अगर फिरदौस बर रू ए जमीं अस्त
हमीं अस्त ओ हमीं अस्त ओ हमीं अस्त

कदाचित जहांगीरचा असावा. आता जहांगीर कोण तेवढं मात्र विचारू नका. उगीच मला वाटेल तुम्ही सातव्या वर्गात आणखी २-३ वर्ष काढायला हवी होती. तर असंकाही वाचल्यावर आपलं डोकं शांत राहील तर शपथ ! हा फिरदौस नेमका आहे कुठे? जमिनीवर स्वर्ग?

गितांजली वाचत होतो. I want thee, only thee. मध्येच सआदत हसन मंटो वाचत होतो- खोल दो! मी या जगात होतोच कुठे? मी दूर कुठेतरी स्वर्गात होतो. खिसा खाली होता, घरभाड्याचे १४०० रुपये द्यायचे होते - बंजर है सब बंजर है जब ढुंढने हम फिरदौस चले..
अशा वाळवंटातून वाट चाललीये- एका फिरदौसकडे!

आणि या शिवाय आणखी फिरदौस फिरदौस म्हणतात तो आहे तरी काय?

तुम ऽऽऽ पुकार लो, तुम्हारा इंतज़ार है,
तुम ऽऽऽ पुकार लो।
ख़्वाब चुन रही है रात बेक़रार है,
तुम्हारा ऽऽ इंतज़ार है,
तुम ऽऽऽ पुकार लो।

होंठ पे लिए हुए दिल की बात हम,
जागते रहेंगे और कितनी रात हम। - २
मुक़्तसर सी बात है तुम से प्यार है
तुम्हारा ऽऽ इंतज़ार है,
तुम ऽऽऽ पुकार लो।

दिल बहल तो जाएगा इस ख्याल से,
हाल मिल गया तुम्हारा अपने हाल से। - २
रात ये क़रार की बेक़रार है,
तुम्हारा ऽऽ इंतज़ार है।

गुलज़ार साहब का लिखा हुआ यह गीत बहुत सुंदर है। उनके लिखे गए जो गीत मैंने अभी तक सुने हैं उनमें एक बात देखी है, बोल अधिक नहीं होते हैं और गीत छोटा ही होता है, जिस भी फिल्म के लिए लिखते हैं तो अधिक नहीं लिखते हैं लेकिन गीत सारे एक से बढ़कर एक बढ़िया और सुन्दर होते हैं - गोया मतलब यह है कि वे मात्रा से अधिक गुणवत्ता पर ध्यान देते हैं। :) इस गाने का वीडियो आप यहाँ देख सकते हैं।

खैर, पंगा यह कि गाना यह भी खुशनुमा नहीं, तो इसलिए तलाशते हुए दूसरे गाने पर निगाह और कान गए, यह था सन्‌ 1962 में आई विश्वजीत और वहीदा रहमान की फिल्म बीस साल बाद के गीत "हमको बेक़रार करके यूँ न जाईये" जो कि पुनः हेमन्त कुमार द्वारा गाया एक खूबसूरत गीत है जिसको शकील बदायुनी ने लिखा था।

बेक़रार करके हमें यूँ न जाईये,
आपको हमारी कसम लौट आईये। - २

देखिए वो काली काली बदलियाँ,
ज़ुल्फ़ की घटा चुरा न लें कहीं,
चोरी चोरी आ के शोख बिजलियाँ,
आपकी अदा चुरा न लें कहीं,
यूँ कदम अकेले न आगे बढ़ाईये,
आपको हमारी कसम लौट आईये।

बेक़रार करके हमें यूँ न जाईये,
आपको हमारी कसम लौट आईये।

देखिए गुलाब की वो डालियाँ,
बढ़के चूम लें न आपके कदम। - २
खोए खोए भंवरें भी हैं बाग़ में,
कोई आपको बना न ले सनम,
बहकी बहकी नज़रों से खुद को बचाईये,
आपको हमारी कसम लौट आईये।

बेक़रार करके हमें यूँ न जाईये,
आपको हमारी कसम लौट आईये।

ज़िंदगी के रास्ते अजीब हैं,
इनमें इस तरह चला न कीजिए,
खैर है इसी में आपकी हुज़ूर,
अपना कोई साथी ढूँढ लीजिए,
सुन के दिल की बात न मुस्कुराईये,
आपको हमारी कसम लौट आईये।

बेक़रार करके हमें यूँ न जाईये,
आपको हमारी कसम लौट आईये। - २

कॉलर ट्यून में इस गाने का सैम्पल सुनने के बाद ये इतना पसंद आया कि यूट्यूब पर इसका वीडियो खोजा और पूरा गाना सुना और देखा। ये गाना अपने को बहुत सही लगा, खुशनुमा का खुशनुमा भी है, तो इसको अब अपनी कॉलर ट्यून के रूप में सैट कर लिया। :D आप इस गाने का वीडियो यहाँ देख सकते हैं।

Ram Niwas Garden

Built during the reign of Sawai Ram Singh II in 1868 as a famine relief project,on 36 acres of land  it is home to a zoo(0141-2617319),an aviary,a green house,a herbarium, The Albert Hall Museum(designed by Sir Samuel Jacobs), several Sports grounds ,The Ravindra Manch Theatre and a Parking Lot.

Statue Circle & The Central Park

You will find statues on most Jaipur circles but only one Circle is known as the Statue Circle and A full length white marble statue of Sawai Jai Singh stands tall in the center.And nearby Behind Birla Planetarium is the Central Park Developed by the J.D.A. It has a walk way around the golf greens of The RamBagh Golf Club and a Sculpture and grassy knolls.It is also a venue for the monthly fixture of The Music In The Park organised by Spic Mac,JDA and RTDC.

Sisodia Rani Ka Bagh (0141-2680494)

About 6km from the city centre on the way to galta ji off Jaipur Agra Highway is a garden built by Sawai Jai Singh for his second wife, a Sisodia princess from Udaipur.It is a terraced garden with a palace on the top terrace.  This garden is a popular venue for weddings and parties. 

Vidhyadhar ji ka Bagh(0141-2680494)

Named after the genius who planned the Pink City for Sawai Jai Singh II this garden is under renovation right now( Budget 5 Crores).They have discovered a 250 years old bawadi which was used to harvest water. This water was used for Vidhyadhar Garden and The Roop Niwas Garden.It was also used as  a vineyard for the jaipur royal family in the times gone by.

Kanak Vrindawan (0141-2634596) On the way to Amber,near Jal Mahal,newly restored temple and garden,is a popular picnic spot.

Peacock Garden & Rose Garden in Mansarovar

These two garden have had the rare distinction of having commemorative covers issued  in 2007.

Karpoor Chandra Kulish Simriti Ban

Area- 108 Acres.Cost-7.68 Crore rupees.Main entrance opposite Shiksa Sankul (Museum Gate) 2nd gate near MNIT(Aravali Gate).Eco Environmental  Museum with 500 books.Centuries old rocks.About 90 species of birds.A seasonal waterfall.3 Hills. 8 Ponds  with lotus and fish. A walk way.2 Foot Bridges.9 Sections(Vasundhra,Champa,Dhanvantari,National,Nakshatra,Arid,Brindavan & Holistic Wellness Farm).Ample parking Space.No entry for vehicles( a big parking lot in house). Horse Trail Proposed.

Jhalana Eco Tourism Park

Thepark is situated  in the Kho-Nagoria region on a 470 hectare parcel of land in Jhalana.It has a budget of 25 lac rupees.

About 85 species of birds are found in this park.The park has 30 rare species of  plants with medicinal value.

Shastri Nagar Science Park

It is proposed to build a Birla planetarium and I T Gallery in this park (Budget 20Lac).15 new models have been installed.3 guides are also being employed to impart information to the visitors.

Jai Niwas garden 

The Spireless  Govind Dev ji Temple is  dedicated to Lord Krishna and is  located in the central pavilion of the Jai Niwas Garden in near the city palace complex.

Kesar Kyari & Dilaram Bagh,Amer 

Kesar Kyari  the Dilaram Bagh on the Mawatha provide a spectacular view of the Amer palaces.

 Kesar Kyari Garden  is going to be the venue for the light and sound show being developed by the RTDC costing 5.25 crores.The 45 min. script has been written by Gulzar and will be narrated by Amitabh Bachan. 

Rajasthan University Campus 

Spread over 285.5 acres Rajasthan University Central  Campus has emerged as  the only place in jaipur where  Ecology students can research various flora and fauna-plants and trees which are a representation of vegetation found in rajasthan on a level ground.Besides  students from various colleges of jaipur  out station college students also come here to do research. One other rich source of plant specimens is the Campus nursery.

Proposed

Chameli Bagh at Jal Mahal

It is proposed to recreate the vanished garden in the Jal Mahal terrace according to an 18 th century map found in the City Palace.Lime and mortar-age old building materials will be used.It will have a lift and lighting will be done by Australia based D.J.Ghosh.If all things go as planed it will be one of the 80 most exotic garden locations of the world.

Collectorate Circle- A Theme based Garden is Proposed.

In a novel marketing step Forest Department  nurseries this year are developing plants according to the recommendations of the  12  zodiac signs and will make them available for sale to the common man in the coming season.

Yaad hai ek din

meri mez pe baithe baithe

ciggarette ki dibiya par tum ne

chhotey se ek paudhey ka

ek sketch banaya tha

aakar dekho

us paudhe par phool ug aaya hai

The Movie
The phone rings. A man wakes up in a room in a building situated in some icy hell (we come to know later that it is Siberia), disoriented. He desperately needs to smoke but can't find a cigarette. Things happen, and soon enough he does find a pack of cigarettes. But he is shot before he gets to light it. The man then wakes up in a bathtub. This is how the film starts.

K (John Abraham) is an arrogant, obnoxious and self-indulgent man who is also a chain smoker. He is married to Anjali (Ayesha Takia) who absolutely hates this habit. They are having dinner with friends at a restaurant one day, when they meet Abbas Tyrewala (Ranvir Shorey), K's childhood friend who got K started on cigarettes in the first place. Surprisingly, Abbas has quit smoking (also, he has lost two fingers of his right hand and wears hearing aids on both ears because of hearing problems). He gives Anjali a visiting card of a rehabilitation centre called Prayogshala (Laboratory). It seems that they can cure any addiction. The next day, Anjali, tired of K's attitude, threatens to divorce him unless he quits smoking. So, K decides to pay the Prayogshala (known as Kalkatta Karpets) a visit.

The centre is run by Sri Sri Sri Guru Ghantaal Baba Bangali Sealdahwale (Paresh Rawal). Within a few minutes, K realises that he is trapped in some kind of mess. He is forced to sign an agreement and a cheque for a substantial amount (the date on the cheque is 11/09/2006 - 911? Why? I don't know). Bangali also gives him an ultimatum. Every time he tries to smoke a cigarette, something bad will happen to his family or him. The first time he does try smoking, his car windshield blows up and he goes deaf. Apparently Bangali was not joking.

K wakes up in his bathtub, again, The second time he smokes (following a brilliant plan), his brother is put in a gas chamber filled with cigarette smoke. The third time, his wife disappears and the cops suspect him and therefore interrogate him. K's explanation borders on the absurd and he has no proof (Bangali has manipulated everybody and everything. It seems that he is the devil incarnate). K tries smoking a fourth time, to prove that he is not lying, and his brother dies.

K wakes up in his bathtub, yet again. He gets a huge book from Bangali called the Cigarette Shastra, and there he finds that he can smoke without fear once every year, in the zero minute - the time between the last minute of the last year and the first minute of the new one. So he goes to the specified place, and sometime later finds himself in the room of his dreams in Siberia, woken up by a phone call from his wife. He is now unsure what is real and what is not. Is he in some nightmare? He escapes from the room, and runs up a icy slope where there is a bathtub and a pack of cigarettes. This time he jumps into the bathtub. He falls down a drain and finds himself in some strange prison. Apparently, this is his soul which Bangali has stripped from his body as a final measure. K's soul looks through a glass partition to find his body and his wife on the other side in some kind of hospital with a doctor (Bangali, again). The soul then burns away, like a cigarette.

K wakes up again, this time in his bed, with two of his fingers missing, and his wife beside him.

The Music
No Smoking has brilliant music by Vishal Bhardwaj with lyrics by Gulzar. All the songs revolve around cigarettes, smoking and the high one gets from the same. The music and the film are a perfect fit (after all, we are talking about Vishal Bhardwaj). My favourite songs are the Adnan Sami version of Jab Bhi Ciggaret, Rekha Bhardwaj's Phoonk De and Deva Sen Gupta's Ash Tray.

Aristotle says : 8.0 / 10

Interpreting the movie
In No Smoking, Kashyap takes you out of your comfort zone. Within K's world, reason or rationality does not exist. The line dividing reality and imagination disappears. Since it is not a plain one dimensional story, it really depends on how you, the viewer, interprets the same. I have watched it thrice in two days and for what is real and what is not question, I think that everything till K's going deaf is real and so is his waking up in the bed. Everything else happened in his dream. While this interpretation does not explain how his fingers disappear, it does have some semblance of rationality (assuming that a supernatural finger chopping fiend - notice the apparition of a devil floating behind Bangali when K first meets him - who sees everything and knows everything is rational). As for the (possible) preaching - Smoking is bad. Don't do it, I don't think that is the main purpose of the film. Kashyap has just picked up smoking as a metaphor and woven his story around it.

There have been comparisons to works by director David Lynch (haven't seen any of his films) and to the novel The Trial by Kafka (haven't read him, but have heard a lot about him). Well, I don't care where he got his inspiration as long as I like what I see. I am not too sure about how the film fared at the box office (hope it recovered the money). But it should do well on the DVD circuit because it is more entertaining when you watch it alone in the comfort of your home. And you do have to watch it multiple times.

I absolutely loved the movie (except the comic strip like thought and dialog bubbles, which are a minor but necessary irritant. This is the another way of conveying the characters' thoughts, the standard one being man-speaking-to-himself-in-his-mind-and-the-audience-hears-it). And all the main actors have done a good job, especially Paresh Rawal and Ranvir Shorey. The media does not like Kashyap (it does not like Aamir Khan either) and critics have bashed the film wholesomely. They can take a hike. I, on the other hand, am waiting for his next movie.

UPDATE:
Well, well, well. Here is Anurag Kashyap explaining the philosophy behind No Smoking.

Omkara (Hindi: ओमकारा, Urdu: امکارا) is a 2006 Hindi film adaptation of Shakespeare’s Othello directed by Vishal Bharadwaj. It starred Ajay Devgan, Saif Ali Khan and Kareena Kapoor in lead roles, supported by Vivek Oberoi, Naseeruddin Shah and Konkona Sen Sharma with a ‘’special appearance’’ from Bipasha Basu. The director Vishal Bharadwaj himself composed the entire music for the film, including the background score, with song lyrics by Gulzar.  (wikepedia) 

Saw this film for the second time tonight, and thought this song is as lovely as Saif Ali Khan  is bad ass in the movie."O Saathi Re" with playback singers  Shreya Ghoshal & Vishal Bharadwaj, composed by Vishal Bharadwaj .

Video courtesy of  NurseM4U 

LYRICS

Every track (the album has eight of them) has Gulzar reciting his poetry with background vocals by various artists (the only one credited being Ray himself) and melodious music by Ray. The cd includes information on each track - the poetry in hindi, its english translation (in part, when it is provided), the musical instruments used and the ragaa on which the composition is based.

All the tracks are equally good; but my favourites are Taskeen and Ek Nazm. This album is one of my personal favourites and is a good listen.

Aristotle says : 7.75 / 10

देख तो दिल के जां से उठता है
ये धुंआ सा कहां से उठता है.

इसमें उठता है हर शेर के अंत में आएगा जिसे रदीफ़ कहते हैं और उससे पहले मिलते-जुलते शब्द आएँगे जैसे जां से उठता है, मकां से उठता है, जहां से उठता है....इसे काफ़िया कहते हैं. पहले शेर में ये दोनों मिलते जुलते होने चाहिए जबकि बाक़ी के शेरों की पहली पंक्ति में कुछ भी हो सकता है जबकि दूसरी पंक्ति में वह मिलता जुलता होना चाहिए. ग़ज़ल एक लयबद्ध कविता है. हर शेर तबले की थाप पर पढ़ा जा सकता है इसलिए ज़रूरी है कि दोनों मिस्रे बराबर हों. इसे वज़न कहा जाता है. और बहर हिंदी कविता के छंद के समान हुई जो बड़ी या छोटी कैसी भी हो सकती है. ग़ज़ल की एक विशेषता यह भी है कि हर शेर में बात पूरी हो जानी चाहिए.

उर्दू के बहुत से शायरों ने ग़ज़ल को बहुत समृद्ध किया है लेकिन ग़ालिब का नाम प्रमुखता से लिया जाता है. दुष्यंत ने ग़ज़ल को हिंदी में कहने की कोशिश की और यह प्रयोग काफ़ी सफल रहा. दुष्यंत ने हिंदी ग़ज़ल के ज़रिए जीवन की वास्तविकताओं को उकेरा है. ग़ज़ल का इस्तेमाल हिंदी फ़िल्मों में भी बढ़चढ़कर हुआ है. नूरजहाँ, मलिका पुखराज, बेगम अख़्तर, मुन्नी बेगम, ग़ुलाम अली, मेहंदी हसन, जगजीत सिंह आदि गायकों ने ख़ूब ग़ज़लें गाई हैं.

Source: BBC

Two, the music, again by Vishal himself, matches the mood of the movie. Of the 8 tracks, O Saathi Re, Jag Ja and Naina, and the theme - The Tragedie Of Omkara are excellent ones. The other songs including the now famous Beedi are good enough.

Three, Saif Ali Khan. His portrayal of Langda Tyagi is one of the most menacing performances I have seen in a long time. I can't think of anyone other than Amjad Khan's Gabbar to compare this with (Amrish Puri might be the only other competitor).

Omkara is a brilliant film by a brilliant director. If only mainstream Bollywood made movies even remotely comparable to this.

Aristotle says (about Omkara's music) : 7.0 / 10

Shah Rukh Khan, plays a reporter working with the All India Radio, who falls in love with a suicide bomber played by Manisha Koirala leading to disastrous consequences. Dil Se had the collective genius of Mani Ratnam, AR Rahman, Shekhar Kapur, Ram Gopal Varma, Gulzar, Santosh Sivan, Suresh Urs, Allan Amin, Sujatha and Tigmanshu Dhulia. Unfortunately, the movie bombed. Maybe, there was too much of expectations as Mani Ratnam and SRK came together for the first time ever.

Chaiyya Chaiyya

But AR Rahman, was as usual in his elements. Some mind blowing songs make up the movie. In fact Andrew Lloyd Webber was so enamored by the song "Chaiyya Chaiyya", that he used the song in his musical "Bombay Dreams". Now, Rahman is working on the music of the "Lord of the Rings" musical.

Aye Ajnabi

Jiya Jale

+++

यादों की बौछारों से जब पलकें भीगने लगती हैं,
कितनी सौंधी लगती है तब माझी की रुसवाई भी,

दो दो शक़्लें दिखती हैं इस बहके से आईने में,
मेरे साथ चला आया है आप का इक सौदाई भी,

ख़ामोशी का हासिल भी इक लंबी सी ख़ामोशी है,
उन की बात सुनी भी हमने अपनी बात सुनाई भी,

जिस की आँखों में कटी थीं सदियां,
उस ने सदियों की जुदाई दी है,

सिर्फ़ एक सफ़हा पलटकर् उस ने,
बीती बातों की सफ़ाई दी है,

फिर वहीं लौट के जाना होगा,
यार ने कैसी रिहाई दी है,

आग ने क्या क्या जलाया है शव पर,
कितनी ख़ुश-रंग दिखाई दी है,

जिस की आवाज़ में सिलवट हो निगाहों में शिकन,
ऐसी तस्वीर के टुकड़े नहीं जोड़ा करते,

शहद जीने का मिला करता है थोड़ा थोड़ा,
जानेवालों के लिये दिल नहीं तोड़ा करते,

लग के साहिल से जो बहता है उसे बहने दो,
ऐसे दरिया का कभी रुख़ नहीं मोड़ा करते,

चूल्हा नही जलाया य बस्ती ही जल गई,
कुछ रोज हो गए हैं अब उठता नही धुँआ,

आँखों से पोंछने से लगा आंच का पता,
यूँ चेहरा फेर लेने से छुपता नही धुँआ,

आँखों से आँसू के मरासिम पुराने है,
मेहमान ये घर में आयें तो चुभता नही धुँआ,

"Chaiyya Chaiyya"not only reached the charts in India, but also became popular in England. The song is sung by Sukhwinder Singh and Sapna Awasthi, with lyrics by Gulzar. It is featured in the opening of the second act of the musical Bombay Dreams. Remixes of the song were used in the opening and closing credits of the 2006 film, Inside Man, directed by Spike Lee and produced by Brian Grazer. The opening credits have the original version by A.R. Rahman with additional trumpet accompaniment and the closing credits feature a hip-hop-inflected remix featuring Punjabi MC (Chaiyya Chaiyya Bollywood Joint). The song was also featured in the pilot episode of the television show Smith. A cover of this song was performed in episode 5 of season 5 of CSI: Miami. The video was filmed on top of the Ooty train in mountainous southern India while actor Shah Rukh Khan dances with Malaika Arora and other dancers. Along with the thrill of dancing atop a moving train, the scenery around the train is equally stunning and beautiful. This music video also started a popular dance called the "Bombay Clap". The cinematography of the film was handled by Santosh Sivan. The choreography by Farah Khan is considered among the most difficult ever done; a few dancers sustained minor injuries. The film was shot in Kashmir, Assam, Delhi and other parts of India and Bhutan over a period of 55 days. Its cinematography won a National Film Award for cinematographer Santosh Sivan. The film's score and soundtrack were composed by A. R. Rahman. A. R. Rahman received a Filmfare Award for the music. The film became the first Indian film to reach the Top 10 in the UK Box Office Charts, when released in 1998. (wikipedia)

We are in process of adding lyricist names for existing songs, any feedback will be appreciated. You can look at lyrics from Sameer, Anand Bakshi or Gulzar

Thanks to luvinlyf for the youtube video.

Thanks to BollyWhat? for LYRICS in Hindi and English.

अपने साये से चौंक जाते हैं,
उम्र गुजरी है इस कदर तन्हा,

रात भर बोलते हैं सन्नाटे,
रात काटे कोई किधर तन्हा,

दिन गुज़रता नहीं है लोगो में,
रात होती नहीं बसर तन्हा,

हमने दरवाज़े तक तो देखा था,
फ़िर न जाने गए किधर तन्हा,