Kuchh yaadaiN, kuchh ghazlaiN

I was not a good student of Urdu literature or grammar when I was struggling through school in Lahore, but one thing I did enjoy was when I watched singers performing ghazlaiN on PTV. People like Mehdi Hassan, Amanat Ali Khan, Farida Khanum, among others. My father is really into Urdu poetry, and we didn't share his love back in the day, (I grew to appreciate it more when I left home) but whenever he got the chance, he sat with some of my cousins and did explications, got into philosophy with Iqbal's verses. The turquoise colored hard cover Baal-e-Jibreel, and the brown colored Baang-e-Dara intimidated me as a child. They still do, even though they're no longer in this house.

This is one of my favorite ghazals by Mehdi Hassan. We used to poke fun at his thread like mustache right over his lip, but there was no doubt, not for me at least, that he was one of the best. And "Mohabbat karne wale kam na hoNge. Teri mehfil maiN lekin hum na hoNge. . ." are great lines to use on someone you're ending a relationship with. . . when they understand it of course. Roughly translated: "There will be no dearth of those who love you. But I won't be in your gathering of those who love you."



The first time I heard "Abhi tau meiN jawaan hooN" was when Tahira Syed sang it on PTV in the early seventies. I didn't know back then that her mother Malika Pukhraj sang this prior to her. I would hear Malika Pukhraj's version almost a couple of decades later at a friend's house. We turned off the lights, with only the moonlight shining through the window, and lay very still on the floor while listening to this. It was quite an experience.

It's funny how we used to notice or identify certain singers when we were kids, Mehdi Hassan and his mustache, Tahira Syed and the choker around her neck, Rubina Badr (who you will not see here) and the cracked nail polish on her fingernails which was kind of embarrassing to see every time she raised her hand during one song. . .

For those of you who have never seen mother and daughter, it will look rather obvious, but Malika Pukhraj is the one seated who begins the ghazal, and her daughter turns up at a later point. I happen to prefer Malika Pukhraj's voice to her daughter's, but they're both rather good.



"Inshaji uTho" remains my favorite ghazal sung by Ustad Amanat Ali Khan. It's the one ghazal to which I've had an emotional and sentimental attachment for years, if it is possible to have such an attachment to a song. For some reason, more than the other songs I've heard, this reminds me of a time in Lahore, not necessarily a happier time, and it now always reminds me of my late ChhoTay Maamoo with whom I sat and watched Asad Amanat Ali Khan sing this, the last time I was in Pakistan. The last time I would see this performed live on television on the same show, the same mehfil where his father, Amanat Ali Khan used to sing this.



*cross posted in my blog*