Jaag aur dekh zaraa aalam e veeraan meraa
Posted by: Atul on: August 28, 2011
This article is written by Sudhir, a fellow enthusiast of Hindi movie music and a regular contributor to this blog.
The famous poet and film maker, Kidar Sharma tells the story behind the song, Dukh ke ab din beetat naahin from the film Devdaas (1935). The film shooting, editing etc. was completed and the film was being made ready for release. A screening was arranged for the distributor companies. After the screening, one of the distributors commented about the flow of the narrative through the film, and said the flow was somewhat bumpy and not well connected in one or two places. In the brief discussion that ensued, it was decided to insert another song in the film. Given the release schedule, there was almost no time to create and film another song and then integrate it into the movie. The two of them (Saigal Saab and Kidar Sharma) got together the same evening. Kidar Saab would write the words, and Saigal Saab did the composition then and there. By the morning, the song ‘Dukh Ke Ab Din Beetat Naahin’ was ready to be produced. It was recorded the same day, and also filmed the same day.
A creation that was accomplished in haste in a matter of few hours, without any help from the regular music director, went on to become the most popular song of the film, along with Baalam aay baso more man mein .
The more ghazals from Seemab Akbarabaadi that I am working on for this series of postings, I am getting more and more impressed by his poetry and falling in love with his verses. This ghazal is such a superb creation, in terms of the words and the built up of the verses. A sea of thoughts and emotions appears to be teeming just beneath the surface. The concepts and ideas that come through, are almost shattering at times.
This ghazal is a beseeching entreaty, may be to an indifferent beloved, maybe to God Himself. There is an unexpressed aspiration that apparently has not been fulfilled; there is a circumstance of the self that is craving expression; and also craving attention from the one to whom this supplication is addressed. The one to whom this is being addressed, is probably indifferent, and dismissive. There is an undercurrent of the expression that conveys a feeling that the one being addressed is simply trivializing the pleadings. The words and verses are really powerful and hit hard inside, where the existence resides.
jaag aur dekh zaraa, aalam-e-veeraan meraa
subah ke bhes mein nikla hai ghareebaan mera
O the keeper of my destiny, wake up and be aware of my circumstance of desolation and deprivation. My indigence is such that even the dawn for me has come cloaked in darkness.
This lead in verse is so powerful and hard hitting. The concept of dawn being cloaked in darkness simply shakes up the mind; what is the state of mind of a person for whom dawn is without light, and then what would be the night for him.
The second line is very significantly crafted. The word ‘ghareebaan’ is referring to shaam-e-ghareebaan. Shaam-e-ghareebaan is literally the night of the helpless (mazloom). As per history, it is the 11th night of the month of Muharram. This night is night of the battle between the army of Prophet Mohammed and his grandson Hazrat Hussein, and the forces of Ubayd-allah ibn Ziyad, the governor of Kufa province. This battle was the martyrdom of Hazrat Hussein, and most of the men in the army of Prophet Muhammad. After the battle, the governor’s army overran the camp of Prophet Mohammed, burnt down the tents and captured the women and children of the tribe. This day is observed as a day of mourning amongst the Moslems. The evening of this day (maghrib = after sunset) is called shaam-e-ghareebaan, in the memory of the helpless and defenseless women and children at the camp. On this evening, the believers will not put on lights in their homes till very very late in the night. Hence, in this line, the word ghareebaan is used in the context of darkness, or night without lights.
jaag = be awake, be cognizant, be aware
aur = and
dekh = see, to view
zaraa = little, somewhat
dekh zaraa = (used as a directive) please see, or do see
aalam = condition, circumstance; also environment, ambience
veeraan = desolate, uninhabited, bereft of human presence, lonely
aalam-e-veeraan = circumstance of loneliness, desolation
mera = mine
subah = dawn, morning
ke = of
bhes = disguise
mein = in
nikla hai = emerge, come out, dawn
ghareebaan = darkness (as discussed above)
mera = mine
band aankh kiye yoon jaag rahaa hoon shab-e-gham
ke unheyn aaye nazar khwaab-e-pareishaan meraa
In this night full of unhappiness, I cannot sleep; but I am lying down with my eyes closed, pretending as if asleep, so that they (she/Him) may witness my distressed sleeplessness.
The use of the phrase khwaab-e-pareishaan – in the first line, the poet says that he is not asleep; the state of sleeplessness is self-induced, rather self-inflicted, because of distress and anguish. Khwaab-e-pareishaan literally is dreams of distress. The poet says that his attempt to feign sleep by lying down and keeping his eyes closed is the state of extreme distress.
band = closed
aankh = eye, eyes
kiye = having done
band aankh kiye = having closed my eyes
yoon = this way, in this manner
jaag = awake
rahaa hoon = to be; I am
shab = night
gham = sorrow, unhappiness, anguish
shab-e-gham = night of sorrows, night full of sorrows
ke = so that
unheyn = to them, for them, unto them
aaye = to come; in this context, simply ‘to’
nazar = eyesight, to view, to see
unheyn aaye nazar = so that they are able to see
khwaab = dream
pareishaan = distress, troubled state
khwaab-e-pareishaan = dreams of distress, of restlessness; in this context, actually it is the grief of being not able to sleep, of pretending to sleep; being in a dreamlike state of distress while pretending to be asleep
mera = mine
muddaton boo-e-wafaa aayegi butkhaanon se
ood ban ban ke jalaa hai dil-e-sozaan meraa
My aggrieved heart is burning like ood (a fragrant material of plant origin). For ages to come, my friends (or people) would remember my dedication and steadfastness in love. Or, for ages to come, the memories, the aroma of my dedication and loyalty in love will be manifest.
The poet is alluding to the fact that his dedication and steadfastness will be remembered as exemplary; that although the beloved was unmindful and indifferent, yet he continued to be steadfast in his love. This is a commitment of a romantic – ‘Tu Pyaar Karey Ya Tthukraaye, Hum To Hain Tere Deewaanon Mein’
The use of word butkhaanaa is also very interesting. ‘butt’ means image or statue, ‘butkhaanaa’ is a place where statues and images are kept. In the urdu literature and poetry, this word is often used to represent the Hindu temple (with its images and statues of God). Additionally, another context emerges; ‘butkhaanaa’ is this world, which is populated by different images i.e. people (as in man is an image of God). Continuing this logic further, the ‘butkhaanaa’ for an individual is his immediate circle of friends and relatives, i.e. my images or images known to me. With this interpretation the first line can also be understood as – “for ages to my friends will remember my steadfastness and dedication in love.”
muddat = long period of time
muddaton = for a long period of time, for ages
boo = smell, fragrance, aroma; in this context, can also be interpreted as memory, remembrance
wafaa = loyalty, dedication, steadfastness
boo-e-wafaa = aroma of my dedication; or the memory of my dedication and steadfastness in love
aayegi = will come, will be existing, will be manifest
butkhaanaa = a place where images or statues are housed
se = from
ood = a fragrant flammable material of plant origin
ban = to become
ban ban ke = in context, transformed into, or becoming like
ood ban ban ke = transformed / became like ood
jalna = to burn
jalaa hai = has burnt, is burning
dil = heart
soz = burning, or grief
dil-e-sozaan = a heart full of anguish and sorrow, or a heart burnt
mera = mine
tumhen kyun madde-nazar ab hai kharaabi is ki
tum to kehtey thhe ke ghar hai dil-e-insaan meraa
Why is it so that now it is no longer acceptable to you; you who used to claim that you live in the heart.
Read with the previous verse, this is once again a very powerful indictment directed at the beloved or even more so towards God. In present circumstances, when my heart is burning (or full of sorrow), now it is not acceptable to you, you who had told me that you prefer living in the heart.
The reproachment and the censure is even more grave, in the context that in the first place the poet is already holding the beloved (or God) responsible for the sorrow and anguish that now resides in his heart. And on top of that, the beloved (or God) now does not want to be in this heart. The reprimand and the blame is very forceful.
tumhen = to you
kyun = why
madde-nazar = a phrase in urdu meaing – in view of the situation or circumstances
ab = now
hai = is
kharaabi = literally means defect or defective; in context it is used in the sense of ‘is wrong’, ‘is unacceptable’.
is ki = of this – ‘this’ is referring to the idea in the next line
tum = you
to = literally means ‘so’, in context, used for placing emphasis on the verb ‘kehtey’
keh = say
thhe = past tense usage; did (in past), or used to
tum to kehtey thhe ke = you used to say that
ghar = abode, home, place where one resides
hai = is
dil = heart
insaan = human being
dil-e-insaan = heart of a human person
meraa = mine; in context, applies to the one to whom this reproach is addressed
pad gayee kis ki nigaah-e-ma-tabassum ‘seemaab’
ho gayaa harf-e-halak daftar-e-isyaan meraa
Someone’s smiling glance fell on my sins and disobediences, and the entire record of my transgressions faded away.
pad gayee = fell
kis ki = whose
nigaah = glance
tabassum = smile
ma-tabassum = with a smile, with a smiling face; or a smiling face
‘seemaab’ = poet’s signature; takhallus
ho gayaa = (it) happened; in context, it transformed
harf = letter, vowel; in context this refers to written word or written record
halak = variant of halkaa – meaning light or faded
harf-e-halak = faded or unreadable letters / words
daftar = the literal meaning in present usage is ‘office’; but this is not the true meaning. ‘daftar’ means a register or a journal in which things get written. Over years, the usage got transformed to ‘office’, the place where such registers are kept and worked on.
isyaan = sin, transgression, failing
daftar-e-isyaan = record of transgressions and failings
mera = mine
Song-Jaag aur dekh zaraa aalam e veeraan meraa (Saigal NFS) (1940) Singer-K L Saigal,Lyrics-Seemab Akbarabadi
Lyrics
aaa aaa
jaag aur dekh zaraa, aalam-e-veeraan meraa
subah ke bhes mein nikla hai ghareebaan mera
subah ke bhes mein nikla hai ghareebaan mera
jaag aur dekh zaraa, aalam-e-veeraan meraa
subah ke bhes mein nikla hai ghareebaan mera
subah ke bhes mein nikla hai ghareebaan mera
band aankhen kiye yoon jaag rahaa hoon shab-e-gham
band aankhen kiye yoon jaag rahaa hoon shab-e-gham
ke unhey aaye nazar khwaab-e-pareishaan meraa
ke unhey aaye nazar khwaab-e-pareishaan meraa
muddaton boo-e-wafaa aayegi butkhaanon se
muddaton boo-e-wafaa aayegi butkhaanon se
ood ban ban ke jalaa hai dil-e-sozaan meraa
ood ban ban ke jalaa hai dil-e-sozaan meraa
tumhen kyun madde-nazar ab
haaye
tumhen kyun madde-nazar ab hai kharaabi is ki
tumhen kyun madde-nazar ab hai kharaabi is ki
tum to kehtey thhe ke ghar hai dil-e-insaan meraa
tum to kehtey thhe ke ghar hai dil-e-insaan meraa
pad gayee kis ki nigaah-e- ma-tabassum ‘seemaab’
pad gayee kis ki nigaah-e- ma-tabassum ‘seemaab’
ho gayaa harf-e-halak daftar-e-isyaan meraa
ho gayaa harf-e-halak daftar-e-isyaan meraa
jaag aur dekh zaraa, aalam-e-veeraan meraa
Share this:
- Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email
- Click to share on Tumblr (Opens in new window) Tumblr
- Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window) LinkedIn
- Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window) Reddit
- Click to print (Opens in new window) Print
- Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window) Pinterest
- Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) Facebook
- Click to share on X (Opens in new window) X
Atul’s Song A Day- A choice collection of Hindi Film & Non-Film Songs 
September 8, 2016 at 1:03 pm
Excellent. Please include more poets and more gazals.
LikeLike