Yeh Kya Jaadu Hai, Doston?

-Ali Peter John

I have seen many miracles in the world where I have spent most of my life, but I don't think there has been a greater miracle than Rekha, who is justifiably called ‘the eternal diva'. But, she was not always ‘the eternal diva', it took her a long time, total dedication, perseverance and passion and may be something more, which only she knows about to make her the miraculous woman she is and will always be known as, she has made sure of it.

What has Rekha not done to be the Rekha she is today? She was considered an actress with a very black and bleak future, but she overcame all humiliation and rejection to rise like a beautiful phoenix and made all those who ran her down eat their words with relish. She was considered to be a bad dancer in films. She danced her way to glory in and as Umrao Jaan and then there was no one to question her prowess as a dancer who could dance any and every kind of dance.

They said she could not speak her dialogue in Hindi and Urdu in the right way and with the right nuances. She taught them all a lesson or two or more in how the two languages could be spoken at their best. She tried lending her own voice to a song in Hrishikesh Mukherjee's “Khoobsurat" in which she in a way paid a tribute to Amitabh Bachchan by following him in every way and knowing that he sang in some of his films, also sang a song in the film which went down very well with her millions of fans. They said she did not have the polish and the poise to be known as a great actress who inspired awe in the people. They said she would never be able to sing as a professional, but one has to see her sing some of the songs she has in public to believe that if Rekha makes up her mind, she can do anything and no one and no power can stop her.

Why as I lavishing so much of praise on Rekha, the singer? I have to ask you to hear her sing the well-known ghazal of the popular Pakistani ghazal singers Farida Khanum ‘aaj jaane ki zidd na karo' and then listen to her sing, “yeh kya jagah hai, doston" from “Umrao Jaan" to admit that she is nothing short of a miracle.

I have not personally seen her sing, but have depended on videos on YouTube and other mediums to see how she can drive even her most hardened critics shout out in ecstasy and scream in disbelief and delight, “oh my god".I know of some so called music specialists who have tried to prick holes in her rendition of the ghazal and have come back in a trance and full of only Rekha all the way. I have heard many other singers rendering this difficult ghazal, including Asha Bhosle, but none among them have moved and touched me the way Rekha does when singing ‘aaj jaane ki zidd na karo'.

She has always acknowledged the fact that it has been “Umrao Jaan" that has been the turning point of her career. In many of her public appearances and talks, she has said, “Umrao hai toh Rekha hai, nahin toh Rekha kuch bhi nahi hai". In one of the award shows, she took the three thousand strong audience into another world when she talked about “Umrao Jaan" and the songs written by the elusive Urdu poet, Shahryar and all of them composed by the now late Khayyaam. The organisers had called her to present Khayyaam with a lifetime achievement award and she made sure that she was there and looking her dazzling best at sixty plus. She presented the trophy to Khayyaam, but more than the award it was what she had said about Khayyaam's contribution to the immortality of “Umrao Jaan" that made the ninety year old and still active Khayyaam blushed before the large crowd.

She said, “main jahan jaati hoon waha log mujhe Rekha se zyada Umrao ke naam se jante hai aur iska poora shrey main Khayyaam Saahab ko deti hoon. Khayyaam Sahab hai toh Umrao hai aur Umrao hai toh Rekha hai.Waise toh main bachchpan se hi artist rahi hoon, lekin Umrao Jaan ne mere ander ke artist ko ek nayi zindagi di. She then talked about the songs of  “Umrao Jaan" and said all of them were gems by themselves, but her all-time favourite was, “yeh kya jagah hai doston".

She hummed some of the other songs from “Umrao Jaan" and said that she had no intentions to sing that night, but when it came to ‘, “yeh kya jagah hai, doston", she seemed to be losing control over the artist in her and then started singing the song and as the audience watched her sing with their eyes and hearts focused on her, she held them spellbound and they looked at her helplessly, not knowing how to express their feelings for her as a singer this time, after watching her as an actress for more than forty years.

The highlight of her singing was composers like the veteran Anandji, Anu Malik and the singer, Kavita Krishnamurthy looking at her as if she was magic they had never seen before and the entire audience gave her a standing ovation. And the smile on her face lit up the whole stadium and Khayyaam looked as if he was blessed by Rekha singing one of his best compositions.

It was during her singing of , ‘aaj jaane ki zidd na karo' that I heard a couple expressing their disbelief by looking at each other and then looking at Rekha who was at the end of her singing a long aalaap and just saying, “Oh my God, Oh my God". At the end of her singing ‘yeh kya jagah hai, doston', the entire stadium was singing ‘Oh my God'.

Will Rekha ever stop working miracles? I don't think and I would not like see her stop working miracles, because anyone who is accepted as a goddess by millions has to keep working miracles.