I Write I Recite : Meena Kumari gives invaluable gift via Khayaam
If you love music and especially hindi film and non filmi music and you don’t have music album, I Write I recite , then your collection, somewhere lacks something.
The Tragedy Queen, Meena Kumari , who was said to have owned the melancholy and extreme sadness, lonliness and pain in real life, was a poet also. In a way from her maternal side she belonged to clan of Great poet and Nobel Laureate Ravindra Nath Tagore.
Much has been written and discussed about her films but the poet residing inside her has got less attention. She and her sadness became mythological but her poetry truly reveals her creative side. So what if they are extreme expression of sadness. Her poetry has much substance.
She did “Mere Apne” with Gulzar in her last years and “Meena Didi” gave her diary, where she used to write her emotions in the form of poetry, to younger brother Gulzar. Gulzar later published those poems with the name of Naaz, pseudo name of Meena Kumari. The collection was Chand Tanha.
But her poetic skill had already come out with her collaboration with music composer Khayaam. Khayaam composed her poems and she sang her poetry in her own voice. She brings a sadness through her ghazals and through her singing in her surreal voice that not many songs and singers can do.
She hopes for an eternal lover and happiness and in the lack of that she disappears behind the clouds of dejection and then her only resort is to weave her emotions in the form of poetry. Her suffering is visible through her writings.
EMI/HMV had released the album, I write I recite. See some of her poems:
[Purists forgive for loose translation/meanings of the poems. Often they may not represent the exact meaning of the original but its just a try to give a clue to those who are not familiar with Hindi/Urdu].
(1)
Puchhate ho to suno kaise basar hotee hai
Raat Khairaat kee sadqe kee sahar hotii hai
Saans bharane ko to jeena nahin kahate yaa rab
Dil hee dukhataa hai na ab aasteen tar hotee hai
Jaise jaagii huii aankhon mein chubhen kaanch ke Khwaab
Raat is tarah deevaanon kee basar hotee hai
Gam hi dushman hai meraa Gam hi ko dil Dhundhata hai
Ek lamhe ki judaaii bhi agar hoti hai
[You ask me, How do I live ?
Night goes in begging and Prayers fill my morning
O lord! Living is not only breathing /
My heart senses no more pain and eyes hold no more tears
Breakable dreams pierce my sleepless eyes like thorns
I, mad lover, spend my nights in such a way
Sorrow is my enemy and yet my heart longs for sorrow
Whenever there is some happiness in my life]
2.
Aagaaz to hotaa hai anjaam nahiin hotaa.
Jab merii kahaanii mein vo naam nahiin hotaa.
Jab zulf kii kaalik mein ghul jaaye koii rahii.
Badanaam sahii lekin gumanaam nahiin hotaa.
Hans hans ke javaan dil ke ham kyon na chune tukare.
Har shakhs kii qismat men inaam nahiin hotaa.
[It begins but I see no avail, no end
Often I don’t see his presence in my life
When someone is deeply in love with someone
one may get bad name but does not go in oblivion
Why should not I collect with laugh, the pieces of my broken heart?
Afterall not everyone gets the reward]
3.
Chaand tanhaa hai aasmaan tanhaa.
Dil milaa hai kahaan kahaan tanhaa.
Bujh gaii aas chhup gayaa taaraa.
Tharatharaataa rahaa dhuaan tanhaa.
Zindagii kyaa isii ko kahate hain.
Jism tanhaa hai aur jaan tanhaa.
Hamasafar koii gar mile bhii kahiin.
Dono chalate rahe tanhaa tanhaa.
Jalatii bujhatii sii raushanii ke pare
Simataa simataa saa ek makaan tanhaa.
Raah dekhaa karegaa sadiyon tak.
Chhod jaayenge ye jahaan tanhaa.
[Moon is alone and sky is alone
My heart goes alone on the journey
Day has brought the light but the hope is lost
My existence trembles alone
Is this the life ,
Where body and soul walk separately?
Though I found companion during my journey
But we kept walking separately
Far away on other side of that dim light
I see a small, closed and confined heart
It will wait for me for ages
After I walk alone from this world]
Album has many such songs.
Khayaam has provided wonderful music, which not only matches up with the mood of the poems but enhances their impact. Album explores the sorrow and often may end up extracting out sadness hidden inside the listener and may help in cathartic way.
Whenever come across this music album, ” I write I recite ” buy it at once. It belongs to the category of rare collection!
Tags: Songwriting
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
Guys just saw in the link posted by Cy on Adharshila’s post that Ashok Ahuja had made a short film on Meena Kumari’s poems. That should be nice.
below is the link
VERSE AND MUSIC [1975]
Song / B&W / 35mm / 10 mins
* Director
Visualizing the poetry of Meena Kumari.
http://www.ashokahuja.com/filmography.htm
RK,
glad theres somebody here who appreciates poetry…
‘Puchhate ho to suno kaise basar hotee hai’ – this was a poem that i have always wanted to use in one of my films… the sad part is that a wonderful post like this has only 31 views… c’mon guys, there’s life beyond the ‘new wave’ and beyond ‘cult’!
now this is good trivia about an actor.. i had no idea about meenaji’s versatility. thanks for bringing this to the forefront RK. for anyone who wants to sample the album, it can be found here…
http://www.musicindiaonline.com/music/ghazals/s/music_director.1473/
She was an amazing poet and it was surprising to many that she gave away her diary to Gulzar. Perhaps it was the best decision.
The tragedy of her loneliness comes out so sharp and chillingly in her poem Chand tanha hain…
rk i think i have a poem recited by meena kumari in one of my compilation. will try and upload it soon.btw it was rumoured that a lot of gulzaar saab’s lyrics & poetry are of Meena Kumari.
RK sir, Its a news for me that Meena Kumari was a poet. Bahut gehrahi hai !
knew she was a a poet but didnt know about the album with Khayyam
havent come across the album anywhere. I want it!!! RK…still havent gt that Yeh Woh Manzil to nahi also.
I have in my possession the book Meena Kumari written by Vinod Mehta in the year 1972. Vinod Mehta was 31. He went on to edit Debonair Magazine, India first real girlie magazine. Many years later Vinod Mehta became the founding editor-in-chief of the The Outlook Magazine.
Vinod Mehta
wow.. i didnt really know much about Meena Kumari and this is simply very interesting.. her poetry sounds amazing and the fact that she sang she sang her poetry in her own voice.. just makes me want to hear it.. beacuse sometimes its only the writer who can get the true emotions out of their work. thanks for the post RK… and also thanks Vinayak for providing information about the book… would love to read it sometime!
Hansal: Thanks for commenting and declaring your wish to use Meena Kumari’s poem in any of your film. That would be a great tribute to her poetic talent. Perhaps it can be best used in the same way as BR Chopra used Ghulam Ali in Nikah(Chupke Chupke raat din, playing on Record player in the background).
Its really pleasant to see your love for poetry. A different sign in the crowd of new generation directors:)
Oz: Her connection with Gulzar was the best part of her last years in hindi cinema.
striker: thanks for the link. did not know its present on net.
Manjeet: Sir, not only geharyee but Unchai bhee hai shaiyree mein:)
Muzzy, Baarish : Hope you Guys enjoyed it through Striker’s link
Phoenxinu: It may be difficult to get this album. Pls keep eyes on HMV’s recycled releases as they do it time to time. You may also write a request to them. I had got the album after much difficulty and had to pay 3 times of the original cost of the album because it was completely unavailable in the market 10 years back, and the shop owner had two cassettes and one LP in his personal collection and he sold me one cassette. It was used cassette but worth to buy.:)
Hope some day you get YWMTN with something as Bonus material
Rony: Film Industry shd also suffer from the syndrom of “when cant match up a guys talent then try to bring him down by spreading rumours”.
Gulzar started with ” Mera Gora rang le lo, mohe shyam rang de do” in Bandini many years before Meena Kumari gave him, her diary. And her diaries cant have so many poems that Gulzar can use them continuosuly for 30 years. It has been a cheap trick from the people in hindi cine industry who cant bear talent of Gulzar saab.
Vinayak: Thanks for sharing info abt Vinod Mehta’s book.
Meena Kumari and Pakiza, and their relation with each other say a lot. It needs a lot of conviction to complete a film which has been delayed for 14 years. She was seriusly ill and its visible in her different looks in the film and yet she finished the film.
Film’s completion also tells about her swinging mind and heart. Though separated from Kamal Amarohi and inspite of being bed ridden because of her ilnness, she gathered courage to fulfil Kamal Amarohi’s dream.
She might not have taken proper school and college based education because of pathetic financial conditions of her family but her emotional realizations and expereiences in life made her a poet.41-42 is not an age to die and that too for a big, respectful and successful actress like her. But then such lives make stories. Such people become fertilzer to produce some creations in the world.
I AM LOOKING FOR A MOVIE”VO SAT DIN”. Can some one tell me where I can get it.
Thanks
Please tell me where I can get a copy of Meena Kumari`s – ‘I Write I recite’ Album
Rohit,
Its easily available in music stores… but hunting for it would require a little more effort than you usually put.. Dil se dhoondhoge sab milega… Just dont ask people and go out to music stores.. Stores to stores and I am sure you’ll find it in just a few attempts.. If you had put a dedicated effort to search and even then unable to find it, let me know your address I’ll send it to you..
Pavan
Beautiful loser: remembering Meena Kumari
http://tinyurl.com/2we2jq
Chhoti bahoo of sahib biwi gulam died on … 31.03.1972….
tribute 2 her …
^:)^ ^:)^@};-%%-@};-%%-@};-%%-@};-%%-^:)^^:)^
Meena Kumari : I write , I recite
1 = http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xOcpH19CbAs
2= http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FSOmxDVJB3I
3= http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LcPBRUGIwNo
4= http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W8ooL82Vwv4
5= http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=88dlD8jjEuo
6= http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z7_ZUr9kSzQ
7= http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H_6aSbfOKCM
8= http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gm6Be8-qDlk
Krishn, speechless… ^:)^
RK, do you confirm that MK considered Gulzar as her brother ?
listened i write.. i recite many times … did nt get all the words .. but sadness in her voice… my goddd … she brought tears to me…
nd saw sahib biwi aur gulam again yesterday… luved more the film this time… after listening i write i recite…..
nd meena kumari… amazing performence….
gud music…
some writer pls write sahib biwi gulam….
sorry m soaked in 2 meena kumari these days….
had watched 3 films only but now she is pulling me….
anybody any recco… which of her films i shd watch?:-?
ve seen sahib buwi gulam… mere apne nd pakijaa only…
ny suggestion…
meena kumari : the queen of sorrow
i got names of films i ve 2 watch:d^:)^
Dinesh Raheja
Bujh gayee aas chhup gayaa taaraa
thar-tharaataa rahaa dhuaan tanhaa
http://www.rediff.com/entertai/2002/mar/30dinesh.htm
y comments r not cuming on khuda ke liye post ???????
http://passionforcinema.com/khuda-ke-liye-pakistani-take-on-the-so-called-%E2%80%9C-jihad-%E2%80%9C/
comments r blocked there???
is it forbidden there :-?
@krishn,
comments are on and i just checked.
let us know thru the contact us email if things are still acting up
dunt know but cumments r bloaked there since saturday…. i had tried yesterday also….
i made cumment on other articles only khuda ke liye was blocked…
sum prob… i guess….
ll check later …. thanks:)
@Krishn (21,22,27) Thanks for searching youtube links and article on Meena Kumari.:)
ya Sahib Biwi Ghulam should be covered some day.
You must try through Iview if you have seen it recently.
@kcp(24),
How can I confirm MK considered GS as brother ?
But I recall GS addressing her as Meena didi somwhere in print media.
Moreover personally its of no importance for me, what they called to each other when she was alive:)
I have Meenaji’s I write, I recite for some time. I listen to it every now and then and understand some.
I WILL APPRECIATE IF SOME ONE CAN TRANSLATE HER POEMS IN
ENGLISH AND SEND IT TO ME.
THANKS SO MUCH.
i listen all the gazal of meena kumari there are so much pane in all gazal . she is always a best singer as well as actress .in 1972 31march we lost a golden actress from this world and from this bollywood. we always miss her
i want to say one thing for meena kumari
jab tak ye duniya hai .tabtak aap ho.meena ji
Iam the big fan of meena kumari she was a wonderful actress i have all the collections of her films & use 2 watch many times everyday listern to her poems( i write i recite)i feel very sad i cry out i really cant understand how can anybody give pain to her how can anybody rejects her she had wrote watever she had in her heart i swear if i had born at that time i would definately solved her problems & give her happiness ihad fulfilled all her dreams but unfortunately