BY KAVITA CHHIBBER

His stature as a legend is well established through his poetry and his songs, and Padmashri Gopal Das Neeraj showed a cozy group of poetry lovers just why he is considered a national icon at the Palace restaurant on 8th October. The event was hosted by Atlanta Dunia in collaboration with the Atlanta chapter of ASHA, an action group that raises funds to educate underprivileged children in India. Accompanying him was a young satirist Sarvesh Asthana who veils his social messages in the garb of humor.

After a delicious dinner provided by Palace the audience settled down to what turned out to be an evening of laughter, poignancy, nostalgia and heartwarming poetry.

Neeraj ji handed over the mike to Asthana so that the audience could begin their evening with laughter, for laughter is good for digestion as well. Asthana pointed to his skinny frame and said, “You can imagine how good laughter is for digestion from my puny frame.” He also added since the purpose of most Indian social gatherings is to eat, he was surprised that people still chose to stay back. That brought a chuckle from listeners.

Asthana then went on to touch on various aspects of Indian life that can be such fodder for a satirist, from the difference in driving here and India-“we have an entrance to enter places you exit to enter, we drive on the right you drive to the left, I tried to go to a restroom to rest, to find it wasn’t a resting place.” He then talked about the height of patriotism-ex Prime minister, Vajpayee getting his Indian kneecaps changed to American ones with the help of American doctors, so that if he has to ever concede defeat and go down on his knees it will be America that would be down on its knees and not his country!

Asthana said people keep telling him to stay on and see the changing colors but he sees enough of changing colors watching the politicians in his country! Even the chameleon cannot compete with them.

Asthana then had a field day recreating the scene from a wedding-the dinner area becomes a battlefield, people fight over food, women wear thin chiffon saris in icy winter, and people wipe their hands on the coat of the man in front, young men offer ice cream to a whole family while targeting the eligible single daughter. He also took a dig at police officers, where the Japanese cop brags he can solve a crime in 24 hours, the American brags he can do it in 5 but the Indian laughs at them and says we know 24 hours ahead of time who did it!

Sarvesh Asthana then handed over the mike to Poet Neeraj, who kept the audience spell bound with his powerful recitation, speaking of life’s many aspects. He said he writes and speaks only if he has a message to give. He spoke of the fact that all of us often go through life blindly because we fail to capture the essence of our being and that of others. We are too afraid to show the mirror to ourselves, live our life mired in a cacophony of superficial small talk that is nothing but noise-we never look deep within ourselves. As the night follows the day, life’s cycles are determined by just two things-birth and death. To truly elevate your life, it is not enough just to be born a human, but to become human and humane.

He also rightly pointed out that most of us are too busy looking back or looking ahead-very few understand the significance of living in the present or that the present is all there is-when the breath of life is the last breath, no one knows.

The only thing that truly matters in life and continues to multiply when you share it is love. Physical desire corrupts the mind just as hunger gives birth to traitors. Life is a mystery just as the Universe is and the more you search for answers the more ignorant you find yourself at the end of the day. There are several aspects of love-union, separation, self love but the greatest love is the one we share with each other. He said that what saddens him is the fact that we see each other as Hindu, Muslim Sikh and Christian but forget to see each other as human beings. He sees the fire of hatred and envy and greed surging through the holy rivers of the world-it seems as if there is no place left to purify one’s body or one’s soul.

Poet Neeraj has written hundreds of songs for films and talked about the famous number “E bhai zara dekh ke chalo” that he wrote for Raj Kapoor’s magnum opus-‘Mera Naam Joker’. When the legendary filmmaker invited him to write a song about a joker, Neeraj was flummoxed. “If I write a song for a joker, the joker won’t remain a joker but will become a singer,” he replied. Finally he decided to write the lyrics in free verse, where it would seem as if the joker is having a conversation with his audience. The song is very reflective of life and just as the joker is part of a circus where a ring master makes animals dance to the crack of his whip-humanity dances to the crack of the whip controlled by a higher power above. “Contrary to our self created notion we are not heroes but jokers in a circus and the world is our stage,” said the poet laureate. He also mischievously talked about woman being the root cause of the downfall of man citing examples of Draupadi, Sita and Sanjukta.

Sarvesh Asthana also focused on the social evils in India- dowry deaths through biting satire, and how when a father dies, if he is working for the government his vacant seat is given to the son-so even in death he is still nurturing his child.

Neeraj talked about the epitaph that he saw on Rajneesh’s tomb-it said “I visited this planet-I’m leaving this planet.” He added that it is indeed the truth. We are all visitors on this planet. There is no one who has managed to reside here permanently, but while we are here we must live life sharing our love with others, picking up the shards of broken dreams and dreaming new ones as life goes on. 

It was a superlative evening and one admired the stamina and youthful looks of the octogenarian Neeraj who sang most of his verses in a very resonant, powerful voice. Anil Joshi representing Atlanta Dunia and Gaurav Bakshi representing the one year old Atlanta chapter of ASHA thanked the audience for participating in a worthy cause. Krishna Kali, a local music teacher sang the song “Megha chaye aadhi raat”, the melodious number penned by Neeraj for the film ‘Sharmilee’ as a pleasant interlude. Joshi promised many such meaningful events in the future.