The Golden Pen

 

The biography of legendary Bollywood lyricist Anand Bakshi penned by his son Rakesh is an engaging read

By Shevlin Sebastian

Pics: The cover of the book; (from left): Singer Mukesh, Anand Bakshi, Lata Mangeshkar and RD Burman in the 1960s

For a book in English, it was unusual to see a Hindi title: ‘Nagme, Kisse, Baatein, Yaadein’ — the life and lyrics of Anand Bakshi.

There were two reasons I picked up the book, which is written by Anand’s son Rakesh. Over the decades, on LP’s, CDs, cinema and television screens, and YouTube, I had always seen the name Anand Bakshi next to the word, lyrics. I realised I knew little about him.

Second, the photo on the cover was eye-catching. The far-away look in the eyes of a young Anand, the curly black hair, the thick ring, the long nose, and the thin, but determined lips. The author’s photograph is by Amit Bakshi. This could be a brother.

The book is an enjoyable read. The one drawback is that there are a lot of Hindi lyrics, but in some sections, there are no English translations in brackets. So, if your Hindi is not strong enough, you can miss out.

It is a story of a poet who chased a dream but faced rejection for a long time. Anand, a refugee from Pakistan, quit his job in the Indian Army and went to Mumbai. In his first attempt, he made no headway and returned home to Delhi.

He made a second attempt, and success eluded him. Anand had a wife and daughter back home. His in-laws stopped supporting him. His parents were dejected. The pressure to return grew intense. He had run out of money.

One day, in 1958, the jobless lyric writer sat at the Marine Lines railway station, writing poetry in a notebook. A Western Railway ticket checker, Ustad Chittar Mal Swaroop, asked him whether he had a valid ticket. Anand replied in the negative. Chittar Mal asked him to pay a fine, but Anand said he had no money.

Chittar Mal noticed Anand had written some poetry. He asked Anand to narrate it. What Anand did not know was that Chittar Mal was a lover of poetry. Anand’s poems impressed the railway employee. When asked about his life story, Anand told him he was on the verge of quitting and returning to Delhi.

Chittar Mal stared at Anand. Then he said, “I live alone in Borivali. My family lives in Agra. It gets lonely, and I would like the company of a poet. You stay with me. I don’t want any rent. You narrate your poems to me. When you get work, you can look for your accommodation.” So, that very day, Anand began living with Chittar Mal at 24H, Jawala Estate, SV Road, Borivali West.

Little did they both know then, but Anand ended up staying with Chittar Mal for the next four years. That was how tough it was to gain an entry.

After several attempts, Anand got an appointment with Roshan Lal Nagrath, who was a leading composer in the 1950s. He was supposed to go to the composer’s house in Santa Cruz at 10 a.m. But the previous night, it began to rain heavily. By the morning, the streets got flooded. The local trains and BEST buses stopped plying.

But Ananad was not deterred. He walked from Borivali West to Santa Cruz, a distance of 19 kilometres. It took him three hours. When he rang the bell, Roshan, on opening the door, looked at the completely drenched Anand and jokingly said, “Are you a man or a ghost?”

Anyway, Anand impressed Roshan when he recited his poems. So, Roshan told Anand to write the lyrics for ‘CID Girl’ (1959). Anand’s first song from that film became a hit. Thereafter, Roshan and Anand worked on many films together.

Several years later, when Anand established himself as a lyric writer,

Roshan’s son Rajesh was making his debut as a music composer. This time Roshan asked Anand to write the lyrics for the film Julie (1975). The songs, Bhool gaye sab kuch, yaad nahi ab kuch and Dil kya kare jab kisi ko, kisi se pyar ho jaye became super-duper hits and remain popular even today. That’s how life turned 360 degrees. The composer who gave a break to a novice then asked him for help on the son’s debut album.

Anand had hit songs for five decades, working with multiple music composers like SD and RD Burman, Laxmikant-Pyarelal, Naushad, Kalyanji-Anandji, Anu Malik, AR Rahman and others. Some of his most famous songs could be heard in the films, Bobby, Amar Prem, Aradhana, Mera Gaon, Mere Desh, Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge, Pardes, and Taal.

He had written the lyrics for 4000 songs. And he remained a success right till the very end. The songs he liked the best were from Amar Prem, and he was proud of the one line that became immortal: ‘Kuchh to log kahenge logon ka kaam hai kehnaa’.

Anand died in Mumbai of multiple organ failure on March 30, 2002, at the age of 71. He had remained friends with Chittar Mal over the decades and always remained grateful to his friend. Chittar Mal died in 2001.

Enclosed are quotes from the book:

Good songs exist in good stories.

The actor is the face of the song.

Success and failure are solo journeys. Except that in success, we have the support of people, whereas, in failure, few stand by us.

There is something inside me superior to my circumstances, stronger than every situation of life.

You must adjust to everyone and deliver to everyone.

(As director Subhash Ghai said, ‘Anand’s best quality was not his ability to write profound thoughts in simple, everyday words, but his discipline and respect for time. He never delayed a single song that I asked him to write.”)

I decided I would never show off my talent and success because something within me told me that the day I misuse the gift that was granted to me by God and time, I would be nowhere soon. Never abuse a blessing or gift. Be humble.

I have seen the most formidable and talented people fail overnight — because of an unhealthy attitude towards their work and their success. Because they did not respect what time had brought to their threshold.

Time has never stopped for any power, any emperor, any culture, and any civilisation. Perhaps time is God.

Time has a design for every man and woman.

I let time take its decisions for me.

I will write till time wants me to.

One day, the show will end. My end — every kind of end — is only logical. As I overtook the others, one day, some others will overtake me, sweep my fans off with their new or better styles. Life is a chakra that keeps turning.

Destiny is all-powerful.

I wanted to be someone whose words, however simple, touched the hearts of every man, woman, and child.

Age does not matter in a profession. Talent, discipline, punctuality, hard work and purity of heart matter.