Nadim in a metropolis
Noida, 2021
Bombro Bombro shaam rang bombro kyayz chuk yuut naalaano?
Amidst living away from Jammu a certain loneliness had crept me. Jammu had my heart but one needs to keep walking in life. In this walk I reached here to start my professional life. Hours became days and days became months and now I don’t need to unnecessarily poke those autorickshawwallahs to tell me the directions of my own office. The coffee machine is my retreat. It recognises my touch, just like anyone else’s, and serves me a hot machine made cappuccino which, on earlier occasions, would turn my lips red like a bite from an amateur lover. Now the love is gone, coffee is my wife. It doesn’t bite my lips anymore. One evening i was alone in my cubicle, moving my mouse to stay “online” when I heard the buzz of coffee machine. It buzzed like a bee while whistling with hot steam, like a bee roaming over barren land looking for someone. Looking for its yemberzal(narcissus). I glanced at it and it stopped. The bee stopped buzzing. The yemberzal was nowhere. I went back home.
An urge of belonging was still there. My heart was whistling tunes of a song that I couldn’t recall. I just remembered the hum and melody. I ached for that song. I tried to repeat that hum in my head and eventually the melody got stuck in my head like a broken gramophone record. It was soothing, flowing, the flow, flow of water, water? Flowing water, where, kashmir, Jhelum,…Vyeth.
Sangaruvv gaash hyott lolee lalvunn ye...
Vyeth Aayee mahaarein sonnay ye
Thhadee thhadee heyitoass badeiy vanvunn ye,
Vyethh Aayee Mahaarein sonnay ye
Look !The mountain peaks are cuddling sunlight in their lap,
Here comes bride Vitasta to our land (Kashmir).
Come join to sing Melodious Bridal songs loudly for her,
Behold !Here comes vitasta to our land (Kashmir)
(opening lines from Dina nath nadim’s Vitasta; translation: Avtar mota)
I closed my eyes and sunk in my pillow while my soul was floating along the mighty vitasta. I saw the women folk washing clothes and utensils on the banks of habbakadal, the shikaras and the houseboats but I also saw a man, it was a misty appearance. Just a silhouette on the banks of the river. As i tried to look closer my eyes opened. I saw the ceiling. It was him, Dina nath nadim, the creator of this song and the play. The play sings praises of kashmir but does kashmir of today praises Nadim. How can they know of him? They never saw him. But why is there no Nadim? Why can’t i see him? Where is he?
Jammu, September 2022
I came back home and was finally enjoying the fresh breath of non smoky air. It made my lungs lighter and my sleep deeper. The evening walks were my company and the melody was my muse. Thankfully I had gained some inputs regarding Nadim. An uncle answered my query that how come It is possible that a person of nadim’s stature wouldn’t have an interview recorded. He had passed away in 1988, apparently in those times video recording had started and Doordarshan kashmir had made a video interview of nadim in which he was talking about his life, his works and his legacy. It aired in the ending months of 1987 in kashmir. So now I knew that there was a way to see Nadim, to see clearer behind the silhouette on the banks of vitasta that who lies , but the next challenge was about finding that recording. And it was not an easy task at all.
Noida, 2023
After many phonecalls I finally managed to get connected with ahinsa kaul ji, Son of dina nath nadim ji and they told me during one of our long conversations that he had, in his possession, a copy of that 1987 interview. I was excited to finally end this wait. After scheduling a meeting, i walked to his place which was quite far away from the metro station. Finally I reached his home, met the family and after the usual pleasantries we went straight to work. Apparently they had recorded the interview personally on a VHS tape when it first aired in 1987. DN Nadim was at jammu at that time so the family thought to show Nadim ji the interview later but nature had other plans. Nadim Ji passed away in the early hours of 7th April 1988 due to a sudden cardiac arrest in Jammu. The mortal remains were brought to srinagar where the last rites were performed. He couldn’t watch this interview. A couple of months later, the kashmir turmoil started and after the assassination of doordarshan director Lassa kaul, many important recordings were lost. As if this was not enough, In 2014, floods damaged the database of doordarshan and All india radio which had killed any bit of hope of mine to retrieve the interview from doordarshan itself. After many years the VHS tape was converted to a CD by the family and was kept in the almirah where it stayed undisturbed for about 20 years. After some initial tweaking and cleaning the cd, the video began and there it was. The phenomenon, The man, in front of my very eyes, Dina Nath Nadim, in flesh and blood. I was covered in goosebumps. To hear his voice while he recites his famous compositions was magical. I copied the file in my phone and thanked the family for sharing this treasure with me and i started my journey back. I was overjoyed but it felt like the sun was more happy as it was making me sweat profusely. While walking towards the metro station I couldn’t stop but think about this experience. I kept thinking that what if i had not come today. What if I had ignored it just the way I procrastinate my other works and what would happen if i never share this interview with the world?
Nothing. Absolutely Nothing. The sun would rise and set, the cars would move and the metro would still run but what about vitasta? Would it be able to see his son again? Could I ever see beyond the silhouette? Sometimes we do something that doesn’t have any monetary or physical impact on us but the sheer joy of doing it gives us a satisfaction that cannot be compared with the achivement of materialistic goals. Some jobs are for our heart. Some jobs are done for the soul. It was my sheer luck that I stumbled upon this desire and my feet kept bringing me closer to my goal. I reached back home and got it uploaded by searchkashmir after a few cleanups and the sheer joy of sharing this gem was beyond anything. To see the comments on the interview about old memories and associations, praises and wishes were heartwarming. The Voice of a region that people had forgotten was brought back to life and now as i write this journey i recall one of Nadim’s Nazm
'mye noon cha mye chai cha
Ti kaeins myein maaye cha’
(I’m devoid of salt and tea,
Does someone has a heart for me’)
The context of the nazm is entirely different but After seeing the views, comments and how people remember Nadim, i can say that
Yes, somewhere shimmering with joy, Vitasta still remembers Nadim.
