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Nida Fazli -- The Tarkieb of good poetry

Since the last year or two, Nida Fazli has been increasingly in the news on merit. He won the Sahitya Akademi award for Literature for 1998, penned the Sarfarosh chartbuster Hoshwalon ko khabar kya in 1999, and this year has penned the wonderful dialogues and lyrics of the TV epic Noorjahan, the songs of the Asha Bhosle-Jagjit Singh album Dil Kahin Hosh Kahin and the lyrics of Tarkieb, including the splendid Jagjit-Alka duet Meri aankhon ne chunaa hai tujhko duniya dekh kar.

"Esmayeel Shroff is literate enough not to shackle me," says Nida. Elaborating on the un-Nida-like Dupatte ka pallu kidhar ka kidhar hai, he says that the song is not vulgar but naughty like so many treditional folk songs. "In fact," he says, "this particular `mukhda’ is that of a folk song I heard in Hyderabad."

The Gwalior-born Nida Fazli came down to Mumbai in 1965 with a Masters degree in Arts under his belt. He made a name for himself as a journalist and an author of several books like Deewaron Ke Beech, besides being the editor of the `Rasa Nataraj’ weekly. The famed writer-filmmaker Rajinder Singh Bedi was impressed by his book Mulaqaatein, and recommended his name to art director-turned-director Sudhendu Roy for Sweekar (1973). Nida wrote its dialogues and the top Hindi magazine `Dharmayug’ compared the richness of the dialogues to Socrates, Shakespeare and Bertrand Russell.

He got his first break as a lyricist through Kamal Amrohi in the much-delayed Razia Sultan. Nida Fazli’s other films include Mohan Segal’s Daulat, Raj Kapoor’s Biwi O Biwi (Sadiyon se duniya mein), Harjaee (Tere liye palkon ki jhaalar bunoon), Red Rose (Kiski sadayen), Aap To Aise Na The (Tu is tarah se meri... - his only chartbuster), and three films with Yash Chopra - Nakhuda - his first solo film, Silsila and Vijay.

But in a commerce-driven industry, where none of his films (other than Aahista Aahista) and no song other than Tu is tarah se proved a hit, Nida’s only recognition came through some albums with Jagjit Singh and Talat Aziz. It was only from the late ’90s that Nida’s works got greater attention. His Is Raat Ki Subah Nahin lyrics and the Tamanna piece-de-resistance Ghar se masjid hai bahut door... drew attention, as did the beautiful lyrics of Kavita Krishnamurthy’s album Koi Akela Kahan and some of the gems from Asha Aur Khayyaam.

Nida’s Tarkieb of writing good lyrics include a variety of great inspirational sources. "Anything can inspire me. On my morning walk, I would regularly see a 5-year-old schoolgirl. Her smile remains a very great source of inspiration for me."

Adds Nida, "To write good lyrics, you must know literature, history, psychology and philosophy. Culture is like an ocean where so many rivers merge from all directions. My reading has ranged from Bhagawad Geeta to Russian and American literature. A poet must fill himself up with good thoughts and study Like a musician, he must do endless riyaaz (practice) to remain good at his art. Purism is not possible today in any art. But where the words are being mutilated everywhere in this fast commercial age, one can retain literary calibre by these methods."

Nida wants a deterrent legal punishment for the misuse and abuse of language that is rampant today. "It is as heinous a crime as any," he feels. "That the public wants only saste gaane is a myth." For Nida writing poetry is a spiritual pleasure. He concludes, "Without a cathartic element, it is impossible to write any song. A great philosopher-poet once said, ‘What you lose in life, you try to regain in creativity.’"

Rajiv Vijayakar