I started this series on my Facebook group Yaad Kiya Dil Ne on 18 Aug 20. Since then, many other members have put up these songs. Here, I shall be giving you one of my own, per day.
This is the Song #23 in the series. I hope you liked Song #22 – Chupke chupke raat din aansu bahana.
Song #23
Poochho na kaise maine raen bitayi
Theme-word: In the mukhada
Raag Ahir Bhairav, Tal Kaherava
I had made this post originally on 29 Jun 2017, on my return from a trip to Kaza with my wife.
Today, I shall be giving you a song composed in Raag Ahir Bhairav. I have thought of this raaga as the most appropriate raaga to give as a reminder of the day whgen my wife and I visited the famous temple of goddess Bhimakali at Sarahan, about 210 kms from my home-place Kandaghat, during our trip to Kaza and back. This temple is one of the 51 Shakti Peethas in India.
Ahir Bhairav, as the name suggests, is a raaga of the Bhairav Thaat, one of the ten thaats that Vishnu Narayan Bhatkhande researched and found almost all raagas are based on. It is a mixture of Bhairav and the ancient but now rare raga Ahiri or perhaps a mixture of Bhairav and Kafi. Ladies and gentlemen, now that I have given you the essential differences between Bhairavi (consort of Lord Shiva) and Bhairav (Lord Shiva Himself), I hope you will never confuse Thaat and Raag Bhairavi with Bhairav.
Some of the songs composed in Ahir Bhairav are: Apne jeevan ki uljhan ko, Mai ri main kaase kahun, Main to kabase teri sharan main hoon, Man anand anand chhayo, Meri veena tum bin roye, Ram teri Ganga maili ho gayi, Solah baras ki baali umr ko salaam, and Waqt karta jo wafa aap hamare hote.
Meri Surat Teri Aankhen
The song that I have selected for you is from the 1963 RK Rakhaan movie Meri Surat Teri Aankhen starring Ashok Kumar as Pyare, an ugly son born to Ishwarlal as Raj Kumar and Achla Sachdev as his wife Kamla Kumar. Because he was dark and ugly at birth, Ishwarlal decided to get rid of him to Kanhaiyalal Chaturvedi as Rahmat and Paro as his wife. He grows up in seclusion and Rahmat teaches him classical based singing. His voice is as beautiful as physically he is not. In later life he comes in touch with his parents, his brother Pradeep Kumar as Sudhir who is betrothed to Asha Parekh as Kavita, the woman that Pyare feels is in love with him despite his ugliness.
The film had some of the best raaga based songs ever heard in Hindi movies. The lyricist of these songs was Shailendra, composer was Sachin Dev Burman with the following singers. Have a look at the list:
- Poochho Na Kaise Maine Rain Bitaayi – Manna Dey
- Ye Kisne Geet Chheda – Mukesh, Suman Kalyanpur
- Puchho Na Kaise Maine Rain Bitayi (Sad) – S.D. Batish, Manna Dey
- Naache Man Moraa Magan Dhigadhaa Dhigi Dhigi – Mohammed Rafi
- Tere Khayalo Me Tere Hi Khawabo Me – Lata Mangeshkar
- Tere Bin Soone Nain Hamare (Sad) – Mohammed Rafi
- Tere Bin Sune Nain Humare – Lata Mangeshkar, Mohammed Rafi
- Tujhse Nazar Milane Me – Asha Bhosle
Please enjoy one of the best from the movie in Raag Ahir Bhairav, Tal Kaherava with the singer Manna Dey singing a composition of SD Burman on the lyrics of Shailendra: Poochho na kaise maine rain bitayi….
The song is sung when Pyare’s foster father Rahmat is dying.
पूछो ना कैसे मैने रैन बिताई इक पल जैसे, इक युग बीता - २ युग बीते मोहे नींद ना आयी पूछो ना कैसे ... (ना कहीं चँदा, ना कहीं तारे ज्योत के प्यासे मेरे, नैन बिचारे ) - २ भोर भी आस की किरन ना लायी पूछो ना कैसे ... इक जले दीपक इक मन मेरा, मेरा, मन, मेरा, मेरा ... इक जले दीपक इक मन मेरा फिर भी ना जाये मेरे घर का अंधेरा तड़पत तरसत उमर गंवायी पूछो ना कैसे ...
I hope you liked my choice of Raat or Din Song #23.
Please await Raat or Din Song #24- Poochho na kaise maine raen bitayi.
