The Mona Lisa Effect In Gulzar바카라�s Writings On Soil And Society

The ability to share vulnerabilities lends Gulzar바카라�s voice rare authenticity and persuasiveness. It bestows him with a rare authority to write on our shared existence, our Sanjha Rishta. 

Jab tak mere saamne waale ghar kii battii jaltii hai, us ghar kii saarii parchhaiya바카라�n merii deewaar par paDti hai바카라�n 바카라� hamaaraa rishtaa to waisaa hai바카라�.sanjhaa rishtaa hai!  (So long as the light is on in the house opposite, its shadows keep moving on the wall of my house바카라� that바카라�s the nature of our kinship... it is a shared bond.) 

In an interview, when the suggestion was made that his method for liberation rests in individuality, the anguish was evident in Gulzar바카라�s voice: 

Kaise individuality? Individuality me kaise? Mai바카라�n jalte shehar me baiTha shaayar iis se zyaadaa kare bhii kyaa? Jab wo kahta hai to wo poore shehar kii baat kar rahaa hai 바카라� to wo akela raastaa nahii바카라�n Dhoond rahaa hai akele ke liye, wo poore samaaj kii baat kar rahaa hai바카라�바카라�바카라�Khoon dekh kar Taap ke door ho jaataa hoo바카라�n바카라�.nau-gyaarah kii gaadi pakadni hai바카라�mai바카라�n aisaa behis huaa hoo바카라�n바카라�바카라� 바카라�mai바카라�n apne akele kii baat to nahi바카라�n kar rahaa hoo바카라�n 바카라� mai바카라�n us poore samaaj kii baat kar rahaa hoo바카라�n, jise mai바카라�n dekh rahaa hoo바카라�n바카라�바카라� (Rajya Sabha TV, 2012) (How? How 바카라�in individuality바카라�? What more can I, a poet in a burning town, do? When he expresses, he is alluding to the whole town 바카라� thus he is not seeking a path alone for himself, he is talking about the whole society바카라�바카라�On seeing blood, I leap over to distance myself바카라�.I have to catch the 9-11 train바카라�that benumbed have I become.바카라� So, I am not talking about myself only 바카라� I am talking about the whole society that I am observing.)

I had to rewind this part many times and the question that continued to spool on my mind was: Writing with intimacy and writing about the collective 바카라� are these mutually exclusive? On my way to Boskiyana in 2012, I knew that this must be on the top of my list 바카라� the topic of collective Vs. individual: 

Kyaa muktii akele nahi바카라�n paayii jaa saktii? I ask him. Can one not get salvation on one바카라�s own?

Hmm바카라�akele bhii payii jaa saktii hai, aur aapke saath jo ju바카라�D jaaye바카라�n unhe바카라�n bhii mil jaayegii. Hai바카라�n naa? Haa바카라�n바카라�wo itnaa akelaa bhii nahi바카라�n hai바카라�itnaa akelaa bhii nahi바카라�n hai.  (Hmm바카라�one can, and those who join you will also get it. Isn바카라�t it? Yes바카라�one is not that alone바카라�not that alone.)

Indeed, it is an intriguing paradox that the more intimacy and vulnerability Gulzar imbues his words with, the more universal and collective his voice becomes.

No, they are not mutually exclusive!

Khoon dekh kar Taap ke door ho jaataa hoo바카라�n바카라�.
Nau-gyaarah kii gaaDi pakaDni hai바카라�
mai바카라�n aisaa behis huaa hoo바카라�n
(바카라�On seeing blood, I leap over to distance myself바카라�.
I have to catch the 9-11 train바카라�
That benumbed have I become바카라�).

A private, intimate reflection such as this is indeed the genesis of any meaningful kinship with the collective. Without perceiving the pain on a personal level, it is not possible to write authentically about the collective. Without this, only shallow pity or preaching can be expressed, not the sensibility and sentience these lines carry: 

kooe바카라�n ke aas paas ab kuchh nahii바카라�n hai 
zaraa se faasle par ik puraanaa ped jaamun kaa 
ab us par phal nahii바카라�n aate

바카라�⿒�

..wo to keh gaii thii, ke phir se louTegii 
mai바카라�n chhoDe hue kooe바카라�n kii maanind wahii바카라�n Thehraa huaa hoo바카라�n 
utarne lag gayaa hoo바카라�n, khushk hotaa jaa rahaa hoo바카라�n !
(Now, nothing is left around the well
Just a jamun tree, a little distance away,
That no longer fruits.
바카라�.
When she left she did say she would return
Like the abandoned well, I wait
Beginning to ebb
Shrivelling by the day.)

Only a native voice can be without shallow pity or preaching. Only a native voice can ennoble and dignify shared existence. Such a 바카라�native바카라� eternally dwells in Gulzar바카라�s voice. 
 

Lending Voice To The Unseen And The Unheard 

Autumn colours surround my street for several weeks between May and July. In those weeks, I find Gulzar바카라�s imagery everywhere 바카라� on the auburn branches and the fallen ochre-bronze foliage. Not even the real living-breathing-falling leaves feel as alive, vibrant, and fecund as his words: 

Khizaan jhaaDan liye patte giraatii phir rahii hai kyoo바카라�n, darakhto바카라�n se
Khizaa바카라�n ko kyaa huaa?
Wo bouraaii huii phirtii hai, jaise piile patto바카라�n par 
likhii koi ibaarat hai,
MiTaanaa chaahtii hai바카라� (바카라�Green Poems바카라�, p 106)
(With a duster in hand, why is autumn busy mopping up the leaves?
What has happened to it?
Crazy, it scurries around
As though there is something written on the yellow leaves 
Which it must erase!)

The autumn with a duster in hand and the ancestral jungles; the aged rivers and those rowdy clouds; the magician earth and September바카라�s allergic sky; or February바카라�s frost and the ageing tree at the crossroads 바카라� each of these spirited portrayals by Gulzar seem to carry nature바카라�s own fecund life-energy and its healing and transformational capacity. 

His imagery, just like nature, is fresh, fertile, unbound 바카라� never stale. We feel as invigorated by his words as we feel amidst the mist of Sanobars or soaking in the sonorous sound of an exuberant dariya. 

Waqt ne apnaa rukh badlaa aur바카라�
Parbat-parbat paa바카라�nv rakhtaa neeche utraa
Raat kii god me shaam paDii thii
Dariyaa lipTaa huaa khaDaa tha peepal se
Aur pahaD ke seene par, pahlii-pahlii ghaas ugee thi!(Neglected Poems, p 30)
(And Time changed its course바카라� 
Climbing down the mountains 
It descended
The dusk was lying in the lap of the night
The river was standing entwined with the peepal
And on the mountain바카라�s chest the very first grass had sprouted!)

Dhundhle dhundhle 바카라�drawing book바카라� me바카라�n bane hue kuchh 
charcoal ke khaake se,
Kohare me바카라�n kirdaar ye pedo바카라�n ke kitne achchhe lagte hai바카라�n바카라�

바카라�바카라�R K Laxman바카라� ke cartoono바카라�n ke kirdaar,
Shaayad ud kar jhaadiyo바카라�n me바카라�n jaa atke hai바카라�n
Havaa kaa jho바카라�nkaa chhootaa hai, to role badal jaate hai바카라�nin kirdaaro바카라�n ke
Poshaake바카라�n badal kar louT aate hai바카라�n (바카라�Green Poems바카라�, p 28)

(Like the fading, hazy lines
Of charcoal portraits in a drawing book
How nice the profiles of these trees look in the fog.

Recalling the cartoons of R.K. Laxman,
Takes flight only to get stuck in the bushes.
A gust of wind can change the profile of these characters
They can return with a change in apparel).

I long to reach out and touch the maiden ground cover on the broad torso of that mountain and my time-constrained train journey to work is enlivened and deepened by meeting R.K. Laxman바카라�s cartoons in the bushes of Lane Cove National Park... 

His anthropomorphic work is a truly distinctive and remarkable treatise for the collective. His imagery is not merely about humanising nature, trees, and valleys in charming, spirited characters. His intricate and piercing attention also unveils unseen-unheard-untouched dimensions of the many imperceptible phenomena of nature. And for this, his imagery feels whole, real! 

The qualities that truly separate Gulzar바카라�s voice from other anthropomorphic works appear to be a result of the following: 

1) He can perceive nature바카라�s cycles coinciding with the cycles of life, day, night; or how imperceptibly, subtly nature바카라�s soul and body change with the cycles of seasonality:

Darakht sochte hai바카라�n jab, to phool aate hai바카라�n
Wo dhoop me Dubo ke ungliyaan
Khyaal likhte hai바카라�n lachakti shakho바카라�n par
To rang rang lafz chunte hai바카라�n
Khushbuo바카라�n se bolte hai바카라�n aur bulaate hai바카라�n 바카라�(바카라�Green Poems바카라�, p 18)
(When trees pause to think, flowers bloom
Dipping their fingers in the sunshine
They write their thoughts on swaying branches
Picking their words in different hues of colour
They converse with fragrances and call us to them.)

2) He perceives not just the spirited state of the muted members of nature but in deep silence he also listens to the restless rustles and ripples of the trees and the rivers 바카라� touching the eternal truth and trust in the ancient laws of life that they stand for, tall and deep: 

Khiza바카라�n darwaaze ke baahar khaDii thii
Abhii paushaak se pattaa koii udhDa nahi바카라�n tha
Sunharii surkh hone lag gaye the zard patte
Sabhii ke kaan 바카라�Gautam Buddh바카라� jaise lambe lambe
Bas ik awaaz ke sab muntzir the
바카라�Chalo ab chhoDo shaakhe바카라�n,
Tyaag do bandhan
Sabaa lekar nijaat ab aa rahii hai!! (바카라�Green Poems바카라�, p 104)
(Autumn stood just outside the door
No leaf had as yet deserted the season바카라�s apparel 
With yellowing leaves turning to burnished gold
Their ears were stretched long like that of Gautam Buddha
To hear that one call:
바카라�Come, leave those branches
Break your bonds
The wind is coming for your liberation!바카라�)

3) He whispers to their vulnerabilities, scars, and their inner-most fears and turmoil when their flows collide with the growth cycles of the developing civilisation: 
Raat kii khamoshi me lekin Thimphu Chhu
Kuch jaap kiyaa kartii ho tum
Wo kyaa hai?
Saagar sangam kahtii ho yaa
Phente jaane se bachne kii 바카라�
Chupchaap duaaye바카라�n kartii ko? (바카라�Green Poems바카라�, p 26)
(In the silence of the night
There is something that you chant Thimphu Chhu
What is that?
Do you talk of your yearning to merge with the ocean 
Or quietly pray
That you be saved the prospect of being whipped?)

Can the pathos of the Thimpu Chuu River find a more poignant and persuasive voice than this, and Wadi-e-Kashmir?

Gulzar바카라�s humanising portrayals have earned him a rare authenticity and authority to remind humanity to reinstate nature바카라�s role as the tribal head, the eternal teacher, or as the ancient custodian of the truth and values 바카라� just like the reminder in these lines: 

Mere Sanobaar dekho 
kitne ooncheoonche qad hai바카라�n unke
Tum se saat gunaa to ho바카라�nge (shayad dus ya baarah guna hon바카라�n)
Umre바카라�n dekho uskii tum, 
kitnii badii hai바카라�n (sadiyo바카라�n zindaa rahte hai바카라�n)
Kah dete ho kahne ko tum
Lekin apne bado바카라�n kii izzat karte nahi바카라�n tum
(Isliye tum logo바카라�n ke qad바카라�
itne chhote rah jaate hai바카라�n) (바카라�Green Poems바카라�, p 128)
(Look at my pines, how high they soar
They must be at least ten or twelve times your size
Look at their age, how much older they are
You say it for the sake of it
But, actually, you do not respect your elders!
That is why your sizes바카라�remain so stunted.)

(An extract from 바카라�The Moonsmith Gulzar바카라� by Shailja Chandra, with permission from the author)

(All translations of the 바카라�Green Poems and Neglected Poems바카라� collection © Pavan K. Varma. The rest of the translations are by Shailja Chandra, a writer, radio broadcaster and sustainability practitioner based in Sydney, Australia. Twitter @ShailjaChandra)