February is an interesting month dedicated to Ghazals and Passion. On 8th February, we get to remember two legends of ghazal – one of the finest ghazal singer, Jagjit Singh has his birthday on this day, and the exquisite ghazal writer Nida Fazli has his death anniversary on the same day. What a beautiful coincidence that the two of them have collaborated to create several exceptional ghazals. While one created beautiful words, the other magnified the beauty of the words with his melodious voice. The best example of their collaboration is the following ghazal:
होश वालों को खबर क्या, बेखुदी क्या चीज़ है
इश्क़ कीजे फिर समझिए, ज़िंदगी क्या चीज़ है
Beautiful words indeed. People who are always sober can't know what being intoxicated is all about. Discover your love, then you'll realize what life is all about. In general, most ghazals are centered around and at times over-stress the feelings of love and romance. Another coincidence is that February also brings us Valentine Day – a day dedicated to love and romance. Over the years, its popularity has been growing so much among the youngsters that it has now become a seven-day festival dedicated to romance, starting on 7th February with Rose Day, Propose Day and culminating on 14th February with Hug Day, Kiss Day. However, not everyone likes it, and there are people who strongly oppose it. Which confirms the wisdom of Nida Fazli’s ghazal. After all how can a sober person know the feeling of being intoxicated?
Let us switch track a little. From a different perspective, 8th February reminds us that life is nothing but the journey from birth to death, one may ask – if we take birth just to pass our time till death, what is the point behind it? What is the meaning of life? How do we add excitement and anticipation to our daily life? Depending on who you ask, this question may get you different answers. 14th February nudges us to discover our love to add excitement to life. Besides this, you can also try being busy at work, getting married and bringing up a family, religion, serving others, pursue a hobby, etc. Any of the above alternatives may be good depending on your own situation, and no one size fits all.
A common thread in all of these is that you discover your passion and pursue it. This is a set of activities that you love doing. The time you spend on them is the most satisfying, happy period. It could be anything like writing, dance, music, teaching, social service, your profession, etc. Some people have discovered their passion while others are still looking, though they carry it within them. Once you find it, it gives you a sense of purpose and meaning, a reason for getting up every morning. The exact feeling of happiness on following your passion is hard to describe in words, as it can be felt only by those who have experienced it themselves. So, this February, let us take a resolve to locate our passion and start spending our time with a purpose in mind.
Let us revisit the ghazal mentioned above in the context of passion, you will find it gets a new insightful meaning suddenly.
इश्क़ कीजे फिर समझिए, ज़िंदगी क्या चीज़ है - Discover your passion, then you'll realize what life is all about.
Now it becomes more widely applicable wisdom – where there may be many different ways you can feel the passion and sense of purpose and love is just one possible way out of these.
Before ending this post, let me share my recording of this beautiful ghazal.
