teraa shahar kitanaa ajiib hai
Soon it is going to be three months that I have stepped into this new country and this how I can describe this place today. The line above is borrowed from a poem which has been immortalized as a gazal by the famous singer Jagjit Singh. For those who are not conversant with Ürdu I would like to translate it into English.
Your city is quite a strange land where there are no friends neither are there any enemies… now Raquib is a word which cannot be truly expressed by saying enemy. Enemy poses a threat to you and might hurt you or inflict deadly blow. While one’s raquib is the man who is loved by the girl you have fallen for. This can be a cocktail of a competitor and an opponent. … so it is quite an intense word ... isn’t it!
I am having such a feel about this place because I find people here are too busy with their own life and their circle of trust. I still haven’t figured it out if this is a big city syndrome or a small city effect. At first it was while I was searching for an apartment to rent, it was so difficult to even get an idea about which locality I should concentrate. It was a bit stressful at one point but then asked myself ... “did you see anyone living on the footpaths on your way to work or back?”
I said “No”.
“So why do you worry!”
Reassured I went up to the face book and posted a link of another song Ek Akela Is Shaher Mein´” which sings about a lonely man looking for a home in a big city!
(Face book is another strange place that brings distant people closer, every day people are making new friends or getting connected to old friends but unfortunately I do not see any one chatting to each other once friendship has been restored.)
But this time I got an assuring response with an extract from a Gazhal……. “Main akela hi chala tha jaanib-e-manzil magar, Log saath aate gaye aur kaaravaan bantaa gayaa.” (I set out alone towards my goal, but others kept joining me on the way and a caravan was been formed).
So this is my life in poetry my friends!
This a U-tube link to the song for anyone who would like listen to it.
This a U-tube link to the song for anyone who would like listen to it.
