Saturday, May 23, 2009

नगमे - 1 (Title Song)

As promised, now few songs that I had once written for the album, which never saw the daylight...

Every song that I wrote I have to come up with the idea, since that guy only told me the name of the album, that he is looking for one Ghazal and few songs, along with the title song.

I based this title song upon a theme or expression which I found poetic and made a mental note of it to make use of it in some poem. Well, it came as an effect of the words spoken by my friend , whom we use to call as colonel uncle. He was a retired colonel (off course from Army) and he was one of our colleagues, studying the computer science course from UIUC's off site campus at New Delhi. One evening while he was speaking about his wife to me, he said some thing on the lines that- when a kind of report is established between the two individuals and that they both become kind of predictable to each other. At least he was very predictable being the creature of habits, he confessed.

Well, here is the title song, which I based on the above thought. The situation as explained above, found its place in the last stanza of the song... rest all is my तस्सवुर (imagination)।

हर सुबह तेरा चूमके माथा, तुझे जगाते है नगमे,
रात भर सोयी पलकों पे, ख्वाब सजाते है नगमे |

तुम आए हो घर की मेरे, खुशबू बदल गई,
हर इक शै में तेरे हाथों की नरमी धड़क गई,
बुझे चराग तनहा शामो के, फ़िर जलाते है नगमे|

हर सुबह तेरा चूमके माथा, तुझे जगाते है नगमे...

बादलों की लकीरों में ढूँढते है नक्श तेरा,
धुप में पाने लगे आँखों का उजाला तेरा,
रख मिटटी पे नाम तेरा साया बनाते है नगमे |

हर सुबह तेरा चूमके माथा, तुझे जगाते है नगमे...

दिल का बूझता पानी, फिर जिलाया होगा,
बूझा के सूरज को फिर हाँथ जलाया होगा,
ये तेरी शामो के किस्से, सौ बार सुनाते है नगमे |

हर सुबह तेरा चूमके माथा, तुझे जगाते है नगमे...

When Words Follows From Words....

The nature of poem is hard to describe in handful of words. Its only to experience. How it takes away the burden of the heart, cannot be known. It seems it does nothing, but to point out, to us, the facts which we already know consciously or subconsciously and never might dare to put it in so many words or even to name it. I think, its this act of poem, to name those burdens of soul and heart, in so many words that there remains nothing but the naked self before the eyes, looking directly in the eyes. Its the process in which we see ourselves born once again from our wombs. It equips us with tools necessary to accept ourselves and to live in peace with ourselves.

Sometimes, something of you is left remain in them and sometimes, something of them is left remain in you. You breath in them, they breath in you.

Well, so much to say that there is a couplet of Faiz Ahmad Faiz, which had remained in me, for better I suppose. It has always given me strength and moral support in times when I am stripped of with all hopes. The couplet goes like this

दिल ना उम्मीद तो नही, नाकाम ही तो है,
लम्बी है ग़म की शाम मगर, शाम ही तो है ||
( Though my heart is a failure, its still hopeful. No matter how impassable a dusk seems, still it fades away)

Javed Akhtar, is a true son of a poet (his father Janisaar Akhtar is one of the pillars of Urdu literature) and one of the few lyricists in Bollywood who is still penning the meaningful songs, the one other remaining is Gulzar. I think Javed Akhtar, was inspired by this couplet to write one of the songs (I should rather call it a poem/Nazam) for the movie "1942 A Love Story". I hope one remembers that memorable song
ये सफर बहुत है कठिन मगर, ना उदास हो मेरे हमसफ़र......

This song underlines that couplet in the start.

These two things in turn inspired me to write the following Nazam (poem). Very interestingly one guy showed such a interest in this poem that he wanted to record it for one of the albums and he had chosen me to write the songs. Ha ha, off course the album was never got recorded and was never meant to be recorded. I was deceived, in thinking that I am getting a break in Bollywood in amchi Mumbai as a lyricist.......Nevertheless, I didn't mind at all that I was deceived why? because it gave me opportunity to write so many Nazams and that's what it matters to me. Any situation bad or good, if gives me a poem that is all I wish out of it.

I have planned to put all those Nazams on my blogs as many as I remember still. The album was suppose to be named as नगमे , and I even penned a title song for it. For now enjoy this poetry inspired by the couplet written by Faiz saab.

बर आयेगी हर उम्मीद,
दिल लहू से गर्माते रहो,
तवाफ़ पे है, मह्रोमाह,
रोज़ से शब् , शब् से रोज़ छुडाते रहो |

अपने कनार में रहो सबाँ आई है,
सोजे बादा ऐ सहर लिए हुए,
नूर गर्माओ जिस्मो की महक से,
चल रहे है दागे शबनम लिए हुए |

दर्द का जो आहंग है, रहने दो,
कैफ का जो उरूज़ है, रहने दो,
ना ठहरा दूरी ऐ जमीनों आसमां,
रवां है हम रवां रहने दो |

हम भी देखेंगे वो आतिशे शर्रर ऐ पैहम,
वो दीदार की साहिर साअत जब ,
तमिज़े माजी ओ पर्दा रहती है, ना हदे इमरोज़,
रह जाती है तो फकत अपनी बात जब

Wednesday, May 20, 2009

Two and Few More Years Back



It was today, two years back that I stepped on this land of opportunities called America. So to pin this day, I am sharing following poem that I wrote in some october 2003. Though even remotely, It has nothing to do with my coming to America or anything else related to it. However for me this poem is special and of great importance and thus sharing the poem and its importance on this day.






When I wrote this poem, I had for weeks, not seen the sunrise/sunset nor had time to lift my head up and see the sky. I was deep buried in a project with an ambitious deadline (I really hate those people who just go out and commit any delivery dates to client....). Well anyways, one evening, I resolved to see at least the sunset. I went outside the company building and these were the words that smiled at me, put there warm hands on my heart, asked me how I am doing and took away the burden of my heart and soul. I found one scrap of a paper in my pocket and wrote these words.

All the above is again not important, the important thing is that, few weeks after , I learnt that Gulzar saab is visiting Pune to grace his presence on the opening show of his play "Kharashen". I had to see this play and I had to get an autograph of this great poet. So I made a fare copy of this poem and left a little space on that paper to be filled in by Gulzar saab... Yes I managed to get the autograph and that sheet of paper is still with me....my million dollars.......

Enjoy the poetry.....
सुबह आती है दबे पाँव गुजर जाती है,
उजालों की सरसराहट भी सुनाई नही देती,
दिन भर दौड़ता हूँ दिन की तलाश में,
ख़बर नही होती, कब रात,
जिस्म की लावें बुझा देती है ....

कब से भेजा है खैरीयत को अपनी ख़बर लेने,
लगता है इक गुमराह को और भी गुमराह कर है

Sunday, May 17, 2009

ताज़ा कलाम - कुछ और गुस्ताखीयाँ

Written after staring for 2-3 hours at the blank blog page... I had never thought the voids of blank blog page would ever yield to these words ...spontaneously


देर तलक देखता रहा, सादे सफ्हे पे उड़ती हुई खलायें
देर तलक इक दर्द में, अपनी कोख में दुखता रहा
सुर्ख शफ़क - ऐ -तस्सवुर से इक शुआ न फूटी
बहुत देर हरूफों के ठंडे हाँथ महसूस करता रहा ...

तुमने भी तो , किसी नाम से पुकारा नही मुझे
जिंदगी ने भी , जीने की इजाज़त न दी मुझे