New Delhi, July 1: Beyond playing politics and practising law, Kapil Sibal has a new pastime: making music.
The Congress veteran has, of late, been busy tweeting thank-you notes to all who have appreciated the song Tere bina jee na lage that he has written for Shorgul, a riot-themed film featuring Jimmy Shergill and Ashutosh Rana.
"Thank you Nabam Tukiji, thank you Khushbu Sundarji, thank you TNCC minority... I apologise if I have not acknowledged everybody here," his Twitter handle has been reeling out, whole-heartedly expressing his gratitude.
The Shorgul song isn't, however, Sibal's first brush with music-making - in 2014, his debut album Raunaq was launched in which his poems were set to music by none less than A.R. Rahman.
Sung by Arijit Singh, the Shorgul number appears set to rock the Bollywood charts. It goes: "Hai yaad mujhe teri har adaa/Teri baton mein nasha hi nasha/doori mein bhi kareeb hi raha/milne pe bhi jee na bharaum na rahe sab kho gaya...."
Loosely translated, it reads: "I remember your charms/ Your words were intoxicating/ Felt close despite being apart/ Even meeting you couldn't curb the yearning/ Without you I lost everything...."
At a time when soulful golden oldies are passé and GeneratioNext is happy swinging to the beats of " DJ wale babu mera gana toh baja", it is not unexpected that Sibal's mawkish lyrics would be lapped up.
So obsessed is the legal eagle with his poetic skills that he delivers couplets even while dwelling on mundane political issues at Congress news conferences. Sample one such gem: "Swachh Bharat/ Garbage in Delhi/ Kyun Modiji/ Teri Ganga maili (Clean India/ Garbage in Delhi/ Why Modiji/ Your Ganga dirty)."
No matter how he is rated as a poet, Sibal's range is unlimited. He writes on everything under the sun - from politics to individuals, economy to relationship. And he is bilingual, writing feverishly in both Hindi and English. On social media mayhem, he wrote: "Modi toadies/ Trolling task/ Spit and run/ And do it fast."
When the Uttarakhand government crisis was at its worst, he wrote: "Democracy wins/ Hypocrisy loses/ Humility wins/ Arrogance loses."
Sibal couldn't care less how some of his colleagues rate his verses, he keeps them coming. When the NDA government completed two years, he penned: "Modi's jumlas/ A cruel joke/ On all those who/ Survive on hope/ Two years gone by/ Our hopes belied/ Now he took/ Us for a ride."
On the JNU row, his take was: "Intolerant BJP/ Bharat mata ki jai se nahi/ Bharat mata ke bhay se/ Desh chalana chahti hai." Loosely translated, it means the BJP wants to run the nation by creating fear in the name of Mother India.
About a new uniform for the RSS, he wrote: "Saffron mindsets/ Trousers brown/ Cover up/ Avoid a frown/ Free the mind/ Let it embrace/ Thoughts that are/ Not tailor-made."
If he drew on national controversies such as Rohith Vemula's suicide and the death of Shaktiman the horse to rip into the BJP - "Shaktiman ki laat todi/ Vemula ki himmat" - he also broadened his canvas: "Our farmers/ Are in deep distress/ No Zuckerberg/ Can clear this mess/ Attend to them/ Look to their needs/ Do not ignore/ The hand that feeds."
On the Prime Minister's foreign trips, he wrote: "Modi start up stand up at home/ Before going abroad to roam."
Sibal's creative pursuits appear to give him a sense of pride. After his first music album came out, he wrote on his website: "Delighted that Raunaq was launched. Politicians are usually perceived to be insensitive. This perception is misplaced. No human being is uni-dimensional. Each, within us, has the urge to create. This creativity may take different forms."
He continued: "I have been deeply touched by the environment in which I live. The sight of glazed eyes without hope haunts me. The despair of a household without future moves me. Yet the poor always embrace hope. They are generous, despite being caught in the trappings of poverty."
Is Sibal's prose better than his verse? The jury is out on that one.
