7 Hindi Books By Gulzar, If You Are An Admirer Of His Works

7 Hindi Books By Gulzar, If You Are An Admirer Of His Works

Thoda hai,

Thode ki zaroorat hai,

Zindagi phir bhi yahan 

Khoobsurat hai…

Sampooran Singh Kalra aka Gulzar is one such poet and author who has been able to capture the hearts of millions through his deep yet simple lines. He believes in love, nostalgia, despair, heartbreak, as well as in life and its possibilities. Born in 1934, his words touch every possible emotion of human being and this is why they can convey the feelings of grief, pain or love to every reader, irrespective of his or her age. Getting the first break as a lyricist of Bollywood, he worked in the film 'Bandini', although his family wasn't supportive enough in his venture and passion. His versatility is astonishing as on one hand, he can write 'Tumko Dekha to yeh khayal aaya', and on the other, he writes Oscar-winning ode ‘Jai Ho'. Apart from lyrics and poems, two path-breaking films, 'Aandhi' and 'Mausam', as well as numerous scripts, are proof of his multi-talented personality. There are several books of poems and proses where Gulzar Saab captures a myriad of emotions. You do not need to be a poet or highly intellectual to understand his stories or poems. They're all heart.

Here's a list of Seven Hindi books by Gulzar Saab that would definitely warm a reader's heart.

Do Log

Gulzar has recreated the pathetic time of the great Partition of 1947 in this book. The reader can visualize and feel the pain that common people were subjected to. The story will shake the reader at every line with its short and unique portrayal. The backdrop is set in the misty morning of winter during 1946 in a village named Campbellpur. A truck carrying people leaves the village after the announcement of the Partition. People in that truck do not have any idea about their destination and still in shock to think of the vague word 'border', ‘refugees'. How can Hindustan be separated from Pakistan? While reaching the border, people come down and go their own routes. It's the first novel of Gulzar Saab to track the lives of those ill-fated people from 1946's Partition to the 1999 Kargil war. Do Log portrays the carnage of the dissection of the Indian subcontinent that kept happening till this day.

Mirza Ghalib

In this prose, Gulzar portrays the life of the great Urdu and Persian poet Mirza Ghalib through the conversations of Ghalib himself with his family members and friends or acquaintances. The glorious past of Mughal dynasty, musings of memories, flashbacks with no cutter are fluently depicted. Ghalib has seen the realm of the fallen Mughal empire and the rise and spread of British colonial rule till 1869.

Raavi Paar (And other stories)

Although it's originally written in English, the Hindi translation is equally unique. Raavi Paar series is a short stories collection with outstanding subject matter and narrative poignance. The stories contain different flavors like serious, funny, ironic or satirical from a man's equanimous and compassionate perspective. Henceforth, Gulzar's stories are refreshing, in spite of the human suffering and free from cynicism. Stories with the global theme, simple protagonists, day-to-day events of life are picturized with deep consciousness and sensitivity. Among this collection, the story Raavi Paar and Dhuan are specifically designed and woven around the Partition time. A reader can relate to the stories because of its simple and effective narrative style.

Paji Nazmein

This is a collection of his nazmein where we can find a different mood of Gulzar Saab where the words raise some kind of questions in the mind of the reader without asking it directly. These lines pinch us softly about the superficial and superfluous surrounding and self of the human beings. There's a line on the indifference of the Almighty, saying "Na woh gardan hilata hai, na woh hankara bharta hai". These simple but powerful words depict their own tale and those are antithesis against the pompousness and superciliousness.

Raat Pashmine Ki

If you're a fan of Gulzar Saab's poetry, this is a must-to-have as it contains almost all the famous poetries. Reading him is soothing and it works like a balm to the aching mind. Here's a line from the book:

"Yeh raah bahut aasan nahi

Jis raah pe hath chhuda kar tum

Yun tanha chal nikli ho

Iss khauf mein rah bhatak jaao na kahin

Har mod pe maine nazm khadi kar rakhi hai…"

Pluto

This book is a dedication to the newly assigned dwarf-planet Pluto that lost the status of a true planet. It's a collection of unconventional 111 poems that celebrates the metaphor of exile in different ways along with the themes of relationships with nature, god, time as well as one's own self. According to Gulzar Saab, "Pluto lost its planet status recently and scientists said: ‘ Away with you. We won't include you in our family of Nine Planets. You're not the one anymore!' I had lost my place long ago when my family said, ‘ How come a mirasi in a family of businessmen?' Silence echoed that you are not one of us". This series of poems have 'pint-sized' poems as a tribute to the sorrow of the dwarf-planet portraying the fleeting, ephemeral moments which we often fail to grasp. 

New Delhi Times

This particular book has the storyline of the movie with the same title. It's an entirely different category of story where a newspaper editor exposes the political corruption and evil nexus. It's a deeply relevant story if we think of the post-independence circumstances of our country where corrupted people are weakening the country from inside. The impact of such a rotten system on everybody's lives and how in many ways people cannot handle it is precisely depicted in this story. The movie adaptation has been critically acclaimed with three national awards. 

Besides, there are stories like Namkeen, Ijazat, Masoom (also movie), Mere Apne, Meera, Lekin as well as a unique form of poetry in Triveni (3-line poem) that can capture a reader's heart undoubtedly.

-An Article by LangÉcole® School of Languages and Cultural Centre