Back in the day, I remember weekday mornings and afternoons tuning into Vividh Bharati's classic radio. I remember the RJ announcing names such as Hasrat Jaipuri, Sahir Ludhianvi, Majrooh Sultanpuri, Shakeel Badayuni, Qamar Jalalabadi along with the more famous names of the singers and music directors during the song credits.
I must shamefully confess I did not pay much attention to the contribution of the lyricists to the song. The song, to me, would be a Lata or a Rafi or a Kishore or a Mannada song or perhaps even an OPN or SDB or Naushad song, but rarely ever did I remember a song as being solely that of the lyricist.
It was only much later, when I began to pay attention to the lyrics of a song - more in a bid to memorize it for Antakshari or Karaoke nights or whatever - did the more memorable and poignant verses stay with me and I actually made an effort to look up who the lyricist might be. And eventually grew to recognize these poets by their poetry. (I can make a fairly good guess on the Golden Era lyricists now based on their writing styles!)
Our friend, Mousy reminded me that it was one of our most well-known and loved poets, Shailendra's birth centennial on Aug 30, 2023 and I thought it deserved a thread of its own, since we've had many threads commemorating actors, singers or even Music directors but there haven't been (at least to my knowledge) any threads on lyricists.
And to begin such a tribute with one for Shailendra, to my mind, would be nothing less than the perfect remedial measure for this oversight. Because if there ever was a people's poet, it was Shailendra. It stunned me to discover how many of the lyrics I liked and sung along to were written by him!
The simplicity of his lyrics, his ability to write about situations and make them relatable to the common man is what set him apart. His lyrics may not have been bombastic, or steeped in rich Urdu vocabulary or even tried to convey meanings or emotions with complex metaphors. But he was able to create a magical imagery that simply tugged at your heartstrings with simple, everyday words.
Born Shankardas Kesarilal in Rawalpindi on Aug 30, 1923, he moved to Mathura where he spent his school days and began dabbling in poetry. He got a job in Bombay as a technician in Indian Railways and while there joined IPTA (Indian People's Theatre Association) where he began writing and presenting politically themed poetry (he was a communist).
Raj Kapoor, who was present at his rendition of Jalta hai Punjab (his take on the horrors of partition), was impressed and offered to buy his poem to use in his directorial venture, Aag. He was taken aback when Shailendra flatly refused, stating firmly that his poetry was not for sale. However, RK left an open offer for Shailendra to come work for him anytime.
As fate would have it, Shailendra soon had a personal crisis (his wife fell ill) and was in need of the extra cash, so he went up to Raj Kapoor who was finalizing his team for Barsaat and already had a lyricist on board, Hasrat Jaipuri. But keeping his promise to Shailendra and recognizing his dire need, he offered him two songs, Patli Kamar hai and the title track, Barsaat mein. The rest, of course, was history.
The phenomenal success of Barsaat not only just established RK as a star producer and director but was also responsible for launching the careers of Mukesh, Shankar-Jaikishen and Shailendra, all of whom formed a formidable team - one that remained almost unbroken until Shailendra's death in 1966.
He also collaborated with other famed music directors of that time including Salil Chowdhary, whom he knew from his IPTA days and S.D. Burman among others.
His poetry was relatable because of his ability to feel empathy for the protagonists' pain - brought about by his own difficult and penurious childhood. Besides this, there was always a subtext of social justice underlining his songs.
In 1963, Shailendra was drawn to the novella, Mare gaye Gulfam by Phaniswar Nath Renu and decided to produce a movie, Teesri Kasam based on it. He managed to rope in his friend, Raj Kapoor to play the lead with almost no pay (his signing amount was Rs. 1) and got another friend, Basu Bhattacharya to direct. Waheeda Rehman charged him nothing. It was his baby and he was crushed. emotionally and financially, by its commercial failure. It later went on to receive critical acclaim but it was too late for Shailendra to witness its success. He died in 1966.
In tribute to this illustrious poet, I'm listing a few of my favorite Shailendra songs, with emphasis on the lines that strike me the most from them (if I do have a favorite line). I hope you all will do the same in celebration of his centennial.
Just like he himself said...
Ke marke bhi kisiko yaad aayenge
Kisike aansooon mein muskurayenge
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