Spontaneity

A lonely day at the IVY HALLS has brought the best in me.

The best being that I am back to blogging.

It just happened that I got Gulzaarised all over, again.

So I had to come back to the Gulzarisms.

Then a bit backward and a bit more and more and well .. almost revisited my début post.

It was hard to believe that those posts were written and posted by me.

They gave me a feeling as if I was being introduced to someone else who was what I would like to be.

The only reason that I decided to go for a new post was I had to capture this moment and store it in my space.

So when I have Ashes to watch, a case study to prepare and a presentation to complete, All I think about is blogging.

This being my 1st post during my stay in London, it was over due. Again, my previous post was in August. So where is the unwritten rule of 1 post per month at least.

............Its on its way back..

Gulzaarisms !!!

18th Aug happens to be the birthday of bollywoods most enigmatic lyricist.

Some more that 10 years ago I happened watch a song from ‘Aandhi’ The actors seemed to be roaming in some ruins with a rather tensed expressions and rather irritating me.

But the song remains special. It has been so beautifully composed that even a 13-14 year old kid could realise the intensity.

तेरे बिना ज़िन्दगी से कोई शिकवा नहीं,

तेरे बिना ज़िन्दगी भी लेकिन, ज़िन्दगी तो नहीं .

A few years later I was watching the making of the Sanjya Dutt and Urmila Matondkar starer KHOOBSURAT. There was a line in there.

मेरी आँखों मैं झाँक कर देख लो

तुम्हे आईने कि जरूरत नहीं.

Urmi (I like her work) was giving her thoughts about this song. I could observe her arrogance. She was so delighted that someone had written such a line for her.

There are so many other compositions that Gulzar has given to the bollywood music lovers. It all started with मोरा गोरा अंग लैले , मोहे शाम रंग दैदे from Bandini.

The saga continues, and has captured a variety of human characteristic and expressed it in words in a manner, so elite.

The film Namkeen – Directed by Gulzar himself, has Sanjeev Kumar play a role of a Truck driver. There is scene where he has to leave one place where he has been working for months and go to another destination.

राह पे रहते है , यादों पे बसर करते है

खुश रहो पहले वतन हम तो सफ़र करते है

जल गए जो धूंप मैं तो साया हो गए

आसमान का कोइ कोना, ओढा सो गए

जो गुजर जाती हैं बस उस पे गुजर करते है

This makes me feel I should have lived life as a truck driver.

Amol Palekar’s films have always had a touch of a common man. The hero of an Amol Palekar film never had any super powers. He had to deal with the society and had to fight with it. There was always a question – to do or not to do.

How will you fall in love with such a person with no charm, no fortune and very low ambition.

What Gulzar saab had to say?

तुम्हे हो न हो, मुझको तो इतना यकीन है

मुझे प्यार तुमसे , नहीं है, नहीं है

I like to write the antara of this song as I find them enchanting.

मुझे प्यार तुमसे, नहीं है , नहीं है , मगर मैंने यह राज़ अब तक न जाना .

के क्यों प्यारी लगाती है बातें तुम्हारी , मैं क्यों तुमसे मिलने का ढूँढूं बहाना

कभी मैंने चाह तुम्हे छु के देखूं , कभी मैंने चाह तेरे पास आना .

मगर फिर भी ..

इस बात का तो यकीन है मुझे प्यार तुमसे , नहीं है, नहीं है

I like the use of the to in last line.

After all the ifs and buts and thoughts and aspirations and confusion mentioned earlier there is a small confirmation of I thing.

At least I know one thing, I am not in love with you-and I am sure of it.

फिर भी जो तुम दूर रहेते हो मुझसे तो रहेते है दिल पे उदासी के साए .

कोई ख्वाब ऊँचे मकानों से जानके कोई ख्वाब बैठा रहे सर झुकाए .

कभी दिल कि राहों , मैं कर दे अँधेरा , कभी दूर तक रोशनी ज़ग्मगाये .

मगर फिर भी ..

इस बात का तो यकीन है मुझे प्यार तुमसे , नहीं है, नहीं है

I know that I don’t love you but still I keep missing you, I keep thinking of you.

Sometimes I Dream of Ruling the world sometimes I feel unwanted in the society.

Sometimes I am bagged down by all the questions the other times I have answers to all the questions.

And even then, I am damn sure of I thing. That I am not in love with you.

No one ever has come out with anything similar or even close to express this dilemma that everyone has day in and day out.

Now what makes Gulzaar special is not his ability to put across his thoughts so explicitly. What makes Gulzaar special is his enigma.

If you happen to listen to छैय्याँ छैय्याँ from Dil se, or जोड़ी है यह from Guru बीरा बीरा from Raavan or for that matter even his मेरा कुछ सामान from Ijaazat you wonder what he really means. How did we forget आ आ ई ई मास्टर जी के आगे चिट्ठी, चिट्ठी मैं से निकली बिल्ली, VIP Underwear Baniyaaan You may even think that because he found good music composers his work got noticed. But then he comes out with some lines which make you wonder how could he say such a complex thin in such a simple way.

If you have to live with अगले मोड़ पे मौत कड़ी है , मरने कि भी क्या जल्दी है . होर्न बजा के आ बगियन मैं , दुर्घटना से देर भली है in इब्न बत्तुता, he also serves you with कोई तो रोके, कोई तो टोके

इस उम्र मैं अब कहोगे धोखे

डर लगता है इश्क करने मैं जी in दिल तो बच्चा हैं जी

For every बीडी जलैले जिगर से पिया,

… there is a . ओ साथी रे, दिन डूबे ना

Like there are line that just leave you wonder struck ..

छोटीसी कहानी से , बारिशों के पानी से सारी वादी भर गई .

न जाने क्यों दिल भर गया , न जाने क्यों आँख भर गई .

OR

हमने देखि है उन आँखों कि महेकती खुशबू , हाथ से छु के इसे रिश्तों का इलज़ाम न दो .

सिर्फ एहेसास है यह रूह से महेसूस करो , प्यार को प्यार ही रहेने दो कोई नाम न दो OR.

जाने क्या सोच कर नहीं गुज़ारा . एक पल रात भर नहीं गुज़ारा .

And then there is

रांझा रांझा कर गई रे मैं आपे रांझा होई . रांझा रांझा सब बोले मेनू हीर कहे न कोई.

And if you are into gazals and shayaris, then you have

शाम से आँख मैं नमी सी है ;

आज फिर उनकी कमी सी है

OR

एक पुराना मौसम गुजरा, याद भी हो पुरवाई भी,

ऐसा तो कम ही होत है, वोह भी हो तनहाई bhi

And as a kid you should have lived with

लकड़ी कि काठी , काठी पे घोडा

And many more.

His work has been versatile and for all moods for all ages.

If you have heard the song from Khoobsurat (sanju baba and urmi baby starer)

आज्माले , यह फोर्मुलाए . इश्क विश्क के .. दिल बिल के .

A street smart guy is training a recluse girl on how to get attention of the guys around her and how to get them attracted. Again a very different but very beautifully written song.

Or रिंगा रिंगा from Slumdog Millionaire.

You realise its vulgarity only when you happen to listen it carefully.

I wished this song could have won the an Oscar, just because a man has written down a woman’ feelings in an uncomplicated manner.

I can also mention कजरारे कजरारे from Bunty or Bubbly here and आसमां के पार शायद और कोई आसमा होगा from Rockford. One performed in a dance bar and other picturised on a teenager who has just settled in a boarding school.

And there are so many more. You realise it only when you are in that mood.

So what ever is you mood… Gulzar Saab already has expressed it in his poems before.

When ever I think about of the compositions of India’s only Oscar winning poet… there is one thing that I always feel..

फिर छिड़ी रात बात फूलों

Cos I Love What I Know

Science requires a proof to everything that exists.

Art requires you to extend your imagination as far as possible.

In my 1^st class at FY BCom, Dr. Pathre was giving his introductory lecture on Economics. As elaborate as he was he says’ “ Economics is neither science nor art.” I took a chance as said- “Its commerce”
There was giggle in the room. Dr. Pathre was at is best ignoring me.

But that gave me another definition of Commerce (rather the difference between art, science and commerce)

Commerce is what you do to prove your imagination – as vague as the might be – right. Its when Art seems scientific, or science behind being artistic.

Confused. Let me explain.

2 + 2 = 4. this is science.

2 + 2 =5. This is art

But if you can prove that 2+2=5, then that’s your commerce.

A cricket ground is approx 65 mts in radius. You have 11 players to protect it.

The wicket is at best a rectangle with area of 88 sq. yards. And the ball requires a couple of inches of its surface to bounce. You don’t even have to bounce it.

So as a bowler you have 11 players to be spread around 11000 sq.mts. 2 inches to be placed on 88 sq. yards. So can you calculate the permutations and Combinations.

The answer is infinity.

I sit and watch England bat vs Pakistan in a T20 match. They are chasing a modest target. But just to add to the variables, the wicket is unpredictable.

As Abdur Razzak bowls over the wicket to debutant Morgon. I see the field.

The fine leg is inside the circle. And there is a deep square leg, deep midwicket. There is a traditional third man. Just to allow the bowler to have the long on and a player at mid off . This when the batsmen are not taking any risk. The few mins that Morgan has spent in the middle suggest that he is not going to create any hassle until it is utterly important.

Abdul Razzak bowls in cutter to right handers. He is not known to ball those lines to left hander.

So he is either going to pitch it outside leg stump and cramp the batsman or ball on the stumps and let the ball go wide of the batsman.

For the 1^st delivery the easiest job for the batsman is flick it behind leg. Even is the ball is on the stumps, the angle will make the batsman hit it towards long off. So why do u need a man at long on.

So here it goes.

1^st ball on the leg goes to the fine leg boundary. Short fine leg is just a spectator. So the bowler compensates. He pitches the ball on the stump. It goes flying over the mid off fielder.

The bowler now tries to get the ball in the ribs of the batsman. A bit of an error from the bowler and the ball goes flying to third man boundary. The third man tries his best but cant stop the ball from crossing the boundary.

Then there are a few short deliveries those fly to the square boundary on the leg side.

In T20 cricket the batsman will play those shots cos you really got to be unlucky to hold on to those deep fielders.

So after 2 overs the ball has flown all over the place and the fielder at long on is busy yawning.

The factor to worry about is not that these guys could hit the ball for boundries. The reason to worry is that these bowlers could not make use of the fielders placed for saving runs.

Generally you have 2 fielders in catching positions. 2 to save boundaries and remaining to stop singles. These logic might vary within the tolerance of 1 fielder here and there as per the situation of the match. However, the bowler need to make use of his fielders who are waiting for the catch or saving singles. Only when the batsman tries to act smart, the boundary riders come into play.

As a bowler, you lead the others into the game. You have to decide where the ball goes. You can control the batsman. And when he tries to get over you, there is where you get his wicket.

So firstly you need to get the perfect combination where the ball will be pitched and where will it go. So that you can make the batsman play in a particular area. You need to get your geometry and physics right. Then you must get the perfect combination of fielders who are guarding the space. Again, you need to watch out and cut down the angles to reduce the gaps that the ball might find.

They say that bowling is an art. But if you observe closely, there are various factors that determine it. There needs to be a logic good enough to reason why you are balling a particular delivery or setting up a particular field.

So will a scientific calculation determine each and every ball that will be delivered in the game? Well. It’s a game, after all. There are no models that can be set to determine what will be coming next.

So here is where, commerce enters. The bowler shows his art but with some logic. And the batsman, if he is good enough to crack this logical code, will get on top of the bowler or it will be the other way round.

The deal that goes on between a batsman and a bowler is just like what goes on in a routine trade.

Each delivery, that the bowler delivers, carries some worth to it. The batsman has to receive the full value. If he doesn’t then he is wasting the delivery. If he tries for more he might land in some problem. The bowlers tend to hide the ball from the batsman. What they actually do is hide the value that every ball carries. If the batsman scores 4 on a 2+2 he is getting scientific. If he scores 5 on a 2+2, he is artistic.

It’s just a simple trade-off