the love song..

Right now, as i am staying tuned to Radio Mirchi, it's playing some lovely songs from 60s and 70s and my mind is trailing back to that bygone era of hindi cinema. If there was any time machine invented, i would have loved to visit Bombay during late 60s -upto mid 70s. Such an interesting time that was with all it's musical brilliance, cinematic grandeur, and polka dots and bell-botoms. There are some movies during this time,, which i love to watch again n again in like "Yadoon ki barat", "Zamane ko dikhana hain", "Anand", "Kati Patang" etc. I love the simplicity of these stories dealing with simple ups n downs in human lives, their hopes and sorrows n joy - broadley divided in eith black or white. Telling about movies of that time, i also have some favourite heroes during that period. I have a huge dislike for Rajesh Khanna for his mannerisms and that smug look on his face all the time..but this man simply won my heart in Anand and Kati Patang. And who will forget Sashi Kapur in Sharmili- i have never thought before seeing him that dimples can look that good on a man. Sashi Kapur had the perfect combination of royalty and earthiness in him. Apart from them, i also had a liking for that bespectacled hero of Yadoon ki Barat and Hum Kisi se Kam Nahi- whose name i don't know but who lipped that unforgettable song " Chand mera dil" in the latter film. But above all my chart is topped my Rishi Kapur in 70s with his child-of-the-sun like smile, impeccable style sense and boyish charm- which can make any lady go weak on her knees ( that's my belief! ). There are two Rishi Kapur songs which i can listen to again and again- One is "Kahi na Ja" from the movie "Bade dilwale". The sequence was set in a party and when Rishi Kapur placed his hand on Tina munim's shoulder and crooned "Baho mein aa ja" , it was the loveliest line a man can sing to a woman. Another song, which i am simply crazy about is "Hoga tumse pyara kaun" from "Zamane ko dikhana hain". The entire song was shot on the roof-top of a train with Rishi trying to break the ice between a lamenting Padmini Kolhapure and him. and when he finished the line with " Aakhir hain humara kaun..humko to tumse hain.e kanchan...pyar", it was an earnest wish of a gawky girl, in her early teens, watching the song in small screen- that if she were in the place of the heroin and her hero would love her enough to jump and sing on the top of a running train to please her- what more can anyone ask for in life? For me, he is the most romantic hero till date in hindi cinema. Now, when i see an pot-bellied, puffy eyed ( the obvious consequence of the famous liquor addiction of Kapur Scions ) Rishi Kapur on -screen , playing baap kinda roles - there is only one line comes to my mind- how time flies? But there is only one part of him which had not been changed with the ages- and that is his smile. with all it's freshness and charm And he smiles again..and again,i become that teenage girl- sitting on the top of the-train, sun set behind and he is whistling again"humko to tumse hain..pyar"..

" what's in an age"

In a time and at a nation, which is becoming more and more age sensitive - being at a right side of 25-nowadays, i almost beginning to feel as a senior citizen myself (where are the people gone in the facebook who could have written early 80s as their birth year). when i was in school, may be in class 6 0r 7 , i used to look upon the people who are in their late 20s as a bunch of senior citizens.I kept thinking in those days that " when a person is 25 or 26-there won't be much time in their hands to enjoy their life" Very little did i realize, that someday this thought will backfire on me ! Now i am 26+ ( i feel secured with this "+" sign added with my last birthday's age) and still i don't know a helluva of things which i supposed to know by this time . One of my freinds who recently got married- advised me once with a i-have-wisdom-of-the-world -as-i-am-married-now attitude that " see, this is the high time you should also get married- otherwise it would be problemtic to raise children at a later period of life". RAISING KIDS?? it sent a cold chill up and down my spine. It is also amazing to see how girls transform after marriage. Once she gets married, she takes up the noble responsibility of marrying off all her other girlfriends by constantly reminding them of their age and how little time they have in their hands to raise kids ( little monsters actually !) . I wish to know , whether married men give similar piece of advise to their bachelor friends too.

It really irritates me sometimes to see the condradictions of the society. On one hand, they compose song like " Age ain't nothing but a number" , with fashion magazines flooded with the pictures of " Substatial women at their 30s and 40s" with their high-flying careers and elegant looks, their inspiring stories n all. On the other hand, the pressure of getting married and having kids is all the more same as it was 20 years ago. They say "life begins at 30" or " 40 is the new 30" etc etc but in reality i feel there is push on all of us in getting "settled down" at the right age ( where for me the emphasis should be put upon the right kind of partner, instead of the age). And this business of settling down is still very unsettling to me. In a fast-paced world, when technology and education- which is significant today can be useless in tommorrow, when it is said that if you want to survive in this big bad jungle, you have to change yourself and learn constantly, when people walk out of their established jobs and plunge into a new career path or women call off their marital vows and juggle between their career and raising their kids as single mothers- does such a thing called "settling down" exist? I have read a piece of an article by Shobha De where she expressed her horror when at a party, she met up with a bunch of beautiful girls in their early 20s who were discussing among themselves - the usefulness of anti-aging cream to mend their "already" wrinkled facial skin. Even in west, there are a bunch of teenage stars who do everything to hog the limelight , apart from behaving like their age and rest of us- the mortals do everything - from doing up fake birth certificates to ask others about their age directly and basking in secret glory if that person happens to be even a year older than us or feel humiliated if the other person happens to grace the earth - after us. Then i look up at Elizabeth Hurley and what she did at 45..n i feel all hopes are not lost yet- the life is full of possibilities..* wink*..

The Fakir

I have read "Moner Manush" few years ago in "Sharodiya Desh". Being an avid reader of bengali literature, i like the narrative-style of Sunil Gangopadhyay very much. "Moner Manush" was no exception. Before that, i have heard and read about Lalan Fakir many times but that was mostly about his mystic religion and his legendary songs which talk great deal about mysticism, surrealism,religious harmony and subtle sexuality in mankind. I have read that he was a born-hindu , who later saved and nurtured by a muslim couple, became thrown-out from his caste. Only after reading, "Moner Manush", i came to learn about his origin, his initial days as an adolescent in his village, how he left his home- his mother and wife for the sake of a pilgrimage, suffering from pox and his associates afloated his body in river padma, assumed that the boy won't survive beacause of his illness- later Lalan was saved by a muslim woman who took care of him with motherly affection and thus started the story of becoming a mystic legend of undivided bengal. In his novel, the author had admitted that there are no documented facts could be found about Lalan's origin.All of them are hearsay, so he added a good dose of fictions with the facts to pen down the time and aura of this magnificent human being out of his imagination. The movie is based on this Novel. After seeing the movie, the first thought that came into my mind is that it's like a beautiful painting - on the canvas of the nature with ever chaging colour of the sky- from clear blue to golden-red, the transparent blue river of Padma and a vast shades of green. I have seen vey few movies which are such visual treat as "Moner Manush". Apart from Nature, i loved the songs immensely. The folks who sung them have such tonal quality which is not polish , rather than quite rough- which blended fantabulously with the earthy lyrics of Lalan Fakir. It's seemed so surprising to me , that such a personality once used to exist in rural bengal- who didn't have the the conventional education or upbringing, can be so bold and humanitarian in his outlook. A fakir who, apart from searching for the meaning of existence and flowing down his thoughts in a most lyrical way - tried to build up a village which can be an ideal example of todays' co-operative society, who put emphasis on agriculture and land reform, body-building and extinction of caste system. In a time , when even the word "sex" was a taboo itself, he expressed freely his idea of sexual freedom- both among men and women- in his compositions. Once some one told me that Lalan's songs are like Psychedelic Rocks. Back then, i didn't know what a psychedelic rock means nor do i understand it now. Only one thing that comes to my mind that- here was a man - who was born-hindu, nourished by a muslim mother who gave him his second life- became sufi ultimately -who denied any kind of religious connection all throughout his life , composed music ranging from inner quest to physicality - represents a life which can be larger than itself. May it's for the songs and ideals of Lalan which still flow in the veins of bangladesh - save this country from becoming another Pakistan.