Aainon ka koi kasur nahin, unmein apne hi photo hote hain…….
Of course ,Bashir Badr sahib .Yet we like our mirrors ,ornately framed and squeakingly shiny. We wipe and dust them till they glisten and hope that they will show us in a good light .We add a benevolent yellow bulb that will softly diminish our cruel wrinkles and mean , furtive glances. We filter the harsh reality of the blue tube light and watch our ageing visages in a kind haze of golden mood lighting. Alas! mirrors are tried and tested old friends and will speak nothing but the truth ,as if they had taken an oath in court swearing to speak nothing but the truth “aur sach ke siva kuchh bhi nahi!! ”.
Mirrors have a long history, dating back to 6000 BC in Anatolia, which is modern-day Turkey.
Constructed from many different materials including stone, copper, and bronze, the metal -coated glass mirrors, which are commonly used today, were initially produced in the first-century A.D in Sidon, modern-day Lebanon.
Mirrors have inspired poets , artistes , authors ,whether literally or as a concept .
Mirrors are such audacious chaps.However meticulously carved their frames might be , the faces they show are always our own !
These days it’s the same old laughter lines,the smudged eyeliner beneath one eye , a rudely peeping out strand of grey hair from the depths of the dense hair Ghani zulfein !
Snow White’s evil stepmom was gloriously oblivious of this because mirrors tell us who we are but keep a stoic silence on what all is lurking inside us“
Poets have further analysed the heartbreaking effect of mirrors
Aaine mein Woh apni adaa Dekh rahein hain/ mar jaaye ke ji jaaye koi unki Balaa se
On a happier note ,this could actually be their magnanimity that looking glasses let us skim through the surface of things without shamelessly probing , peeping or prying . In the words of Samuel Butler “ Let us be grateful to the mirror for revealing to us our appearance only “.Just imagine how terrifying the world would be If mirrors had the capacity to look right into our muddled up psyches and our constantly scheming minds .
We will probably stop all this glorious propaganda about self love and instead be revolted by our real selves behind the smug facade of ‘namaste aunty ji ‘and the cheesy ‘good morning’messages .
Mirrors should think longer before they reflect said ,Jean Cocteau rather wisely .
Aaine ke Sau tukde karke humne dekhein hain
Aik mein bhi tanha thhe, sau mein bhi akele hain
The irony is that though mirrors show the effects of the ravages of time on our countenance , they never reveal the effect we have had on others .
The larger than life presentation of the iconic song Pyar kiya toh darna Kya on the hypnotically beauteous Madhubala dancing in the Sheesh Mahal of the Lahore Fort . The film was Mughal E Azam scene remains a landmark in Indian cinema due to the image of the courtesan reflected in numerous small mirrors made of Belgian glass, which were crafted and designed by workers from Firozabad.
I have the most gleeful memories of of a maze or series of passageways lined with curved mirrors giving distorted reflections which was called House of Mirrors and was a huge favourite in carnivals and fairs .It was hilarious and disorienting ,difficult to distinguish between truth and illusion and competing versions of reality, We could see grotesque and comic reflections of ourselves and now ,I need a magnifying glass to see my own external frailties . How tough will it be to gaze ahead .I leave you all with the thought that despite everything , the eyes remain the mirrors of our souls.
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