I started this series on my Facebook group Yaad Kiya Dil Ne on 18 Aug 20. Since then, many other members have put up these songs. Here, I shall be giving you one of my own, per day.
This is the Song #19 in the series. I hope you liked Song #18 – Husn chala hai ishq se milne.
Song #19
Main rickshaw wala, main rickshaw wala
Theme-word: Raat din har ghadi ek sawaal
Mehmood and Shubha Khote
They made a very good pair together; comedy with a message. You already know about their Saanjh Aur Savera song Ajhun na aaye baalma sawan beeta jaaye in which Mehmood as her music teacher, so as to progress their love, teaches her this song in Raag Madhuwanti and – hold your breath – holds the sitar like a guitar!
Indeed, a number of movies come to mind about their pairing: Beti Bete, Love in Tokyo, Bharosa, Dil Ek Mandir, Hamrahi, Ziddi, Sasural, Tumse Achha Kaun Hai, and Pocket Maar.
Chhoti Behan – 1959 Movie
This movie was directed by Prasad and starred Nanda in the title role, supported by Balraj Sahni, Rehman, Mehmood and Shobha Khote. I already talked about their duet: Main rangeela pyar ka rahi.
This movie’s songs, as was the case with Saanjh Aur Savera, were composed by Shankar Jaikishan and written by Shailendra and Hasrat Jaipuri. This song was penned by Shailendra.
As you look at the lyrics, you will realise that I have chosen a song for you, supposedly by a comedian, but, a song with a message:
मैं रिक्शावाला मै रिक्शाला हैं चार के बराबर ये दो टाँग वाला कहाँ चलोगे बाबू कहाँ चलोगे लाला मैं रिक्शावाला ... दूर दूर दूर कोई मुझको बुलाए मुझको बुलाए क्या करूँ दिल उसे भूल न पाए भूल न पाए मैं रिशतें जोरूँ दिल के मुझे ही मंज़िल पे कोई न पहुँचाए कोई न पहुँचाए मैं रिक्शावाला ... थी कभी चाँद तक अपनी ऊड़ान अपनी ऊड़ान अब ये धूल ये सड़क अपना जहाँ अपना जहाँ जो कोई देखे चौँकें उपरवाला भी सोचे ये कैसा इनसान ये कैसा इनसान मैं रिक्शावाला ... रात दिन हर घड़ी एक सवाल एक सवाल रोटीयां कम हैं क्योँ क्योँ है आकाल क्योँ है आकाल क्योँ दुनिया मे कमी हैं ये चोरी किसने की है कहाँ है सारा माल कहाँ है सारा माल मैं रिक्शावाला ...
I must also admit to you that I saw the movie when I was only a boy and two of the songs that I recall are this and Bhaiya more rakhi ke bandhan ko nibhana.
My Own Poetry
Shailendra chose to send the message through a rickshaw-wala, I chose to send it through a barber:
Corruption Ki Baat Mat Karo Bhai
Corruption की बात मत करो भाई
मैं तो ठहरा सिर्फ तुम्हारा नाइ
आपके बाल काट के चला जायूँगा
और फिर अगले महीने ही आयूंगा
यह नेता पांच साल में एक बार आता है
आपकी जेब काट के चला जाता है
रिश्वत लेने के लिए नए तरीके सोचता है
अपने साथ साथ अपने वोट भी बेचता है
मैं तो उस्तरे से करता हूँ तुम्हारी shave
ये बगैर उस्तरे के बनता है तुम्हें slave
मैं आपके बड़े हुए नाखून हूँ काटता
ये आपकी रगों से खून है चाटता
मैं बाल काटने के बाद आइना हूँ तुम्हें दिखता
ये भरी रौशनी में तारे तुम्हें गिनाता
मैं तुमसे पैसे लेके तुम्हें हूँ कुर्सी पे बिठाता
ये तुम्हारे पैसे से खुद कुर्सी पे चढ़ जाता
आप कहते हो मेरी कैंची तेज़ चलती है
इतनी तो नहीं जितनी इसकी जुबां उलगती है
आलिशान बंगले में इसकी लम्बी कार है
और कहता है के , “जनता ही की सरकार है”
मैं करता हूँ तेल लगा के तुम्हारी मालिश
ये करता है देश की दौलत को polish
मैं तुम्हारे सफ़ेद बाल करता हूँ काले
इसने करोरों रुपये swiss bank में लगा डाले
मेरे पास जो कुछ है मेरी अपनी कमाई है
इसने देश की दौलत अपने नाम करवाई है
सो मुझ से corruption की बात मत करो भाई
मैं तो ठहरा सिर्फ तुम्हारा नाइ
Ladies and gentlemen, please enjoy Mohammad Rafi singing for Mehmood: Main rickshaw-wala, main rickshaw-wala…
I hope you liked my choice of Song #19 in Raat or Din series.
Please await Song #20 – Chand phir nikla.
I have already given you a Raat song penned by this great lyricist. This one is a Raat, Chanda song as well as a beautiful duet. Please appreciate the lyrics penned by him:
They made a very popular pair of Lyricist and Music Director. Their 1954 movie Nagin is their most talked about association; each song is still talked about as if it was yesterday.
As I have said any number of times, some of the finest duets in the Hindi movies were sung by them. This duet has the standard format: He sings one stanza, she sings the next one and then they sing one together. Dil ki nazar se is in this format but sung by Mukesh and Lata Mangeshkar.
It happened in this song and the movie Aadmi. Yesterday, on Chitragupta’s Birth Anniversary, I gave you a song in Beautiful Duet Series: Chand jaane kahan kho gaya. It was, I mentioned, for the 1962 A Bhimsingh movie Main Chup Rahungi. I had given you a list of movies directed by A Bhimsingh and mentioned that Aadmi of the year 1968 was one of them.
So fond he was of his guru Mohammad Rafi that one day, as related by Annu Kapoor on Mastii channel in a late night show, he was being felicitated on stage for his singing skills. He noticed the son of Mohammad Rafi, his guru, sitting in the audience. He called him on stage, touched his feet, garlanded him and said, “How can I be felicitated in a function that has the presence of the son of my guru?”
Everyone knows the legend of Sohni Mehiwal, a tragic romance of Punjab and I am not going to repeat it. On this night when Mahendra Kapoor sang this iconic song, she was to take the journey across the river on her clay pitcher that she used every night to meet Mehiwal, her lover. Sohni’s sister-in-law had already discovered the place where Sohni kept the pitcher and replaced it with a kuchcha one so that the love affair would be over once and for all. Sohni undertook the journey and drowned. Mehiwal saw her drowning and jumped into the river himself to save her. The river was in spate and he drowned too and united with her in death.
This particular incident is so popular in folk-lore that Shobha Singh of Andretta made his famous painting Sohni Mehiwal (now in Chandigarh Art Museuam). I have a copy of it in Whispering Winds, Kandaghat.
Shakeel Badayuni wrote about Love only (others were all part of Progressive Writers Movement and had Communist leanings) and he seems to have put in his best in this. His mentor Naushad has composed it so well. It was to be high pitch throughout and Naushad must have felt that Mahendra Kapoor’s voice was better suited for it. And indeed it was. Here are the lyrics:
Some of the Hindi movies’ best duets and other songs were composed by him. His songs always ensured the success of movies such as Kashmir Ki Kali and Phir Wohi Dil Laaya Hoon and Phagun.
So, lets take the case of Shahjehan who erected Taj Mahal for Mumtaz. In 1607 he was engaged to Anjuman Banu Begum who was later to become Mumtaz Mahal (Chosen one of the Palace). They were only 14 years old when they got engaged and waited five years to get married. So, during this wait Shahjehan married Khandari Begum and got his first daughter through her. Before Mumtaz died, Shajehan married another eight women. So, it was nowhere near single minded devotion depicted poetically.
The song is from the 1965 Kalidas movie Bheegi Raat (Imagine having the theme-word in the title itself), which was a remake of the Hollywood movie An Affair To Remember.
Majrooh was the reluctant lyricist (he never wanted to become one until Jigar Moradabadi coaxed him to). However, in his very first movie Shahenshah, in which AR Kardar and Naushad gave him a break, he came up with such memorable songs that the hero KL Saigal wanted one of these to be sung on his funeral (Jab dil hi toot gaya). No wonder that he became the first lyricist to be conferred with the highest award: Dadasaheb Phalke Award. He became a natural lyricist.
Here he is with RD Burman, the genius music director who gave us some memorable songs in various genre’s including Qawwali in Raag Kalawati in Hum Kisise Kam Nahin, serious songs in Aandhi, and pop songs that he mastered. This duet owes to him to come up with a tune that is still on everyone’s lips nearly five decades after the movie.
This was overwhelmingly voted as the Best Children’s Song in a poll in 2015. To imagine that the song occurred in the 1961 movie Gunga Jumna! Fifty four years later, it was still voted as the best! That says a lot about this song.
On one hand, Rajhath was all about Shams Lucknowi’s interesting story. On the other hand, in order to carry the story forward, Shankar Jaikishan composed some really memorable songs. The two songs that I mentioned are the best of the movie.
Here, Mukesh and Lata both have sung it well and have proved that they were great duet singers. Chand as a witness was a common theme for lovers and they confided in Chand whilst talking about their Love.
What is it about Shankar Jaikishan that doesn’t let a day go by when we don’t think of their remarkably beautiful music? The fact is that we can go on and on and still not do full justice to their mastery.
