The humorous side of Raja Mehdi Ali Khan — Part 1
For most poetry, music, and Hindi film fans, Raja Mehdi Ali Khan (1915, not 1928 as on many websites-1966) is a well-known name, especially for the exquisite songs he wrote for Madan Mohan’s compositions.
He belonged to the Janjua family of Darpur in Jhelum District of the former Punjab state of British India. His father Raja Mehdi Ghalib Khan was the Chief Minister of Bahawalpur State (now part of Pakistan) and his mother, Heba Saheba, was a well-known Urdu poet. Unfortunately, his father passed away when he was just four years old. However, his mother and uncle Moulana Zafar Ali Khan, a prominent journalist, ensured a good education.
He was heavily influenced by the noted scholar Dr. Allama Muhammad Iqbal during his formative years, affecting his poetic writing. Then, he joined the -All India Radio, Delhi as a writer. There he kindled up a friendship with another short story writer of note - Saadat Hasan Manto.
When Manto moved to Bombay to work in the film industry, he lured Raja to join him.
Raja began his film career in 1946 as an actor and dialogue writer in the film — Aath Din — of Ashok Kumar. However, he soon recognized he had no inclination for acting, and his penchant was in songwriting. His first film as a lyricist ‘Do Bhai’ (1947) and its famous ‘merā sundar sapnā bīt gayā’ is still popular amongst the new generation. During the next two decades, he was involved in almost 126 films, and some of the most notable songs are -
- watan ki raah mein watan ke naujawan shaheed ho
- zulfoñ ki ghaTā lekar
- aap yuñ hi agar humse milte rahe
- aap ki nazaroñ ne samjhā
- jiyā legayo ji morā saañwariyā
- lag jā gale
- nainā barse rim jhim
- nainoñ meiñ badrā chhaye
- tu jahāñ jahāñ chalegā merā sayā
- jhumkā girā re
- aapke pahalū meiñ aakar ro diye
What caught me by surprise was a funny, dark and humorous song, ‘sikander ne porus se ki thī laDaa.ii’ was penned by him. That led to a conversation with my Poetry Ustaad — Naaqid (Aditya Pant) and he handed me a PDF in nast’alīq script of Raja’s book — andāz-e-bayāñ and told me “just read this, and you will find how funny he was.” I asked — which one, he said — “everything” :-)
Now, it is impossible for me to transliterate 163 pages of a book but will surely put some funniest ghazals, nazms, sh’ers in Roman Urdu for the wider readership.
Parody on Ghalib’s Classic ‘dil hī to hai’
dil hī to hai na sañg-o-ḳhisht dard se bhar na aa.e kyuuñ
ro.eñge ham hazār baar koī hameñ satā.e kyuuñ
As ‘KHargoshoñ ki Ghazal’ and goes as follows
koī shikārī baar baar ban meñ hamāre aa.e kyūñ?
chaukeñge ham hazār baar koī hameñ Darā.e kyūñ?
ghar nahīñ jhoñpaḌī nahīñ kuTiyā nahīñ makāñ nahīñ?
baiThe haiñ jañgaloñ meñ ham koī hameñ bhagā.e kyūñ?
kaan khaḌe na kyuuñ kareñ ghaas meñ kyuuñ na ham chhupeñ
khaTkā zarā bhī ho agar koī ThiThak na jaa.e kyūñ?
ban meñ hamāre jo bhī aa.e sair maze se vo kare
aa.e hazār baar ḳhud kuttoñ ko saath laa.e kyūñ?
ammī se maar khā ke bhī ḳhush koī kis tarah rahe
paanī maze se kyuuñ piye ghaas maze se khaa.e kyūñ?
kahtā thā ik shikārī ye ‘’ā.eñge ham zarūr yaañ
jis ko hai apnī jaañ aziiz ban meñ vo ghar banā.e kyūñ?
chiḌiyāñ na chahchahā.eñ kal so.eñge ham dopahr tak
band hai ban kā madrasa koī hameñ jagā.e kyūñ?
The English qāfiyās (rhymes) in the Ghazal ‘Johnny-Walker ne kaha’ is my another favorite:
sau baar ye dil jab tak reject nahīñ hogā
ye terī mohabbat meñ perfect nahīñ hogā
haiñ kitne hasīñ tauba āñkhoñ ke ye ā.īne
kyā aks mirā in meñ reflect nahīñ hogā
tum set pe jo muskā diiñ maiñ set pe huā nervous
ab kaam koī mujh se perfect nahīñ hogā
ulfat kī kyā sharteñ haiñ advance meñ dil le jā
mat soch ki ulfat kā contract nahīñ hogā
jo kuchh tire baare meñ villain se sunā maiñ ne
ai jān-e-adā hargiz vo fact nahīñ hogā
zālim tirī nazroñ ne jo hañs ke girāyā hai
ḳhema vo mere dil kā erect nahīñ hogā
ġhairoñ se bhī milvā.eñ aur ḳhud bhī mileñ tum se
tum kuchh bhī kaho ham se ye act nahīñ hogā
jo kuchh hameñ kahnā hai kah deñge ghumā kar ham
ulfat kā koī fiqra direct nahīñ hogā
chhup-chhup ke jo milne kā tum Time na.iiñ detīñ
yuuñ ishq mirā tum par reflect nahīñ hogā
chun lo ajī tum kuchh bhī mauzū-e-suḳhan lekin
vo mere raqīboñ kā subject nahīñ hogā
bhauñroñ ko gulistāñ meñ kaliyoñ ne haiñ dī dateñ
kyā merī taraf ye dil attract nahīñ hogā
dil de do hameñ vāpas ham ghar ko chale jaa.eñ
tum par mirī bātoñ kā effect nahīñ hogā
A dark funny Ghazal ‘faislā’
muhabbat karuñ tujh se meñ ae hasīna?
magar merī surat kuchh achhī nahiñ hai
yahī sochtā huñ karuñ phir bhī koshish
magar terī surat kuchh achhī nahiñ
chalo pher leñ apnī apnī nigaheñ
na tum hum ko chāho na hum tum ko chaheñ
The next is a funny nazm with a twist ‘phūl aur kāñTā’
jhuTpuTe ke vaqt shīsham ke daraḳhtoñ ke tale
mil rahī thī jab havā masrūr shāḳhoñ se gale
jab zamīn-e-ḳhuld-manzar kaif se māmūr thī
shaam kī devī mohabbat ke nashe meñ chuur thī
shahr kī vīrāñ saḌak par mujh ko ik laḌkī milī
nīl-gūñ malbūs meñ mūrat chhupī thī nuur kī
saath apne dhuul uḌaa.e jis tarah mauj-e-havā
jis tarah se phuul ke saath ek kāñTā ho lagā
thaam kar us mah-laqā kā itr se ālūda haath
naujavāñ bhī aa rahā thā ek us ke saath saath
I will continue this thread further, enjoy reading….