Tags
amrapali, ashok kumar, chitralekha, desire, hindi songs, lata mangeshkar, meena kumari, religion, roshan, sahir ludhianvi, shailendra, shankar jaikishen, sunil dutt, vyjayanthimala
I am a “devout” atheist, and a firm “non-believer”. I, naturally, then do not take to the ‘sadhus’ or the ‘babas’ or the monks or the priests or the imams or the rabbis. I have a special place of ‘this is such a load of garbage’ reserved for their preaching on morality. So when I first listened (and I mean, really LISTENED) to this song from Chitralekha, I instantly identified with every word that comes out of Lata’s mouth woven to Roshan’s composition. (trivia alert – he is super star Hrithik Roshan’s grandfather!)
Sahir Ludhianvi’s words are scathing and relentlessly expose the duplicitousness of religion and religiosity. Let the poetry sit with you for a while, and the words will reveal themselves to the unabashed and unapologetic merits of living a life of pleasure and desire. The song situation is about a courtesan (Meena Kumari) singing about her way of life to a religious monk (Ashok Kumar) in her own harem. The way Meena Kumari shoots bullets with her eyes at the monk, the way her physicality channels the poetry with such economy of movement – a raised finger, a lean in her posture, a turn of her neck – further impresses the essence of the words. Honestly, the word “Epic!” is used quite flippantly for ordinary things/people/artworks/experiences, but for this song – “Epic” is an apt adjective. Mind you, this song and the movie came out in 1964 – over 60 years ago! The symbiosis of the poetry, the singing, the composition, the on screen performance gives me literal goosebumps during the last line of all three ‘antaras’.
In the first antara, Sahir rejects the concepts of sin and virtue :
ये पाप है क्या ये पूण्य है क्या
रितो पर धर्म की मोहरे है
हर युग में बदलते धर्मो को
कैसे आदर्श बनाओगे …..संसार से भागे फिरते हो
Without fussing about, he directly challenges how adapting religious scriptures to suit ones ideas of morality, about sins and virtues – how can these be the guiding principles to lead a “just” life?
In the second, he takes a direct jab at the edict of leading a life bereft of worldly desires (love, lust, desire) as some sort of a higher state of being.
ये भोग भी एक तपस्या है
तुम त्याग के मारे क्या जानो
अपमान रचेता का होगा
रचना को अगर ठुकराओगे……संसार से भागे फिरते हो
He literally challenges the believers that if you are rejecting the creations of the creator, aren’t you insulting the creator you so believe in? This is how you slap someone with mere poetry. Bravo!
And in the last antara, he takes it to a resounding climax by making a statement that your philosophy that this world is a “maya” (an illusion/a false dream), you would have literally wasted your life while me, who has accepted the worldly creations and the feelings that come with it, I would have “lived” my life!
हम कहते है ये जग अपना है
तुम कहते हो झूठा सपना है
हम जनम बिता कर जायेगे
तुम जनम गँवा कर जाओगे
संसार से भागे फिरते हो
I was hardpressed to find another song in mainstream Hindi cinema that challenges religion and religious thinking head-on. But then, I found another song with very similar sentiments in a movie called “Amrapali”, that came out just two years after Chitralekha, in 1966. Here too, a courtesan (played by Vyjayantimala) singing about a life of love and desire as against that of sacrifice and chastity. Sung by Lata Mangeshkar (who else?), composed by Shankar-Jaikishen and written by another progressive poet – Shailendra. I couldn’t find the video of the song on the internet, but you can listen to it here:
Here too, the words are directly celebrating a life of indulging with the matters of heart and body and denouncing the philosophy of tyaag and virtuosity. I especially love these lines:
प्रेम की पीडा सच्चा सुख है
प्रेम बिना ये जीवन दुःख है
He says, the pain that comes with love and loving is the real pleasure and a life devoid of love is miserable. What a bloody beautiful thought this is? Love gives pleasure, sure, but it also comes with the pain of heartbreak/separation/death. Unrequited love has its own long journey of intense pain. And yet, just to love and be loved despite all the agony that it brings, is true bliss.
जाओ रे जोगी तुम जाओ रे
जाओ रे जोगी तुम जाओ रे
ये है प्रेमिओं की नगरी, यहाँ प्रेम ही है पूजा
जाओ रे जोगी तुम जाओ रे
प्रेम की पीडा सच्चा सुख है
प्रेम बिना ये जीवन दुःख है
प्रेम की पीडा सच्चा सुख है
प्रेम बिना ये जीवन दुःख है
जाओ रे जोगी तुम जाओ रे
ये है प्रेमिओं की नगरी, यहाँ प्रेम ही है पूजा
जाओ रे जोगी तुम जाओ रे
जीवन से कैसा छुटकारा
है नदिया के साथ किनारा
जीवन से कैसा छुटकारा
है नदिया के साथ किनारा
जाओ रे जोगी तुम जाओ रे
ये है प्रेमिओं की नगरी, यहाँ प्रेम ही है पूजा
जाओ रे जोगी तुम जाओ रे
ज्ञान की कैसी सीमा ज्ञानी
गागर में सागर का पानी
ज्ञान की कैसी सीमा ज्ञानी
गागर में सागर का पानी
जाओ रे जोगी तुम जाओ रे
ये है प्रेमिओं की नगरी, यहाँ प्रेम ही है पूजा
जाओ रे जोगी तुम जाओ रे
जाओ रे जोगी तुम जाओ रे
The composition is overtly confrontational in its pitch as compared to the dulcet (yet punchy) composition of the song from Chitralekha. Lata sings the high notes with élan (this is like saying the Sun is hot), and does many gymnastic maneuvers with her voice. She manages the different tonalities of the two songs with nuance and yet delivers a punch, which only a singer of her caliber could. Shailendra was one of the only known dalit poets in mainstream Hindi cinema. Him and Sahir were contemporaries and have written incredible songs covering a gamut of emotions, situations and philosophies. Both were known for their progressive views and these two songs exhibit their views on organized religion and its controlling nature through the hypocritical preaching of how to lead a virtuous life. Hindi film songs are more or less regarded as easy listening and not to be taken too seriously, especially when it comes to poetry. That respect for poetry is reserved usually for classical poets and their works. But I urge you to go ahead and look up Sahir and Shailendra’s works and I guarantee you, the treasure that you will stumble upon will enrich your life. For comparison, Sahir wrote the immensely popular “Abhi na jao chodkar” and Shailendra wrote the iconic “Mera joota hai japani”. Compare these two outwardly frothy songs to the ones above. You get my drift!
If you know of any other songs that are on the theme of challenging religion and morality, do send them my way!