Sunbyanyname

I started this series on my Facebook group Yaad Kiya Dil Ne on 23 Aug 20. Since then, many other members have put up these songs. Here, I shall be giving you one of my own, per day.

Last time, I gave you Beautiful Duet #34 – Usko nahin dekha hamne kabhi. So here, then, is the next one:

Song #35
Tu cheez badi hai mast mast

Happy Birthday Raveena Tandon – the “Mast Mast Girl” – 26 October

Divya Bharti was to do this role in 1994 Rajiv Rai movie Mohra. But then she died after just five working days on the movie. In stepped Raveena Tandon and the popularity of this song made her “mast mast girl” virtually overnight. No matter what she did after this song, she is still known by this sobriquet.

Why This Song Became the Most Popular Song of 1994?

Bada is a male fantasy. From the time we were small, we used to boast about ‘My father BIGGER’ and how one thing or the other that we have is actually bigger than others. One commercial ad that capitalised on it was Tata’s OK Soap Ad with the caption: “OK nahane ka bada sabun”. Some of you would recall that.

Anand Bakshi and Viju Shah

Whatever you say, Bada, Badi, Bade has fascination. Hence, in the 1994 Rajiv Rai movie Mohra (some spell it as Mohraa), when Anand Bakshi had to describe the beauty of the woman (in this case Raveena Tandon, the winner of National Films Award for Best Actress for her role in Kalpana Lajmi’s Daman), he didn’t go the Shakeel Badayuni or Sahir Ludhianvi way. He called her a Cheez that is Badi Mast Mast.

Anand Bakshi always had an ear for the changing times and this was the biggest hit song of that year. We simply couldn’t get enough of it!

One reason for the success of the song was not just Anand Bakshi (it is just that Lyrics for me are the Bada part of the songs!). It was music by Viju Shah, the son of Kalyan Virji Shah of Kalyanji Anandji fame. What did he do to compose the song? He took the popular genre of music in temples and especially gurudwaras called Kirtan and composed the song in that. Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan had done it for Dam mast qalandar mast mast.

Difference Between Bhajan and Kirtan

Now, many of you, generally understand what a Bhajan is and what Kirtan is. Let me elaborate. Bhajan genre of music came to us through the Bhakti movement and in Hindustani Music, it soon became one of the most popular form of music. It would be a delight to people like Atul Dhabe since as compared to raagas, though Bhajans too would be based on raagas (such as Man tadpat Hari darshan ko aaj is a Bhajan in Raag Malkauns), it has no rigid rules and has freer form.

Now what is the difference between Bhajan and Kirtan. Bhajan can be sing either individually or by the gathering. In a Kirtan, there is a lead voice and the chorus either repeats the lines after the lead singer or sings the alternate lines. One example is the Raag Ramkali in Sri Guru Granth Sahib, especially Mohalla Teeja or as composed by the third guru, Sri Amardas ji. You would have noticed the Kirtan format. The head raagi sings: Anand bhaya meri maaye Satguru main paaya and the congregation sings the next line: Satguru tanh paaya sehaj seti mann wadhiya wadhayiyan. And so on.
Viju Shah took this format to compose the Mohra song and achieved unprecedented success. The reason is not difficult to find; we all resonate with the notes of the Kirtan. Now a secret. Actually, not so much a secret. Which is this: How to make out a Sardar like me? Easy, watch him during Kirtan in a Gurudwara. He would be drumming the floor with his fingers. The Vedic tradition of Kirtan is in the blood of the Sikhs. Indeed, there is a sub-caste of Sikhs called Bedis. They got their name from singing the Vedas (Vedis). In Punjabi, V is pronounced as B and hence Bedis and not Vedis (similar to Guru Gobind Singh ji).

Udit Narayan and Kavita Krishnamurthy

Now what did Udit Narayan and Kavita Krishnamurthy do to the song? They would have been two of the most unlikeliest people for singing Kirtan. However, they did it so well that you feel like singing with them (that’s the effect of Kirtan and how the lead voice or voices of the Raagis inspire you to sing along).

It is my job as an Admin to bring to you different genres of music and to start the day I couldn’t think of anything more different than this.

My Own Poetry

Have a written something in this light-hearted genre’? Well, I guess so!
It is titled: HUSN WAALON KO NA DIL DENA

नींद में आती हो तो नींद हो जाती है दूर,
ख्वाब बन के उठते हैं और हो जाते हैं चूर.

आज तक भूला नहीं है तेरी नज़रों का सरूर,
मैं मदहोश अब भी हूँ, मेरा ही है यह जुनून ओ फितूर.

मुन्तजिर हूँ आज रात मेरे घर आना ज़रूर,
रोशनी के लिए काफी है तेरे चेहरे का नूर.

तेरे इश्क से पहले ना थे हम यूं मजबूर,
तेरे इश्क के बाद हुए हैं अब बेहद्द मश्हूर.

माना हमारा घुट घुट के मरना भी नहीं मन्जूर,
यहाँ हम सज्दे में हैं वहाँ तुम हो मग्रूर.

या खुदा समझ गए तेरी दुनिया का दस्तूर,
कत्ल वह करते गए, ये भी मेरा ही था कसूर.

The Song

Ladies and gentlemen,
Please enjoy Udit Narayan and Kavita Krishnamurthy sing a composition of Viju Shah on the lyrics of Anand Bakshi, in the 1994 Rajiv Rai movie Mohra: Tu cheez badi hai mast mast….

प नि स नि स म प …
तू चीज़ बड़ी है मस्त मस्त तू चीज़ बड़ी है मस्त (२)
(नहीं तुझको कोई होश होश – २ ) उसपर जोबन का जोश जोश
नहीं तेरा नहीं तेरा कोइ दोश दोश
मदहोश है तू हर वक्त वक्त
को: तू चीज़ बड़ी है मस्त मस्त तू चीज़ बड़ी है मस्त – २
आशिक़ है तेरा नाम नाम – २
दिल लेना देना काम काम
मेरी बाहें मेरी बाहें मत थाम थाम
बदनाम है तू मदमस्त मस्त
तू चीज़ बड़ी है मस्त मस्त तू चीज़ बड़ी है मस्त – २
नि स ग म …
बोल ज़रा तू जाने महबूबी मुझमे ऐसी क्या है खूबी – २
तू एक रेशम की डोर डोर तू एक रेशम की डोर डोर
तेरी चाल पे आशिक़ मोर मोर
तेरी ज़ुल्फ़ घनी तेरी ज़ुल्फ़ घनी चितचोर चोर
घनघोर घटा मद मस्त मस्त
तू चीज़ बड़ी है मस्त मस्त तू चीज़ बड़ी है मस्त – २
को: प नि स …
ये दिल तेरी आँखों में डूबा बन जा मेरी तू महबूबा – २
मत तीर नजर के मार मार – २
ये चोट लगेगी आर पार
आसान आसान समझ मत यार यार ये प्यार बड़ा है सख्त सख्त
तू चीज़ बड़ी है मस्त मस्त तू चीज़ बड़ी है मस्त – २
नहीं तुझको कोई होश होश उसपर जोबन का जोश जोश
नहीं तेरा नहीं तेरा कोई दोश दोश नहीं …
मदहोश है तू हर वक़्त वक़्त
तू चीज़ बड़ी है मस्त मस्त तू चीज़ बड़ी है मस्त – २
आशिक़ है तेरा नाम नाम
दिल लेना देना काम काम
मेरी बाहें मेरी मत थाम थाम
बदनाम है तू मदमस्त मस्त
तू चीज़ बड़ी है मस्त मस्त तू चीज़ बड़ी है मस्त – ४
(aalaap in the background )

I hope you liked my choice of Beautiful Duet #35.

Please await Beautiful Duet #36- Teri mehfil mein kismat.

RRR Songs (Songs of Regret, Repentance and Ruefulness)

I started this new series on 17 Jan 21 on my Facebook Group Yaad Kiya Dil Ne. My efforts failed to involve people in writing their own stuff about songs and music rather than copying and pasting from here and there or worse, just sharing url of songs from YouTube. Hence, I had decided to give the group a burial that it deserved rather than making it like thousands of groups on Facebook about songs with nothing unique about them at all.

Hence this series shifted to my page Lyrical.

I hope you liked RRR Song #14: Waqt ne kiya kya hasin sitam. Here is the next song:

Song #15
Muft huye badnaam kisi se haay dil ko laga ke

Baraat – 1960 Movie

It was a movie directed by K Amarnath and starred Ajit and Shakila. Ajit had been a hero before he took up the villain’s role with such popular dialogues as “Ise liquid oxygen mein daal do; oxygen ise marne nahin dega aur liquid ise jeene nahin dega.” He had beautiful songs to his credit such as Dekho mausam kya bahar hai, Aaja ke intezaar mein, and this beautiful number.

K Amarnath had an early start in the movies. He started with movies of the silent era; his first one was the 1936 movie Matwali Jogan. He directed 37 movies in all with such names to his credit as Chashmawali in 1939, Bulbul-e-Bghdad in 1941, Mehbooba in 1954 and Kabli Khan in 1963.

“Ajit (Ajit Khan) acted as a hero in 7 of the movies directed by K.Amarnath – Beqasoor, Meharbani, Sarkaar, Bara-Dari, Bada Bhai, Baraat and Kabli Khan. In fact, it was K.Amarnath who had suggested that he change his long name of “Hamid Ali Khan” to a shorter name. The first movie with his name changed to “Ajit” was “Beqasoor” -1950.”

This Song

This song was penned by Majrooh Sultanpuri and composed by Chitragupt in Raag Pahadi, the raag of my place in the hills. As is with many RRR songs, it was sung by Mukesh.

First of all, lets have a look at the lyrics:

मुफ्त हुए बदनाम
किसी पे हाय दिल को लगा के
जीना हुआ इल्जाम
किसी पे हाय दिल को लगा के
मुफ्त हुए बदनाम

गए अरमान लेके
लुटे लुटे आते है
लोग जहां में कैसे
दिल को लगाते है
गए अरमान लेके
लुटे लुटे आते है
लोग जहां में कैसे
दिल को लगाते है
दिल को लगाते है
अपना बनाते है
हम तो फिर नादाँ
हम तो फिर नादाँ
किसी पे हाय दिल को लगा के
मुफ्त हुए बदनाम

समझे थे साथ भेजा
किसी का सुहाना ग़म
उसी जो नज़र को देखा
तनहा खड़े है हम
समझे थे साथ भेजा
किसी का सुहाना ग़म
उसी जो नज़र को देखा
तनहा खड़े है हम
तनहा खड़े है हम
दिल भी रहा है काम
रस्ते में हो गयी शाम
रस्ते में हो गयी शाम
किसी पे हाय दिल को लगा के
मुफ्त हुए बदनाम.

My Own Poetry

Here is my own: MUFT HUYE BADNAAM…

जिन के लिए हम हो गए बदनाम,
उन्हें याद भी नहीं हमारा नाम।

“कौन हो तुम, क्या चाहते हो?”
उनके लबों से सुना यह पयाम।

आपको आंच न आने देंगे,
दूर से ही हम करते हैं सलाम।

गलती हमने प्यार में कर ली,
कभी न सोचा था अंजाम।

पहले पता होता तो कभी न करते,
ऐसा एहसान फरामोश यह काम।

प्लीज हमें अब माफ करो जी,
इश्क़ का नहीं लेंगे कभी भी नाम।

नज़्म लिखते लिखते हो गयी,
सुबह से अब अंधेरी शाम।

रवि हमारा नाम था लेकिन,
आपने बना दिया गुमनाम।

Ladies and gentlemen, please enjoy: Muft huye badnaam…

I hope you liked Song #15 in this series.

Please await Song #16: Maine chand aur sitaaron ki tamanna.

Zindagi or Jeevan Songs Series

I started this series on my Facebook group Yaad Kiya Dil Ne on 18 Oct 20. Since then, many other members have put up these songs. Here, I shall be giving you one of my own, per day.

I hope you liked my choice for Song #33 – Main to aarti utaarun re in Zindagi or Jeevan Songs series. Let’s start with Song #34.

Song #34
Bas yeh chup si lagi hai
Theme-word: Koi anokhi nahin aisi zindagi lekin khoob na ho, Mili jo khoob mili hai

Hemant Kumar and Tranquillity

Having been an ardent follower of Rabinder Sangeet, there is never a jarring note in his singing or compositions. Both descend on you like gentle snow. Both touch you like whispers of breeze. There is never Band Baaja Baraat; but…

पेड़ों की शाखों पे सोई सोई चाँदनी
तेरे खयालों में खोई खोई चाँदनी
Or even…

चुप है धरती, चुप हैं चाँद सितारे
मेरे दिल की धड़कन तुझको पुकारे

Or this one that touches the chords of your heart:

लहरों पे लहर, उल्फ़त है जवां
रातों की सहर, चली आओ यहाँ
सितारे टिमटिमाते हैं, तू आजा आजा
मचलती जा रही है ये हवाएं आजा आजा

I think you get my point. Love and Finding Yourself are both about Silence. The reason is not difficult to find. It is because both involve Listening as compared to Talking, Shouting, Screaming. That’s Hemant Kumar for you.
There Lyricists who understood this intense desire for Tranquillity in Hemant Kumar songs. Lets take some of them:

Shakeel

ऊँचे गगन से कोई बुलाये
लायीं हैं परियां डोला सजाये
सजन से मिलने दूर चली जा
उड़के तू निंदिया फुरर् चली जा
उड़के तू निंदिया फुरर् चली जा
चन्दा पुकारे आजा चकोरी
झूला झूलाऊँ निंदिया को तोरी

Kaifi Azmi

रात हसीं ये चाँद हसीं
पर सबसे हसीं मेरे दिलबर
और तुझसे हसीं, और तुझसे हसीं तेरा प्यार
तू जाने ना

Gulzar

He is the lyricist of the present song. Here is another one from him:

होंठ पे लिये हुए दिल की बात हम
जागते रहेंगे और कितनी रात हम
मुक़्तसर सी बात है तुम से प्यार है
तुम्हारा इन्तज़ार है, तुम पुकार लो

You can’t think of Hemant Kumar without touching tranquillity; especially on his own compositions.

It was said, “If God would sing to us, He would sing in the voice of Hemant Kumar.” And to think that we beat drums and blare bhajans through loudspeakers and yet, even our scriptures tell us, God is to be found in Silence.

Sannata – 1966 Movie

It was a Mohinder Sabbarwal movie starring Anil Chatterjee and Tanuja. In this song they are in a boat in Hoogly, somewhat similar to Rajesh Khanna and Waheeda Rehman in Hemant Kumar’s own production Khamoshi: Woh shaam kuchh ajeeb thi.

The names of the movies are also indicative of what Hemant Kumar’s songs evoke.

I could have very well given this song as a Raat Song but preferred it as Zindagi song.

This one has Hemant Kumar singing on his own composition of Gulzar’s lyrics:

बस एक चुप सी लगी है नहीं उदास नहीं
कहीं पे साँस रुकी है नहीं उदास नहीं
बस एक चुप सी लगी है

कोई अनोखी नहीं ऐसी ज़िंदगी लेकिन
खूब न हो
मिलि जो –
खूब मिली है.
नहीं उदास नहीं
बस एक चुप सी लगी है …

सहर भी ये रात भी दोपहर भी मिली लेकिन
हमीं ने शाम चुनी
हमीं ने –
शाम चुनी है
नहीं उदास नहीं
बस एक चुप सी लगी है …

वो दासताँ जो हमने कही भी
हमने लिखी
आज वो –
खुद से सुनी है
नहीं उदास नहीं
बस एक चुप सी लगी है

My Own Poetry

I am an ardent fan of Silence. There are any number of essays from me on the Religious Noise in India and how far it takes us from God.

Here is one on the kind of Silence that we must seek:

So, you’ve finally managed silence around you,
But your inner self is full of noise.
The peace that you’ve found is untrue,
Since you still haven’t regained your poise.
If you’re looking for complete tranquility,
The noise in your mind is a liability.
The chatter of your thoughts can be very loud,
Really high on the decibel scale.
Your inside feels like being in a crowd,
Whilst outside total calm may prevail.
The noise inside is more difficult to tame,
And you have no one else to blame.
Slow breathing and meditation are the two ways,
To make your mind become silent.
Initially, you may encounter a haze,
And your thoughts continue being violent.
But gradually when you train your mind,
Your inner peace you can easily find.
Try making your mind silent once in a day,
And see how the real benefits accrue.
Slowly your commands your mind learns to obey,
And you find a new friend within you.
Silence is golden you already know,
Now your inner noise too you can let go.

The Song

Ladies and gentlemen, please enjoy: Bas ek chup si lagi hai…

I hope you enjoyed my choice for Song #34 in the series.

Please await Song #35 –  Aaj sajan mohe ang laga lo.

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 #34 in the series. I hope you liked Song #33 – Pardesiyon se na akhiyan milana.

Song #34
Ghazab kiya tere waade pe aitbaar kiya
Theme-word: Tamaam raat qayamat ka intezaar kiya

Daagh Dehlivi’s Ghazal

Nawab Mirza Khan lived between 25 May 1831 to 17 Mar 1905. He was born in Kucha Ustad Dagh in Chandini Chowk, Delhi. Poets like to keep a takhallus (pen-name) and Mirza kept his as Daagh. Since he was from Delhi he came to be known as Daagh Dehlvi.

Daagh emerged as one of the leading exponents of ghazal (He started reciting poetry at the age of ten!) His work comprises four volumes consisting of 16000 couplets.

This Ghazal

It is one of his best and I am giving you the full ghazal (Mohammad Rafi and others sang a few of these couplets) with translation (you may need it). This translation is from https://urduwallahs.wordpress.com/…/ghazab-kiya-tere…/:

Gazab kiyaa, tere vaade pe aitabaar kiyaa
Tamaam raat qayaamat kaa intezaar kiyaa
Such an error it was to trust your promises
Through the night I waited, for this tragedy

Hansa hansaa ke shab-e-vasl ashk-baar kiyaa
Tasaliyaan mujhe de-de ke beqaraar kiyaa
With all the laughter, you filled our night of union with tears
After falsely comforting and consoling me, you left me restless

Ham aise mahv-e-nazaaraa na the jo hosh aataa
Magar tumhaare taghaful ne hoshiyaar kiyaa
I was so immersed in your love, I was unaware of any deceit
But it was your indifference that made me aware of your deception

Fasaana-e-shab-e-Gam un ko ek kahaanii thhii
Kuchh aitabaar kiyaa aur kuchh naa-aitabaar kiyaa
My tale of sadness from that night was but a story for you
As if it was fiction, you believed in some and disbelieved in others

Ye kisne jalvaa hamaare sar-e-mazaar kiyaa
Ki dil se shor uThaa, haa_e! beqaraar kiyaa
Who is this who has graced the head of my tomb with their presence
My heart has cried out, even in my grave you have made me restless

Tadap phir ai dil-e-naadaan, ki Gair kahate hain
Aakhir kuchh na banii, sabr ikhtiyaar kiyaa
The world is asking me again, to feel the pain, dear innocent heart of mine
When nothing else worked, I embraced the path of patience

Bhulaa bhulaa ke jataayaa hai unko raaz-e-nihaan
Chhipaa chhipaa ke mohabbat ko aashakaar kiyaa
In trying to forget, I have exposed the secrets buried deep in my heart
After ages of hiding I have finally revealed my love for you

Tumhen to vaadaa-e-deedaar ham se karna thaa
Ye kyaa kiyaa ke jahaan ko ummiidavaar kiyaa
I thought you wanted to meet only me, when I made a promise to make an appearance
What is this you have done…now the whole world expects to see me

Ye dil ko taab kahaan hai ke ho maalandesh
Unhone vaadaa kiyaa ham ne aitabaar kiyaa
Where does this heart have the strength to doubt you or think of outcomes
You promised and I believed you

Na puuchh dil kii haqiiqat magar ye kehte hain
Vo beqaraar rahe jisane beqaraar kiyaa
Do not ask the reality of this heart, but they say
The one who made you restless, will remain troubled themselves

Kuchh aage daavar-e-mahashar se hai ummeed mujhe
Kuchh aap ne mere kehne kaa aitabaar kiyaa
As we move on, the only expectations I have is from God
But you did believe what I had to say.

Mohammad Rafi as Ghazal Singer

Today, both my songs have been sung by Mohammad Rafi. This ghazal has been sung by many including Mehdi Hassan. But, in each genre’ of singing, it comes out that the best has been rendered by Rafi; eg, he has the best raaga based song in movies, best duet, best children’s song and the best romantic and sad songs. Makes you marvel at what Manna Dey had to say about Rafi when Manna Dey was asked what he felt was Rafi’s ranking in singers: “I rank Rafi 1 to 10”. By this he meant that all other singers, including he himself, were at least ten places below him!

This one has been composed by Khaiyyam, the gentlest of composers.

The Ghazal

Ladies and gentlemen, please enjoy: Ghazab kiya tere waade pe aitbaar kiya…

I hope you liked my choice of Raat or Din Song #34.

Please await Raat or Din Song #35- Yashomati maiya se.

I started this series on my Facebook group Yaad Kiya Dil Ne on 23 Aug 20. Since then, many other members have put up these songs. Here, I shall be giving you one of my own, per day.

Last time, I gave you Beautiful Duet #33 – Tu jo mere sur mein. So here, then, is the next one:

Song #34
Usko nahin dekha hamne kabhi

Remembering Manna Dey on His Death Anniversary 24th October

As I said, the Zindagi or Jeevan song today: Tu pyar ka sagar hai, we lost this great singer on this day in 2013. Of course, he was awarded all the best civilian awards in our country (other than Bharat Ratna): Padma Shri, Padma Bhushan and Padma Vibhushan and the highest in cinematic excellence the Dadasaheb Phalke Award and several other awards in other states and languages.

I also mentioned that in addition to some of the best raaga based songs in the movies, he also delved in comical song and there are quite a few of these.

As far as duets are concerned, he paired with Lata, Asha Bhosle etc.
However, this duet that I have taken has him pairing with Mahendra Kapoor.

Daadi Maa – a 1966 Movie

The movie was produced and directed by LV Prasad and had Ashok Kumar, Bina Rai, Tanuja and Durga Khote in the lead role. Durga Khote was, in the movie, Ashok Kumar’s step mother. Bina Rai as Parvati tried to patch up things between them by taking her sister-in-law’s baby as her own. Hence, her own baby, the actual heir to the throne (Ashok Kumar acted as Raja Pratap Rai) was brought up as a servant! Great sacrifice. That’s what mothers do for the sake of their husbands.

Who was LV Prasad. He lived between 17 Jan 1908 and 22 Jun 1994. He too was a recipient of Dadasaheb Phalke Award.

He was an actor in India’s first talkie: the 1931 movie Alam Ara. He also acted in the first talkies of Tamil and Telugu movie too.

Therefore, in this 1966 movie Daadi Maa with Durga Khote in the title role, it was actually the maa: Bina Rai, who stole the show; especially in this song where she is with her actual son and the sister-in-law’s son.

The Song

The song owes its creation to Majrooh Sultanpuri for its lyrics (my most favourite subject: Maa) and Roshan for its composition. The two sons in the song with Bina Rai are: Kashi Nath and Dileep Raj. Bina Rai is so overwhelmed with the praise that they are bestowing on her that she breaks down half way through. Any mother would:

महे: उस को नहीं देखा हमने कभी
पर इसकी ज़रूरत क्या होगी
दोनो: ऐ माँ, ऐ माँ तेरी सूरत से अलग
भगवान की सूरत क्या होगी, क्या होगी
उस को नहीं देखा हमने कभी…

मन: इनसान तो क्या देवता भी
आँचल में पले तेरे
है स्वर्ग इसी दुनिया में
कदमों के तले तेरे
ममता ही लुटाये जिसके नयन, हो…
दोनो: ममता ही लुटाये जिसके नयन
ऐसी कोई मूरत क्या होगी
ऐ माँ, ऐ माँ तेरी…

महे: क्यों धूप जलाये दुखों की
क्यों ग़म की घटा बरसे
ये हाथ दुआओं वाले
रहते हैं सदा सर पे
तू है तो अंधेरे पथ में हमें, हो…
दोनो: तू है तो अंधेरे पथ में हमें
सूरज की ज़रूरत क्या होगी
ऐ माँ, ऐ माँ तेरी…

दोनो: कहते हैं तेरी शान में जो
कोई ऊँचे बोल नहीं
भगवान के पास भी माता
तेरे प्यार का मोल नहीं
हम तो यही जाने तुझसे बड़ी, हो…
हम तो यही जाने तुझसे बड़ी
संसार की दौलत क्या होगी
ऐ माँ, ऐ माँ तेरी…

My Own Poetry

As I told you Maa is my favourite subject. I have more poems on Maa than on any other person. I have selected one at random:
I wrote this on the third anniversary of my mom’s device on 09 Aug this year:

Maa Nahin To Kuchh Bhi Nahin

वक़्त बीत गया तो क्या अब यादें नहीं आएंगी,
मां की प्यारी प्यारी बातें क्या मन ना लुभाएंगी?

उन्हीं की गोद में बड़े हो गए क्या इस कदर,
कि उंगली पकड़ कर वह चलना ना सिखाएंगी?

आंखें तकती रहती हैं उस तरफ जहां वह गई हैं,
इशारे से क्या वह अपने पास ना बुलाएंगी?

ज़िन्दगी के बोझ तले गिरने के अब बाद भी,
ज़िन्दगी के माइने क्या अब वह ना समझाएंगी?

दिखता नहीं उनको के नींद खो बैठे हैं हम,
क्या अब वह हमें अपनी गोद में ना सुलाएंगी?

जाने से पहले हमें यह भी ना बता के गईं,
किस घड़ी वह हमारे संग लौट के आएंगी?

वही जिन से तबस्सुम की झलक आती थी,
वही यादें क्या ज़िन्दगी भर हमें रुलाएंगी?

तन्हाइयां हैं, बेबसी सी है, अंधेरे ही अंधेरे हैं,
सब दूर तब होंगे जब वह मुस्कराएंगी।

The Song

Ladies and gentlemen, please enjoy a beautiful duet between Mahendra Kapoor and Manna Dey (on his death anniversary today): Usko nahin dekha hamne kabhi…

I hope you liked my choice of Beautiful Duet #34.

Please await Beautiful Duet #35- Tu cheez badi hai mast mast.

RRR Songs (Songs of Regret, Repentance and Ruefulness)

I started this new series on 17 Jan 21 on my Facebook Group Yaad Kiya Dil Ne. My efforts failed to involve people in writing their own stuff about songs and music rather than copying and pasting from here and there or worse, just sharing url of songs from YouTube. Hence, I had decided to give the group a burial that it deserved rather than making it like thousands of groups on Facebook about songs with nothing unique about them at all.

Hence this series shifted to my page Lyrical.

I hope you liked RRR Song #13: Woh jo milate the kabhi. Here is the next song:

Song #14
Waqt ne kiya kya haseen sitam

Movies and Songs Are Reflections of One’s Emotions

This was the last movie that Guru Dutt produced and directed. He commissioned Abrar Alvi to write the story that he had earlier asked to write Sahib Bibi Aur Gulam and Pyaasa. Another thing common in this movie was Waheeda Rehman, the actress of choice for Guru Dutt so much so that rumours were rife about their real life romance being reflected in their reel life. To complicate it further, Guru Dutt’s wife Geeta (nee’ Roy) used to be the singing voice for Waheeda Rehman.

This complex scenario, some feel, resulted in first Guru Dutt and later Geeta Dutt killing themselves with drinks and emotions.

Pyaasa, the 1957 Guru Dutt movie wherein Waheeda Rehman is depicted as the prostitute with a golden heart whom Guru Dutt seeks after being disappointed with the valueless and even meaningless world.

Pyaasa had some of the best lyrics of Sahir Ludhianvi, whose centenary we shall be celebrating on 08 March this year. And since Guru Dutt was depicted as a poet (with Sahir’s poetry), Pyaasa was also thought of a biographical movie for Sahir.

Kaagaz Ke Phool from where this song is taken may be an attempt to depict Guru Dutt and Waheeda Rehman’s actual aspirations and emotions.

This Song

SD Burman of Pyaasa continued in Kaagaz Ke Phool. However Burman and Sahir had fallen apart and hence Kaifi wrote the lyrics. In this song, he may have penned his greatest:

वक़्त ने किया क्या हंसीं सितम
तुम रहे न तुम हम रहे न हम
वक़्त ने किया…

बेक़रार दिल इस तरह मिले
जिस तरह कभी हम जुदा न थे
तुम भी खो गए, हम भी खो गए
एक राह पर चलके दो क़दम
वक़्त ने किया…

जाएंगे कहाँ सूझता नहीं
चल पड़े मगर रास्ता नहीं
क्या तलाश है कुछ पता नहीं
बुन रहे हैं दिल ख़्वाब दम-ब-दम
वक़्त ने किया…

Kaifi Azmi, of course, was the poet and lyricist, who used minimal and most simplistic words to convey the strongest emotions. You can make out that he did here too.

The Light and Shadow Dance

The effect of the song, difference between aspirations and what came about (regret or ruefulness) was sought to be conveyed through light and shadow done very cleverly. It looks ethereal but highly effective. All of us have bodies but the self is something within and Guru Dutt used light and shadows to convey this.

My Own Poetry

HUM RAHE NA HUM…

तनहाई है, उदासी है, पर इतना शोर क्यूं है?
मुहब्बत अच्छी है तो इश्क पे इतना ज़ोर क्यूं है?
चांद निकला नहीं, वही अंधेरी रात है लेकिन,
यहां कोने में खड़ा मुस्कराता चकोर क्यूं है?
उसकी जुल्फें खुली ना थी, ना ही लहराईं,
चारों तरफ फिर यह काली घटा घनघोर क्यूं है?
खुदा ने बख्शी है आदमी को ताकत ओ मजबूती,
फिर प्यार में उसी का दिल इतना कमज़ोर क्यूं है?
अब मिलते नहीं, न ही मिलने की उम्मीद बाकी है,
फिज़ा अब भी उन्हीं की ओर क्यूं है?
कहने को तो सब लोग खुद इन्हिसार और आज़ाद हैं,
ऊनके हाथों में, रवि, फिर मेरी डोर क्यूं है?

Please enjoy: Waqt ne kiya kya haseen sitam…

I hope you liked Song #14 in this series.

Please await Song #15: Muft huye badnaam.

Zindagi or Jeevan Songs Series

I started this series on my Facebook group Yaad Kiya Dil Ne on 18 Oct 20. Since then, many other members have put up these songs. Here, I shall be giving you one of my own, per day.

I hope you liked my choice for Song #32 – Aaja ke intezaar mein in Zindagi or Jeevan Songs series. Let’s start with Song #33.

Song #33
Main to aarti utaru re Santoshi Mata ki
Theme-word: Ho deep dharo dhoop karun, Prem sahit bhakti karun, Ho Jeevan sudharo re

Happy Birthday Usha Mangeshkar 15 Dec

She was born on this day in 1935. She is 85 years old today. And yet she is the youngest of the sisters: Lata, Asha and Meena and elder only to Hridyanath Mangeshkar.

Sometimes greatness and popularity comes to you unexpectedly. She couldn’t have matched the singing skills of Lata and Asha. However, singing for 1975 low budget film Jai Santoshi Maa suddenly shot her to fame.

The Song

What’s it about the song or hymn that made it so popular? Is it the lyrics of Kavi Pradeep? Is it the composition of C Arjun? Or is it her singing. I think it would be fair to say that the combination did the trick. Of course, Kavi Pradeep excelled in the lyrics, as he always did:

मैं तो आरती उतारूँ रे संतोषी माता की
मैं तो आरती उतारूँ रे संतोषी माता की
मैं तो आरती उतारूँ रे
जय जय संतोषी माता जय जय माँ
जय जय संतोषी माता जय जय माँ
जय जय संतोषी माता जय जय माँ

बड़ी ममता है बड़ा प्यार माँ की आँखों में
माँ की आँखों में
बड़ी करुणा माया दुलार माँ की आँखों में
माँ की आँखों में
क्यूँ ना देखूँ मैं बारम्बार माँ की आँखों में
क्यूँ ना देखूँ मैं बारम्बार माँ की आँखों में
दिखे हर घड़ी नया चमत्कार आँखों में
माँ की आँखों में

हो नृत्य करो झूम झूम, छम छमा छम झूम झूम
नृत्य करो झूम झूम, छम छमा छम झूम झूम
झांकी निहारो रे
ओ बाकि बाकि झांकी निहारो रे
मैं तो आरती उतारूँ रे संतोषी माता की
मैं तो आरती उतारूँ रे
जय जय संतोषी माता जय जय माँ
जय जय संतोषी माता जय जय माँ
जय जय संतोषी माता जय जय माँ

सदा होती है जय जय कार माँ के मंदिर में
माँ के मंदिर में
नित्त झांझर की होवे झंकार माँ के मंदिर में
माँ के मंदिर में
सदा मंजीरे करते पुकार माँ के मंदिर में
सदा मंजीरे करते पुकार माँ के मंदिर में
वरदान के भरे हैं भंडार, माँ के मंदिर मे।
माँ के मंदिर में

हो दीप धरो धूप करूँ, प्रेम सहित भक्ति करूँ
हो जीवन सुधारो रे
हो प्यारा प्यारा जीवन सुधारो रे
मैं तो आरती उतारूँ रे संतोषी माता की
मैं तो आरती उतारूँ रे
जय जय संतोषी माता जय जय माँ
जय जय संतोषी माता जय जय माँ

Santoshi Maa

Literally, her name translates to Mother of Satisfaction. She emerged as a goddess in 1960s. Devotees of North India particularly hold her in the highest veneration and it is said that if women would keep Vrata (Fast) on 16 consecutive Fridays, it is sure to win favour of the Maa.

The 1975 movie directed by Vijay Sharma actually “elevated Santoshi Mata as the new goddess on pan India Hindu pantheon”.

Whether or not you believe in her, you’ll agree that the hymn has an undeniable pull about it.

Hence, ladies and gentlemen, please enjoy: Main to aarti utaru re Santoshi mata ki….

I hope you enjoyed my choice for Song #33 in the series.

Please await Song #34 –  Bus ek chup si lagi hai.

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 #33 in the series. I hope you liked Song #32 – Tera jaana.

Song #33
Pardesiyon se na akhiyan milana
Theme-word: Sach hi kaha hai panchhi inko, Raat ko thehren udh jaayen din ko

Kalyanji Anandji and the Songs of Jab Jab Phool Khile

Kalyanji Anandji became musicians because someone owed money to their father and instead of paying back, offered to teach them music.

They started their career ten years after Shankar Jaikishan and soon established themselves as name to reckon with. Their first movie together was Satta Bazaar and I have taken their song Tumhen yaad hoga kabhi hum mile the in my Songs That Tug At Your Emotions series on my blog.

1965 was really a very important year for them for they had not one but two movies with super hit songs: Firstly, Himalaya Ki God Mein with Kankariya maar ke jagaya, Tu raat khadi thi chhat pe, Ek tu na mila, Chand si mehbooba ho meri, Ek tu jo mila, and Main to ek khwab hoon.

And secondly Jab Jab Phool Khile with Ek tha gul aur ek thi bulbul, Na na karte pyar tumhi se kar baithe, Pardesiyon se na akhiyan milana (three versions), Yahan main ajnabee hoon, and Ye samaa samaa hai ye pyar ka.

Pardesiyon Se Na Akhiyan Milana

Surprisingly, Kalyanji Anandji composed as many songs of Mukesh as Shankar Jaikishan composed. However, this song in its three versions was sung by Mohammad Rafi (Happy and Sad) and Lata Mangeshkar.

It was penned by Anand Bakshi.

Shashi Kapoor and Nanda

Whilst his brother Shammi Kapoor acted refreshingly well in Kashmir, Shashi Kapoor was no less in JJPK. Shammi Kapoor had SH Bihari and OP Nayyar creating songs that brought in whiff of fresh Kashmir air into the songs. Shashi Kapoor was equally lucky with Anand Bakshi and KLalyanji Anandji.

He was the owner of a boat house (Raja) and Nanda (Rita), the object of his love rented the boat for her sojourn. She too fell in love with him. However, her father stepped in when she returned home and that caused her to dilly-dally and hence this song by Shashi Kapoor as Raja.

Lyrics

Even though I am giving you the Rafi version only, you may like to go through the lyrics of both Rafi and Lata versions:

(रफ़ी)

परदेसियों से ना अँखियां मिलाना
परदेसियों को है इक दिन जाना

आती है जब ये रुत मस्तानी
बनती है कोई न कोई कहानी
अब के बस देखे बने क्या फ़साना

सच ही कहा है पंछी इनको
रात को ठहरे तो उड़ जाएं दिन को
आज यहाँ कल वहाँ है ठिकाना

बागों में जब जब फूल खिलेंगे
तब तब ये हरजाई मिलेंगे
गुज़रेगा कैसे पतझड़ का ज़माना

(लता)

ये बाबुल का देस छुड़ाएं
देस से ये परदेस बुलाएं
हाय सुनें ना ये कोई बहाना

हमने यही एक बार किया था
एक परदेसी से प्यार किया था
ऐसे जलाए दिल जैसे परवाना

प्यार से अपने ये नहीं होते
ये पत्थर हैं ये नहीं रोते
इनके लिये ना आँसू बहाना

ना ये बादल ना ये तारे
ये कागज़ के फूल हैं सारे
इन फूलों के बाग न लगाना

हमने यही एक बार किया था
एक परदेसी से प्यार किया था
रो रो के कहता है दिल ये दीवाना

The Song

Ladies and gentlemen, please enjoy: Pardesiyon se na akhiyan milana…

Ignore the fact that the You Tube video says it is Lata Mangeshkar version. You Tube loads are often put up by people who cannot make out the difference between Rafi and Lata!

I hope you liked my choice of Raat or Din Song #33.

Please await Raat or Din Song #34- Ghazab kiya tere waade pe.

I started this series on my Facebook group Yaad Kiya Dil Ne on 23 Aug 20. Since then, many other members have put up these songs. Here, I shall be giving you one of my own, per day.

Last time, I gave you Beautiful Duet #32 – Ishaaron ishaaron mein. So here, then, is the next one:

Song #33
Tu jo mere sur mein sur mila le

Sorry, Again, for the Lateness of Hour

In the Raat or Din post of today: Dil ka haal sune dilwala, I had brought out the inability of Evani Leela to put up the songs today and hence at the last minute I came in. When I finished writing the post (no it wasn’t a copy of the previous post) I glanced at my tote and found that I had already posted it earlier on 21 Sep and the word Repeat was added.

This one is not a repeat, though.

Raag and Tal

It is in Raag Pilu and Tal Kaherava.

Raag Pilu belongs to the Kafi thaat. Its Jati is Audhav – Sampoorna, which means it is pentatonic (five notes or swar) in Aaroha (ascending) and heptatonic (all seven notes or sawr) in Avroha (descending). The swar that are vrajay (missing) in Aaroha are Re (Rishab) and Dha (Dhaivat). The dominant note (Vadi) is Dhaivat that lends to this raaga a light and tranquil touch. The raaga is full of devotion and piety and as both Amol Palekar and Zarina Wahab lip-sync it you can notice these in the eyes and mannerisms of the protagonists. The raag is well suited for the third prahar of the day; that is, early evening and that’s precisely when it is played in the movie too.

Chitchor – 1976 Movie

This song is from the 1976 Basu Chatterjee movie Chitchor starring Amol Palekar, Zarina Wahab and Vijayendra. The film is a Rajshri Productions film produced by Tarachand Barjatya. It is based on a Bengali story, Chittachakor by Subodh Ghosh.

Lets understand the story-line to see where the song fits in the movie:

Geeta’s (Zarina Wahab) Mumbai based sister Meera sends a letter to Geeta’s father Pitamber (AK Hangal) that an engineer would be arriving at their village and he is a possible match for Geeta. The family dutifully receives Vinod (Amol Palekar) at the railway station. He takes an instant liking to the family, especially Geeta and even tries to teach her music and singing. The two fall in love. All seems to be going well until another letter is received from Meera informing the family that the engineer Sunil (Vijayendra) was earlier delayed and would be arriving soon. Vinod (Amol Palekar) was merely the overseer.

He was nevertheless the Heart-stealer (Chitchor) for the naive village belle Geeta. There is a happy ending for the two.

The song is lip-synced by Amol Palekar and Zarina Wahab when Vijayendra arrives from Mumbai and the family is in the process of telling Zarina Wahab to switch her attention from Amol Palekar to Vijayendra.

The Lyricist and Composer

The lyricist of the song was Ravindra Jain and he composed the song too.

Ravindra Jain was born on 28 Feb 1944 in Aligarh. He was born blind to Sanskrit scholar and Ayurvedacharya, Pandit Indramani Jain and mother Kiran Jain.

He started singing at a very early age singing bhajans. His parents gave him music training fairly early. Ravindra Jain received basic training under Pandit GL Jain, Pandit Janardhan Sharma, and Pandit Nathu Ram. His entry into the films world was at the age of 16 in Calcutta. Ten years later he moved to Bombay wherein he made his debut as a composer for Prathibhushan Bhattacharya’s movie Kranthi. In 1972 he became a full fledged Music Director when Mohammad Rafi recorded a song composed by him that was never released.

Jain progressed his career in the early 1970s, composing for films such as Saudagar (1973 film), Chor Machaye Shor (1974), Geet Gaata Chal (1975), Chitchor (1976), Dulhan Wahi Jo Piya Man Bhaaye (1977), Paheli (1977) and Ankhiyon Ke Jharokhon Se (1978) and Nadiya ke paar (1982). Along with composing music, he also wrote the lyrics for many of his songs. Ravindra Jain’s father died during the recording sessions of the film Saudagar. However, Jain did not leave the studio until the recordings were finalised giving utmost importance to his work.

As far as his association with Yesudas is concerned, Jain is credited for bringing this great South Indian vocalist to Hindi movies, in singing in many of his movies in the 1970s and 1980s.

It is said that Jain was so enthralled by Yesudas’s voice, if he ever received his vision, Yesudas would be the first person he would want to see. Jain has worked on songs after his liaison with Yesudas, but he has failed to attain the pinnacle of glory he achieved with the master singer during the 1970s. Jain has described Yesudas as the ‘Voice of India’.

The Singers – Yesudas and Hemlata

Kattassery Joseph Yesudas was born on 10th January 1940 in Fort Kochi (Kerala) in a Latin-rite Roman Catholic Christian family to late Augustine Joseph and late Elizabeth Joseph. His father, a well-known Malayalam classical musician and stage actor, was his first guru (teacher). Yesudas recorded his first popular song Jaathi Bhedam Matha Dwesham (music: MB Sreenivasan) on 14th November 1961. He got a break in Hindi movies with the 1971 movie Jai Jawan Jai Kisan. Therefore, in 2011 Yesudas completed 50 years as a playback singer. However, it was the 1976 Basu Chatterjee movie, with songs composed by Salil Chowdhury that really made him popular. The song he sang in the movie was: Jaaneman jaaneman tere do nayan. Yesudas has recorded over 70,000 songs and has won scores of accolades including the coveted Padma Shri (1975), Padma Bhushan (2002), Padma Vibhushan (2017) and a record seven National Awards for Best Playback Singer. On 2 Oct 2014, Yesudas sparked a row while speaking at a public function on the occasion of Gandhi Jayanthi, where he stated that “Women should not wear jeans and trouble others. You should dress modestly and do not behave like men”. This resulted in a number of protests from Women’s Rights and Political organizations, who asked him to withdraw the comment, which he never did.

Some of the popular songs of Ravindra Jain that have been sung by Yesudas are: Aaj se pehle, Gori tera gaanv badha pyara and Jab deep jale aana (Chitchor, 1976); Shikari raja aaye re and Utho he laal (Safed Haathi; 1977); Khushiyan hi khushiyan ho daaman mein jiske (Dulhan Wahi Jo Piya Man Bhaaye, 1977); Laal gulabi phool se bhari (Hamra Sansaar, 1978); Sabko chhuti mili mujhako mili kyun nahin and Tere honthon ke pyaale se jo chhalke (Mera Rakshak, 1978); Sunayana aaj in nazaron ko tum dekho and Aansu bhi hain khushiyan bhi hain (Sunayana, 1979); O goriyaa re, Oonchi neechi lehron ke kandhon par and Teara kuchh khoya ho to dhoond de (Naiyya, 1979); Neer bharan ka karke bahana (Gopal Krishna, 1979); Kaun hai aisa jise phoolon se (Raadha Aur Seeta, 1979); Ai mere udaas man and Ik but se mohabbat karke (Maan Abimaan, 1980); Sun sun gaon ki gori (Sasural, 1984); and Saambh sada shiv (Abodh, 1984).

The female singer of this song is Hemlata. Whilst Yesudas won the National Award for this song, she won the Filmfare Award for it (she has won five such awards so far). Having been born on 16 Aug 1954 in Hyderabad, when she was only 12 years old her family moved to Bombay. She had early influence by Ustad Allarakha and Ustad Rais Khan; the latter taught her ghazals. But, the one person who really took her up as a singer in the movies was Naushad Ali (is there no end to how many artistes Naushad helped become good and great including the playback singer Mukesh?) Later, she worked with Roshan and Khaiyyam.

Her association with Ravindra Jain was the most lasting. He used her voice for his debut movie in 1972: Kaanch Aur Heera. She thereafter sang in many of his movies such as Raakh Aur Chingari (1974), Geeta Gaata Chal (1975), Salakhen (1975), Tapasaya (1975), and Fakira (1976). Her singing for him in Akhiyon Ke Jharokhon Se made her very popular.

The Beautiful Duet

Ladies and gentlemen, please enjoy the beautiful duet: Tu jo mere sur mein sur mila le…

ये: तू जो मेरे सुर में -२
सुर मिला ले, संग गा ले
तो ज़िंदगी हो जाए सफ़ल

हे: तू जो मेरे मन का -२
घर बना ले, मन लगा ले
तो बंदगी हो जाए सफ़ल

दोनों: तू जो मेरे सुर में

ये: चाँदनी रातों में, हाथ लिए हाथों में
हे: चाँदनी रातों में, हाथ लिए हाथों में
दोनों: डूबे रहें एक दूसरे की, रस भरी बातों में
ये: तू जो मेरे संग में -२
मुस्कुरा ले, गुनगुना ले
तो ज़िंदगी हो जाए सफ़ल
हे: तू जो मेरे मन का…
दोनों: तू जो मेरे सुर में…

हे: क्यों हम बहारों से, खुशियाँ उधार लें
ये: क्यों हम बहारों से, खुशियाँ उधार लें
दोनों: क्यों न मिलके हम खुद ही अपना जीवन सुधार लें
हे: तू जो मेरे पथ में -२
दीप गा ले ओ उजाले
तो बंदगी हो जाए सफ़ल
ये: तू जो मेरे सुर में -२
सुर मिला ले, संग गा ले
तो ज़िंदगी हो जाए सफ़ल

I hope you liked my choice of Beautiful Duet #33.

Please await Beautiful Duet #34- Usko nahin dekha hamne kabhi.

RRR Songs (Songs of Regret, Repentance and Ruefulness)

I started this new series on 17 Jan 21 on my Facebook Group Yaad Kiya Dil Ne. My efforts failed to involve people in writing their own stuff about songs and music rather than copying and pasting from here and there or worse, just sharing url of songs from YouTube. Hence, I had decided to give the group a burial that it deserved rather than making it like thousands of groups on Facebook about songs with nothing unique about them at all.

Hence this series shifted to my page Lyrical.

I hope you liked RRR Song #12: Rehte the kabhi jinke dil mein. Here is the next song:

Song #13
Woh jo milate the kabhi hamse deewano ki tarah

Majrooh Sultanpuri and Madan Mohan

A few days ago, I gave you a song Tujhe kya sunayun main dilruba tere saamne mere haal hai and we witnessed the magic of the duo in the 1958 Mahesh Kaul movie Aakhri Dao starring Nutan and Shekhar.

Let us recall some of their other songs. The 1970 Rajinder Singh Bedi movie Dastak starred Sanjeev Kumar and Rehana Sultan. All songs of the movie by the duo made great waves: Baiyan na dharo O balmaa, Mai ri main kaise jahun, Hum hain mataa-e-kuchaa-o-bazaar ki tarah, and Tumase kahun main ek baat.

Then there was Chirag, the 1969 Raj Khosla movie starring Sunil Dutt and Asha Parekh with the song whose title was taken (with permission) from a nazm by Faiz: Teri aankhon ke siva duniya mein rakha kya hai and the title song Chirag dil ka jalao bahut andhera hai.

I have, at another time given you another great song from Aakhri Dao: Hamsafar saath apna chhod chale also by the duo.

It would be easy to conclude that some really great lyrics were composed by the mazestro.

Akeli Mat Jayiyo

I have taken the present song from the 1963 Nandalal Jaswantlal movie Akeli Mat Jayiyo starring Rajendra Kumar and Meena Kumari.

The song is a great song of ruefulness for love having gone sour. Once again, absolutely great lyrics were composed excellently by Madan Mohan and sung by Lata Mangeshkar for Meena Kumari:

वो जो मिलते थे कभी हम से दीवानों की तरह
आज यूँ मिअल्ते हैं जैसे कभी पहचान न थी

देखते भी हैं तो यूँ मेरी निगाहों में कभी
अजनबी जैसे मिला करते हैं राहों में कभी
इस क़दर उनकी नज़र हम से तो अंजान न थी
वो जो मिलते थे कभी …

एक दिन था कभी यूँ भी जो मचल जाते थे
खेलते थे मेरी ज़ुल्फ़ों से बहल जाते थे
वो परेशाँ थे मेरी ज़ुल्फ़ परेशान न थी
वो जो मिलते थे कभी …

वो मुहब्बत वो शरारत मुझे याद आती है
दिल में इक प्यार का तूफ़ान उठा जाती थी
थी मगर ऐसी तो उलझन में मेरी जान न थी
वो जो मिलते थे कभी …

My Own Poetry

KABHI HAMSE BHI USE PYAR THA

उसे अब हम बुलाते हैं तो आती ही नहीं,
एक समां था जब सोचते थे यह जाती ही नहीं।

कई बार सपनों में खोने का मन करता है,
पर सपनों के उस नगर में अब हमें बुलाती ही नहीं।

एक वक़्त था जब रहते थे उसी की बाहों में,
अब यूं समझो वो सुहाने ख्वाब दिखाती ही नहीं।

उसके आगोश में दिन में भी हम गुम रहते थे,
अब रात को भी अपने पास बुलाती ही नहीं।

आंखे तरसती हैं उसे रखें नज़रों में छुपा के,
वह है के आंखों में अब इठलाती ही नहीं।

जवानी में सोचते थे उसके संग हमें कोई देख न ले,
अब हमारे संग वह जलवे दिखाती ही नहीं।

सारी रात करवटें बदल करते हैं उसी का इंतजार,
हमारी बेकरारी अब करार पाती ही नहीं।

जवानी में इस की कदर करना, दोस्तो,
बुढ़ापे में तो अब नींद आती ही नहीं।

The Song

Meena Kumari, in all situations is known for some elegant acting. She sang a ghazal with her friends in the movie Ghazal: Nagma o sher ki saugat kise pesh karun and she was elegance personified. She sang Dil jo na keh saka in Bheegi Raat and she set the night on fire. And, she enacted this here and it is to be seen to be believed as what good acting can do to a song.

Please enjoy: Woh jo milate the kabhi…

I hope you liked Song #13 in this series.

Please await Song #14: Waqt ne kiya kya hasin sitam.

Zindagi or Jeevan Songs Series

I started this series on my Facebook group Yaad Kiya Dil Ne on 18 Oct 20. Since then, many other members have put up these songs. Here, I shall be giving you one of my own, per day.

I hope you liked my choice for Song #31 – Aapki nazaron ne samajha in Zindagi or Jeevan Songs series. Let’s start with Song #32.

Song #32
Aaja ke intezaar mein
Theme-word: Tere bagair zindagi dard ban ke rah gayi

Shankar Jaikishan

Years before I met my “die-hard fans of Shankar Jaikishan” of SJMF: Anand Desai, Chirag Patel, Uday Joglekar, Rajan Bedke and others, I had done a 45 days feature of these “composers of the millennium”. However, so intense and huge is the contribution of SJMF that every-time one puts up a song of SJ, one bows one’s head to SJMF.

Same is the case with this song.

Halaku – 1956 Movie

This song is from a movie whose title role wasn’t played by the hero or the heroine (Ajit and Meena Kumari) but by Pran as Sultan Halaku Khan.

The song, however, is picturised on the hero and the heroine.

DD Kashyap, the director of the movie, is the same man who directed Dulhan Ek Raat Ki with Nutan in the title role and remarkably beautiful songs composed by Madan Mohan including two favourites of mine: Sapnon mein agar mere tum aao to so jayun and Ek haseen sham ko dil mera kho gaya.

The story of the movie reflects the way we went out of India to cover interesting stories. In this movie, for example, Halaku (Pran) was the emperor of Iran who staked claim to Niloufer (Meena Kumari) despite being married to Minoo Mumtaz. Niloufer was in love with Pervez (Ajit). Halaku didn’t take kindly to his wife, Niloufer and Pervez for opposing his marriage to Niloufer.

And that’s how this song came about.

The Lyrics

Shailendra penned the lyrics and the song was sung by Mohammad Rafi and Lata Mangeshkar:

आ जा के इन्तज़ार में, जाने को है बहार भी
तेरे बगैर ज़िन्दगी, दर्द बन के रह गई

अरमान लिये बैठे हैं हम
सीने में है तेरा ही ग़म
तेरे दिल से प्यार की वो तड़प किधर गई
आ जा के इन्तज़ार …

दिल की सदा पे ऐ सनम
बढ़ते गए मेरे कदम
अब तो चाहे जो भी हो दिल तुझे मैं दे चुकी
आ जा के इन्तज़ार …

My Own Poetry

Chalo Intezaar Karte Hain

तू भी देखना एक ऐसा भी दिन आएगा,
आंसुओं से मेरे तेरा दिल पिघल जाएगा

मेरी ना श से तुझे कोई शिक्वा ना होगा
तेरे दिन तो क्या जहान संवर जाएगा

प्यार और इश्क़ मुझे करना ही ना था
घुट घुट रोज़ मुझे मरना ही ना था

अब सोचता हूँ क्यों चला गया वहां
तेरी राहों से मुझे गुज़रना ही ना था

सोचा था ज़िन्दगी का हमसफ़र मिला है
मेरी तनहा रातों का सहर मिला है

हम जिसे पीते रहे दवा जान के, ऐ दिल,
अब पता चला के ज़हर मिला है

खैर ग़म- ऐ-इश्क़ की कोई तो होगी मंज़िल
यह बेवफा निकली, यह हर वक़्त रही संगदिल

यह ज़िन्दगी तो रो रोके गुज़ार दी हमने
आने वाली ज़िन्दगी शायद ना हो मुश्किल

चलो इंतजार करते है! चलो इंतज़ार करते हैं!
ठोकर खा चुके हैं फिर भी प्यार करते हैं

तेरे वादे पे तो तमाम उम्र गुज़र गयी लेकिन
हम अब मौत की वफ़ा का ऐतबार करते हैं|

The Song

Ladies and gentlemen, please enjoy: Aaja ke intezaar mein…

I hope you enjoyed my choice for Song #32 in the series.

Please await Song #33 –  Main to aarti utaarun re.

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 #32 in the series. I hope you liked Song #31 – Raaton ko chori chori.

Song #32
Tera jaana
Theme-word: Jab jab chanda aayega teri yaad dilayega, Saari raat jagayega

Once Again a Zindagi and Raat Song

In this song she (Nutan) mentions Zindagi first: Tera gham teri khushi, Mera gham meri khushi, Tujhse hi thi zindagi.

I have once again decided in favour of Raat. After all, I started the series with: Saari saari raat teri yaad sataye.

Shankar Jaikishan – Shailendra

I freak out on this song as one of the best compositions of my favourite duo: Shankar Jaikishan. Every movie of theirs had a song composed in the queen of ragas: Bhairavi, the raga most suited to express devotion. There were movies in which as many as four songs were composed by the duo in this raga. Jaikishan named his daughter Bhairavi because of his devotion to this devotional raga.

Other than Shakeel-Naushad, the guys who put me in a trance because of their compositions were the best duo ever of Shankar Jaikishan. There was this element of timelessness about their compositions.

Despite the best of lyrics and compositions, the songs would have been not even half the success they were if it hadn’t been for their outstanding composition and interludes. So much so that you pay more attention to the songs when the interludes appear.

I believe that the guys who had the best and most memorable interludes in their songs were the best music duo of Shankar and Jaikishan. They treated each song as a unique audience experience and interludes were significant part of their songs.

The guy who did it for Shankar Jaikishan to provide us with this memorable song arrangement was a Goan music arranger by the name of Sebastian D’Souza. If you notice a quality of music in Shankar Jaikishan songs wherein the music is not apologetically in the background but stand out as much as the lyrics and the voice, then it is thanks to Sebastian.

He was an arranger for Op Nayyar but started coming into prominence with S-J from their Awara days.

What did he and Shankar Jaikishan did in this song? It is a piano accordion song. First let me tell you a little controversy about S-J’s use of accordion. Their instrumentalist Vistasp Balsara claimed that many of the accordion sounds in the S-J numbers were produced by him on harmonium including for Awara hoon. However, there is no doubt about this song. It is actually on accordion, the instrument that S-J used the best.

Secondly, they made sad songs on fast happy beats so that music would be in prominence and you were taken in by singing, acting and cinematography. This aspect was untried by MDs earlier. However, many of S-J’s sad songs have fast lively tunes about them. In this, in the first interlude, the sound of accordion with percussion actually has the effect of enhancing your heartbeat to the level of Nutan’s for having lost the love of her life. In the second interlude it is mainly accordion but a little calmed down to take her from the level of first shock to acceptance that he would be no more with her.

Anari – 1959 Movie

Shankar Jaikishan were a total musical experience that seamlessly fitted into the scheme of the director, in this case Hrishikesh Mukherjee and the song, its lyrics, its composition, arrangement, singing by Lata Mangehskar, cinematography, emotions and histrionics were all parts of a complete experience that the audience must get whilst watching the song. I am sure, at some time or the other in the song you shift to walking into the hearts of Nutan and Raj Kapoor. So powerful is this experience.

I have my hair standing on ends when I listen to the song, particularly the interludes. Here is one song that you enjoy with all your senses focused on the song and not just ears. You enjoy the outstanding lyrics by Shailendra too, which is part of the overall experience and don’t stand out by themselves.

My Own Poetry

My similar poetry? I have several but I think this one comes closest:

SULAGTE AANSU

वो लौटा रहें हैं मेरा सामान,
और जला रहे हैं सब कुछ,
मेरी आरज़ू है सितमगर
मेरे अश्क भी जला दें
ताके दिल के समुन्दर में
वो तूफ़ान फिर ना उभरे;
जो मरहले खड़े थे
उन्हें ठोकर से मिटा दें
काश हम ना होते वो ना होते,
और ये आरज़ू ना होती
तेरी आँखों में जो सरूर था
वो सरूर भी हटा दें
मैं भूल गया हूँ सब कुछ,
तेरे प्यार की नज़र में
मेरी कौन सी है मंजिल
मुझे कुछ तो अब पता दें
अब दिल न हो, प्यार ना हो,
और ना रहे उनकी यादें,
कोई उनसे जाके कह दे,
मेरी हस्ती ही मिटा दें

The Song

Ladies and gentlemen, please enjoy: Tera jaana dil ke armaano ka lut jaana….

( तेर जाना
दिल के अरमानों का लुट जाना ) -२
कोई देखे -२
बन के तक़दीरों का मिट जाना
तेरा जाना

तेरा ग़म तेरी ख़ुशी
मेरा ग़म मेरी ख़ुशी
तुझसे ही थी ज़िन्दगी
हँस कर हमने था कहा
जीवन भर का साथ है
ये कल ही की बात है
आ
तेरा जाना
दिल के अरमानों का लुट जाना
कोई देखे -२
बन के तक़दीरों का मिट जाना
तेरा जाना

जब-जब चन्दा आयेगा
तेरी याद दिलायेगा
सारी रात जगायेगा
मैं रो कर रह जाऊँगी
दिल जब ज़िद पर आयेगा
दिल को कौन मनायेगा
आ
तेरा जाना
दिल के अरमानों का लुट जाना
कोई देखे -२
बन के तक़दीरों का मिट जाना
तेरा जाना….

I hope you liked my choice of Raat or Din Song #32.

Please await Raat or Din Song #33- Pardesiyon se na akhiyan milana.

I started this series on my Facebook group Yaad Kiya Dil Ne on 23 Aug 20. Since then, many other members have put up these songs. Here, I shall be giving you one of my own, per day.

Last time, I gave you Beautiful Duet #31 – Dekho mausam kya bahar hai. So here, then, is the next one:

Song #32
Ishaaron ishaaron mein dil lene waale

Second Song Today from Kashmir Ki Kali

In the Zindagi song of the Day I gave you a song from the 1964 Shakti Samanta movie Kashmir Ki Kali: Hai duniya usi ki zamana usi ka. And today, we have yet another song from the same movie. This was, indeed, the hallmark of OP Nayyar: he had most of his songs in his movies becoming hits and super hits. Many years ago, I did a post on the songs of this movie and for those of you who have the time (less than one percent, that is), you may access all the songs of the movie here:

Ever Fresh Songs of Kashmir Ki Kali

Raag Pahadi Duet

Raag Pahadi is specific for the hills of Himalayas. It brings in certain freshness not just in the raag but also because Pahadi is a dhun (very easy to recognise). To the best of my knowledge, it is the first Pahadi song in this series and I was keeping it for this day.

All Involved in the Making of the Song

The song was penned by SH Bihari who featured in seven movies with OP Nayyar and made really refreshing and delightful songs for him. In this movie, the pair are at their best.

Rafi has been the voice of Shammi Kapoor just as Mukesh has been the singing voice of Raj Kapoor. Rafi had something that Mukesh can never match; which is, that he sang not as Rafi but in the characteristic of the hero for which he was singing. So, Rafi’s songs for Shammi Kapoor are sung in Shammi Kapoor’s style and, say, Dev Anand in Dev Anand’s style.

Asha Bhosle sang for Sharmila in her debut movie and brought so much of charm into her role (Op Nayyar, of course, refused to have Lata singing any of his songs).

Sharmila and Shammi Kapoor have enacted in so superbly that it is now among their greatest songs.

My Own Poetry

Incidentally, I had Pahadi in mind when I wrote this recently:

Khwaabon Mein Rakha Hai Sambhaal Ke

तस्सवुर में उनसे हुई गुफ्तगू, मज़ा आ गया,
कब से रही है मेरी जुस्तजू, मज़ा आ गया।

जनमों की कहानी है, यह राज़ ना समझा कोई,
कहां होगी खत्म और कहां शुरू, मज़ा आ गया।

चलो ख्वाबों में ही मिली, मुझे कोई गिला नहीं,
क्या हुआ और क्या थी मेरी आरज़ू, मज़ा आ गया।

समा बांध लिया मेरे मन की छलांग ने,
रख ली प्यार की आबरू, मज़ा आ गया।

इंतज़ार करते रहे ज़िन्दगी भर यूं, रवि,
अब हुए हैं वह रूबरू, मज़ा आ गया।

मेरा हिस्सा गुफ्तुगु में एक अजीब खामोशी थी,
मैं कहूं कुछ या न कहूं, मज़ा आ गया।

लोग कहते रहे वह ना आएगी, वह नहीं है,
पर वह खड़ी थी हूबहू, मज़ा आ गया।

The Song

Ladies and gentlemen, please enjoy a beautiful duet in Raag Pahadi sung by Asha Bhosle for Sharmila Tagore and Mohammad Rafi for Shammi Kapoor, in the 1964 Shakti Samanta movie Kashmir Ki Kali; the song having been written by SH Bihari and composed by OP Nayyar: Ishaaron ishaaron mein dil lene waale..

I hope you liked my choice of Beautiful Duet #32.

Please await Beautiful Duet #33- Tu jo mere sur mein.

RRR Songs (Songs of Regret, Repentance and Ruefulness)

I started this new series on 17 Jan 21 on my Facebook Group Yaad Kiya Dil Ne. My efforts failed to involve people in writing their own stuff about songs and music rather than copying and pasting from here and there or worse, just sharing url of songs from YouTube. Hence, I had decided to give the group a burial that it deserved rather than making it like thousands of groups on Facebook about songs with nothing unique about them at all.

Hence this series shifted to my page Lyrical.

I hope you liked RRR Song #11: Jis dil mein basa tha pyar tera. Here is the next song:

Song #12
Rehte the kabhi jinake dil mein

Mamta – 1966 Movie

The movie happens to have story similar to 1958 Kalidas movie Adalat starring Nargis, Pradeep Kumar and Pran. That movie had some of the greatest songs of Madan Mohan on the lyrics of Rajinder Krishan.

Surprisingly, this one is not a plagiarised story. It is a remake of Asit Sen’s Bengali 1963 movie Uttar Falguni. It appears that women being wrongfully forced into prostitution was a common theme all over India.

This Asit Sen movie (remember Asit Sen? He was the director of Hemant Kumar’s Khamoshi) starred Suchitra Sen as the one forced to become a courtesan after Ashok Kumar’s family refused to own her up after Ashok Kumar left for England to get education to become a barrister.

Until that time, to become a barrister was thought of as a noble profession for the intellectual. We had the most famous barrister of them all: Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, who was so noble that he is addressed as Mahatma (Saint). Nowadays, law is considered an outlet for those who want to make quick buck at the expense of others.

Similarly, courtesans are nowadays the women of worthless character and morals.

Nihar Ranjan Gupta and Krishan Chander wrote the story and in the final stages gave it a twist from Adalat by having a child who was never to be seen earlier and thus justifying the name Mamta.

Courtesans and prostitutes with golden heart are an obsession with Hindi films industry and everyone is happy with the situation especially lyricists and music directors.

Majrooh and Roshan

This movie had Majrooh and Roshan doing to its songs what Rajinder Krishan and Madan Mohan did to Adalat songs. They made the following:

1. “Chahe To Mera Jiya Lele” Lata Mangeshkar
2. “Chupa Lo Yun Dil Mein Pyar Mera” Lata Mangeshkar, Hemant Kumar
3. “Hum Gavanwa Na Jayibe Ho” Lata Mangeshkar
4. “Rahen Na Rahen Hum (solo)” Lata Mangeshkar
5. “Rahen Na Rahen Hum (duet)” Mohammed Rafi, Suman Kalyanpur
6. “Rahte The Kabhi Jinke” Lata Mangeshkar
7. “In Baharon Mein” Mohammed Rafi, Asha Bhosle

Majrooh has laid nice and thick whilst writing the lyrics; her hopelessness is adequately laced with self pity:

रहते थे कभी जिनके दिल में
हम जान से भी प्यारों की तरह
बैठे हैं उन्ही के कूचे में
हम आज गुनहगारों की तरह – २

दावा था जिन्हें हमदर्दी का
खुद आके न पूछा हाल कभी – २
महफ़िल में बुलाया है हम पे – २
हँसने को सितमगारों की तरह – २
रहते थे…

बरसों से सुलगते तन मन पर
अश्कों के तो छींटे दे ना सके – २
तपते हुए दिल के ज़ख्मों पर – २
बरसे भी तो अंगारों की तरह – २
रहते थे…

सौ रुप धरे जीने के लिये
बैठे हैं हज़ारों ज़हर पिये – २
ठोकर ना लगाना हम खुद हैं – २
गिरती हुई दीवारों की तरह – २
रहते थे…

My Own Poetry

WAQT GAYA BAAT GAYI

बातों बातों में बात निकल जाती है,
वह मिलते नहीं, मुलाकात निकल जाती है।

इंतज़ार करते करते आंख कुछ ऐसे लगे,
खुलते ही देखा हैयात निकल जाती है।

सदियों से पड़े हैं तन्हा और बेकसी में,
लोग क्यूं कहते हैं मजबूरी ए हालात निकल जाती है?

घर के सामने खड़े थे उनकी उम्मीद में हम,
वह नहीं निकले पर बारात निकल जाती है।

सामने होंगें तो ज़रूर पूछूंगा ऐ खुदा,
मुझे अकेला छोड़ के कहां कायनात निकल जाती है?

जब भी भीगने की ख्वाहिश उठी, रवि,
उसी वक़्त देखा बरसात निकल जाती है।

The Song

Lata Mangeshkar has sung it as well as any of Adalat songs.

Please enjoy: Rehte the kabhi ham jinake dil mein…

I hope you liked Song #12 in this series.

Please await Song #13: Woh jo milate the kabhi.