RUBAIYAT OF OMAR KHAYYAM

I came across this quote yesterday attributed to Omar Khayyam, “Be happy for this moment. This moment is your life.”

Around 70 years ago, I saw a movie, “Pandora and the Flying Dutchman.” The movie is an all-time great and is based on the legend of a Dutch sailor who has been cursed by the Devil to sail the seas for eternity until he meets a woman willing to die for him. After years of sailing, he meets Pandora who falls for him. Ava Gardner as Pandora and James Mason as the Flying Dutchman are outstanding in their roles in this unforgettable movie.

The reason I bring this up is that the movie begins with a flash of probably the most popular quote from ‘Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam”:

“The Moving Finger writes: and, having writ, 

Moves on: nor all thy Piety nor Wit,

Shall lure it back to cancel half a line,

Nor all thy tears, wash out a word of it.”

The lines fascinated me and I procured the book and read it again and again. It is by far the best set of poems I have come across and has been lodged in my mind ever since. 

I am sure most of us are aware of the Rubaiyat, have read it and quote from it. To refresh briefly, Omar Khayyam was born in Khorassan, Persia, and lived in late 11th and early 12th century. Khayyam means ‘tentmaker’ which might have been his family’s vocation. He himself was an astronomer-mathematician philosopher financed by the Sultan to pursue his scientific and literary interests. His poetic profile only emerged many years after his death. In fact, some historians doubt the authenticity of many of the poems attributed to him.

The poems gained global recognition in late 19th century after a Britisher, Edward Fitzgerald, received some manuscripts from a friend and put the poems together titling them  “Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam.” Rubaiyat is Persian for ‘quatrain’ or four-line stanzas which is the format of Khayyam’s poems. Fitzgerald’s first edition was published in 1859 and did not gain much traction for a few years but became hugely popular thereafter. Fitzgerald followed up with four more editions and over the years, numerous other translators brought out their own versions in various languages but Fitzgerald’s first edition remains the most popular one to this day. In fact, many scholars consider it to be Fitzgerald’s original poetry loosely based on Khayyam’s quatrains. Indeed, Fitzgerald himself admits that he has taken a lot of liberty in his translation.

The mystery about Khayyam abounds. Scholars in the Fitzgerald mould consider Khayyam to be a hedonist and an atheist interested in earthly pleasures such as drinking wine, and assess the Rubaiyat to be simply a love poem. The opposing school of thought disagrees and regards Khayyam to be a deeply religious, Sufi mystic. They interpret a spiritual meaning in his lines and consider that he was, in fact, expressing devotion to his god in the guise of wine. This claim is strengthened by the fact that, in his time, he was respected as a sage.

To say the least, Fitzgerald’s work is superb poetry and enormously alluring. It makes for easy reading and has a musical cadence to it.

I am no scholar and simply enjoy the Rubaiyat without worrying too much about the two opposite schools of thought although I do feel that many of his lines cannot be explained unless they had a deeper meaning rather than purely literal. 

Let me now quote the quatrains that I love.

The Rubaiyat begins with a spectacular depiction of dawn, the awakening of Man: 

“Awake! For morning in the bowl of night,

Has flung the stone that puts the stars to flight:

And lo, the hunter of the East,

Has caught the Sultan’s turret in a noose of light.”

“Dreaming when Dawn’s left hand was in the sky,

I heard a voice within the Tavern cry:

‘Awake, my little ones, and fill the cup,

Before Life’s Liquor in the Cup be dry’.”

If we take this literally, is a barman in the pub exhorting petty-minded humans to wake up and indulge in drinking liquor early in the morning? Or is the Tavern an inner sanctum and the ‘voice’ a deep desire to seek spiritual consciousness and divine joy in life?

This is followed by:

“And as the cock crew, those who stood before

The Tavern shouted-‘Open then the door,

You know how little while we have to stay,

And, once departed, may return no more.’ ”

A theme often reiterated in the Rubaiyat is the transient nature of human life and the futility of ego:

“Think, in this caravanserai,

Whose doorways are alternate Night and Day,

How Sultan after Sultan with his Pomp

Abode his Hour or two, and went his way.”

“The worldly hope men set their hearts upon,

Turns ashes-or it prospers, and anon,

Like snow upon desert’s dusty face,

Lighting a little hour or two, is gone.”

“Oh, come with old Khayyam, and leave the Wise

To talk; one thing is certain, that Life flies,

One thing is certain and the rest is Lies,

The Flower that once has blown, for ever dies.”

Many verses are devoted to the inevitability and irreversibility of Fate; invoking the sun and the moon, stars and planets won’t help. Let’s repeat the one used in “Pandora….”:

“The Moving Finger writes and, having writ,

Moves on: nor all thy Piety nor Wit,

Shall lure it back to cancel half a Line,

Nor all thy Tears wash out a Word of it.”

“And that inverted Bowl we call The Sky,

Whereunder crawling coop’t we live and die,

Lift not thy hands to it for help – for it

Rolls impotently on as Thou or I.”

So make the Present happy and be content. Past has already happened and Future is yet to come:

“Ah! Fill the Cup – what boots it to repeat

How Time is slipping underneath our Feet;

Unborn TOMORROW, and dead YESTERDAY,

Why fret about them if TODAY be sweet.”

“Ah, my Beloved, fill the Cup that clears

TODAY of past Regrets and future Fears –

TOMORROW? Why TOMORROW I may be 

Myself with YESTERDAY’s Sev’n THOUSAND YEARS.”

“Ah, make the most of what we yet may spend,

Before we too into the Dust descend;

Dust into Dust, and under Dust to lie,

Sans Wine, sans Song, sans Singer, and – sans End?”

So how do we find inner peace, comfort and happiness? -

“Here with a Loaf of Bread beneath the Bough,

A Flask of Wine, a Book of Verse – and Thou

Beside me in the Wilderness –

And Wilderness is Paradise enow.”

Paramhansa Yogananda, our own spiritual leader of the 20th century, has interpreted 'Bread' as the life-force, 'Wine' as God intoxication, 'Bough' as the spinal tree or centre of the nervous system concentrating on which brings great joy and inner peace, 'A Book of Verse' as inspirations emanating from the heart, 'Thou' as the Cosmic Beloved and 'Wilderness' as inner stillness leading to a state of Paradise.

Towards the end, Khayyam is wistful:

“Ah, Love! Could Thou and I with Fate conspire

To grasp this sorry Scheme of Things entire.

Would not we shatter it to bits – and then

Re-mould it nearer to the Heart’s Desire!”

TAMAM SHUD (It is done)

RAVI SHARMA....WHO?

Many years ago, there was a naval party in Vishakhapatnam to which a number of civilian dignitaries were invited. A colleague of mine went up to one of them and introduced himself thus, “Good evening, sir. I am …. son-in-law of….”  I recall smirking then at what I thought was a funny way to introduce oneself by throwing in a connection of someone well-known. Over the years, however, I realize that my colleague was right. When I introduce myself to strangers by just my name, their probable reaction is, “Ravi Sharma who? For all I care, you could be Chunni Lal or Ghasita Ram!”

As William Shakespeare famously wrote, “What’s in a name?” By itself, nothing. What matters is that either you are famous yourself or can boast of a connection to someone important so that your name could have some weight. Most of us fall in the latter category. I certainly do. 

My Nanaji was a respected High Court Judge known for his honesty and lucid and well-reasoned judgments. In my younger days, it helped if I told people that I was his grandson. My mother, starting as a long-serving headmistress of a popular girls’ high school in Jaipur and rising to become Director of Sanskrit Education, Rajasthan, had earned recognition all over the state and won many awards. I would proudly proclaim I was her son. Indeed, even today, long after she is gone, I can quote her name in Jaipur and go up a notch or two in people's eyes.

In the Navy, introductions were not necessary as one had to wear a name tally on one’s chest. In fact, one was known more by one’s appointment than by name. For instance, a Captain of a ship would be known by its name; so I was Katchall for some time followed by Trishul.

Nevertheless, I did have connections in the Service. Both my Mamas had joined the Indian Navy in its nascent stage. The number of officers was small and everyone knew everyone else. Long after I retired, I wrote a few ‘middles’ which were published and I received a letter from Admiral Russi Ghandhi saying that he had enjoyed reading them but asking who I was. I replied that I was Cmde Vinnie Sharma’s nephew and he wrote back that coming from that family, I must be an okay guy!

The same connection may not work well with all. Vinnie Mama and an officer  senior to him were together on the training staff at the Joint Services Wing, Clementown, Dehradun. The senior officer thought Vinnie Mama was too flamboyant and did not like him. The individual rose to the rank of Vice Admiral and became Chief of Personnel. Vinnie Mama specifically told me that he should never be told about our relationship. I wonder if the fact became known to him anyway and was one of the reasons for my initial non-selection for Staff College!

Now, though many years after retirement, I thought that in the Navy my name would be recognised. Recently, I asked a friend of mine who knows a serving Vice Admiral well, to request the latter for help in making some arrangements for my visit to Chennai. I quote from the message my friend wrote to the Vice Admiral, “A small request from Cmde RN Sharma, father of well known Economist Ruchir Sharma….” Obviously my name was not enough and the reference must have carried weight because the arrangements exceeded my expectations!

I suffer from no ego and if I am recognised more by my connections than by my name, so be it. There is one time though when I felt things had gone too far. As a bachelor, I had a pet dog named Lucky, a cute, creamish Pomeranian. As a pup, Lucky had fallen from a bed and fractured its right foreleg which gave it a peculiar, prancing gait. It was charming to watch Lucky as it approached you wagging its tail and looking at you with soulful eyes beseeching to be hugged and petted. It was so popular with my friends' kids that they called me not by my name but as “Lucky Uncle” which I thought was a bit much!

Amazingly, while writing this, a poem appeared on my computer screen, “I’m Nobody! Who are you?” by Emily Dickinson. It is eminently suitable to be quoted in this context:

“I’m Nobody! Who are you?

Are you-Nobody-too?

Then there’s a pair of us!

Don’t tell! They’d advertise-you know!

How dreary-to be-Somebody!

How public-like a Frog-

To tell one’s name-the livelong June-

To an admiring Bog!”

P.S. Latest connection: A few weeks back, I have acquired an in-law relationship with the all-time great West Indian cricketer, Vivian Richards and Neena Gupta, the famous actress.

POP SONGS FROM CLASSICAL MUSIC

 

Writing the previous blog and tweaking lyrics of Doris Day’s seductive “This Is Beautiful Music To Love By’, my thoughts went to some popular songs which have been inspired by and adapted from age-old classical pieces. Many such songs have been huge hits for all-time great and top singers of their time.

‘King’ Elvis Presley has a number of them. His 1960 release “It’s Now Or Never” is an adaptation of the evergreen Neapolitan classic “O Sole Mio” sung by scores of great tenors including my favourite, Luciano Pavarotti. Elvis' version was not the first one; in 1949, Tony Martin had recorded “There’s No Tomorrow” using the melody of “O Sole Mio”.

Elvis followed up with “Surrender” adapted from another Neapolitan great, “Torna A Surriento”. And while on Elvis, we can include “Can’t Help Falling In Love With You” which is from a French love song of 1784 vintage. Most of us will also recall its swinging reggae rendition by UB40 thirty years down the line which perhaps even bettered Elvis’ version in popularity.

Way back in 1945, Frank Sinatra sang “Full Moon And Empty Arms” based on Rachmaninov’s Piano Concerto No. 2. Many versions followed, prominent being the ones by Eddie Fisher and Caterina Valente, and Bob Dylan as recently as 2015. The Concerto has been very popular with movie music composers and has been used extensively in David Lean’s “Brief Encounter” (1945), “Rhapsody” (1954) with Elizabeth Taylor in the lead role, and “Seven Year Itch” (1955) starring Marilyn Monroe”. I remember seeing “Rhapsody” as a cadet in the NDA in the mid-‘50s and being captivated by the musical theme even before I learnt to appreciate classical music.

The slow second movement of this concerto of Rachmaninov’s has also inspired “All By Myself” by Celine Dion who we all know for her “My Heart Will Go On” from “Titanic”.

Another Piano Concerto, Tchaikovsky’s No. 1, led to the romantic “Tonight We Love” composed by a famous band leader of the ‘40s and ‘50s, Freddy Martin, and sung among others, by Caterina Valente and Tony Martin. 

Two contrasting numbers of mid-‘50s bring back sweet memories to me of our house on 3 Hospital Road in Jaipur and my top floor room where Radio Ceylon was the top source of music on our Philips radio. The first is the sentimental “Stranger In Paradise” from the musical “Kismet”. The song is an adaptation of Alexander Borodin’s “Gliding Dance of the Maidens” from his opera “Prince Igor”. Tony Bennett sang it in the 1953 movie and then performed it with Andrea Bocelli in 2011, 58 years later! 

The other number is the fast-paced, foot tapping “Hot Diggity” by Perry Como based on Chabrier’s “Espana”. It has funny and nonsensical lyrics like:

“Oh, hot diggity, dog ziggity, boom, what you do to me….when you’re holding me tight….

Never dreamed anybody could kiss thattaway

Bring me bliss thattaway, what a kiss thattaway…

Never knew that my heart could go ‘zing’ thattaway

Ting-a-ling thattaway, make me sing thattaway….

Hot diggity, dog ziggity, boom what you do to me

From the moment you’re mine

Hot dog!”

Sure to chase anyone’s blues away!

Paul McCartney and John Lennon did their bit of adaptation for The Beatles with “Because”, a take from the First Movement of Beethoven’s “Moonlight Sonata”. Further, Johann Sebastian Bach’s “Bourree in E Minor” led them to compose “Blackbird”. Paul said he went for the title on hearing the call of the bird while in Rishikesh. 

On hearing the opening chords on the Hammond Organ of the mesmerizing “A Whiter Shade Of Pale” by Procol Harum, one might think of Bach and would be right; the song is based on Bach’s “Air on the G String.” The title has an interesting story; songwriter Keith Reid overheard someone at a party saying to a woman, “You’ve turned a whiter shade of pale.” And so a song was born.

Bach seems to have been a big inspiration to pop music composers and singers. Still, it came to me as a surprise to learn that Simon and Garfunkel’s superb “Bridge Over Troubled Water” owed its origin to Bach’s hymn, “O Sacred Head, Now Wounded”!

To this day, pop music writers keep turning to classical music for inspiration. Billy Joel’s “This Night” came from the Second Movement of Beethoven’s “Pathetique” sonata, Lady Gaga’s “Alejandro” from Vittorio Monti’s “Csardas”, Phil Collins’ “A Groovy Kind of Love” from Clementi’s “Sonata in G Minor”, Beyonce’s “Ave Maria” from Schubert’s famous hymn of the same title but with different lyrics, John Denver’s “Annie’s Song” from the Second Movement of Tchaikovsky’s Fifth Symphony.... The list is endless and continues to expand.

Finally, can you believe that a classical piece can be converted into ‘rap’? Well, that is just what the rapper NAS did, adapting his “I Can” from one of Beethoven’s most popular pieces, “Fur Elise”. His song is intended to be an inspirational one for children written by NAS at the request of his mother and the video I have seen is sweet. Intentions might have been noble; however, I think it was just as well that Beethoven was deaf as hearing the musical twist given to his piece might have made him turn in his grave. 

THIS IS BEAUTIFUL SEASON TO GOLF BY - Apologies to Doris Day With Consideration For My Age

This is beautiful season to golf by

It’s the sun, it’s the air 

So sublime

 

Golf’s a gorgeous pastime to dabble in

Make it yours

Choose a club

Grip it tight 

There goes the ball 

Round and round 

To the flagged hole

And my heart’s jumping wildly

But don’t let it stop

Oh, I wish the ball would only drop in,

I don’t care, if it's sliced or it's pulled

This is beautiful season to golf by

Seize the hour 

It’s so sweet 

Live it long

There goes the ball

Round and round

To the flagged hole

And my heart’s jumping wildly

But don’t let it stop

Oh, I wish the ball would only drop in

I don’t care, if it's sliced or it's pulled

This is beautiful season to golf by

Seize the hour

It's so sweet

Live it long.

BURT BACHARACH PASSES ON - RAINDROPS KEEP FALLING

I read, "Bacharach, master of pop songwriting, passes away at 94."

Immediate flashback to 1969 and "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid", the sympathetic movie about two bank robbers. and one of the greatest songs of all time, "Raindrops Keep Falling On My Head" and its brilliant picturisation in the movie. Paul Newman in the role of Butch Cassidy takes the pretty and pert Katharine Ross acting as Etta Place, girl friend of Sundance (Robert Redford) Kid, on a bicycle ride with the beautiful, iconic song playing in the background. It is a fun trip in a farm with Etta first sharing an apple with Butch and then getting in a hut to watch Butch perform stunts on the bike till he tries to ride facing backwards and crashes through a fence. A bull and he exchange stares till he gets on the bike and picks up the shaken Etta with the bull charging at them.

What award did the song and the music for the movie not win for Burt Bacharach, the songwriter! He won two Oscars, Best Original Song and Best Original Music for the movie, British Academy Award for Best Original Music, Golden Globe for Best Original Score and Best Original Song, and a Grammy for Best Original Score in a Motion Picture or a Television Special. 

Burt won many more Grammys and another Oscar for Best Original Song, "Arthur's Theme (Best That You Can Do)". Many more of his songs are unforgettable like another Grammy winner,"That's What Friends Are For" popularised by Dionne Warwick, his first Grammy winner "Alfie" for Best Instrumental Arrangement, Tom Jones' favourite "What's New Pussycat", "The Look Of Love" by Dusty Springfield featured in James Bond's "Casino Royale", Herb Alpert's mesmerising "This Guy's In Love With You", and "I Say A Little Prayer" by the Queen of Soul, Aretha Franklin.

Burt's music is said to be 'easy listening' but as an NJ.com contributor, Mark Voger, wrote, "It may be easy on the ears but it's anything but easy. The precise arrangements, the on-a-dime shifts in meter, and the mouthfuls of lyrics required to service all those notes have, over the years, proven challenging to singers and musicians." "This Guy's In Love With You" is a brilliant example.

In 2008, he was honoured with a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award as music's "Greatest Living Composer", and in 2012, he along with his partner, lyricist Hal David, was awarded the Gershwin Prize for Popular Song by the Library of Congress, USA. As late as 2021, he with Hal wrote the music for the theatrical performance of "My Best Friend's Wedding."

Apart from his music, People's magazine in 2000 voted him as "Sexiest Man Alive" and one of the "50 Most Beautiful People" of 1999.

For me, "Raindrops" was enough for Burt Bacharach to find a permanent niche in my heart. He will live on as long as raindrops keep falling.

SHARMA BRAJWASI-VIV RICHARDS ANTIGUAN, A FAR OUT CONNECT

The news- Masaba Gupta, daughter of Neena Gupta, TV and Bollywood star, and Sir Vivian Richards, the Antiguan and West Indian who is ranked as one of the world's best batsmen ever, marries Satyadeep Mishra. 

So what's special about it and why does it interest me?

Well, Satyadeep is the son of Nalini, daughter of Shri Mahesh Chand Sharma who hailed from Mathura, Brajbhoomi, and Smt. Biya with roots from Bijnor. And so, on to the various connects.

Connect 1. Maheshji's sister, Asha, married my Shashi Mama (Cdr PK Sharma). Nalini, therefore, is the first cousin of Mamiji and Mamaji's children and Satyadeep is their nephew, making him the 2nd cousin of the next generation.

Connect 2. Maheshji's brother, Lt Gen Ramesh Chand Sharma, married Akhila's elder sister, Viplesh, and Nalini is again the first cousin of their children and Satyadeep, their nephew, making him the 2nd cousin of the next generation.

Connect 3. Maheshji's father was the younger brother of the father of my Mausa (Masarji as I used to call him), Brigadier Kishen Chand Sharma. His and Mansi's children are then second cousins of Nalini and Satyadeep is their nephew, this time the 3rd cousin of the next generation.

Connect 4. Biyaji's Nani and my mother-in-law's Dadi were sisters making Nalini and Akhila third cousins, Satyadeep our nephew, and our children his 4th cousins. Incidentally, Maheshji, Biyaji and Nalini were active attendees at Akhila and my wedding.

In these multiple relationships, I guess I become some kind of an in-law of Sir Viv.

How's that, umpire?

Far out!

And now, all the best to Masaba and Satyadeep to carry the relationship forward to second, third, fourth and fifth cousins. Catch up, your cousins are already ahead of you.

P.S. Time for a close-relation tale. Manjula, my cousin, tells me this story. As Masarji and Asha Mami were first cousins, the latter was called Bua by Masarji's children. Manjula, the eldest, had been doing that for more than eight years. When Shashi Mama married Ashaji, Manjula was confused as to how to address her. Mataji, our Nani, firmly settled the issue by telling her that the new relationship superseded the old one, so Bua turned to Mami and that is how it stands. 

REPUBLIC DAY PARADE - SOME RECOLLECTIONS

Watching the Republic Day Parade on TV this morning took me back to the ones I have personally witnessed over the years.

The first was in 1953 when Pitaji brought Mataji and me to Delhi from Jaipur to watch the parade. While they were sitting on chairs, I was on the durrie-covered ground along with other children. In those days, I was a rabid reader of a publication called Classics Illustrated, which was, as its name suggests, a classic novel or play summarised in illustrations, much like a comic. I must have read hundreds of them; in fact, I don't think I read any full volume of a Charles Dickens' or Alexandre Dumas' classic except through this way. On this occasion, I alternated between watching the parade and reading a Classic during the gaps between the numerous contingents and tableaux.

The 1965 parade had a smart and dashing Vinnie Mama leading the naval contingent. That was a matter of pride for us, the family. The next year, I was Flag Lieutenant, as we call an ADC in the Navy, to Air Marshal R Rajaram, Commandant, National Defence College, and accompanied him for a centrestage view of the parade. The mood that year was sombre as we had just lost Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri in Tashkent after signing a peace accord with Pakistan following the 1965 war. That was the only year till 2021 that we had no foreign chief guest. In 2021 and 2022, it was Covid that kept a chief guest away but thankfully, this year we are back to normal with President Abdeh Fattah Al Sisi of Egypt gracing the occasion.

I had two postings in Naval Headquarters and witnessed the parade in 1975 with Akhila and in 1981 and '82 with her, Ruchir and Shumita. That was followed by witnessing Beating Retreat as well.

Prior to the arrival of TV, it was the running commentary on All India Radio that kept us abreast of the proceedings of a parade. Prominent commentators were Melville de Mellow in English whose surname best describes his deep, soothing voice and, in Hindi, the equally fluent and prolific Jasdev Singh who incidentally hailed from Jaipur and Mummy knew well. Now, on TV, the emphasis is more on the visual than the audio.

To get back to '53 and Classics Illustrated. The morning after the parade, there was a snippet in the Hindustan Times, the newspaper everyone in Delhi read those days, that there was a kid who was more interested in following the exploits of Superman through his comic than the goings-on in the parade. I have a sneaking suspicion that the reporter had spotted me though he was wrong about the comic.

P.S. My friend Premvir reminded me of the fact that in the old days, the President used to arrive for the parade in a six-horse buggy. After 1984, following Mrs. Gandhi's assassination, this practice was stopped for security reasons. Briefly, President Pranab Mukherjee returned to the buggy by using it for Beating Retreat ceremony in 2016 and other functions and President Kovind followed suit. President Murmu has been using the big black limousine to perform the functions. Maybe the buggy is now gone forever.