Private Opinion

Silence Is Not Secular

Barkha Dutt writes a fine piece in Hindustan Times on the recent assault of Taslima Nasreen titled The Secular Silence. She writes:

As far as I’m concerned, Qureshi or Akbaruddin Owaisi (the Hyderabad MLA who led the attack on Taslima) are no different from Praveen Togadia or Bal Thackeray. All of them represent the dangerous politics of intolerance and bigotry. The fact that some of them have popular support doesn’t give them legitimacy; it makes them even more frightening and insidious. And to treat them differently is to embolden intolerance on either side.

Selective Amnesia

Dilip wonders why Manohar Joshi has suddenly lost track of his statements regarding Srikrishna Commission Report. Joshi is also on the record saying that he would prefer to resign than take any action against Bal Thackeray or Shiv Sainiks. Meanwhile, the victims await justice.

And I Am Back

In keeping with the spirit of Jaun Elia’s couplet*, this blog was not being updated for a long time. Also, I was busy with my another blog I am involved with. Now, this is yet another attempt to salvage this blog. You can expect postings with some regularity now. And I put in some effort into new theme.

You can also subscribe by email now. Yay!

* kaun is ghar kii dekh-bhaal kare
roz ek chiiz TuuT jaatii hai

Jagjit Singh: Kahkashan Part Four

This is the fourth and final part of Kahkashan. Here are the other parts: One, Two, Three.

19.) Aye Gham-E-Dil Kya Karoon

shah’r kii raat aur maiN naashaad-o-naakaaraa phiruuN
jag-magaatii jaagtii saRakoN pe aavaaraa phiruuN
Ghair kii bastii hai kab tak dar badar maraa phiruuN

(naashaad-o-naakaaraa : sad and without any specific task; Ghair : stranger)

ai Gham-e-dil kyaa karuuN ai vahshat-e-dil kyaa karuuN

(Gham-e-dil : suffering of heart; vahshat-e-dil : madness of heart)

ye rupehalii chhaaNv ye aakaash par taaroN kaa jaal
jaise suufii kaa tasavvur jaise aashiq kaa Khayaal
aah lekin kaun jaane kaun samajhe jii kaa haal

Lonely Evenings

din guzaaraa thaa baRii mushkil se
phir teraa vaada-e-shab yaad aayaa

With much difficulty I scraped through the day
and then I remembered your promise for the night.

Nasir Kazmi

Jagjit Singh: Kahkashan Part Three

After a longish break, here is the third part of Kahkashan. Enjoy!

Here are the other parts: One, Two, Four.

13.) Roshan Jamal-E-Yaar Se Hai

roshan jamaal-e-yaar se hai anjuman tamaam
dahkaa hu’aa hai aatish-e-gul se chaman tamaam

(roshan : glowing; jamaal-e-yaar : beauty of the beloved; anjuman : assembly; dahkaa : burning; aatish-e-gul : fire of the flower; chaman : garden; tamaam : entire)

hairat Ghuruur-e-husn se, shoKhii se iztiraab
dil ne bhii tere siikh liye haiN chalan tamaam

(hairat : amazement; Ghuruur : pride; husn : beauty; shoKhii : playfulness; iztiraab : restlessness; chalan manners)

I Have The Knack

Or may be not. But this short video clip from Dilbert is hilarious.

WTF Moment Of The Week: Urinification

WTF indeed.

Teachers of a primary school in Bhandara district of Maharshtra sprinkled cow’s urine in the school premises and on students

They did this because the previous headmistress was a Dalit and they wanted to purify the school and the children of the lower castes.

Reading A Ghazal Of Nasir Kazmi

Poignant. That is Nasir Kazmi for you. Sorrow is pervasive throughout Urdu poetry but one striking feature of Kazmi’s poetry is the absolute lack of lament. He suffers but he hardly complains. Kazmi wrote a lot of musalsal Ghazals in which even though each couplet is unique, they are still based on a single theme.

Here is one of his very best musalsal Ghazals to which Ghulam Ali has done full justice while rendering it to music. In this Ghazal, Kazmi produces one of the most beautiful matlaas ever.

dukh kii lehar ne chheRaa hogaa
yaad ne kankaR pheNkaa hogaa

Jagjit Singh: Kahkashan Part Two

Without much ado here goes the second part of Kahkashan. The other parts are: One, Three, Four.

7.) Bol Ik Tare Jhan Jhan

bol iktaare jhaN jhaN jhaN jhaN
kahkashaaN hai merii sumran
shaam kii surkhii meraa kundan
nuur ka taRkaa merii chilman
toR chukaa huuN saare bandhan
puurab pachham uttar dakkhhan
bol iktaare jhaN jhaN jhaN jhaN

(iktaaraa : a stringed musical instrument; kahkashaaN : galaxy; sumran : chant; kundan : pure; chilman : blinds)

mere tan meN gulshan sabke
mere mann meN joban sabke
mere ghaT meN saachan sabke
merii surat darshan sabke
sabkii surat meraa darshan
bol iktaare jhaN jhaN jhaN jhaN