The Poet Of Ephemeral Forever

“Sirf ehsas hai rooh se mehsoos karo…pyaar ko pyaar hi rehne do koi naam na do.”
(It is just a feeling..let the soul revel in it..let love be.. just love..try not to name it)

So that in a nutshell is Gulzar for you. A man who does not name the obvious but will articulate what cannot be said.  Like the feel of ‘jaade ki dhoop‘  (sunshine in winter), the warble of ‘papihara’ in monsoon, the existential torment of ‘koi hota jisko apna..hum apna keh lete yaaro..’ (if only there was someone..who could have been mine), the nascent dreams in kohl lined eyes, leaves dripping a ‘choti si kahani’ (a short story) in a valley and the heart that overflows in response because it is afterall raining.
He is the poet who is asked by life, “dard kya hai akhir.. kyon hota hai, tanhai kya hai..kitne log toh hai phir tanha kyon ho? ” (Where is the ache..and why does it hurt so? And why this loneliness..with so many people around?)

The poet of ephemeral forever…of aane wala kal (tomorrow about to leave in a hurry).
Who walks on paths that sometimes laze (kuch sust qadam raste), and sometimes sprint (kuch tez qadam rahein).
He is the eternal ‘musafir‘ who knows that when one road ends, another begins and who sings, “hawa ke paron pe mera aashiyana (I live on the wings of breeze).

For whom memories are a ‘samaan,’ stuff you can touch and feel and lug around and cannot spring clean in a huff. But who also advises those in the first flush of an infatuation, “kacche rang utar jaane do..mausam hai badal jaane do.” (let the thin pigments seep out..let this season pass).
He is the comic genius of ‘golmaal hai‘ and ‘sapne mein dekha sapna,‘ the everyday seer of `thoda hai thode ki zaroorat hai,’ (A little we have..a little we need), the romantic who thinks the beloved’s lips look like ‘mogre ke phool,’ who writes letters on the breeze and beats the school desks with a bunch of kids to sing, “aa..aa ..ee..ee..masterji ki aa gayi chitti.”
He is the misty breath of loneliness in ‘tum pukar lo,’ the rabble rouser of “aaja aaja dil nichodein..raat ki matki phodein” (let us wring our hearts out..let us break the piggy bank of the night).