From the first of June, 2018, I started writing Good Morning messages in the form of poems (Please read: ‘Good Morning Message #1‘).
This was done when a course mate, Viru, suggested that people sharing memes as WhatsApp forwards had become passé and impersonal. He suggested that we should be as personal and unique as possible.
Here is my second attempt (pics have been added only in the blog and not in the original message on WhatsApp):
An awesome day is at your doorstep.
There is good in every day,
It’s not difficult to find;
For everyone of us in some way,
Is good at heart and kind.
Despite all the things that’re wrong,
If you look for something right;
It won’t really take you long,
To find across the tunnel light.
God made the world in such a way,
That good would always prevail;
Yes, people and things do go astray,
But good? Well, it would never fail.
From the first of June, 2018, I started writing Good Morning messages in the form of poems.
This was done when a course mate, Viru, suggested that people sharing memes as WhatsApp forwards had become passé and impersonal. He suggested that we should be as personal and unique as possible.
Here is my first attempt (pics have been added only in the blog and not in the original message on WhatsApp):
Good morning Allu, Anil Chopra, Anil Kalia, Anil Koshti, Bhoj, Billoo, Bisku, BKD, Subrata Chaks, Charlie, Doc, Gaur, Krish, Malay, Manu, Milind, MM, Pat, Pops, Purvi, Robin, Saroj, SAS, Shammi, Srini, Vadoo, Vijay, Vinod and Viru.
A great day awaits you.
Some get up to wish Good Morn, Some rise to express good wishes; Some start the day with scorn, Others for doing last night’s dishes.
Each one of you is unique, The best in your own special way; Yes, an odd ‘idiot’, an odd freak, But deserving of an awesome day.
So, Good Morning, 46 plus 8, I wish you smiles and cheers; Let Love overwhelm innate Hate, Let laughter replace barbs and jeers.
Jatt kudian ton darda maara….
Lyricis: Varma Malik
Composer: Hansraj Behl
Singer: Shamshad Begum, Mohammad Rafi
Third song of the new series that we started day before yesterday.
The two songs that I have given you so far are: Ik meri akh kashni (‘My Favourite Punjabi Songs – Song #1 – Ik Meri Akh Kashni‘) sung by the Nightingale of Punjab: Surinder Kaur; and Mainu tera shabaab lai baitha (‘My Favourite Punjabi Songs – Song #2 – Mainu Tera Shabaab Lai Baitha’).
(Collage courtesy: dsfsd)
This song is from the 1959 Punjabi movie Bhangra that was directed by Jugal Kishore and starred Sunder, Nishi and Manju.
All these Punjabi songs that I am giving you are nostalgic to me, Punjabi being my mother tongue. However, the songs of this movie are really very dear to me as I saw the movie with my parents and after all these years (59 to be exact), I can recall all the songs and most of the lyrics. During those days, if I would listen to a song on the radio just once I would remember the lyrics.
Have a look at the songs of the movie (many of you too would be filled with nostalgia):
Rabb na kare ke meri akh fadke, uton wagda hai meenh chham chham.
Batti baal ke banere utte rakhdi haan.
Chitte dand hasno nahio rehnde.
Jatt kudian on darda maara.
Ambiaan de booteaan te (Rut hai milaapan wali chann mera door).
Been na wajaeen mundia.
Mull wikda sajjan mil jaave lai lanvan main jind vech ke.
The songs of this movie are nostalgic to me for one more reason. My family was in Mandi, Himachal. However, during our summer holidays we used to go to my maternal grandparents house in Village Urapur, Jullunder District, Punjab.
Very often in the evenings visiting song and drama groups would go from village to village performing. We used to sit on the ground in a circle around them munching pop-corn that would have been made from corn taken from the house to the Bhatti (where these would be roasted over hot-sand and the Bhatti owner would accept a handful of corn as his remuneration). This song was performed for us by a visiting theater group. Because of the popularity of the song and the acting skills of the actors of the drama company, everyone enjoyed it to the hilt.
Here is the story (Sunder is Sunder in the movie and Nishi is Banto):
Sunder, the son of the moneylender Kaude Shah, goes to a poor farmer, Bulaki, in the village of Rangpur to get money-with-interest back from him, but falls in love with his daughter Banto. A suspended Munshi of Kaude Shah, Mehnga Mall, also tries to get Banto; he steals Kaude Shah’s jewellery and reaches Rangpur. He gives the jewellery to Sunder for staying away from him and Banto. Sunder gives the jewellery to Bulaki to pay back his debt and so did the unconscious Bulaki, the truth comes out and Bulaki is charged for stealing jewellery. He explains that the jewellery was given to him by Sunder and so Sunder is arrested. Finally, Mehnga Mall confesses and Bulaki and Sunder go free. After a little protest Sunder’s father, Kaude Shah, agrees to Sunder and Banto’s marriage.
Not that it is required, but, let me tell you at this stage about the actress Nishi who lip-syncs the song to Sunder, the actor.
Nishi lip syncing Mul wikda sahan mil jaave lai lanva main jind vech ke
Nishi’s full name is Nishi Kohli. She acted in many Hindi movies with Dara Singh and then with co-stars Raj Kapoor, Balraj Sahni, Bharat Bhushan, Helen, Ashok Kumar, Shashi Kapoor, Madhubala, Mala Sinha, and Rajendra Kumar.
Her first movie was the 1955 Ramesh Saigal movie Railway Platform. Her last Hindi movie was the 1970 Ganwaar.
However, she made better name for herself in Punjabi movies wherein she emerged as the heart-throb of many. Bhangra was her first Punjabi film and then she went on to act in Banto, Main Jatti Punjab Di and finally in 1969 Nanak Naam Jahaz Hai wherein my favourite hymn: Mere sahib, mere sahib, sung by Asha Bhosle, is picturised on her.
Guess what? I still remember her role in Bhangra and when she lip-synced the sad numbers Mul wikda sahan mil jaawe lai lanva main jind vech ke, and Batti baal ke banere utte rakhdi haan, my heart went out to her. I was only six years old though.
I loved Sunder‘s acting too. He was the hero in many Punjabi movies and comedian and hero in many Hindi movies. He died on 05 Mar 1992 in Mumbai and was active from 1938 to 1980s.
Madari was his debut Punjabi movie in 1950 though he had acted in many Hindi movies before that. His memorable roles are in Do Lachhian, Vilayati Babu and Chann Pardesi.
Sunder watches Banto perform bhangra/giddha with another person in the song and then in the end he (Sunder) steps in to claim her for the first time, captivated by her beauty and her pleasing ways. This song is, therefore, important in the movie as Sunder expresses his interest in her. In the end, she responds in kind and tells him in a boli to disregard her earlier bolis and that she loved his ways.
This song is in the form of Boliyan. What exactly are Boliyan? Boliyan or Bolis are Punjabi couplets. These days these are written as lyrics but, during my boyhood days and before, these used to be passed from generation to generation; each generation adding some more.
Initially, as I remember, Boliyan used to be sung by women and some of them would break out in giddha, becoming much more energetic during the interludes. Here, these are performed in the form of bhangra (the name of the movie) with one boli by female and an answering one by him and vice-versa. The energetic interludes are not after every boli but after three or four boliyan, every time.
For me, these are very nostalgic as I have listened to my mother and her sisters singing Boliyan and dancing giddha. Also, in many Punjabi weddings that I have attended Jaago aayiyan boliyan is sung on the night before the wedding (the night of awakening and that’s why Jaago aayiyan).
Varma Malik, the lyricist, made a name for himself with the song Ek Tara Bole in the 1970 Manoj Kumar movie Yaadgaar.
He was born on 13 Apr 1925 in Ferozepur (now in Pakistan). He was an active freedom fighter during the British Raj. The composer of this song and other songs in the movie, Hansraj Behl, actually launched his career as a lyricist.
Hansraj Behl was born on 19 Nov 1916 in Ambala (then in Punjab). He received his early education in music from Pandit Chunnilal.
He opened a music school in Lahore and recorded a few songs for HMV. In 1944, he traveled to Bombay to seek a career in movies. He managed to make his debut as a composer with Pujari, (1946), directed by Ardeshir Irani.Noted playback singer Asha Bhosle made her Hindi film debut when she sang the song Saawan aaya for Hansraj Behl’s film Chunariya (1948).
In 1964 he gave music for hit Punjabi film by Padam Prakash Maheshwary titled Satluj De Kandhe, starring Balraj Sahni, Nishi, Wasti, and Mirza Musharraf. The patriotic hit, ‘Jahan Daal Daal Pe Sone Ki Chidiya Karti Hai Basera’ sung by Mohammed Rafi in the film Sikandar-e-Aazam (1965), starring Prithviraj Kapoor was one of his last memorable numbers.
I think in the movie Bhangra, he really excelled as the movie has a very good mix of fast dance numbers, slow romantic numbers and sad numbers. All songs became popular.
No lyrics of the song are available on the net. I have written them down both from my recollection and after listening to the song.
Please enjoy Shamshad Begum and Mohammad Rafi sing on the lyrics of Verma Malik and composition of Hansraj Behl, a song in the form of Boliyan in the 1958 Jugal Kishore movie Bhangra starring Sunder and Nishi: Jatt kudiyan to darda maara……..(F is for Female and M for Male)
F: Jatt kudiyan ton darda maara
Ke mode’ ute daang rakhda – 2
(Jatt, afraid of the girls,
Keeps a stick on his shoulder)
M: Othe daang na kise’ di chaldi
Ke jithe chale teer akh da – 2
(There no stick would be effective
Where the arrow of the eyes shoots)
F: Kaanu muchh nu maroden denven,
kehda tera saag todeya?
(Why are you twirling your moustache,
As I have I have picked your saag?)
M: Saara khet hawaale tere,
Ni asan tainu kadon modeya?
(The whole field (of crop) is yours
When have I stopped you?
F: Ve main haan pandran murebbeya waali,
Kachehri wich mile kursi
( I have 15 murabba of land in my name (One murabba = 25 acres)
I get a seat in a court.
M: Mainu bin tankha vich kudiye
Murebbeyan te rakh munshi
(You can keep me without pay
As a Munshi (clerk) in your lands)
M: Teri hasiyan chalan te chadiyan
Ki ik waar has ke vikha
(Your laughter can send one high,
Just once show your laughter)
F: Putt hatt da bada tut bhaida,
Hasdi de dand ginada
(As a Jatt’s son, you are naughty,
You count my teeth when I laugh)
M: Kithe wajadi patal wang kajadi,
Ni kaali daang meri soniye
(It bangs with the sound of metal,
My black stick, O beautiful)
F: Laddu vandadi gali te vich niklan
Ve shaala teri daang tut paye
(I’d walk through the street distributing laddus,
If sometime your stick would break)
M: Teri dhaun surahi wargi
Ki chak na tu tin matke
(Your neck is like a surahi
You shouldn’t balance three pitchers over it)
F: Hath laayin na beganiyan mundeyan,
Ke gal kar pare hat ke
(Don’t touch (me) you stranger boy,
Talk to me (only) from a distance.
M: Teri gutt gitteyan te wajadi,
Ke hauli hauli nach kudiye
(Your braids fall up to your knees,
You should dance very very slowly)
F: Kale naag de vaangan dang maare
Ke ede kolon wach mundeya
(It would bite like a black snake,
You should protect yourself, boy)
M: Tainu chand di main sait karaanva,
Ke Roos de rocket te
(I would take you for a moon-walk
On a Russian rocket)
F: Othe jaake main charkhi chalanvan
Ke jithe tera hal wagde
(There I would work on the spinning wheel
Where you plough the lands)
M: Saare pind wich chaanan tera,
Ke maan diye mombatiye
(Whole village is lit with your light,
You are your mom’s candle)
At this stage Sunder (who was a spectator so far) comes dancing in:
Sunder: Tainu lai jaanwan Kashmir,
Je tu ban jaayen meri Heer,
Paanvan sone di zanjeer
Ni tu bindiye…..
(I’d take you to Kashmir,
If you agree to become my Heer,
I’d give you a gold chain (for your neck)
You are like a bindi.
Nishi suddenly becoming aware of his presence. This is her first reaction
Nishi: Tere naal kadin na jaawan,
Tere bapu nu bulwaawan,
Ohnu jaa fariyaadan laanvan,
Jatt vairya -2
(I’ll never go with you,
I’d call your father,
I’d go there and pray to him (to keep you away)
My enemy Jatt
Sunder: Koi mere pind da raah
beshak bapu kol tu jaa
Nahin hai bapu di parwah
Ni tu bindiye
(You can find the path to my village,
Even if you go to my father,
I don’t care for my father
You are like a bindi
Nishi: Main taan ainvin kardi saan,
Mere dil wich teri thaan,
Aaja phad lai meri baanh
Mere makhna, mere sajna
(I was just like that saying it,
In my heart there is place for you,
Come and hold my arm
My dearest, my lover)
https://youtu.be/xFLXRH9828U
The song, in the form of Boliyan, is not just in Punjabi but, it also has the flavour of Punjab that was there in its villages; where men and women broke into bhangra and giddha; where love stories began and ended with songs.
In this case, since the name of the movie was Bhangra, this song had the beginning of the love between Sunder and Banto, he having gone there to collect money with interest from Banto’s father.
Raaga Based Song of the Day:Jeet hi lenge bazi ham tum…. Raag Bhairavi, Tal Dadra
I am returning to Raaga based songs of the day after 02 Feb 18.
And, I am returning with the raaga most widely used in Hindi films songs: Bhairavi.
Today is the ninth time that I give you a song in this raaga. I took my time to give you the first song in Bhairavi on the 11th day: Babul mora naihar chhooto hi jaaye (Please see: ‘Raaga Based Song Of The Day #11’). That, I believe is the best song composed in Bhairavi. As I went along, I gave you several others including some of the favourite songs composed by Shankar Jaikishan. The last song in Bhairavi was on the 86th day: Aapki yaad aati rahi raat bhar (Please see: ‘Raaga Based Song Of The Day #86’).
We have completed ninety-two days of Raaga Based Songs of the Day. Our first post in the series was titled ‘Raaga Based Song Of The Day #1’ and the song was a Mohammad Rafi and Lata Mangeshkar song from the 1970 Shakti Samanta movie Pagla Kahin Ka: Tum mujhe youn bhula na paoge. It is in Raag Jhinjhoti, Tal Kaherava.
Our ninety-second post or the last post here was titled ‘Raaga Based Song Of The Day #92‘ and the song was an Asha Bhosle song from the 1963 SS Vasan production and Kishore Sahu directed movie Grahasti starring Ashok Kumar, Manoj Kumar, Rajshree, Nirupa Roy and Mehmood.. It is in Raag Sohani, Tal Tintal.
In the last ninety-two days of sharing Raaga based songs of the day, I have given you songs based on Raag Jhinjhoti, Gara, Bhimpalasi, Madhuvanti, Shivaranjani, Bihag, Pahadi, Sarang, Pilu, Bhairavi, Khammaj, Charukesi, Kalyan or Yaman, Desh, Malgunji, Kirwani, Kedar, Bageshri, Megh Malhar, Bhupali, Ahir Bhairav, Malkaush, Mand, Adana, Kafi, Rageshri, Jaunpuri, Tilang, Janasammohini, Chayanat, Shuddha Kalyan, Gaur Sarang, Jogiya, Asavari, Maru Bihag, Durga, Lalit, Puria Dhanashri, Bhinna Sahdja, Sohani, Multani, Patdeep, Jaijaiwanti, Tilak Kamod, Hemant, Basant Mukhari, Gujri Todi, Kalavati, Hamir, Bhatiyar, Gawati, Shyam Kalyan, Gorakh Kalyan, Madhamat Sarang, Manj Khammaj, Darbari Kanada, Vibhas, Shankara, Bahar, Nand and Mian Ki Malhar; making it a total of 61 raagas. The raagas that have been repeated so far are Pahadi, the raaga of my home place in the Himalayas, Maru Bihag, Raag Kirwani, Jhinjhoti, Bhairavi, Gara, Basant Mukhari, Malkauns, Bhairavi, Mand, Sohani, Madhuvanti and Shivaranjani. Today, I am repeating Raag Bhairavi for the ninth time.
Today’s song is from the 1961 Ramesh Saigal movie Shola Aur Shabnam starring Dharmendra and Tarla Mehta together with M Rajan, Abhi Bhattacharya and Vijayalaxmi. Its lyrics are by Kaifi Azmi that have been composed by Khayyam and sung by Mohammad Rafi and Lata Mangeshkar. As in many other movies, this duet reminds the lovers of their childhood love.
It is amongst the hundred movies or so that I watched on the net, fascinated by its songs and for once, I was not disappointed though, in the second half, the movie does drag on a bit; which was the case with most movies of that era.
The story is about Dharmendra and Tarla being childhood friends, very close and in love. They grow up after having been separated at childhood. He is poor and his friend M Rajan gives him a much-needed job in his timber business. M Rajan is engaged to be married to Tarla. Dharmendra doesn’t recognise Tarla who has grown up. His friend M Rajan asks him to sing when they meet and he sings their childhood favourite. She joins in the second stanza.
Another song from the movie became very popular: Jaane kya dhoondati rehati hain ye aankhen mujh mein, which was Dharmendra’s way of telling Talrla that he couldn’t possibly return to their loving days since he owed it all to his friend and benefactor M Rajan.
The lyricist of the song is Kaifi Azmi. I have as many as three blog posts on him: ‘The Best Songs Of Kaifi Azmi – A Great Lyricist And Poet’, ‘Part II’ and ‘Part III’. He was the only famous lyricist whom I heard live in a mushaira (in my college Govt College Dharamshala). I have found his poetry and lyrics so powerful that I wonder how could he write these in such simple words.
Of all the lyricists that I know of, Kaifi Azmi mastered the art of giving vent to the most intense and most powerful emotions through simplest words. One author who did that is my favourite: Ernest Hemingway. Likewise, taste this from Kaifi in this song:
मिलने की खुशी ना मिलने का गम, खत्म ये झगड़े हो जाएं
तू तू ना रहे, मैं मैं ना रहूँ
इक दूजे मैं खो जाएं
मैं भी ना छोड़ूं पल भर दामन
तू भी पल भर रूठे ना, प्यार का बंधन ..
These are the kind of simple words that take you another world altogether; the world of pure love and enchantment.
Now, about music director Khayyam, the composer of this delightful song.
Khayyam and his wife Jagjit Kaur are from the town of Rahon, near Nawanshahr in Punjab. This is close (14 Kms) from my maternal grandparents place in Urapur. Khayyam is not just the gentlest of the music directors, he has affinity towards the raaga of my place: Pahadi.
Mohammad Zahur Khayyam Hashmidecided to donate his entire wealth of about Rupees Ten Crores to the trust founded by him as KPJ Trust (K for Khayyam, P for their late son Pradeep (they lost him in 2012) and J for his wife Jagjit) to support budding artists and technicians in India.
In this song, he surprised us by composing it in Raag Bhairavi.
Raag Bhairavi is the basic raag of the Bhairavi Thaat. Bhairavi makes use of all the komal swars, Rishabh, Gandhar, Dhaivat, Nishad. When singing compositions in Bhairavi raag, the singers however take liberty to use all the 12 swars. Bhairavi raag is named after the shakti or feminine aspect of the cosmic life force, which is personified as a consort to Lord Shiva. Bhairavi is a powerful raag filled with devotion and compassion. Its Jati is Sampurna – Sampurna, which means all seven swar (heptatonic) both in Aaroha and Avaroha. I have already told you that in a concert Bhairavi is usually the concluding raaga since it is supposed to cure mistakes of the earlier performances. Hence, if a concert has started at night (which is usually the case), Bhairavi would be played in the wee hours of the morning.
A pleasant sobering atmosphere full of love and piety is created with this raag and one feels so close to the Supreme. Its compositions include several Thumris, Bhajans, Ghazals, Songs etc. Since it is an ocean of immense possibilities the melodic combinations can include all the twelve notes with skill.
I am not giving you again a list of songs composed in Raag Bhairavi as I have given this adequate number of times.
As far as Tal Dadra is concerned, Tal Dadra derives its name from Dadra style of singing prevalent in Dadra. It is a six or three beat Tal: Clap, 2, 3, Wave, 2, 3; that is two vibhags of three matras each. The theka is: Dhaa Dhin Naa Dhaa Tin Naa
I gave you a song in this Tal and Raag Bhimpalasi as m 3rd song in the series: Maine chand aur sitaaron ki tamanna ki thi.After that I have given you several songs in the Tal such as: Tere sur aur mere geet (Bihag), Aaj ki raat piya dil na todo (Pahadi), Beqasi hadd se jab guzr jaay (Desh and Khammaj), Dukh bhare din beete re bhaiya (Megh Malhar), Kesariya Balma (Nand), Kuchh aur zamaana kehta hai (Gaur Sarang), Taqdeer ka fasaana (Desh), Bhooli hui yaadon (Kalyan), Benuravvat bewafa (Shankara), Jhumati chali hawa (Sohani), Dil Ke jharokhe mein (Shivaranjani), and Paan khaayo sainya hamaro (Kalyan). However, in the eight songs based on Raag Bhairavi that I have given you, there has never been one in this Tal; most of these have been in Tal Kaherava.
At this juncture, since we are re-starting after a long time, please do recall that I had given you an introduction to Tal (musical measure) on the second day itself. Some of you would recall that I had mentioned that Tal, Taal or Tala is a word that is variation of the word Taali (Clap). Before the advent of Tabla, the standard method of keeping the musical measure was with the clapping or tapping of one’s hand on the arm or thigh. Indeed, now that we have Tabla, this beat is still maintained by clapping and waving of hands. If you recall, I had also mentioned that whilst the Raaga sets the mood, time of day and season of a composition, Tal constitutes the time-cycle. Therefore, a Raaga and Tal go hand in hand. On the 14th Raaga Based Song of the Day, was the only occasion when we didn’t have a Raaga (Kalyan) accompanied by a Tal since the entire composition of Lagata nahin hai dil mera was in Alaap.
The rhythmic hand gestures used to denote Tal are called Kriyas. If you recall, I laid emphasis on something called Vibhag or sections or angas or parts of a Tal. In Hindustani music, the first beat of a Vibhag is Tali (Clap), whilst the empty beat (Khali) is indicated is indicated by the sideways wave of the dominant clapping hand. And thus, you would recall, I represented the Tal for you with Claps and Waves.
We had also learnt that a Tal doesn’t have a fixed tempo or laya. Hence, we had learnt three different tempos: Vilambit (delayed or slow), Madhya (medium) and Drut (fast).
Before we actually take up the song, first, lets take up the value added learning of today. From the last eleven times we started learning about some of the leading personalities in Indian Classical Music or Shastriya Sangeet. The first one that we took up was Ustaad Asad Ali Khan,thefinest Rudra Veena player in the country. Then we took up Pandit Hari Parsad Chaurasia, the greatest Bansuri player in the country. Then we talked aboutAli Akbar Khan, the greatest Sarod player in the country. Then we took upPandit Ravi Shankar, the greatest Sitar player in the world. Then we took up the greatest classical singer in the country (of Carnatic tradition): MS Subbulakshmi. Then, we took upthe greatest classical singer in the country (of Hindustani tradition): Pandit Bhimsen Joshi. Then, we learnt about theShehnai maestro Ustad Bismillah Khan.Then, we learnt aboutAnnapurna Devi, a great Surbahar (bass sitar) player of Hindustani Classical Music.Thereafter, we took upPandit Shiv Kumar Sharma, the grestest Santoor player in the country.Then we learnt a little more aboutUstaad Alla Rakha Qureshi or simply Alla Rakha, the Tabla Maestro and father of Ustaad Zakir Hussain.Then we learnt about the master and one of the pioneers of fusion:Anand Shankar.And finally, we learnt about aVeena player who was also a great filmmaker: Sundaram Balachander.
(Photo courtesy: The Indian Express)
Tonight, we shall take up the Sarod Player Ustad Amjad Ali Khan, the recipient of second highest civilian award in India: the Padma Vibhushan. Indeed, Amjad Ali Khan is the recipient of the three awards in 2nd, 3rd and 4th position, that is, Padma Vibhushan, Padma Bhushan, and Padma Shri.
Born on 9 October 1945 as Masoom Ali Khan Bangash, the youngest of seven children, to Gwalior court musician Hafiz Ali Khan and Rahat Jahan. His family is part of the Bangash lineage and Khan is in the sixth generation of musicians; his family claims to have invented the Sarod.
I have heard him live a number of times and it is sheer magic seeing him perform.
(Pic courtesy: The Indian Express)
As far as the singers Mohammad Rafi and Lata Mangeshkar are concerned, I have only this to say: People have brought out that the best duets are between A, B, and C. However, both Rafi and Lata have etched names for themselves as the best playback singers there ever were.
Ladies and gentlemen, please enjoy in Raag Bhairavi Tal Dadra, Mohammad Rafi and Lata Mangeshkar sing a composition of Khayyam on the lyrics of Kaifi Azmi in the 1961 Ramesh Saigal movie Shola Aur Shabnam starring Dharmendra and Tarla Mehta: Jeet hi lenge bazi ham tum…..
रफ़ी:
जीत ही लेंगे बाज़ी हम तुम, खेल अधूरा छूटे न
प्यार का बंधन, जन्म का बंधन, जन्म का बंधन टूटे न
मिलता है जहाँ धरती से गगन, आओ वहीं हम जाएं
तू मेरे लिये, मैं तेरे लिये – २
इस दुनिया को ठुकरायें – २
दूर बसा ले दिल की जन्नत – २
जिसको ज़माना लूटे ना, प्यार का बंधन
लता:
मिलने की खुशी ना मिलने का गम, खत्म ये झगड़े हो जाएं
तू तू ना रहे, मैं मैं ना रहूँ – २
इक दूजे मैं खो जाएं – २
मैं भी ना छोड़ूं पल भर दामन – २
तू भी पल भर रूठे ना, प्यार का बंधन …
We have intended to learn about Raaga based music whilst we entertain ourselves with Raaga based songs. So, lets, once again, take stock of our collective learning so far:
On the first day we learnt about the Raaga system devised by Pandit Vishnu Narayan Bhatkhande, which is the prevalent system in Hindustani Classical Music and based on ten Thaats.
On the second day we learnt about Tal or Taal.
On the third day we learnt about characteristics of Raagas that included Swar, Jati, Thaat, Arohana and Avarohana, Vadi, Samvadi and Pakad.
On the fourth day, we learnt about Sargam.
On the fifth day, we learnt about notations used in Indian classical music or simply Swar Lipi.
On the sixth day, we learnt about the Ras (sentiments) that Raagas evoke.
On the seventh day, we learnt about various types of Swar: Shuddha, Achal, Vikrut, Komal and Teevra.
On the eighth day, we learnt the parts of a composition in Indian Classical Music.
On the ninth day, we learnt the names of some of the popular instruments used in Indian Classical Music.
On the tenth day, we learnt about the sources of names of Raagas.
On the eleventh day, we learnt about why Bhairavi is the first raag to be taught to beginners and also why it is the last in a performance.
On the twelfth day, we learnt about Khammaj Thaat.
On the thirteenth day, we learnt about Tal Punjabi Theka or Sitarkhani.
On the fourteenth day, we learnt about Alap.
On the fifteenth day, we learnt about List of Raagas (Raagmala) in my favourite book: Sri Guru Granth Sahib.
On thesixteenth day, we learnt about tips for raaga identification.
On the seventeenth day, we learnt the basics of Gharana system.
On the eighteenth day, we learnt about Filmi Sangeet.
On the nineteenth day, we learnt about the commonest Tal in Raagas: Tintal.
On the twentieth day, we learnt about the Kafi Thaat.
On the twenty-first day, we learnt a little more in detail about the classification of Raagas.
On the twenty-second day, we learnt the essential differences between Bhairavi and Bhairav.
On the twenty-third day, we learnt a little more in detail about the Jati or Jaati of a raaga.
On the twenty-fourth day, we learnt details of Thaat Bilawal, the most basic thaat in the Bhatkhande’s system of raagas.
On the twenty-fifth day, we learnt about Tintal.
On the twenty-sixth day, we learnt in detail about the Raaga – Samay linkage.
On the twenty-seventh day, we learnt about Lehar.
On the twenty-eighth day, we learnt about the history of the Hindustani Music.
On the twenty-ninth day, we learnt about Dhrupad.
On the thirtieth day, we learnt about Rupaktal that I was introduced to, a few months back, by my friend Anand Desai.
On the thirty-first day, we learnt about Khayal.
On the thirty-second day, we learnt about Thumri.
On the thirty-third day, we learnt about Tappa.
On the thirty-fourth day, we learnt about Tarana.
On the thirty-fifth day, we learnt about Tal Dipchandi (Moghali).
On the thirty-sixth day, we learnt about Tabla.
On the thirty-seventh day, we learnt about Kirtan.
On the thirty-eighth day, we learnt about Pakhawaj.
On the thirty-ninth day, we learnt about Hori.
On the fortieth day, we learnt about Dadra.
On the forty-first day, we learnt about Kajri.
On the forty-second day, we learnt about Chaiti.
On the forty-third day, we learnt about Sarangi.
On the forty-fourth day, we learnt about Shehnai.
On the forty-fifth day, we learnt about Sarod.
On the forty-sixth day, we learnt about Bansuri.
On the forty-seventh day, we learnt about Ektal and Tanpura.
On the forty-eighth day, we learnt about Veena.
On the forty-ninth day, we repeated our learning of Veena with a small excitement added.
On the fiftieth day, we learnt about Dilruba/Esraj.
On the fifty-first day, we learnt about Jaltarang.
On the fifty-second day we learnt about Qawwali.
On the fifty-third day, we learnt about Sitar.
On the fifty-fourth day, we learnt about Surbahar.
On the fifty-fifth day, we learnt about Harmonium.
On the fifty-sixth day, we learnt about Santoor.
On the fifty-seventh day, we learnt about Swarmandal.
On the fifty-eighth day, we learnt about the Shruti Box.
On the fifty-ninth day, we learnt about Alankar.
On the sixtieth day, we learnt about singing in Aakaar.
On the sixty-first day, we learnt about the Classification of Indian Musical Instruments.
On the sixty-second day, we learnt a little about Carnatic Music.
On the sixty-third day, we learnt about Natya Shastra.
On the sixty-fourth day, we learnt about evolution of musical instruments in India down the ages.
On the sixty-fifth day, we learnt about Riyaaz.
On the sixty-sixth day, we looked at a list of Raagas in Hindustani Classical Music.
On the sixty-seventh day, we learnt about the health benefits of raagas.
On the sixty-eighth day, we learnt a little more comprehensively about the moods and emotions that raagas evoke.
On the sixty-ninth day, we learnt about a mobile application to help identify raagas.
On the seventieth day, we learnt about Melakarta Raagas.
On the seventy-first day, we learnt about Sangita Makarand.
On the seventy-second day, we learnt about TaalMala an Android application for personalized accompaniment of musical instruments during Riyaaz or even during Concert.
On the seventy-third day, we learnt about Indian Classical Ragas, an Android application for mobile phones.
On the seventy-fourth day, we learnt about Saregama Classical, another application for Classical Raagas.
On the seventy-fifth day, we learnt about a free online service available to learn Indian Classical Music.
On the seventy-sixth day, we learnt about List of Hindustani Classical Musical Festivals in India and Abroad.
On the seventy-seventh day, we learnt about List of Carnatic Musical Festivals in India and Abroad.
On the seventy-eighth day, we learnt about Jhaptal.
On the seventy-ninth day, we learnt about Ektal.
On the eightieth day, we learnt about Tivra Tal.
On the eighty-first day, we learnt about the greatest Rudra Veena player ever: Ustaad Asad Ali Khan.
On the eighty-second day, we learnt about the greatest Bansuri player alive: Pandit Hariprasad Chaurasia.
On the eighty-third day, we learnt about the best Sarod player in the country: Ustaad Ali Akbar Khan.
On the eighty-fourth day, we learnt about the greatest Sitar player in the world: Pandit Ravi Shankar.
On the eighty-fifth day, we learnt about the greatest Indian vocalist of Carnatic tradition: MS Subbulakshmi.
On the eighty-sixth day, we not just learnt about the greatest vocalist of Hindustani tradition: Pandit Bhimsen Joshi but also learnt about Tal Hinch.
On the eighty-seventh day, we learnt about the Shehnai maestro Ustaad Bismillah Khan.
On the eighty-eighth day, we learnt about Annapurna Devi, the greatest Surbahar player in India.
On the eighty-ninth day, we learnt about Pandit Shiv Kumar Sharma, the greatest Santoor Player in the country.
On the ninetieth day, we learnt about Ustaad Alla Rakha, the Tabla maestro.
On the ninety-first day, we learnt about Anand Shankar, the great fusion musician from Bengal.
On the ninety-second day, we learnt about Sundaram Balachander, the great Veena player and film-maker.
And today on the ninety-third day, we learnt about Ustaad Amjad Ali Khan, the great Sarod player.
There is much more still to be learnt and enjoyed.
All those who liked my photographs in these posts would be interested to know that today onward I have decided to give you videos as well. It takes time to post these on You Tube.
For the earlier two posts in the series too, videos would be available in two days.
We (my wife and I) stayed the night at Powari, just short of Kalpa (Reckong Peo) at an army camp. Of course, I was quick to add that the civilians have a number of hotels in Kalpa and Reckonfg Peo (the capital of Kinnaur District ) to stay.
The army camp where we chose to stay had accommodation alluringly close to the Sutlej river:
On the way back, we stayed the night there again and I could take some more pictures:
The officers at Powari convinced us that we needn’t stay an extra day there for visiting Reckong Peo and Kalpa as we could finish the entire itinerary there in a forenoon. So we packed up our things and left for Reckong Peo and Kalpa and en route to Pooh.
Normally, weather gods are very kind to us and so were they during our visit to both the places. We had the most beautiful view of Kinnaur hills including Kailash Kinner.
From the NH5, there is sheer climb to visit these places with a number of hair-pin bends (I had counted about 15 of them). But then it is worth reaching Kalpa at an altitude of about 3000 metres. Reckong Peo on the way is about 700 metres lower.
Look at the sights along the way:
Even though the capital of Kinnaur district, there is nothing much to see in Reckong Peo. Hence, we climbed up to Kalpa and what a view it was from there.
Earlier, Kalpa was the capital of Kinnaur. One of the officers at Powari told us that at one time, it was called Cheeni village and Indira Gandhi, the PM of India, was afraid that the Chinese may lay a claim on it. Hence, she hurriedly got the name changed to Kalpa. The Indian Army Brigade looking after this sector is called Sugar Brigade as Cheeni is not just the Hindi word for Chinese but also Hindi word for Sugar.
The best sights from Kalpa are to be seen from the Buddhist Monastery and the Hindu Temple, both co-located. Have a look at this breath-taking video first:
Of course, the video above is self-explanatory since I have given the commentary too. Have a look at the hills from the Hindu temple next to the monastery:
When I was small I used to read about blue skies. However, rarely have I experienced blue skies with the smog that exist in our cities. Here, then was this wonderful sight of blue sky contrasted against whiteness of the shining snow peaks.
A few pictures to drive home the point as to why you must go there:
And of course almost 360 degrees view around:
Before leaving Kalpa, we decided to seek some more adventure (as if yesterday was not enough) and decided to visit the Suicide Point. It is just 7 Kms from the Monastery and I recommend it for those who have stout hearts. In the video, it didn’t come out that well but there is sheer fall of 1000 metres from the suicide point (I have said 1000 feet in the commentary). You have your heart in your mouth when you have to turn around even in a small car like Maruti Alto. Watch this:
For those who are too scared to watch the video, here are some pictures:
In that kind of narrow road, when you have a vehicle coming from the other side and you are towards the valley side to make and give way, sometimes by reversing, well, you pass your driving test for the next few lives too.
Alright, ladies and gentlemen, take your hearts out of your mouths and lets be on our way to Pooh.
Distance between Kalpa to Pooh is just 75 Kms and we started in the afternoon. Google recommended time taken to cover the distance is 2 hours and 8 minutes. We took longer because we kept stopping for pictures.
As far as the risk of crossing the distance is concerned, between Km 10 to Km 25, it should take you about an hour. All kinds of traffic is on the road, the road condition ranges from being narrow to non-existent. Going to Suicide Point had prepared us for the worst but soon realised things could get even worse than that. Have a look:
Incidentally, just to remind you, these pictures are pictures of what is known as National Highway. I have taken these pictures sometimes whilst driving and at others just momentarily stopping and moving on.
Scared? Well, I too was until I saw buses and army three tonners on this road.
A little after Pangi, it becomes better and then one passes through Rarang, Akpa, Rispa, Moorang, Jangi and Spello. You have no restaurants, tea stalls, any help anywhere. You are virtually on your own.
You would of course see adventure cyclists along the way.
You would see another thing in the pictures, which is that gradually the verdure becomes non-existent and then you see bare rocky dusty hills. Giving up? Don’t. Remember what I told you: the most difficult roads lead to the most beautiful destinations. If you were taken in by the beauty of the hills at Kalpa, then you haven’t seen anything yet. There is more to come.
You would have seen a signboard about Shooting Stones. Well, these signs are a plenty along the way. They ask you to exercise caution and I, for one, couldn’t really understand what is involved in exercising caution. After we left Kalpa and before Pangi, when you have these stones falling around you, ‘exercising caution’ is translated into prayers like these: “God, please I beg you, make sure none fall on my vehicle.”
Afterwards, you get as immune to these as people who live near Niagara Falls get used to the earth-shattering sound of the Falls.
And now I must tell you about the mistake that I made just 135 Kms short of our destination: Kaza. Near Spello, since the road became slightly better and since we were getting late reaching Pooh, I started enjoying more than usual by looking around. This is a mistake that you should never make because without any warning, suddenly, the road can become from good to very bad. With a thud we went over a rock and before I could slowly apply brakes on the gravel so as not to skid. The bottom of Alto scraped against the rock.
My reactions were pretty fast. I stopped the vehicle, inspected it and found nothing amiss. We reached the army camp at Pooh safely.
Next day was a rest day (the rest day that we didn’t take at Kalpa). It is only in the afternoon the next day that I saw a small oil patch under the vehicle: the gear box was leaking.
The slightly better road near Spello, which made me lose my guard. You should never.
Emergency repairs to the gear-box shell were called for. Fortunately at the army station there, they could attend to it (for the civilians there are no mechanics, workshops etc anywhere close by). Therefore, in addition to 23rd June spent there, we had to spend 24th too at Pooh whilst the repairs were going on:
Ladies and gentlemen, we are, therefore, going to take two days break at Pooh and I shall take you further 135 Kms to Kaza on 25th.
Stay tuned. The most exciting parts of the journey are yet to come.
Second song of the new series that we started day before yesterday. This too has lyrics by Shiv Kumar Batalvi. Thank you very much for the enthusiastic response to the first post.
Shiv Kumar Batalvi‘s life and poetry can be compared with Lily of May, short-lived but providing immense joys to all those who came in touch with either or both. He lived between 23 Jul 1938 and 06 May 1973. As I said in the first post, he and Lord Byron died before their 37th birthday.
Whereas, Lord Byron had a number of affairs including scandalous and licentious ones, Shiv Kumar’s poetry was driven by just two of them: Maina, a young girl that he met in Baijnath and Uma, Gurbakhsh Singh Preetlari’s daughter. Maina died and Shiv penned his elegy Maina for her. Uma left for the US and married someone else. Later Shiv Kumar too married Aruna and they have two children: Meharban and Puja.
When Uma Gurbakhsh gave birth to her first child, Shiv Kumar Batalvi penned his most poignant poem: ‘Main ek shikra yaar banaya’, which is rated as his most famous.
Mainu tera shabaab lai baitha is equally popular.
On the 14th of April, this year, we had the third annual meet of our music group ‘Yaad Kiya Dil Ne’ (Please read: ‘YKDN Live Fest In Kandaghat On Waltzing Numbers’). We had a ghazal and Sufi singer Pammi Hanspal with us. At the end of our Live Fest, he sang this song and we were all floored. That’s as much for Pammi’s singing skills as for the effect of the extraordinary lyrics penned by Shiv Kumar Batalvi. Here are all of us joining in for the rendition of this extraordinary Ghazal by Shiv Kumar Batalvi:
Of course, these are amateurish efforts. The ghazal is so popular even after 45 years of Shiv Kumar Batalvi’s demise that one can hear it at various gatherings. Everyone seems to know the lyrics.
Of course, my nostalgia goes back to hearing it from a great son of Punjab: Asa Singh Mastana though there are various versions of this ghazal including by one of the greatest ghazal singers: Jagjit Singh.
(Photo courtesy: Panj Pedia)
Asa Singh Mastana lived between 22 Aug 1927 and 23 May 1999. He made a name for himself on the All India Radio from 1940s onwards by singing Punjabi folk songs either by himself or in concert with Surinder Kaur and Kuldeep Manak. Some of his songs became so popular that these are hummed even today. One of my all time favourites is the tear-jerker: Jadon meri arthi uthha ke chalange. I shall be giving that to you as I go along. Another is: Mutiyare jaana door pya, which has flavour of a typical Punjabi wedding.
Another two favourites are the Heer and Jugni that he sang for the Hindi movie Heer. Yet another is Sarke sarke jaandiye mutiyare ni.
In 1985, he was honoured by the government of India by the award of Padma Shri, India’s fourth highest civilian award.
Now lets look at the beauty of the lyrics (Please do remember that this ghazal has been sung by many different singers and each has chosen some stanza or the other and his own sequence):
First in Punjabi transliterated:
Mainu tera shabab lai baitha,
Rang gora gulab lai baitha,
Mainu tera shabab lai baitha
Dil daa darr si kite naa lai baithe
Lai hee baitha janab lai baitha
Mainu tera shabab lai baitha
Kini beeti te kini baaki eh,
Mainu eho hisaab lai baitha,
Mainu tera shabab lai baitha
Shiv nu ikk gham te hee bharosa si
Gham toh kora jawaab lai baitha
Mainu tera shabab lai baitha
Wel jad vi mili hai farza taun,
Tere mukh di kitaab lai baitha,
Mainu tera shabab lai baitha
Mainu jad vi tusi ho yaad aye,
Din dihaade sharab lai baitha,
Mainu tera shabab lai baitha
Changa hunda je sawaal na poochda,
Mainu tera jawaab lai baitha,
Mainu tera shabab lai baitha
And now the translation by me:
Your young beauty has seized my senses
(Your) fair-rosy colour has seized me
Your young beauty has seized my senses
I feared for my heart that it shouldn’t be seized,
(But) It was seized, my dear Sir, it was,
(Your) young beauty has seized my senses
How much life is spent and how much remains
This calculation has seized me
Your young beauty has seized my senses
Shiv relied on just one sorrow
(That) Grief too has abandoned me
Your young beauty has seized my senses
Whenever I had free time from my duties,
I was seized by the book of your face,
Your young beauty has seized my senses
Whenever I have thought of you,
I took to drinking even during daytime,
Your young beauty has seized my senses
It would have been good if I hadn’t asked the question,
I was seized by your answer.
Your young beauty has seized my senses
Please enjoy Asa Singh Mastana sing the most popular ghazal of Shiv Singh Batalvi: Mainu tera shabab lai baitha:
https://youtu.be/SAUh28WCvpY
Shiv Kumar Batalvi’s love poems had all the melancholy about them that he faced in his life with unrequited love.
This one is very important since it talks about drinking in her gham (sorrow). All of us know that finally this gham and consequent drinking heavily into the wee hours of mornings that killed him.
He was the youngest recipient of Sahitya Akademi Award and he died young.
Now if you have seen the map and the route planning, you would notice that Sangla and Chirkut are not there on the route to Kaza. I recommend this one day detour for seeing the Sangla Valley described by an American tourist as one of the four most beautiful valleys in the world. Also, if you are bold enough to proceed further to Chirkut village, you would have come to the last Indian village next to China.
Naturally, you are interested. Very good, here we go.
Yesterday, I also told you that this would be the most treacherous part of the journey; not only that the roads are bad (Remember the good old saying: ‘the most difficult roads lead to the most beautiful destinations’) but one small mistake and this would be the last journey for us.
If you zoom on the map, you would notice that the NH5 from Rampur goes through Jhakri, Ganvi, Sungra, Wangtu and Tapri before taking a diversion to the right for Sangla and Chirkut.
In the above pics, you would have noticed two things: One, that at a place called Nigulsari we entered the district of Kinnaur that will be with us all the way to Kaza. Nigulsari is just 40 Kms from Rampur Bushahr. Second, that the NH5 although retains the same thickness on the map, gradually becomes smaller and smaller in width. Henceforth, as the scenery around becomes more and more beautiful, the roads become worse:
Indeed, this is one thing that one has to remember all the way to Kaza: even when the roads are alright, these can suddenly become poor. One has to be on one’s guard all the while. The plus point is that there is not much of traffic and whatever is there is well-behaved.
At Karcham, then, we took the detour towards Sangla, the first milestone that we came across was the Karcham-Wangtoo BASPA II Project. In this area, one comes across a number of such projects and number of tunnels.
What one doesn’t come across, for miles altogether are any eateries and tea stalls. Here we had tea with Bengali labourers working at the project:
From the Karcham-Wangtoo 300 MW dam, we came up to the main Karcham (1000 MW dam), a beautiful site:
Karcham to Sangla is amongst the world’s most dangerous roads, a distance of about 19.5 Kms. Often, your heart will be there in your mouth and the margin for error is just a few feet that look like inches. It is also a sheer climb since from about 1800 m of Karcham-Wangtoo dam you have to get to about 3000 m plus of Sangla and finally to 3450 m of Chitkul village (another 19 Kms), the last Indian village before the Chinese border.
In our case, as you can make out the road visibility was reduced due to drizzle. Fortunately, the same God who sends the drizzle, gives you strength and at the end of it, you are met with wonderful sights, some of the best in the world:
I have put down the experience of watching the beautiful Sangla Valley in the form of this video, which I am sure you would immensely enjoy:
By the way, ladies and gentlemen, I was the one who was driving and I had taken all the pics. My wife had preferred to keep her eyes closed at some of the dangerous spots. I took a few videos but not whilst driving. Just to give you a feel of the drive, here is one from You Tube:
Our first destination was Banhara Camps being run by a retired army officer Captain Ajay Sood. Not just amongst picturesque surroundings, Ajay and his team has done well to provide facilities for both types of people: those seeking adventure and those who want luxury everywhere they go. We had lunch at his restaurant:
The road from Sangla to Chirkut is really very bad; it has gravel, rivulets on the road, everything. We did it in a Maruti Alto. However, at places you would actually require a 4 X 4 gear. Here are some of the pics. Once again, as the road becomes worse, you are greeted with amazing sights. The river Sutlej, at this place is totally white because of its velocity and going over rocks:
And finally, we reached Chitkul, the last Indian inhabited village near the Indo-China border. Even in the month of June, it was chilly and windy there.
Here is a video of seeing Chitkul for the first time:
The place has narrow cobbled streets, slate roof and tin roof houses, and a few Buddhist temples including the famous Kagyupa temple. There is only one Hindu temple there and the deity is supposed to be a sister of the deity at Gangotri. Look at our luck: a procession of the deity is held there annually and when we reached there the procession started:
Here is a video of Mata Ka Procession that we were lucky enough to see:
It was a packed day. Fortunately, except for a slight drizzle, the weather gods were kind to us and we could see everything that we wanted to.
The return trip to Karcham was as scary, if not more, as the trip up to Chitkul. We stayed at an army camp at Powari, a little short of Kalpa. As far as civilians are concerned, there are adequate hotels in Kalpa and Reckong Peo.
By the way, on the way back I managed to take pictures of the most dangerous spots on the way of whose You Tube video I put up earlier. Here these are:
I can assure you, these afford you a sheer fall of 1000 metres or so.
Thank you for staying with me all throughout this really well-packed day. Tomorrow, we shall take it easy when I take you with us to Kalpa and Raeckong Peo, places with such breathtaking views that you would ask for videos and I shall give you those.
Good night. Grab some sleep before we have another day of sheer adventure.
हरदम खुशी की तमन्ना की थी तेरे प्यार में,
ज़िन्दगी भर के ग़म मिल गए उधार में।
खिज़ा आने का इंतज़ार भी ना किया,
हम तो लुट गए काफिला-ए-बहार में।
मुहब्बत में हो गए रुस्वा कुछ इस तरह,
नज़र आने लगी तौहीन-ए-उल्फत हर जगह,
तेरी महफ़िल में बदनाम होना यकीनन था,
हंसने लगे हम पे सब लोग बेवजह।
ना समझे इस में हमारा क्या था कसूर,
मानते हैं मुहब्बत की थी हमने ज़रूर,
पर इसकी इतनी बड़ी मिलेगी सज़ा,
यह बात तो दिल के बहुत ही थी दूर।
हम लेंगे तेरी बेवफाई का इन्तकाम,
तेरी रुसवाई का भी कर लेंगे इंतज़ाम,
फ़ना हो जाएंगे तेरे प्यार में इस कदर,
के लोग तुझको भी कर देंगे बदनाम।
Hardam khushi ki tamanna ki thi tere pyaar mein,
Zindagi bhar ke gham mil gaye udhaar mein.
Khiza aane ka intezaar bhi na kiya,
Ham to lut gaye kaafila-e-bahaar mein.
Muhabbat mein ho gaye ruswa kuchh is tarah,
Nazar aane lagi tauheen-e-ulfat har jagah,
Teri mehfil mein badnaam hona yakeenan tha,
Hansne lage ham pe sab lig bewajah.
Na samajhe is mein hamaara kyaa tha kasoor,
Maanate hain muhabbat ki thi hamne zaroor,
Par iski itani badhi milegi saza,
Yeh baat to dil ke bahut hi thi door.
Ham lenge teri bewafai ka inteqaam,
Teri ruswayi ka bhi kar lenge intezaam,
Fanaa ho jaayenge tere pyaar mein is kadar,
Ke log tujhako bhi kar denge badnaam.
Ik meri akh kashni duja raat de uneendre ne mareya…..
Lyrics: Shiv Batalvi
Composition and Music: K Pannalal
Singer: Surinder Kaur
Ladies and gentlemen, I am starting another series today titled: My Favourite Punjabi Songs.
Why Punjabi? Simple; it is my mother tongue (my mother passed away last year on the 9th of August). She was the biggest influence that I had on my thought process, the way I led my life, my emotions and my language. I was born in her parents’ house (it was called Pakkyan Waala since for a number of years it was the only brick and lime-mortar house in the village whilst others were thatched clay houses) in Village Urapur, District Jullunder (now spelled Jalandhar).
My mother married my father when she was only sixteen. However, so strong was the influence of her parents that the last words that she whispered before she went away last year were: Pitaji, Beeji main aa rahi haan (My father and mother, I am returning to you).
Similarly, even though she spent all her years with my father in Himachal wherein Hindi was more prevalent, she could never forget her Punjabi roots. The other day I read a joke that a Punjabi is a person who speaks any language in Punjabi. My mom for nearly seventy years after leaving Punjab, spoke Hindi in Punjabi. Taste this, for example; it is my mother’s instruction to the servant at home in what she believed is Hindi: “Bahadur, neeche kyaari se gande poot ka laao.”
Truly, whilst you can take a Punjabi out of Punjab but you can’t take Punjab out of him or her.
During my childhood and boyhood, I have listened to Punjabi songs on the radio, in movies that I went to with my parents, and during weddings and other parties. Ladies used to sing some of these songs (that I would give you) sitting around a dholaki with a lady playing the dholaki and another (sitting in front) rhythmically beating a metal spoon on the wooden body of the dholaki. Others would be dancing keekli or gidda.
My mom and her sisters would not just sing but dance too.
My mother (right) and her youngest sister Jaspal dancing during the celebrations for my mom’s 75th birthday on 15th March 2007. My buaji’s son Bawa (an accomplished A.I.R. singer and dancer is seen her playing the dholaki.My mother dancing with my son Arjun and his wife Samira on the eve of their wedding on 8th May 2014
These songs that I shall be putting up here are not in any particular order or ranking. I am just giving them to you as I recall them.
Surinder Kaur and her sister Parkash Kaur were my late mother’s favourites. Whenever my mother traveled with us long-distance we listened to the two sisters frequently on cassettes; songs such as: Kala doriya, Lathhe di chaadar, Jutti kasuri, Bajre da sitta, Gori diya jhanjhra, Sarke sarke jaandiye, Chan ve ke shaunkan mele di, Chan kitha guzari aayi raat ve and Dachi waliya mor mohar ve.
(Pic courtesy: Famouspunjabi.com)
Surinder Kaur was certainly the more popular and accomplished of the two sisters: Surinder and her elder (by ten years) sister Prakash. She was born on 25 Nov 1929 in Lahore (now in Pakistan). When Surinder was not yet 14 years old, the two sisters cut their first duet maavan ‘te dheean ral baithian on 31 Aug 1943 for HMV. After the Partition of India, the family moved to Ghaziabad, Delhi. When she was 19 years old she married Professor Joginder Singh Sodhi. He was to emerge as her greatest support who assisted her first to become a playback singer in Hindi films and later to follow her passion of Punjabi folk songs.
Before she died on 14th June 2006, she not only recorded more than 2000 songs but also promoted Punjabi culture and folk songs. Some of her duets have been sung with other great singers of Punjab: Asa Singh Mastana, Karnail Gill, Harcharan Grewal, Rangila Jatt, and Didar Sandhu.
She was a song-writer herself. In addition, she sang songs penned by Bulleh Shah, Nand Lal Noorpuri, Amrita Pritam, Mohan Singh and Shiv Kumar Batalvi.
On her death, the Prime Minister of India, Dr. Manmohan Singh, described her as the Nightingale of Punjab.
A few months before she died, she was awarded the fourth highest civilian honour by government of India: the Padma Shri. However, she was taken aback to know that the recommendation for the same had gone from Haryana (because she had settled in Panchkula) and not from Punjab, the state whose culture and folk-music she relentlessly promoted for more than five decades.
(Pic courtesy: Hindustan Times)
Shiv Kumar Batalvi, as I have written elsewhere, had many things in common with the English poet Lord Byron except that whilst the latter was of aristocracy, Shiv died in penury. Otherwise, the description of beauty, sadnesses and melancholy are the same. Both died before reaching the age of 37 years. Shiv Kumar Batalvi lived between 23 July 1936 and 6 May 1973.
Shiv was born on 23 Jul 1936 in village Bara Pind Lohtian, Shakargarh Tehsil, Sialkot District (now in Pakistan). He is called Batalvi, because at the Partition’s time, when he was only 11 years old, his family moved to Batala in Punjab.
His first anthology of poems was published in 1960, titled Piran da Paraga (The Scarf of Sorrows). He became the youngest recipient of the Sahitya Akademi Award in 1967, for his magnum opus, a verse play Loona (1965).
Many of his poems are love poems of parting. For example, he fell in love with a girl called Maina who died. He wrote an elegy called Maina. Similarly, he was in love with Gurbaksh Singh Preetlari’s daughter. When she married someone else, he wrote his famous love poem ‘Main ek shikra yaar banaya’. In 1967 he married Aruna, a girl from his own Brahmin caste.
After Shiv returned from his visit to England in Sep 1972 his health deteriorated and he finally died on 6th May 1973. He was brought to PGI Hospital Chandigarh. But, he walked away from the hospital saying he didn’t like dying in a hospital.
Shiv Kumar Batalvi, in his short life earned the distinction of being one of the most famous poets of Punjab and yet on his 45th death anniversary this year, he was virtually neglected by the Punjab government and dignitaries.
Very little is known about the Composer K Pannalal. I picked this up from the You Tube:
“Pannalal Kathak….later called K Pannalal was one of the early composers and singers of AIR who excelled in classical mould……. It was an era when film composers Ravi, Roshan, OP Nayyar, Dan Singh were employees of All India Radio ….. Most in the new generation might not even know that it was AIR that moulded artists who later became big names in the Hindi film industry….. K Pannalal, though passed away long back in 1975, has left behind his traditions to his family….. and notable amongst them is his son-in-law, the acknowledged Ghazal singer, Chandan Das….. A treat to watch this along with other radio singers like Trilok Kapoor, Pushpa Hans, Mahinder Pal, Pramilla Das seen in the brief excerpts ….. Enjoy this rare Doordarshan recording.”
Lets look at the lyrics of the song and their translation:
Ni ek meri akh kashni
Ni ek meri akh kashni
Dooja raat deyo neend re ne maariya
Ni sheeshe ‘ch tarerr pai gai (x2)
Vaal vandi ne deyaan jadon mareya
Vaal vandi ne deyaan jadon mareya
Ni ik meri akh kashni
Ik meri sass ni buri
Bherri roi de kikkar to kali
Haaye bherri roi de kikkar to kali
Ni aandhe jaandhe taane maar di
Ni aandhe jaandhe taane maar di
Ni mein usdha kuch vi vigaadhiya
Ni ik meri akh kaashni
Ni ik meri akh kaashni
Ik meri nandh buri bherri ser karanh nu jaave
Ik meri nandh buri bherri ser karanh nu jaave
Ni dooroh toh oh ainjh lagdhi
Haaye ni dooroh toh oh ainjh lagdhi
Jeeve majni matakdhi aave
Ni ik meri akh kashni
Ik mera kanth ni jeeve
Ik mera kanth ni jeeve
Raat chandhani teh doodh da katora
Ni eko gal maadhi usdhi
Haaye ni eko gal maadhi usdhi
Layi lagni oh maa ne vigaadhiya
Ni ik meri akh kashni
Ni ik meri akh kashni
Dooja raat deyo neend re ne maariya
Ni sheeshe ‘ch tarerr pai gai
Haaye sheeshe ‘ch tarerr pai gai
Translation:
My eyes are hazel of all things
I didn’t sleep for two nights in a row
The mirror broke
I saw it while combing my hair (х2)
My eyes are hazel of all things
First of all my mother-in-law is severe,
Her complexion is darker than a desert tree
Each word from her mouth is against my brother
And she continuously runs down my parents
I don’t know why she is doing that
I didn’t ruin her cardamom garden anyway
My eyes are hazel of all things
I didn’t sleep for two nights in a row
My eyes are hazel of all things
Secondly my younger brother-in-law
Is fond of fair women
He tries to sit close to me,
On the closest chair or whatever
His flirting is hard on me
I have not dropped my veil till this day
My eyes are hazel of all things
I didn’t sleep for two nights in a row
The mirror broke
I saw it while combing my hair
My eyes are hazel of all things
Thirdly my beloved husband
Is like a bowl of milk on the night of full moon
His eyes have little lines of vermilion colour
There is only one bad thing about him
He believes without proof
And is spoiled by his mother
My eyes are hazel of all things
I didn’t sleep for two nights in a row
The mirror broke
I saw it while combing my hair (X2)
Please enjoy: Ik meri akh kashni duja raat de uneendre ne mareya…..
Yes, the composition and music by K Pannalal suddenly transport you to rustic Punjab. However, I think the song belongs in equal measure to the singer Surinder Kaur and the poet Shiv Kumar Batalvi for bringing out the flavour of Punjab so well.
However, the route from Manali to Kaza is often closed due to snow, whereas the Kandaghat to Kaza route is open during most parts of the year. I had one more reason, which is that I had been from the Manali route up to Rohtang Pass in the year 2016 and hence it was for me not so attractive as going via Rampur, Sangla, Nako and Tabo as given on the Google map above.
The second question is: Why Kaza? Once again, the answer is simple: Kaza, situated at an altitude of about 12000 feet and the route leading up to it are some of the most beautiful places that I have come across; and, I am a retired navy officer who had the privilege of seeing many picturesque places in India and abroad.
The third question is: Why am I writing about it now? Everything about me is simple: the reason is that last year, less than a month and a half of my actually visiting these places, I lost my mother and couldn’t complete my travelogue. Today, happens to be exactly one year after the journey and hence you can take this journey with me as if it is the year 2017.
And the fourth question is: What about the route planning? Well, if you are undertaking this journey with me, you can possibly follow the same planning:
Day #1 (20th June 2017): Kandaghat to Rampur (157 kms). Night halt at Rampur.
Day #2 (21st June) Rampur to Sangla, Chirkoot (120 Kms), and then to Kalpa (Kinnaur) (63 Kms). Night halt at Powari and spend one day at Reckong Peo (Day #3, 22nd June)
Day #4 (23rd June) Powari to Pooh (77 Kms). Night halt at Pooh.
Day #5 (24th June) Pooh to Kaza via Nako and Tabo (136 Kms). Night halt at Kaza and spend one day at Kaza (Day #6, 25th June).
Day #6 (26th June) Kaza to Pooh (136 Kms). Night halt at Pooh.
Day #7 (27th June) Pooh to Powari (77 Kms). Night halt at Powari (Kalpa)
Day #8 (28th June) Powari to Rampur (87 Kms). Night halt at Rampur and spend one day to visit the Rampur Dam (Day #9. 29th June).
Day #10 (30th June) Rampur to Kandaghat (157 Kms).
My planning went awry only once in that my car (Maruti Alto) developed defect. I had to spend a day extra at Pooh whilst emergency repairs to the car were attended to. However, I made up for it by not spending an extra day at Rampur on the return trip and made it back to Kandaghat on the 10th day.
Being from the armed forces, I stayed with the Army. However, as I go along I can suggest alternate places to stay.
And now for the last two questions: What kind of a vehicle would you require? And, what about communications? I thought of doing it by a Maruti Alto but I soon discovered that isn’t the right vehicle. You would require a vehicle with high floor clearance since the roads are bad and you have to be careful about your undercarriage accidentally touching the bumpy roads.
As far as communications are concerned, no mobile phones work beyond Pooh except BSNL ones. It may be, therefore, a good idea to have a BSNL phone for the journey. For additional support system, it may be a good idea to travel in a group of two to three vehicles. My wife and I were alone and fortunately nothing went wrong. However, in case we required help, we had no communications.
Alright, with this, ladies and gentlemen, lets begin our journey.
The first part of the journey is just 32 Kms from Kandaghat to Shimla and hence there is nothing much to write about. The state of the road is good. Indeed, the road is good all the way to Rampur.
It is a distance of 130 Kms passing through Kufri, Theog, Narkanda, and Kotgarh. We stopped near Kufri to have tea at a road-side stall and had our first view of Yaks. The road is at about the same level all the way from Kufri to Narkanda; Kufri is at about 2630 metres and Narkada at 2760 m. Yaks and tea stalls are to be seen up to Theog, a distance of about 15 Kms and tourists enjoy taking pictures with them as also in pahadi dresses. There was light drizzle, slight fog and freshness in the air. If you have seen my planning, you would have noticed adequate time given by me along the way for stopping and taking pictures. My wife and I are in our sixties now and we love our journeys as much as we love to reach destinations.
From Theog, you pass through Parhain, Kadog, Matiana, and Shillaru on NH5. The valley is on the right hand side. Because of the slight drizzle, the visibility was excellent and we could see far distances. Large nylon nets are used to protect the fruit from hail and birds. Have a look at some of the pictures along the way:
My father was the Joint Director of Horticulture in Himachal and on the day he was killed in a jeep accident just 9 kms from home in Kandaghat, he was being promoted to be Additional Director of Horticulture. He used to visit all the orchard farmers everywhere and would have done this route all the way to Kinnaur and Kaza a number of times. many of the orchadists would make their own wines and ciders. Nearly fifty percent of all fruit cultivation in Himachal is apples and the yield is about 8 Lakh tonnes, making it 85 percent of all fruit yield and second only to Jammu and Kashmir.
Himachal is also known as Dev Bhoomi (Land of gods) and one can see temples everywhere, even whilst driving. Many a times, these announce approaching town:
From Narkanda to Rampur Bushehr it is downhill since the latter is only about 1000 m or so. Because of this, at places, the road is slightly bad; during rains the rainwater would take with us mud, gravel and even heavy stones and these would be on the road at places.
There are thick cedar forests with no forests until one starts seeing apple orchards at distant hills:
On the way back, we stopped at some of these places to buy fruits and could get both stone fruits (Plums, Apricots and Peaches) but also early variety of apples. Some of the views from there are breathtaking especially as you start seeing the Sutlej river good 30 Kms before reaching Rampur:
As we came down to the river level, the views of the Sutlej, as given in the pictures above, were very alluring. For those of you who’d like to see this in video as we gradually came down, here it is:
After having left Kandaghat at about 7 AM and stopping everywhere to see and click pics, we still reached Rampur Bushehr by lunch time.
We stopped at a wayside restaurant to have lunch before entering Rampur so that we won’t have parking problems in the city.
Rampur Bushahr is famous for the annual mela that is held here. Bushahr was exploited by the British when they ruled India due to its geographical advantages: Spiti in the North, Tibet in the East, Garhwal in the South and apple orchard towns to the West. It is just 10 Kms short of Jhakri, the site of Naptha – Jhakri hydroelectric project, the biggest in India.
On our return passage we visited the dam and the underground power station and we were impressed by its scale and efficiency. We were not permitted to take pictures of the power station but we could take pictures outside, especially from a view-point provided along the highway. Here are some of them:
Of course, the water of the river that you see here is not the one used for running the turbines. For that the water is tapped many many kilometers up and supplied through tunnels. After running the turbines, the water is released back into the river.
Before we finish the first part of the journey from Kandaghat to Kaza, lets take up some of the pictures of the town including a pic of the temple next to the town-hall:
If you are with me so far, tomorrow, 21st June, we would undertake the most treacherous journey along the way, that to Karcham, Sangla valley and Chitkul. It is treacherous because of the roads and sheer fall to death in case you make a small mistake.
Whilst the road from Kandaghat to Rmapur and Jhakri is a broad two lane road, now onwards we shall go on roads that don’t look like roads at all and obliterate any distinction between roads and nallahs.
Word of caution, though; I saw maximum accidents along the road leading from Kandaghat to Rampur than beyond. That’s because good roads promote reckless driving. With that sobering thought, stay tuned for tomorrow’s journey:
Akbar da shehzada kehlaanda si Jehangir,
Sikhan naal karda si nafrat, maadha si usda zameer.
Main nahin manada Ik OmKar nu” usne keha,
“Phad ke lai aao Arjun Dev nu, pairan ch paao zanjeer.”
“Mere shehzade Khusro nu wi isne keeta hai khraab,
Waheguru di oh kadr karda hai, nahin peenda hai shraab.
Usdiyan wi main akhan noch lawanga jehdiyan Guru nu wekhan,
Mera hi khoon meri gaddi de baithan de dekhda hai khwaab.”
Ik aakhri mauka dinde haan, Jehangir ne keeta ailaan,
Guru nu kaho Waheguru nu bhul ke Allah da rakhe maan.
Guru ji ne keha, duniya fateh karan da tera shauk hai,
Par kade na bhulin Jehangir tu wi Waheguru di hai santaan.
Eh sun ke Jehangir nu rajj ke gussa aayiya,
Tatte tawe te usne Guru Arjun Dev ji nu bithayiya,
Je eh zulm kuchh ghat si, pher us zaalim ne,
Jaladi ret nu Guru Sahib de shareer te paayiya.
Panj din panjavin paatshahi te barasti rehi dehshat,
Ik minute wi julman tonh Jehangir ne na layi fursat,
Rabb de oh bande si, Rabb da hi noor san,
Nadi ch jadd nalhaan gaye Guru sahib ho gaye rukhsat.
Guru ji Rabb da noor si, aje wi ohi noor hai,
Jehangir da usdo baad kithe koi garoor hai,
Us hi Lahore ch jithe Guru Sahib hoye si shaheed,
Gurudwara Dehra Sahib aje wi mashhoor hai.
Kade nahin bhul sakde Guru ji de tyaag te kurbaniyan,
Sunehre itihaas ch rehan giyan Guru Arjan Dev diyan kahaniya,
Sikh oh hai jehda Guru ji de dikhaye raste te chale,
Baaki chahe Sikh hon diyan hore wi hon nishaniyan.
Akbar’s prince was known as Jehangir,
He had hatred for Sikhs, his heart and mind were corrupted,
“I don’t agree with Ek Omkar”, he said,
Capture Arjan Dev and bring him to me with chained feet.”
“My prince Khusro too is spoiled under his influence,
(He too) respects Waheguru, he doesn’t drink,
I will gouge his eyes too that look for this Guru,
My own blood dreams of overthrowing me to become the king.”
“I’ll give him (Guru) one last chance, Jehangir proclaimed,
“Tell the Guru to forget Waheguru and respect only Allah.”
Guru ji told him, “To conquer the world appears to be your desire,
But, never forget Jehangir that you too are a child of Waheguru.”
Upon hearing this Jehangir became very angry,
He ordered Guru Arjan Dev ji to be seated on hot plate;
If this torture wasn’t enough, then this tyrant,
Poured burning sand on Guru Sahib’s (bare) body.
This type of terror was unleashed on our Fifth Guru for five consecutive days,
Not even for a minute Jehangir took a break from this torture. na layi fursat,
(Guru ji) was a man of God, indeed he was the Likeness of God,
(At the end of the torture) when he was taken to Ravi river for bath, he departed (to be with God).
Guru ji was the Light of God, even now that Light prevails,
However, where is Jehangir’s arrogance after he has gone?
In the same Lahore, where Guru Sahib was martyred,
Gurudwara Dehra Sahib is situated even now.
Never can we forget Guru ji’s sacrifices,
In golden letters of History would remain the saga of Guru Arjan Dev,
Sikh is the one who treads the way of the Guru,
Even though there are many other symbols of becoming a Sikh.
I loved 
Varma Malik,
Hansraj Behl
Today’s song is from the 
Of all the lyricists that I know of, 
Now, about music director 
Raag Bhairavi
Shiv Kumar Batalvi
During my childhood and boyhood, I have listened to Punjabi songs on the radio, in movies that I went to with my parents, and during weddings and other parties. Ladies used to sing some of these songs (that I would give you) sitting around a dholaki with a lady playing the dholaki and another (sitting in front) rhythmically beating a metal spoon on the wooden body of the dholaki. Others would be dancing keekli or gidda.
It is a distance of 130 Kms passing through Kufri, Theog, Narkanda, and Kotgarh. We stopped near Kufri to have tea at a road-side stall and had our first view of Yaks. The road is at about the same level all the way from Kufri to Narkanda; Kufri is at about 2630 metres and 
Narkada at 2760 m. Yaks and tea stalls are to be seen up to Theog, a distance of about 15 Kms and tourists enjoy taking pictures with them as also in pahadi dresses. There was light drizzle, slight fog and freshness in the air. If you have seen my planning, you would have noticed adequate time given by me along the way for stopping and taking pictures. My wife and I are in our sixties now and we love our journeys as much as we love to reach destinations.
