I am always surprised by the diversity of emotions that Faiz sahib’s poetry can evoke, from the socialistic to the (purely) romantic; but always, i feel through a way that paints pictures in your head, that evokes not just your interpretations of the words he chooses, but brings to life atmospheric imagery that lends itself so well to ghazal gaaiki.
na gul khile hai.n, na unase mile, na mai pii hai
ajiib rang me.n ab ke bahaar guzarii hai
Filed: Music, Poetry & not tagged — The OB Van @ 11:32 pm
An interesting poem by Sahir with an meter that is reminiscent of Ghalib’s very lyrical style, but somehow also reminds me for some reason of Momin Khan Momin’s, kabhi hum bhi tum bhi..
Sung by Mohd. Rafi for Guru Dutt’s pyaasa - Indian cinema at its very acme, as it straddled the best of its own past and present..
ta.ng aa chuke hai.n kash-ma-kash-e-zindagii se ham
Thukaraa naa de.n jahaa.N ko kahii.n bedilii se ham
maayuusii-e-ma’al-e-mohabbat naa puuchhiye
apano.n se pesh aaye hai.n begaanagii se ham
[ma’al=consequence]
lo aaj hamane to.D diyaa rishtaa-e-ummiid
lo ab kabhii gilaa naa kare.nge kisii se ham
ubhare.nge ek baar abhii dil ke val-vale
go dab gaye hai.n baar-e-Gam-e-zindagii se ham
gar zindagii me.n mil gaye phir ittafaaq se
puuchhe.nge apanaa haal terii bebasii se ham
allaah re fareb-e-masahiiyat ke aaj tak
duniyaa ke zulm sahate rahe Khaamoshii se ham
[masahiiyat=God’s will]
ham Gam-zadaa hai.n laaye kahaa.N se Khushii ke giit
de.nge wahii jo paaye.nge is zindagii se ham
Filed: Music, Poetry & not tagged — The OB Van @ 7:32 pm
kis se poocheiN humm ne kahaaN wo chehra-e-raushan deikha hai
mahfil mahfil DhooNdh chuk’e haiiN gulshan gulshan deikha hai
kisko deikheiN kisko na deikheiN phool bhi haiN kaliyaaN bhi magar
jis se lagaai aaNkh usi ko dil ka dushman deikha hai
rang-e-bahaar-e-subh-e-gulistaaN kya deikh’e wo deewaana
jis ki nazar ne eik hi gul meiN saara gulshan deikha hai
ahl-e-wafa ke Khoon ki chheeNTeiN dooR tak uRhkar jaati haiN
meira taRhapna deikhnewaal’e apna bhi daaman deikha hai
aaj unheiN jo chaah’e samajh lo warna yahi Taskeen* haiN jinheiN
kal tak humm ne koo’e butaaN meiN Khaak ba daaman deikha hai
I love how Akhtari Begum was able to infuse this this pondering, unhurried pace to ghazals, so it never seems like its rushing past you. Wonderful stuff.
Hairat Se Tak Raha Hai Jahan-e-Wafa Mujhe
Tum Ne Bana Diya Hai Mohabbat Mein Kya Mujhe
Har Manzil-e-Hayaat Se Gum Kar Gaya Mujhe
Mud Mud Ke Raah Mein Woh Tera Dekhna Mujhe
Kaif-e-Khudi Ne Mauj Ko Kashti Bana Diya
Hosh-e-Khuda Hai Ab Na Gham-e-Nakhuda Mujhe
Saqi Bane Huye Hain Woh “Sagar” Shab-e-Visaal
Is Waqt Koi Meri Kasam Dekhta Mujhe
Poet - Sagar Nizami
Composer - Master Madan
Singer - Master Madan
The Fulfilled World Is Staring At Me In Wonder
In Love What Have You Reduced / Transformed Me Into
From Each Destination of Life I Was Rendered Distracted
Your Oft Turning And Your Glancing At Me On The Road
The Charm Of Ego Has Turned The Wave Into A Boat
I Am No Longer A Boatman, Now I Sense The Almighty God
Sagar, On The Night Of Union, He Has Adorned The Role Of Bartender
At This Moment I Swear on Myself That Someone Would Have Looked At Me
Phenomenal rendition by Master Madan, the child virtuoso who was poisoned (allegedly by a jealous fellow singer at All India Radio, who added aresenic to his daily glass of milk) when he was only 14, leaving behind a handful (7, I think) of recordings. But they proved to be more than enough to immortalise his talent.
Filed: Music, Poetry, All & not tagged — The OB Van @ 5:00 pm
Faiz ki yaad mein is for all Faiz buffs the ultimate compendium of Faiz Sahib’s poetry rendered by the some great Ghazal singers; Mehdi Hassan, Farida Khanum, Iqbal Bano.
I’ve recently rediscovered the CD and listening to Faiz’s inimitible style sung, inimitably by these Ghazal maestros always moves me.
Two of my favourites of Farida Khanum are:
shaam-e-firaaq
shaam-e-firaaq ab na puuchh aaii aur aake Tal gaii
dil thaa ke phir bahal gayaa, jaa.N thii ke phir sambhal gaii
dil se to har muaamalaa karake chale the saaf ham
kahane me.n unake saamane baat badal badal gaii
aaKhir-e-shab ke hamasafar ‘Faiz’ na jaane kyaa hue
rah gaii kis jagah sabaa, subha kidhar nikal gaii
Jinaah Hospital, Karachi
July 1953
This is a gem, Faiz Sahib’s beautiful, but still somehow sad imagery, and Farida Khanum’s soulful ’spartistic’ rendition, that seems so relevant to the ashaar.
Filed: Music, Qawwali & not tagged — The OB Van @ 1:47 pm
I am surprised to learn that i have never posted anything to the organic brew about one of my all time favourite qawwalis - Khabarum raseed imshaab by Amir Khusrau sung (on many a occasions) by Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan. One of these recordings (unplaced unfortunately) should certainly rank as Nusrat’s better renditions - the falsetto is amazing and the rythm mesmerising. I’ve since heard many other qawwals try, but none do the poem quite as much justice as Nusrat’s emphatic and soulful qawwali.
Amir Khursrau is particularly poigant - for those who drop by this little outpost, i’ve expounded on the underlying themes oft enough, and this is in a simila vein. I can’t read this without playing back in my mind the emphasis Nusrat places on the last lines - Balabam raseed jaanam fabiya ki zindah maanam strains, over and over, saturated with emotion.. i’m getting carried away, but if i find it hard to describe qawwali in words - then this sublime rendition in raga kedar doubly so.
Speaking of raga kedar, here is a miniature that uses the raga as a central theme:
source: www.dovesong.com
Named after Lord Shiva, the hoary Raga Kedar occupies a pride of place in the Hindustani pantheon and is much loved in the ranks of both the laity and the connoisseur. Its structure reveals a kaleidoscopic panorama of complex melodic gestures, conduct and richness of character. Seldom are the core values of Indian Ragadari music united under one roof as they are in Kedar.
Interestingly, the haughty article above also links to a reocrding of Kedar by Ustad Fateh Ali Khan, in fact, during the qawwali Nusrat brings attention to a a change his father executed in the rendition.
Khabaram raseed imshab ki nigaar khuahi aamad;
Sar-e man fidaa-e raah-e ki sawaar khuahi aamad.
Ham-e aahwan-e sehra sar-e khud nihada bar kaf;
Ba-umeed aanki rozi bashikaar khuahi aamad.
Kashishi ki ishq daarad naguzaradat badinsaa;
Ba-janazah gar nayai ba-mazaar khuahi aamad.
Balabam raseed jaanam fabiya ki zindah maanam;
Pas azan ki man na-maanam bacha kar khuahi aaamad.
(In Persian script)
Tonight there came a news that you, oh beloved, would come –
Be my head sacrificed to the road along which you will come riding!
All the gazelles of the desert have put their heads on their hands
In the hope that one day you will come to hunt them….
The attraction of love won’t leave you unmoved;
Should you not come to my funeral,
you’ll definitely come to my grave.
My soul has come on my lips (e.g. I am on the point of expiring);
Come so that I may remain alive -
After I am no longer – for what purpose will you come?
Filed: Music, Acerbica & not tagged — The OB Van @ 7:12 pm
On the 14th the new ‘official’ national anthem was unveiled:
Whatever its other uses may be – taking part in the anachronistic evening closing rituals of PTV will probably be its main purpose. Sorely missed will be the equally dated, crumpled and buckled original version that I grew up watching. The circa 1980s film was an interesting freeze frame if you will, a time-capsule, which featured our then greatest achievements; the newly commissioned Pakistan steel mills, Pak-suzuki (I think) and other dubious sources of patriotic zeal.
In Pakistan now awakening to the wonders of slick tv productions and spin, a new (some of ‘symbols of pride’ of old still feature) pop-ified version comes to us thanks to Asim Reza and Najam Shiraz (in no particular order).
One must be thankful atleast that someone has taken the initiative – but having watched it a couple of times, I remain marginally ambivalent about it.
You certainly cant argue with the individual merits of the shots Asim takes. Some of them are indeed are quite good, with spectacular lighting and even the odd sublime transition. But as a storyboard in total, I think it disappoints. There seems to be an overabundance of track-shots* with some quick-stills furthing ruining an at best patchy flow, apart from a few exceptions, the scenes also feel self contained with little fluidity and rhythm.
On the plus, some of the slow motion takes are cool and tastefully done, even if somewhat trite. The PAF shot also features the recently inducted female fighter pilots which I thought was a smart idea and a not too subtle nod to ‘enlightened moderation’, of note also was the transition where a mosque/gurdwara/church/temple flash in quick succession (nestled by colourised versions of some baba tapes).
Hair splitting it may be – but an irritating issue I often have with such ‘patriotic’ videos in south asia (particularly across the border in India) is their dreamily romantic, and really completely ridiculous depiction of the Thar / Thal / Rajasthan / Kutcch desert dwellers. The directors always insist these people are shown as rustic variants of E popping 24 trance hoppers, whirling away in the scorching 50 degree desert heat like lunatics… it just seems so wantonly effected and dramatised. I’m quite certain they don’t actually do this out there- inspite of my faith in intelligent design, I am sure they still would have long gone extinct.
So in conclusion, on the whole – noble effort, even if najam X15 is a bit harsh on the senses, but I only say that the production team would have done it justice had they spent some more time in post production.
* What can I say, the man likes his track shots-although it has to be said, he used them to great effect in what is arguably pakistan’s best television ad ever, the one he directed for Paktel
Filed: Music, Poetry & not tagged — The OB Van @ 9:57 pm
‘Best of Iqbal Bano’ was supposed to tide me through a session of Game theory. Bad choice.
Two minutes later-adverse selection long forgotten -i sat captivated by the numbing combination of Iqbal Bano and Faiz Ahmed Faiz.
But this recording of ‘hum dekhain gay’ has to be one of the most exceptional songs i’ve heard in my life - the crowd applauds wildly as each stanza of Faiz sahib’s revolution-infused poetry is sung to perfection by Iqbal Bano.
“sub taaj uchalley jaayien gaay” would give you goosebumps anyday, but when its to sung to a backdrop of a crowd chanting of ‘pakistan inquilab zindabad’ - it takes on a whole new meaning.
Auur raaj kare gi khalq e khuda, jo mein bhi hoon aur tum bhi ho
Even my bourgiouse heart for an instant seemed alive with the zeal of revolution.
Update: If you give it a good listen - you can make out they are actually shouting Inquilab Zindabad [Long live the revolution] and not as i had asumed, pakistan zindabad.
Even better! (more…)
Filed: Music, All & not tagged — The OB Van @ 10:29 pm
If you’ve been around for longer a week or so, you must have by now come across Rabbi Shergill’s rendition of Bulleh Shah’s ‘Bullah, kee jana mein kaun’. I wrote about the Rabbi Shergill phenomenon some time back, and while he has since became pretty much inescapable, even back in pakistan (i cant imagine what must be going on accross the border, what with the media circus that envelopes everything) and my little posting became this site’s most popular, a random trawling through his album back then didnt return any [other] promising numbers and i just left it at that. One hit wonder was the word that came to mind.
A few weeks ago, on the radio station i love to hate - [See FM89, Karachi- How cool is too cool?] i heard another one of Rabbi’s songs that i instantly took a liking too.
Its called Gill te guitar, and its a story about friendships- its one im sure most of us would be able to relate to. Sung in punjabi, it narrates (the slightly trite) story of all the friends we leave behind and part ways with, but with a fresh flair and gusto. Reminds me of Bruce Springsteen’s art of spinning tales in songs (what was that song, glory days?), and this ones put to music with some great guitar riffs in the background that make it all gell together rather well.
The lyrics, for those interested i’ve put in after jump-but really, its the whole package that just works, and not just these in isolation. (more…)
