first brush with mehdi hassan, perhaps like everyone else, was ranjish hi sahi... no actually second - first memory of mehdi hassan is a pile of cassettes (yes those tape cassettes) at my uncle's place, who probably carefully collected each of his albums and all their permutations and combinations... must admit all i felt that time was curiosity... my hindi sucked, cant imagine understanding a word of ghazals as a kid...
eventually in late teens came stupid crush(es..is that right for plural?) and profound feelings... and ranjish hi sahi.. i outgrew most things i felt and experienced over the past ten years except these songs (poetry and love itself, if i may add) i was not sure if i loved the poetry more or the voice that rendered it.
after all these years, i am now sure that it was both, almost equally, that has been making me utterly restless and quivery every time i hear ...
Ranjish hi sahi...
kis Kis Ko Bataayenge Judaaii Kaa Sabab Ham
tuu Mujh Se Khafaa Hai To Zamaane Ke Liye Aa
maanaa Ki Muhabbat Kaa Chhipaanaa Hai Muhabbat
chupake Se Kisii Roz Jataane Ke Liye Aa...
jaise Tujhe Aate Hain Na Aane Ke Bahaane
aise Hii Kisii Roz Na Jaane Ke Liye Aa...
he sang verses written by mirza ghalib, faiz ahmed faiz, meer taqi meer, ahmed faraz and many other geniuses and elevated them to sublime level of a its own. he made these words as if their soul belonged to his voice... when he sang chale bhi aao toh gulshan ka karobaar chalen... that chale bhi aao felt like the most intense request of the most fragile heart/love...
he sang jane toh jane gul hi na jane, baag toh sara jane hai... it was gut wrenching and yet so soft and restrained... i could picture each pipal leaf trying to send out a message of love to the universe...
was it the natural gift of velvety melodious voice or his unique (for ghazal singing) learning from a family of traditional dhrupad singers? was it internalised pain of partition or the scortching upbringing of rajasthan? was it feeling of belonging to both countries (or longing to belong to home, region, love, to rains, to poems??) was it poverty and struggle that made him become that much better - the king of ghazals? so much so that gulzar captured the love of his fans as he wrote aankhon ko visa nahi lagta...
... band aakhon se aksar sarhad paar chala jata hoon
milne Mehdi Hasan se...
aankhon ko visa nahi lagta
sapnon ki sarhad koi nahi...
although he had not sung for the longest time and was suffering for years together, some how one does not associate death with people like him. some how one feels that these exceptionally talented people will be around. as if i did not count the last years of his suffering as his, it was a mortal who was grappling with these eventually fatal illnesses... the immortal hassan was accompanying me and my changing moods, feelings and thoughts with an appropriate and fitting ghazal all the time...
ab ke hum bichDe to shaayad kabhi khwaaboN meiN mile
jis tarah sookhe huye phool kitaaboN meiN mile
or
zindagi meiN to sabhi pyaar kiya karte haiN
main to mar ke bhi meri jaan tuJhe chahoonga...
all this and more... so yeah, even as the creator perishes, his creations remain more than alive... so much so that the disbelief of his death is more real than death itself... is it? or may be for me and millions of others, creation is no different from the creator - coz we knew him through his work and perhaps his creations alone? long live the king of ghazals... he will live on, as long as poetry does, as long as longing does, as long as love does...
mohabbat karanevaale kam na ho.nge
eventually in late teens came stupid crush(es..is that right for plural?) and profound feelings... and ranjish hi sahi.. i outgrew most things i felt and experienced over the past ten years except these songs (poetry and love itself, if i may add) i was not sure if i loved the poetry more or the voice that rendered it.
after all these years, i am now sure that it was both, almost equally, that has been making me utterly restless and quivery every time i hear ...
Ranjish hi sahi...
kis Kis Ko Bataayenge Judaaii Kaa Sabab Ham
tuu Mujh Se Khafaa Hai To Zamaane Ke Liye Aa
maanaa Ki Muhabbat Kaa Chhipaanaa Hai Muhabbat
chupake Se Kisii Roz Jataane Ke Liye Aa...
jaise Tujhe Aate Hain Na Aane Ke Bahaane
aise Hii Kisii Roz Na Jaane Ke Liye Aa...
he sang verses written by mirza ghalib, faiz ahmed faiz, meer taqi meer, ahmed faraz and many other geniuses and elevated them to sublime level of a its own. he made these words as if their soul belonged to his voice... when he sang chale bhi aao toh gulshan ka karobaar chalen... that chale bhi aao felt like the most intense request of the most fragile heart/love...
he sang jane toh jane gul hi na jane, baag toh sara jane hai... it was gut wrenching and yet so soft and restrained... i could picture each pipal leaf trying to send out a message of love to the universe...
was it the natural gift of velvety melodious voice or his unique (for ghazal singing) learning from a family of traditional dhrupad singers? was it internalised pain of partition or the scortching upbringing of rajasthan? was it feeling of belonging to both countries (or longing to belong to home, region, love, to rains, to poems??) was it poverty and struggle that made him become that much better - the king of ghazals? so much so that gulzar captured the love of his fans as he wrote aankhon ko visa nahi lagta...
... band aakhon se aksar sarhad paar chala jata hoon
milne Mehdi Hasan se...
aankhon ko visa nahi lagta
sapnon ki sarhad koi nahi...
although he had not sung for the longest time and was suffering for years together, some how one does not associate death with people like him. some how one feels that these exceptionally talented people will be around. as if i did not count the last years of his suffering as his, it was a mortal who was grappling with these eventually fatal illnesses... the immortal hassan was accompanying me and my changing moods, feelings and thoughts with an appropriate and fitting ghazal all the time...
ab ke hum bichDe to shaayad kabhi khwaaboN meiN mile
jis tarah sookhe huye phool kitaaboN meiN mile
or
zindagi meiN to sabhi pyaar kiya karte haiN
main to mar ke bhi meri jaan tuJhe chahoonga...
all this and more... so yeah, even as the creator perishes, his creations remain more than alive... so much so that the disbelief of his death is more real than death itself... is it? or may be for me and millions of others, creation is no different from the creator - coz we knew him through his work and perhaps his creations alone? long live the king of ghazals... he will live on, as long as poetry does, as long as longing does, as long as love does...
mohabbat karanevaale kam na ho.nge
hafeez hoshiarpuri
mohabbat karanevaale kam na ho.nge
terii mahafil me.n lekin ham na ho.nge
zamaane bhar ke Gam yaa ik teraa Gam
ye Gam hogaa to kitane Gam na ho.nge
dilo.n kii ulajhane.n ba.Datii rahe.ngii
agar kuchh mashvare baaham na ho.nge
agar tuu ittafaaqan mil bhii jaaye
terii furqat ke sadame.n kam na ho.nge
'Hafeez' un se mai.n jitanaa bad_gumaa.N huu.N
vo mujh se is qadar barham na ho.nge
