Sahir Ludhianvi- His Life and Times

 He was known for some wonderful lyrics in Hindi films ranging from Abhi na jao chhod kar in Hum Dono to Kabhi Kabhie mere dil mein, and many more in between. His was a long struggle, supported by his mother and few others. How he tried hard to break in after participating in the freedom struggle pre 1947, and being labelled a commie and being persecuted, is a long and interesting story.

Brought to life by Danish Husain and his team at WOPA, who staged a musical play called 'Main pal do pal ka shayar hoon', after one of his songs. With a unique style of presentation, alternating between his songs being sung on stage, and he himself narrating pieces of autobiographical tidbits, it was a delight for the senses. 

The team, wih Vrinda, Sreejoni etc. singing and also narrating in third person, in a conversational style, the effect was magical. How he fought for the rights of lyricists to be acknowledged in credits on radio and paid well in films, is a part of the story.

Guru Dutt's film Pyaasa brought him his first recognition in films, and he went on to do some awesome song writing. My only regret is that the show left out two of my favourite films.. Humraaz and Gumraah, where I thought he wrote some brilliant songs. Chalo ek baar phir se is a favourite from Gumraah.

A bonus? Co-writer of the play, Mir Ali Husain, was a junior of mine at Osmania and IIMB.

Stupid People-Strategies for Dealing with Them

These are simple strategies to deal with stupid people. I think we all can try them out, as they should work, unless you do something stupid..

1. Get them a job..if they are colleagues, get them a job elsewhere-preferably at your competitor's company.

2. Don't give them work, if they are your subordinates..this is because the stupid things they do will take days to remedy, and you would have to do that..and that would be..YES.

3. Ignore them..this is difficult, because like cranky kids, the stupid guys keep drawing your attention..well, you draw it back.

4. Promote them. This may seem stupid at first, but eventually, this works, because soon, they'll become the CEO. And since no CEO talks to underlings regularly, you are safe..

5. Write poetry or prose about them (like I am doing)..this will do nothing to them, but at least you would have done something useful, instead of something stupid.

Dune Tunes

Dune Tunes

A dune has a life of its own
Wind gives it energy.
Here now, gone soon after,
Reappearing in a form anew

You can't create or destroy energy,
a wise man had said,
But when you have a dune around,
the same could be said of it

Seemingly destroyed, momentarily,
It rebuilds itself,
Somewhat like a soul..
Formless, timeless, eternal

If dunes were to sing,
what tunes would emerge?
What songs would be heard?
Of heroes, villains, or ordinary folk?

A dune can actually give
more than it receives,
and tune itself to play
the music you wish it to.

Jo Baat Tujhme Hai

This one is inspired by an episode of Raina Beet Jaaye hosted by Roop Kumar Rathod on TV that I was watching. It is on Sony Mix from 9 to 10 p.m. for those interested in such things. This episode was on some Hindi/Urdu lyricists (these are likable cysts). I got re-introduced to some wonderful work by various lyricists and poets who wrote for films. Many, alas, are not alive. Their work is.

Taj Mahal is an ancient movie, that had some great songs. Example- Jo baat tujhme hai, teri tasveer mein nahin. I think Pradeep Kumar and Bina Rai were in it. Music was by Roshan, the father of both Rakesh and Rajesh Roshan. The songs? By Sahir Ludhianvi.

Raatkali ek khwab mein aayi, from Buddha Mil Gaya, was written by Majrooh Sultanpuri. He wrote from the days of K.L. Saigal (pre-historic) to Shah Rukh Khan's (historic?) time. Teesri Manzil (O haseena zulfon wali) , Yaadon ki Baaraat (Chura liya hai tumne) and Mere Jeevan Sathi (O mere dil ke chain) are some of his creations.

Jab chali thandi hawa, jab uthi kali ghata mujhko aye jaane wafa tum yaad aaye- Shakeel Badayuni in Do Badan. O.P. Nayyar was the music director.

Sahir Ludhianvi wrote great lyrics for B.R. and Yash Chopra in several films. My clear favourites are Humraaz and Gumraah. Neele gagan ke tale, dharti ka pyar pale, kisi patthar ki moorat se mohabbat ka iraada hai from the first and Chalo ek baar phir se, from the second are a class act. And from Hum Dono, my favourite is 'Main zindagi ka saath nibhata chala gaya'. The other well-known one is Abhi na jao chhod kar ke dil abhi bhara nahin.

Qamar Jalalabadi is not such a well-known name. But he wrote a few good songs. Example- Aaiye meherban, from the Madhubala-Ashok Kumar starrer Howrah Bridge- a black and white era movie. Another hummable song of his is Dum dum diga diga, mausam bhiga bhiga..from Chhalia starring Raj Kapoor.

Of Slaps and Other Forms of Expression

Picasso painted. Wordworth put a string of words together for better or 'verse', Leonardo sculpted, Basu Chatterjee made films, and Kishore Kumar sang. All were trying to express themselves. But these forms of self-expression are old hat, and will not do for the in-your-face generation- X, Y or Z!

Therefore, new forms of self-expression are IN. Smileys that appear from some deft clicks, P's, D's and other mysterious letters which mean something (apparently), and the like. Yes, the 'likes' too! These are what could be termed as 'low-impact' forms of expressing oneself.

The ones which make a greater impact, and might even make a person go red in the face, are slapping, or throwing your shoes, or chappals at the person instead of trying to converse with him. Earlier practised in bar-room brawls under extreme inebriation, these forms of expression have gone mainstream, so the aam aadmi can practice these at any forum, not limited to the venues mentioned earlier and used historically.

The stars are also human, and therefore likely to have their feet firmly on the ground, while using the same forms of self-expression. If only you could slap your way into a bigger box office return,...