Mera Waala Gaana

“Beautiful songs could sometimes take a person out of themselves and carry them away to a place of magic.”

This one is for Shafqat's youngest fan, my friend's six-month old, who apparently sleeps to the sound of this song every night :)

Ever wondered what song would you choose to listen if it were the very last song that you would hear, ever… Most music lovers would have a very hard time just thinking about it. But I, for one, have it all sorted out. Because I have this one song.. .my most favorite across genres, across singers, and across eras… And the song is ‘Khamaj’ from the album Saagar by Fuzon

What is about the song that appeals to me? Is it the lyrics, or the melody… or the voice, I have often wondered…

They say that in the brain there isn’t just one specific area that gets stimulated by music. In fact music is that one thing which stimulates and utilizes the most parts of the brain. Both the right and left hemispheres are involved in its interpretation because one makes sense of the lyrics and the other imbibes the melody.  But music is something beyond the words and the melody- it evokes memories, creates imagery that is capable of transporting you far away, introduces you to  new emotions and reminds of you some old and forgotten ones.

If I were to sum it up scientifically- At the heart of liking a song lies the pleasurable feeling that it evokes as a result of some complex electrical activity happening in the brain. And that’s what makes us play it on the loop and never tire of it…

Saying, that I LOVE the voice that has rendered Khamaj would be stating the obvious…  the song sounds wonderful each time he sings it. Be it the Fuzon original or the Coke Studio version or more recently on MTV unplugged.

Then there are the lyrics… The song is based on a Patiala Gharana thumri and Shafqat has given it the form of a song by adding more words and extending the composition…

The lyrics…

Sawan beeto jaye piharwa / mann mora ghabraye re...

Aiso gaye pardes piya tum / Chein humein nahi aaye

Mora sayiyaan mose bole na , Mein laakh jatan kar haari /Mora sayiyan mose bole na

Tu jo nahi to aise piya hum / Jaise soona aangana

Nain tihari raah niharein /Nainon ko tarsao na

Mora sayiyaan mose bole na…

Pyaar tumhe kitna karte hein /Tum ye samajh nahi paaoge

Jab hum na honge to piharwa/ Bolo kya tab aaoge...

I read the lyrics in a slightly different way than most people do.  Most may consider this a love song, a romantic number; but for me the words speak of a spiritual desire of a soul… its longing to merge with the creator

My transcreation…

Life goes by, my restlessness abounds

Since you abandoned me no peace I’ve found

Won’t you say something to me?

Pay heed…to my desperate plea?

Without you my soul feels bare

Expectant eyes, into emptiness they stare

My cries are but all in vain

Won’t you ever understand this pain?

The depth of my love, you won’t comprehend

How can I wait, till beyond the end?

And my love for the song led me to discover some amazing cover versions of the song on YouTube. There are hundreds and sifting through them wasn’t an easy task. But here’s my pick of the ones that touched me in one way or another…

Parivartan

This has to be the most “intelligent” cover version.. (no wonder then that it comes from the IITK music club - a pleasant surprise to see that the IITs have music geeks as well) It fuses Khamaj so beautifully with another Bandish by Ustad Abdul Rashid Khan and the two gel so well ….the synergies of the mood and the essence of the two creates magic. My absolute favorite!

And here's the bonus when they get to perform it for the man himself...

Navneet/ Pallav-

The simplicity, the sincerity, the serenity… also some lovely guitar playing and some interesting improvisation…

Sandeep Batra

This one has an amazing Video… just goes to show how this song inspires people in so many different ways. Some good singing as well

Agatha Singh…

Crystal clear voice, technically brilliant… The dedication, the practice, the hardwork…

The perfect choice for reality music shows..

Asad Abbas sings in Sangeet Icon Pakistan

Sniti Misra in Saregamapa

Shafqat’s nephew Ali Amjad renders it here. 

You can hear bits of the traditional thumri creep in – as it was sung by Ustad Fateh Ali Khan and Ustand Amanat Ali Khan.  Music certainly runs in this family…

H.W. Longfellow said…

“God sent his Singers upon earth

With songs of sadness and of mirth,

That they might touch the hearts of men,

And bring them back to heaven again.”

God Bless you Shafqat Amanat Ali, for I see my heaven in your Khamaj!

That Special Connection...

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

Manmaniyan

The Video

“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 Aankhon se 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- “If eyes 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 Akhan Thak 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? For Eye  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…'

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!

Phir Le Aaya… Of Pain, Poetry & More…

I had vowed not to talk of Bollywood for at least some time on this blog, after my post on Shafqat’s Bollywood songs … but Phir le Aaya…yes the song from the recently released film, Barfi, brought me back to talk some more about Bollywood again. A beautiful song, that has been playing on the loop on my IPod, and if not that, then in my mind endlessly ever since I first heard it- clutter breaking, simple, yet profound; that stirs something deep inside of you.

I decided to ponder, and probe for a plausible explanation into what makes this song so near perfect!

P is for Poetry

Written by Saeed Qadri, a lyricist who has written extensively for the Bhatt camp, the song has beautiful words in a beautiful language, that is Urdu, and talks of love, regret, desire and more.

If you look at a long list of songs that Qadri has written till date, you realize that his words have contributed a lot to their success.  Doorie, Woh lamhe, Kaho na kaho, Tum mile, Tu hi mera… the list goes on. One of my all-time favorites – In dino dil mera from Life in a Metro comes from the same director, music director & writer team- Anurag Basu, Pritam and Saeed Qadri- and with Phir le aaya the trio has created magic, again. 

Phir le aaya dil, Majboor kya kije

Raas na aaya, Rehna door kya kije

Dil keh raha,Usse maqammal kar bhi aao

Wo jo adhuri si, Baat baaki hai

Wo jo adhuri si, Yaad baaki hai

Karte hain hum, Aaj qabool kya kije

Ho gaye thi jo, Humse bhool kya kije

Dil keh raha, Usse mayassar, Kar bhi aao

Wo jo dabi si, Aas baaki hai

Wo jo dabi si, Aanch baaki hai

Kismat ko hai ye, Manzoor kya kije ye..

Milte rahe hum,Badastoor kya kije

Dil keh raha hai,Usse musalsal, Kar bhi aao,

Wo jo ruki si, Raah baaki hai

Wo jo ruki si, Chaah baaki hai

Translation (that isn’t half as good):

I return- my heart compelled, there was nothing I could do

For it didn’t quite agree with me, the staying away from you!

My heart tells me, that I should go

And find that incomplete, half lost memory

Of very long ago

I confess today, it cannot be undone

I admit to all mistakes, each and every one

The heart stirs again to a lost desire

Wants to stoke again, the embers

Of a dying fire

That’s the way fate would have it, there was nothing we could do

Our paths kept crossing, but in a way the world would want them to

My heart cannot still bid adieu

To that unfinished, stifled, yearning

For being with you…

  

P is for Pain

Love and pain go hand in hand. Pain caused by love has been the pet peeve of Hindi film songs for as long as they have existed. And then there are different brands of pain as well- the pain of rejection, the pain of separation, the pain of remorse, the pain of longing and so on.

The pain experienced when one is young, is usually the most hard hitting, takes you by surprise & then alters the way you think and live life after the experience. It is often the inspiration for the creative types and is known to have produced many a poet and artist.  And that’s the reprise version of the song for you…

“A woman's heart is a deep ocean of secrets”- The famous quote from the movie Titanic, is what sums up the Rekha Bhardwaj version for me.  For they say that a woman’s heart never forgets love or hurt for as long as she lives, and if she chooses not to tell anyone about it, no one will ever know…

And as you mature and grow wiser the way you handle pain changes, too. You take a more philosophical approach to it ,learn from it, handle it better and live with it… and that’s the Redux version- my favorite of course, as it has been sung by none other than The Shafqat Amanat Ali!

So, like I mentioned in a previous blog, if there is a song that deserved to be sung thrice over, this is the one.

Arijit Singh : Reprise

Rekha Bhardwaj

Shafqat Amanat Ali : Redux

P is for Playback

Anyone who saw Fame Gurukul, a reality music show on TV few years ago will remember this massively talented, youngster, Arijit Singh. He had shown a lot of promise back then but not many would’ve imagined that he would come of age with a song like this. A very expressive voice that feels the lyrics as it sings them.

Rekha Bhardwaj has given us so many delightful songs in recent times and with this one she again proves why she is one of the best female playback voices of our current times. Soft, smooth, silky, subdued… her vocals for this one.

And then there is the version sung by my favorite. He sings it and how!… making it sound so easy and effortless and unconstrained, which is no mean achievement! He hasn’t sung this genre in Bollywood before but it is his home turf because Ghazal singing runs in his great musical family – his father being one of the most accomplished Ghazal singers that the subcontinent has ever seen. Sounding so very different from his recent songs for Jannat 2 and Raaz 3, Shafqat once again reminds you of his versatility and ability to sing different kinds of songs with equal proficiency.

P is for Pronunciation

Diction is what gives Shafqat’s version that extra edge over the other two. The way he says the words is starkly different from the other two singers. In a recent interview he mentions how he always pays special care not to mispronounce any words in any language that he sings in; and tries his best to render them in the way they should be. The way he says baaki or musalsal, or muqammal would make Javed Akhtar, who was famous for his nit picking on the talafuzz on the TV show, Indian Idol, stand up and say- "This is it!" J

P is also for ….

Pritam… Kudos to him for giving this beautiful, very un-Pritam like number, which stands out in this very exceptional album

And Pity… that the number was not fully utilized on the screen… and just one version…. Would have loved to see all 3, and especially my favorite one, on celluloid…

Aaj Jaane Ki Zid Na Karo...

mag·i·cal/ˈmajikəl

Adj:giving a feeling of enchantment

Synonyms: bewitching, charming, spellbinding

There was once this song. It was made many- many years ago- 1973 to be precise-A simple love song that caught the imagination of millions of music lovers. The perfect combination of lyrics, melody, melancholy and romance…It would often get requested in dying hours of parties when it was almost time to leave. Everyone who was or had been in love could relate to it.

Given its popularity many singers sang it – different voices, different styles. Each lover of this song seems to have their own favorite. I had mine, too. It was sung by the Ghazal queen Farida Khanum.

And then one day I listened to a version sung by Shafqat Amanat Ali. And It was MAGICAL. The way he sang it, transformed the meaning of the song for me. It gave it a new ethereal, spiritual dimension. It was no longer a simple ballad that talked about common love. It was now the agony that the thought of being separated from someone you have devoted your life to would produce. It was realization of the impermanence, the fleeting nature of time;of the purity of love itself that takes the mortal existence to a higher level of being all together.

The powerful singing even compelled me to do a very inspired translation of the beautiful lyrics- my own interpretation of the love and longing that the song represents.

Do not talk of leaving tonight

Just be here, sit by my side

Devastated and lost that’s what I’ll be

If you even talk of leaving me

How can I not urge you not to go

You are my life, don’t you know

My dearest, promise me, you have to agree

Tonight you won’t talk of leaving me

In the shackles of time, lives are bound to be

Rare moments like these, set us free…

If you let them just flit away

You’ll miss them…. every day

So tell me you won’t go…and will be here today

So vibrant, this hour, oh so divine,

Grace and passion rise in an embrace, sublime

For the ‘morrow there is no worry no care

When tonight is ours to feel and share

So be mine, I won’t let you out of sight

Don’t insist on going away tonight!

They say that you know that you are in love when the hardest thing to do is say good-bye. No wonder then that I can’t stop listening to Shafqat’s  Aaj Jaane ki Zid na Karo, because his voice makes you fall in love with it ,each time!

Some facts about the song

- The song was written by Fayyaz Hashmi and composed by the famous music composer Sohail Rana for the Pakistani film “Badal aur Bijli”

- It was originally sung by Habib Wali Mohammad

- The version sung by Farida Khanum is probably the most popular, though many other singers including Asha Bhonsle, Talat Aziz and Anup Jalota have sung it as well

- The song is in Raag Yaman