God has made each one of us unique,
He doesn’t expect us to imitate another;
One may be strong another weak,
Even if born of the same mother.
How comfortable with yourself you are,
May be, of your happiness, a measure;
You are not a god in another avatar,
Your personality is your best treasure.
I have seen many an awkward man,
Trying to copy someone’s being and style;
Moving along, oblivious of God’s plan,
Impressing people with deceit and guile.
Be yourself and never lose your pride,
In what God has intended you to be;
Your outlook should be what you’re inside,
Or in the looking-glass what you can see.
Step by step through these morning odes,
We are coming closer to being good and ideal;
Rather than being forever on crossroads,
I am helping us all to be on an even keel.
May today you discover who you are,
And like the person you have found;
Look at yourself, the most shining star,
Be happy with having that person around.
Humour is an important attribute in life,
Those who have it are really blessed,
They make light of their troubles and strife,
The others are, indeed, always stressed.
Humour goads us to take things in stride,
And look at the lighter side of most things;
Humorous people don’t easily hurt their pride,
Their problems appear to be having wings.
When you come across a truly humorous person,
You’d find him, with others, totally at home;
He doesn’t allow relationships to worsen,
He doesn’t suffer from insecurity syndrome.
Humour helps you to be happy all the time,
Rather than sometimes on rare occasions;
It helps you not to make mind work overtime,
Or allow it to be defeated by serious situations.
If you wish to retain your balance and cool,
Don’t always take yourself so seriously;
And lo, your problems become minuscule,
And many of them vanish mysteriously.
Let me wish you a humorous day today,
With ability to look at the lighter side;
May you never exhibit feelings of dismay,
If things sometimes show their downside.
Life’s lessons are simple indeed,
Just keep your eyes and ears glued;
There is no way a person can misread,
A person who is wise and shrewd.
Life is a stage with no rehearsals,
You don’t really get a second chance;
There are very few hints of reversals,
You have to take in all at first glance.
And yet there is no need to panic,
There is enough time to learn and move;
Yes, it all appears completely organic,
But, one can pause, learn and improve.
Many lessons carry an expiry date,
You can’t use them whenever you feel;
Sometimes you have to use them straight,
Rather than many days after the deal.
My experience that I share with you,
Is that Life teaches about its teachings too;
At every stage one can learn something new,
About how, after an event, to follow through.
May you go through all of life’s class,
As its brightest, best and ideal student;
May in every situation you actually surpass,
In ways that are pragmatic and prudent.
Languages evolved to help us communicate,
However, these created among people barriers;
With Music and Love no one has to frustrate,
All you require are hearts as their carriers.
Languages are pen to paper, mouth to ears,
Music and Love travel from heart to heart;
These simply transcend all kinds of frontiers,
It doesn’t matter if the recipients are far apart.
What is true of Music is also true of Love,
For me, both can be easily interchanged;
Both seem to be transported by a white dove,
Nobody ever needs to remain estranged.
This Sunday allow one of the two to enter your heart,
And you will find the other entering on its own;
It is as if one is of the other an essential counterpart,
Or better still, if one is of the other a clone.
Both can lift you from a mood of melancholy,
Both can make you feel wanted and content;
Love can catapult you to being happy and jolly,
Music can make any part of the day well spent.
Both are also languages of your inner self,
The two media to converse with your soul;
You can put rancour and hatred on the shelf,
And make life and peace regain control.
This song is from the 1959 Ravindra Dave movie Satta Bazaar (Stock Market). The movie starred Balraj Sahni, Meena Kumari, Suresh and Vijaya Choudhury. Khwaja Ahmad Abbas was the writer of the movie and dialogues were by SM Abbas.
(Poster courtesy: www.bollywoodmovieposters.com)
Lets have a look at the story of the movie since songs often carry forward the story:
Widower Ramesh (Balraj Sahni) lives a comfortable lifestyle with his daughter, Kala (Vijaya Choudhury). He re-marries so that Kala can get the love and caring of a mother. He re-marries Jamuna (Meena Kumari). But Kala hates Jamuna and will not even call her “Maa”. Jamuna continues to love Kala as her own despite of giving birth to a baby boy.
Years pass by. Kala grows up and falls in love with Ramesh’s business partner, Bholanath’s son Shyam (Suresh).
Shyam and Kala are of a different caste. Ramesh disapproves, but Jamuna convinces him otherwise. The couple gets formerly engaged. After the engagement, Ramesh gets to meet multi-millionaire Badriprasad (Ramayan Tiwari), who has accumulated wealth through the stock exchange. Ramesh takes a interest and invests heavily, he does win some money, but his luck soon changes when he loses everything. He is on the verge of bankruptcy, and the only man who can save him now is Badriprasad on one condition – that Kala must marry his son, Pritam (Krishna Kant).
And now you know how this song came about. You also know the importance of the name of the movie.
The song was penned by Gulshan Bawra. He was born as Gulshan Kumar Mehta on 12 Apr 1937 in Sheikhupura (30 kms from Lahore), Punjab (now in Pakistan). During the Partition riots he witnessed the killing of his father and his father’s cousin. His elder sister then brought him up.
Gulshan applied for a vacancy in Indian Railways in Kota, Rajasthan but when he got there, the vacancy had been filled. He, then, started working as a clerk in Bombay. All throughout he wanted a break in Hindi movies. Kalyanji Veerji Shah, then on his own (and not as Music duo Kalyanji Anandji) gave him his first break in Chandrasena (1959) in the song “Main kya jaanu kahan laage yeh saawan matwala re”, sung by Lata Mangeshkar.
Later, he also emerged as an actor with the 1966 movie Vishwas.
Satta Bazaar was the first movie of the music duo Kalyanji Anandji. Tumhen yaad hoga and Chandi ke chand tukadon ke liye made him a good name as a lyricist. It was during the making of this film that the film’s distributor Shantibhai Patel christened him Bawra (Madman).
He has won two Filmfare Awards as Best Lyricist: In 1968 for Mere desh ki dharti in the movie Upkaar and in 1974 for Yaari hai imaan mera in the movie Zanjeer.
Some of his popular songs are: Aap se hamako bichhade huye, Chandi ki deewar na todi, Le chal mere jeevan saathi (Vishwas, 1969), Aati rahengi bahaaren, Mile jo kadi kadi ek zanjeer bane, Qasme vaade nibhayenge ham (Kasme Vaade, 1978), Banake kyun bigaada re (Adaalat, 1976), Chand ko kya maalum chahta hai use koi chakor (Lal Bangla, 1966), Deewane hain deewano ko na ghar chahiye, Yaari hai imaan mera (Zanjeer, 1973), Ek main aur ek tu, Hamane tumako dekha tumane hamako dekha, Khullam khulla pyar karenge, Sapna mera toot gaya (Khel Khel Mein, 1975), Hamane jo dekhe sapne (Parivaar, 1967), Hamen aur jeene ki chahat na hoti (Agar Tum Na Hote, 1983), Kitane bhi tu kar le sitam (Sanam Teri Kasam, 1982), Mujhe kehate hain Kallu Kawaal (Dulhan Dulhan, 1964), Peene waalon ko peene ka bahana chahiye (Haath Ki Safai, 1974), Pyar hamen kis mod pe le aaya (Satte Pe Satta, 1981), and Ye mausam rangeen sama (Modern Girl, 1961).
Gulshan Bawra’s most popular song for the 1967 Manoj Kumar movie Upkaar: Mere desh ki dharti.
Kalyanji Anandji, the music duo who composed this song, came together as a music duo for the first time for this movie Satta Bazaar. This song sung by Hemant Kumar and Lata Mangeshkar made the Gujarat duo famous. It is so appropriate that a song sung by Hemant Kumar paved their way to success since Kalyanji (then solo) started his career as an assistant to Hemant Kumar as Music Director for the 1954 movie Nagin. He was so good with this new instrument called clavioline which was used to produce the sound of Nagin’s been that even if you forget any of the Nagin songs, you can’t forget the been.
Kalyanji Veerji Shah, then, with his brother Anandji Veerji Shah, started an orchestral group called Kalyanji Virji and Party which organised musical shows in Mumbai and outside. This was the first attempt made for holding live musical shows in India.
The high-points of their career were their first and only Filmfare Award for the 1974 movie Kora Kagaz, a National Award for the 1968 movie Sraswatichandra and India’s fourth highest civilian honour Padma Shri in the year 1992.
Some of their popular songs are: Aankhon aankhon mein hum tum, Ye duniya waale poochhenge (Mahal, 1969), Aap se hamko bichhade huye, Chandi ki deewar na todi, Le chal mere jeevan saathi (Vishwas, 1969), Akele hain chale aao (Raaz, 1967), Are deewano mujhe pehchano, Khaike paan Banaraswala (Don, 1978), Aur is dil mein kya rakha hai (Imaandaar, 1987), Are rafta rafta dekho (Kahani Kismat Ki, 1973), Badi door se aaye hain (Samjhauta, 1973), Bekhudi mein sanam, Chale the saath milkar (Haseena Maan Jayegi, 1968), Bure bhi hum bhale bhi hum (Banarasi Babu, 1973), Chand aahen bharega (Phool Bane Angaray, 1973), Chandan sa badan, Main to bhool chali babul ka desh, Phool tumhen bheja hai khat mein (Saraswatichandra, 1968), Chhalia mera naam, Dam dam diga diga, Mere toote huye dil se, Teri raahon mein khade hain (Chhalia, 1960), Chhuk chhuk (Rafoo Chakkar, 1975), Chhoti si umar mein lag gaya rog (Bairag, 1976), Chupke se dil de de (Maryada, 1971), and Darpan ko dekha (Upasna, 1971).
Some more are: Dil beqraar sa hai (Ishaara, 1964), Dil ko dekho chehra na dekho, Meri pyari behaniya (Sacha Jhutha, 1970), Dil lootnewale jadugar (Madari, 1959), Dil to dil hai (Kab Kyon Aur Kahan, 1970), Do bechare bina sahare (Victoria No. 203, 1972), Bharat ka rehnewala hoon, Dulhan chali, Koi jab tumhara hriday chhod de (Purab Aur Pachhim, 1970), Ek tara bole (Yaadgaar, 1970), Ek tara bole (Yaadgaar, 1970), Ek tha gul, Na na karte pyar tumhi se, Pardesiyon se na akhiyan milana, Ye sama sama hai ye pyar ka (Jab Jab Phool Khile, 1965), Ek tu na mila, Kankariya maar ke jagaya, Main to ek khwab hoon (Himalaya Ki God Mein, 1965), Ganga maiya mein hab tak, Khush raho har khushi hai tumhaare liye (Suhaag Raat, 1968), and Govinda aala re aala (Bluff Master, 1963).
Kalyanji Anandji’s songs in Jab Jab Phool Khile were and are very popular. Pardesiyon se na akhiyan milana was one of them.
Still some more are: Hum bolega to bologe ki (Kasauti, 1974), Hum chhod chale hain mehfil ko (Ji Chahta Hai, 1964), Hamare siva tumhaare aur kitane (Apradh. 1972), Ham the jinake sahare, Jeevan se bhari teri aankhen, Zindagi ka safar, Jo tumako ho pasand wohi baat karenge (Safar, 1970), Humsafar mere humsafar (Purnima, 1965), Hamne tujhako pyar kiya hai jitana, Jo pyar tune mujhako diya tha, Mujhe kehte hain kallu qawaal (Dulha Dulhan, 1964), Husn ke laakhon rang, Nafrat karne waalon ke, Pal bhar ke liye koi, O mere Raja (Johnny Mera Naam, 1970), Jiske sapne hamen roz aate rahe, Mere mitwa mere meet re (Geet, 1971), Jis dil mein basa tha pyar tera (Saheli, 1965), Zubaan pe dard bhari dastaan (Maryada, 1971), Kabhi raat din hum door the (Aamne Saamne, 1978), Kisi raah mein kisi mod par (Mere Hamsafar, 1970), Kya khoob kagti ho, Tere chehre mein woh jadu hai (Dharamatma, 1975) and Laila O’ Laila (Qurbani, 1980).
And yet more are:Main pyasa tum sawan (Faraar, 1975), Mere desh ki dharti, Qasme waade pyar wafa (Upkar, 1967), Mera jeevan kora Kagaz (Kora Kagaz, 1973), Mujhako is raat ki tanhai mein (Dil Bhi Tera Ham Bhi Tere, 1960), O saathi re tere bina bhi kya jeena, Salaam e ishq meri jaan (Muqaddar Ka Sikandar, 1978), Pal pal dil ke paas (Blackmail, 1973), Peene waalon ko peene ka bahana, Vaada karle saajna (Haath Ki Safai, 1974), Peete peete kabhi kabhi (Bairag, 1976), Samjhauta ghamon se karlo (Samjhauta, 1973), Sama hai suhana suhana (Ghar Ghar Ki Kahani, 1970), Sukh ke sab saathi (Gopi, 1970)
And finally: Tere honthon ke do phool (Paras, 1971), Waqt karta jo wafa (Dil Ne Pukara, 1967), Yaari hai imaan mera (Zanjeer, 1973), Zuban pe dard bhari dastaan (Maryada, 1971).
As far as the singers Hemant Kumar and Lata Mangeshkar singing together are concerned, they have given us some really memorable songs. Some of these are:Aa neele gagan tale pyar ham karen, Dekho wo chand chhupke, Nain se nain nahin milao, Yaad kiya dil ne kahan ho tum, Chhupa lo dil mein youn pyar mera, Chandan ka palna, O neend na mujhako aaye, Na ye chand hoga, Na tum hamen jaano and Ye raat ye chandini phir kahan.
Yaad kiya dil ne kahan ho tum is one of the best Hemant Kumar and Lata Mangeshkar sang together.
Many of Hemant Kumar duets with Lata Mangeshkar have that touch of ruefulness about them that seem to be bordering on enigma. When you recall them, you not just recall the lyrics and the notes, you also recall the world these transported you into. The present duet has that quality about it.
Please enjoy: Tumhen yaad hoga kabhi ham mile the…..
हे: (तुम्हें याद होगा कभी हम मिले थे ) -२
मुहब्बत की राहों में मिल के चले थे
ल: भूला दो मुहब्बत में हम तुम मिले थे
सपना ही समझो के मिल के चले थे …
हे: (डूबा हूँ ग़म की गहराइयों मे ं
सहरा हैं यादों का तनहाइयों में ) -२
सहरा हैं यादों का तनहाइयों में …
ल: (कहीं और दिल की दुनिया बसा लो
क़सम है तुम्हें वो क़सम तोड़ डालो) -२
क़सम है तुम्हें वो क़सम तोड़ डालो …
हे: (नई दिल की दुनिया बसा न सकूँगा
जो भूले हो तुम वो भुला न सकूँगा) -२
जो भूले हो तुम वो भुला न सकूँगा …
ल: (अगर ज़िंदगी हो अपनी ही बस में
तुम्हारी क़सम हम न भूलें वो क़समें) -२
तुम्हारी क़सम हम न भूलें वो क़समें …
Love is never a reasoned emotion. Hence, you never walk into love, you fall in love. It is overpowering, overwhelming and a feeling beyond control. And, most often than not, the course that this flood of emotions takes is also not under the lovers’ control. People around them and circumstances bring in variables that the lovers would have never imagined.
In this case, the fly in the ointment of the lovers is Sata Bazaar (Stock Market) that wreaks havocs in their lives because of the lure of good money that Balraj Sahni, her father, falls for. Suddenly, they find themselves estranged. At one moment, for the lovers, the world appeared thew most wonderful place to be in. The next moment their world is as if it went through an earhtquake, as if they were marooned by a strong typhoon.
Indeed, in the last stanza, Gulshan Bawra makes her say that she was the victim of circumstances beyond her control:
अगर ज़िंदगी हो अपनी ही बस में
तुम्हारी क़सम हम न भूलें वो क़समें I
This and other thoughts in the lyrics hit you with great force. It can happen with anyone. The villain of the piece here is Satta Bazaar. However, it could be anything beyond the control of the lovers.
Great songs are those wherein you not only recall the lyrics but all the notes including the interludes. This song is one of them. It tugs at my emotions persistently.
If you think dreams are something for fools,
Let me tell you the whole world is a dream;
No they don’t teach this fact in the schools,
God’s creation is like bubbles in a water stream.
To begin with, He has given us a clean slate,
Leaving us to draw what pleases us most;
Some just give up and leave it to their fate,
Others, to their dreams and life, raise a toast.
It is, therefore, not wrong for us to dream,
Many have made their dreams come true;
We’ve to, with plan and work, make it seem,
That it would really be easy to pull it through.
It is not right to assume it’s all been writ,
And nothing of your life you can alter;
Great people can their destiny outwit,
They make amends even when they falter.
How big your dream should be you may ask,
It depends upon how big you want to be;
You can, with grit, succeed to slowly unmask,
What none of your contemporaries can see.
Let me wish you great dreams in your lifetime,
May you follow them with plans of action;
May rungs of ladder you continue to climb,
Until you have reached your level of satisfaction.
Wise people have modesty to admit something,
That others are ignorant and yet boastful about;
There doesn’t have to be reason for everything,
That all things don’t have to be held in doubt.
There are days when you are sad without reason,
On others you don’t know why you are so cheery;
There are days when things grow out of season,
There are others when things tend to be dreary.
Therefore, all that you always need to remember,
Is that both good and bad times don’t last;
Sweaty June can give way to a cold December,
Sunny skies can replace skies that were overcast.
It teaches us to be humble when times are good,
As also to be hopeful when times are indeed bad;
When things don’t turn out as we thought they would,
There is no reason for us, at situations, to get mad.
A happy and content person has the humility,
To know the limits of the powers of his mind;
He doesn’t ever let it affect his inner tranquility,
If for things around him reasons he can’t find.
Let me wish you a happy and cheerful day,
For no apparent reason that you can surmise;
In running our lives let God have His way,
The bad luck He gives may be blessing in disguise.
Love can go hand in hand with anything,
Except for something that is called Ego;
In love you can’t have your own thing.
Love is for two and not for you to go solo.
So, if you love someone truly and really,
You can’t just let ego come in the way;
Love is doing things honestly and sincerely,
Ego can ruin your and your loved one’s day.
Today, lets give Love a chance it deserves,
And show Ego its place on the back burner;
The latter can only get on everyone’s nerves,
Whereas Love, amazingly, can be a love earner.
Let you friends and family know you love them,
Don’t let them find out after you’re gone;
What’s the point of their realising you’re a gem,
After, from life, you have finally withdrawn?
Love makes you and your loved one strong,
It doesn’t stoop to forever finding faults;
In love, even if you are sometimes wrong,
You and your loved one can still dance the Waltz.
I wish you a day filled with kindness and love,
With those who make your life complete;
And if sometimes push comes to shove,
Your loved ones won’t let you admit defeat.
However much money, in life, one may make,
Many rungs of social ladder one may climb;
But, it would still be one’s biggest mistake,
If one thinks one can buy a moment of time.
Time is, therefore, the the most precious gift,
That you can ever give those dear to you;
All people require that encouraging uplift,
That those spending time with them can do.
However much cheerful people may appear,
Loneliness and sadness can assail anyone;
Spending time with them is, hence, sincere,
In dreary life it can act like a ray of the sun.
Ask anyone which of your gifts they liked best,
They will tell you it is the time that you spared;
Even when you were, for time, hard pressed,
With your near and dear ones you kindly shared.
If today, you are thinking of a valuable present,
That you may on friends and relations bestow;
Only spend time with them and just be pleasant,
They mean the world to you, let them know.
Soon you’d find they would return the favour,
When you find yourself lonely, sad and down;
Kindness, well, it has its own wonderful flavour,
It replaces with sweet smiles the bitterest frown.
‘If wishes were horses’ says a nursery rhyme,
‘Beggars would ride’ it goes on to say;
I have seen how when we wish sometime,
It changes the complexion of the day.
Wishes are indeed, to God, small prayers,
And no prayers are ever totally wasted;
Through these are born new millionaires,
They know the pudding those who’ve tasted.
‘Ihaan, uhaan sach hove‘ says my holy book,
Meaning ‘this way or that it comes true’;
It is known that God would never overlook,
That which His children pray for and pursue.
Therefore, have faith in your wishes, friends,
Give Him time to bestow these on you;
The effect of your wishes totally depends,
Upon whether your asking heart is true.
My wish for you today, my friends, is this,
That you’d get proof of your wishes;
That God would lead you to total bliss,
That He’d make fly even horses and fishes.
May you develop, through wishes, enough trust,
That He listens directly to each one of us;
He is always kind, loving, fair and just;
He truly provides without making a fuss.
You had no choice how to begin your life,
But, you can choose how to begin your day;
You can detach from sadness and strife,
You can meet happiness half the way.
‘Tis true that God can dictate all events,
But He left you to control your emotions;
You have power over your heart’s contents,
You actually select your own notions.
With such powers as are given to you,
It would be sad if you select negativity;
Why’d you to yourself want to be untrue,
Why can’t you begin the day with positivity.
And lo, you can see the effect of your power,
Even your somber things start becoming bright;
The thorns they suddenly change into flower,
Your troubles are soon out of your sight.
Well begun, as they say, is half done,
You are assured of a day that brings cheers;
There is no one else under the sun,
Who can change into holes all your fears.
Arise, my friend, look around and see,
A happy day is beckoning you with love;
He has sent you tons of joys and glee,
He is always your friend, your God above.
So you are good but are you nice?
Do you try to be, with people, polite?
Does your goodness come with a price?
Are you, with them, too forthright?
With stress on ‘essentials‘ on the net,
Such courtesies are now things of the past;
No one says ‘please’ and ‘thank you’ and yet,
Everyone seems to be having a – well – ‘blast‘.
We seem to be forgetting the worth of a smile,
That comes from one to whom we say ‘please‘;
On the net it may not be considered worthwhile,
But it sure comes like a whiff of fresh breeze.
Today, lets pledge to be nice and sweet,
In addition to being right and good;
And to all, on the net or in person, we meet;
Lets exchange courtesies as we should.
In this ‘fast’ world, lets just slow down,
And bring cheers on someone’s face;
Lets replace smile where there was a frown;
Life is not all about winning a race.
I have written enough about sharing,
Now you know how to become wealthy;
It displays your attitude, that is, caring,
It is a hobby both enriching and healthy.
Today lets talk about maths of sharing,
It doesn’t follow arithmetic equations;
These two you just can’t be comparing,
There are many surprising abrasions.
For example, if you share joys they multiply,
And if you share sorrows they decrease;
If you share time it simply tends to fly,
If you share greed it tends to increase.
If you share light it lessens not in brightness,
If you share darkness it makes you blind;
A gentleman doesn’t lose his politeness,
Simply because others are of a closed mind.
The sharing equation depends on you,
You can make it the way you desire;
Your intention of sharing is the right clue,
Oil can light but also set things on fire.
My wish for you today is simply this,
That you’d make your own sharing rules;
That you’d realise something is amiss,
If your sharing is only attracting the fools.
Have a look at yourself, God’s finest creation,
There is something inside you much deeper;
It is always with you in constant conversation,
It is your Conscience, a personal record-keeper.
It forever guides you about Right or Wrong,
It makes you happy when it is kept clear:
When it is fuzzy it doesn’t take you long,
To realise you ought to be more sincere.
When accepted, it acts as your best guide,
Finding ways to protect you from harm;
Even when you sleep it is awake wide-eyed,
You don’t set it but it has its own alarm.
If you have cultivated it in the right manner,
It can often be your most reliable friend;
It can act automatically as your life’s planner,
It can, to you, periodic reminders, send.
We don’t realise but God gave each of us,
The most powerful tool given to mankind;
Yes, like a child, it can often make fuss,
But it can unravel the mysteries of the mind.
A clear conscience is what I pray for you,
Today, everyday, and in whatever you do;
This sentinel guards you and your soul too,
It is for you to keep it clear, friendly and true.
Train it like a watchdog to protect your assets,
From dangers that lurk both inside and out;
May it keep you safe from all such threats,
And show you a clear way when in doubt.
The song was penned by 
Kalyanji Anandji,
