POST 60:Phoolon Ke Rut Hai Thandi Hawayen
फूलों की रुत है ठंडी हवाएं
Saeed Shaheedi is a Hyderabadi poet known for his romantic ghazals. He is one poet who has defied definition. He is a poet who has left his mark in all forms of Urdu poetry, may be Sufi devotional called Manqabat, Qasida (Panegyric), Rubai (Quatrain), Naath (नात- eulogy of the Prophet), Munnajat ( Supplication ), Marsia ( Elegy- in case of death), Salam (salutation), Noha ( Lamentation) and of course romantic ghazal.
His given name was Mir Abid Ali, although he wrote under the name Saeed. He was born on 14th of July 1914 and died on 15th May 2000. He was from a family that was musically inclined and had the tradition of ghazal writings.
Sample some of his more beautiful offerings:
1 Jab bhi mehfil main chidi meri ghazal
Sari mehfil ko tadapta dekha
2 Kaise sukoon paoon tujhe dekhne ke baad
Ab kya ghazal sunaoon tujhe dekhne ke baad
Teri nigah-e-mast ne maqmoor kar diya
Kya maikadh ko jaoon tujhe dekhne ke baad.
3 Kis ko pane ki baat karte ho
Hosh udane ki baat karte ho
Jam khali laga ke honton ko
Ladkhadane ki baat karte ho
Important words: जफ़ा: unfaithfulness; वफ़ाये: faithfulness, commitment; रुदाद-ए-उल्फत: story of love; मुकम्मल: firmed up; साहिल: shore
Begum Akhtar is such a towering personality, that words can not do justice to her talent. I have been introducing some aspects of her life in my several blogs where she appears prominently. She died at the age of 60 in Ahmedabad(30th October 1974). Unfortunately she did not have a very happy personal life. She was dubbed ‘ Mallika -e- ghazal’ and honoured with ‘ Padma Bhushan’, posthumously in 1975. Her early life was tragic. Her father a lawyer had made her mother, Mushtari, his second wife but abandoned her and her twin sister. The twin sister died very young. Begum Akhtar started working very early in life. Suffered rape at an early age and gave birth to a girl, presented to the World as her sister!
फूलों की रुत है ठंडी हवाएं
अब उन की मर्ज़ी वो आए ना आए
It is the season of the flowers, cold winds,
Now it is up to her ,to come or not
फूलों की रुत है ठंडी हवाएं
उनकी जफ़ा या अपनी वफ़ायें
क्या याद रुखैं क्या भूल जाए?
It is the season of the flowers, cool winds,
Her unfaithfulness and my devotion, absolute commitment!
What am I to remember and what am I to forget?
फूलों की रुत है ठंडी हवाए
इतना बता दे ग़म देनेवाले
आंसु बहायें या मुस्कुराये ?
अब उन की मर्ज़ी वो आए ना आए
It is the season of the flowers, cool winds,
Oh giver of this heartache, just tell me
Should I shed tears or should I smile?
Now it is up to her, to come or not
It is the season of the flowers, cool winds,
फूलों की रुत है ठंडी हवाएं
रुदाद-ए-उल्फत कर ले मुकम्मल
कुछ तुम गुनगुनाओ कुछ हम सुनाँए
It is the season of the flowers, cool winds,
Please bring the story of love to a logical conclusion, save it protect it.
You hum along a little while I tell you the story of love!
It is the season of the flowers, cool winds,
फूलों की रुत है ठंडी हवाएं
साहिल भी अपना तूफ़ान भी अपना
अब पार उतरें या डूब जाएँ
अब उन की मर्जी वो आएँ ना आएँ
The shore is ours and the storm is also of our making!
Whether to disembark or to sink?
Now it is up to her, to come or not
It is the season of the flowers, cold winds,
फूलों की रुत है ठंडी हवाएं
भूली हुई बाय ईक याद आई
लेकिन सईद अब किस को सुनाएँ?
It is the season of the flowers, cold winds,
I just remembered something long forgotten!
Alas Oh Saeed, to whom can I narrate it?
Vithal Rao Atmaram Shivpurkar was popularly known as pandit Vithal Rao ( born 10th March 1929- expired 25th June 2015).He was a classical singer. He was the last court singer of the last Nizam of Hyderabad. Towards the end of his life, he was suffering from Alzheimer’s disease and died incognito.
Enjoy his style of singing.
Ustad Aslam Khan ( born 1940- died 21st March 2018) was the true voice of six long established gharanas of singing of Indian classical music. His life started in a small town, Khurja. Khurja town is just 100 km east of Delhi, but has a rich tradition , of its own, in Khurja Gharana. His singing style was influenced by Atrauli, Delhi, Agra, Sikandra and Hapur gharanas, in a grand blend of these six gharanas! He practiced and accomplished his singing at Bombay — now Mumbai, since 1950.
Munni Begum has been a very popular singer of ghazals. The name looks rather strange but it so happened that Nadira as a very small child started taking music lessons from famous singer Ustad Khawaja Ghulam Mustafa. He found her very young and small in size so this great singer became Munni Begum! Now she lives in Chicago and does not perform. She married at the age of 25,However the marriage was dissolved in a divorce in 1988.She has a very clear and strong voice .She specialised in ghazals with simple words, which probably partly explains her popularity.
This is a simple ghazal that brings out the complexities of love and portrays the different moods of the lover.
Enjoy the ghazal and its singing in four different styles. I wait for your responses, please be kind!
