This article is written by Raja, a fellow enthusiast of Hindi movie music and a contributor to this blog. This article is meant to be posted in atulsongaday.me. If this article appears in sites like lyricstrans.com and ibollywoodsongs.com etc then it is piracy of the copyright content of atulsongaday.me and is a punishable offence under the existing laws.
|
Blog Day: |
4481 | Post No. : | 15992 |
Hello everyone,
My appearances here on the blog are becoming increasingly infrequent, not unlike the cameo visits of an MP/MLA to his constituency post-elections. 
I will not get into reasons for my long absence from here – no excuses. Mea culpa.
As usual, my appearance here marks a special occasion.
This time it has to do with Sahir Ludhianvi’s death anniversary.
The legendary poet & lyricist passed away exactly 40 years ago, on the 25th of October 1980.
What can I write about Sahir that I haven’t already written here in previous posts?
Hardly anything, to be honest.
I’ve written so much about him here, on many of his birth and death anniversaries, that anything I write will be repetitive.
And yet I cannot let the occasion go by without marking it with my small contribution here. It has almost become a ritual for me now.
One thing though.
I might be a big Sahir fan, but I´m nothing compared to Avinash ji.
As usual, he contacted me a few days ago requesting me to do a post for this occasion.
And, as usual, he sent me a song with lyrics.
That was all the motivation I needed to come out of hibernation.
Prompted by the lyrics of this song, Avinash ji also shared some of this thoughts with me. Wide-ranging reflections on society, politics, media, polarization and other topics.
I must say I agree with his views – sobering thoughts for these times.
So today, perhaps the best tribute I can give Sahir is not to repeat what I’ve said so often about his poetry and lyrics, but to just reflect on where we are as a society, much as Sahir often did.
So kindly bear with me as I share a few thoughts.
You don’t have to agree with me at all – that’s perfectly fine.
We can disagree – and still be friends.
So if Sahir were around today, how would he have felt about today’s India?
Indian society, politics, media, justice system. . . everything that touches the common man’s life.
Am specifically talking about the common man, because clearly Sahir used his voice most to speak up for the aam aadmi and underprivileged against the powerful.
I’m not sure Sahir would’ve had many kind things to say.
The religious divide he warned us about, the exploitation of women he lamented, the oppression of labor class that he railed against, the caste inequality that he talked about – all of them exist, and even flourish, to this day.
At least in the early years post-independence, one can argue that India was still struggling to find its feet. It was besieged with a whole lot of baggage, including mass illiteracy and mass poverty, a colonial hangover, lack of institutions and infrastructure.
Not that any of this is an excuse to justify oppression, but India was still a baby then, and had huge challenges to deal with on multiple fronts. It had a history of feudalism that ensured a master-slave mentality between the haves and have-nots.
Today, many decades later, it’s not unfair to expect India to have matured more as a democracy. With more concern for people’s rights and freedoms, a greater regard for the dignity of every individual.
And yet how much have we really matured as a democracy?
We keep thumping our chests, claiming to be the world’s largest democracy. But what should democracy really mean?
Many think it is the right to vote.
But is that all there is to a democracy?
The right to vote?
That’s too narrow and limiting a function of a democracy.
For me, in a democracy (as opposed to a dictatorship), each person has a voice, has a right to express an opinion.
In fact, voting is one way of expressing your opinion.
But it’s just ONE way.
When farmers go on a nationwide protest to draw attention to their issues, they are also exercising their right to express themselves.
When citizens protest on the streets against what they believe to be an unfair law, they are similarly exercising their right to express themselves.
As long as the protests are peaceful, they are legitimate in a democracy.
In fact, even before independence, Gandhi ji and other leaders led peaceful protests against colonial rule. So it is nothing new in India.
Many of Sahir’s songs are actually a protest against exploitation by those in power. Imagine if he were not allowed to express his thoughts!
Do we even want such a society?
Do we want everyone to be a blind conformist, not to have independent thoughts of his own, to be fearful of expressing himself, to kowtow to those in power without a murmur?
Then we might as well just call ourselves a nation of slaves.
There’s no point in a nation being free, if its people aren’t.
A nation is nothing without its people.
And people, whether some of us like it or not, have the power to think.
And when they think, they might not exactly think in our way.
Just because we have power, it doesn’t entitle us to stifle their voice.
That goes against the very grain of a democratic mindset, in which each person has a voice.
Unless the person is inciting violence, no one has the right to shut him up.
Not even the State.
If you disagree, put forth a better argument to make your case.
Don’t use your brute power to threaten, intimidate or (in the case of the State) arrest those you disagree with.
Just because you can.
That’s sheer abuse of power.
This has nothing to do with any particular political party. Many of them are guilty in their own ways of suppressing people’s voices.
If they get their way, what will we end up with?
A people living in fear, afraid to express an opinion that might be frowned upon by those in power.
Everyone becoming a conformist – whether by choice, or out of sheer fear.
In short, a nation of sheep.
Is that what we want?
Let’s pause, and reflect on this for a moment.
Speaking purely for myself, I like to express my views rather openly, even if they’re not exactly reflecting popular sentiment of the moment.
If I have to check myself every time, out of fear for repercussions, I’d feel extremely stifled.
As Sahir would too.
There are many more topics one can reflect on (and Avinash ji’s thoughts traversed many of them), but I’m limiting myself to just this one topic today because it sort of syncs with the song for today. Need to also leave material for future posts on Sahir, right?
Today’s song from ‘Naach Ghar’ (1959) is Sahir’s sarcastic piece of advice to society. “Just observe things happening, but don’t speak up. Just let them happen. Don’t upset the apple-cart. Even call the dark of night, “day” if you need to”.
I quite like the rendition by Lata Mangeshkar.
Music is by N. Datta, for whom Sahir wrote excellent lyrics also for ‘Dhool Ka Phool’, also a 1959 film. And for ‘Dharmputra’ (1961). So theirs was quite a fruitful partnership.
In fact, I’ve already written a post for a song from Naach Ghar (1959) on the occasion of Sahir’s 500th song on this blog – “Tere Shehron Se Raja Hamen Ban Hi Bhaley”
That is a straightforward lament, today’s song is a sarcastic take on society.
I like both songs a lot, but then I’m biased towards Sahir so my opinion should be taken with a truckload of salt.
So please listen to the song, and judge for yourself.
In closing, I’d like to say Sahir was one of a kind. They don’t make his type anymore.
Song – Ae Dil Zubaan Na Khol (Naach Ghar) (1959) Singer – Lata Mangeshkar, Lyrics – Sahir Ludhianvi, MD – N Datta
Chorus
Lyrics
aye dil zubaan na khol sirf dekh le
kisi se kuchh na bol sirf dekh le
hmm hmm hmm hmm
aye dil zubaan na khol sirf dekh le
ye haseen jagmagaahatein ae
hmm hmm hmm
aanchalon ki sarr saraahatein en
hmm hmm hmm
ye haseen jagmagaahatein ae
hmm hmm hmm
aanchalon ki sarr saraahatein en
aanchalon ki sarr saraahatein
ye nashe mein jhoomti zameen
hmm hmm hmm
sabke paanv choomti zameen
hmm hmm hmm
ye nashe mein jhoomti zameen
hmm hmm hmm
sabke paanv choomti zameen
hmm hmm hmm
kis kadar hai gol sirf dekh le
aye dil zubaan na khol sirf dekh le
kitna sach hai kitna jhooth hai ae
kitna haq hai kitni loot hai
rakhh sabhi ki laaj kuchh na keh
kya hai ye samaaj kuchh na keh
dhol ka ye pol sirf dekh le
aye dil zubaan na khol sirf dekh le
maan le jahaan ki baat ko
hmm hmm hmm
din samajh le kaali raat ko o
hmm hmm hmm
maan le jahaan ki baat ko
hmm hmm hmm
din samajh le kaali raat ko o
hmm hmm hmm
din samajh le kaali raat ko
chalne de yoon hi ye silsilaa aa
hmm hmm hmm
ye na bol kisko kya milaa aa aa
hmm hmm hmm
chalne de yoon hi ye silsilaa aa
hmm hmm hmm
ye na bol kisko kya milaa aa
hmm hmm hmm
taraazuon ka jhol sirf dekh le
aye dil zubaan na khol sirf dekh le
————————————————————
Hindi Script Lyrics (Provided by Avinash Scrapwala)
————————————————————
ए दिल जुबां न खोल सिर्फ देख ले
किसी से कुछ न बोल सिर्फ देख ले
हम्म हम्म हम्म हम्म
ए दिल जुबां न खोल सिर्फ देख ले
ये हसीन जगमगाहटें ए
हम्म हम्म हम्म
आँचलों की सर सराहटें एं
हम्म हम्म हम्म
ये हसीन जगमगाहटें ए
हम्म हम्म हम्म
आँचलों की सर सराहटें एं
आँचलों की सर सराहटें
ये नशे में झूमती ज़मीन
हम्म हम्म हम्म
सब के पाँव चूमती ज़मीन
हम्म हम्म हम्म
ये नशे में झूमती ज़मीन
हम्म हम्म हम्म
सब के पाँव चूमती ज़मीन
हम्म हम्म हम्म
किस कदर है गोल सिर्फ देख ले
ए दिल जुबां न खोल सिर्फ देख ले
कितना सच है कितना झूठ है
कितना हक है कितनी लूट है
रख सभी की लाज कुछ न कह
क्या है ये समाज कुछ न कह
ढोल का ये पोल सिर्फ देख ले
ए दिल जुबां न खोल सिर्फ देख ले
मान ले जहां कि बात को
हम्म हम्म हम्म
दिन समझ ले काली रात को ओ
हम्म हम्म हम्म
मान ले जहां कि बात को
हम्म हम्म हम्म
दिन समझ ले काली रात को ओ
हम्म हम्म हम्म
दिन समझ ले काली रात को
चलने दे यूँही ये सिलसिला आ
हम्म हम्म हम्म
ये न बोल किसी को क्या मिला आ आ
हम्म हम्म हम्म
चलने दे यूँही ये सिलसिला आ
हम्म हम्म हम्म
ये न बोल किसी को क्या मिला आ
हम्म हम्म हम्म
तराजुओं का झोल सिर्फ देख ले
ए दिल जुबां न खोल सिर्फ देख ले