Jingle Bells, Soap Bubbles & Other Such... (II)

A Song for Every Mood

This one is about the songs sung by Shafqat Amanat Ali for Pakistani TV soaps

The TV dramas are a full-fledged, flourishing industry in Pakistan. The 80’s and 90’s were said to be the golden period for the TV dramas there. And when I think of the monster hits like Dhoop Kinare and Tanhaayian, I feel that their music could definitely be counted as one of the reasons for their success. The haunting background score of Tanhaaiyan and the beautiful words of Faiz used as a song in Dhoop Kinare- anyone who has watched these two will always feel nostalgic about these tunes…

Shafqat, too, has lent his voice to several, beautiful Pakistani TV drama tracks.

Here are some of them in my order of preference.

At No.11 : Matti 

“Apni matti se wafa, hum bhi karein tum bhi karo / Iska jo haq hai ada hum bhi karein tum bhi karo...”

10 : Khalish - If you thought Bin Tere was the only one where Shafqat laments about the Khalish of separation, listen to this one…

9:   Tere Jaane ke Baad –  “Knowing someone isn't coming back, doesn't mean you ever stop waiting”

8:  Jaaye Kahan Yeh Dil - Amazing when it gets to the part - 

“Yaad kisay hum rakhain, aur kisay hum bhoolain/ 

Nainon se nain kahain, palkon se palkain choolain”

7:  Khamoshiyan – The silent tears…

"Apne Haathon Ki Lakeeron Se/Tera Naam Mitaa Ke

Tere Chehre Ko, Apne Dil Ke…Aiiney Se Hata Ke

Aaj kyun aankh bhar aayi…"

6:  Makaan - Sweetness of the language, that is Punjabi –

“Roz, Roz marde ne, jeende ne- Do ghadiyaan de Insaan….”

5 : Aman- “When we reach out, we bloom. We make this world a more beautiful place to live in”

“Haath se haath mila kar toh dekho, duniya khud hi badal jaayegi”

4:  Mera Ishq Ghumshuda.. “Though lovers be lost, love shall not…”

“kisi ujadi yaad ka sheher hai, kisi gehre dard ki leher hai ,yeh  hai zindagi ki yeh ki zeher hai…”

3:  Ik Sitam aur Meri Jaan : Shafqat's version of the original by Mehdi Hassan- beautiful lyrics!

"Jurme-tauheen-e mohabbat ki saza de mujh ko/ kuch toh mehroom-i ulfat ka sila de mujh ko

Jism se rooh ka rishta nahi toota hai abhi /haath se sabr ka daaman nahi choota hai abhi

Abhi jalte hue khwabon ka dhuaan baaqi hai…."

2: Kaisee hain Dooriyan –“And ever has it been that love knows not its own depth until the hour of separation.”- Khalil Gibran

 “Tumhe paane ki badi aas thi, Bujh na saki jo pyaas thi..”

And my No. 1 is this : Jiya na Jaaye :  Dripping with romance- each word, each note -caresses the senses, as softly as a snowflake!

“Bheegi bheegi aankhon mein , kahin bheeni bheeni raat hai

Neele neele paani mein kahin geela geela chaand hai”

“I have my own particular sorrows, loves, delights; and you have yours.  But sorrow, gladness, yearning, hope, love, belong to all of us, in all times and in all places.  Music is the only means whereby we feel these emotions in their universality.”

So true, these, words… I connect to each of these songs and despite not having watched the shows that they are from, I can still relate to the emotions that they convey.

Thank you Shafqat Amanat Ali, for giving me a song for every mood…

Jingle Bells, Soap Bubbles & Other Such... (I)

If you are a Shafqat Amanat Ali fan like me, who sits waiting impatiently for his next song.. his next album, who loves listening to all that he has sung to date but just crave for something more, then there might be something for you in this series of posts. It is about the work that he has done apart from Bollywood and the 3 albums that he has released so far and includes  jingles, promotions, songs for Pakistani TV dramas, patriotic songs, tributes and more.

It was a few months ago when while flipping TV channels one day a familiar singing voice filled my room. It was none other than Shafqat Amanat Ali singing this title song of a popular Geo TV program called “Geo Shaan Say”. Of course his voice left me mesmerized as usual and now Geo TV is on the favorite channel list of my TV menu, as I tune in once in a while to check if they are playing this by chance. I have even watched the show a few times just to catch the voice each time the host announces a break! J

And a YouTube search led me to this one. Who would’ve imagined that a masala commercial could sound so heavenly? Have lost count of the number of times I’ve heard it- yes, a masala commercial!

And then there is this one called -Paiman It is actually a video produced by the John Hopkins Center for Communication Programs- for promotion of mother and child well-being. What a beautiful depiction of some special moments in a family! “Mohabbat karo zindagi se- Aane waali roshni se”- Love Life and the  bright joy that it brings! – Words that come to life when Shafqat sings them…

This spirited song to promote vaccination in children. Joyful! Wonder why in our  anti-polio campaign, Big B was never made to sing- maybe we could eradicate polio much faster :P

I got a link for this one from my friend in Pakistan- another die hard Shafqateer- Thank You Ehtisham Amir! What a lovely song, what a lovely concept for a mobile ad,  a very sweet video and what do I say about the voice... it is romance personified!

And this one called Yahan- This Place, is special. Produced to promote tourism in the Gilgit-Baltisan region of Pakistan, it has been written and composed by Shafqat Amanat Ali. The lyrics are said to be inspired by local tales and beliefs and the music arrangement includes some of the indigenous musical instruments. The making had its share of adventure and drama (read here). 

                                                               The video shoot

And why it is close to my heart is because the song reminds me so much of the hill state that is my home in India. It is in areas like this, which are still relatively cut off from the frenzy and madness of big towns and cities, where serenity still resides , fairy tales still get written and simplicity still means beauty and vice- versa.

Video courtesy: Serena Hotels & Zarminae Ansari

And the seemingly simple words convey so much and take you right there..

Manzar mile ga na yeh kaheen pe

Dekhna ho jannat ko zameen pe

Aa jao

Dekho yahaan

Qudrat ke karishmay yahaan

Ek baar jo aye

Dil yahaan reh jaye

Jana chahe na phir

Yahaan se

Phoolon ki shahzaadi

Muskuraye yahaan

Angrayi leti bahaarein

Bhi mileingi yahaan

Tum aao, chahe jiss se milo

Rehta hai har mausam yahaan

Raat ki kya kahein hum

Taaron [e rakh ke qadam

Badlon ki shaal orhe

Vadi mein ho jayein gum

Chalte rahein, buss chalte rahein

Le jaye yeh rasta jahaan

Jitni haseen vadiyaan hain

Dil bhi utne haseen

Aise dil, aise chehray

Na milenge kaheen

Chehray haseen, manzar haseen

Aur pyari si hain boliyaan

MY TRANSLATION:

A sight like this, where else can be found

It’s like the heavens descended to the ground

Come and experience

Nature’s miracles abound

Just once is enough

To win your heart

And then from this place

You’d never want to part

The Princess of Blossoms

Smiles right here

Inviting, enticing, beckoning

The spring is in the air

Come here, and you get to see

Each season, in its full glory

What do we say of the nights…

When you can step on the stars

Wrap the mist around your shoulders

And walk into the valley, afar

And you keep walking, just keep flowing

Till where the path leads, till where it’s going

Like the gorgeous valleys

The ever so lovely hearts

Beautiful souls, pretty faces

Are what set this place apart

Charming people, breathtaking sights

And the sweetest conversations, that delight!

My Stairway to Heaven

“ There is no better way of getting closer to God, of rising higher towards the spirit, of attaining spiritual perfection than music..”.

-Hazrat Inayat Khan

My first brush with religion and music probably happened at the same time. One of my earliest and most beautiful memories is of me sitting next to my grandfather as he performed his morning puja- the daily ritual of invoking the Gods. And my most favorite part was the Arti- the song in the praise of the Gods, that is sung every day in millions of Hindu homes.  He sang it in a very different tune and style compared to the traditional version. This version of “Jai Jagdish Hare” that he sang, I found out later, was composed and sung by Pandit Vishnu Digambar- one of the greats of the Hindustani classical music traditions- the one who  is credited for bringing the classical music out of the courts and palaces to the masses. He is also the composer of the very popular, and Mahatma Gandhi’s favorite- Raghupati Raghav Raja Ram

Music is inextricably linked to religion the world over- there’s music in the ringing of the temple bells… in the muezzin’s call, in the organ playing in a church, in the Buddhist chants… It is just one of the many, and for me the best way, to connect to the higher power up there. So devotional and Sufi are genres of music that I feel a natural affinity for, and there are only a few voices  that have the kind of effect on me that Shafqat Amanat Ali's voice has in this genre.

“Only the flint of man's soul can strike fire in music”, said Beethoven.  The voice that connects me to God must definitely belong to a person who has already established that connection. We get glimpses of Shafqat’s own spiritual beliefs through his interviews. In a very interesting radio interview of his he is asked about the connection of his music to religion and he mentions how his riyaaz, the daily practice of music, always began with reciting the name of “Allah” as that would be the only way to get a perfect round “aaaah” for his alaaps. In another interview he talks of the spiritual influences that inspire his style of music and also the kind of power the Sufi music wields when it comes to matters of faith and love.

The bond between his music/singing and his spirituality shines through in this very powerful and divine rendition of the kalaam of Allama Iqbal by Shafqat and Sanam Marvi

The color of devotion or bhakti is the strongest of all colors.Once you experience it, there's no escape. Like Kabir says...

“Lali mere lal ki, jit dekhu tit lal.

Lali dekhan main gayi, main bhi ho gayi lal.”

Amir Khusro talks a lot about this color that consumes you and makes you one with the Lord...

“Bal bal jāūn main tore rang rajvā

Apnī sī kar līnhī re mose nainā milāike"

This Amir Khusro creation, from the album Tabeer, talks of the desire to get colored and absorbed in devotion. Tabeer showcases beautifully the Sufi aspect of Shafqat Amanat Ali’s music. Sung very differently from the way in which Khusro is normally sung, this song still does what it is meant to do, i.e. converse with God

After the glimpse and the igniting of the desire to be one with Him, begins the search, often guided by madness, a passion. And the search is hard and long ; it tests the patience but the journey is a joy in itself, and the passion to travel on the chosen path is what will eventually lead to its logical end …

Paagalpan- inspired by a Sindhi folk song, again from Tabeer, is a prayer to keep that passion intact…

And while you journey the path of devotion, sometimes the longing to be one with the Supreme is so strong that the thought of not having reunited with Him causes pain and some sadness. Rohi- a Kafi, originally sung by Zahida Parveen , adapted so beautifully by Shafqat for Tabeer, is that yearning..

And the only way to overcome the sadness is surrender to His will- the surrender can be joyful where you happily say – I leave it up to you to guide me.- I go, where you lead me- Naukar Tere, from the album Kyun Dooriyan

Or you surrender sometimes in despair and with the hope that it’s He alone who can redeem you..

Manqabat from Tabeer

And to the fortunate ones He reveals Himself- it is that one moment that when the soul finally becomes one with the Supreme- Raanjha ,Raanjha karti ni main aape Raanjha hoi - and that’s when the soul  celebrates and calls the world to applaud the culmination of its journey….

Aao saiyo ral deyo ni vadhaai. Main var paaya raanjha maahi… the inimitable Bulleh Shah sung by the inimitable Shafqat Amanat Ali…

Bathe me in thy color divine

Keep intact, this passion of mine

I shall yearn, I shall pine

I'll bow to thee , to your will , I'll resign

Then the glorious moment, when the light shall shine

This is the essentially what spirituality means to me...

It’s Shafqat’s voice and his music that takes me through every stage of this spiritual voyage right from desire, to excitement, to the craving, the pain and the final ecstasy-and it transports me to a higher world, each time.  His soulful, Sufi singing is certainly my stairway to heaven!