Gulzaar Saab – A Tribute

 

 

Art in the ultimate analysis, is autobiographical in nature – said Dale Carnegie.

 

There are few artists whose canvas seems to cover a whole generation for few decades. Gulzaar saab is one of those tall personalities that have added colour to many lives since 60′s!

 

This is a humble effort to share few notes about a personality that has added so much to our generation through his poetry, stories, screenplays and films.

Gulzaar ‘Sampooran Singh Kalra’ was born in 1936, West Punjab, Pakistan. Before becoming an established writer, Gulzaar worked as a car mechanic in a garage. Gulzaar has worked exhaustively in the Indian film industry for over forty three years. Gulzaar saab, as he is affectionately known has written in Hindi, Urdu, Punjabi and Bhojpuri.

Gulzaar is known for making brilliantly sensitive portrayal of subjects ranging from human relations, biographical profiles and often controversial social issues.This has won him 5 National Awards, 19 Filmfare Trophies and the National Honour of PADMABHUSHAN.  He has written stories for around 60 films and directed 17 movies, each one a masterpiece.

As Gulzaar says “Music has a natural place in our lives. Right from the shlok you recite in your morning puja and the milkman who comes whistling on his cycle, to the fakir singing as he begs for alms and your mother humming around the kitchen…music fills our spaces naturally. it will always be dear to us” : as is evident from his compositions, that have decorated the landscape for decades::

v     His song in the film Mausam, ‘75, titled- Dil Dhoondhta Hai, phir wohi, phursat ke raat din [This heart searches for those carefree relaxed days!]

v     Aandhi, ‘75, the songs played a significant role in bringing out the mental complexities of the characters. Notable songs include: Is morse jate hai [Lot of different people go past this cross section].

v     Masoom,’ 83, the song tujhse naaraz nahin zindagi hairan hoon mai [O Life! – am not upset with you – just surprised]. The list goes on …

Some years back Gulzaar released a Ghazal album – Marasam – with popular Ghazal singer Jagjit Singh. (Personally it was a trilling experience to find the album on sale – having “imagined” such an album a few days earlier, given the fact that the two artists have so much in common)

His philosophy towards life seems very simple but is complicated to understand for a common person. He says – The present is incomplete without the shades of the past.

Among the things that I found fascinating – Gulzaar saab keeping rosaa (fast) for Meena Kumari, the famous actress of Indian cinema – as she was too weak to fast herself!

Meghna Gulzaar has written an exclusive biography on her father, titled “Because He Is…” after all a daughter has the right to hero worship the dad!

http://www.gulzaronline.com/#gulzarnama : Details about his life, works and books

http://www.gulzar.info/gulzardirector2.html : Films by Gulzaar Saab

Tandoor- wala (the bread cook) & Rakh- wala (the Protector)

 Tandoor- wala (the bread cook) & Rakh- wala (the Protector)

 

It’s partly a salutation to the Tandoor- wala (the bread cook), opposite our residence, baking Rotis (the Indian bread) for several years. It helped us look after ourselves as a family. 

 

Baking / cooking rotis in Tandoor is an art – a tedious one though:

• You are exposed to constant heat – even in blistering summers
• It’s a low paid job – without much social status
• You are meticulously looking over each roti – making sure no one is overcooked / undercooked
• You remove each roti from Tandoor – once its ready

 

It’s interesting to see the parallels between Tandoor- wala (the bread cook) & Rakh- wala (The Almighty Protector)

• The Lord makes sure that we are sufficiently seasoned, within & without, before He lets us move to the next stage.
• He is watching over us – in constant heat!

Salutations to Nusrat Sahib !

Trying to express the beauty, the intensity, the impact of Nusrat sahib’s deep soulful voice, without the added features of his music, tabla, etc is like trying to illustrate the taste of a banana, using just the peel.

 

Some of the songs that resound within, shake the whole body & soul and do stretch one to the door of Consciousness include: [My limited understanding of the expressions is included]

• Akhiyan o Deek Diyan – Dil waja marda – aaja pardesiya vasta hee pyar da – Manya see tanoo sukh dukh daa shareek way – mukde nay hunjoo nahin mukdee udeek way
  • My eyes long for You, my heart yearns for You – Please appear – for the sake of my love – O my Lord! 
  • Had assumed that you are with me thru thick & thin – these tears dry up – but not the hope of meeting You
• Allah Hoo . . . Yeh Zamee jab na thee, yeh jahan jab na tha . . .tha bus too hee too
  • Even before this earth, sky, creation etc came into Being – You were there – You will always be there O my Lord
• Tere Bin Nahin Lagda Dil
  • This heart does not feel belonged anywhere, without You,
• Tum Ek Gorakh Dhanda Ho . . . Joo ulfaat main tumari khoo gaya hai – usee khoya kua koo kuch mila hai
  • Its very difficult to understand You, You are everywhere, still I can’t see You
  • Only those who have got “lost” in Your Devotion - have actually found something
• Ik Pal Chein Na Awey Dil kamla doob doob jaway Sanja teray bina
  • There is not a moment of peace, without You O my Friend,
  • This tender heart sinks, without You O my Friend
• Nit Khair Mangan
  • I wish for Your well being every day – and nothing else
• Shaam Udeekan, Fasar Udeekan, Akhain tay sari umar udeekan
  • Will eagerly long for You day in & day out – may be for the rest of this life
• Sukh teray te waray nay – ronday nain vicharay nay – karde galan saray nay – jhotay teray lare nay
  • All pleasures are offered to You, these eyes cry for You, people are being sarcastic to me, Your promise seems to waiver!

To borrow from Tagore Ji’s Song Unsung : “I have not seen his face, nor have I listened to his voice; only I have heard his gentle footsteps from the road before my house.”
Often, thru Nusrat sahibs songs - ”I have heard His gentle footsteps” . . .

Broken Life !

• Scholars and sages have often highlighted the fact that nothing is permanent – infact it’s a common belief that we can somehow put off this Impermanence – as Yiddisher said in Mahabharata – we see it all around us – yet we do not accept it for ourself.
• While the three Mega forces of Creation, Preservation & Destruction are ever present, we are vigorously trying to create, preserve and destroy structures as per our likes & dislikes.
• Our effort to give structure, form & meaning to Life, with the best of intent, has a certain degree of finiteness & limitation, perhaps thankfully so.
• “Broken Life” – as it appears to be, has a certain beauty to it. To use Rajneesh Ji’s expression it’s perfectly imperfect!
• Poets & artists are probably well suited to synthesise these “broken pieces”. E.g.
  • Tasali Dil Kee Hoo Jati – joo toraa sona detay [It will give me satisfaction, if You can sing part of this incomplete song!]
  • Tum meree rakhoo laaj Hari [O Lord, please preserve my dignity!]
  • Tagore : We are like a stray line of a poem, which ever feels that it rhythms with another line and must find it, or miss its own fulfilment. This quest of the unattained is the great impulse in man which brings forth all his best creations. Man seems deeply to be aware of a separation at the root of his being, he cries to be led across it to a union; and somehow he knows that it is love which can lead him to a love which is final.

Suffering !

Guru Nanak Said “Nanak Dukhiya Saab Samsara” [This world is in state of suffering].  Lord Buddha said pretty much the same – There is suffering & it can be overcome! Several scholars have explained the nature of suffering – with its origin in the very basis of our perception – we tend to associate our selves with this mind-body complex.

 

Feelings associated with suffering can include [alphabetically]: anger, directionless- ness, depression, desperation, fear, frustration, helplessness, isolation, loneliness, meaninglessness, restlessness, rootless-ness, etc

 

It seems, it’s thru suffering we (have to) achieve our real Self. As Andrew Matthew says – tough times actually help us develop.

 

The ultimate goal appears to be: Desirelessness, Nothingness, Fearlessness, and Feeling of “Got there” (not getting there!)

 

As the couplet goes: Dard Jab Teri Atta hai too gilaa kiss say karain [When suffering identifies You – whom can I complain to!]

 

 It seems Kunti in Mahabharata, asked Lord Krishna for suffering – so that she was bound to remember Him all the time! It’s our inner resilience that gets strength & shape thru suffering!

Sharing diary notes & experiences

v     Writing diary notes, provides opportunity to structure your thoughts, even decipher your feelings at a given time – you are trying to translate an internal flow

v     Sharing these notes, helps validate your own thought process – its as though you are putting yourself open for display and related feedback, reactions etc

v     Like anything else in life – it needs practice and a certain degree of intrinsic liking – otherwise you can not sustain the activity

v     The reaction from friends & relations does help you reflect, revise several notions and revisit concepts. What’s of profound importance to you, may not of the same intensity to others – at a given time?

v     There are very few absolute statements that one can think of – that will hold value all the time – probably the scriptures have much better say.

v     It’s a pleasure to read your own notes, from the past, to see how similar the thought process still is, including the expression.

v     There is an underlying desire to pass on your basic skills, learning, “ethical will” to nears & dears

v     Once an experience reaches certain intensity, we sometimes have the urge to express it thru whatever means possible. My expression of my experience may or may not be interesting, relevant, illuminating, breath taking for others, though it’s of significance to me.Normally once you has expressed the experience; the narrative makes more sense, feels more manageable, humane, possible etc. After all the author knows you!

Associations !

Few thoughts re various degrees of associations with fellow humans

 

Beep thought: Essentially marks early stages of friendship, empathy, association. You would “beep” the other person

• When you want to share a joke, an article you read last week
• When you want to spend few leisurely hours
• When you buy a new mobile, plant a few trees, get a promotion!

 

Creep thought: Gets a fair bit more serious here. You look for company where you can share your insecurities, failures, fears, anxieties etc – may be a shoulder to cry on – to lighten that creepy feeling within.

 

Sleep thought:  This forms pretty advanced stage of any acquaintance, relationship etc. You “think / feel” that

• The other person will not be able to sleep peacefully – without the knowledge of your wellbeing.

• “their” picture is incomplete without your inclusion & vice verse

 

As the old couplet goes “sirf ahsaas hai – rooh say mehsoos karo” [it’s a deep feeling, experienced only within]

As Amrita Pritam said [translation] “in case mention of your name – brings moisture to their eyes – you can be rest assured – you still exist in their inner being. It’s strange that we always look for this proof of our own existence!” She was right!

Life – few elements !

Bhakti / Faith / Surrender

 

v     Seems to be absolute must in this Kali Yuga – given the much prevailing “strife” on every front

v     My understanding of Bhakti

o       Your earnest resolve to give a certain bearing, structure, orientation to your own life, for the sake of your own clarity and those of fellow humans.

o       An internal acceptance of a model and relationship with the Infinite ( Aham Brahamsami —- Twam Brahamsami) – gradually it seeps through you – It becomes you – you become that

o       There is an explanation given for Dark colour of Lord Krishna – it is said to be your Bhakti that has burnt for a long time, like a log of wood – eventually quenched by your tears, thereby turning black.

o       It is said that Lord Krishna appeared as Ma Kali to Swami Ram   Krishna Paramhans., probably signifying that Bhakti takes the form desired deeply within.

 

Cycle

v     There are no real reference “points” on the cycle of life – it is a continuous cycle with highs and lows. Points help us “see” and aim. Even birth and death are just points in the cycle.

 

Three tiers

As in an atom, there are several patterns that mirror life

v     Positive, negative and neutral – each atom has the exact balance of positive and negative ( similar to Satvic, Rajas and Tamas gunas)

v     There is a lot of space in between

v     Constant motion around the centre

v     Uncertainty principle about the location of electrons – if you know where it is – you don’t know what it is and vice-verse

v     Natural affinity to bond with some and not with some others.

 

Change of form:  E = m C²   [Einstein’s equation]

v     Under appropriate conditions – mass disappears to manifest energy

v     This probably links to spiritual domain too, by way of

o       Chang in the form of energy

o       Something vanishing, being consumed, dissolved to give rise to another “form”

o       Probably this is what blessings do – help you move from one form to another

Blessings

v     There is a deep rooted acceptance within of “blessings” from elders, well wishers, saints & sages

v     As a learned saint described – blessings can not be given / sought at will. It’s a phenomenon that takes place of its own accord, when the giver and recipient are ready,

v     Few illustrative points as I see

o       Blessings can flow from anyone to anyone – between any two living beings

o       The impact is normally long term – e.g. clearing of a deep rooted doubt, fear, energy blockage, misconception etc

o       An eagerness to seek meaning of life, be in touch with rhythm of life, seems to help in seeking blessings – a respectful orientation helps too.

o       One can add the classic Zen illustration of empty cup – you can only pour into an empty cup!!!

o       Am tempted to note that blessings keenly help with spiritual progress, self understanding, journey towards final destination, like a catalyst

War & Peace

Pablo Picasso’s War & Peace

• The two words “War & Peace” are almost diametrically opposed – leading to very different reactions & feelings within – perhaps that’s what Leo Tolstoy was also trying to say
• Ironically, I get the feeling, that those who have fought the war to achieve peace, appreciate it most, value it dearly and try to preserve it.
• It is said that the war of Indian epic Mahabharata was essentially to secure peace. As the narrations go
  • Krishna, Bhisma, Karan, Kunti could have easily diverted the war
  • It was an extremely costly war considering the
    • Sacrifices made on both sides
    • Severe testing of loyalties
    • Suffering for several generations
  • While the war lasted for few days only – the preparation & settlement thereafter took decades
• Biologically our bodies are fighting a constant war against all sorts of invaders on all fronts, starting with the breath itself, mostly without our knowledge
• “Peace” perhaps calls for extreme “war” like alertness, preparedness and at times sacrifices!