POST 58: Diwana Banana Hai To Diwana Bana De
दीवाना बनाना है तो दीवाना बना दे
Behzad Lakhnawi , a poet of eminence born in 1900 in Lucknow, was given the name Sardar Hasan Khan but wrote under the pen name Behzad Lakhnawi. He is known for his writings of ghazals and ‘Naats’. ‘Naats’ are poetry in praise of the Islamic prophet Muhammad. These are written in Urdu, Bengali and Punjabi. People who sing Naats are known as ‘ Naat Khawan’ or ‘Sana’a-khua’an’. Begum Akhtar gained recognition when she sang her first ghazal ‘Diwana banana hai to diwana bana de’, written by Behzad Lakhnawi. He also wrote lyrics for seventeen Indian and Pakistani films. He relocated to Pakistan after partition.
Important words: दीवाना: means madly in love as well as demented; तक़दीर: fate; तमाशा: spectacle; बज़्म: gathering, congregation; ख़ाना-ए-दिल: house of the heart; काबा: the most religious place for Muslims, Kaaba also spelled as ka’bah, is the most sacred site in Islam, considered as ‘House of God’, situated in Mecca , Saudi Arabia, ; बुत-ख़ाना: temple; गाम:step; सज्दा-ए-मस्ती: Obeisance in pleasure;संग-ए-दर-ए-जानाना: stone on the threshold of the house of the beloved.
Begum Akhtar earned her recognition with the singing of this ghazal. This is the version she sang as a matured singer although the same ghazal sung by Akhtari Bai Faizabadi, in 1929 at the age of fifteen, in her earlier carrier is available at https://youtu.be/8tJZYW_71nE. She even impressed famous poetess Sarojni Naidu, at a concert held to help victims of Bihar earthquake in1930 .She acted in a few films also like Ameena, Mumtaz Begum, Jawani ka Nasha, Naseeb ka chakkar etc. Her last stint, was portrayal as a classical singer in the Satyajit Ray’s film ‘ Jalsa Ghar’.
Here is Begum Akhtar casting magic ,with her soulful voice.
दीवाना बनाना है तो दीवाना बना दे
वर्ना कहीं तक़दीर तमाशा न बना दे
If you want me to be madly in love, turn me into a lunatic!
Otherwise the fates may turn me in to a spectacle!!
ऐ देखने वालो मुझे हँस हँस के न देखो
तुम को भी मोहब्बत कहीं मुझ सा न बना दे
Oh you people of the World, don’t laugh at my plight!
Otherwise being in love might make you also like me!!
मैं ढूँढ रहा हूँ मिरी वो शम्अ कहाँ है?
जो बज़्म की हर चीज़ को परवाना बना दे
I am searching where is my flame( beloved)!
That which turns every one in the gathering into a lover!!
आख़िर कोई सूरत भी तो हो ख़ाना-ए-दिल की
काबा नहीं बनता है तो बुत-ख़ाना बना दे
After all there has to be a shape ,a form of the house of the heart!
If you can not make ‘Kaaba’, then create a temple!!
'बहज़ाद' हर इक गाम पे इक सज्दा-ए-मस्ती
हर ज़र्रे को संग-ए-दर-ए-जानाना बना दे
Behzad, there is pleasure in every obeisance, in every step that I take!
Let every speck of dust be like the stone on the threshold of the house of the beloved!!
Radhika Chopra needs no introduction. Her raag based gayaki ,her trademark, is a pure delight. She did her M.Phil and Ph.D from Faculty of Music and Fine Arts, University of Delhi.
Rashmi Agarwal is based in Delhi, who is a classical singer, composer and songwriter. She is an empaneled artist with the Indian Council Relations (ICCR) and has been the only Indian woman to win the Grand-Prix Award at International World Music Festival , at Samarkand, Uzbekistan, in August 2013.
Wahdat Rameez is a Pakistani Folk, and Sufi singer who commands a soulful, full throated, powerful voice .Enjoy his style of singing.
Hope this new blog brings you happiness, pleasure and something to look forward to.
Next blog on 15.10.2021.
01.10.2021
