If you are amused at the title of this post being similar to the 17th century poet John Milton’s famous last line in the sonnet ‘When I Consider How My Light is Spent’, the similarity, I hasten to add, is intentional. As we go along, you will understand.
The business end of the navy is at sea and that is where you want to be; that’s where there is life, order, sanity and some justification for being what you are: a sea-warrior. However much you dislike, you can’t be at sea all the time and have to serve ashore some time or the other. And whilst ashore, you have to either serve at headquarters or deal with one. That’s the time you learn, if you are doing it for the first time, how different navy life can be; you acquire a totally different perspective and environment (Earlier, I have written two articles on the subject: ‘The Tail Wags The Dog And How!’ and ‘The Tail Wags The Dog And How! – Part II’)
Ten days ago, the Navy was in the news for having appointed a Flag Officer Delhi Area (FODA) without the consent of the Ministry of Defence (MoD). MoD, unlike what people think, is actually a fighting or combat organisation. It is at all times at war with the armed forces. Here, however, it patted itself on the back (something that it has mastered over years) for having caught the Navy on the wrong foot. The Navy justified the appointment, but, insisted that FODA is now to be called Flag Officer Administration:
“We required such an office as we are very soon going to start work on the construction of Nau Sena Bhawan which will be a big task and otherwise also, the workload had gone up quite considerably in the national capital,” senior Navy sources explained. (The pic on top is of the foundation stone laying ceremony on 20 Aug 14).
The tail is now considerably larger and the poor dog at sea (sea-dog) is ready to be wagged violently and continuously.
In the Naval Headquarters at New Delhi the phrase Navy is not a vocation but a way of life is not entirely reflective of the true picture; for most it is a nine-to-five office job. The gap between theory and practice there is even greater than between the peninsular India and the land-locked capital. One of my course-mates, for example, landed up at NHQ immediately after undergoing the Staff Course at DSSC, Wellington (Nilgiris). In the staff course, he was converted into a Sahib with such theoretical things as Whitehall system of filing and other norms of handling correspondence. At the end of his first day, as he approached me in my ramshackle office (I had joined about a year before him and hence knew my way around there), he had tears in his eyes. Let alone not being able to locate a single file as per the Whitehall system, he was unable to find a chair or table for himself.
They also serve who are in Naval Headquarters!
I remember how amused I myself was when I attended my first meeting at NHQ on the all important topic of ‘The use of Hemp ropes on board ships’. The meeting was to start at 2:30 PM immediately after lunch. By about 3 PM everyone had trickled in except Commander A Singh. The chairman of the meeting, a senior Commodore, waited for everyone without once losing his temper. On the ships, he would have taken everyone’s pants off for keeping him waiting even for five minutes. Now, here, he was just drumming his table and asking, “Should we wait for A Singh or start the meeting?” and the senior officers around him kept saying, “Lets wait for A Singh”. By 3:15 PM, the Commodore’s limit of patience had been reached and he said, “Lets not wait for A Singh anymore. Lets start the meeting. He can join in when he comes.” Everyone acquiesced with this decision. The Commodore began the meeting by welcoming everyone and then he asked for someone to read out the minutes of the last meeting. Everyone said that there was a problem here since the minutes had not been circulated by A Singh (In NHQ, I quickly learnt that the absent member is to be blamed for everything. After leaving the Navy, when I joined the corporate sector, once I attended a meeting in the North Block (the business end of the government; the MoD and the armed forces headquarters are in the South Block) on the issue of ‘Security of SBMs’ (Single Buoy Moorings; whereat great percentage of crude oil is received from VLCCs or Very Large Crude Carriers). The chairman kept saying that this security had been handed over to XYZ. No one had any objection to it. I was quick to notice that the XYZ representatives weren’t attending the meeting. When I pointed this out, it was explained to me that it was deliberate since if the XYZ reps were to attend the meeting, they would have serious objections to it; now, they would learn of the decision through the minutes of the meeting. Naturally, in Naval Headquarters, we quickly learn the ways of our civilian counterparts rather than making them learn our disciplined and orderly ways). After an hour of the meeting on the subject of ‘Use of hemp ropes on ships’ the meeting was called off since A Singh, the most important member of the meeting hadn’t arrived.
They also serve who are in Naval Headquarters!
If you are wondering what I alluded to by the ways of the civilians in the last paragraph, I would like to point out that these are not just to be seen at the top levels. At the ground level (almost all the secretarial staff in the directorates is civilians), it is to be seen to be believed. My office clerk, for example, vanished for 114 days without informing me and I had to do most of my typing myself. When I pointed this to the DOA (Directorate of Administration) guys, they said due to manpower shortages, no relief could be provided. How about taking action against the clerk? They said this would be possible when the clerk would report back on duty. There is never any urgency for anything at the headquarters; things get sorted out on their own.
What about the gallant sailors who do wonders on the ships, who produce results against all odds? Well, in Naval Headquarters, these are mostly from North Indian states who are on home or closer-to-home postings. They are, therefore, least likely to complain about anything even if asked to fetch canteen items or movie tickets.
If I have painted a somewhat dismal environment of Naval Headquarters, I hasten to correct the view that great and difficult things actually happen at the headquarters. Whilst the Navy at sea is only preparing or training to fight against the enemy, in Naval Headquarters, the guys are actually fighting to obtain things for the Navy from the Ministry or ministries. How important this exercise is can be made out from the awards and honours list: a large percentage of those serving in Naval Headquarters find their names in the list.
They also serve who are in Naval Headquarters!
A few years back, when I was still in the Navy, the citation of a Commodore for Nausena Medal (Devotion to Duty) actually read that: “He obtained sanction for ‘ABC’ from the ministry against all odds, thereby accomplishing something beyond the ordinary call of duty.”
The Navy is a combat service, indeed; the MoD ensures we stay that way.
A news item, at the end of the year 2016, from a small village called La Joya in Mexico is probably manifestation of a phenomenon that has had far-reaching effects that the world has seen lately, in the fields of popularity, talent and fame. The invitation for ‘quinceanara‘ party or coming-of-age party of a 15 years old Rubi Ibarra by her father Crescencio went viral (the expression used in the Internet age for something that spreads with the speed of the viral fever from person to person). Whilst Crescencio meant by the words: Everyone is invited, people in the neighbouring communities, the local event photographer who posted the invitation video on Facebook omitted to mention that. The result: everyone landed up for the birthday party. The media and social media, both domestic and international, covered it as the event of the year.
Rubi Ibarra, not seen, arrives at the site of a mass that is part of her down-home 15th birthday party, surrounded by a horde of journalists and a drone flying overhead, in the village of La Joya, San Luis Potosi State, in Mexico, on Monday, December 26, 2016. Photo: AP
Five years ago, at the end of the year 2011, we had a variation of this phenomenon in India. A Tanglish (a hybrid of Tamil and English) song titled ‘Why this Kolaveri Di?‘ The song was sung by Dhanush on his own lyrics and composed by Anirudh Ravichander. Outside Tamil films, no one would have heard of them, not even the name of the 2012 psychological thriller simply called: ‘3’ (the shortest name of a movie in the world!). However, the success of this song on YouTube made it phenomenal (here is it from Wikipedia):
“Upon release, the hashtag #kolaveri topped the Indian trends in Twitter on the evening of 21 November 2011. Within a week of the official release of the video, it received more than 3.5 million views on YouTube, more than 1 million shares on Facebook, while trending in India on Twitter the whole time. By 30 November 2011, it had more than 10,500,000 YouTube views. By the start of 2012, it had crossed 30 million YouTube views. The song and versions of it account for more than 75 million of YouTube’s total views. The song became the top downloaded song on mobile with 4,100,000 downloads within the first 18 days of release.”
Dhanush, the singer, was invited as a guest of honour by the Prime Minister. Various parodies of the song also became viral (You can read my own parody: ‘Why This Valentine Valentine Di?’ on the subject of opposition to celebrating a foreign fest in India). Here is the song for you, again: Why this Kolaveri, Di? (Why this killing rage girl?):
What do these two phenomenal events tell us? Simply this that there is – what I term as – democratisation of talent – and one can be a star overnight. First, lets compare it with the olden times:
Even if one were very talented, it would be years before one became popular or achieved fame. William Shakespeare, the greatest author in English language, for example, during his years of struggle, used to go incognito to various bookshops in London, asking for his plays, so as to influence demand for his works. There are many factual stories of actors around the world who paid (instead of being paid) for acting in movies and plays before they became famous.
And, very few became popular and famous. For authors, poets, playwrights, speakers and actors, one had to wait for years before their works were noticed; sometimes merely by fluke. Ordinary people – except for the rare ones who made big – couldn’t even dream that someone, other than in their immediate and local community, would see or read the product of their art or skill. Overnight success was a rare occurrence. As an example, in the 16th century, just think of an ordinary street play in Bengal becoming famous all over India, let alone world-wide or for that matter a bard in say, Punjab.
Similarly, amongst the great speeches of the world, we only had to read about great personalities delivering these and at best we could read the text unless parts of such speeches found their way into some documentary or movie.
Nowadays, everyone, is a writer, actor, speaker, singer, photographer, poet and playwright (‘All Photographers And Writers, No Viewers And Readers‘). And if you have talent, suddenly the social media makes you famous without your having to stand on your head to be noticed. Everyone of us, for example, sees a number of videos everyday of unknown authors, actors, speakers and singers. As another example, earlier ordinary people would not have access to worldwide listeners and viewers until platforms like TED Talks made it possible. Recently, we heard an Indian Army major convincing us of the rationale of deploying army in Kashmir.
One of the valid critical observations on this phenomenon is that media-savvy people (that being their only talent) can make themselves or others famous who have little or no talent. Conversely, there are still many talented people still to be discovered. I have only this to say to it that any new video game that you buy also has a cheat program. In democracy, talent would sometimes suffer because it is based on majority acceptance and majority is not always the best judge of the quality of art, skill or talent.
However, the chances of ordinary but talented men and women being watched everyday by millions have increased manifold. How many of us, for example, listened live to Beatles or Mohammad Rafi or seen live great dancers like Gene Kelly? However, these days, ordinary but talented singers and dancers reach us on the telly, cellphones and other devices and we watch with bated breath to see their talent on, say, America’s Got Talent or Sa Re Ga Ma; literally millions of us, many more than those who watched the famous and the popular in the olden days.
What about the dilution of real talent due to this democratisation of talent? Well, there are both sides of the coin here. The good view is that excellence is pegged even higher than earlier since you can instantly see who are better and worse. The reverse view is that popularity often gets the mask of fame and excellence.
Lastly, whilst it is easy to be Good these days, it is equally easy to be Bad and Evil. One can learn, in fairly easy steps on the net, how to make a molotov cocktail or even a dirty bomb. Similarly, one can visit darknet or tor browser with impunity leaving no footprints to be traced whilst engaged in sinister things.
However, with some exceptions, I feel that democratisation of talent is a good thing, indeed. Whilst we, keep saying, largely erroneously, that God made all men and women equal (Please read: ‘Debatable Philosophies Of Life’ that I wrote on the last day of last year), the fact is that those who were born with silver spoons in their mouths often achieved success, fame and popularity. However, now, there is the beginning of an effort to make all men and women equal. Who knows, a time will come, when evolutionary changes would make everyone equally good singer, writer, actor, player or speaker?
And then, perhaps, everyone would be invited for and attend everyone’s party rather than being asked, just by accident: “Are you going to Rubi’s party?“
खुश थे जब जेब में न होते थे पैसे,
अब हैं तो कुछ अजीब लोग मिले हैं ऐसे I
हर चीज़ खरीदने पे लगा दिया है महसूल,
और कहा के यही है कफ़ायत का असूल,
तुम्हारे पैसे पे मुल्क का भी उतना ही है हक़,
जितना औरत का मर्द की कमाई पे है मरने तक I
देश को ज़रुरत है देश वासी हों तुम जैसे I
खुश थे जब जेब में न होते थे पैसे,
अब हैं तो कुछ अजीब लोग मिले हैं ऐसे I
पहले थोड़े में गुज़ारा था, ज़रूरतें भी थीं कम,
बीवी को रोज़ सैर पे ले जाया करते थे हम,
अब ब्यूटी पार्लर का हो गया है आना जाना,
मल्टी प्लेक्स में पिक्चर और होटलों में खाना I
क्या सुहाने दिन थे गरीबी के, बीत गए वह कैसे?
खुश थे जब जेब में न होते थे पैसे,
अब हैं तो कुछ अजीब लोग मिले हैं ऐसे I
पहले वज़ीर आज़म दूर से ही नज़र आते थे,
मुँह पे लगा के ताला, कुछ भी न सुनाते थे I
उनका मुँह न खुला जब वज़ीर पूरा खेत चर गए,
और देश की जागीर अपनी तजोरियों में भर गए I
अब जाने मन की बात सुनाने आ जाते हैं कैसे?
खुश थे जब जेब में न होते थे पैसे,
अब हैं तो कुछ अजीब लोग मिले हैं ऐसे I
पहले होनहार पुलिस वालों को सौ दो सो का था इंतज़ार,
अब उन्हें पता है जेब में नोट हैं गुलाबी दो हज़ार I
पहले बद-अमली नेता और उनके मुलाज़िम भी थे भोले,
अब हमारे पुराने हज़ार ओ पांच सौ के नोट देख कर बोले:
“लगता है खाली हाथ आ गए हो जैसे I”
खुश थे जब जेब में न होते थे पैसे,
अब हैं तो कुछ अजीब लोग मिले हैं ऐसे I
क्या होगा इस मुल्क का, कभी आता है ख़याल,
हर एक के होंठों पे बस एक ही है सवाल:
क्या हमारा किरदार नोटबंदी से बदल जाएगा,
या कुछ सालों बाद वह पल भी आएगा,
जब इंक़लाब के बिना कुछ न बदलेगा ऐसे,
खुश थे जब जेब में न होते थे पैसे,
अब हैं तो कुछ अजीब लोग मिले हैं ऐसे I
उठो तुम्हें तुम्हारा ईमान बुला रहा है,
मुल्क की सरहद पे खड़ा जवान बुला रहा है:
“मुल्क की हिफाज़त सिर्फ मेरा ही नहीं है फ़र्ज़,
मुल्क और भारत माँ का तुम पे भी है क़र्ज़ I ”
आओ सब मिल के देश को बचाएं,
जितना हमारे हक़ का है बस उतना ही खाएं I
बद इखलाकी लोगों की कर दो वोट – बंदी,
ता के दुबारा न आये इस मुल्क में नोटबंदी I
(Cartoon courtesy: indiandefencenews.com)
Khush the jab jeb mein na hote the paise,
Ab hain to kuchh ajeeb log mile hain aise.
Har cheez khareedne pe laga diya hai mahsool,
Aur kaha hai ke yahi hai kafaayet ka asool,
Tumhaare paise pe mulk ka utna hi hai haq,
Jitna aurat ka mard ki kamaayi pe hai marne taq,
Desh ki zaroorat hai desh waasi hon tum jaise,
Khush the jab jeb mein na hote the paise,
Ab hain to kuchh ajeeb log mile hain aise.
Pehle thode mein guzaara tha, zaroorten bhi thin kam,
Biwi ko roz sair pe le jaaya karte the ham,
Ab Beauty Parlour ka ho gaya hai aana jaana,
Multiplex mein picture aur hotlon mein khaana.
Kyaa suhaane din the gareebi ke, beet gaye woh kaise?
Khush the jab jeb mein na hote the paise,
Ab hain to kuchh ajeeb log mile hain aise.
Pehle wazeer azam door se hi nazar aate the,
Moonh pe laga ke taala, kuchh bhi na sunaate the.
Unka moonh na khula jab wazeer pura khet char gaye,
Aur desh ki jaagir apni tajoriyon mein bahr gaye.
Ab jaane Man Ki Baat sunaane aa jaate hain kaise?
Khush the jab jeb mein na hote the paise,
Ab hain to kuchh ajeeb log mile hain aise.
Pehle honhaar police waalon ko sau do sau ka tha intezaar,
Ab unhen pata hai jeb mein note hain gulaabi do hazaar.
Pehle bad-amli neta aur unke mulazim bhi the bhole,
ab hamaare puraane hazaar aur paanch sau ke note dekh kar bole:
“Lagta hai khaali haath aa gaye ho jaise”.
Khush the jab jeb mein na hote the paise,
Ab hain to kuchh ajeeb log mile hain aise.
Kya hoga is mulk ka, kabhi aata hai khyaal,
Har ek ke honthon pe bus ek hi hai sawaal:
Kya hamaara kirdaar notebandi se badal jaayega,
Yaa kuchh saalon ke baad woh bhi pal aayega,
Jab inqlaab ke bina kuchh na badlega aise.
Khush the jab jeb mein na hote the paise,
Ab hain to kuchh ajeeb log mile hain aise.
Utho tumhen tumhaara imaan bula raha hai,
Mulk ki sarhadd pe khada jawan bula raha hai:
“Mulk ki hifaazat sirf mera hi nahin hai farz,
Mulk aur Bharat Maa ka tum pe bhi hai karz.”
Aao sab milke desh ko bachaayen,
Jitna hamaare haq ka hai bus utna hi khaayen.
Bud-ikhlaaqi logon ki kar do vote-bandi,
Taa ke dobaara na aaye is mulk mein notebandi.
Finally, last week, we had Shri Pranab Mukherjee, telling the Indian parliamentarians that continued disruption of parliament by the opposition to protest against demonetisation is not acceptable at all. He reminded them that the ways of the street are ill-suited for the parliament and that crores of rupees are wasted when the parliament is disrupted in this manner.
The fact is that the Congress has been so used to ruling the country that it has come close not to believe in democracy at all. Hence, whenever it loses elections, it wants to believe that the people have made a terrible mistake in electing an alternative and that the country should get back to being ruled by it as quickly as possible. And, if the people can’t do it on their own, it would leave no stone unturned to facilitate conditions for its rightful return to ruling the country. In this it has been helped by various factors:
The country-wide movement against the imposition of Emergency in the country by Prime Minister Indira Gandhi after Allahabad court found her guilty of electoral malpractices although succeeded in installing a non-Congress government (Janata Government) for the first time in 1977, it lasted for only two years due to various factors such as internal squabbles, and the Hindu-Muslim riots due to external machinations by the Congress trying to portray that it was the only secular front in the country and that the country was doomed if it was to go the RSS way.
Generations of bureaucrats in the government have obtained reflected glory, power and influence by being as loyal to Congress governments as wazirs have been to the rajas. The Congress kept them in good humour soon as it was elected or re-elected to power. This arrangement worked so fine that I remember when in 1978 the first non-Congress was formed in Maharashtra, there was a news item that brought out that the babus, loyal to generations of Congress MLAs, didn’t let the newly elected non-Congress MLAs to transact any meaningful business.
Successive Congress governments shared the largesse with a number of think-tanks in the capital and elsewhere who mastered the art of pleasing their masters by carefully concocted theories that only secular (read Congress led) government would be the country’s saviour. And this, even after it facilitated the massacre of thousands of Sikhs in the capital and elsewhere after Indira Gandhi was killed by her own security-guard, a Sikh. Predictably, after Modi government was installed, Congress engineered the people’s movement against intolerance. At this juncture, it was helped in no mean measure by the Hindu revanchists who translated BJP victory as their licence to have a Hindu rashtra with supremacy of cow and other purely religious ideas. (Please read: ‘Is Communal Disharmony A Challenge To India’s March To Greatness?’ that I wrote in Feb 2015).
And just a week before I write, there is a newspaper item about Prime Minister Modi directly reaching out to the people since, he says, he is not allowed to speak in the parliament. It seems that the governments in India and the opposition take turns in denigrating the parliament. It also appears that the Indian parliamentarians take the word opposition very seriously and feel compelled to oppose anything and everything that the other party or front proposes, even if the idea was mooted by them in the past.
Why does the opposition feel compelled not to let the government duly elected by the people to function thereby questioning democracy as well as people’s verdict? I think the precedence of obtaining independence by disobedience movement engineered by Mahatma Gandhi goads it to employ similar tactics against all rulers as the father of the nation employed against the British. That we are already an independent country doesn’t direct it to change tactics more readily suitable and even acceptable in a functioning democracy. Hence, many a times, the opposition doesn’t mind putting the ruling party or even the nation to shame internationally as long as it can score points with the voters as an opposition. Consider the following:
In order to infuse new thought in a stalemated Indo-Pak diplomacy, when the BJP PM, Atal Bihari Vajpayee, started a Sada-e-Sarhand (Call of the Frontier) Delhi-Lahore Bus on 19 Feb 1999 (on the inaugural day as the world watched agog, the Prime Minister Vajpayee traveled by the bus to attend a summit in Pakistan and was received at Wagah Border by Pakistan PM Nawaz Sharif), the opposition, as soon as the Kargil War started, protested on Delhi streets by displaying a large rubber-inflated bus, upside down. Even some of its own party men felt that it was in very poor taste; it showed as if it hated the enemy of the country less than the BJP:
(Pic courtesy: India Today)
In order to prove that despite people’s verdict a non-Congress government wasn’t qualified (read experienced; since the only party that had any experience of ruling the country was the Congress), when Vajpayee government took over, it rejoiced in onions (staple food for the poor in the country) being made scarce by hoarders loyal to it and put his government to shame for mishandling the onion-crisis in 1998. The BJP, having quickly learnt from the opposition (Congress) how to bring the government to heel on the issue of onions, returned the favour in 2013:
BJP workers protest onion price rise in 2013
After the Uri terror attack on 18 Sep 16, the opposition took the Modi government to task for not coming equal to its pom-pomed speeches when it was in opposition to the effect that if voted to power it would teach a lesson to Pakistan if it indulges in proxy-war that it had got used to. So, on 29 Sep 16, eleven days after the terror attack at Uri that killed 19 Indian soldiers, Indian Director General of Military Operations (DGMO) Lt Gen Dilbir Singh declared it in a press statement that the Indian Army had made a preemptive strike against “terrorist teams” who were preparing to “carry out infiltration and conduct terrorist strikes inside Jammu and Kashmir and in various metros in other states.” (Please read: ‘Cross- LOC Surgical Counter-Terrorism Strikes, A New Indian Psyche And Resolve?’) Seeing this as a national issue of high-import internationally, the opposition (led by Congress) initially declared full support to the government, but later relentlessly made a mockery of the government for its false assertion. What was the trigger? The BJP government tried to get credit for the surgical strikes so as to sway the voters in the largest Indian electoral state of Uttar Pradesh. In retaliation, the Congress very quickly showed the government and hence the nation in poor light globally (Please also read: ‘ “India Retaliates” – The Aftermath And The Consequences’).
After the so called ‘Surgical Strikes’ by the Modi government, the Congress and any number of think-tanks that it had so assiduously promoted during its tenures (which I mentioned in the beginning of this essay) including retired armed forces officers, claimed that such strikes had been carried out many times earlier too under Congress rule except that the Congress never talked about it in national interest (Ha! Ha! How the average Indian hopes that sometime or the other the political parties (all of them) would actually be guided by national interests and not electoral gains).
The Congress led opposition ensured that the complete winter session of the parliament was a wash-out on the issue of protesting against demonetisation of high-value currency notes of 1000 and 500 rupees, announced by PM Modi on the night of 08 Nov 16. That its Manmohan Singh government had mooted this in 2012 was soon forgotten. As far as Modi government is concerned, it took enormous credit for the courage to go in for demonetisation in order to rid the country of corruption and cross-border terrorism conveniently forgetting that in 2012, when in opposition, it had opposed it tooth and nail on the issues of distressing the common man and doing nothing to net the big fish who would, in any case, find ways and means to circumvent such demonetisation.
It can be seen with these examples that there is no consistent policy with any of our major political parties. The only consistent policy that it has is to denigrate the other party for whatever it does even if when it was in power it did or mooted exactly what it is opposing now. It ridicules the government when it is in opposition to have come up with some hare-brained idea but, finds merit in the same idea when it comes to power.
Who suffers? We, the people of India, suffer irrespective of who is in power and who is in opposition. And, this suffering is in many different ways:
First of all, our political polarisation makes us divided as people as we or they; either you are with us or against us. The politicians of all hues and parties rejoice in such divide and rule policy that was mastered by our erstwhile rulers: the British, and now perfected by our own rulers. The real issues facing our country are lost track of when we make everything into political or worse, electoral issues (Please read ‘How Proud Should We Be Of Indian Republic At 62?’ an essay written by me on Republic Day in 2011 and bringing out how Indian democracy and elections work and make us at the bottom of human growth indices.)
Such polarisation also ensures that we are unable to discuss the merits or otherwise of issues without taking sides. The debate on the television is all about the opposition holding a charge against the government about their wrong-doings and the government spokesperson bringing out that the opposition, when they were in power, did worse. It is as if all is forgiven and forgotten in the light of the misdeeds of the previous government.
Take the present issue of demonetisation for example. The country is divided squarely into mainly two types of people: the Modi-Bhakats (Disciples or Worshippers of Modi who feel that even at times when people are put into extreme hardships, Modi can’t do any wrong and will ultimately lead us all to pots-of-gold as soon as achhe-din (good days) are ushered in) and the Congress-Bhakats (Disciples or Worshippers of Congress) who feel that the sooner the nation returns to Congress rule and normalcy, the better. Very few have discussed, at any length, the merits or demerits of it objectively and whether there were other and better means available to achieve the same objective. Indeed, the objective (or the goal post) itself is still not clear: from tackling corruption to cashless society, the goal-past has been frequently shifted.
Granted that corruption in our society has reached such gargantuan proportions that some extreme measures were required, why is it that the Modi-Bhakats are silent about Modi government having exempted political parties from any adverse effects of possession of 1000 and 500 rupee notes? Doesn’t it realise that the mother or gangotri of all corruption in India is funding of political parties? Doesn’t it make mockery of the claim of Modi government that the travails undergone by the common man due to demonetisation would be well worth it since it would largely do away with corruption?
The common man, therefore, always makes sacrifices and the big fish (such as the political parties) laugh all the way to the bank or wherever they store their money, at his cost.
I would want the Modi government to be given a chance to prove its credentials. I salute the people’s verdict in its favour in the last Lok Sabha elections in April-May 2014. Afterall, before that the country had been plunged into a morass of almost total corruption, inefficiency, hopelessness and cynicism. The majority voted Modi into power to bring about a change. However, most Indians tend to forget that once brought into power the Prime Minister or the government ceases to represent only those (often as little as 9 percent of the electorate; please see these calculations in the article quoted earlier: ‘How Proud Should We Be Of Indian Republic At 62?’ ) that voted for him or it. The PM or the government when in power represents and is answerable to all the people of the country who have every right to discuss every issue on its own merit, without taking sides. For example, however fond I may be of Modi’s promise to bring about changes, as a retired defence forces person, I can never forget the fact that he and his government allowed the armed forces personnel to be denigrated, publicly abused and assaulted on the issue of OROP? How can I forget that whilst finding faults with the Congress for superseding LtGen SK Sinha in favour of Gen AS Vaidya, it did exactly the same with LtGen Bipin Rawat superseding two others?
In all these issues, follies and announcements, this time, though, there are bigger stakes. The people gave Modi government a clear majority to bring the country out of the pit of hopelessness that it had plunged into before him. If he fails and/or made to fail, we have a revolution waiting around the corner that is likely to be bloody, brought about by the people who are fed up of all governments and oppositions in the country; whose numbers include the vast majority of Indians.
Lets hope the government and the opposition keep this ominous warning in mind whilst blithely reducing every issue that the country faces into crass politics.
If the title suggests to you that we went around with our Kodak or Agfa cameras (the prevalent models in the 1970s) to take pictures of our favourite film-stars like Dilip Kumar, Dev Anand, Vyjayanthimala or Nutan, you are as far away from the mark as someone who thinks pineapple is an apple-like fruit that grows on the pine trees. Worse, if you think, we – the navy officers – had decided to get rid of the bad guys or the villains in the Indian movies from Jeevan to Pran to Amjad Khan in Sholay and carried guns for that specific purpose, once again, you are wrong.
Shooting Stars is simply the process of bringing down to the horizon the images with the help of a marine sextant (see picture) of some of the 57 navigational stars given in the nautical almanac at the times of morning and evening nautical twilights (when both the stars and the horizon can be seen by the naked eye), thus measuring their exact angle with the earth’s horizon in degrees, arcminutes and arcseconds. The idea was to fix the position of a ship at sea, far from shore objects, in comparison to the known position of some of these 57 navigational stars. Naturally, in order to fix the position of the ship with some accuracy, one would have to get more than two bearing lines. The accuracy and the fastness of the observations would ensure that most of the bearing lines (from more than two stars) would meet at a point and that would be the fixed position of the ship. Without boring you with complex details, this in essence is the theory of the celestial navigation, also known as astronavigation. During our formative years in the navy, all of us had to learn the intricacies of the astronavigation.
Shooting the sun (Pic courtesy: wpclipart.com)
What about daytime? you will ask me. Well, one would shoot the sun! Aha, but sun is only one, you will persist. Yes, thank God, it is only one. However, if you measure the angle of the sun at different times of the day, allow for the changes in dead-reckoning (or DR) positions of the ship, you will get as many bearing lines as the number of times you shoot the sun, and then, once again, you can fix the ship. Fair enough, you will now ask, but, what exactly is a dead reckoning (DR) position. If you ain’t seeing the stars until now, a DR position is:
DR Position (Pic courtesy: sailtrain.co.uk)
the process of calculating one’s current position by using a previously determined position, or fix, and advancing that position based upon known or estimated speeds over elapsed time and course. The corresponding term in biology, used to describe the processes by which animals update their estimates of position or heading, is path integration.
I remember the time, when I underwent my higher-command course with the army at Mhow, and we joked about army in the mountains advancing with the speed of the mules (they provide logistic support to the army and no army can reach a place or sustain itself unless and until the mules carrying the logistics have cought up). We used to have any number of cartoons about the pongos (naval slang for army infantry guys) and mules. Little did the army guys know that some of our own methods also originated from the animals!
If you are with me so far, with or without stars in your eyes, you would then ask me if we already have the DR position, why to then further fix the ship? Well, DR positions are nowhere near being accurate. As with the animals, you would have to track all the various paths and speeds that the animal took and then arrive at his/her final position after a few hours. First of all it would depend upon the accuracy of the initial position and then on the accuracy of measurement of all the courses and speeds and drifts due to currents and winds and then arrive at the final position.
For example, lets say, the three or more plotted lines if they don’t meet at one point, they would form between them a figure called cocked-hat. Most often than not, all of us busying ourselves in astronavigation would land up with more cocked-hats than in the complete wardrobe of, say, Nelson.
Hence, astronavigation was for us the process of finding the ship’s position more accurately than the dead-reckoning (DR) position. A final question that you would ask me is that weren’t there modern technological means available to fix the ship? Well, there were, but, we were to learn astronavigation just-in-case in the same manner as we kept learning sails and masts even after the advent of steam-ships.
Finally, I might as well tell you that being at sea is very much different from anything that you can imagine. You have no idea of how lost you can get after spending a few hours or days at sea. All directions appear the same and there is nothing to differentiate one from the other. The only analogy that I can give you is the one given by my armoured course mates (how the poor guys miss out on becoming the army chiefs unless it is by accident!) in desert warfare; at times you have no idea of whether you are coming or going. Anyway, let me add that this confusion of being at sea has led Fleet Navigating Officers (the most qualified navigators in the fleet) of leading an entire fleet into waters and even harbours different from the ones that they had intended (as an example, please read: ‘Poor Communicator Had The Last Laugh’). In a major tactical exercise at sea, as another example, when the fleet at sea was divided into Red (enemy) and Blue (own) forces, two ships of the Blue forces encountered each other after going on different tracks and shot missiles at each other thinking of the other as Red ship.
A navy officer, of my era or earlier, would therefore be well versed with recognising navigational stars at sea and would rattle out star names such as Sirius, Rigel, Betelgeuse, Pollux, Aldebaran, Capella, Spica, Arcturus and the Belt of Orion simply by looking at the sky.
Other than that, let me assure you, there is a vast difference between the theory and the practice. For those of you who think it is ancient and outdated, let me tell you that the most modern navy in the world – the US Navy – discontinued (in part only) celestial navigation being taught to its officers in formative years only. And what is the part that they discontinued? Well, the part of physically calculating and drawing bearing lines ( a 22 step process that we all learnt). Instead, nowadays, the shooting star data (the physical data) is fed into a computer and a fix is obtained almost instantly. There are clearly advantages in astronavigation such as its signals cannot be jammed or stopped (unlike that of a radar or even satellite), it is globally available (stars and sun are available everywhere) and the process doesn’t give out any signals that can be detected by the enemy.
However, the inaccuracies of the process (two people are required at the same time to shoot stars: one for bringing the star to the horizon and the other for accurately noting the time of the observation with a chronometer) are many such as inaccurately calibrated sextant or chronometer, great inaccuracies in the last known position, misidentified stars, horizon not being clear due to many reasons (such as choppy seas) and inaccuracies in calculating and plotting. And these led to some hilarious situations at sea.
One that we had often heard was about these young Royal Navy officers trying out celestial navigation in the Thames river in the olden days. After the position calculated by them was plotted on the chart, the Navigator told them gravely that they would have to remove their hats as the ship had landed up in the middle of Saint Paul’s Cathedral.
In our case too, many a times the fix was plotted on the land. Minutes and even hours of shooting stars or the sun, calculating and plotting, would be of no use to the ship.
During my higher command course with the army, the only use for the navy that my army course mates found was to help them in their operations on land. Little did they know how often we had been helping them during the course of astronavigation by landing our ships just next to where they were busy fighting land battles!
I had never done this before even though I always wanted to. I have spent 37 years in the Navy; but, that’s like a person joining the air force on the strength of his having travelled on the upper deck of a double-decker bus.
My wife and I were visiting Haridwar and Rishikesh after our Course Get-together at Dehradun. The day before attempting to make true our fantasy we visited the place called Shivpuri (23 Kms from Rishikesh towards Badrinath), the launching ground of most river rafting done in that area except for the really intrepid ones who go much further up the river.
Next day, we decided that we had to undertake a rapid quickly enough so as to get over the fear rather than launch ourselves from this location. So we went a kilometre further up and came to this spot:
We were staying with the army at Raiwala and with their help, it wasn’t difficult to book the rafts at reasonable prices. There are of course a number of rafting operators readily available charging you as little as Rupees 500 per head and about Rupees 3000 for the entire raft. We had a little difficulty because on the morning of our adventure, the operator told me that we (my wife and I) were both on the other side of sixty and regulations permitted him to permit people up to 38 years of age to undertake the rafting. He somberly added that a few years back a qualified rafting guide had lost his life when the raft toppled (capsized) in a rapid. Even the Wikipedia talks about whitewater rafting as extreme sports that may result in fatality.
Lyn (short for Marilyn) and I however convinced the operator that we would be very very careful. With me being from the Navy, our guide soon gained confidence and I negotiated one of the rapids standing up in the raft. I also enjoyed jumping in the river and swimming.
Lyn and I with a person from the army (Parmeswaran) to help us and our guide (Aryan) and his assistant soon formed a reliable team (the primary spirit of the rafting) and trusted one another with our lives. I learnt that the international rafting association, the governing body of rafting anywhere classifies the rapids into six classes with Class 1 being those rapids that require slight manoeuvering, with small rough areas, and not requiring anything more than basic skills to the most dangerous rapids being of Class 6 with risk of serious injury and death being very high. But then, if there is no risk, there is no fun (Please read my: ‘The Lure Of Going On A Limb’ after my rappelling experience). They say only the most tortuous paths lead to the most beautiful destinations and in case of whitewater rafting, it is very true.
There are of course a number of rapids by the time you get to the destination (Ram Jhoola at Rishikesh) and one of the fearful ones is called Roller Coaster. Here is a video made by me of other rafts going through this rapid (whilst you are in the raft and negotiating it, clicking videos is the last thing that you’d want to do. Hence, I don’t have videos of our negotiating these rapids):
Here is the first of the rapids called ‘Camel Top’ that we negotiated (the video is shot by me of another boat doing the same thing):
It is not just the rapids that give you thrill. Every once in a while you come across calmer waters (of course with strong under currents) and then you get to look out and admire the scenery and your other mates in the raft:
In the above pics, you would have noticed a man on the bank, in maroon robes playing on the flute. He was playing the popular arti Raghupati Raghav Raja Ram. My video couldn’t capture the notes but I could capture the atmosphere:
Whilst paddling through the rapids, the technique that we used more often than not was to continue with the momentum as much as possible by rapid paddling called punching. High siding (leaning out as much as possible on the higher side in order to right the raft going through the rapid) was used only once or twice and we didn’t use low siding at all. For a navy-man, who has done these enough at sea in a sailing boat, there was nothing new, however. I must, at this stage, have a word of praise for my partner, my wife, for not just the daring but enjoying the adventure thoroughly:
I was reminded of the time, seven years ago, when we went to Andaman and Nicobar islands and I offered her to do snorkelling with me in Chidhiya Tapu. She was apprehensive of lowering herself into the sea because she doesn’t know swimming. However, after she learnt the technique and saw the beautiful choral underwater, she didn’t want to get out:
Rafting can actually be that kind of fun and more. One doesn’t ever want it to get over. It is like going through the river of life with all its ups and downs, dangerous and risky times, calm and happy occasions and of course the joy of having been there and done that.
Soon we had crossed the last of the rapids called Doble Trouble, the name having derived from the rocks in the middle of the river, dividing the river into two. At this point we started seeing first the Laxman Jhoola and then our destination the Ram Jhoola:
We had had an experience of a lifetime and as we saw the Ram Jhoola and the places around, wanted it to go on and on and never finish:
The notes of the final part of the aarti of the evening before for Gange Maa echoed in our hearts and ears and we felt fortunate that Ganga Mata (Mother Ganga) gave us the opportunity to be with her and witness her kindness, loveliness and enchantment even if for just two and half hours:
Be part of this enchantment and do this adventure at least once in your life. As far as my wife and I are concerned, it has prepared us for bigger and greater adventures.
Zindagi na milegi dobara (You can’t get your life again).
क्या अजब है मेरे देश में ये पैसे का खेल?
अमीर की बद-अमली ग़रीब रहा है झेल I
आज़ादी के वक़्त से वह खड़ा है कतार में,
कोई तो होगा कभी किसी भी सरकार में,
जो उसके दिन भी वैसे ही बदल डाले,
जैसे नेताओं के बदलते हैं एक ही चुनाव में I
क्या अजब है मेरे देश में ये पैसे का खेल?
बद उनवान को नहीं, ईमानदार को मिली है जेल I
यह वोटों और नोटों वाले आम आदमी को पूजते हैं,
पर अकेले में तो यह भगवान् को भी लूटते हैं,
कहो इनसे कभी यह भी ख़ुदा के ही बन्दे हैं,
इनके महल बनाने में जिनके हाथ पैर सूजते हैं I
क्या अजब है मेरे देश में ये पैसे का खेल?
इनसानियत ओ इख्लाकियत की जैसे लगी हुई है ‘सेल’ I
“ग़रीबी हटाओ” “जम्होरीअत बचाओ” के नारे बहुत सुन लिए,
जागते सोते इन्साफ-ओ-खुशहाली के ख्वाब बहुत बुन लिए,
अब इंक़लाब आने का माहौल बना जाता है,
इन्तेख़ाब आते गए और हर दफा खुदगर्ज़ ही चुन लिए I
क्या अजब है मेरे देश में ये पैसे का खेल?
अमीर की बद-अमली ग़रीब रहा है झेल I
(Pic courtesy: news18.com)
Kya ajab hai mere desh mein ye paise ka khel?
Ameer ki bad-amli gareeb raha hai jhel.
Azaadi ke waqt se woh khada hai qataar main,
Koi to hoga kabhi kisi bhi sarkaar mein,
Jo uske din bhi waise hi badal daale,
Jaise netaayon ke badlate hain ek hi chunaav mein,
Kya ajab hai mere desh mein ye paise ka khel?
Bad unwaan ko nahin, imaandaar ko mili hai jail.
Yeh voton aur noton waale aam aadmi ko poojte hain,
Par akele mein to yeh bhagwaan ko bhi lootte hain,
Kaho inse kabhi yeh bhi khuda ke hi bande hain,
Inke mahal banane mein jinke haath pair soojte hain.
Kyaa ajab hai mere desh mein ye paise ka khel?
Insaaniyat o ikhlaqiyat ki jaise lagi hui hai ‘sale’.
“Gareebi hataao” “Jamhoriyat bachaao” ke naare bahut sun liye,
jaagte sote insaaf-o-khushaali ke khwaab bahut bun liye;
Ab inqlaab aane ka mahaul bana jaata hai,
Intekhaab aate gaye aur har dafaa khudgarz hi chun liye.
Kyaa ajab hai mere desh mein ye paise ka khel?
Ameer ki bad-amli gareeb raha hai jhel.
It is my fantasy place. My fantasy is all about a boat in a lake on a moonlit night with a partner. So what if this time the boat happened to be not a rowing boat but a paddle-boat with a dragon face and so what if the moon was out in the forenoon itself? It was still my fantasy place.
The Journey to and from Renuka
My wife and I were on return passage to Kandaghat from Haridwar. We spent the night at the Special Forces Training School Mess at Nahan and started from there after breakfast. The distance of 38 Kms from Nahan was spent looking at the beautiful scenery:
On the way back from Renuka to Kandaghat via Kumhar Hatti, we realised that even if we had gone straight from Kandaghat, we would have been blessed with equally beautiful sights:
Largest Natural Lake in Himachal
Renuka Lake is the largest natural lake in Himachal (the Gobind Sagar Lake in Bilaspur being the largest man-made reservoir in Himachal). We took a Golf Kart to go on the track around the lake and the driver told us that it is about 3.5 Kms (the actual circumference of the lake being 3.214 Kms). Many people feel that the Khajiar Lake near Dalhousie is most serene and isolated. Well, you have to be at Renuka to experience the quiet. You can hear the birds, the fish (the lake is house to large Mahseer fish), and even the dry leaves fall from the trees. You can whisper to your inner self; it is so quiet.
Religious Significance
Renuka Lake is not just a tourist spot of outstanding and enchanting beauty, it is a place of great religious significance. The lake is named after the goddess Renuka or Renu who is the avatar of goddess Parvati or Shakti, the wife of Lord Shiva. Indeed when we went boating, we had to do so bare feet as the lake is considered the abode of Renuka ji (the name literally meaning Mother of the Universe).
The temple of Lord Parshuram stands on the bank of the lake. Lord Parshuram was the sixth incarnation of Lord Vishnu. Bhagwati Renuka Ji, Lord Parshuram’s mother and her husband Maharishi Jamdagni performed deep meditation (known in Hindi as Tapa or तप, from the Hindi word Tapsaya और तपस्या) at a place appropriately called Tape Ka Tibba (Meditation Hillock). Lord Vishnu was pleased with their meditation and took birth as their son. He was named Ram by his parents but came to be known as Parshuram because he in turn pleased Lord Shiva with his meditation (Tapa) and received the divine weapon Parshu from him.
The temple of Lord Parshuram stands at the bank of Renuka Lake
On the opposite side of the temple, across the lake is the holy spot where there is an icon of Renuka ji:
Renuka ji resides permanently in the lake after she took Jal Samadhi (meditative absorption in water) after King Sahastrabahu killed Maharishi Jamdagni for the latter’s refusal to hand over the Kamdhenu cow as the Maharishi explained that it was the property of Lord Indra given to him in trust. Renuka ji promised her son Lord Parshuram that every year on the occasion of Devprabodhini Ekadashi she would emerge from the lake to meet him. A five day international festival is held in Renuka on this occasion every year. This is immediately after Diwali and my wife and I missed it by a few days. A visit to the temple of Lord Parshuram is a must. You would be served with free Langar (community kitchen) whilst you are there:
Tourist Interest
There is a HPTDC hotel and restaurant at the entrance itself. Both the rooms and food are available at reasonable prices (Rooms ranging from Rupees 2500 to 3500 per day and night).
To go around the lake, one can hire boats and these are reasonably priced too (A four seater paddle boat costs Rs.250 and six seater Rs.350). There is a Security or Guard Boat on duty to help in case of distress.
Boating in the lake is an unforgettable experience. My wife and I did it starting 11 AM to noon on 22 Nov. The sky was totally blue, the sun shone pleasantly and as its rays shimmered on the surface of the lake, these were reflected into the branches of the trees around. Whilst boating, if you keep hearing the words: “this is heaven on earth“, chances are that you yourself are saying them as a litany as you go from one enchanting sight to another:
One can go on the 3.5 Kms track around the lake in the HPTDC provided Golf-Kart. They charge Rs. 50 per head. My wife and I took the trip by ourselves. There are pens of a mini-zoo all along this track:
Parshuram Sarovar and Renuka Temple
Both are right next to the lake. Indeed, the way to the lake is through the Sarovar on the bank of which is the temple and a Forest Rest House:
Memories Forever
Renuka Lake is definitely the place to spend a day and night and make precious memories that will last you a lifetime. In the end, here are some that we made:
Sunbyanyname brings you personalised experiences of travel. Please await my next destination.
Submariners are a class apart. They are cooler than the arctic ice that you saw in the movie Ice Station Zebra in which Rock Hudson played Commander James Ferraday, Captain of the US attack submarine USS Tigerfish. Some of you who saw the movie would recall that the movie was ostensibly about rescuing British personnel on a drifting ice weather station in the arctic but actually about a classified intelligence mission. There was this scene in the movie when Commander Ferraday welcomes ‘Mr. Jones‘, the British intelligence agent on board by telling him, “Here on this boat, we are very informal. Everyone is known by his first name. My first name is ‘Captain’.” How cool that sounded. Well, submariners are like that.
Before they join the branch, there is a special psychology and psychiatrist test for them to qualify; for, if they ain’t the cool type, amongst other attributes, they can commit fatal mistakes in the closed confines of a submarine (In the F class of submarines, for example, the sailor on watch in the DG compartment didn’t have space enough to stand erect). Our famous tall submariner is Admiral VS Shekhawat. His bunk was extended by more than a foot on the submarine so that he could at least sleep properly. He was my CO on a ship and he was cooler than any cucumber.
Anyway, I hope you got the point about the submariners being the coolest of the cats.
What do all of us in the Navy do when we are not at sea? You would expect us to be enjoying life (“Coolex” as the navy men say it; the suffix ‘ex’ is used for exercises. Hence, TACEX would be a tactical exercise. In the same manner, ‘Coolex‘ would mean an exercise in cooling one’s heels!) or twiddling our thumbs. Far from it. Half of us are busy writing reports of the exercises done at sea (most of us return ashore bleary-eyed since the naval authorities are convinced that the time at sea is very costly for the nation and every minute must be made use of). The other half is given to such tasks as the ones ashore should have been doing but being overworked, they have to reluctantly pass it on to the people on the ships after they have enjoyed themselves doing nothing at sea.
One of the tasks given to me when I was commanding my boat Vipul was to conduct a Board of Inquiry into circumstances leading to an Assistant Logistic Officer (ALO) by the name of Lieutenant Devgun having walked away with Rupees 33 Lakhs from the accounts of the Submarine Base in Mumbai (COMCOS (West)). I was one of the members (a BoI normally has three members including the President). Our President was then Captain (later Rear Admiral) Kochhar, CO of the carrier Vikrant. And then we had a Logistic Officer, Commander Anand, who had all rules and regulations concerning accounts at the back of his hand.
To complete the background, I must mention that the rear wall of any BoI and Court Martial room has to have a picture of the President of India in his capacity as the Supreme Commander of the armed forces.
As we commenced the BoI, we realised that the cool submariners had left everything to the super cool Devgun. The Logistic Officer, Devgun’s immediate boss, for example, had become an expert at solving crosswords since he totally trusted his assistant Devgun to handle accounts, cash, money warrant, ledgers, and locking unlocking of the money safe held in his personal custody. All the others in the Base were equally cool about trusting Devgun with even surprise muster of accounts. He not just maintained Imprest Account but others, busy as they were, coolly disposed off even the handling of their Non-Public Fund accounts to him. The more we went into their coolness, the more we realised that anything and everything had been left to the man with a gun and the Hindi name for god in his name.
Indeed, the President of the BoI mentioned during one of the tea-breaks conjectured as to why couldn’t they have madee him the COMCOS (Commodore Commanding Submarines) since Devgun virtually did everything as a Lieutenant; and, he had risen to this rank from being a sailor?
More and more skeletons came out of the submariners’ cupboards as we took up one thread or the other. As an example, lets say there was a party at the Submarine Base. Who do you think did the local purchase of things required for the party? Well, you have easily guessed it; the cool submariners’ most trusted officer Devgun did it and made underhand money there too (as if 33 Lakh rupees (a huge sum during those days) wasn’t enough). Finally, we decided that we would have to restrict the scope of the BoI since it was otherwise becoming gargantuan with no end in sight. We informed the command headquarters accordingly.
One day, one of the witnesses (a woman) brought out that Devgun was also running a Chit Fund with the promise of making everyone rich. Whilst her evidence was being recorded, we had a tea-break. During the tea-break, the President enquired from the lady stenographer given to us to record the proceedings (in shorthand) (she was a steno at the submarine base itself) about this Chit Fund. She mentioned that many women employees of the Base had given him money for the Chit Fund so as to become rich. She also shyly suggested that many had even illicit relations with him.
On an impulse, the President BoI asked her if she too had lent money to him for the Chit Fund. She lowered her eyes and nodded.
After she went out, the President asked if we should remove the President’s picture from the rear wall and put up that of Devgun because he was the only one who had succeeded in even making women to pay for the fun he had.
Aftermath
After months of the BoI, once, by sheer accident, Devgun was caught and they put him in custody in a cell whilst awaiting court-martial. It is customary to put the personnel from the same unit as guards as well as officers to keep a watch and so the cool submariners guarded Devgun in sharp contrast to how he used to guard their interests in the past.
After being in the cell for a day or two, he mentioned to the cool officer on duty that both he and the officer could take a break and paint the town red. His I-Card and wallet were hence given back to him by this cool officer and as promised, Devgun took him to the apartment of a woman of ill repute. She lived on a higher floor in a multi-story building. Devgun handed over his I-Card, wallet and gold-chain etc to the officer waiting down there in his jeep whilst he went to have fun (as John Milton famously said: They also serve who sit in the jeep and wait). After 30 minutes or so Devgun emerged and told the officer that she was waiting for him. So now it was the turn of the officer to give him his I-Card, wallet etc whilst he (the officer) too went to taste the paradise.
Some of your friends who don’t exactly say it but mean it nevertheless remind you of people who are quite at home with stray dogs but cannot stand your pet-dogs. Why this strange-sounding simile? Well, on social-media discussions, the same people, would quote from little known, pedestrian authors and indeed from recirculated internet stuff that goes by the misnomer of ‘knowledge’, but readily ignore your well researched essay. There must be some psychology, some reasons behind this secret hatred for blogs. Let me examine some of these.
1.Mujhe Bhi Kuchh Kehna Hai (I too have something to say). In an essay titled ‘All Photographers And Writers, No Viewers And Readers’, I brought out that the biggest two techno-social changes that have affected our lives in the last decade or so are that everyone is a photographer and everyone can write and instantly publish. Hence, there is nothing unique or extraordinary about anyone who writes or clicks pictures. Lets take the latter first; if someone puts up pictures of his family trip to London, you can put up pictures of your trip to Rio. “London is really a destination where people used to go in the last century; it is time that these commoners now learn to go to more exotic locales. But, frankly, they don’t have it in them; for them, London is still abroad“. Now, let’s get to writing blogs: “What’s so special about what he has written? I don’t have time, else, I could have written ten such articles and with better English and humour”. If you ever visit largest Indian Blogging site Indiblogger, you will discover that they maintain a ranking of blogs dependant upon people voting for blog posts. And who are the people who vote? Well, other bloggers. Everyone, therefore, follows the tenet: ‘You scratch my back, I scratch yours‘.
2. Ghar Ki Murgi Dal Barabar (Home-grown chicken is worth (lowly) dal (cereal) only).Ah, the time when we used to read the brilliant stuff of really intelligent men and women in newspapers and magazines. Somehow the stuff that the boy or the girl next door writes does not sound that erudite or good. It is almost like discovering your son paints as good as Picasso or Rembrandt! How can that be? Yes, we want social media revolution to change governance in the country, our surroundings, world politics and community religion. However, our next door blogger doesn’t have the calibre to take on anything even close to it. In any case, having heard and read him a few times, we already have good knowledge of what he/she is going to say.
3. Quantity Has Made Quality Suffer. You can gather all kinds of arguments to support your theory. One of them is that delightful cuisine cannot be made for millions. Yes, blue jeans was an invention that changed the way masses dressed and really well to do people spent their lifetime. thereafter, in Levis. However, you cannot go to a gourmet dinner dressed in blue jeans, can you? Naturally, as seen by you since you make all the arguments to suit your bias, quality has certainly suffered now that everyone who has Internet can publish. In the words of the Urdu poet:
Barbad gulistaan karne ko to ek hi ullu kaafi tha, Yahan..har shaakh pe ullu baitha hai anjam-e-gulistan kya hoga?
(For destroying the wonderful garden, even one owl is sufficient,
Here there is an owl on each branch, wonder what would happen to the garden?)
4. I Know The Author Well; He/She Can’t Write For Nuts. Whilst with the author in a novel, newspaper or periodical there was no personal linkages, more often than not, with a blogger, you are one to one. Hence, your mind works overtime to remember how he was a nincompoop when you were with him in school or college or elsewhere. He couldn’t make a sentence in English properly. Then there is another bigger problem, which is, that one reads so that one can quote in good company. People are taken aback when you suddenly quote a verse of Coleridge or some other quote of say, Tolstoy. But, imagine trying to impress a company by saying that your friend, the blogger wrote it. Naturally, you can’t even impress people by quoting him/her. Perhaps, if it makes a lot of sense, you can say Vikram Seth said it! In any case, who would have read all that Seth wrote?
5. Who Has The Time?The race for time is similar to Mumbai traffic or for that matter traffic in any other Indian city. Once, when a motorist overtook me in very slow moving traffic, by hook or crook, and I came parallel to him at the next traffic lights, I lowered my window and asked him, “भाई साहिब, मान लो आप मुझसे दो तीन मिनट पहले अपने ठिकाने पर पहुँच जाओगे; पर उस दो तीन मिनट में आप करने क्या वाले हैं?” (Brother, supposing that you reach your destination two or three minutes ahead of me; but, what exactly are you going to do in those two or three minutes). He laughed and laughed and said, “क्या करें? आदत पढ़ गयी है?” (What to do? It has become a habit). The same people who complain about lack of time spend hours solving the Sudoku.
6. He Is Only Promoting His Blog. In a way, unless you believe in literary masturbation, you write so that people would read. You don’t make any money writing your blog; however, they make it look like as if blogs are similar to prostitution in which you woo your clients by selling your body and soul. Recently, I had this experience when a friend used these exact words to win an argument that he was otherwise trying to win through profanity.
(Cartoon courtesy: paintermommy.com)
7. I Can’t Be Forced Into Reading Anything; I Choose To Read What I Want To. For heavens sake, our choices over a period of time are dwindling. With the onslaught of advertisements, we don’t ever have a choice of what we buy and use; we don’t have a choice in government making even though we vote election after election: many of us don’t have a choice of partner for life,and so on. At least, let me exercise choice in reading what I want to read rather than being forced to read something sent by a friend.
8. Why Can’t He Write ‘Short-and-Sweet’? Most highly popular blogs have just a picture or two or a quote or a paragraph of recirculated stuff. People immediately identify with such stuff. Such stuff also meets the demands of some of the reasons that I have given above, especially lack of time. A few years ago I started a number of groups on Facebook on various themes ranging from ‘Laugh With The Punjabis‘ and ‘Humour In And Out Of Uniform‘ to ‘Yaad Kiya Dil Ne‘ (a group for sharing music) and ‘Main Shayar To Nahin‘ (a group for sharing poetry). I insisted that people would write as per the theme of the group, write original, and steer clear of posting greetings, religious messages, political messages, and other such nonsense. I wrote my experiences in an essay titled: ‘Want To Start A Facebook Group? Have A Reality Check‘. Soon, all groups on Facebook become Friends Circles wherein everything and anything is posted. No one reads serious poetry either written by friends or by recognised poets, for example. People are happy to write, like and comment on such gibberish as:
जब तुम्हारी याद आती है तो बहुत दर्द होता है,
जब दर्द होता है तो तुम्हारी याद आती हैI
This is short and sweet. I accessed this site and found this s & s piece had 453 likes and 117 comments.
There you are: I have tried to find reasons as to why blogs are hated and disliked. If you are a blogger and you have some other reasons to add, please go ahead and share in the comments.
Blasphemy sells and sells big time. Karan Johar, the producer (alongwith Apoorva Mehta and Hiroo Yash Johar), director, story-writer and with dialogue writer (Niranjan Iyengar) of the movie Ai Dil Hai Mushkil (ADHM) is laughing all the way to the bank in having made yet another hit movie. However, a dialogue in the movie when the actress Anushka Sharma, playing the role of Alizeh, tells Ranbir Kapoor as Ayan Sanger about the god of songs (as held by millions of his fans) Mohammad Rafi that ‘Woh gaate kam, rotey zyada the’ has angered his fans. They protested and demanded an apology. However, Karan Johar with an eye on the box office (the more controversy a film gathers, the better it does at box office) has declined to tender apology or to blot out the offending dialogue. This confirms that unlike what the Censor Board people feel about it, this dialogue didn’t appear there accidentally but was a deliberate move to profit from such cheap, despicable and highly offensive stunt.
I am one of the affected fans of Mohammad Rafi. With his seemingly limitless range of singing encompassing romantic numbers, enchanting duets, comic songs, children’s songs, bhajans, ghazals, happy and lighthearted songs, songs in the vernacular, songs for the elderly, poor, men and women on the street, patriotic songs, rebellious songs and sorrowful songs, wedding and bidai songs, party songs and even pop songs (in each one of these he being the best), I am at a loss as to how this dialogue makes any sense.
Here, it is not my intention to give examples of songs that were not the so called crying songs, or to bring out what a wonderful person in real life our most beloved singer was. This piece has limited purpose. It is to prove to Karan Johar (I shall never again see any of his movies or television appearances) that he wasn’t right even in the essence of the most ridiculous lament: ‘Woh gaate kam, rotey zyada the’.
An artiste’s work speaks for itself and here I present to you some of my most revered idol’s so called crying songs just to bring home one small point to Karan Johar: Mohammad Rafi’s singing wasn’t crying but on those rare occasions when he cried, it was singing of outstanding excellence. It is fashionable these days to make the movie titles as the titles of old and popular songs and Karan Johar has his share of movies with such titles. He chose the title of a peppy and popular song sung by Mohammad Rafi himself as the title of his movie and then went about denigrating the singer.
Shame!
Song #1
O duniya ke rakhwaale, sun dard bhare mere naale…
Mister Karan Johar should know that, in this song, Mohammad Rafi actually cried so beautifully that it is one of the best ever bhajans ever made. Even today, 64 years after the 1952 movie Baiju Bawra was made, we cry not just at the emotions of the song (I maintain that the best Hindi songs ever have been made by Shakeel Badayuni as lyricist, Naushad Ali as Music Director, Mohammad Rafi as singer and Dilip Kumar as actor. Though in Baiju Bawra, Bharat Bhushan was the actor but the other three proved their magic. Please read: ‘The Best Of Hindi Songs – Rafi, Shakeel, Naushad And Dilip Kumar Together’) but also for the fact that we shall never have this voice again. I can imagine not just people crying with the song but perhaps even God doing so. In the finale of the song when the throat bleeding pitch reaches a crescendo, you feel drained out listening to it but Rafi ji did it with his customary ease.
The makers of best songs in Hindi movies: Mohammad Rafi with Naushad Ali and Shakeel Badayuni
The song was composed by Naushad in Raag Darbari, Tal Kaherava (Naushad is credited with having brought Raaga based compositions in Hindi movies and each one of the Baiju Bawra’s thirteen songs (including Sargam) was based on a Raaga. Rafiji’s genre’ of singing included Raaga based songs and he did an outstanding job of singing them all.
Please enjoy a tour de force of a song and help revise Karan Johar’s views about Rafi ji’s singing and crying: O duniya ke rakhwaale, sun dard bhare mere naale …
Bhagavaan, bhagavaan … bhagavaan O duniyaa ke rakhavaale, sun dard bhare mere naale Sun dard bhare mere naale Aas niraash ke do ra.ngo.n se, duniyaa tuune sajaaI Nayyaa sa.ng tuufaan banaayaa, milan ke saath judaaI Jaa dekh liyaa harajaaI O… luT gaI mere pyaar kii nagarii, ab to niir bahaa le ab to niir bahaa le O… ab to niir bahaa le, o duniyaa ke rakhavaale …
Aag banii saavan kii barasaa, phuul bane a.ngaare Naagan ban ga_ii raat suhaanii, patthar ban gae taare Sab TuuT chuke hai.n sahaare, o … jiivan apanaa vaapas le le Jiivan dene vaale, o duniyaa ke rakhavaale …
Chaa.nd ko Dhuu.NDhe paagal suuraj, shaam ko Dhuu.NDhe saveraa Mai.n bhii Dhuu.NDhuu.N us priitam ko, ho naa sakaa jo meraa Bhagavaan bhalaa ho teraa, o … qismat phuuTii aas na TuuTii Paa.nv me.n pa.D gae chhaale, o duniyaa ke rakhavaale …
Mahal udaas aur galiyaa.n suunii, chup-chup hai.n diivaare.n Dil kyaa uja.Daa duniyaa uja.Dii, ruuTh gaI hai.n bahaare.n Ham jiivan kaise guzaare.n, o … ma.ndir girataa phir ban jaataa Dil ko kaun sambhaale, o duniyaa ke rakhavaale …
O duniyaa ke rakhavaale Rakhavaale Rakhavaale Rakhavaale … (throat bleeding pitch)
Song #2
Ye aansu mere dil ki zubaan hain….
Here is another one of those rare occasions when Mohammad Rafi expressed his emotions throught the medium of tears. Hasrat Jaipuri, the great lyricist who worked with the best music duo ever: Shankar Jaikishan, called these tears as the language of the heart (Dil ki zubaan). If Anushka Sharma or Karan Johar would pay attention to the lyrics and their superb rendition by Mohammad Rafi, they would instantly feel ashamed about passing off Rafi’s singing as crying. Each word in the song assumes greater meaning with the effect of his singing.
Mohammad Rafi with Hasrat Jaipuri, Shashi Kapoor and Jaikishan (the song is picturised on Rajendra Kumar and Jamuna)
Pleaase enjoy: Ye aansu mere dil ki zubaan hain….
Ye aa.Nsuu mere dil kii zubaan hai.n -2 Mai.n ro_uu.N to ro de.n aa.Nsuu Mai.n ha.Ns duu.N to ha.Ns de.n aa.Nsuu Ye aa.Nsuu mere dil kii zubaan hai.n -2
Aa.Nkh se Tapakii jo chi.ngaarii, har aa.Nsuu me.n chhabii tumhaarii Chiir ke mere dil ko dekho, bahate lahuu me.n priit tumhaarii Ye jiivan jaise sulagaa tuufaan hai Ye aa.Nsuu mere dil ki zubaan hai.n -2 Mai.n ro_uu.N to ro de.n aa.Nsuu Mai.n ha.Ns duu.N to ha.Ns de.n aa.Nsuu Ye aa.Nsuu mere dil kii zubaan hai.n -2
Jiivan-path par jiivan saathii, saath chale ho mu.Nh na mo.Do Dard-o-Gam ke doraahe par, mujhako ta.Dapataa yuu.N na chho.Do Ye naGamaa mere Gam kaa bayaan hai Ye aa.Nsuu mere dil kii zubaan hai.n -2 Mai.n ro_uu.N to ro de.n aa.Nsuu Mai.n ha.Ns duu.N to ha.Ns de.n aa.Nsuu Ye aa.Nsuu mere dil kii zubaan hai.n -2
Song #3
Kabhi khud pe kabhi halaat pe rona aaya…
Mister Karan Johar, after you have made your millions blaspheming our most revered singer ever, please give it a thought that the song that I am giving you now is amongst the best of one of the best lyricists ever: Sahir Ludhianvi. Music Director Jaidev composed it in Raag Gara, Tal Dadra and after both of them did their bit to make this song great, finally it was the extraordinary rendition by Mohammad Rafi that made the emotions of Dev Anand on celluloid come alive.
Mohammad Rafi with Dev Anand
Please enjoy: Kabhi khud pe kabhi halaat pe rona aaya…
Kabhii Kud pe, kabhii haalaat pe ronaa aayaa Baat nikalii, to har ik baat pe ronaa aayaa
Ham to samajhe the ki ham bhuul gae hai.n unako Kyaa huaa aaj, ye kis baat pe ronaa aayaa
Kis liye jiite hai.n ham kisake liye jiite hai.n Baarahaa aise savaalaat pe ronaa aayaa
Kaun rotaa hai kisii aur kii Kaatir ai dost Sabako apanii hii kisii baat pe ronaa aayaa
Song #4
Ye hanste hue phool…
The 1957 movie Pyaasa has the most crying songs of Mohammad Rafi in a single movie and the songs are as much classic as the movie is. Time magazine ranked it in 2005 as one of the Top 100 movies of all times and the same magazine, in 2011, ranked it as one of the Ten Most Romantic movies in the world. And guess what? Guru Dutt plays a poet Vijay in the movie (Sahir Ludhianvi‘s poetry) whose poetry is considered pedestrian by people until later they realise that it is poetry of the highest excellence. Similarly, Karan Johar and Anushka would think it is mere crying when the rest of the world thinks of it as singing of great skill and brilliance. He sang those songs because the story demanded it and each one is a masterpiece composed by SD Burman.
Mohammad Rafi with Guru Dutt and SD Burman
For your information, Mister Karan Johar and Ms Anushka, when Mohammad Rafi through Vijay (Guru Dutt) sang in an audience in early stages of his poetry-writing in the movie: Tang aa chuke hain qash-ma-qash-e-zindagii se ham, thukaraa na dein jahaan ko kahiin bedilii se ham, one of the men in the audience, as ill-informed as you both are about real value of Rafi’s singing, used a variation of your blasphemous dialogue: “Aji janaab, khushii ke mauke par kyaa bedili kaa raag chhedaa huaa hai? Koi khushii kaa giit sunaaiye“, he replied in his singing voice: Ham gam-zadaa hain laayen kahaan se khushi ke geet, denge wohi jo paayenge is zindagii se ham. It was a brilliant reply as good in its lyrical value as in singing eminence.
And for irreverant people like you, Rafi had a beautiful reply in another song: Gam is qadar badhe, ke main ghabaraa ke pii gayaa; is dil kii bebasii pe taras khaa ke pii gayaa. And a female voice commented: Achchhaa to ye shaayar bhii hain, in the same mocking way that you feel he was less a singer than a crier, Rafi, once again through Vijay (Guru Dutt) responded brilliantly in the end: Thukaraa rahaa thaa mujhako badi der se jahaan, main aaj sab jahaan ko thukra ke pi gaya!
Rafi would have had something to say, in his singing voice to you too, Mister Karan Johar except that he had already concluded in the movie that he was above all this: Ye duniya agar mil bhi jaaye to kyaa hai?
Pyaasa was the last time when the pair of Sahir Ludhianvi and SD Burman were together and this is what they made Rafi sing. Please enjoy: Ye hanste hue phool…
Ye ha.Nsate huye phuul Ye mahakaa hu_aa gulashan ( Ye ra.ng me.n aur nuur me.n Duubii hu_ii raahe.n ) -2
Mai.n duu.N bhii to kyaa duu.N tumhe.n Ai shoK nazaaro.n Le de ke mere pass Kuchh aa.Nsuu hai.n kuchh aahe.n
All I can say is that happy songs are much easier to sing. The sad songs of Pyaasa are amongst the most difficult songs that he sang.
Song #5
Woh jab yaad aaye bahut yaad aaye….
On a rough count, Lata Mangeshkar and Mukesh would have sung many more cryingly sad songs than Mohammad Rafi. However, in case of Lata, Karan Johar would have been politically correct never to compare her singing with her crying. He would have known that his film would have been forced to be banned rather than his making millions by mocking her. Also, the fact is that Mohammad Rafi put his heart and soul into any type of songs including sad ones and his songs are the ones that are remembered most for their heart rending quality. In many of these, that were duets, Lata ji matched him ably just as she did with romantic and peppy duets.
Amongst Rafi and Lata’s most popular duets of all times is this crying song, in which she rightly says: Magar rote rote hansi aa gayi hai, khyaalon mein aake woh jab muskaraye.
This also happens to be one of the best remembered songs in Raag Kalyan, Tal Kaherava, composed by Laxmikant Pyarelal on the excellent lyrics of Asad Bhopali. One of Rafi’s qualities was that even if the actors were of lesser calibre, he covered up for them by the depth of his singing. In the 1963 movie Parasmani, for example, he sang for Mahipal whilst Lata sang for Geetanjali.
Wo jab yaad aae bahut yaad aae Gam-e-zi.ndagii ke a.ndhere me.n hamane Chiraag-e-muhabbat jalaae bujhaae
AahaTe.n jaag uThii.n raaste ha.ns diye Thaamakar dil uThe ham kisii ke liye Ka_ii baar aisaa bhii dhokhaa huaa hai Chale aa rahe hai.n vo nazare.n jhukaae
Dil sulagane lagaa ashq bahane lage Jaane kyaa-kyaa hame.n log kahane lage Magar rote-rote ha.nsii aa ga_ii hai Khayaalo.n me.n aake vo jab muskuraae
Wo judaa kyaa hue zi.ndagii kho ga_ii Shammaa jalatii rahii roshanii kho ga_ii Bahut koshishe.n kii.n magar dil na bahalaa Ka_ii saaz chhe.De ka_ii giit gaae
Song #6
Hum tumse judaa ho ke mar jaayenge ro ro ke…
Talking about Asad Bhopali, two years after Parasmani he repeated the magic of his lyrics in the 1965 movie Ek Sapera Ek Lutera with Feroze Khan playing both the title roles. This time the music director was Usha Khanna, the only female music director of contemporary fame (though earlier there were two others too: Jaddan Bai and Saraswati Devi) in a male dominated Hindi films music scene. She composed the song in Raag Darbari Kanada, Tal Kaherava. I was not yet in my teens when I saw the movie with my parents and I do remember that this was the most popular song of the movie at that time.
Please enjoy: Hum tumse judaa ho ke mar jaayenge ro ro ke….
Ham tumase judaa ho ke mar jaa_e.Nge ro-ro ke -2 Mar jaa_e.Nge ro-ro ke
Duniyaa ba.Dii zaalim hai dil to.D ke ha.Nsatii hai -2 Ik mauj kinaare se milane ko tarasatii hai Kah do na ko_ii roke -2 Ham tumase judaa …
Vaade nahii.n bhuule.nge kasame.n nahii.n to.De.nge -2 Ye tay hai ki ham dono.n milanaa nahii.n chho.De.nge Jo rok sake roke -2 Ham tumase judaa …
Sochaa thaa kabhii do dil milakar na judaa ho.nge Maaluum na thaa ham yuu.N naaqaam-e-vafaa ho.nge Qismat ne.n di_e dhokhe Ham tumase judaa …
Song #7
Tere bin soone nayan hamaare….
Jag mein rahaa main jagase paraayaa Saayaa bhii meraa mere saath na aayaa Hansane ke din bhi roke guzaare Haay! tere bin suune …
One of the greatest lyricists of all times – Shailendra (Please read: ‘The Best Songs Of Shailendra, The Lyricist Beyond Compare – Part I’ and ‘Part II’) penned those lyrics for the 1963 RK Rakhan movie Meri Soorat Teri Aankhen, which had Ashok Kumar in the most challenging role of his life (No successful actor of Karan Johar movies would ever take up such a role in which he is to be shown as dark and ugly; which only goes to prove that Karan Johar and his ilk are as devoid of reality around them as they are of respect for the finest singer on earth: Mohammad Rafi). These lyrics tell the story of some of the unfortunate people of India before (suddenly) everyone started moving in their cloistered and make believe world of riches, splashes of colour, skirts, jeans and fornication created by Karan Johar and the like. And, Mohammad Rafi was there to sing those emotions of the poor, the deprived and the victimised.
The great composer Sachin Dev Burman composed these lyrics in Raag Pilu (the favourite raaga of his contemporary OP Nayyar) and Tal Dadra. The last stanza has been sung by Lata Mangeshkar for Asha Parekh who was visiting that hilly and isolated locale with her lover Pradeep Kumar and who was visibly affected by the beauty of the singing.
Mohammad Rafi with Ashok Kumar
Please enjoy: Tere bin soone nayan hamare….
Tere bin suunii, nain hamaare Haay! tere bin suunii BaaT takat gaye saa.Njh sakhaare Haay! tere bin suunii
Raat jo aaye Dhal jaaye pyaasii Din kaa hai duujaa naam udaasii Nindiyaa na aaye ab mere dvaare Haay! tere bin suunii …
Jag me.n rahaa mai.n jagase paraayaa Saayaa bhii meraa mere saath na aayaa Ha.Nsane ke din bhii roke guzaare Haay! tere bin suunii …
O anadekhe, o anajaane Chhup ke na gaa ye prem taraane Kaun hai tuu mohe ab to bataa re Haay! tere bin suunii …
Song #8
Tum mujhe youn bhula na paaoge…
Finally, Mister Karan Johar, Anushka Sharma and party, this is as if directly sung by Mohammad Rafi for you. However much you try, you cannot forget Mohammad Rafi. Whenever you hear his songs, you too hum and will continue humming! Rafi ji had that quality. Even those who, for reasons known best to them, mock him, love Mohammad Rafi’s songs; there is no getting away from this reality.
This has been composed by my favourite music duo Shankar Jaikishan in my favourite Raag Jhinjhoti. Why is Jhinjhoti my favourite? Simple, because what I consider as the greatest song ever made in Hindi movies was sung in this Raag: Mere mehboob tujhe meri mohabbat ki kasam that was put together by the fabulous trio of Shakeel-Naushad-Rafi. Of course, S-J composed this song in Tal Dadra whereas Naushad’s song is in Tal Kaherava.
Mohammad Rafi sang it for Shammi Kapoor who admitted that this was the most challenging role of his career as Pagla Kahin Ka (the title of the 1970 movie).
Crying, Mister Karan Johar? Crying isn’t how you jeeringly put it in the movie; crying is empathising, crying is emotions melted into hot liquid, and in the case of Mohammad Rafi, crying is melody of the most outstanding refrain.
Once again Hasrat Jaipuri penned these powerful lyrics that have raw emotions hanging from hooks of despondency.
Mohammad Rafi with Shammi Kapoor, Hasrat Jaipuri and Shankar Jaikishan (Pic courtesy: mohdrafi.com)
Please enjoy: Tum mujhe youn bhula na paaoge…
Tum mujhe yU.N bhulaa naa paaoge Haa.N tum mujhe yU.N bhulaa naa paaoge Jab kabhii bhii sunoge giit mere Sa.ng sa.ng tum bhii gunagunAoge Haa.N tum mujhe yU.N bhulaa naa paaoge Ho tum mujhe yU.N …
(Wo bahaare.n vo chaa.ndanii raate.n Hamane kii thii jo pyAr kii baate.n ) – 2 Un nazaaro.n kii yaad aaegii Jab khayaalo.n me.n mujhako laaoge Haa.N tum mujhe yU.N bhulaa naa paaoge Ho tum mujhe yU.N …
(Mere haatho.n me.n teraa cheharaa thaa Jaise koI gulaab hotaa hai ) – 2 Aur sahaaraa liyaa thaa baaho.n kaa Wo shaam kis tarah bhulaaoge Haa.N tum mujhe yU.N bhulaa naa paaoge Ho tum mujhe yU.N …
(Mujhako dekhe binaa qaraar naa thaa Ek aisaa bhii daur guzaraa hai ) – 2 JhUTh maanU.N to pUchhalo dil se Mai.n kahU.ngaa to rUTh jaaoge Haa.N tum mujhe yU.n bhulaa naa paaoge
Jab kabhii bhii …
Perhaps now Mister Karan Johar, you would realise that all you did with that cheap and jeering dialogue of yours was akin to a man spitting at the moon.
How does it feel now, Mister Karan Johar, that the gooey stuff has landed on your own face? Apologise and help remove the blot from your own face and make millions of Mohammad Rafi fans happy. We pray that good sense would visit you soon and be your guest, even if for limited time.
It is surprising that those who start on a common platform with a common vocabulary, culture and manners (say NDA or National Defence Academy at Khadakvasla, near Pune in Maharashtra) soon get absorbed in their service ethos as soon as they join their individual services: Army, Navy and the Air Force.
The expression or phrase: Good Lady or Lady Wife is typically Indian Army officers’ (males) way of addressing their wives. Now of course I am used to it but there was a time when I first heard it and decided that it was the equivalent of the expression “I have a bad headache” since even that expression suggests that there must be some people who have good headache too. Likewise, I am yet to meet a person who introduces his wife as a Bad Woman or Coarse Wife. One would, therefore, conclude that Good Lady or Lady Wife is an overkill as much as the overkill in the expression: bad headache. When you say you have a headache (without suffixing it with good or bad), I am sure people don’t automatically assume that you are having a rollicking time and that a headache is something worth having. Coming from the army wherein they have a penchant for abbreviating even short words like Night into Ni and Enemy into En (Please read: Bikini Speech, a piece I wrote when I was undergoing my Higher Command Course with the army)), it is certainly an exaggeration.
In the Navy, a ship is normally referred to as She. Here is a ready-made explanation from Glossophilia:
“A ship is called a she because there is always a great deal of bustle around her; there is usually a gang of men about; she has a waist and stays; it takes a lot of paint to keep her good-looking; it is not the initial expense that breaks you, it is the upkeep; she can be all decked out; it takes an experienced man to handle her correctly; and without a man at the helm, she is absolutely uncontrollable. She shows her topsides, hides her bottom and, when coming into port, always heads for the buoys.”
Of course, that is the explanation that is often to be found in the folk-lore with the navies around the world and no one cares to remember that the Latin and the Sanskrit words for ship are similar: Navis and Naav and that both these are feminine. Nautical slang is not just folk-lore; we use it extensively on board as much as authors like Joseph Conrad did. Hence, a Lady’s Hole was a dainty niche in the stern of the ship wherein a light used to be kept for ships astern of her to steer by. Many others referred to Lady’s Hole as the place wherein a gun ammunition used to be kept.
However, be as it may, in the Navy, a ship is a lady and it requires Good Men to keep her looking comely and fighting-fit. We have so much respect for the ladies that we salute with palm inwards so as not to show our dirty palms to them as a result of keeping the lady clean and proper (the custom having originated in the Royal Navy when, during the Queen’s visit aboard a ship, a deck-hand engaged in manning the tarred lines of the ship, saluted her with his dirty palm facing away from the Queen, as a token of respect).
What about the ceremony of launching a ship by a lady breaking a bottle of wine on the bows of the ship? This practice originated from the religious ceremony of baptism of infants and by late 18th century, this custom of breaking a bottle of wine on the ships bows as she was launched became a standard practice.
A Princess of the House of Hanover, then the ruling House of England, was asked to sponsor one of the ships of the Navy. This became the equivalent of the Royal Army’s tradition of patronage for their regiments. Unfortunately, the Princess threw the bottle with more energy than accuracy and it struck one of the spectators, causing severe injuries to him who subsequently claimed damages from the Admiralty. To avoid a repetition, the Admiralty instituted the protocol of attaching a cord to the bottle.
We, in the Indian Navy, did away with the bottle of wine and introduced the tradition of breaking a coconut on the bows by a lady to launch a ship.
INS Sudarshini, the second of Sail Training Ships (first being INS Tarangini) being launched by Smt Letha Sushil wife of Vice Admiral K N Sushil, Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief Southern Naval Command at Goa Shipyard
Thus, in naval traditions, ladies are associated with the ships from their launch onwards. When a lady joins the naval family as a wife, a coffee-table book is presented to her with the title: Welcome Young Lady. In the opening paragraph of the book, she is reminded of the fact that for a navy man, his ship (a she at that) happens to be his first love and the Young Lady ought to keep that in mind. Indeed, many of the naval wives, jokingly complain that their husbands spend more time with the lady (she) at sea than the lady at home.
Even at that no naval lady is prepared for the gaffe that was unwittingly cracked by one of the officers (not well versed in the nuances of the English language) thanking his host thus: I thank you from the bottom of my heart (at this stage he suddenly remembered his wife beside him and added) and from my wife’s bottom too.
Another one, stepping off the brow (gangplank) on to the ship, on an evening, introduced the Officer of the Day to his wife and vice-versa by just pointing to the two in turns and saying: “The OOD, the wife”.
It used to be a male world for months and years at sea, away from the land where the ladies and women abound. Irrespective of the saying that a sailor has a girl or a woman in every port, the poor guy was by himself and with his male counterparts at sea. Hence, calling a ship a “she” was not just endearing but also signified the dependent relationship that he had with the ship that sustained him in many different ways. It was thus a common practice of crafting female figureheads for a ship’s prow, for example, in the picture below:
(Pic courtesy: Pinterest)
Hence, whilst the army man proudly shows off his Good Lady or Lady Wife, a navy man is most likely to sing with Mohammad Rafi, a song praising the beauty of a woman, the lyrics for which were written by poet laureate Harindranath Chattopadhyay (brother of Sarojini Naidu). The laughter and spoken lines in the opening and closing sections of the song were performed by Harindranath Chattopadhyay. The song was released in 1969 as a parody to another of Shankar Jaikishan’s compositions for the 1965 movie Gumnaam (four years before this song was released): Hum kaale hain to kya hua dilwaale hain. You will enjoy the lyrics given in the following video except for the fact that the navy man would be singing it for his ship!
If I were to call my wife Good Lady or Lady Wife, she would make me see the stars that I won’t otherwise be seeing at sea.
Sujata or Savitri, Sharda or Sumitra, Jyoti, Ganga or Jamuna, a navy man thinks of best names for his first lady-love: his ship.
I am a lyrical man; words of the songs are often the most important part of the songs for me. Indeed, on the Facebook I have a page titled ‘Lyrical’ to honour and pay tribute to various lyricists. I have several (almost a dozen) posts on my blog on my favourite lyricist and poet Shakeel Badayuni. The following posts about Shailendra have been reconstructed from the same page.
In Part I of this post, I gave you an introduction about my love for Shakeel Badayuni whom I regard as the best lyricist and poet in Hindi films ever. And then I went on to say that in the era in which Shakeel lived and was active, songs made or marred the success of movies. Hence lyricists were very important indeed. In addition to Shakeel, therefore, I started giving out lyrics of many of the other greats such as Shailendra, Rajendra Krishan, Sahir Ludhianvi, Kaifi Azmi, Neeraj, Anjaan, Anand Bakshi, Majrooh Sultanpuri and others. And then I started, on my Facebook page ‘Lyrical‘ ‘Remembering Great Lyricists‘ series. It isn’t surprising at all that the first one in these series happened to be on Shailendra. He was a complete lyricist in all genre’s of lyricism: serious, funny, spiritual, romantic, sad, happy and angry. Besides being associated with Shankar Jaikishan and Raj Kapoor, he associated with a number of music directors such as Salil Chowdhury and SD Burman. He was the lyricist of choice for the great Bimal Roy too. Gulzar called him the greatest lyricist in Hindi films, which is saying a lot since Gulzar himself is a lyricist of great fame besides wearing many other hats such as those of producer, director, story, dialogue and screenplay writer.
One would think of Shailendra as a rare lyricist for whom there was no other life beyond lyrics; this is because all the others including Shakeel were poets too in life beyond the films. All the talent that he was endowed with went into making beautiful lyrics and he made nearly 900 of them (864 to be exact), which were 98 more than Shakeel’s.
I decided to give you 50 from these 864 and in Part I, I gave you 25 of them from Kuchh aur zamaana kehta hai to Tera jaana dil ke armaano ka lut jaana.
In this part, therefore, I give you the remaining 25 songs. Please remember that these are just my list of the best 50 by Shailendra. It is quite possible that you will have your own list different from mine.
Song #26
Woh chand khila, woh taare hanse…..
Before we broke up at the end of Part I, we were taking up songs of 1959 movie Anadi (or Anari) for which Shailendra got his second Filmfare Award (for the song Sab kuchh seekha hamane). One last song from the movie before we take up other songs from other movies.
Normally, in Raj Kapoor movies in which Shankar Jaikishan have directed music and composed songs on the lyrics of Shailendra and Hasrat Jaipuri, there is always a title song. For example, I have already given you the Awara’s title song penned by Shailendra, which was the biggest international hit ever.
Here is the title song of Anadi and it is a duet between Lata Mangeshkar and Mukesh singing for Nutan and Raj Kapoor respectively.
Please enjoy: Woh chand khila, woh taare hanse…..
vo chaa.Nd khilaa, vo taare ha.Nse
ye raat ajab matavaalii hai
samajhane vaale samajh gaye hai.n
na samajhe, na samajhe vo anaa.Dii hai.n
vo chaa.Nd khilaa …
chaa.Ndii sii chamakatii raahe.n
vo dekho jhuum jhuum ke bulaaye.n
kiraNo.n ne pasaarii baahe.n
ki aramaa.N naach naach laharaaye
baaje dil ke taar, gaaye ye bahaar
ubhare hai pyaar jiivan me.n
vo chaa.Nd khilaa …
kiraNo.d ne chunariyaa taanii
bahaare.n kis pe aaj hai.n diivaanii
chandaa kii chaal masataanii
hai paagal jisape raat kii raanii
taaro.n kaa jaal, le le dil nikaal
puucho na haal mere dil kaa
vo chaa.Nd khilaa …
Song #27
Dum bhar jo udhar moonh phere, O’ Chanda….
For the last song of the day, let us get back to 1951 movie Awara starring Raj Kapoor and Nargis. I have already given you the title song of the movie that became the biggest international hit of those times.
I have now selected for you a duet from this movie produced and directed by Raj Kapoor. Some of the most enchanting romantic duets in the Hindi movies have been sung by Mukesh and Lata Mangeshkar in Raj Kapoor movies.
Some of the most enchnting romantic duets have been sung by Lata and Mukesh (Pic courtesy: Lata Online)
This is even more enchanting because it is on a moonlit night, on a beach, in a boat and she (Nargis) wearing a sailor’s dress.
Please enjoy: Dum bhar jo udhar moonh phere, O’ Chanda….
lataa: dam bhar jo udhar mu.Nh phere
dam bhar jo udhar mu.Nh phere, o chandaa
mai unase pyaar kar luu.ngii, baate.n hazaar kar luu.Ngii
dil karataa hai pyaar ke sajade – 2
aur mai.n bhii unake saath
chaa.Nd ko chandaa roz hii dekhe
merii pahalii raat, ho … merii pahalii raat
baadal me.n ab chhup jaa re o chandaa
mai unase pyaar kar …
mukesh: dam bhar jo idhar mu.Nh phere
dam bhar jo idhar mu.Nh phere, o chandaa
mai unase pyaar kar luu.Ngaa, nazare.n to chaar kar luu.Ngaa
mai chor huu.N kaam hai chorii – 2
duniyaa me.n huu.N badanaam
dil ko churaataa aayaa huu.N mai.n
yehii meraa kaam, ho … yehii meraa kaam
aanaa tuu gavaahii dene o chandaa
mai unase pyaar kar luu.Ngaa, nazare.n to chaar kar luu.Ngaa
lataa: dil ko churaake kho mat jaanaa – 2
raah na jaanaa bhuul
in kadamo.n se kuchal naa denaa
mere dil kaa phuul, ho … mere dil kaa phuul
ye baat unhe.n samajhaa de o chandaa
mai unase pyaar kar luu.Ngii …
Song #28
Chand sa mukhada kyun sharmaaya…..
We were taking up the lyrics of our first lyricist in the great lyricists series: Shailendra. Everyone knows that I am leading up to his Birth Anniversary on 30th August; he was born on that day in 1921.
Lyricists, in the making of songs, are least remembered. However, please remember that they are actually the origin of songs. They translate the emotions of the stories’ scenes into melodies and then only the composer and the singer work on them and finally the actors enact them.
My favourite lyricist has been Shakeel Badayuni. However, Shailendra has been one of the greatest. Indeed, Gulzar and many others do regard him as the greatest.
We have already taken up 27 of his songs in the last nine days. Lets take up the tenth day songs.
Most people who know me well through songs and music know this as my fantasy song: a man and woman in the boat on a moonlit night. What is more, in this song, the woman (Madhubala) has the moon right behind her face and you look at one chand and then at the other.
It is from the 1959 movie Insaan Jaag Utha with Sunil Dutt starring opposite this chand, Madhubala that is.
SD Burman made many of these compositions that appear to have been based on raagas but are entirely his innovation. One of these was in Bambai Ka Babu: Deewana mastana hua dil jaane kahan hoke bahaar aayi. The other is this. It was sung by Mohammad Rafi for Sunil Dutt and Asha Bhosle for Madhubala.
Asha Bhosle, Mohammad Rafi and his 3 year old son Hamid Rafi (Munna)
Please enjoy my fantasy scene song: Chand sa mukhada kyun sharmaaya…..
naTakhaT taaro hame.n na nihaaro
hamarii ye priit na_ii
chaa.Nd saa mukha.Daa kyo.n sharmaayaa
aa.Nkh milii aur dil ghabaraayaa
chaa.Nd saa…
jhuk gae cha.nchal nainaa ik jhalakii dikhalaake
bolo gorii kyaa rakhaa hai palako.n me.n chhupaake
tujhako re saa.Nvariyaa tujhase hii churaake
naino.n me.n sajaayaa mai.nne gajaraa banaake
chaa.Nd saa…
ye bhiige nazaare karate hai.n ishaare
milane kii ye rut hai gorii din hai.n hamaare
sun lo piyaa pyaare kyaa kahate hai.n taare
hamane to ??? ??? kitano.n ke pyaare
kabhii na alag huii saayaa se kaayaa
chaa.Nd saa…
Song #29
Raat ke hamsafar, thak ke ghar ko chale….
The magic of love at night that was in the last song: Chand sa mukhada kyun sharmaya was repeated by Shailendra eight years later in 1967 too (of course there are many earlier songs such as Dil ki nazar se, Kahe jhoom jhoom raat ye suhaani, Dum bhar jo udhar moonh phere and Woh chand khila, that I have already given you).
Lyricist Shailendra in his house in Mumbai (Photo courtesy: Neeraj Bhushan)
The name of the movie is An Evening In Paris starring Shammi Kapoor and Sharmila Tagore making it four ‘Sh’ in the making of this song: Shailendra and Shankar Jaikishan being the other two.
This too was sung by Mohammad Rafi and Asha Bhosle.
Please enjoy: Raat ke hamsafar, thak ke ghar ko chale….
raat ke hamasafar, thak ke ghar ko chale
jhuumatii aa rahii hai subah pyaar kii
dekh kar saamane, ruup kii roshanii
phir luTii jaa rahii hai subah pyaar kii
raat ne pyaar ke jaam bhar kar diye
aa.Nkho.n aa.Nkho.n se jo mai.n ne tumane piye
hosh to ab talaq jaa ke lauTe nahii.n
jaane kyaa laa rahii hai subah pyaar kii
raat ke hamasafar …
Song #30
Dil tadap tadap ke keh raha hai aa bhi jaa…..
I end tonight with another enchanting duet penned by Shailendra. This one is between Mukesh singing for Dilip Kumar and Lata Mangeshkar singing for Vyjayanthimala.
As you have already guessed it, it is from the 1958 Bimal Roy movie Madhumati with Vyjanthimala in the title role and Dilip Kumar as Anand, the manager in the estate of Pran.
Songs for this movie, as for Bimal Roy’s movie Parakh, were composed by Salil Chowdhury and without any argument, these are the best of Salil da.
(Poster courtesy: saavn)
In this duet, Lata joins Mukesh as late as in the second stanza and it is so enchanting when she joins.
Please enjoy: Dil tadap tadap ke keh raha hai aa bhi jaa…..
mu: dil ta.Dap ta.Dap ke kah rahaa hai aa bhI jaa
tU hamase aa.Nkh nA churaa, tujhe kasam hai aa bhI jaa (2)
(tU nahii.n to ye bahaar kyA bahaar hai
gul nahii.n khile to terA intazaar hai ) – 2
ke terA intazaar hai – 2
dil ta.Dap ta.Dap …
la: aa aa
dil dha.Dak dha.Dak ke de rahaa hai ye sadA
tumhaarii ho chukii.n huu.N mai.n
tumhaare sAth huu.N sadA
(tumase merI zindagii kA ye shrR^i.ngaar hai
jii rahii huu.N mai.n ke mujhako tumase pyaar hai ) – 2
ke mujhako tumase pyaar hai – 2
mu: dil ta.Dap ta.Dap ke kah rahaa hai …
(muskuraate pyaar kA asar hai har kahii.n
dil kahaa.N hai ham kidhar hai.n kuchh khabar nahii.n ) – 2
kidhar hai kuchh khabar nahii.n – 2
dil ta.Dap ta.Dap ke kah rahaa hai …
Song #31
Aaj kal mein dhal gaya…..
Today, we are going to start with his sad song from the 1964 movie Beti Bete that starred Sunil Dutt as Ramu and Krishna, Saroja Devi B as Saroj, Jamuna as Lakshmi, with Mehmood as Munna, Jayant, Shubha Khote, Agha and Rajendra Nath in the supporting roles.
A widower with three young children (Ramu, Munna and Lakshmi) finds himself in debt. Blinded, in an industrial accident, he loses his job and is admitted to hospital. Upon returning home, he overhears the heartless landlord criticising him for not dying instead of “merely” blinding himself because, if he were dead, the children could be looked after in an orphanage. He decides not to enter the house and disappears. Left alone, the children are evicted. They lose contact with one another after one is left on a train and another is kidnapped. Years pass. The children grow up in different homes under different circumstances. But fate has decreed that the family shall meet again.
Shailendra‘s depiction of these three children in their destitution forms the lyrics of this song composed by Shankar Jaikishan and sung by Lata Mangeshkar.
Shailendra with Lata Mangeshkar (Pic courtesy: Filmfare)
I recall when I saw the movie fifty years back, I had tears in my eyes and as I looked around in the hall so many other eyes were wet too.
Please enjoy: Aaj kal mein dhal gaya…..
aaj kal me.n Dhal gayaa, din huaa tamaam
tuu bhii so jaa, so ga_ii, ra.ng bharii shaam
so gayaa chaman chaman, so ga_ii kalii-kalii
so gae hai.n sab nagar, so ga_ii galii-galii
nii.nd kah rahii hai chal, merii baa.Nh thaam, tuu bhii …
hai bujhaa-bujhaa saa dil, bojh saa.Ns-saa.Ns pe
jii rahe hai.n phir bhii ham, sirf kal kii aas pe
kah rahii hai chaa.Ndanii, leke teraa naam, tuu bhii …
kaun aaegaa idhar, kisakii raah dekhe.n ham
jinakii aahaTe.n sunii, jaane kisake ye kadam
apanaa koI bhii nahii.n, apane to hai.n raam, tuu bhii …
Song #32
Shailendra, one of the greatest lyricists in Hindi movies, came up with lyrics similar to the 1964 movie Beti Bete song four years later in this lullaby for the 1968 movie Brahmachari. Again destitution, again desolation and again Shailendra won. This time, for this song, he won his third and last Filmfare Award as Best Lyricst.
Brahmachari starred Shammi Kapoor, Rajshree, Pran, Mumtaz, Jagdeep, Sachin and Asit Sen.
Shammi Kapoor in the title role takes care of a number of orphans in his house since he himself was raised as an orphan. He has no money. And then, one day, the orphans have nothing to eat. Just like the Beti Bete song, in this heart-rending lullaby he is putting the children to sleep with empty tummies.
Once again, the song has been composed by Shankar Jaikishan. It was sung by Mohammad Rafi.
Shailendra flanked by Mohammad Rafi and Shankar (of Shankar-Jaikishan) (Pic courtesy: bollywoodirect.com)
Please enjoy: Main gaayun tum so jayo…..
mai.n gaauu.N tum so jaao
sukh sapano.n me.n kho jaao
maanaa aaj kii raat hai lambii
maanaa din thaa bhaarii
par jag badalaa badalegii
ek din taqadiir hamaarii
us din ke khvaab sajaao
kal tum jab aa.Nkhe.n khologe
jab hogaa ujiyaaraa
khushiyo.n kaa sandeshaa lekar
aaegaa saveraa pyaaraa
mat aas ke diip bujhaao,
mai.n gaaU.N …
jii karataa hai jiite jii
mai.n yU.N hii gaataa jaaU.n
gardish me.n thake haatho.n kaa
maathaa sahalaataa jaauu.n
phir ik din tum doharaao,
sukh sapano.n …
Song #33
Jin raaton ki bhor nahin hai, aaj aaisi hi raat aayi….
To complete the series of deplorable nights, today evening, is a personal favourite of mine.
When Kishore Kumar made his 1964 movie Door Gagan Ki Chhaon Mein he depicted the struggles of an ex army man (played by Kishore Kumar himself) for getting a bright future for his handicapped son (played by his son Amit Kumar). The movie has the motivating song depicting this dream Aa chal ke tujhe main le ke chalun. But that was penned by Kishore Kumar himself.
The versatile Kishore Kumar has tried his hands on many diffferent things: Acting, Production, Direction, Singing, Music Direction, Composition, and even writing Lyrics
This song of despondency, on the other hand, has been penned by Shailendra, sung by Kishore da on his own composition. The song depicts exactly opposite sentiments of the Aa chal ke tujhe song.
Please enjoy: Jin raaton ki bhor nahin hai, aaj aaisi hi raat aayi….
jin raato.n kii bhor nahii.n hai
aaj aisii hii raat aaI
jo jis Gam me.n Duub gayaa hai
saagar kii hai gaharAI
raat ke taaro.n tum hii bataao
merii vo ma.nzil hai kahaa.N
paagal banakar jisake liye mai.n
kho baiThaa huu.N dono jahaa.N
jin raato.n …
raah kisii kii huii naa roshan
jalanaa meraa bekaar gayaa
luuT ga_ii taqadiir mujhe mai.n
jiit ke baazii haar gayaa
jin raato.n kii bhor nahii.n hai …
Song #34
Yaad na jaaye beete dinon ki…..
As far as Yaad songs are concerned, Shailendra penned one of the best remembered Yaad songs. It is from the 1963 movie Dil Ek Mandir. Rajendra Kumar is a doctor in a hospital whereat his former beloved Meena Kumari comes to seek treatment for her husband Raaj Kumar. In this song, Rajendra Kumar is overwhelmed with emotions thinking of those days when he and Meena Kumari were together in love.
Shankar Jaikishan have composed it in Raag Kirwani, Tal Kaherava. Mohammad Rafi sang it.
Please enjoy: Yaad na jaaye beete dinon ki…..
yaad na jaae, biite dino.n kii
jaake na aaye jo din, dil kyuu.N bulaae, unhe.n
dil kyo.n bulaae
yaad na jaaye …
din jo pakheruu hote, pi.njare me.n mai.n rakh detaa – 2
paalataa unako jatan se
paalataa unako jatan se, motii ke daane detaa
siine se rahataa lagaae
yaad na jaae …
tasviir unakii chhupaake, rakh duu.N jahaa.N jii chaahe – 2
man me.n basii ye suurat
man me.n basii ye suurat, lekin miTe na miTaae
kahane ko hai vo paraae
yaad na jaae …
Song #35
Jhumati chali hawa yaad aa gaya koi….
Another very beautiful Yaad song penned by him was for the 1962 movie Sangeet Samrat Tansen that had Bharat Bhushan in the title role. It is amongst the best of songs sung by Mukesh.
Many of Mukesh’s songs have been penned by either Shailendra or Hasrat Jaipuri since they all worked for Raj Kapoor; Mukesh, being the singing voice of Raj Kapoor.
Mukesh with arms around Shailendra on one side and Hasrat Jaipuri on the other. In the front row are Raj Kapoor, Jaikishan and Shankar
For this movie, however, SN Tripathi was the Music Director who composed it in Raag Sohani, Tal Dadra.
Please enjoy: Jhumati chali hawa yaad aa gaya koi….
kho ga_ii hai.n ma.nzile.n, miT gaye hai.n raaste
gardishe.n hii gardishe.n, ab hai.n mere vaaste
ab hai.n mere vaaste
aur aise me.n mujhe, phir bulaa gayaa koI
jhUmatii chalii havaa …
chup hai.n chaa.Nd chaa.Ndanii, chup ye aasamaan hai
miiThii miiThii nii.nd me.n, so rahaa jahaan hai
so rahaa jahaan hai
aaj aadhii raat ko, kyo.n jagaa gayaa koI
jhUmatii chalii havaa …
ek huuk sii uThii, mai.n sihar ke rah gayaa
dil ko apanaa thaam ke aah bhar ke rah gayaa
chaa.Ndanii kii oT se muskuraa gayaa koii
jhuumatii chalii havaa …
Song #36
Phir wo bhooli si yaad aayi hai….
The last song of Shailendra tonight on the Yaad theme is from the 1963 movie Begaana that starred Dharmendra, Supriya Chowdhury, Agha and Tarun Bose in the lead roles.
This song was composed by Sapan Jagmohan and sung by Mohammad Rafi.
Please enjoy: Phir wo bhooli si yaad aayi hai….
ko_ii mere dil se puuchhe tere tiir-e-niimakash ko
vo Kalish kahaa.N se uThatii jo jigar ke paar hotaa
(by Ghalib)
phir vo bhuulii sii yaad aa_ii hai -2
ai Gam-e-dil terii duhaa_ii hai
phir vo bhuulii sii …
baat itanii sii hai kahaanii me.n -2
ham bhii maare ga_e javaanii me.n -2
aag siine me.n khud lagaa_ii hai
ai Gam-e-dil terii …
aa.Nkh me.n buu.nd bhar jo paanii hai -2
pyaar kii ik yahii nishaanii hai -2
rote biitii hai jo bitaa_ii hai
ai Gam-e-dil terii …
Song #37
Ajeeb dastaan hai ye…..
Continuining with the Yaad theme in Shailendra songs (I gave you three yesterday). Wo shaam jab bhi aayegi, tum hamako yaad aayoge!
Having been born on 30th Aug 1923, he died at a very young age of 43 on 14th Dec 1966. Yet, exactly 50 years after his death, his songs are still as popular as they were those days.
One of his most popular songs these days is from 1960 Kamal Amrohi productionDil Apna Aur Preet Praayi that was directed by Kishore Sahu; yes, the same Kishore Sahu who acted as the archeaologist Marco in Guide, who negleted his wife Rosie (Waheeda Rehman) to such an extent that she ran away with the local tourist guide Raju (Dev Anand).
I saw this movie on 09 Nov last year and my first impression was that Kishore Sahu directed it very well indeed. Meena Kumari’s acting as Nurse Karuna in love with Doctor Sushil Verma (Raaj Kumar) (a doctor in my home-station Shimla) was the highlight of the movie, He, acceding to his mother’s wishes, got married to another woman whose father had done a number of favours to Raaj Kumar’s family.
This song is sung in the movie by Meena Kumari when he, Raj Kumar, returns with a wife, though still so much in love with Meena Kumari.
This is amongst the most memorable songs put together by Shailendra, Shankar Jaikishan and Lata Mangeshkar and I don’t foresee its popularity diminishing in near future at least. It is a boat song. It is a guitar song. It is a party song with a huge difference.
Please enjoy: Ajeeb dastaan hai ye…..
ajiib daastaa.n hai ye
kahaa.N shuruu kahaa.N khatam
ye ma.nzile.n hai kaun sii
na vo samajh sake na ham
ajiib daastaa.n…
(ye roshanii ke saath kyo.n
dhuaa.N uThaa chiraag se) -2
ye Kvaab dekhatii huu.N mai.n
ke jag pa.Dii huu.N Kvaab se
ajiib daastaa.n…
(kisiikaa pyaar leke tum
nayaa jahaa.N basaaoge) -2
ye shaam jab bhii aaegii
tum hamako yaad aaoge
ajiib daastaa.n…
(mubaarake.n tumhe.n ke tum
kisiike nuur ho gae) -2
kisiike itane paas ho
ke sabase duur ho gae
ajiib daastaa.n…
Song #38
Yaad aayi aadhi raat ko, kal raat ki tauba….
When I gave you the most remarkable song from the last movie Dil Apna Aur Preet Praayi, you must have shown surprise that the movie was directed by Kishore Sahu. Well, now, you are in for a bigger surprise since this movie is directed by the comedian Om Prakash, whose unique style of comedy based on elongated dialogue delivery couldn’t be imitated by anyone.
He himself wrote the story of the 1959 movie Kanhaiya starring Raj Kapoor and Nutan and Lalita Pawar.
Coming at the heels of our participation in our most favourite fest Janamashatami, this story is so apt:
“Shanno (Nutan) is devoted to Lord Krishna alias Kanhaiya, and often wanders off alone in the woods dancing and singing to the flute notes of her Kanhaiya. She accidentally meets Kanhaiya (Raj Kapoor), the village drunk and falls in his arms assuming him to be her ‘Kanhaiya’ – Lord Krishna. The gossip spreads that Kanhaiya and Shanno are having an affair, and in order to stay in the same village, they must get married. Shanno, still under the misconception regarding Kanhaiya is thrilled and gives her consent. During the marriage Shanno is shocked when she realises who “Kanhaiya” really is – the town drunk and idler who has taken advantage of her love for Lord Krishna, and now insists on marrying her. What the Village Panchayat does when Shanno refuses to marry Kanhaiya and is even ready to light herself on the funeral pyre to prove her piety, and how they cope when the village is swamped with plague, forms the basis for the rest of the story.”
Lord Krishna, stories based on you will never cease as long as this world exists; or rightly, as long as you allow the world to exist.
This Yaad song by Shailendra is therefore a light-hearted Yaad song and not a sad, desolate one.
It is no surprise at all that Shankar Jaikishan have composed it and Mukesh has sung it.
yaad aayii aadhii raat ko, kal raat kii taubaa
dil puuchhataa hai jhuum ke, kis baat kii taubaa? taubaa
yaad aayii aadhii raat ko
chaahat me.n vafaa aur vo mar miTane kii qasame.n
kyaa baat hai bahake hu_e jazabaat kii taubaa, taubaa
yaad aayii aadhii raat ko
saaqi mujhe batalaa to de, muu.Nh pher ke mat ha.Ns
piine me.n agar Thiik to, kis baat kii taubaa? taubaa
yaad aayii aadhii raat ko
marane bhii na de.nge mujhe, dushaman merii jaa.N ke
har baat pe kahate hai.n ki, kis baat kii taubaa? taubaa
yaad aayii aadhii raat ko
Song #39
Tumhen yaad karte karte jayegi rayn saari….
And the last Yaad song that I am putting up tonight is probably the best Yaad song penned by Shailendra. It is everyone’s favourite. Some of my friends start seeing yellow on seeing and hearing this song!
It is from the 1966 movie Amrapali with Vyjayanthimala in the title role. It was based on the life of Amrapali (Ambapali), the nagarvadhu (royal courtesan) of Vaishali in present-day Bihar, the capital of the Licchavi republic in ancient India around 500 BC and Ajatashatru (played by Sunil Dutt), the Haryanka dynasty king of the Magadha empire, who falls in love with her. Though he destroys Vaishali to get her, she in the meantime has been transformed by her encounter with Gautama Buddha, of whom she becomes a disciple and an Arahant herself. Her story finds mention in old Pali texts and Buddhist traditions.
All songs of the movie have been penned by Shailendra and have semi-classical compositions by Shankar Jaikishan. This is the best of them. All songs have been sung by Lata Mangeshkar for Vyjayanthimala including this one.
Please enjoy: Tumhen yaad karte karte jayegi ran saari….
(tumhe.n yaad karate karate jaaegii rain saarii
tum le gaye ho apane sa.ng nii.nd bhii hamaarii ) – 2
man hai ki jaa basaa hai, a.njaan ik nagar me.n
kuchh khojataa hai paagal khoii huii Dagar me.n
itane ba.De mahal me.n, ghabaraauu.N mai.n bechaarii
tum le gaye ho apane sa.ng nii.nd bhii hamaarii
tumhe.n yaad karate karate
virahaa kii is chitaa se tum hii mujhe nikaalo
jo tum na aa sako to, mujhe svapna me.n bulaa lo
mujhe aise mat jalaao, merii priit hai ku.Nwaarii
tum le gaye ho apane sa.ng nii.nd bhii hamaarii
tumhe.n yaad karate karate
Two weeks of giving you songs penned by one of the greatest lyricists in Hindi films. As mentioned by me earlier, he was one lyricist who didn’t have a separate life as a poet, unlike most other lyricists of that era. He was full-time lyricist only. And this job he did exceedingly well until premature death at the age of 45 years took him away from us.
Just like Shakeel Badayuni, Shailendra penned a lot of songs about the meaning of life itself.
The most famous of these zindagi songs is still as popular. It is from the 1956 Raj Kapoor production Jaagte Raho that was directed byAmit Maitra and Sombhu Mitra. The film starred Raj Kapoor, a poor peasant who comes to city in search of work. In order to quench his thirst he enters an apartment building whose residents take him as a thief and hence the name of the movie. Nargis has got an important role in the final scene of the movie only, in the rendition of the bhajan: Jaago Mohan pyaare.
This song is picturised on Motilal, a rich drunkard. It is a composition of Salil Chowdhury in Raag Pilu, Taal Kaherava. Mukesh has sung it well as he did with all Raj Kapoor songs.
Please enjoy: Zindagi khwaab hai…..
ra.ngii ko naara.ngii kahe, bane duudh ko khoyaa
chalatii ko gaa.Dii kahe, dekh kabIraa royaa…
zi.ndagii Kvaab hai, Kvaab me.n jhuuTh kyaa
aur bhalaa sach hai kyaa
(motIlaal) sab sach hai
zindagI khvAb hai…
dil ne hamase jo kahaa, hamane vaisaa hii kiyaa – 2
fir kabhI furasat se soche.nge buraa thA yA bhalaa
zindagii Kvaab hai…
ek kataraa may kA jab, patthar se ho.nTho.n par pa.Daa – 2
usake siine me.n bhii dil dha.Dakaa ye usane bhii kahaa
(motIlaal) kyA
ek pyaalii bhar ke mai.nne, Gam ke maare dil ko dii
zahar ne maaraa zahar ko, murade me.n phir jaan aa gaI
zindagii Kvaab hai…
Song #41
Kahan jaa raha hai tu ai jaane waale….
Another song about the meaning of life.
This is from the 1955 movie Seema starring Nutan and Balraj Sahni. Some of Shailendra‘s songs (like his songs for his own production of 1966 Teesri Kasam, whose failure coupled by alcohol abuse led to his death) go very deep. This is one of them.
Once again, the composition is that of Shankar Jaikishan and the singer is Mohammad Rafi.
Please enjoy: Kahan jaa raha hai tu ai jaane waale….
kahaa.N jaa rahaa hai tuu ai jaane vaale -2
a.Ndheraa hai man kaa diyaa to jalaa le
kahaa.N jaa rahaa hai …
ye jiivan safar ek a.ndhaa safar hai -2
bahakanaa hai mumakin bhaTakane kaa Dar hai -2
sa.mbhalataa nahii.n dil kisii ke sa.mbhaale
kahaa.N jaa rahaa hai …
jo Thokar na khaa_e nahii.n jiit usakii
jo gir ke sa.mbhal jaa_e hai jiit usakii
nishaa.N ma.nzilo.n ke ye pairo.n ke chhaale
kahaa.N jaa rahaa hai …
kabhii ye bhii sochaa ki ma.nzil kahaa.N hai -2
ba.De se jahaa.N me.n ( teraa ghar kahaa.n hai ) -2
jo baa.Ndhe the ba.ndhan vo kyo.n to.D Daale
kahaa.N jaa rahaa hai …
Song #42
O jaanewale ho sake to laut ke aana….
And the last song before we take up the last eight songs on the occasion of his birth anniversary tomorrow is also a deep-meaning song about meaning and secret of life.
This is from the 1963 Bimal Roy movie Bandini with Nutan in the title role. Composition is that of SD Burman who excelled not just in Raaga based songs but also in semi-classical compositions of his own.
Recording for a song for the 1960 Bimal Roy movie Usne Kaha Tha. Shailendra, standing behind Bimal Roy, was the favourite choice of Bimal Roy for songs in his movies (Pic courtesy: filmkailm.com)
It has been sung so beautifully by Mukesh that he has made this immortal.
Please enjoy: O jaanewale ho sake to laut ke aana….
o jaanevaale ho sake to lauT ke aanaa
ye ghaaT tuu ye baaT kahii.n bhuul na jaanaa
bachapan ke tere miit tere sa.ng ke sahaare
Dhuu.NDhe.nge tujhe galii-galii sab ye Gam ke maare
puuchhegii har nigaah kal teraa Thikaanaa
o jaanevaale…
hai teraa vahaa.N kaun sabhii log hai.n paraae
parades kii garadish me.n kahii.n tuu bhii kho naa jaae
kaa.NTo.n bharii Dagar hai tuu daaman bachaanaa
o jaanevaale…
de de ke ye aavaaz koii har gha.Dii bulaae
phir jaae jo us paar kabhii lauT ke na aae
hai bhed ye kaisaa koii kuchh to bataanaa
o jaanevaale…
Song #43
Duniya bananewale kyaa tere mann mein samayi…
And finally the day of his birth anniversary. He was born on this day as Shankardas Kesarilal in Rawalpindi (now in Pakistan).
Tonight we begin with the songs of his own production in 1966, Teesri Kasam, a few months before he died on 14th Dec of the same year, not able to bear the shock of loss in his own production and because of alcohol abuse.
What went wrong? He took Basu Bhattacharya as the director who had not just learnt direction under the great Bimal Roy in Madhuamati and Sujata but was also married to Bimal Roy’s daughter Rinki. Indeed, when I saw the movie on my com last year, I felt that it was a great movie indeed. Afterall the movie won the National Award for Best Feature Film.
Both the lead actors Raj Kapoor and Waheeda Rehman were accomplished ones and in the movie you can make out that they have come up with great performances.
His own lyrics were amongst his finest and even 50 years after the movie, these songs are still fondly remembered. Shankar Jaikishan composed them into numbers that were semi-classical and very good indeed.
Then, what went wrong? One can never say about Indian audiences. They often complained about run-of-the-mill stories and when someone came up with anything other than what is called ‘formula’ movies, it failed!
tuu bhii to ta.Dapaa hogaa man ko banaakar,
tuufaa.n ye pyaar kaa man me.n chhupaakar
koI chhavi to hogii aa.Nkho.n me.n terii – 2
aa.Nsuu bhii chhalake ho.nge palako.n se terii
bol kyaa suujhii tujhako, kaaheko priit jagaaI
kaaheko duniyaa banaaI, tuune kaaheko duniyaa banaaI …
priit banaake tuune jiinaa sikhaayaa, ha.nsanaa sikhaayaa,
ronaa sikhaayaa
jiivan ke path par miit milaae – 2
miit milaake tuune sapane jagaae
sapane jagaake tuune, kaahe ko de dii judaaI
kaaheko duniyaa banaaI, tuune kaaheko duniyaa banaaI …
Song #44
Chalat musaafir moh liya re pinjade waali muniyaa….
It is based on the short story Mare Gaye Gulfam by the Hindi novelist Phanishwarnath Renu. It is the story of a naive bullock cart driver who falls in love with a dancer at nautanki, the popular folk theatre of the Bihar region.
This is not a classical or even semi classical composition by Shankar Jaikishan, but a folk music tune on Shailendra‘s lyrics. It has been sung by Manna De.
Please enjoy: Chalat musaafir moh liya re pinjade waali muniyaa….
chalat musaafir moh liyo re pi.nja.De vaalii muniyaa – 4
u.D u.D baiThii halava_iyaa dukaniyaa – 2
he raamaa!!!!
u.D u.D baiThii halava_iyaa dukaniyaa
aare!!
(barafii ke sab ras le liyo re
pi.nja.De vaalii muniyaa ) – 2
a he a he … he raamaa
u.D u.D baiThii bajajavaa dukaniyaa – 2
aahaa!!!!
u.D u.D baiThii bajajavaa dukaniyaa
aare!
(kapa.Daa ke sab ras le liyo re
pi.nja.De vaalii muniyaa ) – 3
jiyo jiyo palakadas jiyo!!
u.D u.D baiThii panava.Diyaa dukaniyaa – 2
he raamaa!!!!
u.D u.D baiThii panava.Diyaa dukaniyaa
aare!!
(bii.Daa ke sab ras le liyo re
pi.nja.De vaalii muniyaa ) – 3
Song #45
Paan khaye sainya hamaro….
What is Teesri Kasam all about? Hiraman (Raj Kapoor) is a rustic villager, a bullock cart driver, from a remote village in Bihar. Hiraman takes two vows based on difficult situations in his life. He then meets and befriends Hirabai, a nautanki dancer. In the end, Hiraman takes a third vow.
Hiraman has traditional and conservative values. While smuggling illegal goods on his bullock cart and narrowly escaping the police, Hiraman takes a vow (the first kasam) to never again carry illegal goods. Subsequently, while transporting bamboo for a timber trader, Hiraman’s load upsets the horses of two men. The two men then beat Hiramam. After this, Hiraman takes a second vow (the second kasam) to never again carry bamboo in his cart.
In the end, when he finds that Waheeda Rehman (Heerabai) cannot leave nautanki in order to be with him for the rest of the life, Hiraman takes his third vow (Teesri Kasam) never to fall in love with a nautanki-wali.
This song has been sung by Asha Bhosle for Waheeda Rehman. She dances on it in her nautanki and this probably was the most popular song of the movie.
( hamane ma.Ngaa_ii suramedaanii
le aayaa zaalim banaaras kaa zaradaa ) -2
aa
apanii hii duniyaa me.n khoyaa rahe wo
hamare dil kii na puuchhe bedardaa
puuchhe bedardaa
( khaa ke gilorii shaam se uu.Nghe
so jaaye wo diiyaa-baatii se pahale ) -2
haa
aa.Ngan-aTaarii me.n ghabaraa_ii Doluu.N
chorii ke Dar se dil moraa dahale
dil moraa dahale
We shall be taking two more songs penned by Shailendra in the 1966 movie Teesri Kasam before we call it quits. There was just one song penned by Shailendra’s great friend Hasrat Jaipuri in this movie and that was the song of the title of the story on which the movie was based: Maare gaye gulfaam.
Here is Mukesh singing yet another time for Raj Kapoor.
Please enjoy: Sajan re jhoot mat bolo…..
sajan re jhuuTh mat bolo, khudaa ke paas jaanaa hai
na haathii hai naa gho.Daa hai, vahaa.N paidal hii jaanaa hai
tumhaare mahal chaubaare, yahii.n rah jaae.nge saare – 2
aka.D kis baat ki pyaare
aka.D kis baat ki pyaare, ye sar phir bhii jhukaanaa hai
sajan re jhuuTh mat bolo, khudaa ke paas jaanaa hai …
bhalaa kiijai bhalaa hogaa, buraa kiijai buraa hogaa – 2
bahii likh likh ke kyaa hogaa
bahii likh likh ke kyaa hogaa, yahii.n sab kuchh chukaanaa hai
sajan re jhuuTh mat bolo, khudaa ke paas jaanaa hai …
la.Dakapan khel me.n khoyaa, javaanii nii.nd bhar soyaa – 2
bu.Dhaapaa dekh kar royaa
bu.Dhaapaa dekh kar royaa, vahii kissaa puraanaa hai
sajan re jhuuTh mat bolo, khudaa ke paas jaanaa hai
na haathii hai naa gho.Daa hai, vahaa.N paidal hii jaanaa hai
sajan re jhuuTh mat bolo, khudaa ke paas jaanaa hai …
Song #47
Sajanva bairi ho gaye hamaar….
And the last song from the 1966 Basu Bhattacharya movie Teesri Kasam on which Shailendra the lyricist staked a lot of money as a Producer is this: Sajanva bairi ho gaye hamaar.
If you notice, most of the songs of the movie have been penned keeping in mind the rustic culture. The movie was adjudged as the National Best Feature Film of that year. However, it was a commercial failure for Shailendra that affected him tremendously. He took to heavy drinking to get over his loss and that eventually led to his death.
Shailendra’s close friends Jaikishan, Mukesh and Raj Kapoor having a last look at him (Pic courtesy: pankajmukesh)
This too is a composition of S-J and has Mukesh‘s voice.
Please enjoy: Sajanva bairi ho gaye hamaar….
sajanavaa bairii ho gaye hamaar (2)
chiThiyaa ho to har koI baa.Nche
bhaag naa baa.Nche koy
karamavaa bairii ho gaye hamaar
jaae base parades balamavaa sautan ke bharamaae
naa sandes naa koI khabariyaa, rut aae rut jaae
naa koI is paar hamaarA – 2
naa koI us paar
sajanavaa bairii ho gaye hamaar
suunii sej god morii suunii marm naa jaane koy
chhaTapaT ta.Dape ek bichaarii mamataa aa.Nsuu roe
Duub gae ham biich bha.Nvar me.n – 2
sarake solah saal
karamavaa bairii ho gaye hamaar
Song #48
Kuven mein kood ke mar jaana, yaar tum shadi mat karna…..
I am now coming to the last three songs in way of remembering this great lyricist, the #1 lyricist that I have taken to begin a new series.
Here is a curious thing that I have done in selection of these three songs: they are all of different genre’s.
The first one is not just a comedy song but the comedy song. Immediately after I finished acting in a play written by me: Hamara Drama, I was called on stage and I sang this funny Kishore Kumar song. Of course, I walked away with Best Actor Award since my play too was a comedy. In addition, the play was adjudged the Best Play in the Southern Naval Command Annual Dramatic Competition.
Imagine Shailendra writing this funny song! What is more, imagine Salil Chowdhury composing it. And then, it is easy to imagine Kishore Kumar acting on it whilst singing it.
Please enjoy: Kuven mein kood ke mar jaana, yaar tum shadi mat karna…..
( kuve.n me.n ) -2 kuud ke mar jaanaa
yaar tum shaadii mat karanaa -2
mat karanaa -3
kuve.n me.n kuud ke …
dekhii dillii kii ek la.Dakii jisako dekh tabiiyat pha.Dakii
mukh se aah nikal ga_ii Tha.nDii andar-andar aag sii bha.Dakii
usakaa naam gharaanaa puuchhaa usakaa Thaur-Thikaanaa puuchhaa
apane dil kii uma.nge lekar pahu.Nchaa mai.n usake ba.ngale par -2
jaate hii jhuk ke salaam bajaayaa ##daddy## ko dil kaa bayaan sunaayaa
bhole-bhaale ##daddy## bole haa.N haa.N jii -2
haa.N haa.N jii
achchhaa Kyaal hai aapakaa diiji_e mujhe pataa apane baap kaa
aapake baap ko chiTThii ke zari_e bataa duu.Ngaa
jii achchhaa Kyaal hai aapakaa
chaay pilaa_uu.N ke Tha.nDaa ma.ngaa_uu.N oy hoy oy hoy
chaay pilaa_uu.N ke Tha.nDaa ma.ngaa_uu.N
ke muragii ke a.nDe kii bhurajii banaa_uu.N
chaay pilaa_uu.N ke Tha.nDaa ma.ngaa_uu.N
ke a.nDe khilaa_u.N ke bhurajii banaa_uu.N
ha.Ns kar jab vo la.Dakii bolii mere dil pe chal ga_ii golii
mere man ke bataashe TuuTe aakhir maan ga_e prabhu ruuThe
terii jay-jay ho karataar -3
ho terii jay-jay ho karataar ho -3
terii jay-jay ho karataar
are baap re
itane me.n aa gayaa usakaa bhaa_ii zaalim nikalaa ba.Daa hii kasaa_ii
kahane lagaa
mu.Nh aur masuur kii daal ve ( nikal jaa ) -2 yahaa.N se cha.nDaal ke bachche
( usakaa bhaa_ii thaa baaksar bhaarii ) -2 usane kii hamale kii taiyaarii
mai.n to dum ko dabaakar bhaagaa raste me.n bolaa man kaa kaagaa
kyaa kyaa
( kuve.n me.n ) -2 kuud ke mar jaanaa …
Song #49
Sur na saje kyaa gayun main….
You must be still amazed with the last song from the 1956 movie Parivaar and also cursing yourselves as to why wasn’t this introduced to you earlier. Additionally, you must be thinking that it must be some other Shailendra who would have penned this funny song.
However, the hallmark of a great lyricist is that he/she can take any genre’ of song and write well. Shailendra did well in penning the laughable comedy number.
Lets now turn to 1956 movie Basant Bahar.
This song is as far away from the earlier song as you can get. It was composed by Shankar Jaikishan in Raag Pilu, Tal Kaherava. It was sung by Manna Dey and it is amongst the best classical based songs in Hindi movies.
Please enjoy: Sur na saje kyaa gayun main….
sur nA saje kyA gAU.N mai.n – 2
sur ke binA, jIvan sUnA – 2
sur nA saje kyA gAU.n mai.n
sur nA saje …
jalate gayaa jiivana meraa -2
is raat kaa na hogaa saveraa -2
sur naa saje …
dono.n jahA.n, mujhase rUThe – 2
tere binA ye gIt bhI jhUThe – 2
sur nA saje …
taT se lagii nadiyaa gaave -2
pii tum kahaa.N papiihaa gaave -2
sur naa saje …
(sa.ngIt man ko pa.nkh lagAe
gIto.n me.n rimajhim ras barasAe ) – 2
svar kI sAdhanA – 2
paramesh{}var kI
sur nA saje …
Song #50
O mere sanam, O mere sanam, do jism magar ik jaan hain hum…..
And the last song in my tribute to this great lyricist on the day of his ninety-fifth birth anniversary has been taken by me from the 1964 Raj Kapoor classic Sangam that was a triangle between Raj Kapoor, Rajendra Kumar and Vyjayanthimala. Raj Kapoor and Rajendra Kumar were very close friends as Sundar and Gopal respectively. They both loved Vyjayanthimala (Radha) but Gopal was able to keep silent for the sake of his friend whilst Radha was somewhat swept off her feet by the IAF officer Sundar whilst she was already in love with Gopal.
On their honey-moon in Europe, Sundar discovers Gopal’s love letters to Radha and this leads him to sing: Dost, dost na raha, another great Shailendra number.
This one is such a beautiful composition by S-J on lyrics that often leave me gaping in awe. S-J composed it in Raag Shivaranjani (they must be having the record of composing maximum songs based on Raagas), Tal Kaherava.
The image that one would want to remember Shailendra by: Centrestage with Shankar Jaikishan
Lata and Mukesh have sung this for Vyjayanthimala and Raj Kapoor respectively.
Please enjoy: O mere sanam, O mere sanam, do jism magar ik jaan hain hum…..
o mere sanam o mere sanam
do jism magar ek jaan hai.n ham
ek dil ke do aramaan hai.n ham
o mere sanam o mere sanam
tan sau.np diyaa, man sau.np diyaa
kuchh aur to mere paas nahii.n
jo tum se hai mere hamadam
bhagavaan se bhI vo aas nahii.n – 2
jis din se hue ek dUje ke
is duniyA se anajaan hai ham
ek dil ke do aramaan hai.n ham
o mere sanam o mere sanam
sunate hai.n pyaar kii duniyA me.n
do dil mushkil se samaate hai.n
kyA gair vahaa.N apano.n tak ke
sa.ng bhI nA aane paate hai.n – 2
hamane aakhir kyA dekh liyaa
kyA baat hai kyo.n hairaan hai ham
ek dil ke do aramaan hai.n ham
o mere sanam o mere sanam
mere apane, apanA ye milan
sa.ngam hai ye ga.ngA jamunaa kA
jo sach hai saamane AyA hai
jo bIt gayaa ek sapanaa thA – 2
ye dharatii hai insaano.n kii
kuchh aur nahii.n insaan hai.n ham
ek dil ke do aramaan hai.n ham
o mere sanam o mere sanam
There, that’s my list of 50 Best Songs of Shailendra. I have tried to give you all kinds of songs that he wrote: serious, romantic, comic, yaad songs, zindagi songs. The big problem that I have faced is that in narrowing it down to just 50 songs, I had to leave many good and even excellent ones. In case some song (s) is/are favourite of yours and you feel that I have done injustice in not including it, please pen your comments below.
Await my next blog-post about my next Great Lyricist: Rajendra Krishan.
I am a lyrical man; words of the songs are often the most important part of the songs for me. Indeed, on the Facebook I have a page titled ‘Lyrical’ to honour and pay tribute to various lyricists. I have several (almost a dozen) posts on my blog on my favourite lyricist and poet Shakeel Badayuni. The following posts about Shailendra have been reconstructed from the same page.
Song #1
Kuchh aur zamaana kehta hai…
When I was giving you Shakeel Badayuni’s songs during the Countdown to his Birth Centenary on 03 Aug, I started giving you, one song a day from his contemporary lyricists starting with Shailendra.
I am, as you already know, a ‘Lyrical’ man in the same sense (though lacking in equivalent excellence) as my friend Anand Desai is an Instrumental man.
In the era in which I was brought up, good lyrics simply ruled the scene. We may not remember the story-line of a movie after so many decades, but we do remember the lyrics. I can give you several examples, such as Rajinder Krishan‘s:
“Ghar se chale the ham to khushi ki talaash mein, Gham raah mein khade the wahin saath ho liye, Khud dil se dil ki baat kahi aur ro liye.”
If you have seen the movie Adaalat, you would know how aptly the lyrics fit with the story-line and the emotions of Nargis.
Shailendra Kesarilal was one such lyricist. He was born on 30th Aug 1921 in Rawalpindi (now in Pakistan). He and Hasrat Jaipuri associated with Shankar Jaikishan to create some of the best known songs in the Hindi movies.
His son Dinesh Shankar Shailendra brought out to us during the Shankar Jaikishan Music Foundation’s Mumbai Meet that we had on the 18th June 16 that amongst all of them, Shailendra was the only one who knew English and hence all contracts for the S-J and Hasrat were perused by him for correctness before asking them to sign!
If Raj Kapoor hadn’t noticed his poetry in a mushaira in Bombay in the year 1947, Shailendra would have probably continued working in the railways! And then first Aag (1948) and then Barsaat (1949) took place. Shailendra thereafter took us on a better journey than he would have in the Indian Railways.
Shailendra at work (Pic courtesy: JungleKey.in)
There are hundreds of his lyrics to appreciate. I am particularly fond of Patita’s Mitti se khelte ho baar baar kis liye and this from the 1965 movie Chhoti Chhoti Baatein that starred Nadira and Motilal.
The movie was written, produced and directed by Motilal. As some of you would know, Motilal died before the movie was released.
You would also appreciate the setting of this great song (and I urge you to see it please) in a boat.
Whilst giving you the description of Raag Sarang on Lyrical, I had mentioned the various names by which Sarang is known, the most popular being Brindavani Sarang. This is, however, composed in Gaur Sarang by Anil Biswas and the tal is Dadra.
Singing for Nadira is Meena Kapoor. She became famous for her 1957 movie Pardesi song: Rasiya re man basiya re. She was, of course married to Anil Biswas. Many people used to comment upon the likeness of her voice to Geeta Dutt with whom she was a friend.
But, this song has to be appreciated most for its exquisite lyrics by Shailendra! I get floored by them every time I listen to them.
Please enjoy: Kuchh aur zamaana kehta hai…..
kuchh aur zamaanaa kahataa hai, kuchh aur hai zidd mere dil kii
mai.n baat zamaane kii maanuu.N, yaa baat sunuu.N apane dil kii
kuchh aur zamaanaa kahataa hai …
duniyaa ne hame.n berahamii se
Thukaraa jo diyaa, achchhaa hii kiyaa
naadaan ham samajhe baiThe the
nibhatii hai yahaa.N dil se dil kii
kuchh aur zamaanaa kahataa hai …
inasaaf, muhabbat, sachchaa_ii
vo raham-o-qaram ke dikhalaave
kuchh kahate zubaa.N sharamaatii hai
puuchho na jalan mere dil kii
kuchh aur zamaanaa kahataa hai …
go bastii hai insaano.n kii
insaan magar Dhuu.NDhe na milaa
patthar ke buto.n se kyaa kiije
fariyaad bhalaa TuuTe dil kii
kuchh aur zamaanaa kahataa hai …
Song #2
Mitti se khelte ho baar baar kisliye…
Whilst my favourite Shakeel Badayuni and so many others such as Sahir Ludhainvi, Kavi Pradeep, Pt. Narendra Sharma and even Majrooh Sultanpuri, were poets and lyricists, Shailendra used all his literary genius in writing lyrics for songs. As a find of Raj Kapoor, he wrote most of his songs for Shankar Jaikishan, though in later years, he associated with other composers and music directors too.
Pic courtesy: Bablou (Dinesh) Shailendra
Let me recall this one from his 1953 movie Patita starring Dev Anand and Usha Kiran. A song from this movie has a mukhada that is the title of a Facegroup group of mine: Yaad Kiya Dil Ne; though penned by Hasrat Jaipuri. Indeed, when it came to S-J’s songs, we always keep going, like a metronome, between Shailendra and Hasrat.
Patita has two other songs penned by Shailendra: Kisi ne apna bana ke mujhako muskarana sikha diya, and Hai sabase madhur woh geet jise ham dard ke sur mein gaate hain.
However, my favourite in Lyrical excellence is Mitti se khelate ho baar baar kis liye.
The second stanza is particularly powerful.
Please enjoy: Mitti se khelate ho baar baar kis liye….
MiTTii se khelate ho baar-baar kis liye
TuuTe hu_e khilauno.n se pyaar kis liye
banaake zi.ndagaaniyaa.N bigaa.Dane se kyaa milaa
merii ummiid kaa jahaa.N ujaa.Dane se kyaa milaa
aa_ii thii do dino.n kii ye bahaar kis liye
zaraa sii dhuul ko hazaar ruup naam de di_e
zaraa sii jaan sar pe saat aasamaan de di_e
barabaad zi.ndagii kaa ye si.ngaar kis li_e
zamiin Gair ho ga_ii ye aasamaa.N badal gayaa
hawaa ke ruK badal ga_e har ek phuul jal gayaa
bajate hai.n ab ye saa.Nso.n ke taar kis li_e
Song #3
O sajana barkha bahaar aayi…
Last night I finally saw the 1960 movie Parakh!
If there is a song from a movie that I like, especially if it is an old one, I avoid seeing the movie lest I should be disappointed with the movie, its setting and the picturisation of the song.
My most favourite rain song ever is O sajana barkha bahaar aayi. It haunts me during the rains and it fascinates me otherwise. When I hear the notes of it and the lyrics, my heart goes aflutter. I build up my own scene around the songs and do not like the realm of my own imagination to be broken.
Shailendra certainly has the quality that tickles my imagination.
Even though the movie is a Bimal Roy movie, I avoided having a conflict between my own imagination and that of the movie’s.
However, yesterday I saw the movie with its story (a light-hearted satire/comedy, which no one can believe Bimal Roy would have directed!) written by Salil Chowdhury.
When I listen to the song, I imagine it as the picturisation of rain and the longing of a woman in rain for her lover without any necessity of a video! However, when I saw the movie and the song, I realised that the director and the music director too have done outstandingly well and the lyrics come out alive and throbbing with their handling.
Salil da, of course, composed the song in Raag Khammaj, Tal Kaherava. He thought about it with the swishing of his Ambassador car’s wipers in the rain. It is a late evening Raaga and that’s precisely the time in the movie too.
Shailendra was able to say it in a few words that would take volumes otherwise. Lata singing for Sadhana brought out the longing even more.
Please enjoy: O sajana barkha bahar aayi…..
(o sajanaa, barakhaa bahaara aaI
rasa kii phuhaara laaI, a.Nkhiyo.n me pyaar laaI ) – 2
o sajanaa
tumako pukaare mere mana kaa papiharaa – 2
miiThii miiThii aganii me.n, jale moraa jiyaraa
o sajanaa …
(aisI rimajhima me.n o saajan, pyaase pyaase mere nayana
tere hii, khvaaba me.n, kho gae ) – 2
saa.nvalii salonii ghaTaa, jaba jaba chhaaI – 2
a.Nkhiyo.n me.n rainaa gaI, nindiyaa na aaI
o sajanaa …
Song #4
Yeh mera deewanapan hai…
Just like Shakeel, Shailendra won the Filmfare Best Lyricist Award thrice:
1958: “Yeh Mera Deewanapan Hai” (Yahudi)
1959: “Sab Kuch Seekha Hamne” (Anari)
1968: “Main Gaoon Tum So Jao” (Brahmchari)
These awards were instituted in 1958. This means that Shailendra had won the first two awards after their institution, before Shakeel won the next one for the 1960 film Chaudhvin Ka Chand. And then of course, Shakeel did a hat-trick.
Day before yesterday I saw a Bimal Roy movie Parakh. Yahudi was another Bimal Roy movie. Dilip Kumar, Meena Kumari, Sohrab Modi, Nazir Hussain, and Nigar Sultana starred in the movie. It was based on a play Yahudi Ki Ladki by Agha Hashar Kashmiri, a classic in Parsi-Urdu theatre, about persecution of Jews in the Roman Empire. Hindi cinema, at that time was opening out to situations around the world.
1958 was only the 6th Filmfare Awards and already Best Lyricist award was introduced. Mukesh sang this song on the composition by Shankar Jaikishan.
Please enjoy: Yeh mera deewanapan hai yaa mohabbat ka saroor….
dil se tujhako bedilii hai, mujhako hai dil kaa guruur
tuu ye maane ke na maane, log maane.nge zuruur
ye meraa diivaanaapan hai, yaa muhabbat kaa suruur
tuu na pahachaane to hai ye, terii nazaro.n kaa qusuur
ye meraa diivaanaapan hai …
dil ko terii hii tamannaa, dil ko hai tujhase hii pyaar
chaahe tuu aae na aae, ham kare.nge i.ntazaar
ye meraa diivaanaapan hai …
aise viiraane me.n ik din, ghuT ke mar jaae.nge ham
jitanaa jii chaahe pukaaro, phir nahii.n aae.nge ham
ye meraa diivaanaapan hai …
Song #5
Chhoti si ye duniya pehchaane raaste..
Lyricists during those days didn’t have independent existence. They were either attached to music directors or to film studios. Shailendra was part of Shankar Jaikishan set up.
Shailendra (extreme right) with Hasrat Jaipuri and Shankar-Jaikishan (Pic courtesy: Cinema Sangeet)
Once, S-J promised Shailendra that they would recommend him to other music directors; but, later totally forgot about it. I have already told you that writing lyrics was the only life Shailendra had. So, he sent them a note after reasonable time had elapsed. The note said: “Chhoti si ye duniya, pehchaane raaste hain; kahin to miloge to poochhenge haal“.
Shankar-Jaikishan straightway understood that Shailendra was conveying to them about failed promise. However, the lines that Shailendra wrote were so good, loaded and with light ruefulness that they used it in a song.
The movie was the 1962 movie Rungoli that starred (exactly like the 1956 movie New Delhi that I saw last night): Kishore Kumar and Vyjayanthimala.
The film had the following songs:
1. Chhoti Si Ye Duniya, Pahachaane Raasate Hain – Kishore Kumar
2. Choti Si Ye Duniya Pehchane Raaste Hai – Lata Mangeshkar
3. Hum Tum Ye Khoyi Khoyi Rahe, Chanchal Isharon Se – Lata Mangeshkar , Mukesh
4. Ek Nazar Kisi Ne Dekha Aur Dil Hua Deewana – Kishore Kumar, Lata Mangeshkar
5. Jaao-jaao Nand Ke Lala Tum Jhoote – Lata Mangeshkar
6. Rangoli Sajaao Re, Teri Paayal Mere Git – Kishore Kumar
7. Sagar Pe Aaj Maujon Ka Raaj, Bechain Hai Nazaara – Lata Mangeshkar
8. Hum Bechare Pyar Ke Maare, Aur Tum To Tum Ho – Kishore Kumar
9. Chaau Chaau Bombiyana, Ishq Hai Maraz Purana – Manna Dey
Credits for the lyrics of the songs were shared between Shailendra and Hasrat Jaipuri.
Please enjoy: Chhoti si ye duniya pehchaane raaste hain….
chhoTii sii ye duniyaa, pahachaane raste.n hai.n
tum kabhI to miloge, kahii.n to miloge to puuchhe.nge haal
chhoTii sI …
ham to ye samajhe.nge hamane ek patthar ko puujaa
lekin tumako apane jaisA nahii.n milege duujaa, nahii.n milegaa duujaa
chhoTii sii ye duniyaa …
siikhaa nahii.n hamaare dil ne pyaar me.n dhiiraj khonaa
aag me.n jal ke bhI jo nikhaare, hai vohii sachchaa sonaa, hai vohI sachchaa sonaa
chhoTii sii ye duniyaa …
dil kI daulat mat Thukaraao, dekho pachhatAoge
aaj chale jaate ho jaise, lauT ke bhI aaoge, lauT ke bhI aaoge
chhoTii sii ye duniyaa …
Song #6
Awaara hoon…
I call Shakeel Badayuni as the Best Poet and Lyricist. Similarly, Gulzar calls Shailendra as the Best Lyricist the Hindi movies ever saw.
The most popular song (internationally) that was ever written by a Hindi films lyricist was actually written by Shailendra and at a very early stage in his career. I am talking about the title song of the 1951 Raj Kapoor movie Awaara. I need not repeat it that the song was a hit song across lands and oceans: China, Middle East, Europe and even Americas.
Recently, a WhatsApp video is going around with Turkish President singing the song at a public function. Of course, in Turkey Awaara was remade as Avare (1964) starring the Turkish actor Sadri Alışık, along with actress Ajda Pekkan.
In 2012, Time Magazine included Awaara and Anari amongst the 100 Best Movies Of All Times.
Shankar Jaikishan, of course, composed the song in their favourite Raaga: Raag Bhairavi, Tal Kaherava.
aabaad nahii.n barabaad sahii
gaataa huu.N khushiike gIt magar – 2
zakhmo.n se bharaa siinaa hai meraa
ha.nsatii hai magar ye mast nazar
duniyaa .a.a.a
duniyaa me.n tere tiir kaa yaa takadiir kaa maaraa huu.N
aavaaraa huu.N, aavaaraa huu.N
yaa gardish me.n huu.N aasamaan kaa taaraa huu.N
aavaaraa huu.N, aavaaraa huu.N
Song #7
Kaise din beete kaise beetin ratiyan…
I saw the 1960 Anuradha again last year in the month of July. I had seen it once when I was a boy more than 50 years ago. And the reason for seeing the movie was badically for its memorable songs. And what songs they are:
1. “Jaane Kaise Sapno Main” – Lata Mangeshkar
2. “Sanware Sanware Kahe Mose” – Lata Mangeshkar
3. “Kaise Din Beete, Kaise Beeti Ratiyan” – Lata Mangeshkar
4. “Bahut Din Huye” – Mahendra Kapoor
5. “Hai Re Woh Din Kyon Na Aaye” – Lata Mangeshkar
Each one of them has that pull that tugs at the chords of one’s heart. The film stars Balraj Sahni and Leela Naidu in lead roles. Leela Naidu was Miss India before joining films and this was her debut movie. The movie is all about the idealist village doctor Balraj Sahni ignoring the desires and aspirations of his city bred wife Anuradha (Leela Naidu) who, before she married him, had interest in music and singing (she was a singer on the All India Radio).
This sensitive theme was handled by Hrishikesh Mukherjee very well indeed. And, to help him build up the theme were Shailendra’s lyrics in the above songs and Sitar Maestro Ravi Shankar’s compositions (one of the rare movies with him as Music Director).
(Pic courtesy: Roadandmusic.com)
I am particularly fond of this one penned by Shailendra and composed by Pandit Ravi Shankar in Manj Khammaj, Tal Dadra.
ha~~ay~
kaise din biite kaise biitii ratiyaa
piyaa jaane na
haay
nehaa lagaa ke mai.n pachhataa_ii
saarii saarii rainaa nindiyaa na aa_ii
jaan ke dekho mere jii kii batiyaa
piyaa jaane na
haay
kaise din biite kaise biitii ratiyaa
piyaa jaane na
rut matavaalii aa ke chalii jaaye
man me.n hii mere man kii rahii jaaye
khilane ko tarase nanhii nanhii kaliyaa.N
piyaa jaane na
haay
kaise din biite kaise biitii ratiyaa
piyaa jaane na
kajaraa na sohe gajaraa na sohe
barakhaa na bhaaye badaraa na sohe
kyaa kahuu.N jo puuchhe mose morii sakhiyaa.N
piyaa jaane na
haay
kaise din biite kaise biitii ratiyaa
piya jaane na
Song #8
Ab ke baras bhej bhaiyya ko babul….
Tonight we have taken upon ourselves to give songs of Shailendra without Shankar-Jaikishan.
We just finished listening to 1960 Hrishikesh Mukherjee movie Anuradha’s number full of pathos of a woman ignoring her own desires and aspirations for her idealist husband Balraj Sahni who is devoted to his patiens in a village where there is no amusement for her at all. The song is: Kaise din beete kaise beeti ratiyan piya jaane na.
Let me take you now to the 1963 Bimal Roy movie Bandini with Nutan in the title role and Ashok Kumar and Dharmendra in leading roles.
The movie had a debut song by Sampooran Singh Kalra who took over the nom de plume of Gulzar: Mora gora ang layi le. The rest of the songs were penned by Shailendra:
1. Mora Gora Ang Laile Lata Mangeshkar
2. Jogi Jabse Tu Aaya Lata Mangeshkar
3. O Janewale Ho Sake To Laut Ke Aana Mukesh
4. O Panchhi Pyare Sanjh Sakare Asha Bhosle,
5. Ab Ke Baras Bhejo Asha Bhosle
6. O Mere Majhi Mere Sajan Hai S.D. Burman
7. Mat Ro Mata Lal Tere Manna Dey
All songs are masterpieces both in the excellence of their lyrics as well as the beautiful compositions by Sachin Dev Burman. I think the most poignant song is Ab ke baras. Sachin da composed it in Raag Pilu, the same raag in which OP Nayyar composed many of his songs including the 1958 movie Phagun song picturised on Madhubala: Piya, piya na laage mora jiya. The only difference is that whilst Phagun song is in Tal Kaherava, the Bandini song is in Tal Dipchandi (Moghali).
Please enjoy a masterpiece by Shailendra: Ab ke baras bhej bhaiya ko babul……
ab ke baras bhej bhaiyaa ko baabul
saavan ne liijo bulaay re
lauTe.ngii jab mere bachapan kii sakhiiyaa.N
dejo sa.ndeshaa bhiyaay re
ab ke baras bhej bhiiyako baabul …
ambuvaa tale phir se jhuule pa.De.nge
rimajhim pa.De.ngii phuhaare.n
lauTe.ngii phir tere aa.Ngan me.n baabul
saavan kii Tha.nDii bahaare.n
chhalake nayan moraa kasake re jiyaraa
bachapan kii jab yaad aae re
ab ke baras bhej bhiiyako baabul …
bairan javaanii ne chiine khilaune
aur merii gu.Diyaa churaaii
baabul kii mai.n tere naazo.n kii paalii
phir kyo.n huii mai.n paraaii
biite re jag koii chiThiyaa na paatii
na koii naihar se aaye, re
ab ke baras bhej bhiiyako baabul …
Song #9
Aaja re pardesi….
What about Shailendra‘s songs for the 1958 Bimal Roy movie: Madhumati starring Vyjayanthimala in the title role? She had Dilip Kumar, Pran and Johnny Walker, amongst others to support her.
The songs of this movie are fondly remembered even more than 50 years of their first appearance in the movie. Bimal Roy wanted SD Burman to compose the songs but Sachin da suggested to him that for what Bimal Roy had in mind, Salil Chowdhury would be better.
These are certainly amongst the best of Salil da:
1. “Aaja Re Pardesi” Lata Mangeshkar 04:26
2. “Chadh Gayo Papi Bichhua” Lata Mangeshkar, Manna Dey 05:23
3. “Dil Tadap Tadap Ke” Mukesh, Lata Mangeshkar 03:27
4. “Ghadi Ghadi Mora Dil Dhadke” Lata Mangeshkar 03:11
5. “Hai Bichhua Hai Re Hai” Lata Mangeshkar 01:55
6. “Ham Haal-e-Dil Sunaenge” Mubarak Begum 03:26
7. “Jungle Mein Mor Naacha” Mohammad Rafi 03:07
8. “Kancha Le Kanchi Lai Lajo” Asha Bhonsle, Sabita Chowdhury & Ghulam Mohammad 03:24
9. “Suhana Safar Aur Yeh Mausam” Mukesh 03:44
10. “Tan Jale Man Jalta Rahe” Dwijen Mukherjee 03:22
11. “Toote Huye Khwabon Ne” Mohammad Rafi 03:42
12. “Zulmi Sang Aankh Ladi” Lata Mangeshkar 04:05
Hats off to Shailendra to have written the lyrics of all these songs. And the only reason that he didn’t receive the Best Lyricist award for any of these was because he was getting the award for the title song of Awara, the very first Best Lyricist Award.
Aja re pardesi became the most memorable song of the movie and certainly amongst the best of Lata Mangeshkar too (as acknowledged by the Nightingale of India herself). Salil da composed it in Raag Bageshri and Tal Kaherava (the fast version of it).
Please enjoy: Aja re pardesi, main to kab se khadi is paar….
aa jaa re .a.a.a paradesii
mai.n to kab se kha.Dii is paar
ye a.Nkhiyaa.N, thak ga_ii pa.nth nihaar
aa jaa re, paradesii
(tum sa.ng janam janam ke phere
bhuul gaye kyuu.N saajan mere ) – 2
ta.Dapat huu.N mai.n saa.njh savere, o …
aa jaa re, mai.n to kab se kha.Dii is paar …
(mai.n nadiyaa phir bhii mai.n pyaasii
bhed ye gaharaa baat zaraa sii ) – 2
bin tere har raat udaasii, o …
aa jaa re, mai.n to kab se kha.Dii is paar …
mai.n diye kii aisii baatii
jal na sakii jo bujh bhii na paatii
aa mil mere jiivan saathii, o …
aa jaa re, mai.n to kab se kha.Dii is paar …
Song #10
Barsaat mein hum se mile tum sajan tum se mile hum…..
Ladies and gentlemen, sorry for my absence yesterday; I had gone to see the premiere of the movie Rustom that a brother was kind enough to invite me for.
I am sure the more I write about Shailendra, the more you must be convinced that my having chosen him immediately after Shakeel Badayuni is not merely by fluke. By the way, this happens to be his birth-month too, having been born on 30th Aug in the year 1921 in Rawalpindi in then India, now Pakistan.
Tonight I am going to give you songs that he penned for his first movie: the 1949 Barsaat that happens to be also the debut movie of Shankar Jaikishan. It was also the debut movie of Nimmi and the first movie in which credit for playback singing was given to Lata Mangeshkar.
Here are all those debut artistes together in the title song of the movie. S-J composed it in a Raaga that turned out to be their favourite – Raag Bahiravi, that is. Tal Kaherava.
Please enjoy the very first song of Shailendra, S-J, Nimmi and Lata Mangeshkar (for which she was given credit on the screen): Barsaat mein hum se mile tum sajan tum se mile hum…..
ko : tak dhinaa dhin
dhinaa dhin
tak dhinaa dhin
barasaat me.n
ko : tak dhinaa dhin
barasaat me.n hamase mile tum sajan tumase mile ham
barasaat me.n
ko : tak dhinaa dhin
barasaat me.n hamase mile tum sajan tumase mile ham
barasaat me.n
ko : tak dhinaa dhin
priit ne si.ngaar kiyaa
mai.n banii dulhan -2
sapano.n kii rimajhim me.n
naach uThaa man
meraa naach uThaa man
aaj mai.n tumhaarii hu_ii tum mere sanam
tum mere sanam
barasaat me.n
ko : tak dhinaa dhin
barasaat me.n hamase mile tum sajan tumase mile ham
barasaat me.n
ko : tak dhinaa dhin
naino.n se jhaa.nkii jo
merii mast jawaanii
duniyaa se kahatii phire
dil kii kahaanii
mere dil kii kahaanii
unakii jo huu.N mai.n
unase kaisii sharam
ye samaa.N hai jaa rahe ho
kaise manaa_uu.N -2
mai.n tumhaarii raah me.n ye
nain bichhaa_uu.N -2
tum naa jaa_o tumako merii
jaan kii qasam -2
der naa karanaa kahii.n ye
aas chhuuT jaaye
saa.Ns TuuT jaaye
tum naa aa_o dil kii lagii
mujhako hii jalaaye
Kaaq me.n milaaye
aaG kii lapaTo.n me.n pukaare ye meraa man
mil naa sake haay mil naa sake ham -2
Song #11
Patli qamar hai tirchhi nazar hai…
The 1949 movie Barsaat had the following songs:
1. “Chhod Gaye Balam” Hasrat Jaipuri Mukesh, Lata Mangeshkar 4:28
2. “Jiya Beqarar Hai” Hasrat Jaipuri Lata Mangeshkar 3:10
3. “Barsaat Mein Humse Mile” Shailendra Lata Mangeshkar 5:00
4. “Hawa Mein Udta Jaye” Ramesh Shastri Lata Mangeshkar 2:30
5. “Zindagi Mein Hardam Rota Hi Raha” Hasrat Jaipuri Mohammed Rafi 2:51
6. “Patli Kamar Hai” Shailendra, Akhilesh Mukesh, Lata Mangeshkar 5:17
7. “Bichhde Hue Pardesi” Hasrat Jaipuri Lata Mangeshkar 3:28
8. “Mujhe Kisi Se Pyaar Ho Gayaa” Jalal Malihabadi Lata Mangeshkar 2:46
9. “Meri Aankhon Mein Bas Gaya Koi Re” Hasrat Jaipuri Lata Mangeshkar 2:47
10. “Ab Mera Kaun Sahara” Hasrat Jaipuri Lata Mangeshkar 3:15
11. “Jiya Beqarar Hai” Instrumental 2:29
If you have had a look at the list, you would know that the only other song that Shailendra wrote in his debut movie was Patli kamar hai, tirchhi nazar hai.
It has been sung by Mukesh for a licentious Prem Nath who is at pains to drive into Raj Kapoor, his best friend, that life is to be enjoyed with various women, clubs, drinks and all that and that love or true love is for the nincompoops.
Shailendra with his mastery over lyrics was able to contrast the licentious conduct of Prem Nath with the true love of Nimmi who loved him that way whilst he merely flirted with her as he did with others.
Of course, Lata sang for Nimmi.
Please enjoy: Patli kamar hai tirchhi nazar hai….
patalii kamar hai tirachhii nazar hai
khile phuul sii terii javaanii
koii bataaye kahaa.N qasar hai
o~ aajaa mere man chaahe baalam
aajaa teraa aa.Nkho.n me.n ghar hai
mai.n cha.nchal mad_mast pavan huu.N
jhuum jhuum har kalii ko chumuu.N
bichha.D gayii mai.n ghaayal hiraNii
tumako Dhuu.NDhuu.N ban ban ghuumuu.N
merii zi.ndagii mast safar hai
patalii kamar hai …
tum bin naino.n kii barasaate.n
rok na paa_uu.N laakh manaa_uu.N
mai.n bahate dariyaa kaa paanii
khel kinaaro.n se ba.Dh jaa_uu.N
ba.Ndh na paa_uu.N
nayaa nagar nit nayii Dagar hai
patalii kamar hai …
Song #12 Din dhal jaaye haay raat na jaaye…
I am going to end tonight with a song of his for the 1965 Dev Anand, Waheeda Rehman classic movie: Guide based on story by RK Narayan.
In this movie, as with Bimal Roy’s Bandini, Shailendra paired with SD Burman and created some exceedingly great songs:
1. “Aaj Phir Jeene Ki Tamanna” Lata Mangeshkar Dev Anand & Waheeda Rehman
2. “Din Dhal Jaaye” Mohammed Rafi Dev Anand & Waheeda Rehman
3. “Gaata Rahe Mera Dil” Kishore Kumar & Lata Mangeshkar Dev Anand & Waheeda Rehman
4. “Kya Se Kya Ho Gaya” Mohammed Rafi Dev Anand & Waheeda Rehman
5. “Piya Tose Naina Laage Re” Lata Mangeshkar Waheeda Rehman
6. “Saiyaan Beimaan” Lata Mangeshkar Dev Anand & Waheeda Rehman
7. “Tere Mere Sapne” Mohammed Rafi Dev Anand & Waheeda Rehman
8. “Wahan Kaun Hai Tera” Sachin Dev Burman Dev Anand
9. “He Ram Hamare Ramchandra” Manna Dey & Chorus Dev Anand
10. “Allah Megh De Paani De” Sachin Dev Burman Dev Anand
Each one of the songs is as much a classic as the movie and yet, after winning the first two Filmfare Best Lyricist awards in 1958 and 1959, it wasn’t until the 1968 movie Brahamachari (Main gaayun tum so jaao) that another Filmfare award was given to him!
In that year when Guide was released, the Best Lyricist award went to Majrooh Sultanpuri for his Chahunga main tujhe saanjh savere for Dosti. Shailendra was not nominated for any of the songs of Guide but for Sangam’s Dost dost na raha.
Award or no award, this happens to be my favourite song from Guide for its lyrics, music and picturisation.
Please enjoy: Din dhal jaaye haay raat na jaay…..
din Dhal jaaye haay, raat naa jaay
tuu to na aae terii, yaad sataaye, din Dhal jaaye
pyaar me.n jinake, sab jag chho.Daa, aur hue badanaam
unake hii haatho.n, haal huaa ye, baiThe hai.n dil ko thaam
apane kabhii the, ab hai.n paraaye
din Dhal jaaye haay …
aisii hii rim-jhim, aisii fuvAre.n, aisii hii thii barasaat
khud se judaa aur, jag se paraaye, ham dono.n the saath
phir se vo saavan, ab kyuu.N na aaye
din Dhal jaaye haay …
dil ke mere tum, paas ho kitanii, phir bhii ho kitanii duur
tum mujh se mai.n, dil se pareshaa.N, dono.n hai.n majabuur
aise me.n kisako, kaun manaaye
din Dhal jaaye haaye …
Song #13
Mera joota hai Japani…
Even though today is the 5th day and it is the 13th song of this great lyricist: Shailendra, frankly, it appears like as if we have just begun with him.
Shailendra wrote nearly a hundred songs more than Shakeel Badayuni; 859 to Shakeel’s 761. And hence, it is but natural that we take up quite a few of his songs.
In his case, I have decided not to go chronologically or by any plan or scheme but to give you the songs as they come to me. Suffice it to say that I am a ‘Lyrical’ man and good lyrics hold attraction for me.
The other day I gave you two songs from his debut film: the 1949 movie Barsaat.
He and Hasrat Jaipuri were the lyricists with music director Shankar Jaikishan to make songs for Raj Kapoor movies.
I saw the movie Shree 420 exactly a year back, in Aug 2015. In this movie, Shailendra and Hasrat didn’t divide the songs equally between themselves. Shailendra penned 5 to Hasrat’s 3:
1 “Dil Ka Haal Sune Dilwaala” Manna Dey Shailendra 5:36
2 “Ichak Dana Beechak Dana” Mukesh, Lata Mangeshkar Hasrat Jaipuri 5:08
3 “Mera Juta Hai Japani” Mukesh Shailendra 4:33
4 “Mudh Mudh Ke Na Dekh” Asha Bhosle, Manna Dey Shailendra 6:34
5 “O Janewale” Lata Mangeshkar Hasrat Jaipuri 2:20
6 “Pyar Hua Iqrar Hua” Lata Mangeshkar, Manna Dey Shailendra 4:22
7 “Ramaiya Vastavaiya” Mohammed Rafi, Lata Mangeshkar, Mukesh Shailendra 6:10
8 “Sham Gayi Raat Aayi” Lata Mangeshkar Hasrat Jaipuri 4:00
Just like the title song of Awara that became an international hit, one song of this movie became a global hit. My ship INS Himgiri made a port call at Odessa (in USSR then and now in Ukraine) in Aug 1975 and many Russians on the street would be humming this song.
The singing voice of Raj Kapoor: Mukesh, sang it. Shankar Jaikishan composed it in Raag Bhairavi (their favourite, as I have already told you several times) and in Tal Kaherava.
Please enjoy a song that is meaningful for our Independence Day 28 hours away: Mera joota hai Japani….phir bhi dil hai Hindustani…
Meraa juutaa hai jaapaanii, ye pataluun i.ngalistaanii
sar pe laal Topii ruusii, phir bhii dil hai hi.ndustaanii
meraa juutaa…
nikal pa.De hai.n khulii sa.Dak par
apanaa siinaa taane – (2)
ma.nzil kahaa.N kahaa.N rukanaa hai
uupar vaalaa jaane – (2)
ba.Dhate jaaye.n ham sailaanii, jaise ek dariyaa tuufaanii
sar pe laal…
uupar niiche niiche uupar
lahar chale jiivan kii – (2)
naadaa.N hai.n jo baiTh kinaare
puuchhe.n raah vatan kii – (2)
chalanaa jiivan kii kahaanii, rukanaa maut kii nishaanii
sar pe laal…
ho.nge raaje raajaku.Nvar ham
biga.De dil shahazaade – (2)
ham si.nhaasan par jaa baiThe
jab jab kare.n iraade – (2)
suurat hai jaanii pahachaanii, duniyaa vaalo.n ko hairaanii
sar pe laal…
Song #14
Ramaiyya Vastavaiyya…
The simplistic lyrics of the last song: Mera joota hai Japani had deep meaning; which is that as a newly independent country we might have things imported from various parts of the world but we were proud to be totally Indian at heart and proud of it.
A movie was titled on the last part of the mukhada of the song; ie, Phir Bhi Dil Hai Hindustani.
Another very popular song from the movie was a song about the homecoming of Raj Kapoor amidst his people (the poor people on the streets of Bombay) from whom he had departed to taste the life of the high and the mighty by being as deceitful as them; and that’s why the title: Shree 420, a man who indulges in deceit and fraud.
Hats off to Shailendra for the title of the song: Ramaiyya Vastavaiyya that he took from Telugu. The literal translation is: Ram, I knew you’d come (return).
This song has been sung in three parts: Mohammad Rafi for one of the street cronies of Raj Kapoor, Lata Mangeshkar for Nargis and in the end Mukesh for Raj Kapoor.
As with the first song Mera joota hai Japani, this too was composed by S-J in Raag Bhairavi but the Tal is Dadra/Hinch.
Please enjoy: Ramaiyya vastavaiyya….
ramayyaa vastaavayyaa, ramayyaa vastaavayyaa – 2
maine dil tujhako diyaa – 2
haa.N ramayyaa vastaavayyaa, ramayyaa vastaavayyaa
naino.n me.n thii pyaar kii roshanii
terii aa.Nkho.n me.n ye duniyaadaarii na thii
tuu aur thaa teraa dil aur thaa
tere man me.n ye miiThii kaTaarii na thii
mai.n jo dukh paauu.N to kyaa, aaj pachhataauu.N to kyaa
maine dil tujhako diyaa – 2
haa.N ramayyaa vastaavayyaa, ramayyaa vastaavayyaa …
us desh me.n tere parades me.n
sone chaa.ndii ke badale me.n bikate hai.n dil
is gaa.Nv me.n dard kii chhaa.nv me.n
pyaar ke naam par hii ta.Dapate hai.n dil
chaa.Nd taaro.n ke tale, raat ye gaatii chale
maine dil tujhako diyaa – 2
haa.N ramayyaa vastaavayyaa, ramayyaa vastaavayyaa …
aa …
yaad aatii rahii dil dukhaatii rahii
apane man ko manaanaa na aayaa hame.n
tuu na aae to kyaa bhuul jaae to kyaa
pyaar karake bhulaanaa na aayaa hame.n
vahii.n se duur se hii, tuu bhii ye kah de kabhii
maine dil tujhako diyaa – 2
haa.N ramayyaa vastaavayyaa, ramayyaa vastaavayyaa …
rastaa vahii aur musaafir vahii
ek taaraa na jaane kahaa.N chhup gayaa
duniyaa vahii duniyaavaale vahii
koii kyaa jaane kisakaa jahaa.N luT gayaa
merii aa.Nkho.n me.n rahe, kaun jo tujhase kahe
maine dil tujhako diyaa – 2
haa.N ramayyaa vastaavayyaa, ramayyaa vastaavayyaa …
Song #15
Pyaar hua iqraar hua..
The 1955 movie Shree 420 was produced and directed by Raj Kapoor on a story by Khwaja Ahmad Abbas. Its songs are still as popular today as 61 years ago.
Here is an iconic duet from the movie sung by Mukesh for Raj Kapoor and Lata Mangeshkar for Nargis.
This is the thrid song from the same movie that S-J composed in Raag Bhairavi, Tal Kaherava. Once again, enjoy the beauty of the lyrics of Shailendra.
The image of Nargis and Raj Kapoor under an umbrella in rain has withstood the vagaries of time and has prevailed as the image of a loving couple in a their first romantic moments. It has been copied in many movies and stage performances.
Please enjoy: Pyaar hua iqraar hua….
pyaar huaa iqaraar huaa hai
pyaar se phir kyo.n Darataa hai dil
(kahataa hai dil, rastaa mushkil
maaluum nahii.n hai kahaa.N ma.nzil ) – 2
pyaar huaa iqaraar huaa …
dil kahe is maa.ng ko, mai.n taaro.n se sa.nvaar duu.N
tumase nayaa sa.nsaar luu.N, tumako nayaa sa.nsaar duu.N
chaa.Nd aur suuraj, diip gagan ke
is dharatii pe utaar duu.N
aahaa haa aahaa haa, aa …
pyaar huaa iqaraar huaa …
raato.n daso.n dishaao.n se, kahe.ngii apanii kahaaniyaa.N
priit hamaare pyaar kii, doharaae.ngii javaaniyaa.N
mai.n na rahuu.Ngii, tum na rahoge
phir bhii rahe.ngii nishaaniyaa.N
aahaa haa aahaa haa, aa …
pyaar huaa iqaraar huaa …
Song #16
Jaayun kahan bata ai dil…….
We have just started with our new series: ‘Remembering Great Lyricists’ and we started with the first: Shailendra born in Rawalpindi as Shankardas Kesarilal on 30th Aug 1921. Unlike other lyricists on his era who were poets too, all the talent of Shailendra was spent on writing lyrics for songs in Hindi movies. Gulzar called him the Best Lyricist ever in Hindi films.
In the last five days we have taken up 15 of his songs.
Tonight I start with a favourite of mine, penned by him for the 1959 movie Chhoti Behan starring Balraj Sahni and Nanda. As with most of his songs, it has been composed by Shankar Jaikishan and sung by Mukesh. The song has been picturised on Rehman and the best ever on him.
Now, why is this a favourite of mine? Simply because it was composed by S-J in Raag Jhinjhoti, the same raaga in which Naushad composed the best of Shakeel: Mere mehboob tujhe. I was able to observe and then convey to you that many of the songs composed in Jhinjhoti have the element of self-pity in them; eg, Ghungroo ki tarah bajata hi raha hoon main; Koi hamdam na raha, koi sahaara na raha; Mose chhhal kiye jaaye; Tum mujhe youn bhula na paayoge. So is this song. The Tal is Kaherava.
Please enjoy: Jaayun kahan bata ai dil…….
jaa_uu.N kahaa.N bataa ai dil
duniyaa ba.Dii hai sa.ngadil
chaa.Ndanii aa_ii ghar jalaane
sujhe na ko_ii ma.nzil
jaa_uu.N kahaa.N bataa …
banake TuuTe yahaa.N aarazuu ke mahal
ye zamii.n aasamaa.N bhii gaye hai.n badal
kahatii hai zi.ndagii is jahaa.N se nikal
jaa_uu.N kahaa.N bataa …
haay is paar to aa.Nsu_o.n kii Dagar
jaane us paar kyaa vo kise hai khabar
Thoka.re.n khaa rahii har kadam par nazar
jaa_uu.N kahaa.N bataa …
Song #17
Raat ne kyaa kyaa khwab dikhaye…..
It is not as if Shailendra didn’t write for Music Directors other than for Shankar Jaikishan. We have just covered only 16 songs of his and already I have given you his song of Anuradha (Kaise din beete) with Pandit Ravi Shankar, of Madhumati (Aaja re pardesi) with Salil Chowdhury and of Guide (Din dhal jaaye haay) with SD Burman.
If the last song that I gave you was called a ‘favourite’ by me, I don’t really know what I should call this? It often tugs at the strings of my emotions and makes me repeatedly conscious of its great lyrics, sadness of notes and awesome singing.
It is from the 1957 movie Ek Gaon Ki Kahani in which Talat Mehmood sang and acted opposite Mala Sinha. It has been composed by the same composer who worked with Shailendra one year later in Madhumati: Salil Chowdhury.
Please close your eyes and listen to: Raat ne kyaa kyaa khwab dikhaye…..
raat ne kyA kyA khvAb dikhaaye
ra.ng bhare sau jaal bichhAye
A.Nkhe.n khulI to sapane TUTe
rah gaye Gam ke kaale sAye
raat ne …
o … (ham ne to chaahA bhUl bhI jAye.n
vo afasAnA kyo.n dohorAye.n ) – 2
dil rah rah ke yaad dilAye
raat ne kyA kyA …
(dil me.n dil kA dad.r chhupAye
chalo jahA.n qismat le jAye ) – 2
duniyA parAyI log parAye
raat ne kyA kyA …
Song #18
Teri yaad dil se bhulane chala hoon…..
Some of you would have observed that I put up just three songs in a day and consciously or unconsciously I try to get the matching mood in all three. Tonight, we first listened to Jaayun kahan bata ai dil and then followed it up with Raat ne kyaa kyaa khwab dikhaye.
To end tonight, I give you a matching song from the 1962 movie Haryali Aur Rasta. The movie starred two actors whose style of acting was the same: in-your-face acting: Manoj Kumar and Mala Sinha. I who have always admired subtlety and sensitivity of acting just couldn’t stand them.
However, just look at their luck; the best of the songs in this movie (and several others) have been on them:
“Teri Yaad Dil Se Bhulaane Chala Hoon” (Shailendra) Mukesh
“Allah Jaane Kya Hoga Aage” (Hasrat Jaipuri) Lata Mangeshkar, Mukesh
“Yeh Hariyali Aur Yeh Rasta” Lata Mangeshkar
“Parwano Ki Raah Mein” Asha Bhosle
“Kho Gaya Hai Mera Pyar” (Hasrat Jaipuri) Mahendra Kapoor
“Ek Tha Raja Ek Thi Rani” (Shailendra) Lata Mangeshkar
“Dil Mera Chup Chap Jala” Lata Mangeshkar, Mukesh
“Bol Meri Taqdeer Mein Kya Hai- I” (Shailendra) Lata Mangeshkar
“Bol Meri Taqdeer Mein Kya Hai – II” (Shailendra) Lata Mangeshkar, Mukesh
Manoj and Mala apart, nothing takes away the excellence of the songs penned by Shailendra in the movie. Teri yaad dil se bhulane chala hoon was composed by Shankar Jaikishan in Raag Tilak Kamod, Tal Kaherava.
Please enjoy: Teri yaad dil se bhulane chala hoon…..
terii yaad dil se, bhulaane chalaa huu.N
ke khud apanii hastii, miTaane chalaa huu.N – 2
terii yaad …
kabhii is jagah khvaab dekhe the maine – 2
vahii KAk apanii u.Daane chalaa huu.N
u.Daane chalaa huu.N
terii yaad …
Song #19
Aaja ri aa nindiya tu aa….
Eighteeen songs of this great lyricist and it appears as if we have just started.
Having finished seeing 1953 movie Patita on my computer last night, I completed seeing 74 movies on my com in about a year and a half, Of course, Shaielndra’s three songs in the movie were great. The one that I gave you: Mitti se khelte ho baar baar kis liye must rank amongst his finest. The other two: Hai sabase madhur woh geet jise hum dard ke sur mein gaate hain; and Kisi ne apana bana ke mukhako muskarana sikha diya also tell of his mastery.
But, today, I start with another Bimal Roy movie (two of his movies Bandini and Madhumati had Shailendra’s lyrics in the songs except Mora gora rang layi le penned by Gulzar). This is the 1953 classic Do Bigha Zameen starring Balraj Sahni and Nirupa Roy. I saw the movie on 08/09 May this year when I was in my home-station Kandaghat.
Surprisingly, being a 1953 movie, when it was a done thing to have a dozen songs in the movie, Do Bigha Zameen had only four songs; it rode on the acting skills of Balraj Sahni and Bimal Roy’s superb direction. Just like Bimal Roy’s Parakh, it had a story written by Salil Chowdhury and all songs and background music was also composed by Salil da.
Have a look at the songs:
1. “Aaja ri aa nindiya tu aa” – Performed by Lata Mangeshkar
2. “Ajab tori duniya ho mere raaja” – Performed by Mohammed Rafi
3. “Dharti kahe pukaar ke” – Performed by Manna Dey, Lata Mangeshkar & chorus
4. “Hariyaala saawan dhol bajaata aaya” – Performed by Manna Dey, Lata Mangeshkar & chorus
We shall take up Aaja ri aa nindiya tu aa. Bimal Roy, very cleverly and poignantly brings out the contrast in this song between the poor Nirupa Roy working as a maid in the house of Meena Kumari; the latter singing a lullaby to put her child to sleep whilst Nirupa Roy’s lad (in earlier scenes) sleeps hungry. Shailendra came up with superb lyrics as follows:
aa jaa re aa ni.ndiyaa tuu aa
jhilamil sitaaro.n se utar aa.Nkho.n me.n aa sapane sajaa
soI kalI soyaa chaman pIpal tale soI havaa
sab ra.ngaa ik ra.ng me.n tuune ye kyaa jaaduu kiyaa
aa jaa …
sa.nsaar kii raanI hai tuu raa jaa hai meraa laaDalaa
duniyaa hai merii god me.n soyaa huaa sapanaa meraa,
aa jaa …
Song #20
Aha rimjhim ke yeh pyaare pyaare geet liye….
In the last song from Do Bigha Zameen, you would agree that one has to be full of immense sensitivity to write something like that. Shailendra was indeed a very sensitive lyricist.
Whereas Raj Kapoor used Shailendra for romantic songs (some of the best romantic songs of Raj Kapoor movies have been penned by him), Salil da made use of his sensitivity to come up with such numbers as the Do Bigha Zameen lullaby that I gave you or Parakh‘s: O sajana barkha bahaar aayi.
It is not as if Salil da was beyond romantic duets. Indeed, some of the romantic duets that he made with Shailendra are amongst the most enchanting in Hindi films.
Here is one of them. It is from the 1960 movie Usne Kaha Tha starring Sunil Dutt and Nanda. Talat Mahmood and Lata Mangeshkar have sung for them.
Recording a song for Usne Kaha Tha. Pic shows Salil da, Mohammad Rafi, Bimal Roy and Shailendra
Please enjoy: Aha rimjhim ke yeh pyaare pyaare geet liye….
t: aahaa rimajhim ke ye pyaare pyaare giit lie
aaI raat suhaanii dekho priit lie
miit mere suno zaraa havaa kahe kyaa, aa …
suno to zaraa, jhii.ngar bole chiikiimiikii chiikiimiikii
rimajhim ke ye pyaare pyaare giit lie
## Then Lata repeats it##
t: (khoii sii bhiigii bhiigii raat jhuume
aa.Nkho.n me.n sapano kii baaraat jhuume ) – 2
dil kii ye duniyaa aaj baadalo.n ke saath jhuume
aahaa rimajhim ke ye …
l: (aa jaao dil me.n basaa luu.N tumhe.n
naino.n kaa kajaraa banaa luu.N tumhe.n ) – 2
jaalim zamaane kii nigaaho.n se chhupaa luu.N tumhe.n
aahaa rimajhim ke ye …
t: (haath.on me.n tere meraa haath rahe
dil se jo nikalii hai vo baat rahe ) – 2
meraa tumhaaraa saarii zindagii kaa saath rahe
aahaa rimajhim ke ye …
Song #21
Kahe jhoom jhoom raat ye suhaani….
This is as metronomical as Salil da‘s last number from Usne Kha Tha. Surprisingly, this was not composed by him but by Shankar Jaikishan (it will still remind you of Salil da!).
This is from the 1959 movie Love Marriage starring Dev Anand and Mala Sinha and would remind you of the two Salil da’s number in Dev Anand-Mala Sinha starrer (though with Majrooh’s lyrics) Maya: Jaa re jaa re udhja re panchhi and Tasveer teri dil mein jis din se utaari hai.
Shankar Jaikishan composed it in Raag Kirwani, Tal Khareva. It has been sung by Lata Mangeshkar for Mala Sinha and of course Shailendra‘s lyrics are simply bewitching.
Please enjoy: Kahe jhoom jhoom raat ye suhaani….
kahe jhuum-jhuum raat ye suhaanii
piyaa haule se chhe.Do dubaaraa
vahii kal kii rasiilii kahaanii
kahe jhuum-jhuum raat …
sun ke jise dil meraa dha.Dakaa
laaj ke sar se aa.Nchal sarakaa
raat ne aisaa jaaduu pheraa
aur hii nikalaa ra.ng sahar kaa
kahe jhuum-jhuum raat …
mastii bharii ye Kaamoshii
chup huu.N kha.Dii dekho mai.n kho_ii sii
dekh rahii huu.N mai.n ek sapanaa
kuchh jaagii sii kuchh so_ii sii
kahe jhuum-jhuum raat …
tan bhii tumhaaraa man bhii tumhaaraa
tumase hii baalam jag ujiyaaraa
rom-rom meraa aaj manaa_e
chhuuTe kabhii na saath tumhaaraa
kahe jhuum-jhuum raat …
Song #22
Dil ki nazar se…..
In 1947, Shailendra started as an apprentice in Railways in Matunga (Bombay). He had started taking part in mushairas with his poems that he used to write in spare time. These days the movie Udhta Punjab is famous and controversial. Raj Kapoor noticed him with his poem Jalta hai Punjab and that changed everything for him.
Between him and Hasrat Jaipuri, they have written almost all songs in Raj Kapoor movies, which were then composed by Shankar Jaikishan.
I have already given you a few songs from Barsaat and Awaara. Lets turn to his 1959 movie Anadi for which he received his second Filmfare award for Best Lyricist. Since this award was introduced only the previous year, Shailendra had got the award for the first two years of its inception before being undseated by Shakeel Badayuni for the next three years.
The movie had the following songs. If you have a look at them you would realise two things: One, each one of them is a super-hit even today and two, Hasrat Jaipuri penned just one of the seven songs.
The first songs: Dil ki nazar se is so dear to me that I named a Song Group on Facebook ‘Dil Ki Nazar Se‘ until circumstances forced me to quit (It is going to be similar story for my other group ‘Yaad Kiya Dil Ne’, the song having been penned by Hasrat Jaipuri whilst for the same movie Patita from where the song has been taken, Shailendra penned two greeat numbers: Mitti se khelte ho baar baar kis liye, and Hai sabase madhur woh geet jinhe hum dard ke sur mein gaate hain).
1 “Dil Ki Nazar Se” Mukesh, Lata Mangeshkar Shailendra 04:38
2 “Nineteen Fifty Six ” Manna Dey, Lata Mangeshkar Shailendra 04:59
3 “Woh Chand Khila Woh Tare” Mukesh, Lata Mangeshkar Shailendra 04:13
4 “Sab Kuchh Seekha Ham Ne” Mukesh Shailendra 03:40
5 “Ban Ke Panchhi Gaaye Pyar Ka Tarana” Lata Mangeshkar Hasrat Jaipuri 03:35
6 “Kisi Ki Muskurahaton Pe” Mukesh Shailendra 04:31
7 “Tera Jana” Lata Mangeshkar Shailendra 03:41
As romantic duets go, Dil ki nazar se is one of the most enchanting compositions, if not the most enchanting, of Shankar Jaikishan. Together with its ethereal lyrics, it transports you to another world; the world of pure love. If you then come to the conclusion that there cannot be a more heart-warming romantic duet than this in Hindi movies, you are not too much off the mark.
It has been sung so beautifully by Mukesh and Lata Mangehskar; so much so that when they come to the words: ‘Hum kho gaye, chand hai ya koi jaadugar hai?‘, you are already in your own dream world.
Lyricist is the starting point of the singing emotions of the actors. So, first of all, full marks to Shailendra to have penned this.
Please enjoy: Dil ki nazar se…..
dil kii nazar se, nazaro.n kii dil se
ye baat kyaa hai, ye raaz kyaa hai
koI hame.n bataa de
dhiire se uThakar, hoTho.n pe aayaa
ye giitaa kaisaa, ye raaza kyaa hai
koI hame.n bataa de, dil kii nazar se …
(kyo.n bekhabar, yU.N khi.nchiisii chalii jaa rahI mai.n
ye kaunase bandhano.n me.n ba.ndhii jaa rahii mai.n ) – 2
kuchh kho rahaa hai, kuchh mil rahaa hai
ye baat kyA hai, ye raaz kyA hai
koI hame.n bataa de, dil kii nazar se …
(ham kho chale, chaa.Nd hai yA koI jaaduugar hai
yaa, madabharii, ye tumhaarii nazar kaa asar hai ) – 2
sab kuchh hamArA, ab hai tumhaaraa
ye baat kyA hai, ye raaz kyA hai
koI hame.n bataa de, dil kii nazar se …
(aakaasha me.n, ho rahe.n hai.n ye kaise ishaare
kyaa, dekhakar, aaj hai.n itane khush chaa.Nd-taare ) – 2
kyo.n tum paraaye, dil me.n samaaye
ye baat kyaa hai, ye raaza kyaa hai
koI hame.n bataa de, dil kii nazar se …
Song #23
Kisi ki muskrahaton pe ho nisaar….
I was going to go sequentially in giving you these songs penned by Shailendra but Sanjiv S Desai, the most ardent fan of Lyrical, intervened and hence, in his honour, I am putting up this song.
The lyrics of this song are a suggestion about how to live life. Coincidentally, today itself, my sister Surekha Saini, put up a quote: “If you develop a habit of praying to God for others, you will never need to pray for yourself”. The song amplifies this further to say that living for others is actual life.
Once again, it is Mukesh singing the lyrics of Shailendra, on S-J‘s composition.
Please enjoy: Kisi ki muskrahaton pe ho nisaar….
kisii kii muskuraahaTo.n pe ho nisaar
kisiikaa dard mil sake to le udhaar
kisiike vaaste ho tere dil me.n pyaar
jiinaa isii kaa naam hai
kisii kii …
(maanaa apanii jeb se fakiir hai.n
phir bhii yaaro.n dil ke ham amiir hai.n ) – (2)
miTe jo pyaar ke liye vo zindagii
jale bahaar ke liye vo zindagii
kisii ko ho na ho hame.n to aitabaar
jiinaa isii kaa naam hai
(rishtaa dil se dil ke aitabaar kaa
zindaa hai hamii.n se naam pyaar kaa ) – (2)
ke mar ke bhii kisii ko yaad aaye.nge
kisii ke aa.Nsuo.n me.n muskuraaye.nge
kahegaa phuul har kalii se baar baar
jiinaa isii kaa naam hai
Song #24
Sab kuchh seekha hamane, na seekhi hoshiyari….
And now for the song for which Shailendra got his second Filmfare Best Lyricist Award (the first one being for 1958 movie Yahudi’s ‘Ye mera deewanapan hai’; the first ever Filmfare award for Best Lyricist).
On Facebook, I have chosen this as my own profile song since I strongly feel that it is better not to be too clever, cunning or worldly-wise.
As expected, Shankar Jaikishan have composed it in their favourite Raag Bhairavi, Tal Kaherava.
As also expected Mukesh has sung this. Here is a picture of Shailendra with Jaikishan, Shankar and Mukesh with their awards:
Please enjoy: Sab kuchh seekha hamane, na seekhi hoshiyari….
Sab kuchh siikhaa hamane naa siikhii hoshiyaarii
Sach hai duniyaavaalo.n ki ham hai.n anaa.Dii
Duniyaa ne kitanaa samajhaayaa
Kaun hai apanaa kaun paraayaa
phir bhii dil kii choT chhupaa kar
hamane aapakaa dil bahalaayaa
khud pe mar miTane kii ye zid thii hamaarii (2)
sach hai duniyaavaalo.n ki ham hai.n anaa.Dii
Asalii nakalii chehare dekhe
Dil pe sau sau pahare dekhe
mere dukhate dil se puuchho
kyaa kyaa khvaab sunahare dekhe
TuuTaa jis taare pe nazar thii hamaarii (2)
sach hai duniyaavaalo.n ki ham hai.n anaa.Dii
Dil kaa chaman uja.Date dekhaa
Pyaara kaa ra.nga utarate dekhaa
hamane har jiine vaale ko
dhan daulat pe marate dekhaa
dil pe marane vaale mare.nge bhikhaarii (2)
sach hai duniyaavaalo.n ki ham hai.n anaa.Dii
Song #25
Tera jaana dil ke armaano ka lut jaana….
And now I come to a favourite of mine from the 1959 movie Anadi starring Raj Kapoor and Nutan. The movie had only one song out of seven penned by Hasrat. From the remaining six, Shailendra’s Sab kuchh seekha hamane fetched him his second Filmfare Award for Best Lyricist; the second year in succession after the award was instituted in 1958.
The song Tera jaana has been sung by Lata Mangeshkar. Once again, Shankar Jaikishan have composed it in their favourite Raaga Bhairavi, Tal Kaherava. It is a sad song since Nutan and Raj Kapoor have parted never to meet again. However, the beat is fast and both the interludes are different and beautiful.
Please enjoy: Tera jaana dil ke armaano ka lut jaana….
( tera jaanaa
dil ke aramaano.n kaa luT jaanaa ) -2
ko_ii dekhe -2
ban ke taqadiiro.n kaa miT jaanaa
teraa jaana
teraa Gam terii Kushii
meraa Gam merii Kushii
tujhase hii thii zindagii
ha.Ns kar hamane thaa kahaa
jiiwan bhar kaa saath hai
ye kal hii kii baat hai
aa
teraa jaanaa
dil ke aramaano.n kaa luT jaanaa
ko_ii dekhe -2
ban ke taqadiiro.n kaa miT jaanaa
teraa jaana
jab-jab chandaa aayegaa
terii yaad dilaayegaa
saarii raat jagaayegaa
mai.n ro kar rah jaa_uu.Ngii
dil jab zid par aayegaa
dil ko kaun manaayegaa
aa
teraa jaanaa
dil ke aramaano.n kaa luT jaanaa
ko_ii dekhe -2
ban ke taqadiiro.n kaa miT jaanaa
teraa jaana
I hope you liked my choice of 25 of his best songs. Please await another 25 in Part II.
almanac at the times of morning and evening nautical twilights (when both the stars and the horizon can be seen by the naked eye), thus measuring their exact angle with the earth’s horizon in degrees, arcminutes and arcseconds. The idea was to fix the position of a ship at sea, far from shore objects, in comparison to the known position of some of these 57 navigational stars. Naturally, in order to fix the position of the ship with some accuracy, one would have to get 
more than two bearing lines. The accuracy and the fastness of the observations would ensure that most of the bearing lines (from more than two stars) would meet at a point and that would be the fixed position of the ship. Without boring you with complex details, this in essence is the theory of the celestial navigation, also known as astronavigation. During our formative years in the navy, all of us had to learn the intricacies of the astronavigation.
