This is a small but mellifluous celebration of a giant of a man through his own immortal words. The late Kaifi Azmi wore many hats. The doyen of Urdu poetry was also a film lyricist, screenwriter, activist and member of the Progressive Writers Movement. This weekend, January 14 marks his 100th birth anniversary. When author-filmmaker Nasreen Munni Kabir waxed eloquent about one of his achingly beautiful songs — ‘Main ye soch kar uske dar se utha tha’ — it was inevitable that we ask her to write about him. Also paying to tribute to the great poet are also four of Bollywood’s talented young lyricists — Kausar Munir, Varun Grover, Hussain Haidry and Raj Shekhar.

The elegance of love, loss and loneliness, Kausar Munir

Pakeezah (1972) remains etched in the collective memory of Hindustani cinema lovers as Meena Kumari’s swansong. And her swansong is particularly unforgettable for its elegant, eloquent and evocative song ‘Chalte Chalte’ written by the champion of the working classes, a giant of the Urdu Progressive Writer’s Movement, a towering voice in poetry, screen and lyrics- writing, Kaifi Azmi.

The task of the Hindustani film lyricist is complicated. She has to communicate the voice of the character, in the context of the script, to a certain metric consideration... but all this means nothing if the words don’t strike a chord, don’t move the listeners in some intrinsic way or another. ‘Chalte Chalte’ does all this and so much more.

“Chalte chalte, yunhi koyi mil gaya tha, sar e raah chalte chalte...”

In it’s very first line the song tells us of Sahibjaan’s first brush with love,

“Vahin tham ke reh gayi hai, meri raat dhalte dhalte”...and then clinches the couplet by exposing her tragic lonely fate, all in economic yet elegant poetic terms. We buy into the world of Pakeezah through this simmering ghazal, but outside of the film we relate to the universal emotions of love, loss and loneliness. “Ye chiraagh bujh rahe hain mere saath jalte jalte”...

Kaifi sahab’s lyrical contributions are gloriously many. Songs from Guru Dutt’s Kaagaz ke Phool, Chetan Anand’s Haqeeqat and Heer Ranjha remain all-time favourites.

Alongside these, my personal favourite remains ‘Chalte Chalte’ for being the perfect example of song-writing in Hindustani cinema. For serving film, literature and the common listener, all at once, all with a lightness of touch... “Yunhi... chalte chalte...”

Simple never simplistic, Raj Shekhar

It’s very difficult to pick up just one Kaifi song: ‘Aisi bhi baatein hoti hain’, ‘Ye nayan dare dare’… He was always put in this framework of a political lyricist but was equally romantic. Coming from the background that he did, he had to bear the burden of politics but, for me, he has been much bigger than that tag.

Besides the songs there was also the way he chose his films. He would let go of any personal preconceptions and biases. He was involved with PWA, IPTA and the Leftist politics and did Haqeeqat. It wasn’t just about whether we should go to war or not; in his writing there was a clear differentiation between being anti-war as against being timid and cowardly. ‘Kar chale hum fida’ is all about not being afraid to fight, for the country, yourself and your rights.

‘Hoke majboor’ is not a song of self-pity. It is not about the helplessness of the boy, but that which is engendered by borders, nations and politics.

There was his essential wisdom in him to relate to the character(s). It was not about whether the character(s) shared his rightful ego, personality or politics. He never manipulated [the audience] to put his own words in the character’s mouth but [was] about surrendering to her/him. The character was far bigger than the creative ego. I wonder if by today’s standards the woman in the song ‘Hoke majboor..’ would be considered strong enough — especially when he writes lines like “Ashq aankhon ne piye aur na bahaaye honge, band kamare mein jo khat mere jalaaye honge” or “Dil ki lut-ti hui duniya nazar aayi hogi, mez se jab meri tasveer hatayi hogi”.

But his writing was humanistic, about relating to the individual.

He had a way of connecting with people — “Tu apne dil ki jawan dhadkano ko gin ke bata…” His writing was never lightweight. It was simple but not simplistic. Like the lines from Hanste Zakhm’s ‘Aaj socha to aansoo bhar aaye’ — “Dil ki nazuk ragein toot-ti hain, yaad itna bhi koi na aaye”.

Inner dialogues, Nasreen Munni Kabir

We owe a huge debt to the Hindi/Urdu lyricists, composers, playback singers and musicians whose work started back in the 40/50s cinema. Among this amazing group of true artists is the Urdu poet Kaifi Azmi who began writing songs for films in the 1951 Buzdil in collaboration with music composer S.D. Burman. Beside his expressive vocabulary, delicate poetry and understanding of metre, what made Kaifi Saab’s lyrics so exceptional was the unique way in which some of his best-known songs worked as inner conversations — they are not just songs but a philosophical and emotive dialogue with one’s self.

This seems to be the intention behind ‘Kuchh dil ne kaha kuchh bhi nahin’, ‘Waqt ne kiya’ or ‘Dekhi zamaane ki yaari’. I believe Guru Dutt understood the rationale behind Kaifi Saab’s lyrics (Waqt ne… and Dekhi zamaane…) perfectly, and fittingly used them as background songs. Sung in a soft and low tone, almost like sighing or whispering, these songs become the thoughts of the characters, and because they are not mimed on the screen by the actors — this reinforces the idea of an internal and poignant dialogue. Another example is ‘Main ye soch kar uske dar se utha tha…’ from Haqeeqat. Though an actor (Sudhir) lip-syncs the words, the composition of this nazm (verse) foregrounds the lyrics and holds back tune and orchestration. The words here too articulate the character’s inner desires as he hopes to himself that she will not let him walk away, she will stop him and make him stay by her side.

This was the first time that Kaifi Saab and Madan Mohan had worked together, thanks to Chetan Anand, a close friend of the poet. Sanjeev Kohli, Madanji’s son, remembers: “Iqbal Querishi composed a tune for the nazm for an earlier film Panchayat. The film was released but I don’t believe the song was included in the movie or released as part of the film’s soundtrack. When Chetan Anand later heard the lyrics, he believed they would work well in the narrative of Haqeeqat. Madan Mohan composed a new tune and the presentation was entirely his. Initially the song was to have more music, but to highlight the emotion, my father decided to use only a solo violin which was played by Pyarelal. This was one of the last songs that Pyarelal recorded as a musician, as that was the time when he and Laxmikant were starting off as composers in their own right. The song is sung by Rafi Saab as only he could sing it.”

‘Main ye soch kar uske dar se utha tha…’ has over 700,000 views on YouTube. Add yourself to the number of listeners and you’ll hear again the brilliance of Kaifi Azmi, Madan Mohan and Mohammed Rafi.

Melancholy caramalised, Varun Grover

As many kids born in early 80s, I grew up listening to radio. AIR and its Vividh Bharti service were the only source of Hindi film music in that decade and most of the 90s too. AIR’s good practice of announcing the lyricist’s name (“geetkaar” or “geet ke bol likhe hain”) helped us notice and appreciate lyricists beyond the superstars like Sahir, Shailendra, Anand Bakshi and Majrooh Sultanpuri. Kaifi Azmi, by no means underrated outside Hindi film universe, was one of the first names that encouraged me to actively seek and wait for his poetry on the radio.

‘Koi ye kaise bataaye’, a free-flowing nazm (verse) rather than a ghazal (the standard format of choice for Hindi film music), made me feel heartbreak and loneliness way before I knew it. The poetry is melancholy caramalised and still avoids the easily rewarding emotion of self-pity. The most unique thing about the poetry here is the rarely seen three-line verse format Kaifi saab uses — probably a subtle, beautiful hat-tip to the love triangle it’s filmed on. For example, in this verse:

“Tum masarrat kaa kaho yaa ise gam kaa rishtaa

Kahate hain pyaar kaa rishtaa hain janam kaa rishtaa

Hai janam kaa jo ye rishtaa to badalataa kyon hai?”

The first and second lines here sweetly propose a relationship dynamic and the third one brutally breaks the illusion all love stories are. The entire song follows this format and is a masterclass in solving complex emotions by asking the right questions. There are so many Kaifi Azmi songs that hit the sweet spot and I discovered his huge non-film work too later but this will always remain the first for me.

Staying alive across generations, Hussain Haidry It’s difficult to pick one song because his writing has been so varied —and so much of it is relevant even today. Whether it is ‘Bheetar Bheetar Khaaye Chalo’ from Sankalp with strong political commentary that seems like it is written for present times (“Baapu-baapu karte raho / Zahr dilon mein bharte raho / Basti-basti aag lagey / Har insaa’ ik naag lage”) or poetic, romantic songs like, ‘Tum Jo Mil Gaye Ho’ from Hanste Zakhm or ‘Jhuki Jhuki Si Nazar’ from Arth or ‘Waqt Ne Kiya Kya Haseen Sitam’ from Kaagaz Ke Phool that have revitalised themselves in pop culture for decades and stayed alive despite the change in generations.

Who can forget, “Beqaraar dil is tarah mile / Jis tarah kabhi hum judaa na the?” There are patriotic songs that he’s written in Haqeeqat, ‘Ab Tumhaare Hawaale Vatan Saathiyon’, a phrase that has almost become a muhaavra (idiom) and blares from the speakers every Republic Day. While there’s another war song with a different, humanistic take, ‘Aayi Abke Saal Diwali Munh Par Apne Khoon Maley’ which speaks of the horrifying consequences of a war on the citizens (“Baalak tarse phuljhadiyon ko, deepon ko deewaarein / Maa ki godi sooni-sooni, aangan kaise sanvaare”). Not only has he written songs in Urdu using the literary formats (‘Ye Duniya Ye Mehfil Mere Kaam Ki Nahin’ from Heer Ranjha is written in a traditional Urdu nazm (verse) structure often used by PWA poets at the time, while ‘Mile Na Phool To Kaanton Se Dosti Kar Li’ from Anokhi Raat is an Urdu Ghazal), he has written like a maestro in pure Hindi as well. ‘Ghanshyaam’ from Apna Haath Jagannath and ‘Peetal Ki Mori Gaagri’ from Do Boond Paani can be easily mistaken for Hindi poems when put down on paper.