Eternal enchantment…..

The radio played this song first up when we switched it on after returning from the obligatory morning walk. As the soft musical notes and the dulcet voice wafted across the living room and filled it, the effect was magical. The mind and spirit were transported into a different world, one of melody, happiness and a quantum of peace that’s truly indescribable.

The mid 60s movie made by the great Sohrab Mody was a biopic (although that term didn’t exist at the time). Mirza Ghalib was based on the period of a somewhat decadent lifestyle of the last days of the Moghuls, when their edifice of pomp and glory had all but crumbled and only faint memories of glory of a few centuries ago remained. The notional ruler and the descendant/ occupier of the seat , Bahadurshah was happier being known by his poetic moniker, despite being born with the long winded name Mirza Abu Zafar Siraj-ud-din Muhammad. His writ was severely restricted and his wings severely crippled, with his domain effectively reduced to the old city of Delhi. The rest of the territory had been effectively usurped by the many satraps and Nawabs who paid scant respect to Delhi, reminiscent of the recent ten year reign of the puppet PM. Unlike the mute man who was better off as a paper pusher, Bahadurshah “Zafar” had poetic skills and was happier in his verbal expression (which of course was praised to the heavens by a veritable army of sycophants) than actually ruling his domain. He represented the 20th generation after the bloodthirsty looter Babar emerged in order to plunder and rape. One of the poet-courtiers that frequented his mushairas was Mirza Asadullah Baig Khan , better known to us as Ghalib. His honorific was Dabir-ul-Mulk, Najm-ud-Daula and Nizam-e-Jung. While Ghalib literally means “dominant”, and Asad means “lion”, Ghalib wasn’t considered the brightest star of the moghul court. Zauq and Momin were probably ahead on that count. Ghalib had a reputation (that he was proud of) as a rake and was even proud of his being jailed. In one of his letters, he describes his marriage as the second imprisonment after the initial confinement that was life itself. The idea that life is one continuous painful struggle that can end only when life itself ends, is a recurring theme in his poetry.

He took pride in being considered a “ladies’ man” and once when someone praised the pious Shaikh Sahbai’s poetry, he retorted “How can Sahbai be a poet? He has never tasted the wine, nor has he ever gambled; he has not been beaten with slippers by lovers, nor has he ever seen the inside of a jail.” Attributes and (to him) essential qualifications that he had carefully acquired over the years. Amazing sense of priorities, really. The movie recounts and depicts faithfully his moral depravity and frequenting the red light areas in search of wine, women and song. https://youtu.be/TK56_CysG7g

I loved Sohrab Mody’s treatment and depiction of the dark, despairing atmosphere of gloom, rather than trying to bring in faux glory. Suraiya as the courtesan Chaudhvin, is just right for the role. She has the heavy lidded seductive “come hither” look and of course is a great singer. Her distinctive voice is truly unique, different from the Noorjahan, Zohrabai, Amirbai , Shamshad before her and quite different from Lata, Asha. Truly the last of the singing stars amongst the ladies, she ran into difficulties in fructifying her own romantic liaison with DevSaab thanks to an intransigent family elder and actually sacrificed herself, staying single for the rest of her life. Suraiya sang her heart out in the movie with divine compositions by Ghulam Mohammad. Little surprise that the movie picked up the President’s Medal and the National Award for Best Film and the Filmfare for the art direction. The musical score remains one of the all time greats of Bollywood.

The same ghazal has been rendered by the great Rafisaab to a composition by Khayyam , but I am afraid the effect isn’t quite the same. It lacks the very soul. https://youtu.be/uH6W-ZsVlUc

नुक्ता चीन है ग़म ए दिल
उसको सुनाये न बने
उसको सुनाये न बने
क्या बने बात जहां
बात बनाये न बने
नुक्ता चीन है ग़म ए दिल

गैर फिरता है लिए यूँ
तेरे खत को के अगर
कोई पूछे के ये क्या है तो
छुपाए न बने
नुक्ता चीन है ग़म ए दिल

मई बुलाता तो हुन उसको मगर ऐ जज़बा-इ-दिल
उस पे बन जाए कुछ
ऐसी की बिन आए न बने
उस पे बन जाए कुछ
ऐसी की बिन आए न बने
नुक्ता चीन है ग़म ए दिल

इश्क़ पर ज़ोर नहीं है ये
वो आतिश ग़ालिब
इश्क़ पर ज़ोर नहीं है ये
वो आतिश ग़ालिब
कि लगाए न लगे और
बुझाए न बने
नुक्ता चीन है ग़म ए दिल
उसको सुनाये न बने..

Stay safe, I will have Suraiya sing for me through the day. The summer has set in, the calendar notwithstanding, take care and hydrate yourself well.