Saturday, June 1, 2013

Cynical songs

I have never been a hopeless romantic guy though i often like love stories sometimes wishful to make one myself. Are there really those candlelights and roses ones ? perhaps there are, perhaps there are others which are equally romantic without roses and candles. I like them but experience have made me more cynical than i ever was.
My friends keep pointing to me that i like too many of cynical songs. Though i find them romantic in a way.  Does that make me a cynical romantic or romantic cynic.

So i thought  i will list my favorites in cynicism.

Cheeno arab hamara.
Sahir Ludhianvi was the face of cynicism. He had a very cynical view of realities of life and of Nehru's idea of socialism. In 1904 in his Tarana a hindi (Saare jahan se achcha) Iqbal had written.
Mazhab nahi sikhata apas mai bair rakhna
Hindi hai hum watan hai Hindostan hamara.    
His trip to europe turned him into Islamic visionary and 6 years later he wrote Tarana a Milli.
Chino-arab hamara, Hindostan hamara,
Muslim hai hum watan hai saara jahaan hamara
Sahir turned this into:
Chino-arab hamara, Hindostan hamara,
rahne ko ghar nahi, saara jahaan hamara.  
I have heard this couplet hundreds times from my father and it was anthem for disillusioned, educated unemployed youth of the country.

Taking off Saare jahaan se achcha, where the lines were:
Ae aab-e-rud-e-Ganga, voh din yaad hai tujhko
Utra tere kinaare jab kaarwaan hamaara 
Sahir penned:
Kholi bhi cheen gayi hai, benchein bhi cheen gayi hai,
Sadkon pe ghoomta hain ab karwaan hamara
While Iqbal's:
Parbat woh sab se uncha humsaaya aasmaan ka,
Woh santari hamara, woh pasban hamara 
became Sahir's:
Jebein hain apni khaali, kyon deta varna gaali
Vo santari hamara, vo pasban hamara  
 Controversial as the lyrics were, there was talk of the song being banned at one time.
 

2 comments:

mh2753 said...

awesome...good read :)

v g said...

glad to know you have interests other than programming ;-)