aur bhi dukh hain zamaane mein muhabbat ke siwaa: Sahir inspired TWICE?

In a previous post Asad saahib discussed how Majrooh Sultanpuri took a line from this very famous nazm by Faiz Ahmed 'Faiz' and wove another wonderful poem around it. The line was:

teri aaNkhoN ke siwaa duniyaa meN rakkhaa kyaa hai

The original Faiz nazm is a striking critique of people who lose themselves in the dreamy world of love and ignore the many real issues that plague the real world. Here's how Faiz puts this:

anginat sadiyoN ke taareek baheemaana tilism
resham-o-atlas-o-kimKhwaab meN bunvaaye hue

jaa ba jaa bikte hue koocha-o-baazaar meN jism
Khaak meN lithRe hue, Khoon meN nahlaaye hue

jism nikle hue amraaz ke tannooroN se
peep behti hui galte hue naasooroN se

lauT jaati hai udhar ko bhi nazar kyaa keeje
ab bhi dilkash hai teraa husn, magar kyaa keeje

aur bhi dukh haiN zamaane meN muhabbat ke siwaa!
raahateN aur bhi haiN wasl ki raahat ke siwaa

The Faiz nazm dates, I think, to sometime in the late 1930s to early 1940s. The inimitable Madam Noorjehan had sung this nazm, set to tune by the peerless Pakistani composer Rashid Attre, for the film Qaidi (1962). The song has become a timeless classic. Let us take a few minutes, oh, I don't know, maybe 3 and a quarter minutes(?), to listen to this beauty:

Noorjehan's rendition is excellent, indeed, but take a look at this recitation of Faiz's poem by none other than the Grande Olde Dame of Hindi filmdom, Zohra Sehgal. She is 99 years old(!) in this video when she recited this. Just look at her memory -- the ability to recall the words! Look at that power of recitation! The poem literally comes to life:

In 1959, a song written by Sahir Ludhianvi for the film Didi was composed by Sudha Malhotra (who, at the time, the rumor goes, was hopelessly in love with Sahir) and recorded in the voices of Sudha herself and Mukesh. The lyrics of the last stanza of the song bear an uncanny resemblance to Faiz's nazm, begging the question, "was there a flow of inspiration from Faiz to Sahir?" See for yourself, the words of the stanza sung by Mukesh in the film:

zindagi sirf muhabbat naheeN, kuchh aur bhi hai
zulf-o-ruKhsaar ki jannat naheeN, kuchh aur bhi hai
bhook aur pyaas ki maari hui is duniyaa meN
ishq hi ek haqeeqat naheeN, kuchh aur bhi hai

tum agar aaNkh churaao to yeh haq hai tumko
maiNne tumse hi naheeN, sabse muhabbat ki hai

Compare Sahir's lines "zindagi sirf muhabbat naheeN, kuchh aur bhi hai" and "ishq hi ek haqeeqat naheeN, kuchh aur bhi hai" with Faiz's "aur bhi dukh haiN zamaane meN muhabbat ke siwaa" and you'll catch my drift.

The song itself can be heard here. What an exquisite beauty!

But that's not what we're here to discuss today. What we're here to discuss is the fact that the "aur bhi dukh haiN zamaane meN muhabbat ke siwaa" concept seems to have grabbed Sahir quite strongly. So strongly, in fact, that he used the same idea again a few years later in another film song. This time too, the song was a duet, this one composed by Laxmikant-Pyarelal, for the film Izzat (1968), and sung by Rafi and Lata. The words in question appear in the stanza sung by Rafi, and the inspiration from Faiz's poem is quite unmistakably stark. He sings:

muhabbat kar to leN lekin muhabbat raas aaye bhi
diloN ko bojh lagte haiN kabhi zulfoN ke saaye bhi
hazaaroN Gham haiN is duniyaa meN, apne bhi paraaye bhi
muhabbat hi kaa Gham tanhaa naheeN, ham kyaa kareiN

Don't you agree that the inspiration is very obvious? Please do leave us a comment!

mujhako yaaro maaf karnaa maiN nashe meN huuN

In Main Nashe Mein Hoon (1959) Shailendra borrowed

yaaro mujhe mu'aaf rakho maiN nashe meN huun


From Meer Taqi Meer's famous GHazal, mujhko yaaro mu'aaf rakho maiN nashe meN hooN, ab do to jaam KHaalee hee do, maiN nashe meN hooN'

Four years earlier Sahir Ludhiyanvi had used the line maiN nashe meN huuN as part of the antara in the song "ab vo karam kareN ki sitam" from the film "Marine Drive" (1955)

merii ghaaghrii me.n/mere lahe.nge me.n ghu.nghruu/mere pairo.n me.n ghu,nghruu

merii ghaaghrii me.n ghu.nghru lawaa de written by Prem Dhawan for Sawan (1959)


A year later ghaaghrii becomes lahe.nga and lawa becomes lagaa in the mukhRaa
mere lahe.nge me.n ghu.Ngharuu lagaa de From Basant (1960) written by Qamar Jalalabadi


The last one became the most popular of the three, in Sangharsh (1968) the hero is singing the song, so instead of the lahengaa, the ghu.nghruus are on the feet.Shakeel Badayuni wrote the song.

mere pairo.n me.n ghu.Ngharuu ba.nDhaa de to phir

ham aur tum aur ye samaaN

So, what are the chances that the beginning of a song sung by the same singer and picturised on the same actor would be the same?

In 1959 Usha Khanna debuted as an Music Director for Dil Deke Dekho. The shooting was nearly complete when Shammi Kapoor heard Usha humming a tune. He liked it so much that asked it to be included in the film. The result was "ham aur tum aur ye samaa.n kyaa nashaa nashaa sa hai" by Majrooh.




The next year Shankar Jaikishen looked beyond Shailendra and Hasrat Jaipuri for the first time and got Rajinder Krishen to write for College Girl. Perhaps Rajinder Krishen too liked the 1959 song as much as Shammi Kapoor, for he added "lovely lovely lovely" to ham aur tum aur ye samaa.n!



Of course both Shailendra and Hasrat were livid with SJ for going to another lyricist. A miffed Shailendra wrote "chhoTii sii ye duniyaa pahchaane raaste hain tum kahee.n to miloge, kabhii to miloge, to puuchhe.nge haal." Which was later tuned by SJ for Rangoli!

diiwaanaa aadamii ko banaatii haiN roTiyaaN

Nazeer Akbarabadi (1740-1830) wrote extensively. roTiyaaN is a famous nazm of his:

jab aadamii ke peT me.n aatii hai.n roTiyaa.N
phuulii nahii.n badan me.n samaaatii hai.n roTiyaa.N
aa.Nkhe.n parii_ruKho.n se la.Daatii hai.n roTiyaa.N
siine uupar bhii haath chalaatii hai.n roTiyaa.N
jitane maze hai.n sab ye dikhaatii hai.n roTiyaa.N
roTii se jis kaa naak talak peT hai bharaa
karataa phire hai kyaa vo uchhal kuud jaa ba jaa
diivaar phaa.Nd kar ko_ii koThaa uchhal gayaa
ThaaThTha ha.Nsii sharaab sanam saaqii is sivaa
sau sau tarah kii dhuum machaatii hai.n roTiyaa.N
jis jaa pe haa.NDii chuulhaa tavaa aur tanuur hai
Khaaliq kii qudarato.n kaa usii jaa zahuur hai
chuulhe ke aage aa.Nch jo jalatii huzuur hai
jitane hai.n nuur sab me.n yahii Kaas nuur hai
is nuur ke sabab nazar aatii hai.n roTiyaa.N
aave tave tanuur kaa jis jaa zabaa.N pe naam
yaa chakkii chuulhe kaa jahaaN gulzaar ho tamaam
vaaN sar jhukaa ke kiijiye DanDavat aur salaam
is vaaste ke Kaas ye roTii ke hai.n muqaam
pahale inhiiN makaanoN meN aatii haiN roTiyaaN
in roTiyoN ke nuur se sab dil haiN puur puur
aaTaa nahii.n hai chhalanii se chhan chhan gire hai nuur
pe.Daa har ek us kaa hai barfii-o-motii chuur
har_giz kisii tarah na bujhe peT kaa tanuur
is aag ko magar ye bujhaatii hai.n roTiyaa.N
puuchhaa kisii ne ye kisii kaamil faqiir se
ye mehr-o-maah haq ne banaaye hai.n kaahe ke
vo sun ke bolaa baabaa Khudaa tujh ko Khair de
ham to na chaa.Nd samajhe na suuraj hai.n jaanate
baabaa hame.n to ye nazar aatii hai.n roTiyaa.N
phir puuchhaa us ne kahiye ye hai dil kaa nuur kyaa
is ke mushaahide me.n hai khulataa zahuur kyaa
vo bolaa sun ke teraa gayaa hai sha_uur kyaa
kashf-ul-quluub aur ye kashf-ul-qubuur kyaa
jitane hai.n kashf sab ye dikhaatii hai.n roTiyaa.N
roTii jab aa_ii peT me.n sau qand ghul gaye
gul_zaar phuule aa.Nkho.n me.n aur aish tul gaye
do tar nivaale peT me.n jab aa ke dhul gaye
chaudaa tabaq ke jitane the sab bhed khul gaye
ye kashf ye kamaal dikhaatii hai.n roTiyaa.N
roTii na peT me.n ho to phir kuchh jatan na ho
mele kii sair Khvaahish-e-baaG-o-chaman na ho
bhuuke Gariib dil kii Khudaa se lagan na ho
sach hai kahaa kisii ne ke bhuuke bhajan na ho
allaah kii bhii yaad dilaatii hai.n roTiyaa.N
ab jin ke aage maal_puye bhar ke thaal hai.n
puurii bhagat unhii.n kii vo saahab ke laal hai.n
aur jin ke aage rauGanii aur shiir_maal hai
aarif vohii hai.n aur vohii saahab kamaal hai.n
pakii pakaa_ii ab jinhe.n aatii hai.n roTiyaa.N
kapa.De kisii ke laal hai.n roTii ke vaaste
lambe kisii ke baal hai.n roTii ke vaaste
baa.Ndhe ko_ii rumaal hai rotii ke vaaste
sab kashf aur kamaal hai.n rotii ke vaaste
jitane hai.n ruup sab ye dikhaatii hai.n roTiyaa.N
roTii se naache piyaadaa qavaayad dikhaa dikhaa
asavaar naache gho.De ko kaavaa lagaa lagaa
ghungharuu ko baa.Ndhe paik bhii phirataa hai naachataa
aur is ke sivaa Gaur se dekho to jaa ba jaa
sau sau tarah ke naach dikhaatii hai.n roTiyaa.N
duniyaa me.n ab badii na kahii.n aur niko_ii hai
na dushmanii va dostii na tund kho_ii hai
ko_ii kisii kaa aur kisii kaa na ko_ii hai
sab ko_ii hai usii kaa ke jis haath Do_ii hai
naukar nafar Gulaam banaatii hai.n roTiyaa.N
roTii kaa ab azal se hamaaraa to hai Khamiir
ruukhii bhii roTii haq me.n hamaare hai shahad-o-shiir
yaa patalii hove moTii Khamiirii ho yaa katiir
gehuu.N ju_aar baajare kii jaisii ho 'Nazeer'
ham ko sab tarah kii Khush aatii hai.n roTiyaa.N




Majrooh Sultanpuri reworked this as diwaanaa aadamii ko banaatii hain roTiyaan for Kali Topi Lal Rumal (1959)

chaahe lag jaayen hathkadiyaan

I was listening to the rollicking Rafi-Asha duet 'nazroN ke teer maare kas-kas-kas' from the film Do Ustaad (1959) recently, when I noticed the following lyrics by Qamar Jalalabadi (listen to Rafi's second stanza, starting about 3:00 into the clip):

jaan-e-jahaa.N! bolo chalii ho kahaa.N leke naino.n me.n ye phuljha.Diyaa.N
tum pe maroo.Nga gorii, pyaar mai.n karoo.Nga gorii, chaahe lage.n hathka.Diyaa.N



Whattasong, na'eeN? Rafi and Asha sound like they're having the time of their life singing this song -- as much fun, if not more, than Madhubala and Raj Kapoor are portaying on screen! Those were the days *sigh*!

Anyway ... the phrase "chaahe lage.n hathka.Diyaa.N" sounded way too familiar, like I had heard it somewhere else, but I just couldn't place it. I coincidentally happened to be chatting online with Asad at the same time, so I asked him if he could recall any song with that phrase in it. He immediately replied, "yes, 'ab chaahe maaN rooThe yaa baabaa'", written by Sahir Ludhiyanvi for the film Daag (1973). Sure enough, at the end of the first stanza, these words appear:

ab chaahe kaa.NTe mile.n yaa kaliyaa.N, yaaraa mai.nne to haa.N kar lii
ab chaahe lag jaaye.n hath-ka.Diyaa.N, mai.nne terii baa.Nh paka.D lii
mai.nne tujh pe neeyat dhar lii, maine ha.Nskar haamii bhar lii
ho yaarii chhooTe naa, TooTe naa, haa.N kar lii so kar lii
ab chaahe maa.N rooThe yaa baabaa ...

"What a terrible way to reinterpret Qamar's phrase," I thought, "Sahir has really hit the dumps here!"


But that wasn't it, I felt; this wasn't the song I was thinking of. I could visualize "my" song having nok-jho.nk (playful teasing amongst lovers)-type lyrics, with the girl saying, "meraa peechha chho.Do" and the guy teasing her with "no way! (chaahe lag jaaye.n hath-ka.Diyaa.N)" ...

And then I remembered it! Sahir himself had used this phrase previously, in Naya Daur (1957), coincidentally a duet again, composed by OP Nayyar again, with one of the singers being Asha again: reshmi salwar kurta jaali kaa has these words at the beginning of the first stanza:

jab jab tujh ko dekhuu.N, mere dil me.n chhuTe.n phul-jha.Diyaa.N
karuu.Ngaa teraa piichhaa chaahe lag jaaye.n hath-ka.Diyaa.N

Now look again at Qamar's lyrics from Do Ustad, and the similarity is unmistakable. The phrase is repeated almost in its entirety, right down to the rhyming words!

And then compare Sahir to himself and see what a crappy job he did of reusing his own words in 1973. What a difference 15 years can make! *sigh*

o kaalii Topii waale zaraa/o laal dupaTTe waalii teraa

Majrooh Sultanpuri wrote "o kaalii Topii waale zaraa naam to bataa" in Kali Topi Lal Rumal(1959)


Indivar copied the phrase but managed to massacre the grammar in "o laal dupaTTe waalii teraa naam to bataa" in Aankhen(1993)

tum jiyo hazaaroN saal saal ke din hoN pachaas hazaar

Mirza Ghalib prayed for Bahadur Shah Zafar's long life when he wrote

tum salaamat raho hazaar baras
har baras ke hoN din pachaas hazaar

Majrooh rewrote it as tum jiyo hazaaroN saal, saal ke din hoN pachaas hazaar in Sujata (1959)

amiya halaahal madbhare shyaam shvet ratnaar

Rasleen wrote
amiya halaahal madbhare shyaam shwet ratnaar
jiyat marat jhuki jhuki parat jehi chitwat ik baar

a mixture of sanskrit and khaRii bolii and then translated it in faarsii as well.

sawaadash sam hayaa aab-e-baqaa hamsar ma-e-ahmar
bamurdam ziistam beKHud shudam zaaN nargis-e-maste

The former found its way in Rani Roopmati (1959)

jhanan jhanan jhan baaje paayaliya

nain dwaar se man meN/khaike paan banaaras waalaa

Javed Akhtar added a couple of stanzas to "khaike paan banaaraswaalaa" for Don (2006)



which was written by Anjaan for the original Don (1978)



Interestingly, in one of the stanzas of the 2006 song Shah Rukh says "wo nain dwaar se man meN aake tan mein jwaalaa jagaatii hai" which is strikingly similar to a song written by Prem Dhawan for the 1959 film Sawan. The mukhRaa of the song is
"nain dwaar se man meN vo aake tan meN aag lagaa_e"

baiThe hai.n rahguzar par

Mirza Asadullah Khan Ghalib wrote:

da_ir nahii.n haram nahii.n dar nahii.n aastaa.n nahii.n
baiThe hai.n rahguzar pe ham Gair hame.n haTaa_e kyu.n?


Kaifi Azmi took the first half of the second misra and made that into a song for Chaalis Din/40 Days (1959)

baiThe hai.n rahguzar par dil kaa diyaa jalaa_e
shaayad vo dard samjhe shaayad vo lauT aaye.

zer-e-diiwaar khaRe hai.n/ daGaa daGaa va_ii

Listen to Kaifi Azmi's

zer-e-diiwaar khaRe hai.n teraa kyaa lete hai.n
dekh lete hai.n tapish dil kii bujhaa lete hai.n

from Sakhi Hatim (1955) Music Director: A R Qureshi; Singer: Talat Mehmood.

and Majrooh Sultanpuri's following lines from the song
"daGaa daGaa va_ii va_ii va_ii" :

yuu.nhii raaho.n me.n khaRe hai.n teraa kyaa lete hai.n
dekh lete hai.n jalan dil kii miTaa lete hai.n

from Kaali Topi Lal Roomal (1959), Music Director: Chitragupt; Singer: Lata Mangeshkar