ANAND BAKSHI : Pen and Personality
By Ameen Sayani.
Almost all the songs that Anand Bakshi wrote are embedded in our hearts. His lyrics spoke of all shades of love and hope and pain and ecstasy – but with a simplicity of expression that immediately linked his poetry with our own actual and imagined experiences.
And that endearing simplicity was also beautifully reflected in the man himself. Anand bhai was one of the nicest, warmest human beings I’ve ever met – and, if I hadn’t interviewed him, I would never had known that this kind and genial friend had spent over eight years of his life in the Armed Forces – first as a sailor, and later as a soldier !
Fortunately, the only lasting influence that his military background had on him was to imbibe in him a sense of discipline and perseverance – without blunting the romanticism of his heart and his pen.
Finally, his “fauji ghisaai” had also given him a thick-skinned good humour, which helped him to enjoy all the ragging that he often got from his many good friends. For instance, he always had a good laugh whenever Laxmikant revealed how this “bahadur sipahi” was always terrified of air-travel and lizards!
Thank you, Anand bhai, for all that you gave us – it will light up our lives forever !
