Unassuming, unpretentious, down to earth, modest- adjectives
that are you are most unlikely to use to describe a celebrity, a singing star. So
I was in for a pleasant surprise when I met my most favorite singer backstage
at the MTV unplugged concert in Dubai- all thanks to special friends Gopika and
Dev
What do you call meeting your most favorite artist and then
getting to tell him all that you have ever wanted to? Very good fortune, I
guess. For unlike any other fan meeting celebrity here getting an autograph and
the mandatory photograph, even though they happened, wasn’t really the
highlight of the meeting. It was in fact the opportunity to see the person
behind the star, up and close.
A normal person who, like all of us, laments about the lack
of time, due to a packed schedule, to do things that he would otherwise do…
A foodie whose eyes light up at the mention of food
recommendations and who can have an animated discussion on all kinds of
cuisines…
A musician who is passionate about his work and who is excited
about presenting his next creation to the world…
An artist who is seeking inspiration and finds it various
things … some verse he heard while watching a play, for example
The heir of a musical family who guards and carries forward
his legacy with so much pride...
And last but not the least, a man with a great sense of
humor who makes you laugh as he recounts funny incidents from his travels.
And then when post the meeting you watch him on stage- he
has transformed into this rock star. One who works the audiences and has them
swaying from the moment he starts singing. He mingles with the crowds, makes
them sings with him, talks to them, makes them laugh. His voice captivates
them, charms them… and they fall in love with it.
Are the two the same- the star on the stage and the gentle,
soft spoken man behind it? You begin to wonder. And they indeed are! He has got
to be one of those special people who are exceptionally blessed. For remaining
so grounded and humble despite the super stardom that he has attained wouldn’t
be possible otherwise.
It’s that time of the year when
you sit and look back at the best moments that made the year so special. Every
TV channel , radio station, every blogger is doing their top 20, top 10….so I
decided to follow suit and relive all those memorable moments that made this
year special for all Shafqat fans like me. Here goes…
Bollywood Songs
Six Bollywood songs this year-
each sung brilliantly, as usual…each one different from the other.The year
started with the soulful Darmiyaan,
went on to a very exuberant Tu hi
mera and then there was a less noticed but very well sung Ya Maula which belonged to the genre
that Shafqat is a master in.
Phir le Aaya was just wow! Only a beautiful frame is worthy of
displaying a beautiful picture- and this was a song that showcases the
wonderful talent like never before.
Zindagi se chura ke struck a chord with the masses and then Tera Mera naam, a soft and mellow number
came right towards the end.
My top 3 Bollywood songs
3. Tu Hi Mera (Jannat 2) – buoyant, joyful …perfect for a day when you
are feeling happy for no specific reason
2. Darmiyaan- (Jodi Breakers) – It’s the lyrics by Irshaad Kaamil and
the heartfelt singing by Shafqat which do the trick in this one.
1. Phir Le Aaya – Redux (Barfi)- What do I say about this one…I had a
full post on it …so go read it here.
Collaborations
Shafqat got together with some
other musicians to create some fantastic musical moments…
3. IIFA Rocks performancewith
Ehsaan - Khamaj and Mitwa unplugged…What a rocking and memorable
performance
2. 'Manmaniyan' with Ranjit Barot on MTV unplugged- Some of his old
songs were rearranged on this acclaimed show but the bonus for his fans was a
brand new number called Manmaniyan- A track created by Ranjit Barot and lyrics
by Shafqat - the gelling of the Punjabi Sufi words with the western beats and
arrangement was hard to imagine but his singing made it work; and so
beautifully at that. read more about it here
1. 'Let Go' with Fin Greenall and Salim - Sulaiman – A beautiful
collaboration for the opening episode of the Dewarists Season 2. The song saw
some really inspired singing by Shafqat and left everyone mesmerized. This is
what Fin Greenall had to say about working with him…
“Shafqat, well, he is just a legend. His skill set is ancient and wow,
he can sing! He has a gift for sure and to work with him and have him do his
thing as a singer I definitely felt a little star struck."
Concerts
From Dhaka to Dubai, from Delhi
to Toronto the live concerts were happening everywhere. He sang at Mosaic, a south Asian Music and
cultural festival in Canada; at the Delhi edition of the popular NH7 Weekender; at the Times Festival in Hyderabad; and at the
Tri Nations Music Fest at Dhaka.
Here are my top 3 Concert moments
for 2012
3. Singing with Strings and Mika at Intensity concert in Dubai
2. “Ye nayan dare dare” at the Quli Qutab Shahi Tomb in Hyderabad for the
Times Festival
1. A tribute to Bahadur Shah Zafar at the Red Fort for the Urdu
Heritage Festival
TV/ radio appearances/ Interviews
Among several print and TV
interviews- most of them still stuck with the oft repeated – How did you start your musical journey or How did you enter Bollywood …to the ill researched- Why did you leave your band “Jal” (what???) or Can
you please sing my favorite song of yours – Rangrez from Tanu Weds Manu ( huh??) to the let’s see in how many different ways can you answer each time we ask you this- What
do you think about Indo- Pak relations- these were the 3 that stood out for
me
3. Shakhsiyat with Samina- A dignified and pleasant host who managed
to give us a glimpse of the influence his illustrious family has on his music
2. Geo Shaan Se- The host, who featured in the very popular video of
Khamaj, explored various facets of his personality. It was also worth a watch for
some interesting anecdotes narrated by the man himself (my favorite was about
him meeting a fan who was upset with him as she believed he had married four times!J)
1. Agenda Aaj Tak – He appeared alongside Kailash Kher and Ali Zafar
to talk about music beyond boundaries. His rendition of Saigal’s Main kya jaano kya jaadu hai after he
spoke about how each song he listened to in his childhood was a part of his training in the technical nuances of singing...his singing
bits of some melodious Punjabi numbers of Noor Jehan and Mehdi Hassan to
illustrate what kind of Punjabi he grew up with-all this and more made this
event a must watch for his fans.
I have a theory…it’s about a
special connection, a special fascination, that Shafqat Amanat Ali has, which inspires
him to create the music that he does- and the theory emerged after watching
some of his recent television appearances.
First, the opening episode of the
season 2 of The Dewarists- on which Shafqat along with the music director duo
of Salim- Suleiman and Fin Greenall created a song called “Let Go”. And then there was MTV unplugged, again into its second
season, where Shafqat featured in the 2nd episode and sang, along with a few of
his very popular hits, a brand new song called “Manmaniyan”
Let go
“Akhiyan wich wasda…nazar ni aaunda/Samajh ni aaundi karamat , teri
Hai yeh kaise mujhme sohbat teri…Akhiyan nu de de aasra
Suna tu hai vaade de khara ve…Akhiyan nu de de aasra
Sab toh sona, tu mere ch rehnda /Hai ae kaisi ajab sajavat teri
Hai ye kaisi mujhme banavat teri..Akhiyan nu de de aasra”
In my eyes you dwell, yet remain invisible- just can’t fathom this enigma
You are within, one with me… Just reassure my eyes
You are true to your words, so I’ve heard- Reveal Yourself and soothe my eyes
You, the most beautiful, resides in me- how mysterious is this magnificence
You take my form and that’s why I am…Let my eyes, too behold this glory
“Jagde rehnde na saun, Kaanu vairi hue apne/Bas teriyan rahan te jam gey ne nain mere
Tainu labde ne nain, Phaven din phaven rein/Tainu har vele, kehn, jaaniyan
Das jaa ve dil jaaniyan/Kaanu karna hai manmaniyan
Laaye dere saatho door ve, Kaanu keeta ee majboor/Kinu aakhan dil diyan galaan,Tainu likh likh sanehe ghallan
Teriyan socha ch rehn, Nai thakde kamle nain/Na ik pal lende chein./Dukh tere has- has sehn”
The sleep eludes… my eyes, torment me/ Staring forever at the path you walked on
Searching, day and night/Asking you- Why do you never yield, never relent?You are so far away, and I feel helpless/ Whom do I confide into, have tried reaching out to you
Thinking about you endlessly, they don’t tire, these crazy eyes/ Never resting for a moment, happily they endure this suffering…
So what’s common in both these
songs, besides the fact that Shafqat sang them?
One of course is the genre and
mood. Both the songs have the elements of Sufism. Then the lyrics of Shafqat’s
portion in Let Go and of course the song Manmaniyan are both in Punjabi and both
incidentally, have been penned by the man himself. (That Punjabi is the
language that Shafqat has his conversations with God in, is another theory that
I have, but let’s just stick to the present one for now)
So the one common thing in these
two songs that struck me was that both the songs talk about- Eyes! And my
theory is that Shafqat has a special connection and fascination with the word
eyes and its synonyms too, when it comes to his songs…
“The eye through
which I see God is the same eye through which God sees me; my eye and God's eye
are one eye, one seeing, one knowing, one love.”- Meister Eckhart
This connection with the eyes is not really surprising
because it is a well-known fact that there is a strong Sufi side to Shafqat’s
personality and you can catch a glimpse of it in every song of his. Sufism
often talks about eyes being the gateway to the soul. The eyes and the heart
are the senses of the soul and all three are interconnected. We use our eyes to
see the physical world around us but when we shut our eyes we start looking
inwards.
“I shut my eyes in
order to see”-said Paul Gauguin because when we close our eyes we start
seeing what we are supposed to see- In an attempt to find an inspiration, in
prayer or meditation, while experiencing something beautiful… Many singers,
including Shafqat, often sing with their eyes closed… and we often close ours
while listening to our favorite songs..
“Then love knew it
was called love. And when I lifted my eyes to your name, suddenly your heart
showed me my way”- Pablo Neruda
Shafqat also is, by his own admission, a hard core romantic.
In fact Sufism is also a form a romance- the highest and the purest- where the
soul romances the Supreme. But even for the mere mortal kind of romance the
significance of the eyes can never be undermined. So poets and songwriters of
all times have written about love at first sight, songs in praise of the eyes
of the beloved, eyes shedding tears of separation, eyes waiting for the lost
love to return and so on…
“Eyes can only capture
objects that are already seen in mind. And mind can only see things that are already
written in heart.”- Toba Beta
Shafqat has written the lyrics for almost all the songs of
his 3 albums so far. Fuzon’s Saagar was Shafqat’s debut album and the very
first song composed for it was “Aankhon
ke Saagar”. The other equally popular Khamaj talks about the lover who is
silent and urges him to come back – “Nain teehari raah nihare, naino
ko tarsao na”. And then there is another one which is called Akhiyan, pleading the lover never to be
out of sight…
Probably the best song from his next, Tabeer, is Khaireyan
de Naal and it talks about having found enlightenment through love… “Bund Aankhonse raah dikhe, Raanjhe who jot jagayi” It also has a song called Naina- about eyes that have forgotten
to sleep as they are so lost in love…”Din
mein na soyein bairi, raaton ko jaage, jab se ye paagal naina tere sang laage”
His last released
album was- Kyun Dooriyan, which has a beautiful composition in Pahaari
that talks about how a pall of gloom
that has descended in someone’s world since their beloved abandoned them and
how the tears from the eyes can never stop flowing…
“Humri Nagariya
Chhayee Badariya/Naina Bahein Saari
Rain
Aaja Sanwariya Teri Ye
Bawariya, Jogan Ho Gayo Bhes”
Like someone has said- “Ifeyes are windows to the soul, then tears
are heavens rain.”
And the mood continues in Mahiya…
“Har Vele Rehndiyan Ne
Taanga Mainu Teriyan/Tak Tak Rawaan AkhanThak Gayeeyan Meriyan
Akhiyan Nu Chaa Barha
Channa Teri Deed Da/Ban Ke Tu Aaja Kadi Chann Jiven Eid Da”…
The eyes yearn to have one glimpse of you…appear before me;
won’t you like the blessed Eid moon in the sky?
If I ever get to ask him, I am certainly going to ask
Shafqat – what’s with you and the eyes? :) Because when Shafqat himself isn’t pursuing
the eyes, they are pursuing him…look at the lyrics of some of the Bollywood
songs that he got to sing…
Tere Naina –"Rab ki
nemat hai teri nighaein"
Mitwa –"teri nigahein
paa gayin raahein, par tu ye soche jaun na jaun"
Bin Tere- "Ajnabi se hue
kyun pals nazar se nazar yeh milaate
hi nahin"
Zindagi se churake- "Ab sath hain hum is tarah aankhon ke sang palken/Aa waqt ko ye
baat hum phir ek baar kehde"
Tu hi mera- "Tere Ishq
Me Dooba Rahe/Din Raat Yuhin Sadaa/Mere Khwaab Se Aakhein Teri /Ik Pal Na Hoye Judaa"
You might call this stretching the logic, too far: P…but
then maybe you should have watched Shafqat at a recent TV channel event singing
– “Main kya jaanu kya jaadu hai, inn do
matwaale naino mein”- when he
was asked to sing a memorable song that he grew up with. And then “Ye nayan
dare dare” when asked what his most favorite romantic number was.
Convinced? Do you see the connection, now? ForEye I
certainly do… But if you still don’t then I suggest that you put on your
favorite Shafqat song, 'shut your eyes and see listen to the beauty…'
