Woh Sitara Hai, Usse Chamakne Do: A Tribute to Nida Fazli

A heartfelt musical tribute to the poet and lyricist Nida Fazli

Woh sitara hai, usse chamakne do; Yun hi aankhon me kya zaroori hai use jism banaa kar dekho? - Nida Fazli (1938 - 2016)

<b><i>Duniya jise kahte hain, Jaadu ka khilona hai; Mil jaaye to mitti hai, kho jaaye to sona hai</i></b>

- Nida Fazli

1978, it was the time when the ‘ghazal movement’ in India was turning a new tide by coming out of traditional mehfils and concerts, and exploring a new space – the drawing rooms of the common folk. The new outfit, that the ghazal wore, had a modern look, a renewed body with contemporary poetry, along with the ornamentation of western instruments like guitars, violins and the keyboard, which went beyond the traditional sarangi and tabla, known to have accompanied it for ages.

Jagjit Singh, coming out of a brief hiatus after a ban imposed on him for singing in South Africa, was at the spearhead of this movement, well supported by music companies, who seized the moment with regular releases of new ghazal records of artists like Jagjit-Chitra, Mehdi Hassan, Ghulam Ali, taking their art beyond borders.

It was for the first time in 1978, that the masses heard the name of Nida Fazli, when Jagjit introduced him in the opening ghazal of his album Come Alive in Live Concert, by saying “Aaj ki shaam ki ibtidaa hum kar rahe hain ghazal se jiske shayar hain janaab Nida Fazli”. The ghazal, Duniya jise kehte hain jaadu ka khilona hai and the 2 disc set became immensely popular and Nida Fazli was no longer an unknown name, thanks to Jagjit Singh’s introductory comments.

Incidentally, Nida Fazli, who was trying to establish a career in Mumbai, was unaware of this development in his career and did not know that his ghazal had been sung by Jagjit Singh till the record company traced his address to deliver the cheque!

<i><b>Koshish bhi kar, ummeed bhi rakh, raastaa bhi chun, phir uske baad thoda muqaddar talaash kar</b></i>

- Nida Fazli

The poet here beautifully exemplifies the significance of destiny.

Nida started as a journalist in the mid-60s, and wasn’t very popular for his open criticism of film artistes in his writings. He was staying close to popular poet & lyricist Jaan Nisar Akhtar and used to meet him regularly. It was due to the sudden demise of Jaan Nisar Akhtar saab in 1976, that Nida was asked to complete the pending songs of Kamaal Amrohi’s ongoing production Razia Sultan. Nida stepped in to write a couple of songs, but the film took much longer to complete and by the time it released in 1983, Nida was already a known name.

It was with Vithalbhai Patel, another lyricist, that Nida formed an unusual creative partnership. Vithalbhai, known as a man with strong political connections, attracted a lot of film projects in the late 70s. He partnered with Nida Fazli, by which the duo got credited for the songs that they wrote together. Nida got a foothold in Raj Kapoor’s camp by writing lyrics for RD Burman’s compositions for films like Biwi o Biwi and Randhir Kapoor’s Harjaai.

But soon Nida realised, that the film industry wasn’t where he wanted to be. He was troubled by the double-faced nature of the people in it and the cut-throat competition around him. After distancing himself from the film industry, Nida released more than half-a-dozen collections of his poems, such as Safar Mein Dhoop To Hogi, Lafzon Ke Phool and was honoured with the Sahitya Akademi Award for his collection of poems titled, Khoya Hua Sa Kuch in 1998.

<i><b>Yahaan koi kisi ko raasta nahin deta; Mujhe gira ke agar tum sambhal sako to chalo</b></i>

- Nida Fazli

The high point of Nida Fazli’s poetry lay in the way he conveyed the philosophy of life using simple language and imagery to reach out to his audience. He touched upon the most complex aspects of human relationships and life, with the simplest terms.

He also presented a beautiful earthy imagery of the nature around him.  One could easily find the shades of the philosophy of sant Kabir and the colours of love of Meera in his poetry.

<i><b>Do aur do ka jod hamesha chaar kahaan hota hai; Soch samajh waalon ko thodi naadani de maula</b></i>

- Nida Fazli

Nida flirted with films for the money, but remained committed to poetry and literature. He was a poet at heart, but occasionally continued to give Hindi films quality lyrics, specially when it was going through its worst phase in the 80s.

His poetry also explored the beautiful faces of human relations. Here is the last line from his touching poem, Maa:

<i><b>Baant ke apna chehra, maatha, aankhen jaane kahan gayi; Phate puraane ek album mein chanchal ladki jaisi maa</b></i>

- Nida Fazli

Nida had also written a brilliant poem on fatherhood – titled Faateha – when his father passed away. Hear the poem in Nida Fazli’s own voice below:

The news of Fazli’s sudden demise came as a big shock for music lovers in the subcontinent, on the day, they were actually commemorating the 75th birth anniversary of Jagjit Singh. It reminds me of another legendary partnership of poet Shailendra with Raj Kapoor, as Shailendra too passed away on Raj Kapoor’s birthday. A sentiment which Nida saab has beautifully expressed in his own writing, which incidentally was rendered by Jagjit.

<b><i>Jeevan kya hai, chalta phirta ek khilona hai; Do aankhon mein, ek se hasna, ek se rona hai</i></b>

- Nida Fazli

Artists like Nida Fazli can never die, they will continue to live on through the words and poetry they’ve conceived.

<i><b>Woh sitara hai, use chamakne do yun hi aankhon mein; Kya zaroori hai use jism banaa kar dekho?</b></i>

- Nida Fazli