Media & Man

सुबह सुबह इक ख्व़ाब की, दस्तक पर दरवाजा खुला देखा,
सरहद के उस पार से कुछ मेहमान आये थे,
आँखों से मायुस थे सारे, चेहरे सारे सुने सुनाए,
पाँव धोये, हाथ धुलाए, आँगन में आसन लगवाये,
और तन्दुर पे मक्के के कुछ मोटे-मोटे रोटी पकाये,
पोटली में मेहमान मेरे, पिछले सालों के फसलों का गुड़ लाये थे ।

आँख खुली तो देखा घर में कोई नही था ।
हाथ लगाकर देखा तो तन्दुर अभी तक बुझा नहीं था,
और होठों पे मीठे गुड़ का जाय़का अब तक चिपक रहा था
ख्वाब था शायद ख्वाब ही होगा
सरहद पे सुना है कल रात चली थी गोली,
स़रहद पे कल रात सुना है – कुछ ख्वावों का खू़न हुआ है ।

The preface of the song इक पुराना मौसम लौटा – in Marasim.

Year 1999, the one day in Air Force Station as a frequent guest of my friend, Subhash, from Haryana. And on a afternoon, I was lying comfortable on the bed. Subhash told me to hear a new cassette he bought and put it in the cassette player. I had listened only few lines. And it was enough capable to vibrate the dormitory. And the heavy solemn voice of Jagjit Singh, and so the waves vibrated my soul, leading it to somewhere. The Album was Marasim by Jagjit Singh.

Haath chute bhi to rishtey nahi choda karte..was the one of Ghazal there, and yes, where is Subhash today, I don’t know. He may be with his children at some air force station. And his memories are still with me. The connecting string to him everytime is Marasim.

I took out the lyrics leaflet out of the cassette. I read the urdu composition of Gulzar. Though at home, Pankaj Udhas was only to bring ghazal’s emotional touch and worth to mention “Ghunghru tut gayi”. And I think its real vibration matching airs around us that, I got friends with common interests, where ever I go.

And the ghazal maestro Jagjit Singh had an existence in pictures and timeless ghazals. It was a bliss to see the maestro performing at the live function here in Bangalore. Though organiser could have arranged the live performance in an efficient accoustic hall, hence to bring out the minute details of her unique style of fluctuating the vocal cord, that is audiable in the CD sound system at home.

Later on I heard about the private life of the maestro, when they lost their son, Vivek agee 21 years, I was really shocked, which can never be compensated to him by all his acquired fame and satisfaction. Whenever I hear Jagjit & Chitra singing together, I wish, may not God make any absolutely perfect couple, if there lies such a great pain to suffer in the completness. The couple’s dedication towards music is great, even after pain they tried to share the pain of lakhs of his fans with few more albums.

With due respect to his private life, I do wonder the reason behind of his unique rendition of inner human feelings in the air. And this is one way one can understand and share the pains of others. These poetic rendition comes out, when there is some untold, unknown pains lies within.

Ghazals have quite different essence and style than song. The choosen words of poetry, the weaving style to bring out feelings is the first lyrics expertise. Then the rendition, who delivers with a voice, that must have deep feeling of abstract 6th sense apart from all forms. To me hearing the poetic recitation of Ghazals proves to be the best thing for the solitory moments.

These are the companion of those feelings that waves into the sea of thoughts. Thoughts of relations, those tied forever, those broken up, those which could not be tied and all those which still binds the world with invisible strings.

P.S.: More than 6 years passed off and Subhash was out of touch, and the day I had finished writing this post, Subhash found me on Orkut after a lot of search. Is it just a coincidence or something unexplained ever !