At The Edge

Yeh raah-e-khaak saari main sar se qata ki hai, Naqsh-e-jabeen hai mere, har naqsh-e-paa jahaan hai, Mat maut ki tamanna, ai Dard, har ghari kar, Duniya ko dekh tu bhi, tu tau abhi jawam hai. ~ Khwaja Mir Dard I was fifteen years old when I first visited Qutub Minar as a tourist on a visit to the capital of India. Followed the ritual of buying a ticket of tourist bus whose route included the “hot” tourist spots India gate, Red fort, Birla temple, Lotus Temple et al, all that could be covered in one day. It was summer of May and the spots were really hot. The package also included a tourist guide who kept telling the foreign tourist― the only foreign tourist present in the bus, Arc de Triomphe of Paris is a copy of India gate. My father and an elder cousin brother, who had recently started working in Delhi, accompanied me on this tourist trip. I was excited about seeing the Iron Pillar and not the Qutub Minar. The reason for this being that I had recently read about Iron Pilla...

Mureez-e-ishq par rehmat khuda ki, Marz badta gaya jun jun dawa ki. ~Momin Khan Momin Hakim Momin Khan Momin [b.1800 (01)- d.1851] was born to a family of tabibs (traditional Islamic doctor) that originally belonged to Kashmir and that had moved to the Mughal capital Dilli. He not only learnt Persian, Urdu and Arabic at an early age but also attained mastery in Hikmat (medicine of the age), hence the title of ‘Hakim’ in the name. Momin’s father, Hakim Ghulam Nabi Khan, was a court doctor and could afford all the comforts for his son. His education had been thorough and systematic, as is proved by the embarrassing profusion of technical terms pertaining to music, astronomy, mathematics, medicine, etc. in his qasidas. Momin grew up in a luxurious household; later he was to refuse a professorship offer from a Delhi college because he found the salary “peanuts”. The other prominent feature of this household was: Religion. His father was a follower of Shah Abdul Aziz , son of the...

Hawa mithee tu aa ja, purab se Tufaan tu aa jaa re paschim se Chali aa, jaldi aa jaldi aa tu aasmaan se ~Title song from Cartoon Series Taro Ek Dragon Ka Beta Japanese cartoon series from the late 70’s Taro the Dragon Boy ( orginal story by Miyoko Matsutani ) was shown on Indian national television - Doordarshan, in mid nineties with the Hindi title: Taro Ek Dragon Ka Beta . Due to this one serial, a generation of Indians was introduced to the wonders of Japanese animation. Although it may not seem to be a great series in itself( when compared to the new age sleek animation of these days) , showing of Taro the Dragon Boy was the true precursor to the coming of Pokemons, Inuyashas, Samurai Jacks and Dragon Ball Zs. In India, the series is mostly remembered for its title track Hawa mithee tu aa ja written by Gulzar and brilliantly composed music by Vishal Bhardwaj. In 1966, Taro, the Son of Dragon with the original Japanese title of ...

Mere jeevan saathi , pyaar kiye jaa waah! waah! Haan haan ! Mere jivan saathi, pyaar kiye jaa Jawani diwani , O o! Khoobsurat , ziddi padosan satyam shivam sundaram , satyam shivam sundaram satyam shivam sundaram Jhootha kahin ka ! Jhootha kahin ka? Haan, hare rama hare Krishna Dhat! Chaar sau bees , awaara ! Dil hi to hai Hai! Aashiq hoon baharon ka , tere mere sapne , tere ghar ke samane , Aamane saamane , shaadi ke baad! Shaadi ke baad? O baap re! Haan haan haan, haan! Hamare tumhare ! Kyaa? Munna , guddi , tinku , mili , shin shinaki babla boo Khel khel mein shor! , Shor , shor ... Bhuul gaye? Johny Mera Naam Achchhaa? Chori mera kaam , Johny Mera Naam, o, chori mera kaam O! Ram aur shyam Dhat, bandalbaaz Ladaki , milan , geet gata chal , pyaar ka mausam Besharam ! Aahaa haahaahaaha! Pyar ka mausam Besharam ... Satyam shivam sundaram, satyam shivam sundaram Satyam shivam sundaram Mere jivan saathi, pyaar kiye jaa Jaa jaa! Javaani d...

Jee mein aata hai murda sitare noch loon Idhar bhi nooch loon udhar bhi noch loon Ek do ka zikar kya mein sare nooch loon I had a feeling about these lines when I first heard the song, a feeling that made me go, “Ok! Something miraculous just happened to a good but not so great a song!” My cabbie was listening keenly to the song and started laughing every time he heard the words nooch loo . Maybe he knew what just happened. This is what happened after that: he changed the radio station. But, I couldn’t get the lines out of my mind. Why the nooch loo exhortation? Then I found the answer: The Urge to Fly has done a brilliant job at finding the genesis of the song Khoya Khoya Chand from Sudhir Mishra’s recent film of the same name. The writer at his blog informs us in his in his diligent write-up that the origin of the song lies in the poetry of Urdu poet Majaz Lucknawi (real name Asrar ul Haq). Among many other observations he provides the answer to my query also. Kyun n...

Hugh Richardson (1905-2000), Britain’s last representative in Lhasa, was the first person to mention the phrase “the mind’s Tibet” to Patrick French. Richardson, who in a 1943 treaty gave up British extra-territorial rights in China, mentioned to Patrick French in a letter about “a quotation from Newbolt which I can’t find, ‘The mind’s Tibet where none has gone before.’” Patrick French describes this Tibet as: “A Tibet of the mind, a notion of pure, distant land, a place of personal escape, the heart of lightness. For some, it may be glimpsed through music, or fasting, or drugs, or prayer, or excessive exercise, or perfect love. It is the imaginary paradise, the cool correlative of the desert island with palms, coconuts and Gauguin’s women.” Patrick French looks from the origin of the line in all the writings of Henry Newbolt , but without any success until he comes across it in the September 1904 edition of the Monthly Review. It was here that the poem( which Patrick French finds...

November. 2007. I never had a collection of bright colored marbles like other children. ~ Meena Kumari. Meena Kumari was born with the birth name Mahajabeen into the family of Ali Bux and Iqbal Begum (known as Prabhawati Devi before her marriage and conversion to Islam). At home, Mahajabeen’s family fondly called her by the name “Munna”. Vijay Bhatt, Director, Producer and Proprietor of Prakash Studio was approached by Ali Bux to cast Mahajabeen in one of his films. Vijay Bhatt was at that time making Leather Face aka Farzande Watan ( Hindi title, film released in 1939) in which Jairaj was the hero and Mehtab the heroine. There was a vacancy for a small girl to play Jairaj’s daughter (14 years later in the film Magroor she was to play the role of Jairaj’s love) and it is for this part that Vjay Bhatt wanted to cast Mahajabeen. At the audition, the little girl was neither intimidated nor overawed by the surroundings or the equipment. Vijay Bhatt was quick to spot this and gav...

We in India have a magic pill for the pains that one has to suffer while undergoing process of education. This "magic pill" is usually called a “guide” or a “made easy” and whole lot of other names though out India. Name might be different, but we know what it is. We know where to find it and when to buy it, at what cost to buy it and at what rate to sell it. Like a laxative it works, only it helps in passing exams but sometimes it works like an anacathartic pill too, helping to vomit out crammed up undigested-hence poisonous-stuff. The concoctions that go into these pills are made by unknown quakes and at sometime by hacks who like to make a name and a lot of money for themselves. Sham Lal in his essay titled Slums of the Mind, written way back in 1988 and first published in The Times of India, revealed the secret ingredients that go into making of a “made easies”. Sham Lal shred to tears a “made easy” prescribed for modern political theory course covering both BA (Pas...

A Second-hand Bookshop The sunlight filters through the panes Of book-shop windows, pockmarked grey By years of grimy city rains, And falls in mild, dust-laden ray Across the stock, in shelf and stack, Of this old bookshop-man who brought, To a shabby shop in a cul-de-sac, Three hundred years of print and thought. Like a cloak hangs the bookshop smell, Soothing, unique and reminding: The book-collector knows its spell, Subtle hints of books and binding In the fine, black bookshop dust Paper, printer's-ink and leather, Binder's-glue and paper-rust And time, all mixed together. `Blake's Poems, Sir-ah, yes, I know, Bohn did it in the old black binding, In '83.' Then shuffles slow To scan his shelves, intent on finding This book of songs he has not heard, With that deaf searcher's hopeful frown Who knows the nightingale a bird With Feathers grey and reddish-brown. by John Arlott Found it in the Book: Last Liberal ...

Oh woman, you are half woman and half dream. ~Rabindranath Tagore, The Gardener -8- I was surprised. The most beautiful and seductive actress of Bombay film world! She lived alone in her bachelor apartment and has had a series of sensational love affairs. She had never learned to act but was sought after by producers for her glamour. At the peak of her career she had suddenly disappeared leaving behind many films unfinished, ruining the producers. Later, people learnt that she was washing dishes in a New York restaurant. After two years, healed of her wild and crazy actions, she retured to Bombay. The film industry embraced her and she became a star once again. I first met her in 1981 at a party at Sanjay Khan’s ― the flamboyant film producer-actor-director. As she walked in, a warm wave ran through the party. She smiled and shook hands with everyone. She told me that she had read my novel and invited me over for a cup of coffee to her apartment. When I went to see her, she w...

Sections of Lingkhor, Lhasa’s outer pilgrims’ walk with its shrines and temples, were the new red-light district. Literally hundreds of brothels, each with a blue glass front and a curtain across the door, lined the route. Chinese hookers, mainly from Sichuan and Qinghai, sat in the doorways knitting or combing their hair. Posters of Indian movie stars were stuck to the windows to give a sense of foreign glamour, the most popular draw being the luscious Bollywood actress Madhuri Dixit. Patrick French writing in “Tibet, Tibet: a personal history of a lost land”, page 219

“I regret that it is impossible to render the melody of the Sanskrit words into Urdu language. If time permits, I have decided to translate the Gita into Urdu. You must have seen the Persian translation of the Gita, rendered by Faizi. Nobody can deny the excellence of his writing. But I think that while translating the Gita, he has not done proper justice to its content and style. I am clear in my mind that Faizi has failed to understand the sprit of the Gita.” Allama Iqbal, in a letter dated 11th October, 1921 to Maharaja Kishan Prashad, writing about his wish to translate Gita. Maharaja Kishan Prashad was the Prime Minister of Hyderabad in the court of Nizam. He wrote a book, Matam-e-Husain, about Imam Hussain Also read about Iqbal's view about Sri Krishna

Umr-e- daraaz se maang ke laye the char din Do aarzu mein guzar gaye, do intezaar mein Hai kitna badnaseeb Zafar dafn ke liye Do gaz zameen bhi na mili koo-e-yaar mein (I had requested for a long life a life of four days Two passed by in pining, and two in waiting How unlucky is Zafar! For burial Even two yards of land were not to be had, in The land (of the) beloved.) Na kisii kii ankh ka nur hun na kisii ke dil ka qarar hun Jo kisii ke kam na a sake main vo ek mushat-e- Gubar hun Na to main kissi ka habiib hun na to main kisii ka raqiib hun Jo bigar gaya vo nasiib hun jo ujar gaya vo dayar hun (My life gives no ray of light, I bring no solace to heart or eye Out of dust to dust again, of no use to anyone am I Barred the door of fate for me, bereft of my dear ones am I The spring of a flower garden ruined Alas, my autumn wing am I) Hamane duniyaa mein aake kyaa dekhaa Gekhaa jo kuch so Khvaab-saa dekhaa Haa to insaan Khaak kaa putalaa Lekin paanii kaa...

In Hindustan Times dated 13th October - 2007, Grand Old man Khushwant Singh , in his weekly column “ With Malice Towards One and All… ” wonders about religious belief of men like APJ Abdul Kalam, Mirza Asadullah Khan Ghalib and Sir Mohammad Iqbal, regarding Heaven and Hell, in a piece titled Dreaming of Paradise. A line by Iqbal surprises the prolific columnist. Khushwant Singh writes: What came as a surprise to me was poet Sir Mohammad Iqbal: He was a devout Muslim and never questioned Islamic beliefs. How do you explain these lines? “Koi ab tak na yeh samjha keh insaan, kahaan jaata hai, aata hai kaha say?” ( No one has yet understood where man goes to after he dies and from where he comes). Will some knowledgeable reader please enlighten me? No, I can’t enlightening him about these lines. But, his questioning reminded me of my little tryst with Iqbal in a little room of a shanty basti at the outer periphery of a big city. Some years ago in Nagpur, a friend of mine invited ...

“I am the universe, life is death and death is life, the present is the past and the future, the past and the future are the present, small is big, the yang is the yin, up is down, dirty is clean, male is female, and thick is thin” Note made by young Mao in the margins of a copy of Fredrich Paulsen’s System of Ethics. Patrick French writes in his book Tibet, Tibet: A Personal History of a Lost Land Patrick French gives the source as: Stuart r. Schram (ed.) Mao’s Road to Power, Revolutionary Writings 1912 – 1949: Volume 1 — The Pre-Marxist Period, 1912 – 1920, New York 1992 What is the source of Mao's marginal note to Friedrich Paulsen, A System of Ethics ? Looking for the actual source of the note attributed to Mao when he was a 24-year-old young student, here is what I found: Yang Changji , Mao’s high school teacher and future father-in-law, was versed in Kant, Rousseau, and Spencer. Professor Yang held a faculty position at Peking University. Yang Changji is...

Built on the banks of the Yamuna River, adjacent to the proposed Commonwealth Games village, the Akshardham Temple of Noida is famous for its laser show, musical fountains and also for being a suitable hang out place for lovelorn couples who are always running out of meeting places (a situation very unique to lovers in India). The Lord of the temple house is Bhagwan Swaminarayan, a god that not all its visitors know about of, or whose teachings they might religiously follow. He must be one among approximately (on last count) 330 million gods of Hinduism . Nevertheless, the temple is a huge draw among tourists and the locals, a fact evident from it’s ever jam packed parking. In summers, bare footed people burn their feet on its graphite and marble floor, just to marvel at the 141 feet house of god. None of this is surprising. The thing that is really surprising is: Communist, Godless/godless and “religion is poison” preaching People's Republic of China has invited the Swa...

At times, as I watch, it seems as though my country’s body floats down somewhere on the river. Left alone, I grow into a half-disembodied bamboo, its lower part sunk into itself on the bank. Here, old widows and dying men cherish their freedom, bowing time after time in obstinate prayers. While children scream with this desire for freedom to transform the world without even laying hands on it. In my blindness, at times I fear I’d wander back to either of them. In order for me not to lose face, it is necessary for me to be alone. Not to meet the woman and her child in that remote village in the hills who never had even a little rice for their one daily meal these fifty years. And not to see the uncaught, bloodied light of sunsets cling to the tall white columns of Parliament House. In the new temple man has built nearby, the priest is the one who knows freedom, while God hides in the dark like an alien. And each day I keep looki...

After the failure of the film Daeera (1953) , Pakeezah as an idea took root in Kamal Amrohi’s mind. The concept was irretrievably fixated with his love for his wife. He hoped to create a film, which would be worthy of her as an actress, and worthy of the love he felt for her as a women. By 1960 Amrohi had written the script. In 1961 when the camera was set in motion following had been signed: Joseph Wirsching as Cinematographer( the German cameraman of Amrohi’s first big success Mahal made in 1949 with Madhubala and Ashok Kumar ), Gulam Mohammad as Music Director, Ashok Kumar as Hero ( later among others like Rajendra Kumar, Sunil Dutt and the final choice Raj Kumar, Dharmendra was also shot listed, but his relation with Meena Kumari created problems), Meena Kumari as the Heroine, and a handful of Urdu writers as Lyricists. Of all the artists, the speediest was Mr. Ghulam Mohammed, the music director . But, the going for the movie wasn't smooth. The film was started at...

I have to confess that Dev Anand was the first oldie star whose movies I truly enjoyed watching. As, I grew older and Dev Anand grew into “evergreen” oldman, his newer movies grew unbearable. Many years ago, I read an essay by film critic Maithili Rao . This is what she had to say about Dev Anand: After the early straight dramatic roles, Dev Anand’s debonair narcissism degenerated into the Noddy land of toothy smiles and a body balanced at an acute, gravity – defying angle. It’s true at times he is indefensible (aren’t we all), and at times he needs no defense. Either you accept him, or you don’t. Where is the need for an 84/85 old filmmaker to defend his movies(altleast he knows that the minds of remake directors are bankrupt), choice of actress (people forget that Tabu got her first big break with him) and even personal life? (I am saying this after reading the review of his book  Romancing With Life: An Autobiography in Hindustan Times dated 30th...

Allama Iqbal in his preface to his monumental work Asrar-i-Khudi, (Secrets of the Self), has expressed eloquently his admiration for Sri Krishna: “The heart and mind of the Hindu community has been nourished by the penetrating discussion that its learned thinkers have concluded that the struggle of life which makes a man go through trials and tribulations, is directly linked with action; or, in other words, his existing human self is the result of his past deeds. And so long as this law of action operates, the result will be the same. When Goethe, the well-known German poet of the 19th century , makes his hero Faust read in the Bible the word ‘action’ instead of’ speech’, Goethe’s visionary eye detects the same point, which the Hindu pundits and Rishis had observed hundreds of years ago. In this strange way they had resolved the conflict between authority and freedom or, in other words, between coercion and responsibility. Undoubtedly, their creative ability is worth admiration, in ...