GULZAR.. Basking in the bask of Boskiyana !

नाम सोचा ना था, है की नहीं
'अमाँ' कहके बुला लिया इक ने
'ए जी' कहके बुलाया दूजे ने
'अबे ओ' यार लोग कहतें हैं
जो भी यूँ जिस किसी के जी आया
उसने वैसे ही बस पुकार लिया..

तुमनें इक मोड़ पर अचानक जब
मुझको 'गुलज़ार' कहके दी आवाज़
एक सीपी से खुल गया मोती
मुझको एक मानी मिल गए जैसे
आह ! ये नाम खुबसूरत हैं
फिर मुझे नाम से बुलाओ तो..

Its said that a poet or a writer becomes one amongst the top league when he is capable of giving himself a suitable sobriquet.. and who better than Gulzar sa'ab to symbolize this.. he is not just a legendary filmmaker, but is a sensitive one.. he is not just a terrific lyricist, but is a contemporary one.. he is not just an articulate story-teller, but is an evocative one.. and above all he is not just a magical poet, but is a passionate one..

वो जो शायर था चुप-सा रहता था
बहकी-बहकी-सी बातें करता था
आँखें कानों पे रख के सुनता था
गूँगी खामोशियों की आवाज़ें!

जमा करता था चाँद के साए
और गीली- सी नूर की बूँदें
रूखे-रूखे- से रात के पत्ते
ओक में भर के खरखराता था

वक़्त के इस घनेरे जंगल में
कच्चे-पक्के से लम्हे चुनता था
हाँ वही, वो अजीब- सा शायर
रात को उठ के कोहनियों के बल
चाँद की ठोड़ी चूमा करता था..

Guess in this aforesaid poem, Gulzar sa'ab epitomizes himself and how eloquently does he do that ! To quote Bhooshan Banmali : “A poet is a conch-shell that gives voice to the emotions. A lyricist sings of dreams. A visionary is a painter who plays with rainbows. A thinker ponders upon human relationships like a monk who holds council with the trees of forest. A rare blend of all these is Gulzar."

He is diverse yet he co-joins every emotion.. he is hard hitting yet he playfully touches the sensitive chords of every heart.. he is authentic yet he makes us believe that he is penning our words.. he is complicated yet easily emotes the truest of human emotions with ease.. he is the man who makes us lose track of everything and also the one who leads us to the correct path of thought.
Gulzar sa'ab embellishes, enhances, enchants, encompasses, embarks and emphasizes every emotion of life with its encoring empathy.

Just look back to the past 40 years and you will find his presence in every special moment of your life.. he played with us in our childhood through his songs, witnessed our romantic moments with his shayari, stood by us in tough times with his positive stories.. emotionally moved us, thoughtfully challenged us, artistically expanded our horizons and in the end made us believe that 'Meri Awaaz Hi Pehchhan Hain..' and remained with us in this journey from being to becoming like an incandescent light.

His works are not confined to specifications, he is the like the flowing breeze.. his sensitivities and sensibilities are unique, he is like the norm effacing constructor (In his own words, "I did not start from literature, but met a maikhana on the way. Still I kept writing..").. his existence can not be overlooked, we have experienced his craft over the television screen, his masterstrokes on the silver-screen, his brilliance on our bookshelves.. he makes every place his own.. and rightfully so we have given him a place on the highest pedestal in our hearts.

Its rightfully said, that "Gulzar’s lyrics transcend social barriers, be it a rickshaw-puller or a Sufi saint, he touches them both. The lyrics are not about words or rhythms, but about interpreting the world.".. and what more this journey of glory and creating something reverent in this already dilapidated world is still at its peak.. he makes the youth groove but still regales the yesteryear generation with his writing panache.

(acknowledgment to 'प्रीत Ji to candidly permit me to use these lines from her wall.. originally written by another Gulzar-ian bhakt Shivam Sharma ).

रोज़ की बात नहीं, ऐसा कुछ एक बार होता है,
अल्फाजों को जब एक शख्स से प्यार होता है,

मीर-ओ-ग़ालिब जब सींचते हैं खुद इक गुलशन को,
तो सदियों बाद कहीं एक 'गुलज़ार' होता है.

So obviously enough, its impossible to capture this man under one frame coz he has been versatile, vibrant and voluminous in his resplendent repertoire.. but here is an honest attempt to do so.. Gracious, Glorifying Gulzar for an hour.. his words, his voice, his songs.. the magic continues with the master is still at creating masterpieces, magically !

Gulzar Saab - 50 Years Of Glory - The Journey Of Songs.!!!!!!

Gulzar - The Bard Of Bollywood.!!!!

THE SANGEET MARTAND.. THE JASRAJ !



For me today its like home-coming ! Pt. Jasraj is probably the only classical vocalist who I have heard literally every year for the past 15 years ! His voice is reminiscent of all the bejeweled memories that I have had in my 'kaanseni' career so far.. Panditji has been an integral part in value addition to my love for music. His performances at the Sawai Gandharva Mahotsav (now the Sawai Gandharva Bhimsen Mahotsav) have been my moments of feeling the presence of peaceful soothing rain over an impatient wait for an year by the earth.. year after year with the same intensity, same effect and same trans !

Pandit Ji started weaving his magic long back.. and digging the collections fetched me what is his first ever LP record which features some amazing raag's rendered by young Jasraj with elan.

Raag Nat Bhairav (Chadhiye Mulukh Sultana..) :
http://www.divshare.com/download/19178454-a8b
Raag Hansdhwani (Pawan Putra Hanuman..) :
http://www.divshare.com/download/19178393-337
Raag Shudha Bairadi (Kunj Bihari Thari Re Bansuri..) :
http://www.divshare.com/download/19178523-295

But my connection, as I said, with Pandit Ji started in 1992 when I was hardly 3 years old, but as I have time and again said here, that this year and the performances it witnessed at the Sawai Gandharva Mahotsav were life-changing for me and Panditji's Ahir Bhairav was certainly one of them. His Bhairav Bahar in 1996 was our next meeting and then there was no looking back. we met every year in a different terrain, in a different trance, in a different tranquility.. be it the Ramkali of 1998, Basant of 1999, Jaijaiwanti of 2002 and 2007, Jog of 2003 and 2009, Darbari Kanada of 2004 and 2005 (which are BEST EVER Darbari Kanada's I have heard.. still gives me goosebumps while typing this) have all been reasons why I can sit here and type this with his heavenly voice reverberating in my ears, giving me ample reasons to feel thankful to have ears to absorb the magic !

His strong command over all the three and half octaves, the feeling you have in your stomach when he reaches the 'mandra shaDja', the clarity of diction in his singing, the way he uses Sanskrit in his songs and yet makes them sound not very hard-hitting, the ability to transport you from your place to heaven, the ease in his taans, the impeccable elaborations of the khayal, the studious play with the taal, the careful dissection of any raag while elaborating on its beauty spots, the creation of a certain mood and swing in the singing by taking the audience in the strand and making them feel as if they are singing, the way he looses himself when he gets into the mood.. nothing can replicate or replenish that sight and that feeling ! Pandit Jasraj has not only been a connoisseur of the art of singing, he has been the torch-bearer in spreading bliss through his singing.

A simple example which shows his mettle is the fact that his singing can make an atheist like me believe in the heavenly power when he renders :
Govind Damodar Madhav Yeti (full 30 minutes) :
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o2St5_AMls4

Om Namoh Bhagwate Vasudevay :
Part 1 : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i-L1MONqWHI&feature=related
Part 2 : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=taEfmqkNeIk&feature=results_video&playnext=1&list=PLE6FD07B17776F127
Part 3 : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NR0OLCNKuaw&feature=autoplay&list=PLE6FD07B17776F127&playnext=2

May this nearly unreal energy of his and his strength to generate that very energy in the audience remain unfazed for years to come.. he is just reached 82, and before he gets any more younger.. lets all bow down to this legend, this miraculous singer ! Pandit Jasraj's singing has always made me associate it with the light in a dark tunnel, the pole star in the star-less sky, the light-house in the swollen sea.. listening to him is a lifetime opportunity.. coz he makes you believe in the honesty of life and that is because he is true to his art !

JAI HO ! JAI HO ! JAI HO !

(20 july 2012)

Na Hui, Na Hai, Na Hogi


How do you feel when you see a lotus blooming in the distasteful mud pond ? How do you feel when you see a child gleaming with laughter in all the cacophony around ? How do you feel when a cool pleasant breeze hits you on a hot, sweaty summer day ? How do you feel when you hear a soulful Flute or a stirring Sitaar piece in a cloud of symphonous din ? That very emotion that arises after getting to witness something that one doesnt expect or doesnt hope to see / feel / listen is the emotion that keeps one going.. our Hindi film music, especially of today, is a house to such emotions. .. and why am I saying this ? This is the reason ! http://gaana.com/#!/songs/hame-ranjo-gum-se हमें रंझ-ओ-ग़म से फ़ुर्सत.. ना हुई, ना हैं, ना होगी, कभी ख़त्म ये मुसीबत.. ना हुई, ना हैं, ना होगी | कहीं और जाईयेगा के ये मैकदा हेना से, यहाँ कारगर नसीहत.. ना हुई, ना हैं, ना होगी | जिसे दिल से मैंने चाहा उसे बेवफा मैं कह दूँ, मेरे दिल की ऐसी जुर्रत.. ना हुई, ना हैं, ना होगी | ये समझ लिया हैं मैंने के ख़ुदा हैं मेरा मुझसे, किसी और की इबादत.. ना हुई, ना हैं, ना होगी | मेरे शेर सुनके अक्सर वो ये कह उठे हैं 'मुज़्तर', तेरे दूर दूर शोहरत.. ना हुई, ना हैं, ना होगी | There are these moments in this wonderful film music of our country that makes it laudable.. that gives us every possible reason to love it more and more.. that never lets us loose hope even in distress.. Thank you so much Madhushree (wish you were around more !) and Nana Patekar for creating something that made me fumble for words. Thank you Mohan Khan for building up an ambiance that has made me fall in love with my headphones all over again. Thank you Muztar for authenticizing this eternal genre in times when people had started overlooking it.. # Restoring Faith in Good Film Music # Redefining Bliss