Sarfaroshi Ki Tamanna

I guess.... rather I hope that most of you have seen 'Gulaal'.. a genuine Anurag Kashyap-masterpiece. A very grounded exposé of the predicament of college life. Apart from its pretty accurate and realistic description of the shenanigans employed by powerful men who foment youth politics, I was particularly moved by a scene from that movie. It was the scene in which Duggi Bana's (Kay Kay Menon) whimsical brother (Piyush Mishra) sings his idiosyncratic version of the famous pre-independence poem 'Sarfaroshi Ki Tamanna'. Altough a little harsh, Mishra's sardonic lines and satirical tone strike directly to your scruples. A sentient audience is impelled to put a cognitive effort over the famous adage "Where is our counrty heading?".

The older counter-part was written in the pre-independence era by Ram Prasad Bismil as a show of the audacity and courage of Indian revolutionaries to stand against the might of the Raj. Bismil's writings talk of a concerted effort to overthrow the imperalists and establish an egalitarian, utopian society. On the other hand, Piyush Mishra's lyrics pose a direct sarcasm over the futility of the efforts of the mandarins that have led this country towards labefaction.

Here's how the lines go (the Gulaal version). Read them and try to contemplate over the veracity of the statements made by the lyricist.

सरफरोशी की तमन्ना अब हमारे दिल में है,
देखना है ज़ोर कितना बाज़ू-ऐ-कातिल में है,
वक्त आने दे बता देंगे तुझे ए आसमां,
हम अभी से क्या बताएं, क्या हमारे दिल में है॥

ओ रे बिस्मिल, काश आते आज तुम हिंदुस्तान,
देखते की देश सारा क्या टशन, क्या थिल में है,
आज का लौंडा ये कहता हम तो बिस्मिल थक गए,
अपनी आज़ादी तो भैय्या लौंडिया के तिल में है...

आज के जलसों में बिस्मिल एक गूंगा गा रहा,
और बहरों का वो रेला नाचता महफिल में है,
हाथ की खादी बनाने का गया,
आज तो चड्डी भी सिलती इंग्लिसों की मिल में है...

सरफरोशी की तमन्ना अब हमारे दिल में है,
देखना है ज़ोर कितना बाज़ू-ऐ-कातिल में है॥