Farida khanum ghazals
You were born in Calcutta and then you moved to Amritsar. Let us start from the very beginning of your journey. Words cannot do justice to the stature of Farida Khanum herself so more nervous than ever, I tried asking her some questions that I had penned down earlier, over a cup of tea. All the ‘aaj jane ki zid na karo’ moments I had witnessed with my friends over the traditional campfire antakshari or the ‘mohabbat karne waale kam na hongay’ covers I had listened to after every heartbreak were nothing compared to the intoxication I was experiencing in that moment. It was in that moment that I realized the greatness of the woman sitting in front of me. My eyes dilated, vision re-focused, veins filled with blood pumping to and fro at remarkable speed and heart pounded against the chest restlessly, all in the space of sixty seconds as I experienced easily the most relaxing and tensed moment of my life. The mind simply could not register how her vocal cords still functioned flawlessly even at such an old age. I sat on the comfortable brown sofa, arching forward in absolute awe and disbelief. Was I dreaming or were the nerves getting the better of me? I had to pinch myself a couple of times to finally realize that I was actually sitting next to The Farida Khanum. From the very first words to the last that oozed out of her mouth like droplets of honey, I was absolutely amazed at what I was experiencing.
Never, until I requested the legend herself to sing a couple of lines of her favorite ghazal for me. I happened to have experienced the first two situations quoted above very frequently but never had time stopped for me. For some, it passes with the blink of an eye, for some it moves like the hovering of the clouds and for some, it stops.