Thursday, August 8, 2013

Mang, Phir Mang - Shikwa - Jawab e Shikwa

A couple of years ago I had the good fortune of sitting beside Moalana Manzoor in a local Montreal wedding. He was in a whimsical mood that day and started to recite the following verses.

"jo mangne ka tareeqa hai os tarah mango,
minnat se, khushamad se, adab se mango.
dey aye mere moala dey,
dey aye mere daata dey,
kuch sadqa-e-yasin dey,
kuch sadqa-e-taaha dey,
kuchh un ka tasaduq dey,
kuchh apna utara dey".

A bit to his surprise, I proceeded to complete them as they were somewhat familiar to me as well. Our conversation progressed to the beautiful poetry that was traditionally recited by qawwals in Hyderabad, Deccan.

In October 2012 again I was pleasantly reminded by behan Nasim Omer (Hyderabad) about this kalam. She had first heard it from the late Aziz Ahmed Warsi saheb. The kalam being one of my favorites, I promptly dug it out of storage, and much to Muslim bhai and Nevin's delight we sat down to listen to it together. It starts by telling the listener how he should beseech the Almighty. Shows us the right way of doing so, with humility and respect. Then there is the part when the listener is addressed by God himself asking them to come and ask for more, ask again (aa aa idhar aa, tu phir mang, phir mang) without regard for past sins or misdeeds, without regard for his faith or creed. He simply asks you to come to him in what is most typical of the inclusive sufiana way.

At 20 minutes the the raag changes and the shikwa begins "Kab tak mere Moala?". Around the 30th minute mark the master switches to "Jawab e Shikwa" and the original raag. This is truly a treasure for classical qawwali lovers. Enjoy!

"Har cheez Musabib-e-sabab se mango
minnat se, khushamad se, adab se mango

kyon ghair ke aage haath phailatey ho
bandey ho agar Rab ke to Rab se mango

kya faeda fikr-e-baisho kam se ho ga
ham kya hein, jo koi kaam hum se hoga

jo kuchh bhi hua, hua karam se tere
aur jo kucch ho ga, tere karam se hoga

dar dar kharab ansta phira ley ke iltija
paya na kahin manzil-e-maqsood ka pata

aakhir tere karam ne pukara, idhar to aa
aa phir idhar aa, tu phir mang phir mang"


2 comments:

windwheel said...

amazing! God Bless you! Please write like this more and give more such gems.
This is my favorite blog.
Keep up good/God's work!

Unknown said...

This is a great track..and Munshi sahab seems to reign supreme..an artist at the top of his form.
However, there is one more voice that is not regular..is it Naseeruddin Saami? can someone clarify?