Srigopal Shroty's tribute to Shailendra on his birth day on 30th August 2009

TODAY is Shailendra’s birthday, 30th august….it is coincidence when there are two friends, and something similar happens between them, which breaks the hearts…..Jaikishan and Shailendra….Jaikishan composed in 1971 ”maut aani hai aayegi ek din, jaan jaani hai jayegi ek din, aisi baaton se kya ghabarana, yehan kal kya ho kisne jana” and Shailendra wrote 5 years later ‘’sajan re jhooth mat balo, khuda ke paas jaana hai, na hathi hai na ghoda hai, vahan paidal hi jana hai”…..and see the irony, both went untimely, one after composing the song and another after writing the song….
Shailendra’s story is also like his many colleagues–from rag to riches….here comes the word ”genius” and it was not an easy go….it was like all sweating in rains…..then emerged the words from his pen ”raaten dason dishaon se kahengi apni kahaniya, geet hamare pyar ke dohrayengi jawaniyan”…yes when this came on the radio some 40 years back and now on tv after 53 years of its creation, the feet stops automatically and eyes on tv screen to see that grandeur created by his mentor Raj Kapoor and his colleagues Shankar Jaikishan with violins echoing the RIMJHIM of rains….then the mind goes to Shailendra to congratulate him on this immortal wordings ….Oh, but is he there? can we say ”happy birthday to you”? the question mark is the DESTINY.
Shailendra was poet by heart, who cud write ”dil pe marne wale marenge bhikhari, sach hai duniya walon ke ham hain ANARI”….He did not write these lines for Raj Kapoor, but for himself, otherwise he would not have ventured to produce ”teesari kasam”, despite persuation by Raj sahab and others who knew soft corner of his heart and his naive nature against producing a film, to avoid the project or let others take the production charge, secondly the name of the story by Renuji was coincidentally again heart-breaking ”MAARE GAYE GULFAM”…..nay, destiny wanted him near Jaikishan, in whose Gobind Mahal, he used to go daily at 10 am with cigarette in one hand….this was his routine….remember again his philosophy on the end of life in his own songs ”naiya teri majhdhar, hoshiyar”…”yaa gardish mein bhi aasman ka taara hoon”..”khamoshi ka yeh afsana reh jayega baad mere”,…… ”ke marke bhi kisikoyaad aayenge, kisi ke aansuon me muskerayenge”…….”der na karna kahin ye aas toot jaaye, saans choot haye”…”.ai mere dil kahin aur chal, gham ki duniya se dil bhar gaya, dhoondh le ab koi ghar naya”…..”tum se to patanga achchha hai jo hanste hue jal jata hai, voh pyar mein mit to jata hai per naam amar kar jaata hai”…..”bahut diya dene wale ne tujhko, aanchal hi na samaye to kya keejei”…..”jeena yehan marna yehan, iske siva jaana kahan”…..and ” ham to jaate apne gaon, sabko ram ram ram, apni ram ram ram…..”( A tribute with countless more songs from his pen)………