Sahir Ludhianvi: Silver Memories, Romantic Sahir Options Rating

[mmuk2004]

Hi

I am starting a topic on Sahir Ludhianvi that has been posted in another forum before. It was started on his death anniversary, a nostalgia trip beginning with some of his romantic lyrics. Feel free to add on songs that make you feel mmmm....warm and woolly-headed , angry and passionate , sad and philosophical or just plain confused and... all those other complex emotions related to the thing called ...love???



Remembering him through his romantic duets:

Situation: Dream Sequence.
To expand upon it: the impoverished hero and the heroine express their love for each other in gorgeous surroundings, which would otherwise not be possible given the hero's depressing penury. Moreover the situation is literally a dream, which is not realised as the heroine later on opts for a more stable marriage with a well established publisher.

Note the wonderful lyrics, the entire song is posed as question upon question with the female counteracting the male's romantic metaphors with her teasing counter images... Wonderfully captures the mood of the film and yet stands on its own as classic romantic chedkhani.



Hum aap ki aankhon mein is dil ko basa dein to
Hum moond ke palkon ko is dil ko saza dein to
Hum aap ki aankhon mein is dil ko basa dein to

In zulfon mein goondege hum phool mohabbat ke
Zulfon ko jhatak kar hum yeh phool gira dein to

Hum aap ko kwaabon mein la la ke satayenge
Hum aap ki aankhon se neendein hi uda de to

Hum aap ke kadmon par gir jayenge ghas khakar
Is par bhi na hum apne aanchal ki hawa dein to

Hum aap ki aankon mein is dil ko basa dein to
Hum moond ke palkon ko is dil ko saza dein to

[mmuk2004]

Had this one saved...

Khuda-e-Bartar - Lata - Taj Mahal - Roshan - Sahir

Khuda-e-Bartar Teri Zamiin Par, Zamiin Ki Khaatir Ye Jung Kyun Hai
Har Ek Fateh-o-Zafar Ke Daaman Pe Khoon-e-Insaan Ka Rang Kyun Hai
Khuda-e-Bartar Teri Zamiin Par, Zamiin Ki Khaatir Ye Jung Kyun Hai...

bartar = surpassing ; fatah = conquest by means of jihad ;
zafar = Conquest, Gain, Triumph, Victory

Zamiin Bhi Teri, Hain Hum Bhi Tere, Ye Milkiyat Ka Sawaal Kya Hai
Ye Qatl-o-Khoon Ka Rivaaz Kyun Hai, Ye Rasm-e-Jang-o-Jadaal Kya Hai
Jinhein Talab Hai Jahaan Bhar Ki, Unhiin Ka Dil Itna Tang Kyun Hai
Khuda-e-Bartar Teri Zamiin Par, Zamiin Ki Khaatir Ye Jung Kyun Hai

milkiyat = Keeping/possession/property ; jadaal = list
talab = quest/Pursuit/demand/search ; tang = Limited

Gareeb Maaon Shareef Behnon Ko Amn-o-Izzat Ki Zindagi De
Jinhein Ataa Kii Hai Tu Ne Taaqat, Unhein Hidaayat Ki Roshni De
Saron Mein Kibr-o-Ghuroor Kyun hai, Dilon Ke Sheeshe Pe Zang Kyun Hai
Khuda-e-Bartar Teri Zamiin Par, Zamiin Ki Khaatir Ye Jung Kyun Hai

amn = peace ; ataa = gift ; hidaayat = Guidance/Instruction/Righteousness
kibr = arrogance/grandness

Khazaa Ke Raste Pe Jaanewaalon Ko Bachke Aane Ki Raah Dena
Dilon Ke Gulshan Ujad Na Jaaye, Mohabbaton Ko Panaah Dena
Jahaan Mein Jashn-e-Wafaa Ke Badle, Ye Jashn-e-Teer-o-Tafang Kyun Hai
Khuda-e-Bartar Teri Zamiin Par, Zamiin Ki Khaatir Ye Jung Kyun Hai

kazaa = death; panaah = protection/shelter
jashn = party/celebration ; tafang = musket

Came across a discussion on this song at HF some time ago while googling...The meanings in bold interspersed in the body of the poem are all from posts on that discussion.

An anti war song that transcends time to be tragically relevant even today. It is imbued with Sahir's secular and humanistic consciousness and has resonating lines such as: "Har ek Fateh-o-Zafar ke daman pe khoone-e-insaan ka rang kyun hai". Why is it that (the lap of) every religious war/victory is stained with humar blood?

The use of the word "daaman"(lap/suggesting shelter/protection) highlights a sense of betrayal (the "lap" of religious wars not providing succor and protection but brutal murders), that tends to get lost in the translation.

"Zamin bhi teri,hain hum bhi tere/Ye milkiyat ka sawal kyun hai" This is not the iconclastic Sahir of "Aasman pe hai khuda aur zamin pe hum/Aaj kal wo is taraf dekhta hai kam". Here he positions himself within the religious consciousness and argues that if as believers we believe that the world is yours and we are yours then how does the issue of possession/ownership and wresting of property come in?

"Jinhen talab hai jahan bhar ki/Unhi ka dil itna tang kyun hai" (Those who are worried about the whole world...this is radical Sahir again bitterly hitting out against religious leaders, actually all demagogues...)

From the larger issues, Sahir comes down to individual traits that fan these larger issues..."Saron me kibr-o-ghuroor kyun hai" "Dilon ke sheeshe pe zang kyun hai" These are situations and charateristics that one faces in everyday, ordinary life that escalate into bloodshed and violence... "Jahan mein jashn-e-wafa ke badle ye jashn-e-teer-o-tafang kyun hai"...

It is a dark poem exposing the futility of war and the human expense at which such wars are fought and is posited as a series of protests to the Almighty in the form of rhetorical questions. However, interspersed in the protests are also some requests by the poet to the almighty...

Gareeb Maaon Shareef Behnon Ko Amn-o-Izzat Ki Zindagi De
Jinhein Ataa Kii Hai Tu Ne Taaqat, Unhein Hidaayat Ki Roshni De

Khazaa Ke Raste Pe Jaanewaalon Ko Bachke Aane Ki Raah Dena
Dilon Ke Gulshan Ujad Na Jaaye, Mohabbaton Ko Panaah Dena

The poet has not given up all hope, he requests for peace, he asks that those who have power use is correctly, he wants those who face death to be able to come back safely... "Mohabbaton ko panaah dena"...beautiful lines, even though he reverts back to the darker questioning by the end of the poem. The poem precariously hangs between despair and hope...