I recently discovered Iqbal Bano and this beautiful ghazal "Apni mohabbat ke afsane, kab tab raaz banaoge"
Iqbal Bano, the subcontinent's beloved ghazal singer, born in India and trained in the Dilli Gharana by the legendary Ustad Chand Khan. In the hearts of all who knew and loved her music is the memory of that day: when, in protest against the jailing of the subcontinent's foremost left poet Faiz Ahmad Faiz by Pakistan's dictator General Zia-ul Haq, she sang Faiz's immortal song "Hum Dekhenge" (We shall witness) at a Lahore stadium full of 50,000 people, wearing a black sari in defiance of Zia's ban on the sari. As her liquid voice reached the crescendo -- declaring "Certainly we, too, shall witness that day ... When these high mountains/Of tyranny and oppression turn to fluff and evaporate/And we oppressed/Beneath our feet will this earth shiver, shake and beat/And heads of rulers will be struck/With crackling lightening and thunder roars/When crowns will be flung in the air — and thrones will be overturned ...," people joined with slogans of "Inquilab Zindabad" (Long live revolution!)
Activated links:
From Ros: It's our home. The only one we have
From Deepti: For my sister and soulmate
From Anima: For the die hard romantic in you :)
From Manu the evil: A video shot in Lansdowne
From Pushpa: How many roads must a man walk down
before they call him a man
before they call him a man
From Rashmi: hihihih couldn't resist this.. do you er.. umm..really want to be inundated with Atif Aslam songs :P but since it is still very early morning and I am feeling more divine than loyal, here is a non-AA link for you. absolutely adore this song, especially because I understand very little of what he is saying....enough to warm the soul.
From Ather: I love this poem and want to share it with you
What is this life if, full of care,
We have no time to stand and stare.
No time to stand beneath the boughs
And stare as long as sheep or cows.
No time to see, when woods we pass,
Where squirrels hide their nuts in grass.
No time to see, in broad daylight,
Streams full of stars, like skies at night.
No time to turn at Beauty's glance,
And watch her feet, how they can dance.
No time to wait till her mouth can
Enrich that smile her eyes began.
A poor life this if, full of care,
We have no time to stand and stare.
- William Henry Davies
What is this life if, full of care,
We have no time to stand and stare.
No time to stand beneath the boughs
And stare as long as sheep or cows.
No time to see, when woods we pass,
Where squirrels hide their nuts in grass.
No time to see, in broad daylight,
Streams full of stars, like skies at night.
No time to turn at Beauty's glance,
And watch her feet, how they can dance.
No time to wait till her mouth can
Enrich that smile her eyes began.
A poor life this if, full of care,
We have no time to stand and stare.
- William Henry Davies
From Kaveri Vijay: Just dropped by your blog today ,for the very first time....Sharing here a beautiful quote ,which so aptly captues the essence of life..........
" Life is a train of moods like a string of beads; and as we pass through them they prove to be many colored lenses, which paint the world their own hue, and each shows us only what lies in its own focus."
~Ralph Waldo Emerson