SINGING IN THE RAIN

What do you do when you are sad, what do you do when you are happy, what do you do in your spare times, when you are stressed, what are your hobbies.... so many questions. Humans show a great inquisitiveness regarding people they hate. Maybe its their inability to accept that a person they hate so much can appear contented in all circumstances. I could have answered them in three words, the first one being music. 

Music can heal, music can pierce, music can open old wounds, music can help you forget, or forgive if you want, music can lift up your mood, take you across oceans, fly you to heaven, or leave you parched in a desert. I grew up listening to that kind of music.  Ghazal is a poetic form consisting of rhyming couplets. My friends  think that the music I am in  love with is meant only for loners, losers, lovers and loonies.

Kahan aa ke rukne the raaste,
Kahaan mod tha, usey bhool jaa,
Jo mil gaya usey yaad rakh,
Jo nahin mila usey bhool jaa.


Woh tere naseeb ki baarishein,
Kisi aur chhat pe baras gayien,
Dil-e-bekhabar meri baat sun,
Usey bhool jaa, usey bhool jaa,


Main to gum thaa tere hi khayaal mein,
Teri aas tere gumaan mein,
Saba keh gayi mere kaan mein,
Mere paas aa usey bhool jaa.


Kisi ki aankh mein nahin ashq-e-gham,
Tere baad kuch bhi nahin hai kam,
Tujhe zindagi ne bhulaa diya,
Tu bhi muskuraa usey bhool jaa.


Na woh aankh hi teri aankh thi,
Na woh khwaab hi tera khwaab tha,
Dil-e-muntazir to yeh kis liye tera jaagnaa,
Usey bhool jaa, usey bhool jaa.


Yeh jo raat din ka hai khel saa,
Usey dekh is pe yakeen naa kar,
Nahin aks koi bhi mustaqil sar-e-aaena,
Usey bhool jaa, usey bhool jaa.


Jo bisaat-e-jaan hi ulat gaya,
Woh jo raaste mein palat gaya,
Usey rokne se haasil kya,
Usey mat bulaa, usey bhool ja.

There are fond memories of sitting in front of a small black cassette player and listening to the same songs over and over again, my dad explaining the nuances of each word as it was sung, the voice, the multiple meanings, and the accompanying instruments. Each song reverberates with the soul of the artist, the wisdom of the author and the glory of God. I am not the only one. There are many who have fallen in love with the voices of Begum Akhtar, Ustaad Mehdi Hassan, Jagjit Singh, Ghulam Ali and the likes. Their voices have brought the poetry of Ahmed Faraz, Dr. Bashir Badr Saheb, Qateel Shifai, Nida Fazli and Sahir Ludhiyanvi to our homes. In an age where the most commonly used phrase is "I Love You", their voices and words give us a glimpse into what love can be and the subtle ways of expressing it. Take for example the following couplets: - 

Ghair banke na milen hum, tumhein apna karlein,

Ho ijaazat, to yeh chhoti se tamanna karlein.

Hamne Allah se yun daad-e-wafa maangi hai,

Jald mil jaao tum humko, yeh dua maangi hai,

Haan jo kehdo to abhi shukr ka sajdaa karlein,

Ghair banke na milen hum, tumhein apna karlein.

Simple words expressing a longing in such a uniquely polite and touching  way. The magic of Urdu poetry cast  a spell on me very early in life. I would stay awake late in the night to catch the telecast of gatherings called 'Mushaira' on the local television network. Five years in college did not lessen the interest, rather opened my eyes and ears to poetry in a different language. I still remember the arguments in the class room with my friends regarding the life and death of a legendary poet. It used to be two of us against four of them.  The memories of the long walks from our hostel to the university to attend a mushaira, walking in the drizzle, listening to my friend singing are not going to fade ever. One of the ghazals he sang was the following...

(Birha da Sultan - Maye ni main ik Shikra Yaar Banaya @ Fachak)

Some words can not be translated, some feelings impossible to explain.