Tu kisi rail si guzarti hai...

I discovered a gem and a legend of the Hindi literature through this beautiful song of a beautiful movie - The first Hindi Ghazal writer of India - Dushyant Kumar.

"Tu kisi rail si guzarti hai, main kisi pul sa thartharata hun"

The lines from his poem stubbornly stuck to my cerebral hemispheres, acing both in the context of melody and the gravity resonating from its every innocent verse.

Today on seeing Masaan, I could only acknowledge, commend and heedlessly comment, "Ee picture kaun banaya hai bay!' 

(I am not allowed the use of the word 'bay' at home and elsewhere. In my defense, for me 'bay' is a mere form of expression that I have culturally imbibed and so fondly like to use)

Dushyant Kumar is the distinct poet who brought in the culture of simplistic wordage and idiosyncrasy in Hindi poetry. It was a bold step in the age where Hindi literature had just distanced itself from Urdu and become the voice of the Nation / awaam ki awaaz.

Dushyant Kumar, Ramdhari Singh Dinkar, Harivansh Rai Bachhan, Sumitra Nandan Pant were the flag bearers of Hindi poetry which was Nationalistic and inspiring youth to independence. 

Here's my favourite Inqulaabi poem from him - 

हो गई है पीर पर्वत-सी पिघलनी चाहिए,

इस हिमालय से कोई गंगा निकलनी चाहिए।

आज यह दीवार, परदों की तरह हिलने लगी,

शर्त लेकिन थी कि ये बुनियाद हिलनी चाहिए।

हर सड़क पर, हर गली में, हर नगर, हर गाँव में,

हाथ लहराते हुए हर लाश चलनी चाहिए।

सिर्फ हंगामा खड़ा करना मेरा मकसद नहीं,

सारी कोशिश है कि ये सूरत बदलनी चाहिए।

मेरे सीने में नहीं तो तेरे सीने में सही,

हो कहीं भी आग, लेकिन आग जलनी चाहिए।

(Most of us wouldn't know it's by him while we have used these lines in Hindi essays, debates and one-act plays, I didn't.)

Kumar died at the young age of 42 in 1975. I am sure he'd have a lot to write that year, were he healthy.  Here's the poem which inspired Varun Grover to write lyrics of Masaan's song - 

मैं जिसे ओढ़ता-बिछाता हूँ

मैं जिसे ओढ़ता-बिछाता हूँ, वो ग़ज़ल आपको सुनाता हूँ

एक जंगल है तेरी आँखों में, मैं जहाँ राह भूल जाता हूँ

तू किसी रेल-सी गुज़रती है, मैं किसी पुल-सा थरथराता हूँ

हर तरफ़ ऐतराज़ होता है, मैं अगर रौशनी में आता हूँ

एक बाज़ू उखड़ गया जबसे, और ज़्यादा वज़न उठाता हूँ

मैं तुझे भूलने की कोशिश में, आज कितने क़रीब पाता हूँ

कौन ये फ़ासला निभाएगा, मैं फ़रिश्ता हूँ सच बताता हूँ

A logical and innocent marvel is Phillauri

A poet’s masterpiece is Phillauri

*I have purposely not mentioned anything from the climax

The last time I was possessed by the afterglow of a movie was when I had watched Anurag Kashyap’s DevD.  It’s perhaps the splendor of colours which casts the first spell in the enigmatic journey.

I knew I would take back something from the movie, when I heard the song Sahiban for the first time. The magician who created such melody must possess the grace of God / Cosmos. What I take back is a bagful of grace, charm and love for the creative and the simpleton. I fear that the bag is so heavy and delicate at the same time.

The story of Phillaur that is weaved with heart touching songs and equally strong lyrics. The choicest of actors bring back innocence to what we celebrate as the larger than life Bollywood.

Yes it is logical that two talented souls of a generation in the village of Phillaur find each other. Because that is Darwin’s natural selection or the cosmos conspiring together in Coelho’s terms.

It is not seen very often that the male protagonist is given a chance to prove himself and rise up yet the dialogues and the sanctity of the actors make it so rational and wise. This also subtly shows the enlightened and powerful women of the foregone era. It is not just now that they are empowered but always had the metal to bring transformation.

It is logical that there is a ghost because there is a need of such a strong story to be told to an audience unaware of the pain and experience of the tragedy it takes us through. It is sheer grace that the director Anshai Lal preserves the same humor and spirit throughout the film. Imagine calling the ghost 'idiot' in the peak and rush of the climax. Though with utmost affection, it's always risky!

It is a brave film which reflects the conviction in the script. Anushka produced and acted in a movie about the supernatural, jumping through time periods and whose music spans the ancient Sufi and the nascent beat-boxing. Diljeet is a man of God and I am biased in my affection and decree about his valour. It is so logical that he would experiment with his image in his second Hindi movie because he believes in the meritorious power of the script. Phillauri also reveals the picture of the women of pre-independent India who withdrew from honing their talent. We subtly realise that among these women were our own grand mothers.

I am still glowing in the rapture. And among the visions that are still beneath my eyelids are the haunting eyes of the heroine’s brother, the blissful smiling Diljeet immersed in Dum Dum and his ektara, the divinity of Anushka in red, the silhouette of the poet and the singer by the big moon among many more.      

Would this intricate and innocent rhapsody sustain in the noise of Bollywood? It should and it mighty well will, among all connoisseurs of creativity and brilliance. 

Our right to clean air and our responsibility to NCR’s biggest ailment

It’s almost a poetic end.

A fitting finale to the excesses of a city which have come back to wrap it entirely in a thick veil of smog, with no sun, or hope, in sight.   

We have played with nature so much that we have created a whole new season! A season marred with erratic weather conditions, with temperatures fluctuating wildly from 31 to 16 degree Celsius! Add to that a relentless cover of smog all over the city made up of dust and poisonous gasses, and voila, you nearly have the setting for a post-apocalyptic dystopian sci-fi story. Unfortunately for us, it is not fiction but the hard reality.

On 1^st of November, a day after Diwali, an entire city woke up to arrival of an unwelcome guest in Particulate Matter 2.5 or PM 2.5, considered the most dangerous particle, at more than 20 times the permissible limit in Delhi’s air. Suddenly, the city was clutching at its last breaths.

As per a survey in June this year, 47% residents in Delhi-NCR have symptoms of various respiratory diseases. Numerous committees, advisory boards and action plans later, the effects have been few and far between. A comprehensive plan, formulated in consultation with various medical and environmental organizations, is still missing. Knee-jerk reactions such as declaring school holidays will not have any effect unless core lifestyle habits are targeted for change.

While Diwali firecrackers have been a significant cause for rising pollution this year, there are other factors involved which are of a recurring nature. These include the transportation of trucks and commercial vehicles through Delhi, along with industrial waste.  These vehicles are invariably of an old model, and often do not meet the pollution or energy standards as defined.

As if it were another great sale day, media reported the deficit of anti-pollution masks and how people thronged the markets to buy them. While our officials visit the global cities for learning infrastructural lessons in education, governance; why haven’t we yet considered the danger of smog and pollution from the world’s most important business center Beijing.

Beijing's air is heavily polluted owing to its windless and warm weather and has been receiving smog waves which are tackled efficiently. As part of Beijing municipal’s severe air pollution emergency plan, which took effect in March 2015, the government implements a range of measures to cope with the alert. Electric vehicles, movement based on odd or even vehicle numbers, longer and more frequent operating hours of public transport is the foremost. The plan comprises daily cleaning of roads and banning of fireworks, garbage burning and as detailed as to open outdoor barbecues.

We do not have government lead steps rolled out to bring reduction of emissions from coal and non-renewable energy burning industries and vehicles so as to boost cleaner and more efficient use of renewable energy forms, electricity and natural gas in place of coal, support for wind, solar and bio power sectors. Vacuum cleaning of Delhi’s arterial roads was to start in April this year and four machines were engaged for a few days but the project couldn’t take off.

The Delhi government has rolled out some policies which include regular sprinkling of water on Delhi roads and establishing air-purifier. But the effectiveness of these claims are unl is going to be effective and bring about results. At this moment however, with things looking grim, there is an increased role of us as citizens to play. It’s time that all of us come together and take the task of getting ourselves aware and educated and spreading the knowledge to others. The RWAs should come together to deploy car pools, efficiently manage waste, reduction in crop-field burning, implementation of control measures to deal with air pollution and a blanket ban on Dussehra and Diwali firecrackers. Furthermore, care and attention to patients such as children and senior citizens with respiratory ailments needs to be given top priority.

A major portion of our current population is suffering from pulmonary issues with constant cough and breathlessness, irritation in the eyes, lack of energy etc. While I write this, I can still hear firecrackers burning. Is this the level of education, civic responsibility and surroundings that we will be leaving behind as a legacy to our children? With empty parks, rapidly filling hospitals and a constant air of despair, the city’s countdown has almost begun. We can either remain silent spectators to it, or be accountable for the health and safety of our seniors and young ones, and prevent the pollution quicksand from engulfing us.