When a ‘divide’ can help
RANA SIDDIQUI
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Is Partition only a scar on the face of history? Filmmaker, lyricist, poet Gulzar believes it is time we started counting the positives.
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Photo: SHIV KUMAR PUSHPAKAR
TIME TO SMILE: Gulzar says he is happy with the way India and Pakistan are meeting through music, literature and cinema.
Starched dazzling white kurta pyjama and shining gold-pointed Punjabi jooti; these seem to be the poet, lyricist and filmmaker Gulzar’s favourite dress. His baby-pink complexion, robust voice and brisk manner of walking even at 71, are enoug
h to give any young man a complex.
Rarely seen in films or other functions, the veteran barely misses a chance to be associated with what his heart beats for — literature of Partition. No wonder he was at the American Centre in New Delhi to launch a special issue of the journal Manoa, published by the University of Hawaii.
The special issue — which will be called “Crossing Over; Partition Literature from India, Pakistan, Bangladesh” — will have several stories from these three countries, newly penned and translated. The journal will take a few months to get printed.
The launch coincided with the celebrations of 60 years of Independence of India and Pakistan. On the occasion, Gulzar was quite naturally in a nostalgic mood. But, unlike other speakers, who only touched on the painful memories of the divide, he made an attempt to lend the evening a joyful colour.
Life’s full circle
“Each time I hear the word ‘Partition,’ my wounds are scratched. Why can’t we see the positive side of the partition too? If I say that India’s runaway man to Pakistan is its President (Parvez Musharraf) today and Pakistan’s runaway man is India’s Prime Minister (Manmohan Singh), our lives (India and Pakistan) have come full circle. I have seen Lord Wavell leaving the country from Roshnara Bagh in August 1947 and Lord Mountbatten coming in. That night still haunts me like a nightmare. At times I think, ‘what made me a writer? Was it this constant scratching of the wounds’? ” he asked wistfully.
Though most of Gulzar’s earlier poems hauntingly bring alive the wounds of partition, this time he preferred speaking about it in a positive note. He shared several memories full of humour. He said, “Kashmir is a constant issue with India and Pakistan. This also serves as the bone of contention between the two countries. But those who have learnt to live with it happily are great. Once I was in New York. My friend from Pakistan, Amzad, took me to an Indian restaurant and said, ‘This restaurant has ‘eastern khana’ that you would love’. I saw that the restaurant’s name was ‘Kashmir’. I insisted on meeting its owner. He was Captain Shaheen. I asked him, ‘Why did you keep its name Kashmir while you are serving ‘eastern food’. He said with pride, ‘because both India and Kashmir think Kashmir is theirs’ and so come to eat here’. We had a hearty laugh. What I mean to say is why can’t we extract these beautiful elements out of a divide and learn to be happy?”
The poet also remembered having talked to people who wouldn’t skip their namaaz whether they were in India or Pakistan. “Once I asked a person living near the border (LoC). ‘You hear azaan (the
muezzin’s call) from both the sides of the border. And the time of the azaan is almost 20 minutes in each country. So how do you offer namaaz?’ He said, ‘Babuji hum to andaza laga kar time adjust kar lete hain. Wh
en I go to Pakistan I offer namaaz according to their time and when in India, I offer according to Indian time’. I couldn’t help smiling at his innocence.”
Next ventures
Gulzar, who has made films like ‘Hu Tu Tu,’ ‘Maachis’ ‘Ijaazat,’ ‘Mausam’ ‘Aandhi,’ ‘Koshish’ and many more, believes that history and cinema have treated literature very differently. But the love between the people of these two countries is not lost. “I meet filmmakers from Pakistan who make films there and give their advertisements here. I also meet filmmakers who make films here (India) and advertise there. If literature is somewhere scraping the wounds, some films are trying to heal them,” added Gulzar.
In his own way the veteran also seemed to be saying there is no difference between the countries. “I have written a poem ‘Vatan’ (Nation) for Faraz sahib (the famous poet from Pakistan). I would like him (read people from Pakistan) to understand just this … Zara sa farq hai bas ye samajh lo – Ke tum vahin ke ho, aur main vahin se hoon,” (The only difference between ‘you’ and ‘me’ is that youbelong there, and I hail from there).
The lyricist whose songs in his last films like ‘Guru,’ ‘Bunty Aur Bubli’, ‘Paheli’ have ruled the charts, has just finished writing lyrics for ‘Om Shanti Om,’ a film produced by Shah Rukh Khan’s Red Chilli Entertainment and directed by Farah Khan. He has also written songs for ‘Baat Pakki’, a film to be directed by his daughter Meghna Gulzar.
So what next? “After printing ‘Pukhraj’ (an anthology of his poems) in Braille with the help of an NGO called Arushi, I am trying to print more of my works in Braille for my visually-impaired fans.” A ray of light in the darkness if ever there was one!
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