Hukus Bukus Telwan Tsukus - From Mujtaba

Kailash Mehra Sadhu

From http://www.koausa.org/music/shokachaniya/lyrics.html

The sequence of the whole song is:
The children start:

"hukus bukus telli wann che kus
onum batta lodum deag,
shaal kich kich waangano,
Brahmi charas puane chhokum,
Brahmish batanye tekhis tyakha."

The Teacher corrects:
"Itkayne ne Itkayne
Tse Kus Be Kus Teli Wan su Kus
Moh Batuk Logum Deg
Shwas Khich Khich Wang-mayam
Bhruman daras Poyun chokum
Tekis Takya bane Tyuk"

Tse Kus Be Kus Teli Wan su Kus
Who are you and who am I then tell us who is he the creator that permeates through both you and I

Moh Batuk Logum Deg
Each day I feed my senses/body with the food of worldly attachment and material love (Moh = attachment)

Shwas Khich Khich Wang-mayam
For when the breath that I take in reaches the point of complete purification (Shwas = Breath)

Bhruman daras Poyun chokum
It feels like my mind is bathing in the water of divine love (Bhruman = nerve center in the human brain, poyun = water)

Tekis Takya bane Tyuk
Then I know I am like that sandal wood which is pasted for divine fragrance symbolic of universal divinity. I realize that I am, indeed, divine (Tyuk = Tika applied on the forehead)

The message of this poem is rooted in Kashmiri spiritual tradition. The poem itself is ageless. Some say it came up during Lal Ded's time, other's say it dates back to the origin of Kashmir and Kashmiri culture itself. The poem, in later years, was made a song for children. For years it served as a poetic medium to pass down the essence of Kashmiri culture to little ones.

It is said that the tones produced by the arrangement of words in this poem as well as its rhythm has a calming effect for infants and toddlers of all times.

From : www.searchkashmir.org
Vinayak Razdan

Folk songs remain essential to Kashmiri way of life. The way in which these songs are being sung has changed. Folk songs still exist but you can now hear them on VCD/DVD produced especially for mass consumption. Naturally, purist sneer and they wonder: what happened to the genuine kashmiri folk songs? But, most people are happy knowing that these songs still exist and are sung, and hope that maybe the 'scene' is better in rural areas.

Here is a list detailing most of the types of Kashmiri folk Songs:

Love songs or Lol-gevun : Lyrics( known in Kashmiri as lol , the word for 'love') written by the beloved last queen of Kashmir, Habba Khatoon are famous in this category
Dance or Ruf songs: groups of girls or women stand in rows, facing each other, women in each row interlink their arms around each other’s waist, moving forward and backward, they sing these songs.
Pastoral songs: there are two type of such song, one sung by Kashmiris and the other by Gujjars (a separate ethnic group ) in their own dialect.
Spring songs or sont gevun: Songs celebrating the coming of spring season.
Wedding songs Wanwun: Common to both Kashmiri Muslims and Pandits, but Muslim songs have more Persian words while Pandit songs have Sanskrit vocabulary and some Vedic chants. Some of the best songs are sung on the night of the henna known as Maenzraath. Among others there are songs from the folktale about the legendary lovers, Himal and Nagiray.
Opera songs or Bhand Jashan: songs performed by the traveling band of folk theater (Bhand pather) artists known as Bhand. Salman Rushdie gave them a new literally life in his novel Shalimar The Clown.
Dancer’s songs (Bach nagma Jashan): Usually meant for occasions like marriage or other big festivity. A particular band of musician performs these songs accompanied by a lithesome (at times, effeminate) boy/man who dances comically attired like a woman. To listen to a real beautiful dancing girl hafiz-nagama would have to be arranged.
Ballads (called Bath or Kath, meaning 'stories' and literally in kashmiri meaning 'talk'): A particular variety of satarical ballads is popularly known as laddi shah. A man stirs the iron rings strung on an iron rod and makes witty comments on the social issues. A common refrain from the songs started with line: Laddi Shah, Laddi Shah draar’kin pyow, pya'waane pya'waane ha'patan khyow( Laddi Shah, Laddi Shah! fell off the window! And a Grizzly bit him just as he fell!)
Sacred Thread ceremony songs (Yagnopavit gevun) for Kashmiri Pandits again have more vedic chantings. In an almost equivalent ceremony for Kashmiri Muslims, there are separate songs for the circumcision ceremony.
There are also Cradle songs, lullaby (lala’vun) and ditties for children( most popular Kashmiri ditty: Bishte Bishte Braryo, khot’kho wan). An interesting thing to note is that with the passage of time the mystical poem hukus bukus telli wann che kus (Who’s he? Who are you? Now, tell me who am I?) by Lal Ded, the great poet-saint of Kashmir, morphed into a popular nonsensical childrens' ditty Akus Bakus Telivan Chakus.
Dirge or Van: recited in chorus by women of the family after the death of an old persons.
Then there are folk songs that depend on the occupation of the person singing them. There are songs of seed-sowers, harvesters and laborers doing their daily hard work. There are songs for workers involved in creating delicate embroidery weavers and makers of exquisite Kashmiri Ka'leens, creators of papier-mache. There are songs sung by saffron reapers (usually women), shepherds, village belles fetching water (some of Habba Khatoon’s lol songs are popular in this category). In Kashmir farm work like grinding, spinning yarn and stacking paddy are performed by women, unlike many other places in the India subcontinent, they also do sowing and harvesting, and they sing different song while doing these physically daunting tasks. Some of these are songs about the waters of Jhelum, songs of saffron fields of Pampore and song about Chinar.

The list is based on the excellent work titled Folklore of Kashmir (1945) by Somnath Dhar.
It can be found in the Encyclopaedia of Kashmir by Suresh K Sharma, Shiri Ram Bakshi.
Do read: An article on Bhand Pather by M K. Raina, one of India's best-known theater actors and directors

Vaishnav Janto

Gandhiji


Lataji


from www.ramanuja.org

Narasinh Mehta's wonderful "Vaishnava Janato" describes
what it means to be a Vaishnava, this was also one of Gandhiji's favourite bhajans.

Bhajan: Hymn sung by Hindus accompanied by music and claps
Vaishanav/a: A follower of Vaishnav school of Hinduism. Strict
Vegetarianism, Ahimsa, Simplicity are the hallmarks of a true Vaishnav.

This Bhajan is in essence the "Definition" of a "Vaishnav".


Vaishnav jan to tene kahiye je
[One who is a vaishnav]

PeeD paraayi jaaNe re
[Knows the pain of others]

Par-dukhkhe upkaar kare toye
[Does good to others, esp. to those ones who are in misery]

Man abhimaan na aaNe re
[Does not let pride enter his mind]
Vaishnav...

SakaL lok maan sahune vande
[A Vaishnav, Tolerates and praises the the entire world]

Nindaa na kare keni re
[Does not say bad things about anyone]

Vaach kaachh man nishchaL raakhe
[Keeps his/her words, actions and thoughts pure]

Dhan-dhan janani teni re
[O Vaishnav, your mother is blessed (dhanya-dhanya)]

Vaishnav...

Sam-drishti ne trishna tyaagi
[A Vaishnav sees everything equally, rejects greed and avarice]

Par-stree jene maat re
[Considers some one else's wife/daughter as his mother]

Jivha thaki asatya na bole
[The toungue may get tired, but will never speak lies]

Par-dhan nav jhaalee haath re
[Does not even touch someone else's property]
Vaishnav...

Moh-maaya vyaape nahi jene
[A Vaishnav does not succumb to worldly attachments]

DriDh vairaagya jena man maan re
[Who has devoted himself to stauch detachment to worldly
pleasures]

Ram naam shoon taaLi laagi
[Who has been edicted to the elixir coming by the name of Ram]

SakaL tirath tena tan maan re
[For whom all the religious sites are in the mind]
Vaishnav...

VaN-lobhi ne kapaT-rahit chhe
[Who has no greed and deciet]

Kaam-krodh nivaarya re
[Who has renounced lust of all types and anger]

BhaNe Narsaiyyo tenun darshan karta
[The poet Narsi will like to see such a person]

KuL ekoter taarya re
[By who's virtue, the entire family gets salvation]
Vaishnav...

Narasinh Mehta's wonderful "Vaishnava Janato" describes
what it means to be a Vaishnava, this was also one of Gandhiji's favourite bhajans.

Bhajan: Hymn sung by Hindus accompanied by music and claps
Vaishanav/a: A follower of Vaishnav school of Hinduism. Strict
Vegetarianism, Ahimsa, Simplicity are the hallmarks of a true Vaishnav.

This Bhajan is in essence the "Definition" of a "Vaishnav".


Vaishnav jan to tene kahiye je
[One who is a vaishnav]

PeeD paraayi jaaNe re
[Knows the pain of others]

Par-dukhkhe upkaar kare toye
[Does good to others, esp. to those ones who are in misery]

Man abhimaan na aaNe re
[Does not let pride enter his mind]
Vaishnav...

SakaL lok maan sahune vande
[A Vaishnav, Tolerates and praises the the entire world]

Nindaa na kare keni re
[Does not say bad things about anyone]

Vaach kaachh man nishchaL raakhe
[Keeps his/her words, actions and thoughts pure]

Dhan-dhan janani teni re
[O Vaishnav, your mother is blessed (dhanya-dhanya)]

Vaishnav...

Sam-drishti ne trishna tyaagi
[A Vaishnav sees everything equally, rejects greed and avarice]

Par-stree jene maat re
[Considers some one else's wife/daughter as his mother]

Jivha thaki asatya na bole
[The toungue may get tired, but will never speak lies]

Par-dhan nav jhaalee haath re
[Does not even touch someone else's property]
Vaishnav...

Moh-maaya vyaape nahi jene
[A Vaishnav does not succumb to worldly attachments]

DriDh vairaagya jena man maan re
[Who has devoted himself to stauch detachment to worldly
pleasures]

Ram naam shoon taaLi laagi
[Who has been edicted to the elixir coming by the name of Ram]

SakaL tirath tena tan maan re
[For whom all the religious sites are in the mind]
Vaishnav...

VaN-lobhi ne kapaT-rahit chhe
[Who has no greed and deciet]

Kaam-krodh nivaarya re
[Who has renounced lust of all types and anger]

BhaNe Narsaiyyo tenun darshan karta
[The poet Narsi will like to see such a person]

KuL ekoter taarya re
[By who's virtue, the entire family gets salvation]
Vaishnav...

Narsinh Mehta (Gujarati:નરસિંહ મહેતા)also known as Narsi Mehta or Narsi Bhagat (1414? – 1481?) was a poet-saint of Gujarat, India, notable as a bhakta, an exponent of Hindu devotional religious poetry. He is especially revered in Gujarati literature , where he is acclaimed as its Adi Kavi (Sanskrit for "first among poets"). His bhajan "Vaishnav Jan To Tene Re Kahiye..." is Mahatma Gandhi's favorite and has become synonymous to him.

Definite information about Narsinh Mehta's life is not available. Based on the historical and literary traces it can be said surely that Narsinh was born in Talaja, Bhavnagar District of Saurashtra, in Nagar community. He lost his mother in his child hood(about 1425). Narsinh married Manekbai probably in the year 1428 and soon he lost his uncle who raised him. Narsinh and his wife went to stay at his cousin Bansidhar’s place in Junagadh. However, his cousin's wife (Sister-in-law or bhabhi) did not welcome Narsinh very well. She was an ill-tempered woman, always taunting and insulting Narsinh for his worship (Bhakti). One day, when Narasinh had enough of this taunts and insults, he left the house and went to a nearby forest in search of some peace, where he fasted and meditated for seven days by a secluded Shiva lingam until Shiva appeared before him in person. On the poet’s request, the Lord took him to Vrindavan and showed him the eternal raas leela of Sri Krishna and the gopis, the cowherd girls of Vrindavan. A legend has it that the poet transfixed by the spectacle burnt his hand with the torch he was holding but he was so engrossed in the ecstatic vision that he was oblivious of the pain. Narsinh, as the popular account goes, at Sri Krishna's command decided to sing His praises and the nectarous experience of the rasa in this mortal world. He resolved to compose around 22,000 kirtans or compositions.

After this dream-like experience, transformed Narsinh returned to his village, touched his bhabhi's feet, and thanked her for insulting him. In Junagadh, Narsinh lived in poverty with his wife and two children, a son named Shamaldas, and a daughter for whom he had special affection, Kunwarbai. He revelled in devotion to his hearts’ content along with sadhus, saints, and all those people who were Hari's subjects - Harijans - irrespective of their caste, class or sex. It also seems that he must have fallen into a somewhat ill repute for his close relations with Lord's sakhis and gopis, Narsinh's women followers, with whom he danced and sang. The Nagars of Junagadh despised him and spared no opportunity to scorn and insult him. By this time, Narsinh had already sung about the rasleela of Radha and Krishna. The compositions are collected under the category of shringar compositions. They are full of intense lyricism, bold in their erotic conception and are not without allegorical dimensions, this saves the compositions from being something of erotic court poetry of medieval India.

Soon after his daughter Kunwarbai's marriage (around 1447) to Sringara Mehta's son, Kunwarbai became pregnant and it was a custom for the girl's parents to give gifts and presents to all the in-laws during the seventh month of pregnancy. This custom, known as Mameru, was simply out of the reach of poor Narsinh who had hardly anything except intransigent faith in his Lord. How Krishna helped his beloved devotee is a legend depicted in ‘Mameru Na Pado’. This episode is preserved vividly in the memory of Gujarati people by compositions by later poets and films. Other famous legends include 'Hundi (Bond)' episode and ‘Har Mala (Garland)’ episode. The episode in which none other than Shamalsha Seth (The Dark one as Seth) cleared a bond written by poverty stricken beloved, is famous not only in Gujarat but in other parts of India as well. The Har Mala episode deals with the challenge given to Narsinh by Ra Mandlik (1451–1472) a local king and a vassal of Delhi's Sultan, to prove his innocence in the charges of immoral behavior by making the Lord Himself garland Narsinh. Narsinh depicts this episode. How Sri Krishna, in the guise of a wealthy merchant, helped Narsinh in getting his son married is sung by the poet in ‘Putra Vivah Na Pado’. Mahmud Begada (Mahmud Shah I) 1458-1511, invaded Junagadh in 1467 and soon after many a sporadic Muslim raids, the city was annexed to the Gujarat Sultanate. Perhaps to escape the consequences, he went to Mangrol where, at the age of 66, he is believed to have died. The crematorium at Mangrol is called ‘Narsinh Nu Samshan’ where perhaps one of the greatest sons of Gujarat was cremated. He will ever remembered for his works, faith in God. He is known as the first poet of Gujrati.

Narsinh Mehta is a pioneer poet of Gujarati literature.He is known for his literary forms called " pada (verse) ", " Aakhyan ", & " Prabhatiya ". One of the most important features of Narsinh’s works is that they are not available in the language in which Narsinh had composed them. They have been largely preserved orally. The oldest available manuscript of his work is dated around 1612, and was found by the noted scholar K.K.Shastri from Gujarat Vidhya Sabha. Because of the immense popularity of his works, their language has undergone modifications with changing times.

For the sake of convenience, the works of Narsinh are divided into four categories:

Autobiographical compositions: Putra Vivah, Mameru, Hundi, Har Same No Pado, Jhari Na Pado, and compositions depicting acceptance of Harijans. These works deal with the incidents from the poet’s life and reveal how he encountered the Divine in various guises. They consist of ‘miracles’ showing how Narsaiyya’s Lord helped his devotee in the time of crises.


Miscellaneous Narratives: Chaturis, Sudama Charit, Dana Leela, and episodes based on Srimad Bhagwatam. These are the earliest examples of akhyana or narrative type of compositions found in Gujarati. These include:
Chaturis, 52 compositions resembling Jaydeva’s masterpiece Geeta Govinda dealing with various erotic exploits of Radha and Krishna.

Dana Leela poems dealing with the episodes of Krishna collecting his dues (dana is toll, tax or dues) from gopis who were going to sell buttermilk etc. to Mathura.
Sudama Charit is a narrative describing the well-known story of Krishna and Sudama.
Govinda Gamana or the Departure of Govind relates the episode of Akrura taking away Krishna from Gokul.
Surata Sangrama, The Battle of Love, depicts in terms of a battle the amorous play between Radha and her girl friends on the one side and Krishna and his friends on the other.


Miscellaneous episodes from Bhagwatam like the birth of Krishna, his childhood pranks and adventures.
Songs of Sringar. These are hundreds of padas dealing with the erotic adventures and the amorous exploits of Radha and Krishna like Ras Leela. Various clusters of padas like Rasasahasrapadi and Sringar Mala fall under this head. Their dominant note is erotic (Sringar). They deal with stock erotic situations like the ossified Nayaka-Nayika Bheda of classical Sanskrit Kavya poetics.

Vo Ishq Jo Humsay Rooth Gaya - From Vineeta Sastry

Farida Khanum

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nSiJLl2GXTw
with Urdu lyrics

Farida Khanum has a distinctive style of singing. It is an attractive blend of ghazal gaayaki and tarannum (recitation), reflecting her training in classical music under the tutelage of such illuminaries as Ustad Bade Ghulam Ali Khan and Ustad Ashique Ali Khan.

Lyrics: Athar Nafeez

vo ishq jo ham se ruuTh gayaa ab us kaa haal bataaye.N kyaa

vo ishq jo ham se ruuTh gayaa ab us kaa haal bataaye.N kyaa
ko_ii mehar nahii.n koii qahar nahii.n phir sachchaa sher sunaaye.N kyaa

ik hijr jo ham ko laahak hai taa der use doharaaye.N kyaa
vo zahar jo dil me.n utaar liyaa phir us ke naaz uThaaye.N kyaa

ik aag Gam-e-tanhaa_ii kii jo saare badan me.n phail ga_ii
jab jism hii saaraa jalataa ho phir daaman-e-dil ko bachaaye.N kyaa

ham naGmaasaraa kuchh Gazalo.n ke ham surat gar kuchh Khvaabo.n ke
bejazbaa-e-shauq sunaaye.N kyaa koii Khvaab na ho to bataaye.N kyaa

Farida Khanum, who will be singing in Delhi tomorrow, recalls her early days in India and her wish to record for Rahman
Aaj jaane ki zid na karo, yu hi pehlu mein baithe raho.
When Farida Khanum sang this Fayazz Hashmi nazm in Pakistan in the early 1970s, ghazal lovers of India cocked their ears to their tape recorders as though it was a coded command from the legend herself, and played and replayed the tape until it whirred in agony. People in India and Pakistan enjoyed the song so much that the demand for the cassette soared on both sides of the border. “That ghazal is simple poetry set to the simplest of tunes and it is that effortlessness that touches hearts,” says Khanum, now 74, over a telephone conversation from Lahore. “I am glad people still like it a lot.” She will have Aaj jaane ki... as the showstopper at the ICCR’s Routes2Roots concert in Delhi on Tuesday.

Khanum was born in Calcutta and learnt classical music from the maestro Ustad Ashiq Ali Khan. She still remembers the clip-clop of the tonga in which her sister Mukhtar Begum would take her, a seven-year-old Farida, to Khan’s place for riyaaz.

An exponent of the Patiala gharana, she recalls, “All that I know today is because of my training in Amritsar. I learnt many Hindustani ragas in the style of the Patiala gharana, which is known for its graceful execution of thumris and khayals. I could have been a classical singer if I had not migrated.” Khanum had her first public performance in 1950 and then joined Radio Pakistan where she courted fame and fortune.

“I used to get 50 (Pakistani) rupees per show and that was quite a lot those days,” laughs Khanum. “In Pakistan, the classical singers were so good that I would not have been able to match those extremely talented ustads. I had always been interested in poetry and that is when I thought I should shift to a semi-classical genre, rather than struggle in a difficult field,” she says with disarming modesty.

She became a star when Pakistan’s president Ayub Khan invited her to a public recital in the ’60s. “Bahut pyar mila uske baad humein. I performed a lot in India as well and it became a second home to me,” says Khanum, who especially loves performing in “Ghalib ka shehar Dilli”.

Do the volatile relations between India and Pakistan affect her? “How can we artists turn our faces when India bleeds and just because some forces are busy funding war?” she asks. “We still can’t stop watching Shah Rukh Khan movies.”

This time Khanum plans to meet music director AR Rahman. “I had gone to Chennai the last time I came to India but couldn’t meet him because of our busy schedules. Rahman wanted to record me then. I wish it is possible this time,” says Khanum.

Neeyat-e-Shauq Bhar Na Jaaye Kaheen - From Vineeta Sastry

Noor Jahan


Asha Bhonsle

Lyrics: Nasir Kazmi

Neeyat-E Shauq bhar na jaye kahin
Tu b dil se uthar na jaye kahi

Aaj dekha hai tujh ko dher k baad
Aaj ka din guzar na jaye kahi

Na mila kar udhas laugo se!
Husan tera bikar na jaye kahi

Aarzo hai ke tu yahaan aaye
Aur phir umer bhar na jaye kahi

Jee jalata hoo aur sochta hoon
Raigaa ye hunar na jaye kahi

Aao kuch dher ro he lay Nasir
Pir ye darya uthar na jaye kahi...n

Nasir Kazmi
Nasir Raza Kazmi is one of the greatest poets of this era, especially in the use of "istha'aaray" (metaphors) and "chhoTii behr" (small meter). He was born On Dec. 8, 1925 at Ambala. He did some journalistic work with "Auraq-e-Nau" and became chief editor of the magazine "Humayun" in 1952-53. Later he was associated with Radio Pakistan, Lahore and other literary publications and organisations. Nasi Kazmi was a great admirer of Meer Taqi Meer and probably the melancholy and "Ehsaas-e-Mehroomi" in his poetry was a direct result of that. His tutor in poetry was Hafeez Hoshiarpuri, who himself used a lot of symbols from nature in his poems.

His rich body of work includes Barg-e-Nae (1952), Deewaan (1972), Pehli Baarish (1975), Nishat-e-Khwab (Collection of nazms, 1977), Sur Ki Chhaya (Drama, 1981), Khushk Chashme ke Kinare (Prose, 1982). The last four tragically were published after his death in Lahore on March 2, 1972 due to tuberculosis. Few people know that he did some great translations of English poets, especially his translation of Walt Whitman's "Crossing Brooklyn Ferry " as "Brooklyn Ghaat Ke Paar" is a real masterpiece and worth reading.

Compiled by Akber Zaidi for Aligarians.com

Ghazals & Nazms Of Nasir Kazmi:

be minnat-e-Khizr-e-raah rahnaa
dil meN ek lehar sii uThii hai abhii
dukh kii lehar ne chheRaa hogaa
fikr-e-taameer-e-aashiaN bhi hai
jab raat gaye tiri yaad aayii, sau tareh se jii ko behlaaya
jurm-e-inkaar kii sazaa hii de
karta use beqarar kuch der
kaun is raah se guzartaa hai
kise dekhein kahaaN dekha na jaye
ko'ii jiye yaa ko'ii mare
naaz-e-be-gaangii meN kyaa kuch thaa
O ! mere masruuf Khudaa
rang barsaat ne bhare kuch to
tanhaa ishq ke khwaab na bun
tere aane kaa dhokaa saa rahaa hai
terii zulfoN ke bikharne kaa sabab hai ko'ii
yaas meN jab kabhii aaNsuu niklaa

LITERARY NOTES: Remembering Nasir Kazmi
By Intizar Husain

Pakistan Academy of Letters’ latest publication is a volume on Nasir Kazmi compiled by his son, Basir Kazmi. We were introduced to this volume in an inaugural function organised by the Academy in its auditorium. The function was attended by the poet’s friends, admirers, and readers of poetry in general. Among those who spoke on the occasion were Basir Kazmi, Kishwar Naheed, Iftikhar Arif, and myself.

Basir Sultan Kazmi had himself achieved much in the field of writing. On the basis of his own achievements, both as a poet and a prose writer, he well deserved to be entrusted with the job of compiling a suitable volume about Nasir Kazmi.

Nasir Kazmi was among those few poets whose personalities are so involved with their poetry that it is hard to separate one from the other. His was a life creatively lived.

Nasir Kazmi was among those few poets whose personalities are so involved with their poetry that it is hard to separate one from the other. His was a life creatively lived. I am saying this with particular reference to his early period, which may be determined as beginning with the late years of the 1940s and ending with the decade of ’50s. I recall his nightlong wanderings when his creativity was at its height. In these years he did not simply write poetry. He lived it. His first collection is a faithful record of his life as he lived it at that time.

His next collection speaks of the next phase in his life. He was by then a married man and those close to him were trying hard to convince him that poetry is not enough in life, and that poets too, howsoever devoted to their creative experience, stand in need to make certain compromises with the realities of life in order to keep body and soul together.

He did make compromises to the extent that he cared to carry on with the jobs arranged for him by his well-wishers. In consequence we see a balance emerging between Nasir the family man and Nasir the poet.

This balance in turn led to a maturity of mind which helped him to discipline his poetic talent. Keeping away from ghazal for a time, he decided to write a play in verse. The play, Sur ki Chaya is an achievement apart from his poetry.

Soon after writing the play he made a bold experiment in the domain of ghazal. The ghazals collected under the title Pehli Barish bring before us a continuity hitherto unknown to the form of ghazal. These ghazals taken together may be seen as an attempt to recapture a whole experience. They take the form of a sad remembrance of a sweet relationship, which is now a thing of the past.

This was the last phase of Nasir’s creative journey, wherein he appears to have come far away from the stages we see in Berg-i-nai and Diwan. But unfortunately, most of his admirers and critics give the impression that they have stopped short at the ghazals of Diwan.

Lo Phir Basant Aayee - Malika Pukhraj/Tahira Syed - Mujtaba

लो फिर बसन्त आई
फूलों पे रंग लाई
चलो बे दरंग
लबे आबे गंग
बजे जलतरंग
मन पर उमंग छाई
लो फिर बसन्त आई
आफत गई खिज़ां की
किस्मत फिरी जहाँ की
चले मै गुसार
सूये लाला जार
मै पर्दादार
शीशे के दर से झाँकी
आफत गई खिज़ां की
खैतों हर चरिंदा
बागों क हर परिंदा
कोइ गर्म खेज़
कोइ नगमा रेज़
सुब को और तेज़
फिर हो गया है ज़िन्दा
बागों का हर परिंदा
खैतों का हर चरिंदा
धर्ति के बेल बूटे
अन्दाज़े नौ से फूटे
हुआ बख्त सब्ज़
हुआ रख्त सब्ज़
हैं दरख्त सब्ज़
बन बन के सब्ज़ निक्ले
धर्ति के बेल बूटे
अन्दाज़े नौ से फूटे
है इश्क भी जुनूं भी
मस्ती भी जोशे खूँ भी
कहीं दिल में दर्द
कहीं आह सर्द
कहीं रंग ज़र्द
है यूँ भी और यूँ भी
मस्ती भी जोशे खूँ भी
फूली हुई है सर्सों
भूली हुई है सर्सों
नहीं कुछ भी याद
यूँ ही बामुराद
यूँ ही शाद शाद
गोया रहे कि बरसों
फूली हुई है सर्सों
इक नाज़्नीं ने पहने
फूलों के ज़र्द गहने
है मगर उदास
नही पी के पास
घमो रंजो यास
दिल को पडे हैं सहने
इक नाज़्नीं ने पेहने ...
लो फिर बसन्त आई

Lo phir basant ayi,
phoolon pe rang layi
chalo be darang
lab-e-aab-e-gang
baje jal tarang
man par umang chayi

afat gayee khizan ki,
kismat phiri jahan ki
chal mai-guzaar
sooe Laalazar
mai-e-parda dar
sheeshe ke dar se jhanki
afat gayee khizaan ki
qismat khili jahan ki

kheton ka har charinda,
baghon ka har parinda
koi garm khez
koi naghma rez
subh ko aur tez
phir ho gaya hai zinda
baghon ka har parinda
khaiton ka har charinda

dharti ke bel boote,
andaze nau se phute
hua bakht sabz
mila rakht sabz
hai darakht sabz
ban ban ke sabz nikle
dharti ke bel bootay
andaze nau se phootay

hai ishq bhi junoon bhi,
masti bhi josh e khoon bhi
kahin dil main dard
kahin aah sard
kahin rang zard
hai yun bhi aur yun bhi
masti bhi josh-e-khoon bhi
hai ishq bhi junoon bhi

phooli huee hai sarson
bhooli huee hai sarson
nahin kuch bhi yaad
yunhe ba murad
yunhee shaad shaad g
oya rahe gee barson
phooli hue hai sarson

ek naznin ne pehne
phoolon ke zard gehne
hai magar udas
nahin pi ke paas
gham-o-ranj-o-yaas
dil ko pare hain sehne
ek naznin ne pehne
phoolon ke zard gehne
lo phir basant ayi, lo phir basant ayi



لو پھر بسنت آئی
پھولوں میں رنگ لائی
چلو بے درنگ
لب آب گنگ
بجے جل ترنگ
من پر امنگ چھائی
لو پھر بسنت آئی
آفت گئی خزاں کی
قسمت پھری جہاں کی
چلے مے گسار
سوے لالہ زار
معے پردہ دار
شیشے کے در سے جھانکی
آفت گئی خزاں کی
کھیتوں کا ہر چرندہ
باغوں کا ہر پرندہ
کوئی گرم خیز
کوئی نغمہ ریز
صب کو اور تیز
پھر ہوگیا ہے زندہ
باغوں کا ہر پرندہ
کھیتوں کا ہر چرندہ
دھرتی کے بیل بوٹے
انداز نو سے پھوٹے
ہوا بخت سبز
ملا رخت سبز
ہیں درخت سبز
بن بن کے سبز نکلے
دھرتی کے بیل بوٹے
ہے عشق بھی جنوں بھی
مستی بھی جوش خوں بھی
کہیں دل میں درد
کہیں آہ سرد
کہیں رنگ زرد
ہے یوں بھی اور یوں بھی
پھولی ہوئی ہے سرسوں
بھولی ہوئی ہے سرسوں
نہیں کچھ بھی یاد
یوں ہی با مراد
یوں ہی شاد شاد
گویا رہے کی برسوں
پھولی ہوئی ہے سرسوں
اک نازنیں نے پہنے
پھولوں کے زرد گھنے
ہے مگر اداس
نہیں پی کے پاس
غم و رنج و یاس
دل کو پڑے ہیں سہنے
اک نازنیں نے پہنے ...
لو پھر بسبت آئی


Malika Pukhraj (Urdu: ملكہ پکھراج ) (b1912 - 2004) was a highly popular singer of Pakistan. She was generally called as "Malika" meaning "The Queen." She is extremely popular for her rendition of Hafeez Jalandhri's song, Abhi to main jawan hoon ("I am still youthful"), which is enjoyed by millions not only in Pakistan, but also in India. Her popular numbers were,Lo phir basant aaya and Quli Qutub's Piya baaj piyale piya jaye na and Faiz Ahmed Faiz's Mere qatil mere dildar mere paas raho.

Malika Pukhraj, was born in village Mirpur, on the banks of the River Akhnoor, 16 miles from Jammu, and as she grew up her mother moved to Kanak Mandi area of Jammu, in present Jammu and Kashmir, where she spent early years of her life, she was given the name "Malika" at birth, by 'Majzoob', 'Baba Roti Ram, a spiritualist, in Akhnoor area and named Pukhraj by her Aunt.

Malika Pukhraj who was coached by Ustad Allah Buksh, father of Bade Ghulam Ali Khan. At age nine, At nine she visited Jammu and performed at coronation ceremony of Maharaja Hari Singh, who got so impressed by her voice that she appointed a court singer in his Durbar, and stayed there for another nine years.

Over the next 8 decades she captivated her audience with her command over the singing genres of Thumri, Ghazal, Bhajan and folk Pahari Geet, including Dogri folk songs. She was among the greatest singers of British India in the 1940s, and after Partition of India in 1947, she migrated to Lahore, Pakistan, where she received further fame, through her radio performances with composer, Kale Khan.

In 1980, she received the Presidential Pride of Performance Award, Pakistan. In 1977, when All India Radio, for which she sang until Partition, was celebrating its Golden Jubilee, she was invited to India, and awarded with the 'legend of Voice' award Malika Pukhraj also recorded her memoirs in the novel Song Sung True.

Malika Pukhraj, died in Lahore on February 4, 2004. Her funeral procession started from her residence West Canal bank, and she laid to rest at her ancestral 'Shah Jamal' graveyard in Lahore

Malika Pukhraj was married to Syed Shabbir Hussain Shah, a Government Officer and had 6 children, including Safiea, her eldest daughter; Tahira Syed, one of Malika Pukhraj’s two daughters, emerged as a well-known singer in her own right. Her other daughter, Tasneem, is married to famous lawyer and senator S.M. Zafar. Her eldest son Tauqeer lives in Model Town, Lahore, and his wife Shahnaaz, her other son is, Maj. (R) Syed Tanveer Hussain.