The Word Maze and The Champion...

They say words have a world of their own. Indeed, they have. They can express an entire gamut of emotions, just a single word can express one of the most complicated human emotions . Agreed, not everything can expressed through words. But there's catch, Is it not "everything" or "everyone"?
I ll go with "Everyone" and not everything. Because there is someone whom I consider to be the God of words! It is none other than Gulzar. His poetry contains imagery which is extremely difficult to imagine. In this post i would like to present some of his poetry which is my favorite. it is very difficult to say which ones I like because i find each of them unique in some way or the other. But I ll pick best among best(There's nothing in comparative degree for Gulzar, it is always superlative)


Maine tere liye hi(Anand)

Maine tere liye hi saat rang ke sapne chune, sapne surile sapne,
Kuch haste, kuch gam ke, teri aankhon ke saaye churaaye rasili yaadon ne

These lines say it all. A dying friend sings this song for his friend. This song shows love for a friend, respect for his dreams, his memories everything. Awesome song.

Yeh saaye hai, yeh duniya hai(Sitara)

yahaan koi saahil sahara nahi hai, kahi doobne ko kinaara nahi hai,
yahaan saari raunak hai ruswaaiyon ki

Loneliness to the peak. Thats what comes to my mind whenever I listen to this song.

Mera kuch saaman(Ijaazat)

Patjhad mein kuch patton ki, girne ki aahat, kaano mein ek baar pehen ke laut aayi thi
patjhad ki woh shaakh abhi tak kaamp rahi hai, woh shaakh gira do, mera woh saaman lauta do

Frankly speaking, it is very difficult to understand what exactly Gulzar Saab exactly tries to say through his lines, but each time you listen to this song, it gives you a feeling of separation. A separation which is going to stay like that forever.

Tere bina jiya jaaye na(Ghar)

Tere bina jiya jaaye na, Tere bina jiya jaaye na
bin tere, tere bin saajna, saans mein saans aaye na

There is some strange charm in Gulzar Saab's romantic numbers. The words he uses can be ordinary but they have an extremely pleasing effect on the ears. The way he juxtaposes the words or the simliarities that he draws are all very unique to his style of writing. Be it this song or "Jiya lage na", "O saathi re", Chup chup ke...they have a beautiful touch to it. The romanticism that his songs induce can hardly be felt in songs that claim to romantic nowadays.

Aane wala pal(Golmaal)

Aane wala pal jaane wala hai
Ho sake to isme zinadgi beeta do, pal jo yeh jaane waala hai

It reminds you to live life to the fullest. It lets you know the evanescence of time. Enjoy the life to the fullest because it is short lived.

Aankhon mein jal raha hai(Marasim)

Aankhon se aansuon ke marasim puraane hai,
Mehmaan yeh ghar mein aaye tho, chubhta nahi dhuan

The Jagjit Singh-Gulzar duo is a magical combination. If someone does entire justice to Gulzar's poetry, it is Jagjit Singh! Their songs take you into a different world. Close your eyes and you ll go into a trance. You experience magic, elation and lightness. This song is one my favorites. Such a mundane emotion "crying" has been depicted in such a beautiful way. The relation between eyes and tears has been described as an old one, that's why eyes don't mind tears coming over and again. Hats off! An absolute genius.

Woh khat ke purze (Marasim)

Woh khat ke purze uda raha tha, hawaaon ka rukh dikha raha tha,
Woh ek din ek ajnabi ko, meri kahaani suna raha tha,
Usi ka imaan badal gaya hai, kabhi jo mera khuda raha tha

Fabulousness. This is the noun that aptly describes this ghazal. With a matched rendition by Jagjit Singh, this is true master piece. This song explains the most crucial factor in everyone's lives -Time. Time, which waits for none, once time ticks away there's no way of getting it back. People change with time. Same situations are experienced by different people with time. All these aspects of time have been covered in this songs.

Zindagi kya hai(Koi Baat Chale)

Aao hum sab pehenle aainey,
saare dekhenge apna hi chehraa,
Sab ko saare hasi lagenge yahaan.

Hai nahi jo dikhaayi deta hai,
Aaine par chapa hua chehraa,
Tarjuba aaine ka theak nahi.

These special type of three liners, called Trivenis, are an exclusive Gulzar's creation. Extremely difficult to write as lesser number of lines have to cover an entire idea. An what a beauty he has created. These two stanzas in this ghazal are my favorite.
The first tells us about the stark reality, No matter who you are or what you are, you always like yourself. You always like to look into the mirror and adorn yourself. Such a subtle thought!
The second verse tell us that no matter how you are from inside, the mirror always shows how you look from the outside. It takes no pains to know what you are from inside, thus, calling the mirror inexperienced.





Will add more to this. Keep watching