Chhaayaageet #159 - "Gaana itna bada to ho nahin sakta."
The young man in his 20s is a romantic. In his childhood he would be found sitting under a tree near the bank of a river, lost in his own world, when other kids would be playing in the fields. He has carried that ethos into his youth.
One day he decides to visit the Baijnath Temple in the state of Himachal Pradesh. The town of Baijnath is situated in the Dhauladhar Ranges of the Himalayas on the left bank of the river Binwa. There is a temple of Lord Shiva, who is affectionately called Baijnath, the physician (Vaidyanath). The Shiva temple and the town are lit up every year for a 12-day festival. The young man is there to attend the festival.
In the hustle bustle of many devotees that have come from far and away, his eyes rest on a beautiful young girl. Who is she? Where is she from? Is she there with anyone? And how is she so strikingly beautiful? He keeps staring, but realizes he shouldn't. What if she catches him staring at her? But he cannot look away. The poet that he is cannot help the words coming to him.
She is so simple, yet graceful. Her face is like a fairy's. When she laughs, flowers shed their petals. When she walks away, she floats away smoothly like a ghazal. Does she understand the language the eyes speak? She's been lost from many births, and now I have found her. But this affair is only today's, or even only this moment's.
His footsteps are pulled in her direction. But then he loses her in the crowd. Will he see her again?
The next day the young man cannot wait to get back to the temple. Will she come? What can he do so that he does not miss her? There she is. He is smitten by her beauty. What might be the name of such a beautiful girl? It must also be something beautiful. How can he just go up to her and ask her? She has noticed him too, this young man gazing at her from a distance. Girls know, don't they? They have a sixth sense that tells them such things. Is he keeping track of her whereabouts? He is not too shabby looking either.
The young man's day ends in the same manner, with the hope of seeing her again. The same routine plays out every day, almost to a fault. On the 12th day, he waits for her to show up. She doesn't come. He looks for her everywhere. Why hasn't she come? Where could she be? Did she come and leave and did he miss her? Or was she avoiding him since this was the last day of the festival? No, that can't be. It had felt like she didn't quite disapprove of his actions, he had even seen a faint smile across her lips as she looked over her shoulder to see if he was following her. Where could she be? Night falls, and the young man abandons the search.
The next day he sets out into the town of Baijnath to look for her. He must find her, this beautiful girl who has penetrated his whole being. Asking around, to his utter dismay and pain, he finds out that this young girl, this radiant beauty, breathed her last yesterday.
Let's sit with our young man for a moment and imagine the emotions flowing over him. Could he have just talked with her once? Just once. How is fate so cruel that he cannot see her again? Ever. And if he was meant to never see her again, why did God have to take her away? How can he live? Can he tell her just once what she means to him? He wanders aimlessly through the town, not knowing where his feet lead him. He only sees her wherever he looks, as if she might just appear around the bend in the road. In that moment, he writes a poem. He titles it "Maina". He writes in his native language, such beautiful words coming straight from the heart. The best poetry arises from pain, they say.
Just a moment ago she was right beside me. Now she's vanished. What trick is this? What is this chase? My mind is searching for that girl. I call out to that girl in my name. I call out to that girl in her name. I call out to her in the name of all. I call out to her in the name of Almighty. If she ever hears this, will she come and meet me just once, lest I can't live, nor can I write another song. Lest. I. Can't. Live.
Fast forward about 50 years to modern day. The young music composer has been handed a few sheets of paper. Those are the lyrics to the song that he needs to compose for this film. But something feels strange. The lyrics run 4 pages front and back. Typically it's just one page. He flips through the pages and comes back to the first page. Written across it, he sees the word, "Maina". He is stunned by the beautiful poetry. But this would be a very long song. He composes a tune. It runs 20 minutes.
At a sitting, the composer and filmmaker are mesmerized by the beautiful words set to a simple tune.
"Gaana itna bada to ho nahin sakta", the filmmaker states the obvious. The song cannot be this long.
"Let's choose the right stanzas from the poem", the composer suggests. They get to work, finding just the right lines from the long poem to go along with the character of the heroine and fit the situation in the film, keeping in mind that the lines should also musically blend together. They bring it down from 20 min to a 4 min song.
The composer has a young singer in mind to sing the song. The young singer is having his share of struggles. He has been singing alaaps in Hindi soaps on TV, anytime there is a dramatic situation where the camera pans the face of every character, they need an alaap in the background. He's been doing these gigs. They invite the young singer to the studio. The composer instructs the singer, "Look, this is a simple song. I want you to keep it as simple as possible and give your best".
"Sir, ye aapki scale mein hai. Isko meri scale se match karein to behtar hoga", the singer requests. Sir, this is in your scale. It would be better if we can match it to my scale. They make the necessary changes adjusting the scale.
The singer sings the song. The composer instructs him to take a few more takes. The singer wonders what he can do differently. Why is the composer not calling the final take? Is he not singing properly? He doesn't want to lose this song. He obediently follows the composer's cues, and sings untiringly, as many times as the composer wants him to.
After several takes, the composer gives his thumbs up. The singer comes out of the cabin. The composer gives him a warm hug.
"The song was done in the second or third take. But I asked you to keep singing because every time you sang, I felt a new feeling and a new emotion emerge inside me, and that's why I asked you keep singing."
The four pages of lyrics are lying on the table. They both look at it. Written across the first page is the word, "Maina", an ode to beauty. Timeless beauty.
Renowned poet late Shiv Kumar Batalvi wrote the poem "Maina" in Baijnath as an elegy for his lost love. It was used in the film Udta Punjab (2016), directed by Abhishek Chaubey, and set to tune by Amit Trivedi. The song is sung by Shahid Mallya, and filmed on Alia Bhatt and Shahid Kapoor. There are other versions in the album, a reprise by Diljit Dosanjh, and a club mix version by Alia Bhatt and Diljit Dosanjh. Yes, she can sing, and how!
At the Filmfare Awards, Udta Punjab was nominated in numerous categories: Best Film, Best Director (Abhishek Chaubey), Best Actor (Shahid Kapoor), Best Actor - Critics (Shahid Kapoor won), Best Actress (Alia Bhatt won), Best Supporting Actress (Kareena Kapoor Khan), Best Male Debut (Diljit Dosanjh won), Best Supporting Actor (Diljit Dosanjh), Best Music Album (Amit Trivedi), Best Lyricist (Late Shiv Kumar Batalvi), Best Female Playback Singer (Kanika Kapoor), Best Costume Design (Payal Saluja won).
Udta Punjab was controversial for the theme of substance abuse in the youth of Punjab. However, the music was extremely popular. The music rights of the film were acquired by Zee Music Company for a whopping record price of Rs. 18 crore ($2.3 million in 2016 money).
Shiv Kumar Batalvi is one of the most popular and revered poets of Punjabi literature. He was a handsome young man, who also sang his own poetry. He was the youngest recipient of the Sahitya Akademi Award at the age of 25. Batalvi passed away at the young age of 36 from liver cirrhosis exacerbated due to alcohol. His poetry is immortal.
Shiv Kumar Batalvi reciting his poem live in a BBC televised program in London:
Shahid Mallya singing this song in a live performance:
Reprise version of Diljit Dosanjh:
Club mix version sung by Alia Bhatt and Diljit Dosanjh:
Lyrics: Shiv Kumar Batalvi
Music: Amit Trivedi
Singer: Shahid Mallya
*ing: Alia Bhatt, Shahid Kapoor
Director: Abhishek Chaubey
Film: Udta Punjab (2016)