GULAAL –DEMOCRACY KA MUJRA mohe rang de
(This piece is written in hindi (roman) and the translation is provided along with)
Lalu ji jab lagaam lekar Bihar ka tanga hank rahe the tabhi shilpa shetty ne “main aayi hoon UP Bihar lootne” me thumke lagakar patna me halchal macha di thi…”Bachhu Yadav ke naam se jo bawela macha tha usme in thumko ne aur khalbali macha di thi…thoda aur peechhe jaayen to Indira Gandhi ki RaiBareli Seat haath se nikal jaane ko “jhumak gira re bareli ke bajaar me “ gaane me piro diya gaya ….aur poora Hindustan is par kai saalon tak thirakta raha aur ab GULAAL ke gaane duniya bhar ke democracy par thumke laga rahe hain…
Kabhi ek thumke se UP Bihar hila tha..kabhi bareli ke bazaar me jhumka gira tha aur ab kothe ke mujre me democracy ke latke jhatke nazar aa rahe hain….aur GULAAL ke bahane political holi ka mazaa lijiye….aur kotho se nikalte mujro ki awaaz badal gayi hai…sur taal badal gaye hain…aur lafz kuchh yun aa rahe hain…
jaise door desh ke tower me ghus gayo re aeroplane
jaise door desh ke tower me ghus gayo re aeroplane
ranaji mhare gusse me aaye
aiso bal khaaye… agiya barsaye
ghabraye mharo chainjaise door desh ke tower me ghus gayo re aeroplane…
kothon se aise lafz aadatan aate to nahi the.lekin jab Anurag Kashyap jaisa sanjeeda filmmaker aur Piyush Mishra ki kalam rubaru baith jaaye to aisa ho sakta hai…Rana ji ko 9/11 ne gusse me daal diya hai…Rana ji ne ye thodi socha tha ki kuchh log ek din unki haweli ki dyodhi laanghkar rana ji ki pagdi jameen par gira denge…pagdi giri to dhoti bhi khul gayi…bhala ranaji ise kaise jhel paate…bas gusse me aa gaye..
Rana ji mharo aiso gurrayo..aiso tharraaye
bhar aaye mharo nain
jaise sareaam iraaq me jaake jam gaye Uncle Sam
poore gaaon ki fasal katwa kar apne aangan me Rana ji ne dharwa li…. Is chakkar me unko kai ideas soojhe isliye ab rana ji me ab kuchh badlaav aa gaya hai…ab unki boli me ek alag tarah ka zaayka chadh gaya hai…ab wo deshi bhasha me baat nahi karte..kyon karenge aakhir internet ka zamaana hai…globalization ne duniya ke sab gaon ko milaakar ab ek bada sa gaon bana diya hai…uski boli me kuchh naye lafz aur uski bhasha me me ek nayi bhasha chadh hi gayi hai to kya ashcharya…
sajni ko dear bole..
tharre ko beer bole
maange hai English boli
maange hain English choli..
maange hai English jaipur English bikanerjaise bisleri ki bottle pe ke ban gaye Englishman
bisleri ne sachmuch me Hindustan ko paani pila hi di…ab har refined paani bisleri ban jaati hai jaise har thandi chiz coke ban jaati hai…rana ji ne gaon me ek bisleri paani ka talaab banwaaya aur logo ko talaab ke gande paani se nijaat dilaai..lekin gaaon waale bisleri piye ya matki..thumke waali ko kya farak padta lekin jab ek din Rana ji uski sauten laaye to us din use majra samajh me aaya aur phir se uske mujre ke lafz badal gaye
rana ji mhare sautan ko ghar le aaye…
pooche to bole friend humaari hai haaye..
ranaaji ne thanda chakku yun khola..
bole ki haaye thanda maane coca cola….
Ranaji bole moro ki basti me hai shor rani
moro ki basti me hai chor rani
kyonki ye dil maange more rani ..
mhari to beech bajariya hai! badnaami ho gayi
mhari to lal chunariya sharam se dhaani ho gayi
mharo to dhak dhak hoye jyon jyon beete rain
jaise har ek baat pe democracy ki lagne lag gayi ban…
jaise bina baat Afghanistan ka baj gayo bhaiya band….
to baat kahan se shuroo hui aur kahan khatam hui…gaon ki panwaari ki dukaan me ab pepsi aur coke bhi milne laga hai..bade bujurg jo baaraat me sharbat maangte the ab coke ya pepsi maangne lage hain…rana ji ko bhi ye bimaari lag gayi..lekin rana ji ke is fantasy ke chakkar me bechari naachne waali ki kismet ujde hue Afghanistan aur Hindustan me naam ki democracy ki tarah ho gayi..waise hindustan ki democracy us khachhar ki tarah ho gayi hai jisme jaroorat se jyaada bojha daal diya gaya hai …to wo democracy naam ka khachhar hile kaise..jo aata hai wahi us par ek aur bojh daalkar chala jaata hai..abhi abhi “welcome to Sajjanpur” me bhi taali bajaane waale democracy ki auladon ko democracy ki aulaaden kehkar nikalti hai aur log masti me gaate hai ki democracy ka matlab hai jiski lathi uski bhains…
Jab Shaher humara sota hai
Faiz in his poem “yahan se shaher ko dekho” writes…
jo koi tej chale raah to poochhta hai khayaal,
ki tokne koi lalkaar kyun nahi aayi..
jo haath hilaaye to vahem ko hai sawaal
koi chhanak koi jhankaar kyun nahi aayi…
and the other song of “Gulaal” says
“jis raat gagan se khoon ki baarish aayi re..
jis raat shaher me khoon ki baarish ayi..sarabaor ho gayo re jathha..
sarabor ho gayi dhara..
sarabor ho gayo re jattha insaano ka pada pada..
sarabor ho gayi dhara…sabhi jagat ye poochhe tha.
.jab itna sab kuchh hoyo tho..tab shaher humaara kahe
aankh moond ko soyo tho..
shaher ye bolyo nind gazab ki aayi re…
ye ek nind hai ek khumaari hai ..janata ki nind..democracy ki janata ki nind…ki azaadi naam ka takiya sar par laga kar soye hue to hai hi..humara kaun kya bigaad lega…lekin azaadi kitni honi chahiye aur kitni humaare paas hai iske calculation ke liye to sokar jaagna padega to kyon mol le itna syaapa…kyon nind kharaab karein apni..
Otto rene Castilio aise hi logo ke bare me likhte hain
“ek din mere desh ke gair rajneetik buddhijiwiyon se mamuli aadmi poochhega jab halki aur meethi aag ki tarah desh dum tod raha tha…”
ye ek vichaar hai tatasthta ka jo piyush aur Anurag ek saath pooch rahe hain..ki kya hua hai ek chalte firte samaaj ko ..kyon unke paaon me jakadan bandh gayi hai…
kaafi pehle aise hi kisi soyi hui raat me Majaaj ghoom rahe the awaaron ki tarah aur likha
“shaher ki raat aur main nashaada nakkara firun..
ji me aata hai ye murda chaand tare noch lun…”
lekin piyush is raat me aur bhi kai drishya humare saamne late hain….hume raat ke aur bhi khunkhaar awaazo aur drishya dikhaate hain…
nashe me doobe khunkhare chutkulon ki paidaish hoti hai.
adhnangi jismo ki lipi puti numaaish hoti hai….
ek aise aisthir samay me bhaagte daudte insaan ..train aur bus me bagal ki seat par baithe insaan se bekhabar daudta bhaagta hua insaan apne hi khayaalon me ghum so chukka hai aur din ki roshni me andhera ho chukka hai…humaare aaspaas ghatti nirmam ghatnaayen..na hume jhinjjhodti hai na hume jagaati hai…ek aise samay me jab technology ne insaan aur insaan ke beech faasle badha diye hain…ye geet hume jhakjhorta hai..
O ri duniya
Nida Fazli ne kaha tha “duniya jise kehte hai jadoo ka khilona hai mil jaaye to mitti hai kho jaaye to sona hai…isi mitti aur sone ke beech har writer apne likhne ki vajeh chunta hai…har dam badalti ye duniya..kahin rang kahin badrang..kahin ehsaas hai kahin khaalipan hai ..kahin nind hai kahin bistar hai …kamaal ki hai ye ajeebogareeb duniya har insaan ke liye iska ek alag hi mahatva hai….piyush ko bhi ye har pal rang badalti ye duniya pareshan karti hai….is duniya ki subeh ke bare me wo likhte hain “alsaayi sejo ki phoolon ki duniya..angdaai tode kabootar ki duniya”..is duniya me murge ki bang se nahi kabotar ki gutargu se nind tooti hai…
aadam aur hawaa se bani is duniya me baheno ki siskiyan aur bikhri hui maa ki mamta hai…aansoo aur dard se lipti in samvednaao ko awaaz deti shaayar ki shaayari feeki ho chuki hai is duniya me…
aur zamaane baad kisi geet me ek saath itne shayaraon ko ek geet me piroya gaya hai…
Ghalib ke Momin ke khwaabon ki duniya
Majaazon ke un inquaalaabon ki duniya
Faiz Firaaq aur Saahir o Makhdoom
Mir ki Zauk ki Daagh ki duniya…
ye wo shayar the jinhone apne apne nazariye se isi duniya ko jana tha aur isko lekar kai khwab paale the…
jaise Faiz ki mashoor nazm….
lazim hai ki hum bhi dekhenge
wo din ki jiska vaada hai
jab julmo sitam ke kohe gara
rui ki tarah udaaye jaayenge
hum mehkoomo ke paaon tale
jab dharati dhadh dhadh dhadhkegi
sab taj uchhale jaayenge
sab takht giraaye jaayengeFaiz ki shaayari ka ziqr isliye bhi jaroori ho jaata hai kyonki khud piyush apni kitaab “mere theatre mere geet” ki shuruaat hi faiz sahab ki nazm se karte hain..
wo log bahut khushkismat the jo ishq ko kaam samjhte the.
wo kaam se ashiqi karte the…
hum jiteji mashroof rahe..
kuchh ishq kiya kuchh kaam kiya..
kaam ishq ke aade aata raha aur
ishq se kaam ulajhta raha
phir aakhir tang aakar humne dono ko adhura chhor diya
wo log bahut khushkismat the jo ishq ko kaam samjhte the.
wo kaam se ashiqi karte the…
hum jiteji mashroof rahe..
kuchh ishq kiya kuchh kaam kiya..
kaam ishq ke aade aata raha aur
ishq se kaam ulajhta raha phir aakhir tang aakar humne dono ko adhura chhor diya
Faiz ke alaawa saahir is geet ki aatma me samaaye hue hain…sahir ne ek line likhkar poore duniya ke philosophy ko bayan kar diya..”ye duniya agara mil bhi jaaye to kya hai “ is ek line ke peechhe na koi duniya hai na aage…….aur yehi line is geet ka jad hai…
is geet ki visheshta ye hai ki ye duniya ke bare me tamaam baatein karti hai ki ye duniya aisi hai ..ye duniya waisi hai…ye duniya iski hai ye duniya uski hai magar ant me ek pyaari si ummed bhi nazar aati hai jab ye line aati hai ki “jaisi bachi hai ye duniya waisi bacha lo ye duniya”..yehi ek ummed hai jo is geet ka nichod hai…
aarambh hai prachand
“aarambh hai prachand “ek aisa geet hai jo hume dinkar ki kavitaon ki yaad dilaata hai…is geet me prayukta shabd hindi saahitya ki thaati hain…jinme se jyaadatar shabd dinkar ne hindi saahitya ko diya
ye geet yudh ki baat karte hue krishna aur geeta ki duhaai deti hai ki
Krishn ki pukaar hai ye
Bhaagwat ka saar hai
Ki yuddh hi to veer ka pramaan hai
Kaurawon ki bheed ho
Ya paandavon ka neer(d) ho
Jo lad sakaa hai wohi to mahaan haiDinkar “rashmirathi” me likhte hain…
Dinkar ki kitab “Rashmirathi”me likha hai ki jab Krishna duryodhan ke paas shaanti ka sandesh lekar jaata hai jise duryodhan nahi manta aur ulte Krishna ko bandi banaana chahta hai is par Krishna naraaz hokar duryodhan ko warning dete hain…
”yachna nahi ab ran hoga..
jivan jay ya ki maran hoga”
duryodhan ran aisa hoga phir kabhi nahi jaisa hoga.
.bhai par bhai tootenge..vikraal kaal munh kholega
Gulaal ke is geet me Mahabharat ke ziqr aaya hai aur jab jab duniya me yudh ki baat hogi mahabharat ka ziqr bekhatke aayega…mahabharat me yudh jaroor hai lekin wo aakhiri vikalp ke roop me nikal kar saamne aata hai..aur yehi mahabharat ke mool sandesh hai..yudh antim vikalp hona chahiye na ki pratham…Krishna gita me kehte hain ki jab yudh than jaaye to use peechhe hanta veeron ke lakshan nahi hai isliye yudh se ghabraana nahi chahiye lekin uska ek positive inspiration hona chahiye..
ye geet shudh roop se ladaai ka geet hai kyonki is geet ke ant me kaha jaata hai ki
jis kavi ki kalpana me
jindagi ho prem geet
us kavi ko aaj tum nakaar do..”
ye wahi nakaarna hai jo Dinkar ka bhi manna hai jab wo apni ek kavita me kehte hain ki
re rok yudhishthir ko na yahan
jaane do unko swarg dheer
par phira hume gandeev gada
lauta do arjun bheem veer
hato vyom ke megh panth se
swarg lootne hum aate hain
doodh doodh o vats tumharo
doodh dhoondhne hum aate hain..
Dinkar ka ye bheem aur arjun ko awaaz dena akaran nahi hai ..kavi chahta hai ki jin bachho ke naseeb me dhoodh nahi hai unke liye hum swarg se chhenkar doodh laayenge ..ye yudh jaayaj hai kyonki ye bhookh aur gareebi ke khilaaf hai….
America ne 9/11 ke baahne jo tandav Iraq aur Afghanistan me machaaya wo humare yahan akhbaron me to khoob aaya…street theatre me bhi aaya…logo ke protest me bhi aaya..magar hindi cinema me pehle baar itne interesting tareeke se aaya hai aur iske liye Anurag ke saath saath Piyush bhai badhaai ke patra hain….9/11 ko is shatabdi ke mahatvapoorna ghatnao me gina jaayega lekin us ke baad jo America ne afghanistan aur Iraq me qaher barpaaya uska bhi saani is shatabdi me milna mushkil hai.. …to isse zaahir hota hai ki ek filmmaker kitni shiddat se apne samay ki ghatnao ko mehsoos karta hai jo manusya ke astitva par cheel ki tarah mandra rahi hain…jiska ek jhapatta poore samaj ko baant dene ke liye kaafi hai..samsamaayik rajneeti par isse manoranjak aur itna direct comment kahin nahi aaya hai…welcome to sajjanpur” hindustani politics aur America ke nuclear yojnao par comment karti hai gulaal ke geet wahan se aage jaata hai…aur thodi jyaada himmat bhi dikhaata hai….
(This is the translation of the above written piece. A special thanks to Anupama Bose for her inputs and translation of this piece)
Laluji was reining in the Bihar tonga those days… and then along came Shilpa Shetty….and her thumkas created a mass arousal in Patna. Bacchu Yadav’s charisma grew even further. Indira Gandhi’s lost Rae Bareilli seat in 1977 was enough to evoke the delicious “Jhumka Gira Re”. And now with the songs of Gulaal the entire Holi fervor is drenched in political hues. And democracy is the new nautch girl on the block.
The Bazaars of Pakeezah and Bareilly have all been aired by the dupatta and the jhumka… and have tripped on what heaves beneath…
In 2009 Democracy is the Flavour of the Season…she will lure the mehfil… you can salivate as she lifts up her Ghaghra….
It will be a mujra of the people, for the people , by the people… played out for Uncle Sam and his cronies… But this time round there is a slight difference.
The nachnewali is not servicing you your monies’ worth without dissent.
jaise door desh ke tower me ghus gayo re aeroplane
jaise door desh ke tower me ghus gayo re aeroplane
ranaji mhare gusse me aaye
aiso bal khaaye… agiya barsaye
ghabraye mharo chain
jaise door desh ke tower me ghus gayo re aeroplane…
These are not really the concerns of the Kotha. But then that’s what happens when maverick filmmakers like Anurag Kashyap team up with the volatile Piyush Mishra … the mujra resounds like an uprising….
The mujra tunes us in to 9/11 – a global tragedy and political disaster not merely because of its magnitude and outrageousness…but also because of how the Ranaji of international Politics thinks it is THE most heinous crime in the history of mankind (Vietnam and the Holocaust were mere aberrations of human behaviour done in self defense) . So Ranaji finds different outlets for his anger … like Uncle Sam who lay siege on Iraq….
Rana ji mharo aiso gurrayo..aiso tharraaye
bhar aaye mharo nain
jaise sareaam iraaq me jaake jam gaye Uncle Sam
RAnaji got the entire harvest of the season into his backyard. And struck upon the bright idea…globalization and global expansion. New markets, new sensibilities. The tradition now expands into corporatized horiozons…what was classist and unfair is now international trade and therefore ‘enhancing’ foreign exchange!
The feudal Ranaji is like Bush really. He would annihilate an entire Iraq to get even with one Saddam…the one renegade who dared to stand up against him sitting on Black Gold.
In this era of globalization, changing economic alignments and emerging India and Asia as the best potential markets for American products (our own stuff packaged fancily ) he lures his own people (Rani, the nachnewali, the smaller feudal lords, et al) towards them… If democracy is the new nautch girl then Ranaji is fast becoming an international pimp.
sajni ko dear bole..
tharre ko beer bole
maange hai English boli
maange hain English choli..
maange hai English jaipur English bikaner
jaise bisleri ki bottle pe ke ban gaye Englishman
Bisleri has actually changed the way India perceives drinking water…anything bottled and sealed is Bisleri ..and therefore fit for drinking! Like anything cold (or thandaa) is Coke and therefore the chosen one to beat the heat!
Ranaji has ‘gifted’ his peoples a Bisleri pond…now the entire village is free of ‘impure’ water. Class barriers are breaking…the feudal lord who all this while was merely a pimp is now slowly assuming the traits of the streetwalker.
The nachnewali really doesn’t care about this change…she , in any case, knows what a whore he is. But the day he gets the other woman in , her voice loses its robustness. She tells us with subdued nazo andaaz what happened that day…
rana ji mhare sautan ko ghar le aaye…
pooche to bole friend humaari hai haaye..
ranaaji ne thanda chakku yun khola..
bole ki haaye thanda maane coca cola….
Ranaji bole goro ki basti me hai shor rani
goro ki basti me hai chor rani
kyonki ye dil maange more rani ..
mhari to beech bajariya hai! badnaami ho gayi
mhari to lal chunariya sharam se dhaani ho gayi
mharo to dhak dhak hoye jyon jyon beete rain
jaise har ek baat pe democracy ki lagne lag gayi ban…
jaise bina baat Afghanistan ka baj gayo bhaiya band….
The motif is amazing….a mujra showcasing democracy. What has happened traditionally within this Ranaji, Raniji, nachnewali triangle with the occasional toast of the season replacing the favourite nachnewali carries on …except the new flavours this season are completely alien….the village panwari will now be the battleground where the Cola wars are fought (Thums Up is a local thunder you cannot taste). And democracy, like Afghanistan & like human rights anywhere in the world , is the ultimate maligned woman…and by default, the ultimate whore…
Actually Indian Democracy is like that poor khacchar (mule) which is over loaded. Everybody comes and adds their 2 bit to it…so then how should she move? Welcome to Sajjanpur commented on this with great cheekiness…when Democracy’s children come out clapping their hands loudly and canvassing on the streets people join them in singing “jiski laathi uski bhains”.
Jab Shaher humara sota hai
Faiz in his poem “yahan se shaher ko dekho” writes…
jo koi tej chale raah to poochhta hai khayaal,
ki tokne koi lalkaar kyun nahi aayi..
jo haath hilaaye to vahem ko hai sawaal
koi chhanak koi jhankaar kyun nahi aayi…
and the other song of “Gulaal” says
“jis raat gagan se khoon ki baarish aayi re..
jis raat shaher me khoon ki baarish ayi..sarabaor ho gayo re jathha..
sarabor ho gayi dhara..
sarabor ho gayo re jattha insaano ka pada pada..
sarabor ho gayi dhara…sabhi jagat ye poochhe tha.
.jab itna sab kuchh hoyo tho..tab shaher humaara kahe
aankh moond ko soyo tho..
shaher ye bolyo nind gazab ki aayi re…
This is a strange somnolence, a hangover…the sleep which in exclusive to people of a democracy …that you rest your head on the pillow of democracy…nobody can touch you then…but then how much independence is the democratic ideal…and how much of it do we have…to make this calculation one would need to rise up from their sleep …who wants such pain in their lives..who wants to break their beauty sleep !
Otto rene Castillo writes about these people …
ek din mere desh ke gair rajneetik buddhijiwiyon se mamuli aadmi poochhega jab halki aur meethi aag ki tarah desh dum tod raha tha…
This is a comment on ‘Neutralism’…Anurag and Piyush have this query…that what happened to an aware society… to a proactive peoples…
it’s a helpless night…a manifestation we are seeing in a song after a long while ….
Many years back Majaaz wandered about on a night like this ….
“shaher ki raat aur main nashaada nakkara firun..
ji me aata hai ye murda chaand tare noch lun…”
But the night that Piyush weaves doesn’t have any of Majaaz’s romantic antecedants…it is scary and bloody to say the least…
nashe me doobe khunkhare chutkulon ki paidaish hoti hai.
adhnangi jismo ki lipi puti numaaish hoti hai….
People trying to cope with life in such an unstable ,disturbed society …ordinary people , lost in the mundanities of their own existence , trying to run away from ordinary people like themselves …wherein we are acclimatized towards the heinous incidents erupting around us…where we are neither shaken nor awoken… The song “jab sheher hamara sota hai is a comment on such a Dead Peoples’ Society … where technology has bridged worlds yet created chasms between human beings.
O ri duniya
Nida Fazli wrote “duniya jise kehte hai jadoo ka khilona hai mil jaaye to mitti hai kho jaaye to sona hai…” …Every writer is searching for a reason to write…and his mind is forever scanning this canvas of ‘losts’ and ‘founds’….the horizons of this constantly changing duniya (world)…at times colourful at times colourless…at times brimming with emotion, at times an emotional void…at times with sleep , at times with a bed…never complete , always with conflicting concerns….its a strange world which stirs up different meanings for different people. It’s a world which bothers Piyush endlessly…“alsaayi sejo ki phoolon ki duniya..angdaai tode kabootar ki duniya”..Its a world where you wake up not with the crowing of the rooster but with the disturbing gossip of pigeons.
Faded are the hues of poetry in a world where the relentless sobbing of women drenches the air that we breathe in…if the earth is made up of life and air then this right now is a decaying marriage.
And it questions the world of all the celebrated poets of hindi and urdu literature ….
Ghalib ke Momin ke khwaabon ki duniya
Majaazon ke un inquaalaabon ki duniya
Faiz Firaaq aur Saahir o Makhdoom
Mir ki Zauk ki Daagh ki duniya…
They built their own dream worlds around their perception of the world around…with rays of hope, at times with complete pessimism. Faiz ‘s saw a dream… …
lazim hai ki hum bhi dekhenge
wo din ki jiska vaada hai
jab julmo sitam ke kohe gara
rui ki tarah udaaye jaayenge
hum mehkoomo ke paaon tale
jab dharati dhadh dhadh dhadhkegi
sab taj uchhale jaayenge
sab takht giraaye jaayengeFAiz becomes important in the context of Gulaal also because Piyush himself opens his book “mere theatre mere geet” with his Nazm
wo log bahut khushkismat the jo ishq ko kaam samjhte the.
wo kaam se ashiqi karte the…
hum jiteji mashroof rahe..
kuchh ishq kiya kuchh kaam kiya..
kaam ishq ke aade aata raha aur
ishq se kaam ulajhta raha
phir aakhir me tang aakar humne dono ko adhura chhor diya
But the final tribute is to Sahir…”yeh duniya agar mil bhi jaaye to kya hai…” …this immortal line becomes the leit motif for Piyush’s song…and for the entire album in general.
It’s a depressing duniya (world) indeed that Piyush has painted…Yet there is still a beautiful little hope in the end…“jaisi bachi hai ye duniya waisi bacha lo ye duniya”.. and this revives our faith , is the essence of the song.
Arambh hai prachand
The song “aramabh hai prachand “ is like a battle cry. And Krishna and Gita are its anchors…
Krishn ki pukaar hai ye
Bhaagwat ka saar hai
Ki yuddh hi to veer ka pramaan hai
Kaurawon ki bheed ho
Ya paandavon ka neer(d) ho
Jo lad sakaa hai wohi to mahaan hai
There is an episode form Dinkar’s book RASHMIRATHI wherein Krishna offers to extend the hand of peace to Duryodhan. But Duryidhan spurns it…and on the contrary threatens to imprison him. An outraged Krishna warns Duryodhan…
”yachna nahi ab ran hoga..jivan jay ya ki maran hoga” duryodhan ran aisa hoga phir kabhi nahi jaisa hoga..bhai par bhai tootenge..vikraal kaal munh kholegaThis song from Gulaal extensively uses Dinkar’s ‘Mahabharat’ analogy. And rightly so …the concerns indicated and nurtured by him dwell upon Krishna’s updesh that war , if inevitable, should have a positive inspiration. And for the somnolent people of today who have slipped into an uneasy restfulness within the cocoon of democracy this context is more than relevant.
So “Yudh hi veer ka praman hai”…and …”jo lad saka wo hi mahaan hai..” Awareness and constructive dissent is the key…for if , as in Mahabharat, you cannot break down the walls of your own sleep and rise against debauch feudal lords and power brokers then you are defunct and dead.
re rok yudhishthir ko na yahan
jaane do unko swarg dheer
par phira hume gandeev gada
lauta do arjun bheem veer
hato vyom ke megh panth se
swarg lootne hum aate hain
doodh doodh o vats tumharo
doodh dhoondhne hum aate hain..
Dinkar does not call upon Dharamraj Yudhishtir…for it is no more a non violent war of ethics and norms. The battlefield needs the militancy of BHeem and Arjun. It needs warriors who will beat the victory path and snatch rights for its peoples.
And this is the Voice that echoes throughout the album.
Jis kavi ki kalpana mein
Zindagi ho prem geet
Us kavi ko aaj tum nakaar do
We do not need romantic odes today…we need songs that will inspire and stimulate people to be proactive and do something constructive.
This is the creative void that Gulaal tries to fill…and is a great first step.
The crimes that America perpetrated under the garb of defense and retaliation against the 9/11 happenings has had reams written on it and has been spoken about by theatrists and protestors across the streets of the world. But its for the first time that a hindi film album has dwelled upon it … with such simple words and using such rooted metaphors and analogies.
Piyush Mishra and Anurag Kashyap will go down in the annals of Indian Film history as craftsmen who dared to colorize the silver sheen of Indian celluloid with the Gulaal of dissent and protest…who dared to move beyond the subtle satire of Welcome to Sajjanpur using a mujra and a nachnewali as the mouthpieces of this protest.
Anurag Kashyap
Abhay Deol
Dibakar Banerjee
Hansal Mehta
Khalid Mohamed
Kundan Shah
Anish Kuruvilla
Jaideep Verma
Manish Gupta
Navdeep Singh
Bhavani Iyer
D. Santosh
Onir
Ashvin Kumar
Ramu Ramanathan
Sudhir Mishra
Pankaj Advani
Revathy
Saurabh Shukla
Shilpa Shukla
Sujoy Ghosh
Suparn Verma
Santosh Sivan
Shashank Ghosh
Shivajee
Pavan Kaul
Partho Sen-Gupta
Prroshant Naryannan
Sam Langoria
Satish Kasetty
:bowsdown: Super awesome man!! :D
One of the best music reviews ever written on PFC.. especially the references to poets, epics and writers. My respects to Dipankar and Anupama for this excellent work… Awesome!!
badhayi dipankar.agar pfc ke readers is post ke marm ko samajh saken to behtar hoga.aap ne bahut gahrayi se bhav-anubhav jode hain.
REVIEW IS EMOTIONAL CUM RATIONAL
aapke post ke saar ko samajhnein mein kuch samay lagegaa, kyunki aapne gahraayi se har pankti ka vivaran kiya hai.
aisi rachnaon ke liye hum saare vyaakul rehte hain..
bahdhai ho..aur Ajay ji, aap fikar naa karein, PFC ke readers ko aap sajjan log naye soch, lekhan aur samajh mein dhaal rahey hain, woh aagey ayengey!
Brillianty written…
Chama sobhati us bhujang ko jiske paas garal ho….naa usko ji vishhin,dantheen aur saral ho…
Ranaji ke paas power hai so uske rape bhi duiya ke liye pyar hai…gareeb ki bibi pure goan ki bhabhi hoti hai…isme iraq ki galti tha ki kyo woh gareeb ki biwi bani…
Atlast indian cinema got some lyrics writers and directors who cares what are happening in world….
Take my bow Piyush Mishra and A.K
Dinpankar thanks for this awesome article…
@ suarabh & sono..thanks for liking the post
A Ajay ..pfc hai hi isliye ki hum nayi nayi sambhaavnaye talashen..aur hindustani cinema ke badalte haav bhaav ko mehsoos karte rahe..
@ syed..samajh me nahi aaya ..aap kehna kya chahte hain..kya achhe cinema ki bina emotion ke gunjaish hai..?
This is near impossible to read. When reading english one doesn’t actually read each letter but sort of recognises the word form the starting and ending letter, length etc.
But reading each letter, making the word, altering the pronunciation for hindi usage and stringing together the deciphered word with the words deciphered so far in the sentence is too tedious.
A suggestion: can such things be read, recorded and posted as an audio track in the future???? the accent also will be wonderful to listen to
@Indraneel aapki behatareen hindi ke liye humaari badhaai sweekaren..pfc ke har writer aur reader sajjan hai isme do raai nahi..aur yehi iski taqat hai…
@ shatru..isme se kuchh geet Piyush ki book “mere theatre mere geet” me bhi hai shaayad..matlab ye unke theatre ke geet khaaskar “jab shaher humaara sota hai”…
Fantastic article….dipankarji PFC ke itihaas ka sabse umda article likhe hon. You have just mystified Gulaal for me. My diminishing grasp of rural hindi has been reignited….my passion for this medium expanded manyfold. Thank you. Aarambh hain Prachand!!
:-) Amazing & a lot of hard work (translating)
Dipankar Sir,
Incredible.. I have not had the opportunity to listen to the music of Gulaal.. but your full-blooded review has already given me a foretaste… Sahirda’s words from Pyasa have haunted me all my adult life and being a sort-of poet I have desisted all along from writing anything even remotely political… but your review calls for some soul-searching… thank you also for reintroducing to me the words and worlds of Faiz, Dinkar .. aapke naam (Dipankar) me hi Dinkar chhupe hain!!!
welcome back “sadi ke mahakavi…..Dipankar Giri!!!!!”
दीपांकर जी हमार जैसे हिनà¥à¤¦à¥€ की तेज़ तलवार,
जैसे हासà¥à¤¯ का काला जà¥à¤µà¤°,
जैसे फ़लसफ़े का सà¥à¤¤à¤‚à¤!
दीपांकर जी जैसा कौनो अनà¥à¤¸à¤‚धान केंदà¥à¤°à¤¨à¤¾à¤¹à¥€à¤‚ रे दीपà¥,
उनके शोध का कोई जवाब नाही रे!!
:D
“Gulaal ko aap jaise ek sanjeede alochak ki alochana ka besabri se intezar tha.”
I dont think there is anyone else on PFC who can write about the music and thought of Gulaal as you can. Great writeup.
Ram can you read it in your voice or hire a voice over artist and post the audio on PFC. Let me know when you are done…i’ll upload it and post a link to this article…
@ ram, vasanbala
I agree with ram on reading the romanization. I volunteer to do the voice-over. what say, Ram?
what a hopeless review and a absurd film! Gulaal….
cinema emotions aur notions dono carry karta hai
Bahut badiya likha hai, Dipankar.
Well translated, Anupama.
Vasanbhai…sab aapki tohmaton ka nateeja hai…
Raghu ji..mud kar jaaiye un galiyo me kabhi..nirash nahi hoiyega…thanks for liking the article par is dipankar dinkar connection ko rehne dijiye..shukriya
A VJ…firstly it’s not a review coz i don’t think i can review anything ..these are some thoughts only…and that too abt songs only..film ke baare me film dekhkar tippani kare to jyaada achha hoga..filhall to GULAAL ke gaano ka ras uthaiye..
raghu: pls go ahead, I won’t be able to do justice
@Dipankar,
labourious work you have been doing during your 2 months long absence. Nice post. Have read only first version(roman) of your post as it was the first.
(1) What connection do you see between Jhoomka Gira re bareillyke bazar mein and Rai Bareilly Seat of Indira Gandhi?
Its confusing. Song belongs to Raj Khosla’s Mera Saya and it was made and released in 1966 or 1967 while Rai Bareilly issue was raised after the election of 1971-72 and her winning was declared unethical in June 1975.
(2) Kashi Nath Singh’s long story, which later published as novella, also uses lyrical method to put sarcasm on contemporary themes. and it has been using in nautanki since long.
If you are aware of the name Late Shri Lalit Mohan Thapliyal, who was a famous theatre personality then can recall his famous play where he had created a song like thing on Nixon’s watergate case.
Jaise door desh ke tower mein, reminded me that play and that particular song of Thapliyal ji. He was a terrific performer and sang so well. Singing in such high pitched manner is found only in folk singing. Teejan Bai’s Panvani style has been so appealing. Habib Tanveer’s plays have exploited folk singing so effectively. If you remember, Muzzafar Ali had made a TV serial on Nautanki and it was telecasted on DD.
Its good to see that raw folk singing can come in to the focus because of Gulaal. Looking forward to the film.
Giri ji,
hum aapko jhuk kar dhanyawaad dete hai is behtareen gaddansh ke liye. Agar hum hindi mein kuch galat likh dete hai toh maaf kijiyega…sach toh ye hai ki aapki vyakhya aur gulaal ke gaane sunke hindi ke prati khoya hua pyar umar pada… bade dino baad aise gaane aaye hai jo ki use sunne aur samajhne pe maajboor kare…aarambh hai prachand khoon khaulata hai….’duniya’ mann udaas kar deta hai…’bido’ pair thirak wa jata hai…aur ranaji muskurahat la deta hai…shayad hi peechle kuch salo mein koi film ke gaane itne bhawnao ko janm diya ho aur woh bhi bina film dekhe hue hi…
@ RK sahab…
1) u r right..the song was from “mera saya” released in 1967..I think the issue u r talking abt is the petition charged by socialist veteran Raj Narayan..from this period to 1975 till the judgement was pending but as soon as the judgement went against her she imposed the emergency…this is the time when this song become more popular and became a refrence to that loss of Mrs Gandhi..and she loss the next election too to RajNarayan..and “Aandhi” too is released before emergency…so Mrs. Gandhi was at the peak of her controversies and people were only too happy and eager to connect with and contextualise the song “jhuma gira re” with her loss…And also since Andhi released in the same year..I read somehere that the posters of Aandhi read ” dekhiye Indira Gandhi ko naye avtar me”…
2) the sarcasm is not new in our folk songs or story telling…The Jogira songs sung in Holi is evolved with time and they added political lines with sattire tone in the jogira songs itself..like…
bharat desh ka raja kaun ..bharat desh ki raani kaun…
and there are comments on Indira ..Rajiv and recently on Lalu ..and Jogiras wer also written about political parties like BJP and Congress…additionally Jogiras are also written and sung during street theatre making it political sattire..
u have mentioned Kashinath singh but i don’t know which story you are talking abt but in “kashi ka assi” itself..he has talked abt one of the characters of pappu ke chai ki dukan..that how he used to tosses the BJP’s slogans comes from the other tea adda….i could not recollect it properly but something like..
bachha bachha raam ka
and this fellow replies with
“raha na kisi kaam ka”..
@Dipankar (27),
If I remember rightly, title of Kashinath Singh’s story was/is ” Kaun Thagva Nagariya lootal Ho”.
Its started with a siging competition between two groups of singers where one is singing a puzzle and other is replying. They are covering corruption of present era and doings of rulers.
@ Baiju sahab..aapne to parody bana di hai..khair thanks…aajkal to khair gaana likhne me bhi sawdhaani baratne ka samay hai..pata nahi kiski bhavnaao ko thes pahunch jaaye
@Dipankar,the right lines was
bachha bachha raam ka
BJP ke kaam ka…
and yes RK sir…you are right,story name was “Kaun Thagva Nagariya lootal Ho”…story was based on ‘Sawal and jabab’ of two groups of birha party,named ‘bullu and party’ and ‘hiralal and party’…it is one of the best story of kashinath till now.
Piyush Mishra saahab ki rachnaaon main sahitya saraabor hain. Agar is board ke madhyam se main unko badhai de saktaa hoo, to Piyush saahab aapko dhero shubhkaamnaayein.
Dinkar ji ki baat chali tab yaad aayaa,”Rashmirathi” ki kucch panktiyaan film main prayukt hui thi–
“Hai nyay agar to adha do…”.
Gulaal film ke geeeton ne waastav main un dino ki yaad dila di jab “Political satire” ko kavi apni zimmedari maanta tha, swayam Dinkar saahab ne kaha tha -”jab jab neta girega, to kavi unhe sambhaalega”
Jis khoobsurati se Piyush saahab ne apne geeton se satire ko anjaam diya, usse shayad Harishankar Parsaai saahab bhi sharmaa jaayein.
Kavita aur mujre main phark mit gaya hai..
Yahi Piyush saahab sabko maat de dete hai, unke mujre main kavitaayein hai, kavita ka yeh roop shaayad pehle baar kisine istemaal kiya ho, film jagat main to nishchit hai nahi kiya hai…
Lekin in sabke beech jo sabse jaroori baat mujhe lagti hai ki kavi yahaan keval prashansa nahi paana chahata hai…Prashansa ke do shabdon agar kavi santust ho jaayein to baat hi kya hai…America ki taanashahi se lekar unhone manav-man main chhipe lobh aur nirarthak mahatvakaanshaon ki baat ki hai..sochne yogya..
Mujhe lekin film ke mahaul main aasha ka swar nahi dikha shaayad yahi director ka drishtikon (POV) ho..”Ye duniyaa agar mil bhi jaaye to kya hai” main defeatist aur nihilist bhaavaneyein hain..
Lekin ye bhi alag school of thought hai, jinse aap bhale hi sahmat na ho , ignore nahi kar sakte..
Kul milakar film acchi thi..Kuch baatein to saaf hain…
–.Kay kay menon saahab behatareen hai. Unka koi muqabala nahi hain
–Piyush saahab ne apni saahityik shaayari se film main chaar chaand laga diye hai…Meri badhaai aur aasha hi nahi balki vishwaas hai ki aap bhavishya main bhi isi tarah ki stariya rachnaaon se hame mnaoranjit aur sochne par vivash karenge..
–I am sorry for the long rant and also for using hindi in roman script which might be difficult to get through on a casual reading; but I decided to follow the author’s style .