doublethink

A double treat for my readers - since I was inactive for long, I thought of putting up two pieces at the same time. Heavy dose for you guys?? :P Phool khilte hain baharon mein gar jo aate ho tum Jo na bhi aawo toh mitte rahe ye gul phir bhi, Saansein meri ruk-ruk ke chalti hain jo na ho tum Aur jo ho bhi tum to rukti nahi kambhakt phir bhi, Zinda hua raat ki chaa gaya taaron ka jaal Saba ki yaad mein rota hai ye dil phir bhi, Aayi hai maut bankar abki saba ki khusboo Na bhoolega dil sab me uge haseen chaand ko phir bhi.

Avid readers of Urdu poetry would definitely find shades of Firakh Gorakhpuri in this piece (specially in the last couplet). The title is borrowed from Mehndi Hassan's famous ghazal - bhooli beesri chand umeedein, chand fasaane yaad aaye . Bewafa jo hue tum to koi shikwa bhi nahi Mit gayi ho ranjishein saari kuch aisa bhi nahi, Dard to hai dil mein ki tum chodh gaye mujhko Rok loon tere qadmon ko, dard itna bhi nahi, Ab tammanna bhi nahi, na koi khwaeish hi rahi Shab-e-firaaq magar shaam-e-besahar ho, aisa bhi nahi, Chand umeedein, chand fasaane, sab adhoore hi rahe Niyat-e-mohabbat to paak thi, aadmi wo magar achcha bhi nahi.

Ajeeb hai dard-e-dil ki taseer goya, Dard mein jeena hi ise raas aaya, Badhne de Firaaq ki ghadiyaan kuch aur pal, Syaah-e-sab mein hi ise mehtaab nazar aaya. Kahe the wo ki humsafar honge, Kahe the wo ki ba-wafa honge, Khoobsoorti itni ki dil-e-nadaan ko, Unki har baat par yakeen aaya.

The doomed diva Har ek mod pe bas do hi naam milte hain Maut keh lo – jo muhabbat na kehne paao (There are only two names on each pathways (of life) Call it death, if you can’t call it love) I am sorry for even trying my hands at translating these beautiful verses portraying intense suffering, tragedy and clamour of an individual. Are there any guesses who penned these lines? I am sure very few of us would rightfully identify this poetess-in-oblivion who wrote many such verses and couplets as a personal way of registering, recording and dealing with her grief-stricken short life of forty odd years. She was born on 1st August 1932 in Mumbai to Ali Baksh and Iqbal Begum (renamed from Prabhawati Devi). Her father was an actor in Parsi theatre and also dabbled in Urdu poetry and occasionally gave music direction in Hindi movies. This girl, Mahjabeen Bano, was the youngest of her siblings and in the family mired in financial hardships she was literally forced to work in films. Her career st...

Fughaan Zindagi yunhi basar hone do Gham badi der se firaaq hone do, Shabnami auns ko phir se batoroon main kyun kar pighalne do inhein yunhi beh jaane do, Us kinaare se aayengeen phir sadayein kuch aur, is kinaare shikasht-e-zaam behne do, Dil mein sauda, zigar mein raqt nahi palon ko thaam ke ye waqt girte hain, Simti ye ghadiyaan, inhein aur simat jaane do is kashish ko "Fugaan" ho jaane do. This is yet another try at writing and composing something. Click on the link below or on Fughaan Sound Track. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VxZXKHsK3mY