Eighty Years of Safdar Aah Sitapuri's Iconic 'Dil Jalta Hai Toh Jalne De'
By Sumit Paul, New Age
Islam
7 June 2024
"Jo Taar Se Nikli Hai Woh Dhun Sab Ne Suni
Hai/ Jo Saaz Pe Guzri Hai Woh Kis Dil Ko Pata Hai " (The tune emanating from the
strings has enthralled all / But who cares for the fate of the instrument?).
Sahir Ludhianavi
wrote these immortal lines for the song, "Ashkon Ne Jo Paaya Hai” for the film, Chaandi ki Deewaar (1964). Talat Mahmood sang it soulfully. This
couplet articulates the dismal fate of the creator of an immortal creation.
Though the
great Sahir always got the acknowledgement for his fabulous poetry and lyrics,
not many poet-lyricists got the recognition they deserved. Safdar Aah Sitapuri
was one of them. Does this name ring a bell? Perhaps not. While his song "Dil Jalta Hai Toh Jalne De Aansoo Na
Baha" (Film: Pahli Nazar,
composer: Anil Biswas, 1945) was immortalised by Mukesh, he (Sitapuri) remained
in oblivion.
Safdar
Aah Sitapuri
----
Though the
movie hit the marquee in 1945, Aah Sitapuri wrote this Ghazal in 1944 and it
appeared in an Urdu Roznaamcha, Vatan,
published from Lahore.
Initially,
the director and producer Mazhar Khan didn't want to use this for his movie.
But as luck would have it, the song was not only retained, it got Mukesh a
strong foothold in Bombay.
A few years
ago, a Pakistani film critic Anwar Azeem wrote in an Urdu daily that this song
was initially offered to Rafi, This is factually wrong. First of all, Anil
Biswas never liked Rafi's voice and used him just for four rather forgettable
songs just the way composer Naushad Ali used Kishore's voice for only one song.
We all have our biases and we often make a fetish of our idiosyncrasies. That
apart, Rafi's voice didn't evolve as a perfect singing voice till 1949 when he
sang that song of the songs, "Suhani
Raat Dhal Chuki Na Jaane" (Film: Dulari).
Sitapuri was preferred only by Anil Biswas. He didn't get many films. He wrote
many Nazms. A few like, Tumhari Yaad, Ibne-e-Aadam Ka Azm and Pesh-Rau-Pesh-E-Nazar are indeed
notable. One incomplete Ghazal Dukhti Rag is popular among the
connoisseurs of Urdu poetry. There's a couplet in it, "Aankhein Khuli Theen Un Ke Intazaar Mein/ Khuli
Hi Raheen Iktarfa Pyaar Mein” (Eyes were wide open waiting for her/ They
remained open in an unrequited love).
I received
one more couplet of Aah Sitapuri from a retired professor friend of mine who
taught Urdu at Allahabad University: Koi Aa
Ke Ise Buhaar De/ Gard-Aalood Ho Gayee Hai Qabr Meri (Let someone come and
dust it off/ My tomb is soiled with dust). He lamented in an interview in 1979
that no one remembered that he penned the song, Dil Jalta Hai Toh Jalne De. He breathed his last in 1980; unsung
and completely forgotten.
-----
A regular columnist for New Age Islam, Sumit
Paul is a researcher in comparative religions, with special reference to Islam.
He has contributed articles to the world's premier publications in several
languages including Persian.
New Age Islam, Islam Online, Islamic Website, African Muslim News, Arab World News, South Asia News, Indian Muslim News, World Muslim News, Women in Islam, Islamic Feminism, Arab Women, Women In Arab, Islamophobia in America, Muslim Women in West, Islam Women and Feminism