POST 54: Koi Umeed Bar Nahi Aati
कोई उम्मीद बर नहीं आती
This is another gift from the legendary Mirza Ghalib. I have written about Ghalib in my previous blogs but this is additional information.
Ghalib was a very popular figure in Delhi. His handsome face, tall and well built body acted as a magnet. People got quickly attached to him. He stayed in Banaras , on way to Calcutta, in connection with a case for grant of pension to him from the British Government. Such was the relaxed scenario that he spent three years in Benaras! He had fond memories of Benaras and recorded its praise in a poem called ‘Lamp of the temple’ .
He was a great admirer of Fazal- e Haq Khairabadi , a theologian, philosopher a knowledgeable man and a poet .He was a frank critic of Ghalib’s work and Ghalib had great respect for him .Try to visualise that Ghalib on completing his Urdu diwan took it to Khairabadi for appraisal and on his suggestion discarded almost two thirds of his ghazals.
Important words:
उम्मीद: hope; बर: but same as par; मुअय्यन: definite, decided in advance;सवाब-ए-ताअत-ओ-ज़ोहद: blessings received by obeisance and devotion; दाग़-ए-दिल: suffering of the heart, heart burn; चारागर:one who heals; काबा: a small shrine in Mecca considered by Muslims as the most sacred place on earth.
कोई उम्मीद बर नहीं आती
कोई सूरत नज़र नहीं आती
There appears to be no hope,
neither is there a solution!
मौत का एक दिन मुअय्यन है
नींद क्यूँ रात भर नहीं आती
The date of death is preordained!
Then why can not I sleep a wink the whole night?
आगे आती थी हाल-ए-दिल पे हँसी
अब किसी बात पर नहीं आती
Oh! I used to laugh at the condition of my heart!!
Now I just can not laugh at anything!
जानता हूँ सवाब-ए-ताअत-ओ-ज़ोहद
पर तबीअत इधर नहीं आती
I know it is possible to receive blessings by obeisance and prayer.
But I can not bring myself to do it!
है कुछ ऐसी ही बात जो चुप हूँ
वर्ना क्या बात कर नहीं आती
The circumstances are such that I am keeping quiet.
It is not as though I do not know how to talk!
क्यूँ न चीख़ूँ कि याद करते हैं
मेरी आवाज़ गर नहीं आती
Why should I not scream that she remembers me?
Even though I am incapable of uttering a single word!
दाग़-ए-दिल गर नज़र नहीं आता
बू भी ऐ चारागर नहीं आती
Although blots on my hurt, trampled heart do not show!
Still I can not sense the presence of someone who cares and cures !
हम वहाँ हैं जहाँ से हम को भी
कुछ हमारी ख़बर नहीं आती .
I am at that stage of unawareness,
that even I do not have any news about myself!
मरते हैं आरज़ू में मरने की
मौत आती है पर नहीं आती
I am dying in the hope of dying, praying for it!
Death is there but it does not come to me !
काबा किस मुँह से जाओगे 'ग़ालिब'
शर्म तुम को मगर नहीं आती
Ghalib how would you go to Kaba?
You are not even ashamed of yourself!
Lata Mangeshkar sang this ghazal in her younger days. This ghazal sung by her, is based on a mix of Rag Maulkauns and Rag Chandrakauns. This ghazal has music directed and composed by Hridayanath Mangeshkar. She is probably the highest awarded singer having received Bharat Ratna (2001),Dada Sahib Phalke award (1989) and so many others. Her carrier started in 1942 and spanned more than seven decades. She has sung more than 5000 songs in over a thousand Hindi films and 36 regional films. She has very precise and flawless pronunciation in Hindi, Sanskrit and Urdu.
BEGUM Akhtar here is singing this ghazal to make one feel that this ghazal was meant to be sung by her and her alone.
Jagjit singh has sung this ghazal and made it his own .I am not adding any biographical details about him except to say that an entire generation loved him and still loves his singing!
Farida Khanum does not need any introduction. Suffice it to say that her singing has been distinctive and seems effortless
Radhika Chopra has a voice that is so well suited to ghazal singing. She has continued to value rag based traditional pure singing. She has appeared on my blogs on more than one occasion.
Ali Zafar ( born 1980), is a Pakistani singer, actor, music composer and TV and film artist. He has been active in Bollywood also ( Roles in films like Mere brother ki Dulhan,Chashme Baddoor, Dear Zindagi etc.).
I have presented all these singers because I felt each one of them presents a different way of singing the same ghazal. I hope you enjoyed it.
The same ghazal has also been sung by Abida Parveen, Rahat Fateh Ali Khan (https://youtu.be/c8qtBX3Vwyg);Syresham Wadakar );Pankaj Udhas ( https://youtu.be/YV5GpTpPVCw) and some others but I could not accommodate all of them here.
Take care and enjoy the month of August! Next blog on the Independence Day.
01.08. 2021
