. I do remember that when I was in Nilgiris in the late nineties the crackers sold very cheap and one stocked them too.

  

As children we did look forward to Diwali essentially for bursting crackers but over the years the awareness that it is environmentally harmful distanced us from its usage my daughter also opposed it when she learnt in school about its harmful affects. The occasional reports in media about the use of child labour in cracker factories of Shivkashi and the lack of safety norms  being adhered to made our resolve stronger. But; this problem will go only with social awareness and not with legislations. Similar to the campaign against smoking and more specific ‘passive smoking’.

I also sense that people use ‘fire crackers’ as a manifestation of their anger against the system/elite /ruling class. Further to assert their position in society. Very many time I have observed that this assertion in exhibited from the ‘slums’ of Mumbai the ‘Jhuggi Jhopri’ areas where people may have little to survive but save to assert their presence during  Diwali. They start much before Diwali and go on for days after Diwali. The powerful and feudal in small towns and Tehsils specially in Northern and Central India  fire Guns  during  Marriage ceremonies called ‘Haersh Firing’ ( happy firing). This too is manifestation of Power through the barrel of the Gun.

    Therefore this issue is also related to our social  problem where the poor assert as license during Diwali their sense of presence and anger ( sub consciously ) and the Feudal assert their position sort of reaffirm their position by ’Haersh firing’ during marriages. Festivals then do not remain as occasion of festivity but simply showing of social positions.

JAGGA  JASOOS- A BLAND  MUSICAL  JOURNEY

Arrogance takes the better of us sometimes; and this time it is Anurag Basu who is victim of excess and indulgence. Bad films are caused  by creative failures, essentially; however sometimes our sympathies with the star or the director dilutes our response and understanding specially in an emotionally buoyant  country as ours. Anurag Kashyap   indulged in ‘Bombay Velvet’ his brother in 'Besharm’ on both occasions Ranbir Kapoor  suffered the most. There is History of such indulgence and failure. Guru Dutt failed in ‘Kagaj ke Phool’ which in my opinion was flawed.  Devanand  indulged in ‘Ishq Ishq Ishq’ touted to be   another Musical but the very music fell short of expectations. Ram Gopal Verma also experimented with musical in ‘Mast’ which failed.

  

The problem with’Jagga Jasoos’ is that there is no foundation. The story/screenplay is very thin. The so called selling point-Music/Musical is prosaic , but for few independent songs. The premise of this musical is western as we have seen in ‘My fair Lady’/’Sound of Music’/’ Fiddler on the roof’. But the western musical outfit does not jell with Indian emotion/setting and after sometimes gets on your nerves!! It seems flat and routine. Anurag Basu should have taken a page from our cinema and noted that we have made many musicals( our roots are musical) ; but on solid story foundation- Barsaat by Raj Kapoor; ’Baiju Bawra’ starring Bharat Bhushan and Meena Kumari. ‘Heer Ranjha’ of Chetan Anand was truly musical and despite having  Priya Rajwans ( a weak heroine) was a success because of its strong foundation.Here  the filmmaker mounts the film on the shoulders of Ranbir Kapoor and proceeds on musical cartoon journey  with erratic structure  which  falters from the beginning.It also reminds of ‘Barfi’ in terms of setting ( here he moves further from Darjeeling to Manipur)/Ranbir’s inadequacy/father-son relationship and music

  

The only source of happiness is Ranbir who emits such subtle emotions that one feels sad for his choices and luck. He seems to have been conned most by mediocre filmmakers posing as creative masters- ‘Roy’;’Aye dil hai mushkil’’Bombay velvet’,’Besharam’. As far as Mr Basu is concerned this is his second big indulgence in terms of failure, money and time. ‘Kites’ was the first one!! 

NEHRU- ‘THE VARIETY AND UNITY OF INDIA’

NEHRU- ‘THE  VARIETY   AND   UNITY   OF   INDIA’

Jawaharlal Nehru in his book ,’Discovery Of India’ writes the following in the section titled, ’The Variety and Unity Of India’:

“ All of us , I suppose have varying pictures of our native land and no two persons  will think exactly alike .When I think of India ,I think of many things ;of broad fields dotted with innumerable small villages ;of towns and cities I have visited ;of the magic of the rainy season which pours life into the dry parched -up land and converts it suddenly into a glistening expanse of beauty and greenery , of great rivers and flowing waters ; of the Khyber Pass in all its bleak surroundings ; of the Southern tip of India ; of people ,individually and in the mass; and, above all of the Himalayas, snow capped ,or some mountain valley in Kashmir in the spring, covered with new flowers ,and with a brook bubbling and gurgling through it. We make and preserve the pictures of our choice , and so I have chosen this mountain background rather than the more normal picture of a hot , subtropical country. Both would be correct, for India stretches from the tropics right up to the temperate regions , from near the equator to the cold heart of Asia.”

Now ;how much of the leader and the person could be ascertained from his writing. The very start of the paragraph shows his inclusive and  diverse  world when he says that all of us  have varying picture of our native land and that no two persons  would think alike. Then he describes his picture of India and it is complex and wide. He talks of villages because he had been to many villages campaigning for Congress for 1937 elections. He talks of rains as he liked the rainy season and in fact had  visited Mumbai once only to observe the  monsoons! He talks of villages because he had visited rural India not only during his initial years in United Province but later as the primary leader of his party. He talks of people both ‘individually’ and in ‘masses’ for he had addressed numerous meetings and was always in eye contact with the ‘masses’ who were his source of energy and inspiration and  who were the foundation of the movement and who loved him. And then he talks of Kashmir which was dear to him and he had been there visiting many times and though liberal and democrat had always wanted the valley portion of Kashmir in India for its beauty and uniqueness and where from his ancestors had arrived in to the plains! It is  a mixed picture even though he picks the picture of Kashmir as  his choice. He is never definitive; always weighing all sides and views . Accommodative and restless ,concerned of the opinion of others as he says that even though he had chosen the snow-capped  Kashmir the ’picture’ of others would be as right( Both would be correct) because India stretches from tropics to temperate to cold .Such was Nehru!

‘

CHANNA MERE AA MEREAA CHANNA MERE AA ....

CHANNA   MERA AA   MERA AA ,CHANNA MERA  AA   MERA AA…… -O PIYA

Sab Darvaje khirkiyan bund theen

Sarak par sannata tha

Sard raat; sab shant shokjada

Hamle ke baad ka maahol aur chupchupi

Hawa mein bagawat ki boo

Sab tanha !sab tanha!

Shak shikayat ranjish;

Donodiwane

Koi milne  ke aasar nahi

Sab marham sab dava nakam

Samvad ka silsala na huva shuru

Pal lamhe din raat mahine mausam saal badle

Par barf galne ko nahi

Pani dhoop bijli toofan be asar!

Phir ek din; raat ke sannate mein

Gungunane ki awaz..;

Paas aa paas aa to suna;

Channa mera aa mera aa channa mera aa channa mera aa meraaa.. o piya

Ek halki si muskerahat  Jisko ko hansi

Mein tabdil hone ka intzar.

Chalen Karen dil ki baat

Chalen Karen dil ki baat!

MARRIAGE SONGS

MARRIAGE SONGS

‘Song and Dance’ , are an inseparable ingredients of Indian Marriage ceremony . Cutting across community and caste lines.’Sangeet’ ceremony which was once restricted to ladies only has wider participation now and an evening prior to marriage is invariably   reserved for the function.

But my intent is not to highlight the above; it was just a backdrop. My purpose is to express how happy I felt recently when I attended the marriage of my colleague’s daughter at Delhi. How tradition and modernity were in display to my delight.

   At the right time the ‘Baraat’ arrived and the Groom was received with the traditional ‘Aarti’, but what attracted my attention were the Sanskrit ‘Hymns’ being sung collectively by the immediate family members. It was rhythmic, melodious, pious and perfect. The Groom in Sherwani and pagri stood smiling. It was over in less than ten minutes but gave the occasion its solemnity and standard. Well! This was contribution of the elders. Thereafter the Groom was escorted to the hall where most of guests were waiting for ‘Jai-Mala’ ceremony. The Bride arrived and they stood facing each other. Just them their group of friends broke into a song, “ baharon phool barsao mera mehboob aaya hai….”( Mohammad Rafi from ‘Suraj’). This was a pleasant surprise for me as mostly during such times the pundit again takes over or is hovering close by. But here the modernity was in control. The song was of sixties when the parents of the couple would be in school, but the young connected to the song. And the there was another,-“ do sitaron ka zameen par hai Milan aaj ki raat…”( Mohamad Rafi and Lata from ‘Kohinoor’). Which was made for the occasion .

  

    What struck me was the familiarity of this young generation with the old hindi film songs even when they may not be aware of the film to which they belonged. Perhaps this is one link through which we can relate to them better!

THE LEGACY OF SHAILENDRA

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!

TO LOVE AND DIE- PUP's LIFE

TO   LOVE   AND   DIE-  PUP’S     LIFE  

Last  afternoon on way from Sagar to Bhopal in bus. On way to Mumbai .Bus stops at 

Vidisha for Tea. I get down. Am greeted by this loving pup, tail

wagging. I offer him 

small digestive biscuits  given by the bus people.He gobbles all one by one. As if 
waiting for me. I feel good. He sits happy. I ask for a cup of tea. I take his photo. As I 
sip I see him crossing the road. The others have also been watching. Suddenly ; a 
speeding car is seen and the pup is run over. We all watch the cruel twist of life. The 
tea  seller says,” Aaapki photo uski aakhri photo thi”. I am unable to express anything. The bus horns for us. I get up. As I am about to board, I turn to him.  Salute my loving friend. Perhaps; he was waiting to make me happy, just for 
one moment, and then depart in this cruel manner.