Just Another Stupid Love Story

Dear Shirin:

:) Thanks for the offer, its so sweet of you. If I have any problem getting these CDs, I`ll tell you for sure.

Sadaf

Sadaf # 107

you are very welcome!its just that i find getting hold of his cd`s is becoming very difficult, as has been pointed earlier that he did not get the due recognition he deserves ,therefore shopkeepers are hesitant to keep in stock what they cannot sell easily, so i hope you can find some , or else you know what to do !

:) sa

dost-mittar, # 108: Ahmad Nadeem Qasmi and Josh Maleehabadi have many things in common. They both are/ were iconoclaust, never liked any other poet besides themselves, infected with superiority complex and irritating personalities. They may be good poets but not popular. Their poetry did not make it to mass appeal level as Faiz, Sahir or Faraz poetry did. You have to connect to people to be appreciated. Faiz was more than just a poet. He served in military, peace activist, communist, college principal, imprisoned, tried in conspiracy case, exiled and so on. Even his daughters and son-in-laws were well known figures for liberalism and workrd in TV dramas. Z. A. Bhutto and later Benazir also helped popularized him with national level exposure through Faiz Aman Mela.

Josh lived a secluded life in Islamabad. Lierary life in Islamabad is dull compared to Karachi or Lahore. Qasmi lived in Lahore wheras Faiz had the experience of both Lahore and Karachi, though a Sialkotia by birth. Faiz has become even more popular after his death. His poetry is recited in social gatherings, his Kulliat-e-Faiz (kalam-e-faiz?) might have sold more copies than diwan-e-ghalib or Kulliat-e-Iqbal.

I do not know how one judges good poetry from bad poetry but judging the popular poetry is easy and Faiz wins hands down.

FZK

An early retirement? well that ain`t good. That doesnt look good on my resume either. No one has ever volunatrily or involutarily asked to be excluded from my tease list :(

Sameer JB #106

Khalid Ahmed is right that drinking is not a criteria of judging a people called poet. (Most poets will fit the criteria of drinking).

I think it is jealosy or rivalry.

Ubaidullah Aleem, a great poet in his own right while sitting in Dow Medical College cafe teria was making fun of Faiz.

I think Faiz was more of a genius as his poetry depicts.

While Ahmed Nadeem Qasmi is talented. I like the few stories written by Qasmi. He has a humanistic approach to life.

As far as writer of ``Ataie``, Ata-ul- Haq Qasmi, the ambassador to scandanavia. I never was able to like his personality behind his writing. More of a boastful nature, degrading everything except himself. And playing with situation to create what he thought was humor.

But these days, the connection and Mafia and groupings works in success of Literary persons or Literature.

Independent people like Ibn-e-Safi were totally outcast by majority of Literary Mafia of Pakistan.

As Faraz aptly said:

Bus Ek Musahib Sarkar Ka Bulawa Tha.

Gadagaran-e-Sukhan Ke Hujoom Samne The.

By the way same thing is happening in USA, if newspaper are to be believed, although the competition is among third rate players of game.

Sameer (#97,98):

I have read ‘Parchaiyan’, but the copy was borrowed and not returned. I suppose my best bet is to scour the second-hand book stalls in some gullies…I may strike lucky.

The Bengali singers you mentioned were mainly giving playback in films, and Hindi cinema has always been cosmopolitan (remember the best filmi bhajan, “Man tadpat hari darshan ko aaj” was composed by Naushad Ali and sung by Mohammed Rafi), but for private music, that too with an element of purity, there is certainly a mental clock. Pankaj Udhas is a Gujarati (I was not aware there was a Pakistani city called Gujarat) and all the brothers are singers, the other two, Manhar and Nirmal, concentrate on Gujarati ghazals and songs.

Yes, I agree with you about the recycling, but what disgusts me even more is when people like Lata and Asha do the same with their old songs, to prevent someone else from taking away their market share. Btw, Lata has sung some fine ghazals composed by Madan Mohan, my favourite being “Yun Hasraton ke daag mohabbat ne dho diye, khud dil se dil ki baat kahee aur ro diye…”. But she insists on saying ‘moohubbat”!

Thanks for sharing those couplets.

dost-mittar (#100 & 108)

It was nice to be further enlightened about the Hindi-Punjabi conflict. About Saigal, do you like “Nayan heen ko raah dikha Prabhu”? It is simple and beautiful.

Just this morning I was thinking about Talat Mahmood, and then I read your post. Yes, he was good, though limited. I think that flawed breathlessness in his voice added kashish to his singing. I just love his “Seene mein sulagte hai armaan, aankhon mein udaasi chchayee hai…”

His private albums did not do well at all, and I find them rather substandard.

Shirin Ahmed (#104):

The Bengali teacher and his dhoti happened when I was in college. The harmonium sits forlornly in a corner. The voice does get its riyaaz and shatters a few pieces of glass, a feat only paralleled by Tansen I am told:)

[“Aur ap kehtee hain ``Haie aisa hota nahin ``!! aik nuskha batoon? Ankhein band kar key meri tarah dekhna shuru karein !aur yeh gaien ``Ae Jazba-e-Dil Gar Mein Chahoon, Har cheez Muqabil Ajai ``....

aap ko khud hairangee ho jaie gee , is tarah kitnae fasley aasani sey tey ho jatey hain ... kitnae khwab poorae ho jatein hain !!”]

Bahut shukria…for sharing these thoughts with me. My problem is I am not a mere “romantic at heart”; it ascends to the mind and if it is possible the body and all actions are the result of such jazbaat. Rahee aankhein band rakhne ka nuskha…well, I day dream all the time, so eyes wide shut…Ya phir woh shair hai na…

“Marne ke baad bhi meri aankhein khuli rahee, aadat padi thee unhe intezaar ki

Jab tujhe dil se bhulaane ki kasam khaayee hai, ab pehle se bhi zyaada teri yaad aayi hai.”

Aur raha enjoying reading more than I have enjoyed writing, not possible. Do haathon se taali bajhti hain, na?

Khair, this was a wonderful reprieve from the dishum-dishum stuff elsewhere…lekin maidan-e-jung chhod bhi nahin sakte. Besides, jis sheh’r mein hum rahte hain, sirf garm hawa chalti hain aur thandi saanse lete hain!

Tell me how it is going with the Chinese harp…if you need some help with some Chinese words, ask me. I might try to learn something new besides the few things I know.

fzk(#108):

Aap to bura maan gaye…whatever gave Urstruly the idea that we were his guests? Hum to mezbaani karne lage…maafi kis baat ki? What do you mean some girls just wanna have fun? ALL GIRLS wanna have fun…I was just talking about not limiting myself to wrists…socha thoda aage bhi to badhe:)

[“You guys are way too hi level shaairs for me to keep up with.”]

Can’t speak for others, but I just play around with words. Is that teasing enough? Or will I have to display my wrists? Urstruly will kill me – you know kis kis’m ka jehadi hai woh!

Chalo…ab ghussa thook do…

Urstruly (#102):

Now what is wrong with Farzana? Although I must admit Ms. Versey made me feel veryyyy important, something like Aalijaa tashreef la rahe hai……. But it gets kind of stodgy after a while. Anyhow, do what does not make you feel ‘strange’;)

About uchchal-kood, yes people assume one is not serious enough or going through any pain. That is the price we have to pay. [“Did you know an Octupus has a camuflage mechanism built in it too. It releases an ink like substance when threatened which blindens the hostile entity. In other words yeh dushmanoN ki aankh maiN dhool jhonk kar bach nikalta hay.”] Kaash hume bhi yeh ink-like substance mil jaata…filhaal to hum apni hi aankhon mein dhool mehsoos karte hai.

Yes, love Jagjit’s “Kal chaudhvin ki raat thi….”

Glad to hear about your pranks. But I just cannot imagine how the directive against potty-potty-butt-butt would have been worded. What did they say? No blow and bust on the premises? Hey, you could try sticking chewing gum on the chairs. Shee-shee, talking like adolescents now! But I firmly believe in “Bachpan ke din bhula na dena…aaj hanse phir rula na dena…”

The other alternative I realized is silence. But that too can cause trouble…”Kuchch kehne pe toofan utha deti hai duniya, ab iss pe qayamat hai ke hum kuchch nahin kehte…” I wonder which is the better poison…or does it matter at all?

Love hamesha subko,

This is a real gem from the works of Faiz :-

Sach hai hamin ko aapke shikwe baja na they,

Be shak sitam janaab ke sab dostaana they.

Haan jo jafa bhi aap ne ki qaaide se ki,

Haan hum hi kaarband-e-asul-e-wafa na they.

Aae to yun ke jaise hamesha the mehrbaan,

Bhule to yun ke goya kabhi aashna na they.

Kyon daad-e-gham hamin ne talab ki bura kiya,

Ham se jahaan mein kushta-e-gham aur kya na they .

Gar fikr-e-zakham ki to khataawar hain ke hum

Kyon mahwa-e-madah-e-khubi-e-teg-e-ada na they.

Har chaaragar ko chaaragari se gurez tha,

Warna hamein jo dukh the bahut laadawa na they .

Lab par hai talkhi-e-mai-e-ayyaam warna Faiz,

Ham talkhi-e-Kalaam par maayal zara na they .

sa

Dear Urstruly,

Wrists and ``humaree Rozee `` go hand in hand .The minute we take our fingers off the wrist, our income stops there !

This is both true for Drs. and the chorree waalas who try their best to fit the smallest choorian into the heftiest of wrists !

just a funny, spontaneous thought :)

sa

Sameer #106:

I had briefly alluded to both Faiz and Qasmi in #95. Had the pleasure of the company of Faiz Sahib both here and in Lahore. And met Qasmi saheb here and there also.

If we were to paint the last century in broad strokes...with reference to Urdu poetry...the first half belonged to Iqbal and Noon Meen Rashid and the last half to Faiz.

Qasmi’s misfortune as a poet is/was he could not crawl out of Faiz’s shadow. Even his versatility and longevity cannot help him there.

Literary standings are the signs of populist democracy of the reader in action.

I am afraid Qasmi will not gain on Faiz in this court of public opinion.

There was a very interesting exchange of correspondence between Ahmed Nadim Qasmi and Saqi Faroouqui....(as an aside... Saqi told me he sent it for publication to a few Pakistani publications...who invariably begged off publishing them...citing personal and business reasons...like they may receive physical harm or their businesses may be burned down)... with Qasmi’s permission, Saqi had them published in an Urdu paper in India...have a copy of that...if interested make travel plans to head North next long week-end:)

Ras #96:

Thanks for that poem. Did you attend the recital? She has written one beautiful poem lamenting the Indian fundamentalist’s refusal to learn any lessons from the fundamentalists across the border about the futility of the exercise.

Have you read Saqi Farooqui? Here is my translation of one of his poem.

WOUNDED CAT IN AN EMPTY SACK

Jan Mohammed Khan
this is no easy journey
in this empty gunny sack
life suffocates
Jute strands pierce the heart
and on the foggy cornea
coins of moonlight cascade
and darkness overwhelms the body

Today on your bare back
who’d lit the fire
who’d fire the coal
who’d blossom the blood stained
flowers of strife?

My fiery claws are listless
today the journey is not easy
Presently this path abruptly will stop
at the dirty pond
and ensconced in the loneliness of my coffin
I’ll embrace sleep
water to water, dust to .....
And you’ll have to move on-------
move on as if in trance
And you cannot fathom that invisible sack------
you can’t recognise your own sack
Jan Mohammed Khan
this is no easy journey.




urstruly 101:

Shurkria.

(Read a post on the other board...shaking my head...no...you cannot claim to be a “bigot and ignorant” who asks pertinent questions ONLY and thus escape scrutiny... that is not consistent...and doesn’t go well in my book:)

rgds,

t

I think any poetry attracts attention towards itself only when it is sung by a woman. Qasmi is very un-fortunate in this regard.

t

have you ever seen me running from scrutiny?

Dear Shirin # 115

My Rosie and me don`t go hand in hand. Although she is my next door neighborette and usually meets me in the elevator, in the morning, when I am leaving for work :)

Regards

PS. Is it morally correct to pray for the growth of business of a doctor or an undertaker? Just let me know in what other way I can wish you well?

Dear Farzana,

Kuchch kehne pe toofan utha deti hai duniya,
ab iss pe qayamat hai ke hum kuchch nahin kehte…”

Gee that was good. Though In my case it is the other way around. I am thinking about your question….``which is better poison``……. and looking at my table calendar in front me right now; it is the popular comic series ``The Far Side``. In this cartoon devil is welcoming a person in hell and asking him to choose one of the doors in front of him. There is a sign on one door that says ``Damned if you do`` and the sign on the other door says ``Damned if you don`t``. And devil is poking his three-pronged fork in his back to make it quick. So….

And what do you mean by ``pata hay woh kis kisam ka jihadi hay``. I heard that, Ok :) I am a loving and caring person (when my schizophrenia calms down).

Shireen Ahmed

``Actually i have never heard Hari Prasad Chaurasiya before.Thanks for mentioning him .I wish i could do it A.S.A.P. but one of the hazards of small town living is we can`t !``

Well now you can careof the internet. Pls visit www.napster.com. Once you have downloaded & installed napster you can then download any artists music (at no cost even now - i think) onto your hard-disk and enjoy enjoy enjoy

aicha

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aicha #

Thank you so much. i know of the site , but somehow have not sat down to actually benefitting from it .I will have to dispell my inertia , and become more of a computer buff now !

I really appreciate the awareness !

Take care ,

sa

AAmir # 124

That was beautiful!

Thanks :)

sa