I hope you liked the last post in the series: ‘Shailendra Song Of The Week #5 – Ja Ja Re Ja Balamwa‘. Lets begin with this song of his as the Song of the Week #6 as it appeared on my Facebook group ‘Yaad Kiya Dil Ne‘.
Shailendra Song of the Week (SSOW)
Week #06
Tu pyar ka sagar hai
Songs So Far
So far, I have given you following songs penned by him:
W#01 – Raat ke hamsafar thak ke ghar ko chale.
W#02 – Dil apna aur preet prayi.
W#03 – Rimjhim ke taraane leke aayi barsaat.
W#04 – Ab ke baras bhej bhaiya ko babul.
W#05 – Ja ja re ja balamwa.
Nutan
After W#04 song Ab ke baras bhej bhaiya ko babul wherein, in a jail for murder, the song (though not lip-synced by her) spoke accurately about her emotions. Ditto with this hymn sung by Manna Dey in the 1955 Amiya Chakravarty movie Seema starring Nutan and Balraj Sahni.
Whilst covering DN Madhok on my page Lyrical under Great Lyricists series, I gave you a song sung by Shamim Bano (related to Khursheed Bano and Meena Kumari). I mentioned it to you that her best role in a movie was the debut movie of Dilip Kumar in 1944: Jawar Bhata. That movie was an Amiya Chakravarty movie. So, in a way, Amiya was responsible for giving a break to the greatest actor in Hindi films: Dilip Kumar.
In both Bimal Roy’s movie Bandini and Amiya Chakravarty’s Seema, you would see another commonality: both are having a woman as the main protagonist. Is there something Bengali about it? You may be right; please read: ‘Bengal Based Hindi Movies From Anuradha To Piku‘.
Incidentally, both the movies won Nutan Best Actress Awards, as did three other movies: Sujata, Milan and Main Tulsi Tere Aangan Ki.
Seema – the Movie
The story is about this young girl Gauri (Nutan) who is ill treated by her aunt after she becomes an orphan, is wrongly accused of stealing a necklace, is rebellious, and often misunderstood until she takes shelter under kind-hearted Balraj Sahni (Ashok) in Shree Satyanand Anathalaya. Some of the songs that helped progress the story and her emotions are:
- “Tu Pyar Ka Sagar Hai” Manna Dey Shailendra
- “Kahaan Jaa Raha Hain” Mohammed Rafi Shailendra
- “Man Mohana Bade Jhoothe”Lata Mangeshkar Shailendra
- “Ye Duniya Gam Ka Mela Hai” (Hame Bhi De Do Sahara, Ke Besahare Hain) Mohammed Rafi Hasrat Jaipuri
- “Baat Baat Me Rutho Na” Lata Mangeshkar Hasrat Jaipuri
- “Suno Chhoti Si Gudiya” (Happy) Lata Mangeshkar Hasrat Jaipuri
- “Suno Chhoti Si Gudiya” (Sad) Lata Mangeshkar Hasrat Jaipuri
Shailendra’s Lyrics
From Ashok (Balraj Sahni) being a kind-hearted Manager of an Orphanage, suddenly, in this hymn, Shailendra raises the level to God Himself.
Jaana hai sagar paar
This is as per our scriptures, eg, Sri Guru Granth Sahib. Life of a human being on earth is often compared to a Sagar or Sea and we have to all go across. SGGS talks about the Name of God (Waheguru) as the Bohith (boat) that can help us cross this sea.
Shailendra goes several steps ahead by calling it a Sagar of Love (of God). He doesn’t mention it in the lyrics but the thought comes out loud and clear that not just Nutan as Gauri but we are all orphans without God and that if He would send us away we are as bad as dead.
In the second stanza, he climbs another rung and talks about this Seema (border) between Life and Death. Brilliant indeed.
Aayen kaun disha se hum?
This is another very beautiful line. The meaning is not literal but deep. Tell us God, in which way we can get you since there is this uljhan in our minds.
तू प्यार का सागर है
तेरी इक बूँद के प्यासे हम
लौटा जो दिया तुमने
चले जाएंगे जहाँ से हम
घायल मन का पागल पंछी उड़ने को बेक़रार
उड़ने को बेक़रार
पंख हैं कोमल, आँख है धुँधली, जाना है सागर पार
जाना है सागर पार
अब तू हि इसे समझा
राह भूले थे कहा से हम
तू प्यार का सागर है
इधर झुमके गाए ज़िंदगी, उधर है मौत खड़ी
उधर है मौत खड़ी
कोई क्या जाने कहाँ है सीमा, उलझन आन पड़ी
उलझन आन पड़ी
कानों में ज़रा कह दे
कि आए कौन दिशा से हम
तू प्यार का सागर है
Shankar Jaikishan’s Composition
They chose a dignified Raag Kanada, Tal Kaherava to compose it. It is not my intention to give you intricacies of this raag here. Suffice it to say that if you think of other songs in the same raag and tal (not all by S-J), you would get the feel: Hum tujhase muhabbat karke sanam, Hum tumase juda hoke, Mohabbat ki jhooti kahani pe roye, O duniya ke rakhwale, Teri duniya mein dil lagta nahin and Tora man darpan kehlaye.
My Own Poetry
I have written several regarding God’s bounties. I have chosen one at random:
RABB KI REHMAT KO PEHCHAAN
मुश्किलें आती हैं बनने के लिए आसान,
क्यूं होता है बंदे तू इतना परेशान?
जब भी तू उनको हल करने की करे कोशिश,
तेरे पास नज़र आएंगे तुझे तेरे भगवान।
तुझे लगती हैं मुश्किलें इस वजह से,
क्यूंकि खुदा के तरीकों से तू है अनजान।
जब उसकी समझ तुझे आ जाएगी,
तुझ में आ जाएगी नई एक जान।
तेरे प्यार, मज़हब और ऐतबार का,
यही तो है छोटा सा इम्तिहान।
जो कुछ मिले रह उस की बंदगी में,
मान के उसको रब्ब का वरदान।
Please enjoy: Tu pyar ka sagar hai…
I hope you liked my choice of song for SSOW #6.
Please await the next song in the series.
