Jiya Jale: The Stories of Songs by Gulzar (In conversation & Nasreen Munni Kabir)

Author:Gulzar (In conversation & Nasreen Munni Kabir) [Gulzar (In conversation & Kabir, Nasreen Munni]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2018-11-10T00:00:00+00:00

Harshvardhan Kapoor and Saiyami Kher in Mirzya (2016), directed by Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra. Photo courtesy ROM Pictures.

Yaad na aaiyo re

Don’t make me remember you

Pia jagaave, jiya jagaave, diya jagaave re

It was the lover, the heart, the earthen lamp

NMK: I was talking to director Shaad Ali once about the importance of songs in India’s cultural life. He agreed with me and told me how thrilled he was that a song from one of his films had become part of the repertoire of wedding songs. He was talking about ‘Kajra re’ from his delightful 2005 film, Bunty aur Babli.

It is also a great example of the work of composers Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy and singers Alisha Chinai, Shankar Mahadevan and Javed Ali. The song starts with a doha.

Aisi nazar se dekha us zaalim ne chowk par

The way that cruel man eyed me

on the village square

Humne kaleja rakh diya chaaku ki nok par

My heart landed on a knife’s edge

Mera chain-vain sab ujda, zaalim nazar hatta le

My peace of mind turned to dust.

Look away, O cruel one

Barbaad ho rahe hain ji, tere apne sheherwale

Your stare has ruined people

from your very own town

Meri angdai na ttoote tu aaja

May my yearning never cease.

Come to me

NMK: You wrote all the songs from Shaad Ali’s first film, Saathiya. Is he a close friend?

G: I think of him as a young director—a young boy really. I used to meet him quite often in Chennai, because in those days he was working as Mani sir’s assistant. Before I’d say goodbye, I would give him some pocket money just as a father would. That is the kind of affection I feel for him.

Shaad was brought up in a cultured, literary and artistic world in Lucknow. His father is Muzaffar Ali, someone seeped in Sufiana poetry. Shaad has a deep social conscience because his mother, Subhashini Ali, is a committed Communist and President of the All India Democratic Women’s Association. His grandmother is the famous Captain Lakshmi Sahgal, a colleague of Subhash Chandra Bose. Lakshmiji stood in the presidential election in 2002 but lost to Abdul Kalam saab. She was a great social worker. That’s the kind of pedigree Shaad has.

But I must say he fights with me as much as my daughter Meghna does. He insists I use certain words in the songs I write for him, and also suggests a few words that he has probably picked up from his father. [laughs]

Ultimately one sentence says it all—Shaad is very dear to me.

Kajra re

Your kohl-rimmed eyes

Kajra re, kajra re, tere kaare kaare naina

Your kohl-rimmed eyes, your dark black eyes

O mere naina, mere naina, mere naina judwa naina

My eyes, my eyes, these eyes of mine

Kajra re

Your kohl-rimmed eyes

Surme se likhe tere vaade, aankhon ki zabaani aate hain

Your promises written in kohl

speak the language of the eyes

Mere rumaalon pe lab tere baandh ke nishaani jaate hain

Your lips have left a mark on my handkerchief

(Shankar Mahadevan & Javed Ali)

Teri baaton mein kimaam ki khushboo hai

Your words have an intoxicating scent

Tera aana bhi garmiyon ki lu hai

You blow in like the hot summer wind

Aaja ttoote na, ttoote na angdai

May my yearning for you never cease.

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