We lost Manna Dey on 24 October in the year 2013. With more than 50 years of delightful singing, he left us with some memorable songs.
Having been born on the Labour Day in 1919 in Calcutta, he recorded his first playback song for the 1942 movie Tamanna, a duet with Suraiya that was composed by KC Dey: Jago aayee usha panchhi bole jago.
He soon emerged the singer of choice for raaga based songs. He tried his hand at comical songs too with great success. Some of his duets in the movies are immortal. One of his unforgettable raaga based songs was in Raag Basant Bahar for the movie with the same name: Ketaki gulab juhi. Another unforgettable song of his is from Waqt: Aye meri zohrazabeen. Yet another is Aye mere pyare watan. Needless to say he made a name for himself as a unique playback singer.
He was the recipient of Padma Shri, Padma Bhushan and finally Padma Vibhushan and to top it all Dadasaheb Phalke Award.
He was endowed with a very sweet voice and hence, difficult to sing. Also, his superb modulation permitted him to sing repeated words and lines with variations. For example, in the song Har taraf ab yahi afsaane hain, he sang the line Hum teri aankhon ke deewane hain with almost a dozen variations of “deewane hain”.
For any male singer, Manna Dey continues being a challenge.
Here, I have, over a period of more than a year, tried six of his songs.
Here is the first one.
Song #1
Zindagi kaisi hai paheli
The movie with this song had the most well remembered role of superstar Rajesh Khanna in the 1971 Hrishikesh Mukherjee movie: Anand.
He was Anand Sehgal (a role meant to be done originally by Kishore Kumar) suffering from lymphosarcoma of intestines and hence terminally ill. His oncologist Bhasker (Amitabh Bachchan; originally meant for Mehmood) and others around Anand notice that he, Anand, had decided to live life to the fullest and share happiness with others rather than the sadness of his terminal disease.
And this song depicts his view of life (in another similar role (Safar, that is, he spread sadness by Zindagi ka safar hai ye aisa safar koi samajha nahin koi jaana nahin. Indeed, he has three excellent Zindagi songs picturised on him; the third one being: Zindagi ek safar hai suhana. They do get typified, don’t they?).
Please enjoy my rendition of: Zindagi kaisi hai paheli…
ज़िंदगी …
कैसी है पहेली, हाए
कभी तो हंसाये
कभी ये रुलाये
ज़िंदगी …
कभी देखो मन नहीं जागे
पीछे पीछे सपनों के भागे
एक दिन सपनों का राही
चला जाए सपनों के आगे कहाँ
ज़िंदगी …
जिन्होने सजाए यहाँ मेले
सुख-दुख संग-संग झेले
वही चुनकर ख़ामोशी
यूँ चली जाए अकेले कहाँ
ज़िंदगी …
Song #2
Aye malik tere bande hum
I saw this 1957 V Shantaram movie, Do Aankhen Barah Haath on a portable screen in our Jawahar Colony in the Himachal town of Mandi. The film had an impressive legacy: it won the 1957 National Film Award. It won a Silver Bear at the Berlin International Film Festival. It also won a Golden Globe Award for the best film produced outside the United States.
This song was sung in the movie by both Manna Dey and Lata Mangeshkar and is the song by which the movie is remembered. The lyrics were penned by Bharat Vyas and composed by Vasant Desai.
I added a stanza to the song appropriate to our situation during COVID 19.
Please enjoy: Aye malik tere bande hum…
Song #3
Har taraf ab yahi afsaane hain
This song is from the 1973 war movie Hindustan Ki Kasam that was directed by Chetan Anand. Chetan Anand had earlier won fame by his 1964 movie Haqeeqat based on the 1962 Sino-Indian War.
Hindustan Ki Kasam was based on Operation Cactus Lilly in the 1971 Indo-Pakistan War. It starred Raaj Kumar and Priya Rajvansh as the lead romantic duo. Chetan Anand himself acted in the movie together with brother Vijay Anand.
The song was created by Chetan Anand’s Haqeeqat team of Kaifi Azmi and Madan Mohan.
Please enjoy my rendition of: Har taraf ab yahi afsaane hain…
हर तरफ़ अब यही अफ़साने हैं
हम तेरी आँखों के दीवानें हैं
हर तरफ़…
इतनी सच्चाई है इन आँखों में
खोटे सिक्के भी खरे हो जायें
तू कभी प्यार से देखे जो उधर
सूखे जंगल भी हरे हो जायें
बाग बन जाए, बाग बन जाए जो वीरानें हैं
हम तेरी आँखों के दीवाने हैं
हर तरफ़…
एक हल्का सा इशारा इनका
कभी दिल और कभी जाँ लूटेगा
किस तरह प्यास बुझेगी उसकी
किस तरह उसका नशा टूटेगा
जिसकी क़िस्मत में, जिसकी क़िस्मत में ये पैमानें हैं
हम तेरी आँखों के दीवानें हैं
हर तरफ़…
नीची नज़रों में हैं कितना जादू
हो गए पल में कई ख्वाब जवाँ
कभी उठने कभी झुकने की अदा
ले चली जाने किधर जाने कहाँ
रास्ते प्यार के, रास्ते प्यार के अंजाने हैं
हम तेरी आँखों के दीवानें हैं – (२)
हर तरफ़…
Song #4
Phir kahin koi phool khila
Phool or flower is often compared to blossoming of Love. The last thing that the lovers want is that it should be called infatuation. This is exactly the theme of this Manna De song. This ranks amongst his best. The song is from the 1971 movie Anubhav directed by Basu Bhattacharya and starring Sanjeev Kumar and Tanuja. Lyrics are by Kapil Kumar and music by Kanu Roy. The latter composed it in Raag Desh. You may recall OP Nayyar’s Beqasi hadd se jab guzr jaaye in the same raag.
Please enjoy: Phir kahin koi phool khila, chahat naa kaho isako…
फिर कहीं कोई फूल खिला, चाहत ना कहो उसको – २
फिर कहीं कोई दीप जला, मंज़िल ना कहो उसको
फिर कहीं …
मन का समुंदर प्यासा हुआ, क्यूँ किसी से माँगे दुआ – २
लहरों का लगा जो मेला, तूफ़ां ना कहो उसको
फिर कहीं …
देखें सब वो सपने, खुद ही सजाए जो हमने – २
दिल उनसे बहल जाए तो, राहत ना कहो उसको
फिर कहीं …
Song #5
Kasme waade pyar wafa sab baatein hain
Our late Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri gave the nation a motto: Jai Jawan, Jai Kissan. He asked actor Manoj Kumar who enacted the role of Bhagat Singh in Shaheed to make a movie based on soldiers and farmers. Manoj Kumar came up with his 1967 directorial debut movie Upkar that was the top box office hit of that year. It won as many as seven awards at the Filmfare Awards and won the Second Best Feature Film Award at the National level.
Among the seven Filmfare Awards won by the movie was the Best Supporting Actor Award given to Pran. With this movie Pran shifted from bein a villain to character actor. Pran as Malang Chacha won all around appreciation.
In this song Malang Chacha brings out a bitter but undeniable truth of life. I have seen many saints using the song as a hymn.
The lyrics were penned by Indeevar and composed by Kalyanji Anandji.
Please enjoy my rendition of: Kasme waade pyar wafa…
कसमें वादे प्यार वफा सब
बातें हैं बातों का क्या
कसमें वादे प्यार वफा सब
बातें हैं बातों का क्या
कोई किसी का नहीं ये झूठे
नाते हैं नातों का क्या
कसमें वादे प्यार वफा सब
बातें हैं बातों का क्या
होगा मसीहा….
होगा मसीहा सामने तेरे
फिर भी न तू बच पायेगा
तेर अपना खून ही आखिर
तुझको आग लगायेगा
आसमान में….
आसमान में उड़ने वाले
मिट्टी में मिल जायेगा
कसमें वादे प्यार वफा सब
बातें हैं बातों का क्या..
सुख में तेरे साथ चलेंगे
दुख में सब मुख मोड़ेंगे
दुनिया वाले….
दुनिया वाले तेरे बनकर
तेरा ही दिल तोड़ेंगे
देते हैं….
देते हैं भगवान को धोखा
इन्सां को क्या छोड़ेंगे
कसमें वादे प्यार वफा सब
बातें हैं बातों का क्या
कोई किसी का नहीं ये झूठे
नाते हैं नातों का क्या
कसमें वादे प्यार वफा सब
बातें हैं बातों का क्या..
Song #6
Tu pyar ka sagar hai
I have taken the song from the 1955 Amiya Chakraborty movie Seema starring Nutan and Balraj Sahni.
Incidentally, both the movies won Nutan Best Actress Awards, as did three other movies: Sujata, Milan and Main Tulsi Tere Aangan Ki.“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
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.
Please enjoy my rendition of: Tu pyar ka sagar hai…
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
I hope you liked my choices of songs and their rendition.
Shall post more in the next part.
