FOR Akber Zaidi, a man who has no dearth of favourites when it comes to music, films and books, asking him to name just a few that he is fond of in each category is like putting him in a tight spot. Nonetheless, he does make a valiant effort, while registering his unhappiness at having to be unfair to the numerous others in all three genres that he is not mentioning in this list.
Beginning with music, Zaidi claims that the most outstanding pieces of music he has heard are from Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan’s original album of Mast Mast that catapulted him to fame — which was released in England in the 1990s. He even remembers that the first time he had heard the compositions and was totally sold on them was at a dinner at a colleague’s place.
Another all-time favourite of Zaidi is the famous Indian song from Mughal-i-Azam, Jab pyar kya toh darna kya. Says Zaidi, “It is a very powerful theme and to me, the song denotes complete freedom and the conquest of love.”
Among the more recent favourites is the sound track of Dil Se, by A.R. Rehman. He enthuses, “The entire album is great and I especially love the song Chaiyan, Chaiyan.”
Listing his western preferences, Zaidi finds Giacomo Puccini’s operatic composition of Madame Butterfly, a song about unrequited love, “very beautiful and very sad”. He is also fond of Redemption Song rendered by Bob Marley, which he sang toward the end of his life. States Zaidi, “The song is a political and personal expression in freedom.”
As for movies, an Italian art-film of the late 1970s, The Tree of Wooden Clogs, remains one of Zaidi’s favourites. Says the social scientist, “The film is about the daily life and struggles of a people of a village that is famous for making clogs. Its actors are mostly amateurs. It’s a powerful film and depicts how the villagers deal with landlords and oppression.”
Zaidi also rates Dil Chahta Hai and Satya very highly. The latter is a film about the underworld in Bombay, and he claims to love films about cities. As for Dil Chahta Hai, he says the story is “great, all about young people, and Aamir Khan has acted very well, indeed”.
And, of course, the Indian classics Pakeezah and Mughal-i-Azam will remain all-time favourites in Zaidi’s list.
Among the relatively new Western releases, Chocolat is a pet movie for Zaidi. A French film, it is about a single mother who opens up a chocolate bakery and the reaction of the conservative townsfolk to her making it big. Says Zaidi, “It is a brilliant film that is an insightful cultural and social study of a small town in the 1950s.”
Zaidi is a voracious reader. One of his most precious collections is an anthology of Manto’s writings, and he accredits a colleague for getting him hooked on to the writer way back in the 1970s. Reminisces Zaidi, “He asked me if I had ever read Manto. When I replied in the negative, he gave me Toba Tek Singh to read. I loved it and after that read all his short stories. I find him brilliant, and appreciate his powerful comments on the morals of society.”
Another book recommended to him by a friend which became a great favourite, is The Alexandria Quartet, by Lawrence Durrell. He recalls that when he was given the book to read, he was going through a period in his life when he was “incredibly depressed” as he had been in love and had been “told to get lost” by the woman of his dreams!
Says he, “It is not a funny or a feel-good book, but rather is a collection of fiction and has to do with mysticism and crazy perceptions. It is four books in one set, and the books served to rescue me from my depression.”
And last, but surely not the least, Diwan-i-Ghalib is among the books that Zaidi turns to frequently. He reads it especially when he is travelling. Confesses Zaidi, “I don’t claim to understand all of it, but those portions that I do follow, I find exceptional.”
FOR Akber Zaidi, a man who has no dearth of favourites when it comes to music, films and books, asking him to name just a few that he is fond of in each category is like putting him in a tight spot. Nonetheless, he does make a valiant effort, while registering his unhappiness at having to be unfair to the numerous others in all three genres that he is not mentioning in this list.
