Complicated thoughts in a simple mind

48 years earlier, our beloved Gulzar had penned a poem. A satire on the country's situation back then. Salil Choudhary converted it into a  musical with a great team effort with Mukesh and Kishore Kumar. Vinod Khanna supported a bunch of supporting actors to visually represent it. Among all the names mentioned above, we only have Gulzar in between us today and I am sure, he must be flabbergasted, seeing the relevance of his poem even after almost half a century and so must be others, if they are somewhere in heaven or hell 😉 Song: Haal Chaal Theek Thaak Hai Film : Mere Apne Singer : Mukesh and Kishore Kumar Lyricist : Gulzar Music : Salil Choudhary हाल चाल ठीक ठाक है,   सब कुछ ठीक ठाक है बी. ए.किया है, एम.ए.किया, लगता है वो भी ऐवै किया काम नहीं है वरना यहाँ  आप की दुआ से  सब ठीक ठाक है आब-ओ-हवा देश की बहुत साफ़ है कायदा है, कानून है, इनसाफ़ है अल्लाह मियाँ जाने कोई जिये या मरे आदमी को खून वून सब माफ़ है और क्या कहूँ छोटी मोट...

I have grown up with a high dose of nationalism. Feeling goosebumps at every flag hoisting ceremony, and eyes welling up with every patriotic song played at any time of the year, I could connect with each and every word of each and every song. Independence Day and Republic Day were the most awaited time of the year, not because of the sale, but, you know, a patriotic Indian. I was joyful and untouched in my own bubble for a long period of time and then LIFE HAPPENED. I read. I watched videos. I saw the situation around me. Today, everything seems hollow. I cannot seem to connect with anything I used to be fond of, back when I was naive. It seems nationalism has changed its definition for me. There has been one particular song that would make me cry every single time I heard it. It made me swell with pride. Today, it holds altogether a different meaning for me and  "I AM NOT EVEN SORRY" Song : है प्रीत जहां की रीत सदा  Film : Poorab Aur Paschim Starring : Our Very Own ...