Raat or Din Songs Series
I started this series on my Facebook group Yaad Kiya Dil Ne on 18 Aug 20. Since then, many other members have put up these songs. Here, I shall be giving you one of my own, per day.
This is the third song in the series. I hope you liked Song #2 – Jab raat hai aisi matwali.
Song #3
Tere bina zindagi se koi shikwa to nahin
Theme-word: Raat ki baat hai aur zindagi baaki to nahin.
RD Burman and Gulzar
This is my dedication to two geniuses: RD Burman (Pancham) (with three Filmfare awards for Best MD) and Gulzar (the producer (along with J Om Prakash) and director of the 1975 (the year of Sholay) movie Aandhi, the writer of the movie (along with Bhushan Banmali) and finally the lyricist with highest number of Best Lyricist awards (11) amongst his total awards of 20 (another record)).
Gulzar and RD Burman came together in 1972 Parichay with such lovely songs as Beete na bitayi raina and Musafir hoon yaaro. In 1973 and 1974 thereafter, they did one movie each: Namak Haraam (Diye jalte hain phool khilte hain, Nadiya se dariya dariya se sagar and Main shayar badnam) and Doosri Sita (Tu jahan mile mujhe).
In 1975, both the movies together of Gulzar and RD Burman had lovely songs: Aandhi (Tere bina, Tum aa gaye ho, Is mod se jaate hain, and Salaam kijiye) and Khushboo (Do nainon mein aansu bhare hain, O majhi re apna kinara, and Bechara dil kya kare).
It would be right to say that Gulzar got to emphasize the serious side of Pancham that was seen in his first song ever with Lata Mangeshkar: Ghar aaja ghir aaye (In Raag Malgunji for the Mehboob Ameeta starrer Chhote Nawab).
Take this song, for example. We routinely use the phrases: Unforgettable song, Immortal song, and Great song for all kinds of songs. This song, as seen by some, is at #2 in the Best songs of 1970s (the #1 happens to be RD Burman’s father’s song!)
Raat Versus Zindagi
तुम जो कह दो तो आजकी रात, चांद डूबेगा नहीं,
रात को रोक लो
रात कि बात है, और ज़िंदगी बाकी तो नहीं
Great meaning in those words. It is better to have loved and lost than not to have loved at all! In the end if you just get a Raat, that’s better than the entire Zindagi! And can you control the Chand? I have already said in my very first article in my blog on Chand: Lovers feel that the celestial bodies respond to their call of love:
तुम जो कह दो तो आजकी रात, चांद डूबेगा नहीं
Aansu and Kaash
This is a totally different style of aansu. Firstly, the ordinary ones: जी में आता है, तेरे दामन में, सर छुपा के हम, रोते रहें, रोते रहें; which separated lovers meeting after a long time would do. But, the next line is extraordinary: तेरी भी आँखों में, आँसुओं की नमी तो नहीं! This is indeed acknowledgement of the fact that even you have gone beyond shedding tears and by now all the tears have dried! If ever there was a more beautiful expression on tears (after आँसू के धागे से सीते रहे हम जो ज़ख्म तूने दिये) than the Gambler song by Neeraj.
The Year 1975 of the Movie Aandhi
The year 1975 was a watershed year for India and Indian movies. Firstly, we went through Emergency entirely called by Indira Gandhi who felt that the country had to pay for her seat being challenged and upheld in the court. Secondly, the movie Sholay was released that year and we, forever, changed the way we looked at movies. Thirdly, Aandhi was released after Indira Gandhi tried to stop the release of the movie. The movie was allegedly on a love affair of an Indian politician (role tailored on Indira Gandhi, played by Suchitra Sen with resemblance to her) had during a chance encounter with a hotelier (Sanjeev Kumar).
Just like Sholay, the movie owed a lot to its songs composed by RD Burman who had mastered different genre’s of songs including classical, sad, western and comical. Whereas Sholay’s songs were penned by Anand Bakshi, Aandhi had Gulzar to write the most memorable songs ever. Gulzar directed the movie too.
Popularity of This Song
This song happens to be the most popular of the movie and is full of regret and ruefulness at not letting love bloom whilst being over busy with politics.
Its popularity can be made out from the fact that whilst the viewership of Hindi songs on YouTube is in thousands and sometimes may be lakh or so, this song has been viewed by more than 8.5 Crore times!
My Own Poetry
What about my own poetic introduction to the song? Well, here is one though I wish I could give several! It is a totally different style. It is called:
ZINDAGI AB BHI HAI LEKIN…..
ज़िन्दगी तब भी थी
ज़िन्दगी अब भी है
तब नया सूरज उगा था
तब जलते चिरागों की लौ में
अँधेरे दूर भागते थे
अब रौशनी को तरसते रात के साये
बढ़ते ही जा रहे हैं
सबेरा दूर है, बहुत दूर
ज़िन्दगी तब भी थी
ज़िन्दगी अब भी है
ज़िन्दगी तब भी थी
ज़िन्दगी अब भी है
चमन में फूलों की खुशबु से
फ़िज़ाएं मदहोश थी तब
अब मुरझाये फूल गिरते हैं मज़ार पे
सूखे पत्तों के संग
लहर आई थी चले गयी
हम साहिल पे अब भी खड़े हैं इंतेज़्ज़ार में
ज़िन्दगी तब भी थी
ज़िन्दगी अब भी है
ज़िन्दगी तब भी थी
ज़िन्दगी अब भी है
तेरे क़दमों की आहट से
बंधे थे मेरे दिल के तार
तेरी साँसों में तब था
मेरे ही प्यार का खुमार
अब खाली पैमानों की बज़्म में
हम प्यासे खड़े हैं
ज़िन्दगी तब भी थी
ज़िन्दगी अब भी है
ज़िन्दगी तब भी थी
ज़िन्दगी अब भी है
तब हम मुन्तज़िर थे
तेरे अहद-ओ-पैमान से
अब नींद से जागी हमारी आँख
मौत का नज़ारा ढूंडती है
काश उस ज़िन्दगी को रोक लेते वहीँ
जो अब हर कहीं जिन्दगी का सहारा ढूंडती है
ज़िन्दगी तब भी थी
ज़िन्दगी अब भी है
ज़िन्दगी तब भी थी
ज़िन्दगी अब भी है
फरक सिर्फ इतना है:
तब सब कुछ हमारे आगे था
अब सब कुछ हमारे पीछे है
तब हम कहते थे, “यही है ज़िन्दगी”
और अब? अब सवाल ही सवाल है:”बस यही है ज़िन्दगी, क्या?”
ज़िन्दगी तब भी थी
ज़िन्दगी अब भी है
Other Lyricists
As far as returns of Love are concerned, here is another great lyricist telling you how you are lucky to even get Gham in Love:
दर्द ज़माने में कम नहीं मिलते
सब को मोहब्बत से ग़म नहीं मिलते
टूटने वाले दिल होते हैं कुछ खास
दूर से दिल की बुझती रहे प्यास….
The Song
Kaash is the word for this song sung by Lata Mangeshkar and Kishore Kumar.
Please enjoy: Tere bina zindagi se koi shikwa to nahin….
लता: तेरे बिना ज़िंदगी से कोई, शिकवा, तो नहीं,
शिकवा नहीं
शिकवा नहीं, शिकवा नहीं
तेरे बिना ज़िंदगी भी लेकिन, ज़िंदगी, तो नहीं,
ज़िंदगी नहीं
ज़िंदगी नहीं, ज़िंदगी नहीं
(काश ऐसा हो तेरे कदमों से, चुन के मंज़िल चले
और कहीं दूर कहीं ) – २
तुम गर साथ हो, मंज़िलों की कमी तो नहीं
तेरे बिना ज़िंदगी से कोई, शिकवा, तो नहीं, शिकवा नहीं
(जी में आता है, तेरे दामन में, सर छुपा के हम
रोते रहें, रोते रहें ) – २
तेरी भी आँखों में, आँसुओं की नमी तो नहीं
किशोर: तेरे बिना ज़िंदगी से कोई, शिकवा, तो नहीं,
शिकवा नहीं
तेरे बिना ज़िंदगी भी लेकिन, ज़िंदगी, तो नहीं,
ज़िंदगी नहीं
तुम जो कह दो तो आजकी रात, चांद डूबेगा नहीं,
रात को रोक लो
रात कि बात है, और ज़िंदगी बाकी तो नहीं
तेरे बिना ज़िंदगी से कोई, शिकवा, तो नहीं, शिकवा नहीं
तेरे बिना ज़िंदगी भी लेकिन, ज़िंदगी, तो नहीं,
ज़िंदगी नहीं
I hope you liked my choice of Song #3 in Raat or Din series.
Please await Song #4 – Tumhare nain dekh ke suna hai log jogi ho gaye.
