These days most of my time is being spent on work related affairs, and all the other, ahem, affairs have taken a backseat. Nevertheless, once every few months, I still go into those moments of trance / insanity that give rise to blog posts such as those that shall follow this one. And, true to my human side, notwithstanding the minisculity of its form, this post is still a vehement representation of what I am and a stubborn reminder of the stain of the human emotion etched into my psyche. Some things just don’t go away, do they?
Out, bloody damned spot!
I had first heard this song in a Bollywood masala movie from the 90s. It was well sung, well directed and eventually became a hugely popular song. That number was sung by Sonu Nigam. However, very recently I discovered a video on youtube of a version sung by a Pakistani artist, Ataullah Khan, who is a living legend in his own right (as I came to know subsequently). Further research and a couple of hours digging through the WWW, I found more versions sung as qawwalis by Sabari Brothers, Ayaz Ali and Munni Begum.
Each one has their own style of singing it. Although there is much speculation and conflicting views regarding the poet of the original verse, the poem itself is heart rending. I have compiled the present verse below based on multiple renditions by various artistes named above.
Although the theme is not sufi per se, there are philosophical undertones and a sense of renunciation mixed with a sense of loss and anguish. The beauty of the song, akin to Da Vinci’s Mona Lisa, is that the tone of the verse depends entirely the approach the audience takes while interpreting the song.
Here’s the verse.
सुर्ख़ आँखो में काजल लगा है, रुख पे गाज़ा सजाये हुए हैं
… ऐसे आए हैं मैय्यत में मेरी, जैसे शादी में आए हुए हैं
बिख़री जुल्फें परेशान चेहरा, अश्क आँखो में आये हुए हैं
… ऐ अजल ठहर जा चाँद लम्हें , वो अयादत को आये हुए हैं
ज़िन्दगी में पलटकर न देखा, और न पूछा कभी हाल ‘अफज़ल’
… बाद मरने के मेरी लहद पे, वो दुल्हन बनके आये हुए हैं
दफ्न के वक़्त सब दोस्तो ने, ये चुकाया मुहब्बत का बदला
… डाल दी खाक मेरे बदन पर, यह न सोचा नहाए हुए हैं
देख साकी तेरे मैकदे का, इक पहुंचा हुआ रिंद हूँ मैं
… जितने आए हैं मैय्यत पर मेरी, सब के सब ही लगाए हुए हैं
एक आँसूं न पलको से टपके, यह वफ़ा का तकाज़ा है वरना
… दोस्तो हम भी आँखो में अपनी गंगा-जमुना छुपाये हुए हैं