*Dil-e-Naadaan tujhe hua kya hai
Aakhir is dard ki davaa kya hai
Ham hain mushtaaq aur vo bezaar
Yaa ilaahi ye maajaraa kya hai.
Jaan tum par nisaar karata hoon
Main nahin jantaa dua kya hai*
This is the famous poetry of Mirza Ghalib. In the 1980s, Gulzar produced a T.V. serial by the same title and Jagjit Singh was an integral part of the project. The partnership of Gulzar and Jagjit Singh is pretty famous. He was the music composer of the series and also sang many ghazals for it. Apart from the magnificent poetry, the voice rendered by Singh was beautiful. Poetry such as this, which tugs at your heart is what ghazals are all about. And when I say ghazals - I think **JAGJIT SINGH**.
Without further ado, I’ll go right into the ghazals of Jagjit Singh that are very memorable to me. Ofcourse, I’ll be mentioning only five – God alone knows how tough it was to have picked out just a few, when one knows that one’s bound to leave out many others which, if not better, are equally splendid. Every ghazal that Jagjit Singh lends his voice to from among those that I’ve heard, manages to get to my soul. I wonder what the route is! It just seeps through the mind, im guessing, and registers somewhere deep. The maestro is so selective in his choice of songs, that invariably they are masterpieces. Let me not take away credit from poets who spun the magical web of words which were then sung by Singh – here, I mean poets such as Gulzar, Javed Akhtar, Kaifi Azmi, Insha.and ofcourse Mirza Ghalib.
My list is as follows(it is an order-less list. I am absolutely in awe of the singer and the poetry, that I cannot think of ranking these ghazals). **Melody and meaning** is a killer combination. That is what I find in the ghazals/songs mentioned below:
***Honthon se Chhuu Lo Tum***
Jagjit singh sang this eternal love song for the movie Prem Geet. The lyrics were penned by Indeevar. This song seems to look forward. It is unconventional and utterly romantic.
*Honthon se chhu lo tum
Mera geet amar kar do
Ban jao meet mere
Meri preet amar kar do. .
.Na umr ki seema ho
Na janmo ka ho bandhan
Jab pyar kare koi to dekhe keval mann
Nayi reet chala kar tum
Ye reet amar kar do.*
***Kal Chaudhvin Ki Raat Thi***
This ghazal is by the Urdu poet Ibn-e-Insha. Jagjit Singh has sung it with correct measure - playful yet sensitive, with a dash of longing.
*Kal chaudhvin ki raat thi
Shab bhar raha charcha tera
Kuch ne kaha ye chand hai
Kuch ne kaha chehra tera
Hum bhi wahin maujood the
Hum se bhi sab poochha kiye
Hum hans diye, hum chup rahe
Manzoor tha parda tera
Is shehar mein kis se milen
Hum se to chhoti mehfilen
Har shaks tera naam le
Har shaks diwana tera
Kal chaudhvin ki raat thi.
Be-dard sunni ho to chal
Kehta hai kya achchi ghazal
Aashiq tera, rusva tera, shayar tera, ‘Insha’ tera.*
Sweet and touching, isn’t it?
***Sheikh ji***
Now this is a more serious, grave kind of a ghazal. And like many shayars, there is abundant reference to alcohol. My interpretation of this one is that it is a subtle rebellion against the system, the preachers – a rebellion against the status quo basically. In this the poet tells the priest(no offense, please!) to first get high on alcohol and only then to preach about the rights and wrongs. To do away with double standards and to practice what you preach – that is the message. Well, a view from behind the veil, I’d say, with only partial vision.but hard hitting nevertheless. The masterful Singh gives this ghazal a life of its own.
*Sheikhji, thodi si pi kar aaiye
Kya hai achcha kya burra hai
Phir batlaiye
Sheikhji thodi si pi kar aaiye
Aap kyun hain saari duniya se juda
Aap bhi dushman mere ban jaiye
Kya hai achcha kya burra bandaanavaaz
Aap samjhen to humen sajhaiye
Jaane dijiye akal ki baatein janaab
Dil ki suniye aur peete jaiye
Uljhane duniya ki suljha lenge hum
Aap apni zulf to suljhaiye…*
***Sarakti Jaye Hai***
Another one of my favorites and it is a very popular one as well. I find a sense of philosophical musings in this ghazal, along with subdued romance. Words such as “aftaab”(meaning, the rising sun) give this ghazal an entirely mesmerizing feel.
The poet is comparing his beloved’s face to the rising sun at daybreak. Also, there is a stress on the word “aahistaa”(meaning, slowly). It seems to signify the importance of patience.
*Sarakti jaye hai rukh se nakaab
aahista aahista
Nikalta aa raha hai aaftab
aahista aahista.
Shab-e-furkat ka jaaga hoon
Farishton ab to sone do
Kabhi fursat mein kar lena hisaab
aahista aahista.
Hamare aur tumhare pyar mein fark hai bas itna
Idhar to jaldi jaldi hai
Udhar aahista aahista.*
***Jaag Ke Kaati***
This song is from the movie Leela and Jagjit Singh is the music composer himself. You can hear him singing in a different style as he renders this one in classical mode. It is a difficult song to sing, and has a sedating and numbing effect. This is quite a recent movie and therefore it features in my list.
*Jaag ke kaati saari raina
Naino mein kal os giri thi.
Prem ki agni bujhti nahi hai
Behti nadiya rukti nahi hai
Saagar tak behte do naina
Jaag ke kaati saari raina
Rooh ke bandhan khulte nahin hain
Daag hain dil ke dhulte nahin hain
Karvat karvat baaki raina
Jaag ke kaati saari raina.*
Now is the time to redeem myself. Let me clarify that these five are by no means my only favorites. I listed them because they are’relatively’ unpopular. There are many other ghazals/songs that I MUST mention:
-jhuki jhuki si nazar
-tere khat
-tum itna jo muskura rahe ho
-ye koi kaise bataye
-mere dil mein tu hi tu hai
-tumko dekha to yeh khayaal aaya
-mere jaise ban jaoge
-badi haseen raat thi
-kaagaz ki kashti
-hazaaron khwahishein aisi
-dil-e-nadaan
Jagjit Singh is my artist of the month. His voice reaches the depths, and perhaps the heavens too.