Tuesday, July 27, 2004

Ghazal

Hello world !
Well month end blues !!!
No money no fun !!!
How ironic !!! Thats life !!!

What is a Ghazal ?

Classical Definition of Ghazal
Briefly stated Ghazal is a collection of Sher's which follow the rules of 'Matla', 'Maqta', 'Beher', 'Kaafiyaa' and 'Radif'. So to know what Ghazal is, it's necessary to know what these terms mean.
To understand these terms easily , we will take an example.
1. koi ummid bar nahin aatikoi surat nazar nahin aati.
2. aage aati thi haale dil par hasiab kisi baat par nahin aati
3. hum wahan hain, jahan se humko bhikucch hamaari khabar nahin aati
4. kaabaa kis muh se jaaoge 'Ghalib'sharm tumko magar nahin aati
What is a Sher ?It's a poem of two lines. This definition is deceptively simple. Please note that, every Sher is a poem in itself ! A Sher does not need, anything around it, to convey the message. All the 4 stanzas in our example are independent poems, Sher's.
So Ghazal is necessarily a collection of two-line-poems called Sher. [ So the Rafi solo "rang aur noor ki baaraat kise pesh karu" is NOT a Ghazal, as every stanza is of 3 lines, and not 2. ]
What are other restrictions ? Many, and important ones.[ Any collection of Sher's is not Ghazal. Some good examples are ; the famous Mukesh song from Yehoodi, "yeh mera deewaanaapan hai" ; and the title song of "dil apana aur preet parayi". Each stanza in these songs can be considered as an independent Sher, but they are NOT Ghazal's. To understand, why, we have to wait till 'Kaafiyaa, 'Radif'. ]
What is 'Beher' ?'Beher' is the 'meter' of the Sher's. It can be considered as the length of the Sher. Both the lines in the Sher *MUST* be of same 'Beher'. And all the Sher's in one Ghazal *MUST* be of the same 'Beher'. There are 19 (!!) kinds of 'Beher'. But in simple terms, 'Beher' is categorized in 3 classes. Short, medium, long.
Small :ahale dairo-haram reh gayetere deewane kam reh gaye[ Also Talat song, "dil-e-nadan tuze hua kya hai" ]
Medium :umr jalwo me basar ho, ye zaruri to nahinhar shab-e-gam ki seher ho, ye zaruri to nahin[ And by Gulzar, "ruke ruke se kadam, ruk ke baar baar chale" ]
Long :ai mere humnashin, chal kahin aur chal, is chaman me ab apanaa guzaaraa nahinbaat hoti gulon ki, to seh lete hum, ab to kaaton pe bhi haq hamaaraa nahin[ The filmfare winner, "Manzile apani jagah hai" !! Yes ! It IS a Ghazal. And the Shayar is Prakash Mehra !! surprise , surprise !! ]
So Ghazal is a collection of Sher's of SAME 'Beher'.
What is 'Radif' ?In a Ghazal, second line of all the Sher's MUST end with the SAME word/s. This repeating common words is the Radif' of the Ghazal. In our example, the 'Radif' is "nahin aati". [ Sometimes, the Ghazal becomes known by its 'Radif'. eg. "jaraa aahista chal" sung by Pankaj Udhas. On RMIM we all know one Ghazal by the 'Radif' as "aahista aahista", don't we ? or is it 2 or 3 ? :-)
What is 'Kaafiyaa' ?'Kaafiyaa' is the rhyming pattern which all the words before 'Radif' MUST have. In our example the 'Kaafiyaa' is "bar", "nazar", "par", "magar" etc. This is a necessary requirement. Something which is followed even in the exceptions to all these rules.
So Ghazal is a collection of Sher's of same 'Beher', ending in same 'Radif' and having same 'Kaafiyaa'. [ That's the reason, why "yeh mera diwanapan hai" etc. are NOT Ghazals. There is no common thing which can be called 'Kaafiyaa' and 'Radif'. ]
What is 'Matla' ?The first Sher in the Ghazal *MUST* have 'Radif' in its both lines. This Sher is called 'Matla' of the Ghazal and the Ghazal is usually known after its 'Matla'. There can be more than one 'Matla' in a Ghazal. In such a case the second one is called 'Matla-e-saani' or 'Husn-e-matla'. In our example, the first Sher is the 'Matla'.
What is 'Maqta' ?A Shayar usually has an alias ie. 'takhallus' eg. Mirza Asadullakhan used 'Ghalib' as his 'takhallus' and is known by that. Other examples are 'Daag' Dehlvi, 'Mir' Taqi Mir, Said 'Rahi', Ahmed 'Faraz' etc. There is a Sher in a Ghazal, the last one, which has the Shayar's 'takhallus' in it. [ A Shayar, can use the 'Maqta' very intelligently. He can "talk to himself" like one in our example. I have lots of favourite Sher's which are 'Maqta' of some Ghazal. Some gems are
koi nam-o-nishan puchhe to ai kaasid bataa denaa,takhallus 'Daag' hai, aur aahiqon ke dil me rehte hai
and
jab bhi milte hain, to kehte hain, "kaise ho 'Shakil'",iske aage to koi baat nahin hoti hai
The first one uses the meaning of the 'takhallus' to create the magic, and the second one is just simple, simply beautiful. ]
To summarize, Ghazal is a collection of Sher's (independent two-line poems), in which there is atleast one 'Matla', one 'Maqta' and all the Sher's are of same 'Beher' and have the same 'Kaafiyaa' and 'Radif'.

Source - www.ebazm.com

Have a nice day !!! Cheers !!!

Tuesday, July 20, 2004

khushi

"Humein koi haq nahin pahunchta ke hum apni khushi ke liye apne maa-baap ke armanon ka gala ghont de."
 
Well just read this dialogue in somebodys blog- its from d film Silsila.
Pretty interesting. Toh aap kya karenge. hmmmm

What can one do ...
But zindagi mein kuch aise mukam aate hai jab aap ko compromise toh karna he padta hai.
Should U compromise ur khushi ...or ur parents armaan...
Tough call ...me thinking....
Although im not in this predicament...
But what I would do is my khushi is my parents khushi and vice versa...
So dont compromise on both....
Have d right mix so both parties R happy...
Confusing ....aha...
Anyways----
"The road to success is not straight. There is a curve called Failure, a loop called Confusion, speed bumps called Friends, red lights called Enemies, caution lights called Family. You will have flats called Jobs. But, if you have a spare called Determination, an engine called Perseverance, insurance called Faith, you will make it to a place called Success."
 
Have fun ! Keep smiling ! Cheers
 
 
 
 

Monday, July 05, 2004

SSS !!!

Hello people !!!
Had a hectic weekend...
It was a SSS...thats Super Sporting Sunday ....
F1 race - French grand prix - Schumacher again wins for 9th time.
Wimbeldon - Roger Federer beats Andy Roddick.
EURO 2004 - Greece surprise everybody and beat Portugal 1-0.

Watched football on Bangalore East ground. This tournament is amazing - coz U have to play barefoot;its been conducted since Independence. Every Sunday there are matches and d finals is scheduled for 15th August. Reminds me of how I used to play barefoot when I was a kid. Although I had football shoes, I was more comfortable playing barefoot coz I could control the ball more nicely and shoot well too. But it takes a toll on your heels. Until my 10th standard I played barefoot, but later when I started playing for my club I had to wear shoes - could not have my feet all crushed by the opponents all d time. But it was fun playing barefoot football... Am tempted to go and play football in d mornings...but my routine has become so erratic...end up sleeping not b4 2 am everyday... cant open my eyes in d morning b4 9 am....someday gotta change this lifestyle...
So long ... bye .... Ciao .... Have fun ... Cheers !!!!!!!!!!!!!

Another Iron Maiden song --->


BE QUICK OR BE DEAD
---------------------

Covered in sinners and dripping
With gilt
Making you money from slime
And from filth
Parading your bellies in ivory towers
Investing our lives in your schemes
And your powers

You got to watch them - be quick
Or be dead
Snake eyes in heaven - the thief
In your head
You’ve got to watch them - be quick
Or be dead
Snake eyes in heaven - the thief
In your head...
Be quick!
Or be dead!
Be quick!
Or be dead

See... what’s ruling all our lives
See... who’s pulling the strings...
I bet you won’t fall on your face...
Your belly will hold you in place

The serpent is crawling inside of
Your ear
He says you must vote for what you
Want to hear
Don’t matter what’s wrong as long as you’re
Alright
So pull yourself stupid and rob
Yourself blind

Thursday, July 01, 2004

HEARTBREAK STATION

Hello world !!!
What goes up finally comes down ! Law of gravity ! How true !
Seen lotsa high-flying people forgetting D basics of life !
Like where they came from ! What R their roots !
Just blindly imitating and imbibing things which are quite alien to them.
Pretty absurd thoughts is'nt it ?
That reminds me of a lovely song from d movie 'Bazaar' sung by Bhupinder->

Karoge yaad toh har baat yaad aayegi.
Guzarte waqt ki - har mauj taher jaayegi.

Yeh chand beete zamaano ka aaena hoga.
Bhatakte kabhar mein koi chhera bana hoga.
Udhas raha koyi dastaan sunayegi.