Saturday, 26 October 2013



Manna Dey: The last connect to the golden era is gone


Manna Dey is no more. With this, the sublime sextet of Talat Mehmood,  Mohd. Rafi, Mukesh, Hemant Kumar, Kishore Kumar and Manna Day have become a page in history which may not repeat itself.  Manna Dey was the eldest of them and lived the longest.  He was a trained classical singer in a field that was abounding with Rafi’s versatility, Talat’s mellifluence, Hemant’s loftiness, Mukesh’s simplicity and Kishore’s flamboyance.  Manna Dey poised the field, gave it a balance.

Manna Dey was masterly in mutating and rendering the classical ragas into songs of mass acceptance. Despite its classical trappings,  laga chunri mein daag yet remains a hugely popular number. He, along-with Rafi, gave soul to arguably the best Qwaalli ever Na to caravan ki talaash hai He was as good as the maverick Kishore in punch-for-punch duet ek chatur naar.  The Sri 420 duet pyaar hua ekrar hua and the duets in Chori Chori Yeh raat bheegi bheegi.., Aaja sanam… and Jahan  main jaati hoon.. have a timelessness about them.



Manna Dey’s was not a typical voice of any hero, though, for a while, he lent his voice to Raj Kapoor, as a Mukesh’s  replacement. However, his singing attained a new height, and depth, in O meri Zohra zabeen (Waqt), Kasme vaade pyaar wafa (Upkaar) and Yaari hai imaan mera ( Zanjeer ) has added to the acting stature of Balaraj Sahani and Pran. 

There is a number from the film Bandini Mat ro mata lal tere bahutere.. I play it and find myself in complete empathy with the freedom fighter on his way to the gallows, such is the fusion and fury of music, words and cinematic backdrop. I shall be reincarnate when the Ganga flows free and the tricolor flutters atop Himalaya. It is sublime, it cleanses.  Manna Dey was at his creative best.

The number from Kabuliwala Ae mere pyaare watan, Ae mere bichude chaman   is another of my favourite. It brilliantly brings out the pain of a man long separated from his motherland. Manna Dey’s voice carries conviction and pathos.

Manna Dey seemed to flow as he handled songs of quasi spiritual contents, conveying the metaphysics of life and death, or life after this life. Listen to the number from Do Bigha Zameen : Apni kahaani chhod ja, kuch to nishaani chhod jaa ..



The prayer in the film Seema -  Tu pyar ka saagar hai – is my next pick in this genreThe prayer penned by peerless Shailendra, given lilt by arguably the best composer duo of Shanker and Jaikishen,  and given soul by the voice of Manna Dey, takes one to the threshold of the larger question whether the life and its karma now are but part of a birth-after-birth continuum.. And more I tune to this number, more I find it gaining in sublimity.

Zindagi kaisi he pehli hai – the Anand number – mesmerizes, speaks of a life yet to attain its fruition, yet to realize its dreams,  intercepted and cut short by the chanciness called death. The number, a creative crescendo, is as much a tribute to Rajesh Khanna, Yogesh and Salil Chaudhary as to Manna dey.




Manna Dey is no more. But do singers really die ? Certainly not , at-least not the  one who was part of the golden sextet. Manna Dey will come alive, and young, day after day, year after year, both to the connoisseur and the evolving music lovers.

Friday, 18 October 2013

Gaurav Sahay: Some reflections on Sachin the Master

Gaurav Sahay: Some reflections on Sachin the Master: Some reflections on Sachin  the Master Sachin has duly confirmed what was on the cards for sometime. His millions of admirers - an...
Sachin is great, but Sunil was better

Vijay Kumar

( As told to and developed by Gaurav Sahay )


Sachin’s announcement sent the media in a tizzy with each channel trying to outdo the other, invoking the old interviews with the Master, showing clippings of some of his innings, organizing hurried panel discussions. The announcement stormed and overwhelmed the media. And at the end of the day, it was just unmitigated panegyric and hyperbole. Objectivity was given a go by though there was a write-up, rather caustic, by Mukul Kesvan, which put the entire drama of Sachin’s retirement in a perspective.

Sachin virtually took the baton from the other but the original Master Sunil Gavaskar. With Sachin’s passing out of the game now dated, a reflection on the relative greatness of the two would have been in the context. Only one channel – CNN-IBN – did put on a programme, recorded earlier, which brought Sunil and Sachin in mutually adulating conversation. But the programme was neither expected nor did it attempt to compare the Masters.

I am 63 years plus, and I have followed, with some passion, both Sunil and Sachin for the entire length of their respective careers. I owe my credentials to speak on the subject to the fact that I was also part of Sunil’s times.

If I am to compare the two, I will have several larger reasons to clearly place Sunil  ahead of Sachin.  It will not be a close call as between Duleep Kumar and Amitabh Bachchan.

There are parameters on which the two can be compared : their initial impact, their dominance of the bowling, the opposition quality, their contribution to overseas victories, their position in the team, their captaincy, and their  attitude to the game.

The initial impact.  The time sifts important from trivia, permanent from ephemeral. As I recall the happenings of seventies of the previous century, only seven events flash to my mind and stand out vividly as epoch making events. These were, indicated in the order of their importance : India’s victory over Pakistan leading to the formation of Bangladesh, the Emergency, the ouster of Congress ( 1977 General Elections ), the Pokharan Nuclear Blast, the launch of Aryabhatta, India’s Hockey World Cup victory and Sunil’s debut series. Each of these events, barring the Emergency, is important as it gave to an Indian in the street a hitherto un-experienced self-belief and self-esteem. And in retrospect, even the Emergency led to a definite plus – the masses hitting back at authoritarianism with a vengeance through the ballots.
Sunil Gavaskar demarcated the Indian Cricket. Before him, our performance overseas was hardly better than that of Bangla Desh as of now. There was just one overseas win; that was against New Zealand which, along-with India, languished at the bottom amongst the cricket playing countries. The Indians looked to occasional heroics which were few and far between : Vijay Hazare at Adelaide, Vinoo Mankad at Lords and the Nawab of  Pataudi at Oval. Sunil’s debut brought in a paradigm shift as regards India’s standing as a Test playing country. It achieved quite a few things.

 First, suddenly an Indian was up at the top setting almost an unassailable target for the subsequent openers. This was a performance which the Indians could only dream of, quite literally as that was achieved during the hours when India was asleep excepting insomniacs and cricketalcohalics.

Second, Sunil’s performance ensured series win against the giants of the game, the West Indies.

Third, and most important, India broke the psychological barrier of getting past the West Indies. With that, it crossed the sound barrier !. It came of age. The Indians were always nervous, rather scared, playing the West Indian pacers. And Nari Contractor taking an intended bouncer which never rose into his head did in no way help the Indian nerves. Sunil’s 774 pulled India out of a psychic limitation. It can be argued that Sunil was lucky to be against a weak pace battery. However, in these nervy battles, in the battles against the West Indies, India always started with half the battle lost, irrespective of the quality of the pace bowlers.

 I have read somewhere, that the army of Maharaja Ranjit Singh, under the command of Hari Singh Nalwa, had even the better of indomitable Afghans. Nalwa in fact was dreaded. In one of the battles at Jamrud fortress, Nalwa was grievously wounded and was dead. Learning this, the Afghans attacked the Sikh army with renewed vigour. The wise men in the Army however played a trick on Afghans. They carried the body of Nalwa to the fort rampart and put it in an upright position in a manner as to appear looking straight into the Afghans.  The trick worked.  Thinking that Nalwa was alive, the Afghans retreated. Even the dead West Indies was to India what Nalwa was to the Afghans. Sunil took India past that psychological barrier.

In contrast, Sachin would appear a kid which he in fact was, fully ensconced by the indulgent seniors. He is remembered more for his bloodied nose than his scores.

The dominance. Sachin has dominated all attacks. He has to his credit some of the best knocks of his times.  He will appear much ahead of Sunil on this parameter.  But Sunil belonged to a time when slow and steady was an acceptable approach to the game and he was the best exponent of it. Besides he was an opener with a vested duty to stay long enough to ensure that the new ball was off its sheen. Sunil had the technique, footwork and strokes necessary for dominating the bowling.  He gave ample evidence of that while playing the epic knock of 221 at the Oval Test in 1979.  He also held for a while two enviable records : the fastest Test century by an Indian (94 balls, against West Indies ) and the fastest one day century (82 balls, against New Zealand, World Cup 1987).  Be that as it may, the fact remains that Sachin was ahead of Sunil on the point of dominating attacks.

However, where Sunil scores over Sachin easily is on the point of dominating series. It should be rather embarrassing for Sachin’s followers that he could not touch 500 runs in any series whether at home or abroad. The closest he came was 494 runs against Australia in 2007/08. The 1998 home series against Australia was the only series (3 Tests) that he really dominated with 447 runs.

As against this, Sunil crossed 500 runs mark six times – 774, 542, 732, 529, 505 and 500.  While each of the first two aggregates was achieved in 4 Tests, the remaining ones were achieved in 6 Tests each.  This appears to be the weakest chink in Sachin’s achievements when one reckons that Rahul twice crossed 600 runs mark.  Sehwag and Laxman too crossed 500 mark once. Laxman achieved this in just 3 Tests. The redoubtable Lara crossed the mark 6 times including 688 runs that he scored in a 3 Tests series.

Sunil thrice scored centuries in both the innings of a Test match – a feat that eluded Sachin which his contemporary Rahul achieved twice.

Sachin’s dominance was innings specific; Sunil dominated series like Rahul.  Sunil clearly ahead of Sachin on this parameter.

The opposition quality  No one has succeeded like Sunil against pace bowlers each equally lethal – notably Roberts, Holding, Croft, Garner, Marshall, Lillee, Thomson, Imran, Hadlee, Snow and Botham.  And he had the nerves to face them all without a head-gear.  Later, he put on a skull cap which was just an apology for a proper helmet. If Sunil was ever hit on his head, the scull cap would have certainly compounded the injury.  Of spinners, the notable ones that Sunil faced were Underwood, Gibbs and Qadir.

Sachin too faced with success the quality of Donald, Macgrath, Walsh, Ambrose, Steyn, Shoaib, Wasim and Waqar. He also negotiated with remarkable success the spin of Warne and Muralitharan.

Sunil scored handsomely against Packer-hit teams - Australia under an aged Simpson and West Indies under Kallicharan.  In these two series, he scored a total of 7 centuries in 11 Test matches.  Nonetheless, he surmounted one quality bowler in each series – Thompson and a debutant Marshall.

For Sachin, Bangladesh had always been a handy team to unshackle himself. His record-equaling thirty fourth century was against Bangladesh.   And finally it was against Bangla Desh that Sachin some-how scored his hundredth international hundred . Sachin in all has eight ‘weak’ centuries ( five against Bangladesh and three against Zimbabwe ) against Sunil’s  seven.

I am inclined to put helmetless Sunil and in-war-gear Sachin on even terms on this parameter. 
 Contribution in overseas victories I will reckon only away-from-the-sub-continent victories. In Sunil’s times, nine victories in all were achieved and his contribution was substantial in six of them. In Sachin’s times too, nine victories were achieved and he substantially contributed to seven of them. 

Sachin will appear a shade ahead.

Position in the team  Sunil was numero uno as long as he was there, the occeasional spectacular performances of Vishwanath, Vengasarkar and Azhar notwithstanding. Sachin was number one till the year 2001. He lost the position to Rahul in the series against  England in the year 2003.  He briefly regained it in the period 2007-   before slumping to fourth or fifth after the World Cup 2011.  Even when Sachin regained the top slot briefly, Virender Sehwag appeared more blazing and entertaining. Further, during the period since 2001, Rahul, Laxman and Virender were credited with greater match winning ability.
Sunil clearly ahead of Sachin.

Captaincy  Sachin, less said the better.  He was not the stuff for captaincy. Sunil, on the other hand, has the credentials to be considered amongst the best three captains of India – Ganguly and Dhoni being the other two.. Sunil was in complete command while winning the Bensen & Hedges’s Cup in 1985.

Sachin is not comparable to Sunil on this parameter.

Attitude Sunil had the gait of a street fighter.  He was unafraid. His attempted walk out in the Melbourne Test ( 1981 ) was just unthinkable at that point of time – the minnows of the game daring the giant.  He had in him to drop even the peerless Kapil at his peak,  apparently for his recklessness in batting. Sunil is candid and outspoken as a TV commentator too.

Sachin, on the other hand, appeared vulnerable under pressure and prone to errors at critical moments. Against Pakistan ( Chennai ), his lofted shot was quite out of character and would have befitted a tail-ender more. His back spasm could not have been an excuse for that. Often, he would lapse into an inexplicable defensive shell, encouraging the attack to go for a kill. His 16 of 98 balls against Pakistan in 2005 ( second innings ) at Bengaluru  was thoroughly disappointing. This was the same match where Sehwag scored 201( in 262 balls ), Younis Khan 267 and Inzimam 184. India lost. His 14 in 62 balls ( 2nd Test Cape Town, 2006 ) triggered a collapse. India lost.  Having scored 91 -Oval Test 2011 - Sachin could not hold a little longer which might have ensured a draw. Perhaps, the possibility of the hundredth hundred weighed him down.  Result : India lost the match. In fact, the country was sick waiting for his hundredth hundred.  Fortunately, we had won the war in 1971 and created a Bangla Desh !


Sachin’s greatness was never in doubt. The electronic media propelled him to greatness which is surreal. Sunil was greater but then the projection and publicity were largely through the print media.  The posterity, at some distance both from Sunil and Sachin, will perhaps evaluate the two more objectively.

Saturday, 12 October 2013

Some reflections on Sachin the Master

Some reflections on Sachin  the Master


Sachin has duly confirmed what was on the cards for sometime. His millions of admirers - and I am one of them - will be sad as the test matches without him will miss the aura and excitement which the persona of Sachin brought to the game. I guess, I need to relate an episode from Mahabharata to bring home the multi-faceted importance of Sachin to the test matches involving India.

The war having been won finally, Krsna took Arjuna and asked him to step out of the chariot. Arjuna did as asked. Krsna followed him and concurrently Hanumana who was perched on the chariot flag all through the war invisibly, too leapt in the sky. No sooner did all this happen that the chariot was up in flames. Arjuna could not believe his eyes. He was distraught and prayed Krsna to unravel the mystery. Krsna comforted Arjuna and told him that this had to happen. He told Arjuna that this was a divine chariot and divine horses were yoked to it; that he was the Saarthi  and that it was protected by the mighty God Hanumana.  Krsna added that this was why it could survive the numerous assaults of Bheeshma, Drona and Karna; and that this would not have been possible without the divine intervention. But, the war having won, the purpose of this chariot too stood accomplished.

While Test match cricket will certainly not be in flames with the retirement of Sachin, he was to the Indian Cricket  Arjuna, Krsna  and Hanumana in turn – the out and out combatant in the first phase, the sutradhaar  and supremo  Krsna in the second phase and the invisible protector Hanumana in the last. His retirement is curtains on Arjuna, Krsna and Hanumana of the Indian cricket.

The game must go on, however. And as the dust settles down, many a follower of Sachin will sigh with relief too – that two matches hence Sachin will in no way be able to descend down the ladder in terms of his career records. Records do not convey the whole truth but, I assume, a career batting average of less than 50 in test matches will render a batsman’s claim to greatness suspect. Sachin of late appeared to be risking his greatness which the great Bradman had once acknowledged tacitly.

The timing of Sachin’s retirement will be a matter of some debate. To my mind, if Sachin had announced it in the wake of the World Cup 2011, his number two position in the pantheon of cricket gods  was more or less confirmed -  the first being the miles-ahead  Donald Bradman. But with a forgettable last segment  of 31 test matches, Sachin seems to have conceded this position to the South African all rounder Kallis.

However, the sentiments back home are swayed in the least by the global rankings. Sachin has represented the country close to a quarter century and his impact and popularity transcends the boundaries of cricket. Amitabh Bacchan is the only person of his times who could be credited with a greater pan India popularity and acceptance. Perhaps, Atal Behari Vajpayee’s acceptance when he was the Prime minister was as great but that was relatively a short period. However, unlike the actors and politicians, a cricketer is subject to the limits of his physical self. Sachin lasted much more than one would have initially thought. Sachin will have to find another worthwhile channelization post his retirement to ensure visibility and sustain popularity. As a Member of Parliament, Sachin has not even created a ripple, much less a wave. May be now is the time for that.  I fervently wish and pray that Sachin’s swansong mach will be fitting finale to a journey in which the whole nation was with him.


Wednesday, 14 August 2013

Odes To Our Independence: My Uncle’s Choice




Odes To Our Independence: My Uncle’s Choice

Patriotism is the loftiest of all sentiments – completely self-less, self-effacing with no material intent. The Independence Day is a celebration of this sentiment.

Patriotism pre-supposes a consciousness of one’s history, heritage, traditions and culture but more importantly a sense of pride in that. There had been, through centuries, a strong and popular oral tradition of communicating to the people at large on these aspects though narratives were generally hero-centric with other aspects subsumed in that. The communication had been heart to heart, rich in emotional contents and jingoism with a liberal dose of hyperboles and metaphors - all lilted on musical meters.  A la Alha--Udal. The tradition continues, albeit on a much larger scale through electronic media. In fact, the patriotic songs constitute a rich and distinct sub-stream of Hindi film music and I do believe that they still arouse, to some degree, patriotic fervour in us.

I was into patriotic songs rather early, perhaps when I was just four. I owed that to my uncle Ravindra Kumar. My uncle always engaged my curiosity. He was certainly off the centre, self engrossed,  in communication with self,  often sparring at a host of enemies within. He hardly evinced any apparent interest in anybody around and yet he was alive to them, to his ambience, to the last detail. He was precocious and yet unchannelized.  But there was something in him, innate, that appreciated the deep, the classical including  music. It was he who instilled initial patriotic fervor in me. He is no more, passed away in the year 2011 at a young age of 54.

I would recommend the following eight odes to our Independence, my uncle’s favourites, as part of my celebration as also a tribute to him.  He played them, unfailingly, year after year till he was alive, at the dawn of each Independence Day.

Ode 1


पासे सभी पलट गए दुश्मन की चाल के
अक्षर सभी बादल गए भारत के भाल के
मंजिल पर आया मुल्क हर बला को टाल के
सदियों के बाद फिर से उड़े बादल गुलाल के
हम लाये हैं तूफान से किश्ती निकाल के
इस देश को रखना मेरे बच्चों संभाल के ...............More

Its loose translation:

Every stratagem of the wily enemy upturned
The destiny of Bharat rewritten
As the nation surged to its liberation
Surmounting every odd and evil
And after an eon
A rainbow of hope and gaiety
Ascended on the horizon ! .......
…………….
The ode is inspirational.  Its points to the vulnerability of a freedom just won.  Ever relevant. From the film Jagriti, penned by Kavi Pradeep, set on the music of Hemant Kumar,  rendered by Mohammed Rafi at his peak.

Ode 2


इंसाफ की डगर पर बच्चों दिखाओ चल के
ये देश है तुम्हारा नेता तुम्ही हो कल के ................
इंसानियत के सर पर इज्जत का ताज रखना
तन मन की भेंट दे कर भारत की लाज रखना
जीवेन नया मिलेगा अंतिम चिता में जल के ............More

Ironically, the sentiment seems to have no place in our collective and progressive degeneration, though individually we may yet be held back, even if for a fleeting moment, to sadly muse – what pass have we come to ?

Film Gunga Jamuna, lyrics Shakeel Badayuni, music Naushad.


Ode 3


मत रो माता लाल तेरे बहुतेरे
जनम भूमि के काम आया
बड़े भाग्य हैं मेरे...........
..............
फिर जनमुंगा उस दिन
जब आज़ाद बहेगी गंगा
उन्नत भाल हिमालय पर
लेहराएगा तिरंगा  ......................More

My first choice. I play it and find myself in complete empathy with the freedom fighter on his way to the gallows, such is the fusion and fury of music, words and cinematic backdrop. I shall be reincarnate when the Ganga flows free and the tricolor flutters atop Himalaya. It is sublime, it cleanses.

Film Bandini, lyrics Shailendra, music S. D. Burman

Ode 4



वतन की राह पर वतन के नौजवान शहीद हों
पुकारते हैं ये जमीन आसमान शहीद हों
शहीद तेरी मौत ही तेरे वतन की जिंदगी
तेरे लहू से जाग उठेगी इस चमन की ज़िंदगी
खिलेंगे फूल उस जगह पे तू जहां शहीद हों .........More

A composition in two parts – first set on a semi marching tune; the other, homage to a martyr. Soulfully sung by Mohd. Rafi and Khan Mastana.  Film Shaheed ( of the year 1948 ), lyrics Raja Mendi Ali Khan, music Ghulam Haidar.

Ode 5


मेरे प्यारे वतन
मेरे बिछुरे चमन
तुझ पर दिल क़ुर्बान !
तू ही मेरी आरजू
तू ही मेरी आबरू
तू ही मेरी जान !
तेरे दामन से जो आए
उन हवाओं को सलाम
चूम लूँ में उस जुबान को
जिस पे आए तेरा नाम
सब से प्यारी सुबह तेरी
सब से रंगीन तेरी शाम
तुझ पे दिल क़ुर्बान.........More..

Brilliantly brings out the pain of a man long separated from his motherland. Manna Dey’s voice carries conviction and pathos. Film Kabuliwala, lyrics Prem Dhawan, music Salil Chaudhury.


Ode 6



ताकत वतन की हम से है
हिम्मत वतन की हम से है
इज्जत वतन की हम से है
इंसान के हम रखवाले
....................
सीना है फौलाद का अपना
फूलों जैसा दिल है
तन में विंध्याचल का बल है
मन में ताजमहल है ..............More

On an invigorating and inspiring marching tune, full of chest thumping and jingoism with fascinating imagery. Use of Vindhyachal in place of a tempting Himalaya is very apt – the former being the oldest and the sturdiest mountain range in India.

Film Prem Pujari, lyrics Kave Neeraj, music SD Burman.

Ode 7



अब कोई गुलशन उजढ़े
अब वतन आज़ाद है
रूह गंगा की हिमाला का बदन
आज़ाद है………………………..More

The soul of Ganga, the body of Himalaya – reminds one of song from Bandini.
Film Mujhe Jeene Do, lyrics Shahir Ludhiyanvi, music Jai Dev.

Ode 8



ये चमन हमारा अपना हैi
इस देश पे अपना राज है
मत कहो की सर पर टोपी है
कहो सर पे हमारे ताज है !
आती थी एक दिवाली
बरसों मैं कभी खुशीहाली
अब तो हर इतवार
एक त्योहार है
ये उभरता सँवरता समाज है .......More

This is more than a patriotic song.  It seeks to inculcate a positive effusive attitude – Do not lament your want…make do with the available and look forward……..An occasional  celebration is preferable to a perennial poverty…. For the society is on an ascending curve….
I salute the lyricist Shailendra for his optimism and idealism.  But the realities of our times are just the opposite – stricken with irredeemable mope and despair.

Jai Hind.