Songs That Tug At Your Emotions – Song #32

The thirty-second song in this series.

Kabhi tanhayiyon mein youn hamari yaad aayegi….

I am sure this song is on everyone’s favourite list; all fans of old Hindi songs, that is. It is from the 1961 Kidar Sharma movie Hamari Yaad Aayegi. Kidar Sharma himself penned the lyrics of the song, Snehal Bhatkar composed it and Mubarak Begum sang it for Tanuja. Kidar Sharma’s son Ashok Sharma featured in the song and the film opposite Tanuja.

Lets start with knowing a little more about all the people involved in the making of this unforgettable song:

Kidar Nath Sharma was born on 12 April 1910 in Narowal, Punjab (now in Pakistan) in a poor family. The family was so poor that two of his brothers and one sister died early. Guro, his younger sister and Himmat Rai, his younger brother survived. He attended a school in Amritsar and then ran away from home to join films. He was unsuccessful and returned to Amritsar.

He joined college in Amritsar and there he formed a Dramatic Society. Interestingly, his love for drama gave him his first break in films. It so happened that the head of the local Temperance Movement saw one of his plays and asked him to produce a silent movie on the evils of alcohol. With the money earned from the silent movie he finished his MA (English) from Khalsa College, Amritsar (my late father’s college too).

He went to Calcutta, this time after seeing a 1933 movie Puran Bhagat (one of the earliest talkies) directed by Debaki Bose. After months of wait he could meet an unknown (that time) actor Prithviraj Kapoor. Rest is history. His first break came in 1935 as a Set-Painter and Actor in the movie Inquilab. He kept working as Actor and Assistant Manager until 1936 movie Krodepati, in which, for the first time, he penned lyrics of songs. For the 1936 Pramathesh Barua movie Devdas, with KL Saigal (who was the neighbour of Prithviraj Kapoor in Calcutta) in the title role, Kidar Sharma penned the lyrics and dialogues. He then took to story and screenplay writing too and wrote the story of his first movie Anath Ashram. His directorial debut was in the 1939 movie Dil Hi To Hai in which he penned the lyrics of the songs too.

Kidar Sharma launched the films career of both Madhubala and Raj Kapoor with the 1947 movie Neel Kamal (Please read: Incredible Nostalgia (I.N.) Songs – Part I), which he wrote, produced and directed. Bawre Nain, Jogan and Chitralekha are some more of his directorial ventures. He wrote the story of Kaajal too. He also launched the careers of Mala Sinha, Geeta Bali, Bharat Bhushan and Tanuja.

Hamari Yaad Aayegi was one of the movies in which the songs were penned by him. An outstanding poet, Sharma wrote some of the most memorable songs including Balam aayo baso more man mein, Dukh kay ab din beetat nahi (Devdas), Khayalon Mein Kisike, Teri Duniya Mein Dil Lagta Nahin (Bawre Nain), Kabhi Tanhaiyon Mein Bhi (Hamari Yaad Aayegi) and Teri duniya mein dil lagta nahi. Kidar would continue to contribute as a lyricist and to write and direct films through the 1990s. Ironically, many Indian film critics and historians argued that he deserved the highest cinema award from the government of India but he died a day before he was to receive the Raj Kapoor Award, named in honour of the actor he helped make a success.

The 1961 Kidar Sharma movie Hamari Yaad Aayegi was the debut movie of Tanuja as a heroine though she had earlier acted as a child artiste in Chhabili that was produced and directed by her mother Shobana Samarth. Kidar Sharma made his son Ashok Sharma play a young man Ashok, newly relocated to a city, staying in rented accommodation owned by a young widow. He befriends an orphan girl Manorama (Tanuja) and her brother Bulva. The story follows the heartbreak Manorama causes Ashok due to her love for money. He dies without getting her love.

This song was the zenith in the career of Music Director Snehal Bhatkar (real name Vasudev Gangaram Bhatkar), who gave us music for several Hindi and Marathi movies. Kidar Sharma had launched his career in 1947 Neel Kamal, which, I have already told you, was the debut movie of Madhubala and Raj Kapoor. To avoid any breach in contract while officially working for HMV, he adopted various pseudonyms as a composer. These included “B. Vasudev” and “Snehal” but another choice, “Snehal Bhatkar”, became fixed. The name was derived from that of his then newly-born daughter, Snehlata.

Some other memorable songs of Snehal Bhatkar are: Lehron pe lehar ulfat hai jawan (sung by Hemant Kumar and Nutan for Chhabili), and Kisne ye kisne chhede taar mere dil ki sitaar ke.

Snehal tried to get Lata Mangeshakr to sing this song but she was “busy”. He finally could get Mubarak Begum to sing it and it became the most popular song sung by her. Here are the other songs of the movie:

#	Title	Singer
1	Kabhi Tanhaiyon Mein Yoon Hamari Yaad Aayegi	Mubarak Begum
2	Sochata Hoon Ye Kya Kiya Mainne	Mukesh, Lata Mangeshkar
3	“Farishton Ki Nagari Mein Main Aa Gaya Hoon Main”	Mukesh
4	“Ek Chhail Chhabila Chokhra Mane Le Gayo Nadiya Paar”	Suman Kalyanpur,Mohammed Rafi
5	“Aankhon Me Teri Yaad Liye Ja Raha Hoon Main”	Mukesh
6	“Jawaan Mohabbat Hasin Aankhon Mein”	Mukesh, Lata Mangeshkar
7	“Dil Tod Ke Chale Jana Hai Toh”	Suman Kalyanpur
8	“Kanhaiya Chala Dhor Ban Me Charane”	Mukesh
9	“Kabhi To Pura Tol Prani”	Mubarak Begum, Suman Kalyanpur

Finally, a word about Mubarak Begum. Mubarak Begum was born in the year 1935/36 in Sujangarh, Churu Dirtric, Rajasthan. She started her career on the All India Radio with light music recitals. Nashad (not Naushad) gave her a break as Playback Singer in 1949 movie Aiye, produced and directed by Yakub. Her first ever song was Mohe Aane Lagi Angrayi, Aja Aja Balam for the same film. She has sung 178 songs in 115 movies. Some of her popular songs are: Mujh ko Apne Gale Lagalo, Aye Mere Hamrahi (Hamrahi, 1963), Neend Ud Jaaye Teri, Chain se Sone Wale (Juaari, 1968), Woh na aayenge palat kar (Devdas, 1955), Hum haal-e-dil sunayenghe, sunyay ke na sunyay (Madhumati, 1958), Wada humse kiya, dil kisi ko diya, (Saraswatichandra, 1968), Be-murawwat bewafa begana-e dil aap hain (Susheela, 1966), Ae dil bataa hum kahan aa gaye, (Khooni Khazana, 1965), Kuchh Ajnabi se aap hain (Shagun, 1964), Ayji ayji yaad rakhna sanam (Daku Mansoor), Shama Gul Karke Na Jao Yun (Arab Ka Sitara, 1961), Sanwariya teri yaad men ro ro marenge hum (Ramu Toh Deewana Hai, 1980), Humein Dum Daike, Sautan Ghar Jana (Yeh Dil Kisko Doon, 1963), and Yeh moonh aur masoor ki daal with Sharda (Around The World, 1967).

Please enjoy Mubarak Begum sing a composition of Snehal Bhatkar on the lyrics of Kidar Sharma in the 1961 Kidar Sharma movie Hamari Yaad Aayegi, a movie that starred Tanuja in her debut role and Kidar’s son Ashok with her: Kabhi tanhayiyon mein youn hamari yaad aayegi….

हमारी याद आएगी
अंधेरे छा रहे होंगे
के बिजली कौंध जाएगी
कभी तनहाइयों में यूँ…

ये बिजली राख कर जएगी तेरे प्यार की दुनिया – २
ना फिर तू जी सकेगा और, ना तुझको मौत आएगी
कभी तनहाइयों में यूँ…

It is a very short song and yet, it fascinates you like Lily of May. Its pull lies in its deep melancholy, almost bordering on being enigmatic. That’s the effect of all three: the composition, the lyrics and the vocals.

In any case, because of how we are made as human beings, most Yaad songs tend to send us in another world. This happens to be amongst the best of Yaad songs. Every time I listen to it, I am hit by pangs of melancholy.

I hope you liked it too.

Please stay tuned for my next song.