On a hot May day, my parched lips are looking for Gopaldas Neeraj for some soothing verse. His immortal lines “Ab Ke Saawan Mein Shararat Yeh Mere Saath Huyi Mera Ghar Chhod Saare Sheher Mein Barsaat Huyi” are doing the rounds of mental space. And that haunting number from “Sharmeelee” – “Megha Chhaye Aadhi Raat Bairan Ho Gayi Ankhiyaan” that epitomises the delicious contrast in his phraseology to describe the uncertainties of love and life – is playing in my ear phone. After a long wait as I enter his room, I find Neeraj is indisposed. Covered by sheets in an air-conditioned room, his aide reminds that the 90-year-old poet has been hospitalised for a long time. Before my patience wilts, Neeraj wakes up. And soon I discover the old man is under the weather but the poet is not. “Atman ke saundarya ka shabd roop hai kavya, manav hona bhagya hai kavi hona saubhagya,” he shares the doha to strike home the point. Couplets and haikus are the latest interest of the poet, who once used to come up with reams of poetry, much to the chagrin of composers.
It is said that Neeraj once approached Shankar with three-pages of poetry. Shankar didn’t know what to do with it. Those were the days when composers had established their ascendancy on lyricists and Shankar was known to be snappy but it didn’t mean he didn’t come down from his pedestal because the end result of three pages was “Likhe Jo Khat Tujhe.” (“Kanyadaan”).
Neeraj agrees that S.D. Burman did more justice to his craft than Shankar. He cites the example of “Ae Bhai Zara Dekh Ke Chalo” from “Mera Naam Joker”. “Shankar hadn’t come across such blank verse for a film song before and could not hold it in tune. Ultimately, I had to step in.”
A people’s poet, Neeraj says his poetry was shaped by his broken heart, desire and years of suffering. “Mera tan rogi, man bhogi, meri aatma rahi yogi.” It is this contradiction that makes his poetry tangible. It reflects in its pure form in “Kal Ka Pahiya” (“Chanda Aur Bijli”) which won him Filmfare award and in popular mode in “Bas Yahi Apradh Main har Baar Karta Hoon, Aadmi Hoon Aadmi Se Pyaar Karta Hoon” (“Pehchan”).
He was introduced to the film medium by producer R. Chandra when he turned director with “Nayi Umar Ki Nayi Fasal”. The film was inspired by Neeraj’s poem “Karwaan Guzar Gaya Ghubar Dekhte Rahe”. Chandra could not do justice to his profound thought on the meaning of life and took the words literally. The film bombed badly but the songs live on. “Dekhti Hi Raho Aaj Na Darpan Tum Pyaar Ka Ye Mahurut Badal Jayega” talks about the transient nature of life in the garb of a romantic song where the boy is unable to hold on to his hormonal urge.
It is this interplay of profound and popular that caught the eye of Dev Anand who was looking for a poet to fill the vacuum created by the demise of Shailendra. But writing to a situation and a tune is a different ball game and Neeraj discovered it when Dev Anand introduced him to S.D. Burman for “Prem Pujari”. Neeraj took a leave of six days from Dharam Samaj College in Aligarh where he was teaching Hindi and reached Bombay at the invitation of Anand. “He put me in luxurious hotel in Santa Cruz and paid me Rs.1000 even before signing me. Next day he took me to S.D. Burman, who showed apprehensions about a poet’s ability to write to tunes and a given situation. Dev Anand said that he should not worry. He should give the tune and if Neeraj failed he would remain his guest for six days and enjoy Bombay. Burman da gave me a tune and said the song should start with ‘Rangeela Re’ and it is about a girl who sees her beloved coming to a party with another girl. It should have elements of frustration in love, jealousy and satire. I worked the whole night and came up with “Rangeela Re Tere Rang Main Yun Ranga Hai Mera Mann, Chhaliya Re…” Next day he went to Dev Anand’s office and showed what he had written. After reading it, he embraced Neeraj and exclaimed how he could do it in one night. “He immediately took me to Burman da’s home and proudly presented me to him and said: See, I told you, Neeraj has done it. When Burman da listened to it he said ‘Dev you go, now we will sit together.’ After he left, Burman da admitted that he gave me this complex situation to make me give up. After that we three began to bond.” “Shokhiyon Mein Ghola Jaye” was taken from his poem “Chandni Mein Ghola Jaye”. It was his take on life but Dev Anand wanted it to be changed according to the requirement of the film. “I changed the antara completely. “Phoolon Ke Rang Se” was written to the tune… I wrote my best songs for him and the biggest royalty I get is from the songs that I wrote for Dev Anand,” says Neeraj adding he never signed a contract with him. Having worked with both Dev Anand and Raj Kapoor, Neeraj says while the former was a pure romantic the latter was all about innocent idealism. “It reflected in their choice of composer. Dev Anand preferred S.D. Burman, who retained his classical roots in film business, while Raj Kapoor always opted for Shankar Jaikishan who relied on beats. For them tune was everything.”
In many ways Neeraj is like Shahryar, another eminent poet from Aligarh who also took a break from academic life to reach out to his audience through entertainment industry. Shahryar once told me that his poetry was like “asli ghee in a shop that traded in all sorts of products. He refused to compromise. So did Neeraj. Unlike Shahryar he tried a tad more to adapt to the ways of the industry. He did write “Sunday Ko Pyar Hua, Monday Ko Iqrar” (“Kanyadaan”). He did give his name to “Dheere Se Aana Khatmal Khatiyan Mein” (“Chhupa Rustam”) but the compromise was for legends like S.D. Burman and Shankar Jaikishan. Unfortunately, when Neeraj primed their stars were going down and the poet’s ego was not ready to compromise with the younger generation. He packed his bags and returned to his academic pursuits in Aligarh. “From the industry only Dev Anand and Goldie stayed in touch till the end,” says Neeraj having written for Dev Anand till “Chargesheet”.
Neeraj says his film songs lived because there is poetry in each one of them. “That is why they have withstood the test of time. My idea of poetry is to convey profound thoughts in simple words. Where is the art in saying difficult things in difficult words?”
Neeraj loves to talk about the time he spent in the film industry but wants to underline there is more to him. One of the few Hindi poets who embraced Urdu with an open mind, he wrote extensively for communal amity. He breaks into “Ab To Mazhab Bhi Aisa Koi Chalaya Jaye, Jahan Insaan Ko Insaan Banaya Jaye Aag Behti Hai Ganga main Jhelum main bhi, Koi batlaye Kahan Jake Nahaya Jaye”. “People talk of my five years in film industry. They tend to forget my 65 years of contribution to literature.” A friend of Osho, he likens himself to the spiritual guru. “Mehmaan chala gaya tab pehchana.” He is peeved by the fact that in both the worlds he was considered an outsider.
Still in demand in poetic soirees, Neeraj, who was in Delhi for Jashn-e-Aadab mushaira, says the quality of poetry has come down. “Third class, I will say. Poetry is not just for entertainment. If my vocal chords permit I would still like to recite,” says the poet who used to have a huge female fan following in his hey day when he and Harivansh Rai Bachchan would keep the audience in thrall the whole night. Today, the Hindi poet doesn’t take on the system. Instead he is seen as part of one. Neeraj is also said to be close to Samajwadi Party. Neeraj agrees and comes up with a couplet to describe the situation. “Waqt aisa dil pe guzra jab aah bhar bhar ke bhi waah waah karna pada.” Who says he is under the weather!
The outsider
Seasoned music critic Raju Bharatan says Neeraj’s poetry brought a whiff of fresh air with metaphors and similies that were new to film music. “His relationship with Shankar was explosive but ultimately both arrived at a working relationship. S.D. Burman understood where he was coming from. The Mumbai film media at that time went by tunes and could not appreciate his poetic flavour fully.”
Simply profound
“Kaise Kahen Hum Pyar Ne Humko”, “Khilte Hain Gul Yahan”, “Haan Main Kasam Li”, “Aaj Madhosh Hua Jaye Re”
