Hindi Song - Nagri Nagri Dware Dware

HH Priya Nath would often play the tunes on his guitar at his home in Mussoorie, much to the delight of Mateshwari.

There was the film song that HH Priya Nath frequently played for Mateshwari on his guitar, which moved Mateshwari to the point of tears:

“Nagari nagari dwaare dwaare dhoondoo re saanvariyaa

”I search for Thee from town to town and from door to door, my Beloved!”

This song was sung by Lata Mangeshkar. It is from the movie Mother India, which is a 1957 Bollywood movie directed by Mehboob Khan, nominated for Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film in 1957. The film is a remake of Mehboob Khan's earlier film Aurat (1940). In 2005, Indiatimes Movies ranked the movie amongst the Top 25 Must See Bollywood Films. It’s Cast include Nargis, Sunil Dutt, Rajendra Kumar, Raaj Kumar, Kanhaiyalal, Sajid Khan, Chanchal. Music is by  Naushad . Lyrics by  Shakeel Badayuni. The film grossed over Rs.40 million. This record was beaten 3 years later by Mughal-E-Azam in 1960. This was the first Indian film to ever be nominated in the "Best Foreign Language Film" category at the Oscars in 1957, though Nights of Cabiria eventually got the award. It would not be until 1988, with Salaam Bombay, when India would again be represented at the Oscars.

 It is interesting that HH Priya Nathji used guitar, a western musical instrument to play this song. This song actually become very popular in the west and was played with western musical instruments, especially in Greece.  In the 1960's, started with Mother India, Indian movies became very popular in Greece. The song was adapted, with Greek lyrics. Because of this movie, Nargis became famous in Greece! The Greek adoptions of Nargis songs was made by the Greek pop/folk composer Mpampis Mpakalis. Nargis also came to Greece. Actually there is a Greek movie where Nargis has played a role.

This song can be viewed in the video bellow:-

Justice Anil Dev Singh

Shri Anil Dev, was son of Shri Nathji’s devotee, Justice Jaswant Singh. Like his father, he was also devoted to Shri Nathji. He also fought Shri Nathji’s rest case in the Supreme Court.

Mr. Justice Anil Dev Singh did his B.Sc.,L.L.B and was admitted as Pleader by High Court of Jammu & Kashmir in 1966.  He enrolled as an Advocate by the Bar Council of Delhi on August 14,1967. He was Legal Adviser to the Jammu University from 1974 to 1978.  He was also Member of the Law Faculty of Jammu University. He was Standing Counsel for the Income-Tax Department in the High Court of Jammu & Kashmir from March 1978 to February 1979.   

Justice Anil Dev practiced at the Bar for over twenty-four years and conducted a large number of writ petitions involving questions relating to the constitutional validity of statutes as well as civil ,criminal, arbitration, labour and income tax cases before the Supreme Court of India and High Court. He functioned as Additional Advocate General for the State of Jammu & Kashmir  and was designated as Senior Advocate in October 1983. He was functional as Senior Counsel on the Panel of Union of India and the State of U.P in the Supreme Court. He was elevated as judge of the Delhi High Court on July 13,1990 and functioned as such until 23.12.2002. Then he was elevated as Chief Justice of Rajsthan High Court on 24.12.2002 and functioned as such till 21.10.2004.   Then he was Chancellor of the Jodhpur Law School from December 2002 to October 2004.He was appointed as Chairperson, Appellate Tribunal for Electricity on 13.05.2005 and demitted office on 12.05.2008. At present Shri Anil Dev is conducting Arbitrational matters and rendering legal opinions.  

Shakespeare

Shri Nathji occasionally spoke of Shakespeare and often used Shakespeare’s favorite quotation:

“Blow, Blow, Thou winter wind,

Thou art not so unkind

As man’s ingratitude!”

The above lines which Shri Nathji used are from Shakespeare’s play - As You Like It, Act II, Scene VII. In this act of the play; Lord Amiens, a musician, sings before Duke Senior's company -

 Blow, blow, thou winter wind,

  Thou art not so unkind

      As man's ingratitude;

  Thy tooth is not so keen,

  Because thou art not seen,

      Although thy breath be rude.

Heigh-ho! sing, heigh-ho! unto the green holly:

Most friendship is feigning, most loving mere folly:

  Then, heigh-ho, the holly!

      This life is most jolly.

  Freeze, freeze, thou bitter sky,

  That does not bite so nigh

      As benefits forgot:

  Though thou the waters warp,

  Thy sting is not so sharp

      As friend remembered not.

Heigh-ho! sing . . .

William Shakespeare (26 April 1564 (baptised) – 23 April 1616) was an English poet and playwright, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's national poet and the "Bard of Avon". His surviving works, including some collaborations, consist of about 38 plays, 154 sonnets, two long narrative poems, two epitaphs on a man named John Combe, one epitaph on Elias James, and several other poems. His plays have been translated into every major living language and are performed more often than those of any other playwright.

Shakespeare was born and brought up in Stratford-upon-Avon. At the age of 18, he married Anne Hathaway, with whom he had three children: Susanna, and twins Hamnet and Judith. Between 1585 and 1592, he began a successful career in London as an actor, writer, and part owner of a playing company called the Lord Chamberlain's Men, later known as the King's Men. He appears to have retired to Stratford around 1613 at age 49, where he died three years later.

Shakespeare produced most of his known work between 1589 and 1613.  His early plays were mainly comedies and histories, genres he raised to the peak of sophistication and artistry by the end of the 16th century. He then wrote mainly tragedies until about 1608, including Hamlet, King Lear, Othello, and Macbeth, considered some of the finest works in the English language. In his last phase, he wrote tragicomedies, also known as romances, and collaborated with other playwrights.

Shakespeare was a respected poet and playwright in his own day, but his reputation did not rise to its present heights until the 19th century. The Romantics, in particular, acclaimed Shakespeare's genius, and the Victorians worshipped Shakespeare with a reverence that George Bernard Shaw called "bardolatry".  In the 20th century, his work was repeatedly adopted and rediscovered by new movements in scholarship and performance. His plays remain highly popular today and are constantly studied, performed, and reinterpreted in diverse cultural and political contexts throughout the world.

Justice P.N. Bhagwati

Justice Bhgwati was Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of India from from 12 July 1985 until his retirement on 20 December 1986. 

When Shri Nathji had send invitation cards to the people for the function of January 22, 1984 at FICCI Hall, the first to respond is Justice Bhagwati, the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of India, who thanks Priya Nath and Shri Nathji for the invitation, but regrets that he will miss it because he will be out of Delhi on that date.
Shri Nathji had read a lot about Justice Bhagwati in the newspapers and always spoke of the judge as a “noble and righteous man”. It was as if Shri Nathji’s vibrations had reached the judge’s heart and he had responded to the invitation when no other judges had replied.

Mrs. Bhutt was eligible for pension after the death of her husband, Shri G.P.Bhutt, former Chief Justice of Madhya Pradesh, but there was no government law entitling the widows of judges to a family pension after the death of their husbands.

So in 1985, at Shri Nathji’s suggestion, Mrs. Bhutt wrote a letter to the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, Shri P.M.Bhagwati, whom Shri Nathji greatly liked.

Of a sudden a miracle happened–Justice Bhagwati converted the letter into a writ petition at precisely the time when many similar petitions were pending before him– and gave the verdict in favour of the widows in the days that followed. As Shri Nathji was to say, it was because of Mrs. Bhutt that many widows of the land received justice.
IN 1985, HH Priya Nathji approached the Supreme Court, complaining against the rent controller and prays for a transfer of the case. The case is argued by the Senior Advocate, Shri Anil Dev Singh, the son of Shri Nathji's devotee, Justice Jaswant Singh.
The Supreme Court gives an urgent stay order and the rent case is halted in a single day! The landlord who had come over to the house is handed over the stay order, and goes away in a dazed state.
It is a miracle of Shri Nathji, no less. Shri Anil Dev Singh himself said that he had to make virtually no arguments before the judge, who gave an instant order–the fastest to his knowledge!Justice P.N. Bhagwati was the Judge of the Supreme Court who had given this Stay Order. Justice Bhagwati thereafter, became Shri Nathji’s favourite judge, and his judgements Shri Nathji would praise again and again before HH Priya Nathji .

The Hon'ble Mr. Justice P.N. Bhagwati was  born on  21st December,1921. He  secured 2nd position in Matriculation in Bombay. He graduated in Maths. (Hons.) in Ist class from Elphinstone College, Bombay in 1941 and was appointed a Fellow of the same college; whilst doing M.A. in Maths. He was courted arrest during the National Freedom Movement in 1942 and went underground for four months. He took his Law Degree in Ist Class from Government Law College, Bombay and practised at the Bombay High Court. He became a Judge of the Gujarat High Court on 21st July, 1960 and the Chief Justice of Gujarat on 16th September, 1967. He became Judge of the Supreme Court on 17th July, 1973. He was appointed as Chief Justice of India on 12.07.1985.  He retired on 20.12.1986. He married Prabhavati Shethji,. They have  three daughters Parul, Pallavi and Sonali.In 2007 Bhagwati was awarded the Padma Vibhushan in public affairs, India's second highest civilian award.

Justice Bhagwati died on 15 June 2017 at the age of 95 after brief illness at his home in New Delhi. His funeral was held on 17 June. Prime Minister Narendra Modi condoled his death calling him "stalwart of India's legal fraternity"

The Persian Poet Urfi

Urfi was one of the Persian poets whose  quotes Shri Nathji had mentioned.  Shri Nathji had often used in his sermons, the following quote of Urfi:  

“Urfi agar bagiriyaa mayyassar shude visaal, Sad saal mi tavaan ba tamannaa gareestan

“Urfi, if He can be reached only through tears,

Then I can weep for a hundred years together”

Shri Nathji had often said that God could not be obtained through force, or wealth or tears, and that God could only be had through His own Grace. That the word “Khudaa” meant in effect “Khud-aa!” i.e. “Come by Thyself!”

 Muhammad ibn Badr-al-Din (1538AD -1591AD) known by his pen-name Urfi, or Urfi Shirazi, was a 16th-century Persian poet. He was born in Shiraz in Iran. In his mid thirties, he migrated to India and settled in Lahore and became one of the poets of the court of Akbar the Great. He is one of the most prominent Persian poets of Indian style. He was known for his splendid and deeply melancholy qasidas (odes). Urfi not only had a great influence on Indian and Persian poetry but also on the development of poetry in Turkey and throughout the Ottoman Empire, were his poems were very popular.  Urfi died in 1591, in Lahore (Which was Akbar capital at that time. Lahore was capital of Akbar for 20 years before shifting it to Agra) at the age of 63 years. His corpse was later transferred to Najaf, in Iran, which is among the holist Shi'ite Islamic cities.  The photograph is of a manuscript of Urfi poetry from the Bašagić Collection of Islamic Manuscripts in the University Library of Bratislava, Slovakia

Hina Building of Nawab Istafa Khan

These are the photos of Hina Market which is located near Hina Chowk.  At Hina Chowk the mighty Hina building used to be located. This was a large building which was constructed by Shri Nathji’s devotee, Nawab Istafa Khan. He invited Shri Nathji to inaugurate this building. This building housed the office of his extensive perfumery business. With Shri Nathji’s blessings Istafa Khan become a very rich man and his perfumery business expanded as never before. He becomes a prominent landlord with many buildings in Lucknow and Mussoorie.  Istafa Khan who was a Haji and know as Haji Istafa was given the title of Nawab by Shri Nathji and henceforth he was know as Nawab Istafa Khan. After Partition he migrated to Pakistan. This legendry Hina Building  was located at the Chowk, which is named after the building and is called the Hina Bazar Chowk.  The original Hina Building was pulled down in 2003. This new shopping complex named Hina Bazar is now one of the modern remnants of the old Hina Building which was inaugurated by Shri Nathji. Efforts are being made by us to locate a good old photograph of the original Hina Building. That photo will soon be posted in this article in the blog. Now in place of the Hina building stands the Hina Market. It is a new building which has been made into a commercial complex and some residential quarters. The name of this area in central Lucknow is also named after Hina Building and is called Hina Bazaar. The roundabout in the area is also called  Hina Bazar Chowk. The Hina Bazaar is famous for readymade garments and shops selling the famous Chikan (embroidery) handicraft of Lucknow.

 Now Nawab Istafa Khan's family was originally from Kannauj in Uttar Pradesh.  The perfume factory for the manufacture of oriental perfumes was established in 1839 by two brothers (Istafa's grandfather and his brother) Asghar Ali and Mohammed Ali when they relocated to Lucknow. Istafa Khan who inherited this business, prospered greatly with blessings of Shri Nathji and relocated the main office of his perfumery business at the new Hina Building in Chowk, sometime in early 1920's and got the building anaugurated by Shri Nathji. His clients included the rich and famous like the Nawab of Hyderabad. The perfumery labels of Istafa Khan always carried the names of Asghar Ali and Mohammed Ali, his ancestors who were the founders of this business, though the company was better known as Hina Scents. These are the photographs of the advertisements of his business published by Istafa Khan in the English newspaper that was published from Lucknow called   - "THE PIONEER"

Istafa Khan owned a distillation plant in Gunjan in Orissa, where the keora plant grows. It was one of  the main ingredient in many of his perfumes. Roses came from Barwana near Aligarh. Other fragrant flowers like  Motia, Bela, Chameli and Khus moslty came from Kannauj. Also he made perfumes of the spell of fresh rain. When the first monsoon rain fell on clay soil, this clay was boiled in huge pots and its perfume distilled to make the aroma of rain on dry earth.
  When Partition happened Nawab Istifa Khan and most of his children decided to go to Pakistan, so 75 per cent of the family property was taken over by the custodian of the Government of India as enemy property. The Government allowed the children who stayed behind to keep the factory since it was their source of livelihood. Thus Hina Building remained with the decedents of Istafa Khan. His perfumery business and Hina Building  was inherited by his son Kasim Khan, who chose to stay in India.
Like his father Istafa Khan, Kasim Khan, was an extraordinary man, with an eagerness to live life to the full. He was always immaculately groomed and carried himself like a dancer – in his younger days he was an expert at the tango, samba, rumba and foxtrot. He was a billiard player and an award-winning skater who created a sensation in the club in Mussoorie with his daring jumps and twists and other manoeuvres on roller skates, just like his father Istafa Khan, who used to entertain his guests by dancing with roller-skates on tables. He had a flamboyant lifestyle and drove a Plymouth convertible.
A mansion,   ‘Nadiya Kinare’ was built by Kasim Khan in the 1960s and was the only house in Lucknow with a billiard table in the basement.  This is were the decedents of Nawaf Istafa Khan still reside. In the main hall of the house a portrait can be seen of the young Kasim Khan dressed as Lord Krishna, complete with flute. A closer inspection reveals that he is dancing on roller skate.
These photos of Hina Market are provided by Shri Abhishek Nagar, Shri Nathji’s devotee from Allahabad. He went from Allahabad to Lucknow to take photos of places associated with Shri Nathji in Lucknow. He has this experience to share with us. When he was enquired about the Hina Building in chowk area, but was not getting any idea of it, a miracle happened all of a sudden. He and his father were walking and discussing between themselves about the perfumery business of Nawab Istafa khan at Hina Building and just then a person appeared, who was apparently standing on the road side. He overheard their conversation and came forward to show them the way to the Hina building. Shri Abhishek Nagar says that he knows that Shri Nathji had sent that man to make their search a success. When they were at the Hina Market, they enquired about Nawab Istafa khan and came to know that one of his sons is still alive and has been running a business of electrical appliances in Hazratganj area. So they went to his shop in Hazratganj but found it closed. The adjacent shopkeeper told them that the shop is closed since two weeks. Thus Shri Abhishek Nagar and his father returned back to Allahabad. We devotees will attempt to meet Nawab Istafa khan’s decedents on some latter date. We are sure to hit upon some interesting facts about the life and times of Nawab Istafa khan, which we will be posting in this article.
Some information mentioned in the article has been sourced from the information shared by the daughter in law of Kasin Khan, Mrs. Shamin with Nasima Aziz - who is a poetess and cookery editor from Delhi, for her article titled "A Mesh of Memories" which was published in the monthly magazine "Seminar" in its July 2007 issue.