Verses from the heart

Nonika Singh

Politically correct or an epitome of sobriety, acclaimed poet Rahat Indori won’t join the chorus of rabble-rousers. Others may lament that India is fast becoming the land of intolerance, but he insists there is so much love in this country that winds of hatred can only blow fleetingly. Rather he throws in a couplet “Tum pyar ki saugat liye ghar se toh niklo, raste mein tumhe koi bhi dushman na milega” to cement his feelings.

A poet and lyricist par extraordinaire, though he began writing poetry rather early in life, he doesn’t believe poets are born and that poetry comes like a flash — of its own volition. Back in time, he recalls his first meeting as a school kid of 12 with the indomitable poet Jan Nisar Akhtar (father of Javed Akhtar). Akhtar’s sagacious advice remains with Indori as he continues to feel, “The first condition for writing well lies in reading, not just in the language you intend to write in, but you need to browse world literature.” Indeed, inspiration too plays a part but only when there is a rich vocabulary at the back of one’s mind.

Creating a dialogue

Not that he writes to impress, but in simple lucid manner to strike a conversation and a dialogue with the listener. Ghazal, to begin with, he defines as a conversation with women about women. “But today it is a dialogue with life, with society, its people and its vicissitudes.” The beauty of Urdu in India, he shares, lies in the fact that over the years it has changed, adapted itself to changing times and borrowed from other Indian dialects. Without a doubt he feels that Urdu, high on Arabic and Persian touches, that is spoken in Pakistan is so very different from ours. But, he doesn’t agree with those who lament the death of the language in our country. “Those eager to write the epitaph of Urdu are the very people who have gained so much from the language.”

Filmy lanes

Cinema, with which he has been closely associated, too has ensured that the Urdu language, as spoken and understood, remains alive. He owes his long innings with tinsel town — I never thought I was cut out for films — to late producer Gulshan Kumar and later to Mahesh Bhatt. Having written songs for over 40 films, including Munna Bhai MBBS, Mission Kashmir and the most recent being Vidya Balan-starrer Begum Jaan, however, he does lament the death of shabad (word) in Hindi film music, “The beauty of language, once the backbone of music in Bollywood, has been overtaken by nonsensical syllables such as dinka, dinka.” Nonetheless, he owes a debt of gratitude to the film industry. “It gave me money and fame at a point when all of it was sorely needed.”

Shot at eternity

Today the globe-trotting poet prefers to put his pen to poetic wisdom, and makes his words come alive at musharias and delighted listeners in Chandigarh, only the other day. Having taken to stage at the age of 20, the disappointment (traditional centres of mushairas like Aligarh, Bhopal and Agra are no longer active), he finds recompense in the happy realisation that these have been replaced by new nucleuses and that too across the seven shores. Heartened by the enthusiasm of Asian community in foreign lands such as Germany, Norway, UK, et al, he quips, “The yearning to connect with their roots is unbelievably strong, as woh tarse hue log hain.”

Talking of his own wish-list, well, people might swear by the deep wisdom in his poetry, he thinks he is yet to write that couplet which will earn him a shot at eternity. Till then, find a world of meaning in his, “Poochte kya ho ke rumaal ke peeche kya hai, Phir kisi roz yeh sailab dikhayenge.”

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