Singing voices from across the border

“Char dina da pyaar o rabba, badi lambi judai………”

When Pakistani folk singer Reshma lent her beautiful voice to this song for the Bollywood flick “Hero “ in the eighties, this came as a whiff of fresh air as the singer’s voice apart from timbre had a folksy charm to it. The song became and is still popular after almost three decades down the line. Reshma’s became a household name for every music lover. Thanks to YouTube, , the other day , I chanced upon a duet by her and Pervez Mehdi-

“ Goriye mein jana pardes ………….” .

Both the singers come out at their best in this composition and literally it transported me to another world. Again that earthy/ folksy charm comes to the fore.

Another singer from across the border perhaps lesser known in India – though originally from Assam , her family migrated to Pakistan much after the partition - is Nayyara Noor- simple and urbane in her demeanour . I found her rendition of a ghazal by Behzaad Lakhnawi ;

“Ai jazba-e-dil gar main chahoon har cheez muqabil aa jaye………..”

simply captivating .

She has also sung for Pakistani films . A song that I particularly like is “: Roothey ho tum , tumko kaise manaoon piya…bolo na …..”

On stage she has also sung old bollywood songs like " Panchhi baanwra......... " etc.

Interested music lovers should be able to find links via YouTube

Chamcha of my kids !

There is a song beautifully rendered by Mohammad Rafi from the Bollywood film “Jaali Note “:

“ Chhuri ban kaanta ban o my son,

Sab kuchh ban kisi ka chamcha nahin ban “

I must say that the song is contrary to the present day practical wisdom ,with chamchas and chamchagiri ruling the roost. For good or for bad – most probably the latter , I have distanced myself from adopting this practical wisdom . At the fag end of my public life , recently I had a surprise- not a pleasant one- waiting for me when my wife, always eager to corner me on one pretext or the other ‘accused ‘ me of and charged me with being and acting like a chamcha of who else but my teenaged son . Now kids are kids and ever remain so for their parents . With nothing much to do while at home , I do some small chores for my teenager son, like ironing his clothes, seeing to it that he does not forget to take necessary paraphernalia along when he goes to attend his training and ensuring that he is not late on any account and also giving some money for bus fare etc . Not surprisingly my daughter, a bit older, joins her mother in this diatribe against me and virtually a daily chorus is dinned into my ears. All this does not mean that my wife cares for him any less. While I look after the practical side, the emotional ,sentimental inputs are invariably from her . Thanks to cell phones, she frequently calls him asking chal pada ?, bus mili ? kahan pahuncha ? – much to his annoyance the expression of which sometimes gives me some pleasure .

Anyways, I am enjoying my new avatar as a chamcha as like all parents I expect nothing in return !

Ganesh Chaturthi or Pathar Chauth

Day before , when my son , on returning home late after a hectic schedule, announced that it was Ganesh Chaturthi on Thursday, even my deeply religious wife did not welcome it. The reason being that despite her profound faith in all Hindu deities , Ganesh Chaturthi rings alarm bells not only for her but also for all of us. It is good to see common people and celebrities showing their devotion to the Raja of Lal Bagh as Lord Ganesh or Ganpati ji is also referred to . The other side is that the day is also known as Pathar Chauth . One must not look at the moon, lest one should invite trouble in the shape of false implication or accusation. If one happens to sight the moon, he /she has to throw stones on the roof of some neighbour and the abuses from the neighbour would neutralize the evil effect. Though there seems to be no logical reason behind this, call it superstition or what, every effort is made to avoid looking at the Moon . As a result, all curtains were tightly drawn. No going out in the dark or stepping in the balcony was allowed. It just reminded of the 1965 and 1971 wars with Pakistan when, there had to be a complete black out – not a ray of light allowed outside the four walls or enemy ,sensing population residing there would bombard the area causing loss to life and property.

This much for Ganesh Chaturthi !