By Kulbhushan Kain
I first set my eyes on him as he walked into our home – the Principal’s Residence. He was wearing his trademark dress – a deep rust coloured kurta with a matching half jacket, a black pajama, and a beautifully embroidered shawl. He looked exactly as he does in his photos. His eyes are very alert – he doesn’t have the deep brooding eyes one would expect of a philosopher, poet, writer. His gait is visibly laboured – he watches the steps that he takes carefully. But he is in good health. When I asked him about it , he said, “Theekh hai”, and after a small pause continued, “I get tired sometimes, but that is because I travel so much and I need more time to recuperate.”
I had the privilege to sit and talk with him – one on one. He was at Welham Boys’ School to entertain a huge crowd with the musical production, “Main Koi Aisa Geet Gaun”, a collection of stories behind the songs of his timeless classics.
His uniquely different intellect came into play instantly. When tea was served to him, he was asked whether he would like to add milk to it.
“Ji hahn”, he said and asked for a liberal amount of milk to be added. Normally these days people have “black tea” – for whatever reasons. When further asked whether he would like sugar to be added he replied in the affirmative, “Ji hahn!” Even sugar has fallen out of favour with most people of a particular section of society. I could not resist commenting, “Javed Sir, these days it’s very unusual to see someone mix milk and sugar with their tea and that too in good quantities!”
Prompt came his reply, “The sugar and tea bowls are filled to the brim. How can one reject or ignore them. यह तो बेइंसाफी हो जाएगी उनके साथ”
Quintessential Javed Akhtar conversing!
Javed Akhtar’s original name was Jadoo, taken from a line in a poem written by his poet father, Jan Nisar Akhtar, – “लम्हा लम्हा किसी जादू का फसाना होगा”!
He was given the official name of Javed since it was close to the word “jadoo”. He spent most of his childhood in Lucknow. He graduated from Saifiya College in Bhopal. I reminded him that when I was working in Bhopal and used to pass by the college, I always thought of him! He was as modest as any great man can and should be. He said that colleges and schools are always bigger than the individuals they produce. He pointed to Shaad Ali (celebrated film maker and an ex-Welhamite who was with him) and said, “Shaad, whom I consider as a son, used to talk very highly of Welham. I was very eager to visit it. I am very happy to see that what he used to say is true.”
Once he took to the stage, his magic surfaced. The template of the four-hour programme was that Javed Saab would introduce a few songs he had written over the years. After every introduction –there were thunderous claps. The wit, the humour never deserted him. At one point he remarked, “जो मैंने कहा इतना भी अच्छा नहीं जितनी आप तालिया बजा रहे हों.” This was followed by even louder claps!
At another point, he remarked, “आप इतना सरप्राइस मत हुए की तालिया बज रही है। मैं बम्बई से कुछ लोग लाया हुं, jo तालिया बजा रहे है.” Laughter and more thunderous claps. His genius also lies in the art of knowing how to connect.
After narrating the short story of a song, he would say, “Chaliye ab aap gaana suniye.”
The songs were sung by two amazing artists – the “Indian Idol” sensation Meiyan Chang (who incidentally studied next door at Col Brown School and later Wynberg Allen, Mussoorie) and Jahnvi Shrimankar. They were absolutely superb. They were ably assisted by guitarists and a tabla maestro. In the background was a huge screen that kept rolling out beautiful patterns. The dancing lights lit the huge specially made stage into a riot of psychedelic colours. At the centre of this stage sat Javed Akhtar. He appeared every inch the emperor of the show. What he saw must have gladdened his heart. He was looking at a packed ground which had within its fold an adoring audience – many of whom kept dancing and waving their phones with the cell torch lights on! At times when the lights in the field used to be dimmed it reminded me of the Dehradun of yesteryears when I chased “jugnoos”! It seemed that there were hundreds of fireflies hovering amidst us!
My favourite all time ghazal is “Tum Ko Dekha Toh Ek Khayaal Aayaa”, written by him and immortalised and sung by the late Jagjit Singh. Javed Saab narrated the story of how the song was written. He said that Yash Chopra’s fourth assistant came to him and requested that he write the songs for his film. He further went on to narrate that those days he used to drink heavily. He said, “That poor guy would come over every evening and ask for the song. Every evening, we would drink and chit-chat and, by 2 a.m., we’d decide that we would finish the song the next day. I kept delaying it. Then one day, he asked again – this time with desperation in his voice. He was worried because the film was being delayed beyond a point. This was past midnight, and after the eighth or ninth peg, I asked for a piece of paper and a pen and decided to get it over with. The reason why I know for sure that I wrote that song in nine minutes is because he had to catch the last train, so kept looking at his watch. I finished it in and handed it over to him.”
There was pin drop silence. Nine minutes to write such an iconic song? The silence was punctured when he said, “Chalo ab aap gaana suniye.”
Javed Akhtar’s musical evening was not just about music, lyrics, lights, sound and dance. It was about wisdom. He asked the kids never to drink. He asked them not to fear insecurity and to chase what excites them. He reminded us that if we listen to the tunes – they talk to you! He was appreciative – when he asked for lukewarm water and Amit and Ranjeet brought it for him, he said, “ बहुत अच्छा पानी लायें हो – न ज़्यादा गरम ना ठंडा”. How many of us appreciate after we are served water? He posed for photos with them. They were over the moon.
He also stopped to look and stare! In our living room he stopped and looked at the paintings. I saw him looking at one painting for quite a long time.
Since then, I have looked at that painting many times. One thing is for sure. What I see is not what he must have seen.
And that is because I am not Javed Akhtar! He sees what I can never see! And we know that what he sees is very beautiful because he shares it with us.
(Kulbhushan Kain is an award winning educationist with more than 4 decades of working in schools in India and abroad. He is a prolific writer who loves cricket, travelling and cooking. He can be reached at kulbhushan.kain@gmail.com)
