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April 27, 2008
Mainay Uss Say Yeh Kaha
“Main Nay Kaha” is a satirical poem by the famous leftist poet Habib Jalib called “Musheer” (Advisor). Jalib wrote it in response to a conversation he had with Hafiz Jalandari during the time of Ayub Khan’s dictatorship. It remains just as fresh and valid today.
This poem has been put to music by Laal (Shahram Azhar & Taimur Rahman) a new Pakistani music group dedicated to resistance music and poetry. Shahram Azhar and Taimur Rahman are also political activists of the Communist Mazdoor Kissan Party and their poetry, music, and activism constitute an integrated whole the essence of which is always revolutionary. The CMKP has been an integral part of the lawyers movement and the movement for democracy in Pakistan.
The music video contains real images of events in Karachi, London, and Lahore during the tumultuous period between December 27th and February 18th. The song and video were recorded on a shoe-string budget of one session each.
This video and song are connected to a documentary on a journey through a life-changing period in the history of Pakistan. The journey begins in Pakistan on the eve of the assassination of Benazir and the ensuing grief, violence, and carnage. The film maker travels to London to discover a group of young activists organizing protests against Emergency rule. Following these activists full circle to Pakistan, the documentary captures the events around the 2008 elections. The film thus captures a moment in the life of Pakistan, from Benazir’s assassination to the elections, through the lens of young activists. The documentary by Widei Films will also be released shortly.
Credits:
Habib Jalib - Mainay Uss Say Yeh Kaha
Shahram Azhar - Vocals
Taimur Rahman - Music
Mahvash Waqar - Backing Vocals
Taimur Khan - Director Producer
Dita Peskova - Assistant Director
Jamie Mill - Recording Director
Laal & Taimur Khan - Music Producer
WIDEi Films - Production Company
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Comments
27 Responses to “Mainay Uss Say Yeh Kaha”
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great work but equally disturbing:( ..
Wonderful! the Guitarist is the guy who was in London Protests.. (sab say ziada cheekh raha thaa? )
Awesome rendition!
Excellent song. Good composition and singing. Good stuff indeed.
Re: the Guitarist.. I meant it to be a question.. I think he’s a surkha no?
Paints true picture of Pakistani Awam.
well, labeling Habib Jalib as leftist is not accurate enough. He was not even Marxist in the technical sense. At most he can be described as “pro-poor”. I have even read his poem in which Habib Jalib praises of Imran Khan. Does anybody think Imran is leftist?
Imran may have leftist inclination on many issues, but he has never been leftist as such. My point is Habib Jalib is the property of entire Pakistani nation, not just leftist. If some one talks about poor or injustices in society, it does not imply he or she is leftist. I also do criticize relgious parties, yet I don’t consider myself leftist.
Anyway, it is not a big issue. I don’t like poet like Jalib, Faiz, or Iqbal “labellized.” I greatly appreciate the efforts of the Laal group.
Excellent lyrics and equally well conducted by the band.
Isn’t Hafiz Jalandhari the guy who wrote that Fake-A$$ pretentious piece of crap “Qaumi Tarana” ???
listen the above song in his own voice along with some other.
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-7992173788748993874
We are not at a stage where we can discuss that whether we should have left or right wing in power.
We are still struggling to find honest leadership regardless of their inclination towards left or right.
Couldn’t find lyrics anywhere so i transcribed them myself…Only if I could find time to make a classy translation…
—————————–
me ne us se ye kaha
ye jo das crore hain,
jehl ka nichor hain
inki fikr so gayi
har umeed ki kiran,
zulmaton me kho gai
ye khabar darust hai,
inki mot ho gai
be shaoor log hain
zindagi ka rog hain
aur tere paas hai
inke dard ki dawa
me ne us se ye kaha
tu khuda ka noor hai
akl hai, shaoor hai
qaum tere saath hai
tere hi!, hi!, hi!, wajood se
mulk ki nijaat hai
tu hai mehr-e-subh-e-nau
tere baad raat hai!
bolte jo chand hain
sab ye shar pasand hain!
inki khainch le zabaan
inka ghoont de gala
me ne us se ye kaha
me ne us se ye kaha
jin ko tha zaban pe naaz
chup hain wo zaban daraaz
chain hai samaaj me
bemisaal fark hai
kal me aur aaj me
apne kharch par hain log
kaid tere raaj me
me ne us se ye kaha
me ne us se ye kaha
cheen apna yar hai
us pe jan nisar hai
par wahan jo hai nizaam
us taraf na jaayio
us ko door se salaam
das crore ye gadhe
jin ka naam hai awaam
kia banain ge hukmaran
tu!, tu!, tu! yaqeen hai ye gumaan
apni to dua hai ye
sadr tu rahe sada
me ne us se ye kaha
me ne us se ye kaha
@Asif on April 28th, 2008 1:51 am
Well said.
@madeel
My friend, for starters, Jalib died in 1994, when Imran was not even a politician. Although I haven’t read the poem you are making the reference to, but I am particularly sure that any of Jalib’s poems about Imran were strictly non-political or non-ideological. Second, and most crucially, labelling someone something that he was not, especially posthumously, must be an act of disgrace. I believe that quite contrary to your idea, LAAL did nothing but justice to represent Habib Jalib as a leftist. He was more than just an arm-chair leftist, he was closely associated with the Communist Party of Pakistan. Jalib worked as member of NAP and contested elections from a NAP platform in the days when the Communist Party was banned in Pakistan. Jalib also refused the party ticket of the PPP in order for him to stay true to his roots. His poetry is reflective of all that; consider the following:
Karl Marx kay Naam…
——————————–
Yeh jo shab k aiwaanon main ik halchal ik hashr bapa hai….
Yeh jo andhaira simat raha hai, yeh jo ujaala phail raha hai…
Yeh jo har dukh sehnay vaala, dukh ka madaawa jaan gaya hai…
Mazdooron, majbooron ka dukh yeh jo mere shairon main dhala hai…
Yeh jo mehek gulshan gulshan hai, yeh jo chamak aalam aalam hai…
Marxism hai, Marxism hai, Marxism hai, Marxism hai..
This, and other poems such as Yuri Gagarin Kay Naam, Labor Day Par reflect quite simply the treasure of poetry of defiance and revolution in Jalib’s work. The point however remains that Jalib’s “pro-poor” posture was not poverty alleviation but systemic overhaul. It is correct to regard him as the common heritage of Pakistan. But why can’t a leftist poet be part of the common heritage? Why do we have to say that he is not leftist in order to be part of the common heritage of Pakistan? Can’t anything from the left be part of the common heritage? My friend, your comment simply shows the use of a very restrictive concept of “common heritage”, with the only thing common about it being right wing thought. For much of Pakistan’s history, the ruling class have sought to coerce people into believing what is good for them, and what counts as national interest. But when a single spark was lighting the prairie, it was in opposition and in defiance to Pakistan’s ruling elite. I hope that friends recognize Habib Jalib and appreciate his struggle in the spirit of what he stood for and what he believed.
I think now this fits well to so called “Dr” Sher Afgan Niazi, I mean he is saying the same to Musharraf the Enhanced version of Ayub Khan.
People say that “History repeats it-self”, and they talk about centuries i.e it repeats it self after centuries. But in Pakistan it does so very often. See the Ayub’s rule followed by Zia and then Musharraf taking the lead from the previous ones.
If you watch the video on the following link provided by “madeel” you can very easily understand this verdict.
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-7992173788748993874
hahaha beautiful
could any provide me with ling to GEO TV new video (song- aisi tesi) on JUDICIAL CRISES in pakistan?thanks
bohat khoob! maza aa gaya!
Another cool poem of Jalib in his voice
zulmat ko zia , sarsar ko saba banday ko khuda kya likhna
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bam5bvOBYnE
Good work! I wish this airs on pakistani channels such as AAJ or something….but I reckon its not likely.
now we are really exploring the defacts in our system. Judges, No Judges, Finances, food crisis, insecurity…….
whats the cause of all these troubles
we must discuss the big picture
the problems within this system
Read the Shock Doctrine and you will understand we are passing through the same phase once latin Amrica was into.
Good work Admin,
revival of socialism is inevitable, we have seen free market, state capitalism, reformists but nobody provided solution to poor.
i would also recomend state and revolution and you will notice that today’s facts are script written in 1920s.
Lal khan is also an impressive revolutionary alive in Pakistan
If habib jalib was not a Marxist he was not a reformist either, which undoubtedly makes him a leftist. A pro-poor is of course a socialist but depends what’s the criterion for a pro-poor, there could be no other system then either left or right. We are so much suppressed by propaganda against left that we even don’t want to discuss pros and cons of this system. We are always presented with USSR model of Marxism which is absolutely absurd to call it a Marxist economy. It was state capitalism.
if you discuss the difference between left and reformists only then you will realize that reformists are just another clan of free market followers. UK model is a perfect example, where reformists lost the battle or paved the way for free market. Regonomics/ Theatchernomics or trickle down economics are truly inhuman economic models.
I think they did a good job, but i think if we make a qwali singer do this , like aziz mian type, it will be really awesome!
still shabash for the effort!
Mulla!
We are caught up in the argument of who is a leftist and who is not. Let me analyze this situation and present my findings.
This has to be seen in a Pakistani context. One cannot equate Western Liberalism to Pakistani Liberalism. It is a no go. Many Pakistani leftists will be labeled as conservatives in the West. Why do you think Many right wing people are labeled as extremists in the West even if they are not? A different of culture is linked to the left-right scale in politics.
Maintaining the status quo in Pakistan means to support feudalism, elitism and Jamaat-e-Islami Islamism (not Taleban or Al Qaeda). People who support the above groups can be labeled as being conservative, or members of the right wing. All the feudal lords, Tribal Sardars, and JI-like Mullahs, some big businessmen can be put in this category. Along with the enlightened Islamists (those who are purely scholars, like Israr Ahmed, Farhat Hashemi etc).
The Left Wing constitutes those people who support change in the status quo, those who oppose feudalism and Traditional Islamism, those who seek to end Human Rights abuses, promote Gender egalitarianism etc. While these should be the basis of any society, sadly, this isn’t the case in Pakistan. This is why we need to set the bar so low for progressiveness in Pakistan.
If you analyze this definition of Pakistani Leftism, then Imran Khan does indeed belong. He is a Pakistani Leftist. His Tehreek e Insaf seeks to change the staus quo. Just Like Benazir Bhutto was. Her People’s Party in theory at least seeks to change the status quo. Now of course there are people who cringe at the thought of putting both personalities in the same boat, but if the corruption factor is to be taken out of Benazir, then they both fit together quite well. Now, the bitter pill to swallow: General (retd) Pervez Musharraf also fits into the category of Pakistani Leftism.He too earlier sought to remove feudal politicians, till he found he had to work with them. Now this gives a big picture. There are both good and bad Pakistani Leftists.
It does not matter if one supports Communism/Marxism/Leninism/Maoism. Such members today belong to members of the far left, just like Taleban supporters belong to the far right. This is an era after the Cold War, where Far Left Wing ideas have retreated to the fringes.
Using the above, now, is it wrong to be a Pakistani leftist?
It’s for you all to decide.
@madeel
Jalib praises Imran Khan? which year? it seems some joke:)
I have read Habib Jalib’s poem on Imran Khan . It is in support of Imran khan’s hospital. “JALIB BEETI .” is the name of the book , It is worth a treasure….. I am lucky to have met JALIB at Dyal Singh College, I was his host. He was that day accompanied by Shahzad Ahmad Shahzad…….My friend Hafiz Mehmood Ahmad was instrumental in organising the event. ………. ”It is the most memorable day in my life !”…………Liaqat Ali . President Student Union. 1973….. Dyal Singh Degree College, LAHORE.
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