The man who gave us, Ikk Kudi; Shiv Kumar Batalvi

Amit Trivedi was playing on my playlist as I made my way back home from the office at 11 at night, with a soothing cold breeze in the air. Right after Tauba Tera Jalwa, my playlist hit me with Ikk Kudi.

?? ????? ????? ??? ?????????? ?? ??? ?? ??? ??!

A girl whose name is love, is missing, is missing, is missing.

What a simple verse, yet so beautiful. For the same reason, it makes me think about how subtly poetry can be crafted. But yes, to achieve that, you need to grow and gain some real experience. More than that, I would say you need to suffer.

Let's not get into that this time; I have a story to tell you.

How did Shiv Kumar Batalvi write Ikk Kudi?

It goes back in time, during his late teens, when he went to Baidyanath. It was the time of a mela, and there he saw a girl named Naina. For nine days straight, they saw each other and exchanged words, feelings, and dialogue—all through their eyes, though. He fell for Naina completely.

On the last day of the mela, a young Shiv Kumar went back to the same place. But this time, he couldn’t see her. Naina was nowhere around. He waited, he searched for her, but all his efforts were in vain. She had vanished, leaving him broken, and that incident set the inspiration for Ikk Kudi.

?? ????? ????? ??? ?????????? ?? ??? ?? ??? ??!

??? ?????? ????? ???????? ?? ??? ?? ??? ??

A girl whose name is love, is missing, is missing, is missing.

Wisher of simple things, this pretty looking girl, is missing, is missing, is missing.

He wrote further describing her;

???? ???? - ?????? ?????

???? ?? ? - ????? ????

She looks like fairies, Her nature is like that of Mariam.

???? ?? ??? - ??? ? ????

????? ?? ??? - ????? ?? ????

When she laughs, Flowers shed their leaves

When she walks away, She looks just like a ghazal

???? ????? - ??? ???? ??

??? ???? ?? ?? ?? ?????

Her graceful height Like a wicker tree’s, But her age is hardly like that of fire,

?? ???? ?? - ?? ?????

But she understands the language that eyes speak

This is what you call a poetry. He wrote it like an advertisement, like if someone went missing.

Not just this song, even Aaj din chadheya, tere rang varage; from Love Aaj Kal (2009).

But my personal favorite from his poetry is, ?? ?????? ??? ??????? ???

and here he recites;

I don’t know if you’ve heard this one before, but you should give it a try.

Batalvi was known as a sadist and believed that with every intellectual, tragedy and melancholy would stay forever.

Still, the guy is the youngest recipient of the Sahitya Akademi Award; at the age of 28, he won it, and soon after, at 36, in 1973, he left the world.

In a very brief time, Batalvi left an impact that was regarded as among the few who changed the direction of how poetry was written and pursued.

Writing this felt like a shared joy for me. I hope you'll listen to that song in a different way now.

Till then,

Happy Diwali!

So long.