At one time, we had Benazir Bhutto as the PM of Pakistan. She belonged to PPP (People’s Party of Pakistan). But, considering the frequency with which she became pregnant, people thought of PPP as the Permanently Pregnant Prime minister.
Song #1 Roop tera mastana
Likewise, in Hindi movies, we had Sharmila Tagore. She had a surfeit of Y-chromosomes in her. Whether with the hero or with the villain, she would lose no time in becoming pregnant. The rest of the story and songs then revolved around her child. Aradhana and Amar Prem are just two examples.
Roop tera mastana led to her pregnancy in 1969 Shakti Samanta superhit movie Aradhana (worship) with Rajesh Khanna. He was IAF officer, Arun Varma and she was Vandana. They take shelter from heavy rain. Rain or no rain, it was easy to light a fire within and without.
This song was penned by Anand Bakshi, composed by SD Burman, and sung by Kishore Kumar. “Kersi Lord played the accordion, Homi Mullan played the duggi, Manohari Singh played the saxophone and Buji Lord played the vibraphone.”
[Chorus]
रूप तेरा मस्ताना, प्यार मेरा दीवाना
रूप तेरा मस्ताना, प्यार मेरा दीवाना
भूल कोई हमसे ना हो जाए
रूप तेरा मस्ताना, प्यार मेरा दीवाना
भूल कोई हमसे ना हो जाए[Verse 1]
रात नशीली, मस्त समाँ है
आज नशे में सारा जहाँ है
रात नशीली, मस्त समाँ है
आज नशे में सारा जहाँ है[Chorus]
हाय, शराबी मौसम बहकाए
रूप तेरा मस्ताना, प्यार मेरा दीवाना
भूल कोई हमसे ना हो जाए[Verse 2]
आँखों से आँखें मिलती हैं ऐसे
बेचैन हो के तूफ़ाँ में जैसे
आँखों से आँखें मिलती हैं ऐसे
बेचैन हो के तूफ़ाँ में जैसे[Chorus]
मौज कोई साहिल से टकराए
रूप तेरा मस्ताना, प्यार मेरा दीवाना
भूल कोई हमसे ना हो जाए
[Verse 3]
रोक रहा है हमको ज़माना
दूर ही रहना, पास ना आना
रोक रहा है हमको ज़माना
दूर ही रहना, पास ना आना[Outro]
कैसे मगर कोई दिल को समझाए?
रूप तेरा मस्ताना, प्यार मेरा दीवाना
भूल कोई, हमसे ना…
Song #2 Chanda hai tu mera suraj hai tu
It was a “bhool” by both of them. More so because he died in a plane crash and she found herself as an unwedded mother. A son was born and named Suraj. But in this song, she thought of him as both her sun and moon. It was sung by Lata Mangeshkar for her:
“चंदा है तू, मेरा सूरज है तू
ओ मेरी आँखों का तारा है तू
जीती हूँ मैं बस तुझे देखकर
इस टूटे दिल का सहारा है तू
तू खेले खेल कई, मेरा खिलोना है तू
जिससे बँधी हर आशा मेरी
मेरा वो सपना सलोना है तू
नन्हां सा है, कितना सुंदर है तू
छोटा सा है, कितना प्यारा है तू
चंदा है तू, मेरा सूरज है तू…
मुन्ने तू खुश है बड़ा, तेरे गुड्डे की शादी है आज
मैं वारी रे, मैं बलिहारी रे
घूँघट में गुड़िया को आती है लाज
यूँ ही कभी होगी शादी तेरी
दूल्हा बनेगा कुंवारा है तू
चंदा है तू, मेरा सूरज है तू…
पुरवई वन में उड़े, पंछी चमन में उड़े
राम करे कभी हो के बड़ा
तू बन के बादल गगन में उड़े
जो भी तुझे देखे वो ये कहे
किस माँ का ऐसा दुलारा है तू
चंदा है तू, मेरा सूरज है तू.”
Please click on ‘Watch on YouTube’ to see the video:
Song #3 Bada natkhat hai re Krishan Kanhaiya
In Hindi movies, once you achieve success with a good formula, you don’t let go of it. AB, for example, continued being an angry young man well past his middle age. Similarly, three years after Aradhana, Shakti Samanta, again, thought of making another superhit movie with La Tagore and Rajesh Khanna: Amar Prem.
In this movie, Sharmila Tagore didn’t give birth to her child, but adopted him from an abusive stepmother of the boy. The movie tried to bring out, among other things, that a golden hearted prostitute or courtesan (in the movie Samanta actually blurred this image) is still better than a stepmother who ill treats her child.
This, too, was penned by Anand Bakshi and composed not by SD Burman, but by his son, RD Burman. Once again, Lata Mangeshkar sang it:
बड़ा नटखट है रे कृष्ण कन्हैया
का करे यशोदा मैय्या
ढूंढें री अखियाँ उसे चहू ओर
जाने कहाँ छुप गया नंदकिशोर
उड़ गया जैसे पुरवय्या
आ तोहे मैं गले से लगा लूं
लागे ना किसी की नज़र, मन में छूपा लूं
धूप जगत है रे ममता है छैय्या
मेरे जीवन का तू एक ही सपना
जो कोई देखे तोहे समझे वो अपना
सब का है प्यार बंसी बजय्या
Song #4 Yeh kaisi ajab dastaan ho gayi hai
In comparison, you would have, in Hindi movies, expectant mothers who would go to any length to get a child and visit mandirs and sing bhahans and songs. But, gods won’t favour her (Jaise khele chanda badal mein, khelega woh mere aangan mein). However, one chance and fleeting encounter with the villain and, “Main tumhare bachche ki maa banane wali hoon.”
This conditioning of mind brought about by Hindi films became so strong that many women preferred villains in order to have their desire fulfilled of becoming mothers. One such villain even went about calling himself a saint (Bapu Asaram), but later was jailed for exploiting this desire in women.
In the movie Rustom e Sohrab, the most curious case of a woman wanting a child through a man was immortalised in this song: “Yeh kaisi ajab dastaan ho gayi hai…”
“The film has Suraiya as the heroine (in the role of Shehzadi Tehmina) and Prithviraj Kapoor (in the role of Rustom Zabuli) as the hero. The story is based on the legendary poem of Rostam and Sohrab by Persian poet Ferdowsi. Prem Nath plays the role of Sohrab, Rustam’s son and Mumtaz plays the role of Shahroo, Sohrab’s love.
It was the last film of Suraiya, after which she gave up acting and singing altogether. In the film, she sang her swan song “Ye kaisi ajab dastan ho gayi hai”, which is regarded as one of her hit film songs.”
The lyrics of the song were by Qamar Jalalabadi and music by Sajjad Hussain (of Sangdil song Yeh hawa yeh raat yeh chandni fame):
(ये कैसी अजब दास्ताँ हो गई है
छुपाते छुपाते बयाँ हो गई है) – २
ये कैसी…
ये दिल का धड़कना, ये नज़रों का झुकना
जिगर में जलन सी ये साँसों का रुकना
ख़ुदा जाने क्या दास्ताँ हो गई है
छुपाते छुपाते बयाँ हो गई है
ये कैसी….
बुझा दो बुझा दो, बुझा दो सितारों की शम्में बुझा दो
छुपा दो छुपा दो, छुपा दो हसीं चाँद को भी छुपा दो
यहाँ रौशनी महमाँ हो गई है
आअ~
ये कैसी….
इलाही ये तूफ़ान है किस बला का
कि हाथों से छुटा है दामन हया का
(ख़ुदा की क़सम आज दिल कह रहा है) – २
कि लुट जाऊँ मैं नाम लेकर वफ़ा का
तमन्ना तड़प कर जवाँ हो गई है
आआ~
ये कैसी….
छुपाते छुपाते…..
Song #5 Aur kuchh der thehar, aur kuchh der na jaa
Rajesh Khanna, a hero (and not a villain), got the maximum women pregnant in movies. That’s because his debut movie had this song Aur kuchh der thehar with Indrani Mukherjee, resulting in her pregnancy, and the entire movie thereafter revolved around this accidental child and the Aakhri Khat (the title of the movie) she wrote to him before dying.
Kaifi Azmi penned these beautiful lyrics, which were composed by Khaiyyam and sung by Mohammad Rafi.
I am giving you here the song sung by me:
Song #6 Tumhi ho mata pita tumhi ho
This is from the 1962 AVM (AV Meiyappan) production Main Chup Rahungi directed by A Bhim Singh. The title of the movie was derived from the heroine, Meena Kumari, becoming accidentally pregnant and delivering a boy baby, but unable to reveal the name of the father.
Meena Kumari’s accidental child sings one of the best known bhajans in Hindi movies, “Tumhi ho mata pita tumhi ho, Tumhi ho bandhu sakha tumhi ho.”
The lyrics were penned by Rajendra Krishan and composed by Chitragupt. The song was sung by Lata Mangeshkar:
तुम्हीं हो माता, पिता तुम्हीं हो।
तुम्हीं हो बंधु, सखा तुम्हीं हो॥
तुम्हीं हो साथी, तुम्हीं सहारे।
कोई न अपना सिवा तुम्हारे॥
तुम्हीं हो नैया, तुम्हीं खेवैया।
तुम्हीं हो बंधु, सखा तुम्ही हो॥
जो खिल सके न वो फूल हम हैं।
तुम्हारे चरणों की धूल हम हैं॥
दया की दृष्टि सदा ही रखना।
तुम्हीं हो बंधु, सखा तुम्हीं हो॥
Song #7 Tera mujhse hai pehle ka naata koi
The 1973 Manmohan Desai movie, Aa Gale Lag Jaa was shot at my home station, Shimla. The easily pregnant actress, Sharmila Tagore stars in this movie. Out to Kufri with Shashi Kapoor, they roller-skate in snow and then he meets with accident. She is a medical student and she has learnt that a patient heading towards hypothermia (caused by extreme cold, as in Titanic) can be saved by giving him or her body heat. Naturally, whilst giving him body heat, she becomes pregnant. When she delivers the child, she is told that he was still born. The movie, thereafter, revolves around this song that resulted in her pregnancy and later Shashi Kapoor sings to their son.
Such recurring songs of the movie are best penned by Sahir Ludhianvi (eg, in the movie Ghazal: Rang aur noor ki baraat kise pesh karun). Here, too. This was composed by RD Burman and sung by Kishore Kumar as solo and later by Kishore Kumar and Sushma Shareshth as a duet:
(सुषमा श्रेष्ठ संस्करण)
तेरा मुझसे है पहले का नाता कोई
यूँ ही नहीं दिल लुभाता कोई
जाने तू या जाने ना, माने तू या माने ना
देखो अभी खोना नहीं, कभी जुदा होना नहीं
अबके यूँ ही मिले रहेंगे दोनो
वादा रहा ये इस शाम का
जाने तू या जाने ना, माने तू या माने ना
वादे गये बातें गईं, जागी जागी रातें गईं
चाह जिसे मिला नहीं, तो भी कोई गिला नहीं
अपना तो क्या जिये मरे चाहे कुछ हो
तुझको तो जीना रास आ गया
जाने तू या जाने ना, माने तू या माने ना
(किशोर कुमार संस्करण)
तेरा मुझसे है पहले का नाता कोई
यूँ ही नहीं दिल लुभाता कोई
जाने तू या जाने ना, माने तू या माने ना
धुआँ धुआँ था वो समा, यहाँ वहाँ जाने कहाँ
तू और मैं कहीं मिले थे पहले, देखा तुझे तो दिल ने कहा
जाने तू या जाने ना, माने तू या माने ना
तू भी रही मेरे लिये, मैं भी रहा तेरे लिये
पहले भी मैं तुझे बाँहोंमे लेके, घूमा किया और झूमा किया
जाने तू या जाने ना, माने तू या माने ना
देखो अभी खोना नहीं, कभी जुदा होना नहीं
अबके यूँ ही मिले रहेंगे दोनो
वादा रहा ये इस शाम का
जाने तू या जाने ना, माने तू या माने ना
वादे गये बातें गईं, जागी जागी रातें गईं
चाह जिसे मिला नहीं, तो भी कोई गिला नहीं
अपना तो क्या जिये मरे चाहे कुछ हो
तुझको तो जीना रास आ गया
जाने तू या जाने ना, माने तू या माने ना
Here is my own rendition of this Kishore Kumar song:
One last thing:
They say the genes are normally passed on to the children. But, in Hindi movies, these accidental children (through the villain or otherwise), invariably, became ideal citizens. One more reason for women to want an accidental child.
There is any number of songs from these scenarios of unwanted or accidental pregnancies. I have given you only representative songs, here.
I am fond of Mohammad Rafi; indeed, so fond of him that I consider him the best, the most accomplished, and most versatile singer that the world ever produced. A few years ago, when I started to learn singing at a very late stage in my life (I am 72 years old now and I started to learn singing only about three to four years ago), I realised that there is no better singer to learn from than Rafi saheb. Such is the aura of his singing that if an ordinary, amateur, and untrained singer like me can sing at about five percent of his ability, I can start patting myself on the back. Rafi saheb was the A to Z of good singing. When a great contemporary, Manna Dey, was asked to rank Rafi as a singer, Manna Dey’s prompt and thought provoking response was, “I rank Mohammad Rafi as #1 to #10.” By this, he obviously meant that all other singers were and are ten ranks below.
Irrespective of the awards and honours bestowed on other singers, more often than not due to political reasons, many like me feel that Mohammad Rafi was beyond awards including Bharat Ratna.
Therefore, to be able to sing the songs earlier sung by Mohammad Rafi is a blessing and honour. This doesn’t, by any stretch of imagination, mean that anyone of us can match his prowess. It only means that we can take lots of joy and pride in the fact that we lived in the era when he was alive and fondly sing his songs to relive their magic.
A Little About Raag Malkauns
Malkauns or Malkaush is another raag dedicated to Lord Shiva like Bhairav. Indeed, it belongs to Bhairavi Thaat. The name Malkaush is derived from the combination of Mal and Kaushik, which means he who wears a garland of snakes; ie, Shiva. It is believed that the raaga was composed by Lord Shiva’s wife Parvati to calm him down. As a matter of interest all pentatonic raagas belong to Shaivait musical school and so does Malkaush.
Now that we know a little more about the Jati of a raaga, it is of pentatonic scale both in ascending and descending scales; that is Audhav-Audhav. The five notes used are: Sa, komal Ga, shuddh Ma, komal Dha, and komal Ni. The two notes that are totally omitted are: Re (Rishab) and Pa (Pancham).
Malkaush is a late night raaga and is calming, soothing and even intoxicating. One would use such a raaga in deep and serious meditation.
Malkaush Based Songs of Rafi
Song #1
Man tadpat Hari darshan ko aaj
One of the finest examples of Malkauns in Hindi songs is from the 1952 Vijay Bhatt movie Baiju Bawra that starred Meena Kumari as Gauri and Bharat Bhushan in the title role. The movie got Meena Kumari a Filmfare Award for Best Actress and Naushad Ali his only Filmfare Award for composing the song Tu Ganga ki mauj.
Naushad Ali with his favourite singer Mohammad Rafi
Naushad Ali was one of the greatest music directors in Hindi films. He is one of the three music directors (the other two being Pankaj Mullick and RC Boral) who have been given the highest award in cinema: the Dadasaheb Phalke Award. He has been credited with having introduced Raaga based songs in Hindi movies. Indeed, in the movie Baiju Bawra, each of the 13 songs have been based on some raaga or the other.
This is also one of the best bhajans in Hindi movies ever made and fits well with the description of Raag Malkaush that I have given: serious, meditative, soothing and calming.
Please enjoy: Man tadpat Hari darshan ko aaj….
मन तड़पत हरि दरसन को आज
मोरे तुम बिन बिगड़े सकल काज
आ, विनती करत, हूँ, रखियो लाज, मन तड़पत…
तुम्हरे द्वार का मैं हूँ जोगी
हमरी ओर नज़र कब होगी
सुन मोरे व्याकुल मन की बात, तड़पत हरी दरसन…
बिन गुरू ज्ञान कहाँ से पाऊँ
दीजो दान हरी गुन गाऊँ
सब गुनी जन पे तुम्हारा राज, तड़पत हरी…
मुरली मनोहर आस न तोड़ो
दुख भंजन मोरे साथ न छोड़ो
मोहे दरसन भिक्षा दे दो आज दे दो आज, …
Song #2
Jaan-e-bahar husn tera bemisaal hai
Here is a song that I sang to Lyn, totally extempore, on 12 Dec 2021 when we were cutting the wedding anniversary cakes.
I recall the lyrics of most of the songs of my favourite poet and lyricist: Shakeel Badayuni. And so is this song. It was composed by Ravi. Shakeel and Ravi mastered songs describing the Husn (Beauty) of a woman. Indeed, Shakeel received two out of his three Filmfare Awards (the only known hat-trick) for such songs with Ravi: Chaudvinh ka chand ho, and Husn waale tera jawab nahin.
I remember having sung this to Lyn on our wedding night too.
(Poster courtesy: en.wikipedia.org)
The song is from the 1963 BS Ranga movie Pyaar Kiya To Darna Kya starring Shammi Kapoor and B Saroja Devi; a guy from the North and a lady from the South, exactly like me and Lyn.
Here are the most beautiful lyrics:
जान-ए-बहार हुस्न तेरा बेमिसाल है
वल्लाह कमाल है, अरे वल्लाह कमाल है
आई है मेरे पास तू इस आन-बान से
उतरी हो जैसे कोई परी आस्मान से
मैं क्या कहूँ खुशी से अजब मेरा हाल है
हाय ये तेरी मस्त अदाएं ये बाकपन -२
किरणों को भी मैं छूने न दूँगा ये गोरा तन
तुझसे नज़र मिलाए ये किसकी मजाल है
मैं खुशनसीब हूँ के तुझे मैंने पा लिया -२
तूने करम किया मुझे अपना बना लिया
ऐसे मिले हैं हम के बिछड़ना मुहाल है
Please enjoy my rendition of: Jaan-e-bahar husn tera bemisaal hai…
I am so impressed with the song, that I sang this again to Lyn on her birthday, 11th Jul 2025, ie, last year. Indeed, this was my 400th post on YouTube:
Song #3
Akhiyan sang akhiyan laage aaj
This song was penned by Prem Dhawan and composed by Chitragupt in Raag Malkauns, Tintal and Kaherava.
Chitragupt was born on 16 Nov 1917 in village Sawreji of Gopalganj district of Bihar. His full name was Chitragupt Shrivastava. Anand and Milind, his sons are also composers in Hindi movies.
He started his career in the Hindi movies as a composer with the 1946 movie Fighting Hero. His last movie for which he gave the soundtrack was the 1998 movie Chandaal. Some of his most popular songs are: Chal udh jaa re panchhi in Raag Pahadi, Laagi chhute na, and Jaag dil-e-deewana in Raag Bhairavi. All these were sung by Rafi sahib.
Prem Dhawan, the lyricist of this song, was born on 13 Jun 1923 in Ambala, that time in Punjab. His first movie as a lyricist was the 1949 movie Jeet. Of course, he was also a composer and choreographer. His first movie as a composer was Nanak Dukhiya Sab Sansar.
Some of his most popular songs are from the 1965 Manoj Kumar movie Shaheed: Mera rang de basanti chola, Jogi ham to lut gaye tere pyar mein, Aye watan aye watan hamko teri kasam, and Sarfroshi ki tamanna. Some of his other popular songs are: Aye mere pyare watan, Teri duniya se door chale hoke majboor, and gareebon ki suno woh tumhaari sunega.
The 1961 movie Bada Aadmi was a Raj Kaushal movie starring Sheikh Mukhtar and Vijaya Choudhary both of whom act in the song, too.
Here are the lyrics:
#म्म्म# …
तरनान तन आ आ …
ओ ओ …
अखियन संग अखियाँ लागे आज -२
झूमे बार बार मेरे मन में प्यार
नित ऐस तो मौसम आये न
अखियन संग अखियाँ लागे आज
अखियन संग
आ आ …
इक प्यारि छबि मेरे मन में बसे
दिन रैन मेरे नैनन में हंसे
नया सपना मिला कोई अपन मिल
फिर ऐसे क्यों मेर मन गाये न
अखियन संग अखियाँ लागे आज
अखियन संग
सा सा ध सा सा नी सा सा ध सा सा नी सा सा
सा नी नी ध ग म ग म
मधुमति पवन इखलके चली
जैसे नार कोई शर्मके चली
कभि रुकति हुई कभि झुकति हुई
अब आके ये सावन जाये न
अखियन संग अखियाँ लागे आज
अखियन संग अखियाँ
म म म म ग म ग म ग म सा
म ध म
म ध नी सा नी सा ध नी सा नी सा ध
ध नी सा ग सा ग नी सा ग सा ग नी
सा ग म म ग म
ध नी सा सा नी सा
ग म ग
सा ग सा
सा ग सा नी सा नी ध नी ध म ध म
म ग म ग म ग सा
नी ध नी ध नी ध म
ध नी सा नी ध नी सा
आ आ …
अखियन संग
अखियन संग
अखियन संग अखियाँ लागे
Please enjoy: Akhiyan sang akhiyan laage aaj….
I hope you enjoyed Raag Malkauns based songs of Mohammad Rafi sung by me. Please remain tuned for more Raag based songs of Rafi sahib.
Lyn has been and is the purpose of my life. For the last several years, I have been singing to her songs penned by famous lyricists and composed by professional music directors. This year, I tried to do something different, that is, to write my own lyrics, compose and sing my own song.
Happy Birthday, Lyn Lyrics
I recall our time
In the Stone Age,
When you and I
Lived in a cave.
I used to go hunting,
With my stone club
And bring home food
We used to crave.
And then one day
You looked at me
With intense love
And a flame was lit.
The world’s first glimpse of fire
Was also through our love and grit.
Eons have gone by
And even today, my love.
You look at me
And light my fire
You still fill me up
With intense desire.
I can recall everything
Each touch, each feel, each look,
A small huBy the gurgling brook.
Love has made us timeless,
Oh, how ‘less’ is better than ‘more.
No one can ever forget,
We are part of folklore.
Stories about us abound,
As Heer and Ranjha
And Laila and Majnu.
Life after life, we sought
Just me and you.
You were born eons ago
On this blessed day.
As beautiful and young as ever
At one time in a cave
And now in Bandra, Bombay.
We are part of the wind,
We are part of the sea.
We are the ancient lovers,
In every era, the world could see.
Happy birthday, my love, my flame.
After ages, we are still the same.
Another thousand years will go by,
New skills and gifts we would acquire.
But still with your love, my dearest,
You would light up my fire.
Happy birthday, Lyn.
Happy Birthday, Lyn Song
Everything of the song is my own. The music is by Suno:
We have been together for a long time, my love.
We shall be together for ages.
Now that a Latur woman took the place,
Of a dead bull in her field to plough.
Mehboob Khan’s Mother India’s face,
Is seen with sweat on her brow.
Hindi films stereotyped women,
Who embraced prostitution in extreme poverty.
Adalat, Mamta, Pakeezah, Umrao Jaan, a few I pen,
Had similar stories and no novelty.
With popular songs and ghazals of dejection,
Filmmakers laughed their way to the bank.
It appeared women had no choice in rejection,
But, with courtesans, to close their rank.
Fortunately, Mother India had a tale to tell,
Of Indian women’s resolve and grit.
Whilst in films, they continued in flesh trade to dwell,
In reality, they overcame their stomachs’ pit.
After my father’s death, my mother, too,
Fought against her sad and poor situation.
Pitted against hostility from quite a few,
She displayed courage and determination.
With only me at her side and no other,
She went about fighting against all odds.
No wonder I am so proud of my mother,
More worshipped by me than gods.
With the abiding resolve of my mom and dad,
I would readily do what the Latur woman displayed.
No circumstances can make us dejected and sad,
If we refuse to have our resolve frayed.
Hats off to Indian women, our backbone,
Teaching us there is always a way.
One will never be depressed and alone,
If a never-give-up attitude one would display.
Another lockdown on the cards,
And this for NEET paper setters.
Will this, once and for all, put an end,
To the question paper go-getters.
And now we know why Shahjehan,
Cut off the hands of the Taj architect.
How could he even dream,
In diverse places, Tajs he’d resurrect?
Keeping their women in burqas,
Is the same idea in another form.
“My enjoyment of Beauty should never,
Become akin to a common norm?”
Political parties routinely isolate,
MLAs, to keep them from being bought.
Accepting money to form governments,
Many on camera are often caught.
From olden times to the present,
Our characters, are we ready to sell?
Corruption is so entrenched in our blood,
That it has become impossible to quell.
We cheat even on gods these days,
That in depravity is the modern extent.
We have beaten even the American parents,
Paying teenage daughters from becoming pregnant.
Imagine a patient being operated upon,
By a doctor to whom the papers were leaked.
Or being flown as an airline passenger,
By a pilot whose selection was tweaked.
And finally, you are at the Pearly Gates,
Manned by a bribed Saint Peter.
And he sends you to hell for no fault of yours,
Because everyone is a system beater.
एक सुन्दर फूल है, मेरी बहना, Suman,
मेरा ही क्यूँ, सारे ग्रुप का जीता है इसने मन l
क्या बात है इसकी गायकी और मुस्कान की,
और काबिल ए तारीफ है इसकी लगन l
खुशी है मुझे कि मैं उसका हूँ भाई,
थोड़ी सी उसकी अज़मत मेरी ओर भी आई l
एक तरफ मेरी बहना है बस,
और दूसरी तरफ है खुदा की खुदाई l
जन्मदिन तो आते जाते रहते हैं,
पर सयाने लोग एक बात ज़रूर कहते हैं,
Suman ऐसी लगती है ज़मीन पर,
जैसे जन्नत में फ़रिश्ते रहते हैं l
मुबारक हो सबको कि Suman है हमारे साथ,
हर वक़्त इस के सर पर हो खुदा का हाथ l
हम सब मिलेंगे जल्द ही Kandaghat में,
सुहानी और हसीन हो हमारी अगली मुलाकात l
ज़िंदगी में बना रहे Suman के नूर ओ रंग,
हमारी प्यारी बहन का सदा रहे संग l
खुशियों की बारातों से रौशन रहे घर आँगन,
महफिलें और जश्न कभी भी ना हों भंग l
Most of our time
On Earth
Is simply memories.
Fleeting moments
Adding up to stories,
As high as mountains,
And as deep as oceans.
These make us happy,
These make us restless.
We haven’t just lived those times,
We relive them,
Sometimes smiling,
Sometimes saddened.
Do we exercise control,
Or do they just pop up
Like bubbles in a pond?
Can we shut out
The horrible ones?
Can we resurrect only happy ones?
How much power
Do we have
Over what to recall?
Do we have any?
Happily and sadly
Yes, yes, yes.
Like gate sentries
We allow some to go through,
And stop some as intruders
Without permits.
If it was binary,
A clear yes or no,
It would be alright
To apply such control.
But, memories
More often than not
Are also controlled by
Perceptions and biases
That may or may not
Have the same time stamp.
Thus, our present thoughts
Influence us into classifying
Our past memories:
Happy, sad,
Pleasant or traumatic.
Being the only species
With powers of reasoning
We are conscious
In varying degrees
Of the trick Time plays
With our memories.
Plain simple memories
Pass through coloured filters.
We permit these
Sometimes, as Trojan horses,
And sometimes, because we allow
Nay, approve of
The flow
That we ourselves built.
We rejoice
In being masters
Of the flow.
Time laughs at
The slaves
We choose to be.
Time and time, again.
Roop tera mastana led to her pregnancy in 1969 Shakti Samanta superhit movie Aradhana (worship) with Rajesh Khanna. He was IAF officer, Arun Varma and she was Vandana. They take shelter from heavy rain. Rain or no rain, it was easy to light a fire within and without.
It was a “bhool” by both of them. More so because he died in a plane crash and she found herself as an unwedded mother. A son was born and named Suraj. But in this song, she thought of him as both her sun and moon. It was sung by Lata Mangeshkar for her:
In Hindi movies, once you achieve success with a good formula, you don’t let go of it. AB, for example, continued being an angry young man well past his middle age. Similarly, three years after Aradhana, Shakti Samanta, again, thought of making another superhit movie with La Tagore and Rajesh Khanna: Amar Prem.
In the movie Rustom e Sohrab, the most curious case of a woman wanting a child through a man was immortalised in this song: “Yeh kaisi ajab dastaan ho gayi hai…”
Rajesh Khanna, a hero (and not a villain), got the maximum women pregnant in movies. That’s because his debut movie had this song Aur kuchh der thehar with Indrani Mukherjee, resulting in her pregnancy, and the entire movie thereafter revolved around this accidental child and the Aakhri Khat (the title of the movie) she wrote to him before dying.
This is from the 1962 AVM (AV Meiyappan) production Main Chup Rahungi directed by A Bhim Singh. The title of the movie was derived from the heroine, Meena Kumari, becoming accidentally pregnant and delivering a boy baby, but unable to reveal the name of the father.
The 1973 Manmohan Desai movie, Aa Gale Lag Jaa was shot at my home station, Shimla. The easily pregnant actress, Sharmila Tagore stars in this movie. Out to Kufri with Shashi Kapoor, they roller-skate in snow and then he meets with accident. She is a medical student and she has learnt that a patient heading towards hypothermia (caused by extreme cold, as in Titanic) can be saved by giving him or her body heat. Naturally, whilst giving him body heat, she becomes pregnant. When she delivers the child, she is told that he was still born. The movie, thereafter, revolves around this song that resulted in her pregnancy and later Shashi Kapoor sings to their son.
I am fond of Mohammad Rafi; indeed, so fond of him that I consider him the best, the most accomplished, and most versatile singer that the world ever produced. A few years ago, when I started to learn singing at a very late stage in my life (I am 72 years old now and I started to learn singing only about three to four years ago), I realised that there is no better singer to learn from than Rafi saheb. Such is the aura of his singing that if an ordinary, amateur, and untrained singer like me can sing at about five percent of his ability, I can start patting myself on the back. Rafi saheb was the A to Z of good singing. When a great contemporary, Manna Dey, was asked to rank Rafi as a singer, Manna Dey’s prompt and thought provoking response was, “I rank Mohammad Rafi as #1 to #10.” By this, he obviously meant that all other singers were and are ten ranks below.
The 1961 movie Bada Aadmi was a Raj Kaushal movie starring Sheikh Mukhtar and Vijaya Choudhary both of whom act in the song, too.
