Bob Dylan has crossed innumerable milestones in the five decades that he has been singing and writing lyrics, each word he penned and each note he sang leaving an indelible impression on the listener.

Dylan has, through his songs, cut across political borders and stirred the imagination of us all. Very much like Shakespeare or Martin Luther King, Dylan has given us words and phrases that we use to pique our casual or topical communiqué. Yet, Dylan is not just a critically acclaimed bard or a leader who writes inspirational songs on civil rights. His influence is wider than both combined.

As this legendary figure turns 70, we pay a tribute to the American singer-lyricist for his songs that we sing with friends in pubs, in parties or on lonesome days. Above all, he has given at least two generations protest and peace anthems that are still sung by people.

At the age of 21, when most would be in material or romantic pursuits, Dylan wrote ‘Blowing in the wind’ — a song that became a protest anthem across the world.

“The answer my friend is blowin’ in the wind” is a contagious refrain that even after 47 years still tugs the strings of our hearts.

In 2003, the Boston Globe reported how ‘Blowing in the wind’ and ‘Times they are a-changin’ were being sung during the Iraq War protests. No one writes protest songs like Dylan.

In India we don’t sing during protests, we rebel in private gatherings. But the song has nevertheless created a deep impression on our minds. Bengali singer Suman Chatterjee translated “Blowing in the wind” and called it ‘Kotota Path’, or ‘How many roads’.

The words of the song are simple but convey a complex idea of freedom and peace. “What oft was thought but never so well expressed,” Pope would have appreciated.

Regi Siriwardena, a university professor in Sri Lanka, found it so poetic that he replaced Shakespeare’s work in high school English textbooks with Dylan’s. That was in 1975, 12 years after Dylan penned the song.

However, it is not just the well-heeled that Dylan struck a chord with. In north-east India, in a reality different from where Dylan comes from, a boy who could not afford a guitar or a radio found his calling after listening to Dylan on his friend’s transistor radio.

Since then, Lou Majaw became a dedicated Dylan fan and to observe his idol’s birthday he has been organising a Dylan festival for the past 35 years in his hometown.

Dylan has probably not heard of Shillong or of Lou, now 62. But in India Lou is better known as the ‘Bob Dylan of the north-east’, while Shillong holds the Guinness World record for the largest guitar ensemble (1,730) strumming ‘Kno­cking on heaven’s door’. Dylan’s legacy is safe in this town.

It is not that Dylan always had it smooth. There was a time when his fans hated him to the point of calling him ‘Judas’ during a concert. He was also greeted by disenchanted fans who shouted they would never listen to him again. Bob cried out, “Liar! I don’t believe you.”

That was his 1966 tour in the UK, and Bob was right. The world still listens to him. His unreleased tapes became much sought after and were legally out in the market after 30 years as Bootlegger Series. In fact, they even study his lyrics. Some of his songs are considered historic and well preserved in the Library of Congress, along with Proust, Marx, Gandhi and the who’s who of the world.

Dylan started as a folk singer with an acoustic guitar in hand and harmonica strapped to his neck, which he would coolly blow. His image was that of a no-frills country singer. Later, he switched to electric guitar and donned long locks like a rock star. His fans hated him for the transformation. But he continued to churn out overwhelming songs, winning even more converts in the process.

Dylan was a prolific songwriter as he was versatile. His songs span a smorgasbord of themes — the American civil rights movement, war (‘Chimes of freedom clashing’), revenge (‘Like a rolling stone’), drugs (‘Everybody must get stoned’), cynicism (‘Things have changed’), youth (‘Forever young’), love (‘Just like a woman’), Christmas spirit, et al.

In 2008 the Pulitzer Prize jury acknowledged his ‘extraordinary poetic power’ and presented him a special citation for his profound impact on popular music. He is well over the hill, some would say but it’s great that he’s still going strong. And we hope he continues to scribble more songs.

All you Dylan fans, when you party this weekend, remember to raise a toast to Dylan and sing, “When the winds of change shift, may your heart always be joyful, and may your song always be sung. May you stay forever young.”