Category: Music and Cinema

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 Song #54 in the series. I hope you liked Song #54 – Hain sabse madhur woh geet.

Song #56
Pyar par bas to nahin hai mera lekin phir bhi
Theme-word: Poochh kar apni nigahon se bata de mujhako, Meri raaton ke muqaddar mein sehar hai ke nahin

Sahir Ludhinavi and My Behna Manik Lakhkar Chava

This morning, quite early, behna rang me up and I am flying since then. Here is what she said that converted me into an aviator like my Chhote Raj Dutta: “The best that the YKDN group did to me was to have given me you as my brother.”

Honestly, ladies and gentlemen, tell me how else would I have received this news. I hope by evening I shall land!

Sahir Ludhianvi, her favourite poet and lyricist is about 37 Kms from the place where I was born (Village Urapur). His poetry and lyrics have, as was the case with most poets and lyricists of that era, a lot of Urdu in them. Now, I studied Urdu in my school. But, then, have someone like behna to appreciate such poetry is delightfully amazing. I have been always inclined towards Love (and not Socialism or even Communism). Hence, by my own inclination, I am more for Shakeel’s poetry than of Sahir. However, I would still place Sahir as an outstanding poet and lyricist. Ye mehlon ye takhton, ye taajon ki duniya, for example, would stay as top-notch poetry for me, if I were to move away from pure Love and into social inequities.

This is a Love Poem

This one that I have chosen to give you is a Love poem with doubts, the kind that Sahir always had in reel and real life. Amazingly, he made Sudha Malhotra, the woman he loved, sing Tum mujhe bhool bhi jao to yeh haq hain tumako, Meri baat aur hai maine to mohabbat ki hai! He always had doubts about Love; even, for example, in Kabhi kabhi mere dil mein khyal aata hai!

In this Love poem, therefore, he has his characteristic doubts. But, has addressed her only to clarify! Please go through the extraordinary lyrics:

प्यार पर बस तो नहीं है मेरा, लेकिन फिर भी
तू बता दे के तुझे प्यार करूँ या ना करूँ

मेरे ख़्वाबों के झरोखों को सजाने वाली
तेरे ख़्वाबों में कहीं मेरा गुज़र है के नहीं
पूछ कर अपनी निगाहों से बता दे मुझको
मेरी रातों के मुक़द्दर में सहर है के नहीं
प्यार पर बस तो नहीं है …

कहीं ऐसा न हो पाओं मेरे थर्रा जाएं
और तेरी मरमरी बाहों का सहारा न मिले
अश्क बहते रहे खमोश सियाह रातों में
और तेरे रेशमी आंचल का किनारा न मिले
प्यार पर बस तो नहीं है …

Sahir, OP Nayyar and Talat Mahmood

You would have noticed that I am trying my best to give you the compositions of this great (but presently neglected) composer OP Nayyar. This is a rare composition by him that, even if I repeat myself, tugs at your emotions. The requisite tremor is provided by Talat Mahmood.

Sone Ki Chidhiya

This 1958 movie was directed by Shaheed Latif and starred Talat Mahmood himself in the lead role. Nutan acted opposite him. The title is taken from the destiny of Nutan; as impoverished woman she was neglected by her family. As soon as she became wealthy, they treated her as Sone Ki Chidhiya.

My Own Poetry

Here are my own doubts in Love Poetry:

YEH KAISA PYAR HAI?

जो कुछ भी हमारे बीच में है,
क्या इसी का नाम प्यार है?

बढ़ते बढ़ते कदम रुक गए,
यह दिल क्यूं यूं बेकरार है?

ज़रा अपने आप से पूछ के बता,
यह इज़हार है या इनकार है?

वक़्त थम क्यूं नहीं जाता,
क्यूं इतनी तेज़ इसकी रफ्तार है?

क्या इसके हाथों में कुछ भी नहीं?
क्यूं आदमी इतना लाचार है?

यह जो खंडहर खड़े हैं खामोश,
क्या इन्हीं का नाम बहार है?

इतने साल बीत गए हैं, चांद,
अभी भी मैं इधर और तू उस पार है?

कई बार सोचता हूं लौटा दूं उसे,
यह जो ज़िन्दगी उसकी उधार है।

क्या पता वो दिन आएगा के नहीं,
हमें कब से जिसका इन्तज़ार है?

The Song

Ladies and gentlemen, please enjoy: Pyaar par bas to nahin hai mera lekin phir bhi…

I started this series on my Facebook group Yaad Kiya Dil Ne on 23 Aug 20. Since then, many other members have put up these songs. Here, I shall be giving you one of my own, per day.

Last time, I gave you Beautiful Duet #54 – Pehla nasha, pehla khumar. So here, then, is the next one:

Song #55
Achha ji main hari chalo maan jaayo na

Chemistry Between the Actors

Duets are songs sung by a pair of playback singers for a pair of actors. Whilst singing, coordination of a very high order is required. Lata Mangeshkar informed us how in the final recording of Piya piya piya mera jiya pukaare, she accidentally started singing the line when Kishore was to sing. Kishore covered for her lapse by covering the mouth of his co-actor Chand Usmani when the song was being enacted; Kishore being the male singer and the male lead!

Now, there are actors who evoke such chemistry. Dev Anand was the best in male actors and brought out this chemistry in all his heroines.

Madhubala was able to bring out this chemistry in all her heroes such as Sunil Dutt (eg, Chand sa mukhada kyun sharmaya), Bharat Bhushan (eg, Do ghadi wo jo paas aa baithe), and Ashok Kumar (eg, Ye kya kar daala tune?). However, she failed to evoke this in Pradeep Kumar (eg, Rajhath song Ye waada karo chand ke saamne). Pradeep Kumar seemed to have such chemistry only for Meena Kumari (eg in Aarti and Bheegi Raat songs).
So here we have Dev Anand having chemistry with all his heroines (without exception) and Madhubala having with all except Pradeep Kumar. Naturally, we want to see some fire-works when they come together; as they did in this song.

Kaala Pani – 1958 Movie

This was the name of the movie produced by Dev Anand’s Navketan Films and directed by Raj Khosla.

Dev Anand’s dad was, by design of the evil lot, sent to prison erroneously and Dev Anand was there to unravel the mystery.

SD Burman – Majrooh Sultanpuri

Post 1957 movie Pyaasa when SD Burman developed a rift with Sahir Ludhainvi (after working together for 19 movies), Majrooh moved in with SD Burman to fill the gap. In this movie and this song, therefore, Majrooh’s lyrics were composed by SD Burman, the MD of choice for Dev Anand movies; so much so that Sachin Dev Burman used to insist that his own name had his favourite hero’s name as the middle name.

Asha Bhosle and Mohammad Rafi

This pair has given us a number of Beautiful Duets. Their best was also picturised on Dev Anand with Raj Khosla’s favourite actress Sadhana: Abhi na jao chhod kar.

Lyrics

आशा: अच्छा जी मैं हारी, चलो मान जाओ ना
रफ़ी: देखी सबकी यारी, मेरा दिल जलाओ ना

आशा: (छोटे से क़ुसूर पे, ऐसे हो खफ़ा
रफ़ी: रूठे तो हुज़ूर थे, मेरी क्या खता ) – २
आशा: देखो दिल ना तोड़ो
रफ़ी: छोड़ो हाथ छोड़ो
आशा: देखो दिल न तोड़ो
रफ़ी: अरे! छोड़ो हाथ छोड़ो
आशा: छोड़ दिया तो हाथ मलोगे समझे?
रफ़ी: अजी समझे!

आशा: (जीवन के ये रास्ते, लम्बे हैं सनम
रफ़ी: काटेंगे ये ज़िंदगी, ठोकर खाके हम ) – २
आशा: ओय! ज़ालिम साथ देले
रफ़ी: अच्छे हम अकेले
आशा: ज़ालिम साथ देले
रफ़ी: अरे अच्छे हम अकेले
आशा: चार कदम भी चल न सकोगे समझे?
रफ़ी: हाँ समझे!

आशा: (जाओ रह सकोगे ना तुम भी चैन से
रफ़ी: तुम तो खैर लूटना जीनेके मज़े ) – २
आशा: क्या करना है जीके
रफ़ी: हो रहना किसी के
आशा: क्या करना है जीके
रफ़ी: अरे, हो रहना किसी के
आशा: हम ना रहे तो याद करोगे, समझे?
रफ़ी: समझे!

आशा: अच्छा जी मैं हारी, चलो मान जाओ ना
रफ़ी: देखी सबकी यारी, मेरा दिल जलाओ ना

My Own Poetry

Isn’t it amazing that I have a poet on every topic?

Main Kadam Kadam Pe Haara

तुम रूठो तो मेरी गलती, मैं रूठूँ तो मेरी I
दोनों रुख़ से जीत हुई है, ऐ सनम अब तेरी I
जीत के तुझे वह मिल गया जो हार के मुझे मिल न पाया I
फिर भी लगता है तेरे दिल पे पढ़ा है कोई ग़म का साया I
तुम चाहो तो चाहत है, मैं चाहूँ तो भूल है मेरी I
दोनों रुख़ से जीत हुई है, ऐ सनम अब तेरी I

काश जो अब तुम समझ रही हो, वह पहले ही समझती I
कदम कदम पे बात बात पर मुझसे ना उलझती I
गाली गलोज और इल्ज़ामों की तुमने लगाई थी ढेरी I
दोनों रुख़ से जीत हुई है, ऐ सनम अब तेरी I

मैं मायूस उदास ज़रूर हूँ, लेकिन हूँ नहीं तनहा I
याद है मुझको संग बिताया हर एक अनोखा लम्हा I
मेरी मुहब्बत साथ रहती है, बनके याद सुनहरी I
दोनों रुख़ से जीत हुई है, ऐ सनम अब तेरी I

मुझे तुमसे कोई शिकवा नहीं, ना है कोई शिकायत I
इक तरफ़ा प्यार की, तेरी महफ़िल में थी रिवायत I
तुम्हें ज़िन्दगी की खुशियां मुबारक, मेरे लिए चोट है गहरी I
दोनों रुख़ से जीत हुई है, ऐ सनम अब तेरी I

इक डोर थी जो अब टूटने को है , सजाई थी ख़्वाबों की जन्नत I
इक सांस है जो अब झूटने को है, मांगी थी ज़िन्दगी की मन्नत I
तेरी कामयाबी पर, कबूल हो बधाई अब मेरी I
दोनों रुख़ से जीत हुई है, ऐ सनम अब तेरी I

The Song

Ladies and gentlemen, please enjoy: Achha ji main haari chalo maan jaao na…

I hope you liked my choice of Beautiful Duet #55.

Please await Beautiful Duet #56 – Mud mud ke na dekh mud mud ke.

Today is the death anniversary of Shakeel Badayuni, the greatest poet and lyricist. I have penned more than 20 blogs on him. He continues being my favourite. One of the reasons is that the emotions of his songs, ghazals, and nazams come closest to my own.

Recently, on Friday, 07 Apr 23, my book of poems titled Dhanak (Rainbow) was launched. It was a huge honour for me to dedicate it to Shakeel Badayuni:

My dedication to him read:

As soon as I learnt singing (mainly to sing to my wife, Marilyn, suffering from Alzheimer’s, I started singing Shakeel songs. Today, as a tribute to him, I reproduce some of these:

Song #1
Zara sun haseena-e-nazneen

The very first song of Shakeel that I sang was on his Birth Anniversary, 03 Aug 2021.

It was composed by Ravi in my favourite Raag Pahadi. Mohammad Rafi sang it. The song was picturised on Vijay Kumar and Waheeda Rehman in the hill station of Nainital for the 1963 movie Kaun Apna Kaun Praya.

Please enjoy my rendition of: Zara sun haseena – e – nazneen…(Incidentally, I recorded it live whilst shooting the video without the assistance of good audio equipment)

Song #2
Man tadpat Hari darshan ko aaj

Even whilst I was learning to sing, the second of Shakeel songs that I sang was this. It was difficult for me but I had always wanted to sing it. It is from the 1952 Vijay Bhatt movie Baiju Bawra for which the composer and music director Naushad received the only Filmfare Award in his career. Later, he was honoured by the Government of India by bestowing on him Dadasaheb Phalke Award, the highest in India in cinematic excellence.

Naushad composed it in Raag Malkauns, Tintal. Mohammad Rafi sang it with unmatched verve. It is often considered as the best bhajan in Hindi movies, as also the true representation of Malkauns.

Please enjoy my own rendition of: Man tadpat Hari darshan ko aaj…

Song #3
Insaaf ki dagar pe bachcho dikhao chal ke

I would call this as an iconic song from the 1961 Nitin Bose (Dilip Kumar production) movie Gunga Jumna starring Dilip Kumar and Vyjayanthimala.

I included this song as the #1 Children’s Song (in a country-wide poll in the year 2013) depicting all the ideals in the Preamble to the Constitution of India.

I was penned by Shakeel, composed by Naushad, and sung by Hemant Kumar for Abhi Bhattacharya who enacted the role of a teacher in Gunga Jumna’s village open air school.

Please enjoy my rendition of: Insaaf ki dagar pe bachcho dikhao chal ke….

Song #4
Aaj purani raahon se koi mujhe awaaz na de

By this time I had already started doing riyaaz for high pitch and notes; a feature in many Rafi songs. Here, on a very early stage, I sang this iconic song put together by Shakeel, Naushad and Rafi for the 1968 movie Aadmi starring Dilip Kumar, Waheeda Rehman, and Manoj Kumar.

The lyrics are so powerful. I maintain that the most loved songs in Hindi movies were penned by Shakeel, composed by Naushad, and sung by Mohammad Rafi for Dilip Kumar. This is one of them.

Please enjoy my rendition of: Aaj purani raahon se koi mujhe awaaz na de…

Song #5
Husn waale tera jawab nahin

This song fetched Shakeel Badayuni the second of the only hat-trick of Filmfare awards (the second, third and fourth Best Lyricist awards since these were instituted in the year 1960; Shailendra was the first lyricist ever to receive it for Yeh mera deewanapan hai for the 1959 Bimal Roy movie Yahudi).

It was filmed for the 1961 SS Vasan (Gemini Productions) super-hit movie Gharana starring Rajendra Kumar and Asha Parekh.

Please enjoy my own rendition of: Husn waale tera jawab nahin….

I sang it for our wedding anniversary last year; Shakeel is remembered by me for all important events and festivals.

Song #6
Deewana keh ke aaj mujhe phir pukariye

It is from the 1963 movie Mulzim starring Pradeep Kumar and Shakila.

It was composed by Ravi and sung by Mohammad Rafi.

Please enjoy my rendition of: Deewana keh ke aaj mujhe phir pukariye…

Song #7
Mujhe ishq hai tujhi se

Finally, I have selected a song that I sang to Lyn on our anniversary (yes we celebrate it twice in a year!) on 12 Dec 2022.

She was so happy when I sang and enacted it for her (you can see it in the movie).

The original song was filmed on Joy Mukherjee and Nanda for the 1971 movie Umeed. It was composed by Ravi and sung by Mohammad Rafi.

Please enjoy my rendition of: Mujhe ishq hai tujhi se….

I hope you liked my selection and singing of Shakeel songs on his death anniversary on 20 Apr 23.

There will be more on more occasions.

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 Song #54 in the series. I hope you liked Song #53 – Dil ki awaz bhi sun.

Song #54
Hain sabse madhur woh geet
Theme-word: Har raat ka hai paigham yahi, Taare bhi yahi dohraate hain

The Sweetest Song

I am not saying it; the lyrics of the song say it! It is a literal translation of Shelley’s famous quote: “Our sweetest songs are those that tell of the saddest thought.”

What Shelley was to that quote, Shailendra was to this song in a movie that has the title of this group penned by Hasrat Jaipuri: Yaad kiya dil ne.

Shankar Jaikishan

There is no doubt in my mind that they were the wizards of good music and good compositions. The 1953 movie Patita, an Amiya Chakrabarty movie starred Dev Anand and Usha Kiran in the lead roles. There was nothing unique about Dev Anand’s do-gooder role. He had perfected it in Maya too, in 1961 and many others. Hindi films industry has a way of categorising you for certain roles; as indeed it did in making Amitabh Bachchan an ‘Angry Young Man’.

The Lyrics

Having borrowed heavily from Shelley, Shailendra did well in writing these beautiful lyrics:

हैं सबसे मधुर वो गीत जिन्हें, हम ददर् के सुर में गाते हैं
जब हद से गुज़र जाती है खुशी, आँसू भी छलकते आते हैं
हैं सबसे मधुर वो गीत

(पहलू में पराये दर्द बसाके, हँसना हँसाना सीख ज़रा
तू हँसना हँसाना सीख ज़रा ) – २
तूफ़ान से कह दे घिर के उठे, हम प्यार के दीप जलाते हैं
हम प्यार के दीप जलाते हैं
हैं सबसे मधुर वो गीत …

(काँटों में खिले हैं फूल हमारे, रंग भरे अरमानों के
रंग भरे अरमानों के ) – २
नादान हैं जो इन काँटों से, दामन को बचाये जाते हैं
दामन को बचाये जाते हैं
हैं सबसे मधुर वो गीत …

(जब ग़म का अन्धेरा घिर आये, समझो के सवेरा दूर नहीं
समझो के सवेरा दूर नहीं ) – २
हर रात की है सौगात यही, तारे भी यही दोहराते हैं
तारे भी यही दोहराते हैं
हैं सबसे मधुर वो गीत …

Another Song on the Theme

Instead of giving my own poetry, I shall give you another song on the theme made very very popular by Neil Diamond:

Song Sung Blue
Song sung blue
Everybody knows one
Song sung blue
Every garden grows one
Me and you are subject to the blues now and then
But when you take the blues and make a song
You sing them out again
Sing them out again
Song sung blue
Weeping like a willow
Song sung blue
Sleeping on my pillow
Funny thing, but you can sing it with a cry in your voice
And before you know, it get to feeling good
You simply got no choice
Me and you are subject to the blues now and then
But when you take the blues and make a song
You sing them out again
Song sung blue
Weeping like a willow
Song sung blue
Sleeping on my pillow
Funny thing, but you can sing it with a cry in your voice
And before you know, it started feeling good
You simply got no choice
Song sung blue
Song sung blue
Funny thing, but you can sing it with a cry in your voice
The Song

Ladies and gentlemen, please enjoy: Hain sabse madhur woh geet….

I started this series on my Facebook group Yaad Kiya Dil Ne on 23 Aug 20. Since then, many other members have put up these songs. Here, I shall be giving you one of my own, per day.

Last time, I gave you Beautiful Duet #53 – Bahut shukriya, badi meharbani. So here, then, is the next one:

Song #55
Pehla nasha, pehla khumaar

Happy Birthday Udit Narayan 01 Dec

As I mentioned in the Zindagi or Jeevan song of today: O paalanhare, nirgun aur nyaare, Udit Narayan was born on this day in 1955. One of his early high-points was to be able to sing with Mohammad Rafi in the 1980 movie Unees Bees. He later sang even with Kishore Kumar.

I had mentioned this as my most favourite song among many since, in the new breed of male singers, I am rather fond of him.

From among nearly 1800 songs sung by him, my top favourites are: this song, Aaye ho meri zindagi mein, Papa kehte hain, Ho gaya hai tujhako to pyaar, Bole chudiyan, Humko hamin se chura lo, Raja ko rani se pyaar ho gaya. Of course, many of these are, like this one, picturised on Aamir Khan.

Jo Jeeta Wohi Sikandar

This 1992 movie was directed by Mansoor Khan (the one who gave us Aamir Khan and Juhi Chawla starrer Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak) and starred Aamir Khan and Ayesha Jhulka in the lead roles.

The songs of the movie were composed by the Haryana duo Jatin-Lalit, the nephews of Pandit Jasraj.

Majrooh Sultanpuri, who was in the 47th year of his career when this movie was released, had always re-invented himself in keeping with the dictates of times whilst retaining the magic and romance of his earlier day lyrics. He was the one who penned the lyrics for this song:

पहला नशा, पहला खुमार
नया प्यार हैं नया इंतज़ार
करलूँ मैं क्या अपना हाल
ऐ दिल-ए-बेक़रार मेरे दिल-ए-बेक़रार
तू ही बता

(उड़ता ही फिरूँ इन हवाओं में कहीं
या मैं झूल जाऊँ, इन घटाओं में कहीं ) – २
एक करलूँ आसमान और ज़मीन
अब यारो क्या करूँ क्या नहीं
पहला नशा, पहला खुमार …

(उसने बात की, कुछ ऐसे ढंग से
सपने दे गया वो हज़ारों रंग के ) – २
रह जाऊँ जैसे में हार के
और चूमे वो मुझे प्यार से

पहला नशा, पहला खुमार
नया प्यार हैं नया इंतज़ार
करलूँ मैं क्या अपना हाल,
ऐ दिल-ए-बेक़रार मेरे दिल-ए-बेक़रार,
तू ही बता

Udit sang for Aamir Khan and Sadhana Sargam for Ayesha.

Majrooh 36 Years Before This

Instead of giving my own poetry at this stage, I want to give you his song about pehla pyaar, 36 years ago, in the 1956 Raj Khosla movie C.I.D., the debut movie of Waheeda Rehman, though this song is picturised on Dev Anand and Kalpana Kartik:

लेके पहला पहला प्यार
भरके आँखों मैं खुमार
जादू नगरी से आया है कोई जादूगर
लेके पहला पहला प्यार …

उसकी दीवानी हाय कहूँ कैसे हो गई
जादूगर चला गया मैं तो यहाँ खो गई
नैना जैसे हुए चार
गया दिल का क़रार
जादू नगरी से आया है कोई जादूगर
लेके पहला पहला प्यार …

तुमने तो देखा होगा उसको सितारों
आओ ज़रा मेरे संग मिलके पुकारो
दोनो होके बेक़रार
ढूँढे तुझको मेरा प्यार
जादू नगरी से आया है कोई जादूगर
लेके पहला पहला प्यार …

जब से लगाया तेरे प्यार का काजल
काली काली बिरहा की रतियां हैं बेकल
आजा मन के श्रृंगार
करे बिन्दिया पुकार
जादू नगरी से आया है कोई जादूगर
लेके पहला पहला प्यर …

मुखड़े पे डाले हुए ज़ुल्फ़ों की बदली
चली बलखाती कहाँ रुक जा ओ पगली
नैनों वाली तेरे द्वार
लेके सपने हज़ार
जादू नगरी से आया है कोई जादूगर
लेके पहला पहला प्यार …

चाहे कोई चमके जी चाहे कोई बरसे
बचना है मुश्किल पिया जादूगर से
देगा ऐसा मन्तर मार
आखिर होगी तेरी हार
जादू नगरी से आया है कोई जादूगर
लेके पहला पहला प्यार …

सुन सुन बातें तेरी गोरी मुस्काई रे
आई आई देखो देखो आई हँसी आई रे
खेले होठों पे बहार
निकला गुस्से से भी प्यार
जादू नगरी से आया है कोई जादूगर
लेके पहला पहला प्यार …
The Song

Ladies and gentlemen, please enjoy: Pehla pyaar, pehla khumar…

I hope you liked my choice of Beautiful Duet #54.

Please await Beautiful Duet #55 – Achha ji main haari chalo.

Zindagi or Jeevan Songs Series

I started this series on my Facebook group Yaad Kiya Dil Ne on 18 Oct 20. Since then, many other members have put up these songs. Here, I shall be giving you one of my own, per day.

I hope you liked my choice for Song #52 – Mere dushman tu meri dosti ko tarse in Zindagi or Jeevan Songs series. Let’s start with Song #53.

Song #53
Dil laga kar hum ye samajhe
Theme-word: Zindagi kya cheez hai

Reminds Me of a Funny Anecdote

A very young boy, only 17 years old, died and as expected the hapless mother was inconsolable. During the mourning, she cried, “Abhi to is ne Zindagi bhi dekhi na thi.” At this the 16 years old girl, next door, whispered to her, “Udaas mat hoyiye maan ji; Zindagi to maine dikha di thi.”

Truly, the only Zindagi that you experience is when you are in Love. Look at the difference between us Indians and the English as Ian Fleming wrote in a Jemes Bond novel, “You only live twice; once when you are born and once when you look death in the face.” Whereas, we Indians consider Zindagi as the one spent in love.

This song is by the maestro Shakeel Badayuni. However, even others such as Rajinder Krishan had this to say:

ज़िंदगी प्यार की दो चार घड़ी होती है
चाहे थोड़ी भी हो ये उम्र बड़ी होती है

The Song

It is from the 1965 movie Zindagi Aur Maut directed by Nisar Ahmad Ansari and starring Pradeep Kumar and Faryal.

The song was penned by Shakeel Badayuni and composed by C Ramchandra. It has two versions, the male one sung by Mahendra Kapoor and the female one sung by Asha Bhosle.

Here are the lyrics of Mahendra Kapoor version:

दिल लगाकर हम ये समझे, ज़िंदगी क्या चीज़ है
इश्क़ कहतें हैं किसे और, आशिक़ी क्या चीज़ है

हाय ये रुख़सार के शोले, ये बाहें मर्मरी
आपसे मिलकर ये दो बातें, समझ में आ गईं
धूप किसका नाम है और चाँदनी क्या चीज़ है

आपकी शोख़ी ने क्या-क्या, रूप दिखलाए हमें
आपकी आँखों ने क्या-क्या, जाम पिलवाए हमें
होश खो बैठे तो जाना, बेख़ुदी क्या चीज़ है

आपकी राहों में जबसे हमने रखा है क़दम -२
हमको ये महसूस होता है कि हैं मंज़िल पे हम
कोई क्या जाने मोहब्बत की खुशी क्या चीज़ है

Ladies and gentlemen, please enjoy: Dil laga kar hum ye samajhe..

I hope you enjoyed my choice for Song #53 in the series.

Please await Song #54 –  Chandni aayi banke pyar.

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 Song #53 in the series. I hope you liked Song #52 – Din dhal jaaye haay raat na jaaye.

Song #54
Dil ki awaz bhi sun
Theme-word: Din bhi niklega kabhi raat ke aane pe na jaa

OP Nayyar

I had promised you a lot more songs from Omkar Prasad Nayyar and here I am again. You will see that the more you see the range of his songs and quality of his compositions, the more you’ll be convinced that he ranks among the greatest composers and music directors that the Hindi films have seen. His being the Music Director of a movie, invariably assured its success. Take this 1968 movie Humsaya from where I have taken this song and you’ll know what I mean:

“Dil Ki Awaaz Bhi Sun” Mohammed Rafi
“Mujhe Mera Pyar De De, Tujhe Aazma Liya Hai” Asha Bhosle, Mohammed Rafi
“Badi Mushkil Se Kaabu Mein Dil-E-Deewana Aaya” Asha Bhosle, Mahendra Kapoor
“Kitna Haseen Hai Yeh Jahan” Asha Bhosle
“O Kanhaiya Kanhaiya” Asha Bhosle
“Woh Haseen Dard De Do” Asha Bhosle
“Aaja Mere Pyar Ke Sahare” Asha Bhosle

Lyricist – Shevan Rizvi

OP Nayyar’s favourite, SH Bihari, was one of the lyricist of the above songs. Hasrat Jaipuri too. However, this song was penned by Shevan Rizvi.
His song in the 1958 Al Hilal was on everyone’s lips. The song was composed by Bulo C Rani: Hamen to loot liya milke husn walon ne. Another song that I can recall is Jaate jaate ek nazar bhar dekh lo.

Mohammad Rafi

Gradually, people in this group are realising that Mohammad Rafi was the God of Songs. He sang at levels that were unimaginable by others. In every song, including this, his singing was the fastest way to transport the emotions of the song in you.

Here, he sang for Joy Mukherjee in a movie that was produced and directed by Joy. He had two female leads Mala Sinha and Sharmila Tagore for the simple reason that he had a double role in the movie (Humsaya, that is). In one role he was an Indian Air Force Officer and in the other as his Chinese look-alike. Mala Sinha was the Chinese!

The Lyrics

दिल की आवाज़ भी सुन मेरे फ़साने पे न जा
मेरी नज़रों की तरफ़ देख ज़माने पे न जा

इक नज़र फ़ेर ले जीने की इजाज़त दे दे
रूठने वाले वो पहली सी मुहब्बत दे दे
(इश्क़ मासूम है – २), इलज़ाम लगाने पे न जा

वक़्त इनसान पे ऐसा भी कभी आता है
राह में छोड़के साया भी चला जाता है
(दिन भी निकलेगा कभी – २), रात के आने पे न जा

मैं हक़ीक़त हूँ ये इक रोज़ दिखाऊँगा तुझे
बेगुनाही पे मुहब्बत की रुलाऊँगा तुझे
दाग दिल के नहीं मिटते हैं मिटाने पे न जा

My Own Poetry

Main Bewafa Nahin Hoon

इस से पहले के बेवफाई का मुझे दो तगमा,
अपने एहसास में आने दो वह प्यारा नग़मा;
जो दिल की धड़कन के साज़ से जुबां तक पहुंचा,
कहाँ आगाज़ हुआ था और कहाँ तक पहुंचा.
इस से पहले के बेवफाई का …..

पास रह कर भी तुम दूर चले जाते थे,
मेरी मजबूर तमन्ना को और भी तरसाते थे,
दिल की आवाज़ बन के रह जाती थी सदमा.
इस से पहले के बेवफाई का …

ये दीवार मैंने नहीं तुम्ही ने तो बनायी थी,
कहाँ थी तुम जब पास सिर्फ तन्हाई थी?
मेरी खामोशी उस वक़्त थी मेरे दिल की मेहमान,
इस से पहले के बेवफाई का …

अब हम नहीं, तुम नहीं और हयात भी नहीं,
उल्फत की राहों में सुलगते जज़्बात भी नहीं,
सिसकियाँ भर के खत्म हो गए सब अरमान.
इस से पहले के बेवफाई का …

The Song

Ladies and gentlemen, please enjoy: Dil ki awaz bhi sun…

I started this series on my Facebook group Yaad Kiya Dil Ne on 23 Aug 20. Since then, many other members have put up these songs. Here, I shall be giving you one of my own, per day.

Last time, I gave you Beautiful Duet #52 – Ye raatein, ye mausam, nadi ka kinara. So here, then, is the next one:

Song #53
Bahut shukriya, badi mehrbani

OP Nayyar – SH Bihari

Shamsul Huda Bihari, born in Arrah, Bihar, must rank amongst the most underrated lyricists in the Hindi films industry. And yet, it is pleasantly surprising to see the range and popularity of his songs.

As far as OP Nayyar is concerned, he made all hit songs that include Bahut Shukriya Badi Meherbani, and Mujhe Dekhkar Aapka Muskurana (Ek Mussafir Ek Haseena, 1962); Diwana Huwa Badal, Hai Duniya Usi Ki, Isharon Isharon Mein Dil Lene Waale, Meri Jaan Balle, Phir Thes Lagi Dil Pe, Subhan Allah, Tarif Karun Kya Uski, Kisi Na Kisise Kabhi Na Kabhi, and Balamaa Khulii Havaa Mein (Kashmir Ki Kali, 1964); “Yehi Woh Jagah Hai, Phir Miloge Kabhi, Is Baat Ka Wada Karlo, Aap Se Maine Meri Jaan Mohabbat Ki Hai, Main Shayad Tumhare Liye Ajnabi Hoon, and Mera Pyar Woh Hai Ke (Yeh Raat Phir Na Aayegi, 1966); Zara Haulle Haulle Challo Mere Sajna, Zulfon Ko Hata Le Chehre Se, Aaj Koi Pyar Se, Meri Jaan Tum Pe Sadhke, Jo Dil Ki Tadap Na Jane, and Khuda Huzoor Ko Meri Bhi Zindagi De De (Sawan Ki Ghata, 1966); Raaton Ko Chori Chori, Na Jaane Kyon, Mehfil Mein, Tumhari Mulaqat Se, Yeh Purnoor Chehra, Nazar Nazar Se Milaao, Tum Sab Se Haseen Ho and Kyar Cheez Ho Zaalim (Mohabbat Zindagi Hai, 1966); Chain Se Hamko Kabhi Aapne Jeene Na Diya, and Ek Tu Hai Piya Jis Pe Dil Aa Gaya (Praan Jaaye Par Vachan Na Jaaye, 1974); Badan Gora Haseen Jalwe Tumko Deewaana Meri Jaan,Ghar Apna Bangaal Aur Bambai Mein Hai Sasuraal, Gham Yateemon Ke Jaisa Bhi Sansaar Main Koi Bachcha, Kisko Gale Lagaaye Dil Kiska Todiye, Pyaar Bhara Kajara Aankhiyon Mein Daal Ke, Saaqi Ki Nigaahon Seae Jee Hoga Kya Aage and Zulf Lehraayi To Saawan Ka Mahina Aa Gaya (Khoon Ka Badla Khoon, 1978).

Ek Musafir Ek Haseena

This 1962 movie was directed by Raj Khosla and starred Joy Mukherjee and Sadhana in the lead roles. During those days, directors, pandering to popular tastes, often, didn’t know how to make well packaged movies. Generally, the second halves dragged. So did this too. However, as was often the case with movies of those times, the songs were greater than the movies.

This movie had super hit songs, as was the case with SH Bihari – OP Nayyar movies:

1. “Mujhe Dekhkar Aapka Muskuraana” Mohammed Rafi
2. “Humko Tumhare Ishq Ne Kya Kya Bana Diya” Mohammed Rafi
3. “Phir Tere Shehar Mein Lootne Ko” Mohammed Rafi
4. “Bahut Shukriya, Badi Meharbaani” Mohammed Rafi, Asha Bhosle
5. “Aap Yun Hi Agar Humse Milte Rahe” Mohammed Rafi, Asha Bhosle
6. “Main Pyar Ka Raahi Hoon” Mohammed Rafi, Asha Bhosle
7. “Tumhen Mohabbat Hai Humse Maana” Mohammed Rafi, Asha Bhosle
8. “Zabaan-E-Yaar Man Turki, Nami Daanam” Mohammed Rafi, Asha Bhosle
9. “Udhar Woh Chaal Chalte Hai” Asha Bhosle
10. “Meri Nazren Haseen Hai, Ke Tum Ho Haseen” Asha Bhosle

The Lyrics

र: बहुत शुक्रिया बड़ी मेहरबानी
मेरी ज़िन्दगी में हुज़ूर आप आए
कदम चूम लूँ या ये आँखें बिछा दूँ
करूँ क्या ये मेरी समझ में न आए
बहुत शुक्रिया…

करूँ पेश तुमको नज़राना दिल का
नज़राना दिल का
के बन जाए कोई अफ़साना दिल का
खुदा जाने ऐसी सुहानी घड़ी फिर – २
मेरी ज़िन्दगी में पलट के न आए
बहुत शुक्रिया…

खुशी तो बहुत है, मगर ये भी ग़म है
के ये साथ अपना कदम दो कदम है
मगर ये मुसाफ़िर दुआ माँगता है – (२)
खुदा आपसे किसी दिन मिलाए
बहुत शुक्रिया…

आ:
मुझे डर है मुझमें ग़ुरूर आ न जाए
लगूँ झूमने मैं सुरूर आ न जाए
कहीं दिल ये मेरा ये तारीफ़ सुनकर – (२)
तुम्हारा बने और मुझे भूल जाए
बहुत शुक्रिया…

The Song

Ladies and gentlemen, please enjoy: Bahut shukriya, badi mehrbaani…

I hope you liked my choice of Beautiful Duet #53.

Please await Beautiful Duet #54 – Pehla nasha, pehla khumar.

Zindagi or Jeevan Songs Series

I started this series on my Facebook group Yaad Kiya Dil Ne on 18 Oct 20. Since then, many other members have put up these songs. Here, I shall be giving you one of my own, per day.

I hope you liked my choice for Song #51 – Woh tum na thi woh hum na the in Zindagi or Jeevan Songs series. Let’s start with Song #52.

Song #52
Mere dushman tu meri dosti ko tarse
Theme-word: Jiye is tarah se tu zindagi ko tarse

Not My Style

A lyricist is different from a poet; he or she writes as per the diktats of the director and the plot. So, considering the large hearted person (he was also a good party singer) that Anand Bakshi was, it is unthinkable that if hurt in love, he’d wish Zindagi for his beloved, which is worse than death.

Shakeel in Dil Diya Dard Liya, in similar circumstances had this to say:

हम वो नहीं जो प्यार में रोकर गुज़ार दें
परछाईं भी हो तेरी तो ठोकर से मार दें
वाक़िफ़ हैं हम भी ख़ूब हर एक इंतक़ाम से

Here is my style:

BEWAFAYI KA INTEQAAM

हरदम खुशी की तमन्ना की थी तेरे प्यार में,
ज़िन्दगी भर के ग़म मिल गए उधार में।
खिज़ा आने का इंतज़ार भी ना किया,
हम तो लुट गए काफिला-ए-बहार में।

मुहब्बत में हो गए रुस्वा कुछ इस तरह,
नज़र आने लगी तौहीन-ए-उल्फत हर जगह,
तेरी महफ़िल में बदनाम होना यकीनन था,
हंसने लगे हम पे सब लोग बेवजह।

ना समझे इस में हमारा क्या था कसूर,
मानते हैं मुहब्बत की थी हमने ज़रूर,
पर इसकी इतनी बड़ी मिलेगी सज़ा,
यह बात तो दिल के बहुत ही थी दूर।

हम लेंगे तेरी बेवफाई का इन्तकाम,
तेरी रुसवाई का भी कर लेंगे इंतज़ाम,
फ़ना हो जाएंगे तेरे प्यार में इस कदर,
के लोग तुझको भी कर देंगे बदनाम।

Punjabis – Strong Likes and Dislikes

You know the song involves Punjabis and they have strong likes and dislikes; they love from heart and if slighted, also hate from heart. Here is what Anand Bakshi wrote for Dharmendra (in this case a misunderstanding in the 1966 J Om Prakash movie Aaye Din Bahar Ke:

मेरे दुश्मन तू मेरी दोस्ती को तरसे
मुझे ग़म देने वाले तू खुशी को तरसे

तू फूल बने पतझड़ का, तुझ पे बहार न आए कभी
मेरी ही तरह तू तड़पे तुझको क़रार न आए कभी
जिये तू इस तरह की ज़िंदगी को तरसे

इतना तो असर कर जाएं मेरी वफ़ाएं ओ बेवफ़ा
जब तुझे याद आएं अपनी जफ़ाएं ओ बेवफ़ा
पशेमान होके रोए, तू हंसी को तरसे

तेरे गुलशन से ज़्यादा वीरान कोई वीराना न हो
इस दुनिया में तेरा जो अपना तो क्या, बेगाना न हो
किसी का प्यार क्या तू बेरुख़ी को तरसे

The object of his hate (erroneously) is Asha Parekh.

The Song

Ladies and gentlemen, please enjoy Mohammad Rafi singing for Dharmendra a composition of Laxmikant Pyarelal on the lyrics of Anand Bakshi: Mere dushman tu meri dosti ko tarse…

I hope you enjoyed my choice for Song #52 in the series.

Please await Song #53 –  Dil laga kar ham ye samajhe.

I am putting up Part III of a post that I published Part II of on his birth anniversary on 24 Dec 22.

I have always maintained that there has been no singer, male or female, like Mohammad Rafi. With his singing, he conveyed to us, what can one do to lyrics and composition simply by singing with his kind of passion, modulation, range, style and aura. Indeed, he made many songs immortal by just singing them. Irrespective of the awards and honours bestowed on other singers, more often than not due to political reasons, many like me feel that Mohammad Rafi was beyond awards including Bharat Ratna. Therefore, to be able to sing the songs earlier sung by Mohammad Rafi is a blessing and honour. This doesn’t, by any stretch of imagination, mean that anyone of us can match his prowess. It only means that we can take lots of joy and pride in the fact that we lived in the era when he was alive and fondly sing his songs to relive their magic. The songs of Part I have been:

1. Aaj purani raahon se koi mujhe awaaz na de.
2. Man tadpat Hari darshan ko aaj.
3. Chhalke teri aankhon se.
4. Hai duniya usi ki zamana usi ka.
5. Paas baitho tabiyat behal jayegi.
6. Tujhe kya sunayun main dilruba.

The songs of Part II have been:

1. Zara sun haseena-e-nazneen.
2. Ek haseen shaam ko dil mera kho gaya.
3. Ajahun na aaye balma sawan beeta jaaye.
4. Jo guzar rahi hai mujhpe use kaise main batayun.
5. Jaan-e-bahar husn tera bemisaal hai.
6. Tum ek baar mohabbat ka imtihaan to lo.

Lets start with Part III songs.

Song #13 – Aane se uske aaye bahar

This song is by the most versatile pair of Lyricist Anand Bakshi with Composer Laxmikant Pyarelal. Whilst many such pairs were known to be perennially together by making as many as nineteen movies together, such as Shakeel Badayuni and Naushad, and Sahir Ludhianvi and SD Burman, this extraordinary pair did as many as 302 movies together. The movie from where this songs has been taken is the 1969 LV Prasad movie Jeene Ki Raah starring Jeetendra and Tanuja. The song was one of the most popular songs of that era. As it is the song had superb lyrics and composition. On top of that, Mohammad Rafi sang with unmatched verve.

Please enjoy my rendition of: Aaane se uske aayi bahar…

आने से उसके आये बहार, जाने से उसके जाये बहार
बड़ी मस्तानी है मेरी महबूबा
मेरी ज़िन्दगानी है मेरी महबूबा…

गुनगुनाए ऐसे जैसे बजते हों घुंघरू कहीं पे
आके पर्वतों से, जैसे गिरता हो झरना ज़मीं पे
झरनो की मौज है वो, मौजों की रवानी है मेरी महबूबा

इस घटा को मैं तो उसकी आँखों का काजल कहूँगा
इस हवा को मैं तो उसका लहराता आँचल कहूँगा
हूरों की मलिका है परियों की रानी है मेरी महबूबा

बीत जाते हैं दिन, कट जाती है आँखों में रातें
हम ना जाने क्या क्या करते रहते हैं आपस में बातें
मैं थोड़ा दीवाना, थोड़ी सी दीवानी है मेरी महबूबा

बन संवर के निकले आए सावन का जब जब महीना
हर कोई ये समझे होगी वो कोई चंचल हसीना
पूछो तो कौन है वो, रुत ये सुहानी है, मेरी महबूबा

Song #14 – Govinda aala re aala

If there is one avatar of God that I adore, it is Krishna. My mother was named after the eighth guru of the Sikhs: Herkrishan, who in turn was named after Krishna. In the year 2021, Janmashtami was celebrated on 30 Aug and Lyn and I happened to be in Whispering Winds, Kandaghat. To sing a bhajan on that auspicious day, I couldn’t think of anything better or more popular than this one. This was penned by Rajinder Krishan and composed by Kalyanji Anandji for the 1963 Manmohan Desai movie Bluff Master starring Shammi Kapoor in the title role, supported by Saira Banu. Mohammad Rafi made it as the most popular Janmashtami song of all times.

Please enjoy my rendition of: Govinda aala re aala…

र : गोविंदा आला रे आला ज़रा मटकी स.म्भाल बृजबाला
को : गोविंदा आला रे …
र : अरे एक दो तीन चार संग पाँच छः सात हैं ग्वाला
को : अरे एक दो तीन …

र : आई माखन के चोरों की सेना
को : आई माखन के चोरों की सेना
र : ज़रा बचके स.म्भल के जी रहना
को : ज़रा बचके स.म्भल के जी रहना
र : बड़ी नटखट है फ़ौज कहीं आई जो मौज
( नहीं बचने का ) -२ कोई भी ताला ताला
गोविंदा आला रे …

हो कैसी निकली है झूम के ये टोली
को : हो कैसी निकली है झूम के ये टोली
र : आज खेलेगी दूध से ये होली
को : आज खेलेगी दूध से ये होली
र : भीगे कितना भी अंग ठंडी हो ना उमंग
( पड़े इनसे ) -२ किसी का न पाला पाला
गोविंदा आला रे …

Song #15 – Mittar pyaare nu.

This hymn was written, composed and sung by the tenth guru of the Sikhs: Guru Gobind Singh.

Guru Gobind Singh was the finest example of scholar-warrior in the Indian history. The Gurus were spiritual leaders but, when a war was imposed on them by the cruelties of the mughals, they took up sword to fight for the just cause. When he was told that the mughals outnumbered the Guru’s warriors, he came up with the slogan that each one of his warriors is equivalent to ‘sawa lakh‘ (1.25 lakhs). A few years later, in the Battle of Saragarhi (acknowledged by the UN as one of the bravest battles ever fought in the world (see Wikipedia), his disciples, just 21 in number fought against 10000 Afghans without accepting defeat).

How was this leadership possible? Simple, by setting a personal and familial example. Guru ji let go of all his personal comforts and fought like any of his other warriors, accepting hardships, accepting despondency and moving on (this is not mythological; this is recorded history). He sacrificed his four sons at tender ages: Jujhar Singh (b. 1691), Zorawar Singh (b. 1696) and Fateh Singh (b. 1699) and Ajit Singh ((b. 1687) in the battle. They were so young when they achieved martyrdom that when I was small, I used to listen to this poem:

“Nanhe nanhe bachche chine’ gaye deewaron mein, Muskraahat bhi na jinaki chheen paaya tha zamaana, Laal aise hi hamaari veer mitti ne jamen hain, Sar kataana theek hai jinake liye galat gardan jhukaana.” (Small, tender children were paved in the walls, The world had not yet stolen their smiles, Lads like that our brave soil had produced, For them it was right to get their heads severed but wrong to bend the neck (in slavery).

And when their mother (an equal partner in this leadership) was told about their sacrifice, she had this to say: “Chaar muye to kyaa huya Jeevat kayi hazaar” (So what I lost four sons, I have thousands more)

I am inspired by this hymn because suddenly whilst listening to this I am raised to that level whence I realise that God as a friend is beyond despondency, beyond all worldly pleasures. He calls you to do your duty (as Lord Krishna directed Arjuna in the Battle of Mahabharat) and not to worry about the results since He would take care of them. Interim trials and tribulations should never shake your faith.

This beautiful hymn by Guru Gobind Singh, was recited in the Machhivara forest when he was separated from everyone after leading them in the Battle of Chamkaur; not everyone because the connection to the Lord remained strong as always.

Please enjoy my rendition of: Mittar pyaare nu…

Mitr piyaare nu haal mureeda da kehnaa ॥ Tudh bin rog rajaaeeaan da oudhan naag nivaasa de rehna ॥ Sool suraahi khanjar piyaala bing kasaaeeaan da sehna ॥ Yaararre da saanoo saathhar changaa bhathh khaerriaa da rehna ॥

Tell the beloved friend (the Lord) the plight of his disciples. Without You rich blankets are a disease and the comfort of the house is like living with snakes. Our water pitchers are like stakes of torture and our cups have edges like daggers. Without You we are like animals at the hands of butchers. Our Beloved Lord’s straw bed is more pleasing to us than living in costly mansions.

Song #16 – Nigaahen na phero chale jayenge hum

This is one of my favourite songs sung separately (not as duet) by Mohammad Rafi and Suman Kalyanpur. 

It is from the unreleased  1959 movie Black Prince.

The song was penned by Upendra and composed by Dulal Sen.

Please enjoy my rendition of Mohammad Rafi version of: Nigahen na phero…

निगाहे न फेरो चले जायेंगे हम
निगाहे न फेरो चले जायेंगे हम
मगर याद रखें के याद आयेंगे हम
याद आयेंगे हम
निगाहे न फेरो चले जायेंगे हम

तुमने जादू किया है नज़रों से नज़रे मिलके
तुमने जादू किया है नज़रों से नज़रे मिलके
आशिया अब तो बना मेरे पहलु में आके
न दामन छुड़ाना बेहक जायेंगे हम
याद आयेंगे हम
निगाहे न फेरो चले जायेंगे हम

भीगा भीगा है शामा हम तुम दोनों है यहाँ
भीगा भीगा है शामा हम तुम दोनों है यहाँ
क्यों न खो जाये सनम दिल की धड़कन है जवा
न तड़पाओ इतना के मर जायेंगे हम
याद आयेंगे हम
निगाहे न फेरो चले जायेंगे हम.

Song #17 – Aise to na dekho

This song from the 1965 Amarjeet movie Teen Devian was sung stunningly beautifully by Mohammad Rafi as he did with most songs that Mohammad Rafi sang for the music director SD Burman. The movie starred Dev Anand and Simi Grewal, Nanda and Kalpana as the three goddesses (Teen Devian).

The lyrics of the song were penned by Majrooh Sultanpuri. SD Burman composed these in Raag Gara.

Please enjoy my rendition of: Aise to na dekho…

ऐसे तो न देखो, के हमको नशा हो जए
ख़ूबसूरत सी कोई हमसे ख़ता हो जाए (२)
ऐसे तो न देखो

तुम हमें रोको फिर भी हम ना रुकें
तुम कहो काफ़िर फिर भी ऐसे झुकें
क़दम-ए-नाज़ पे इक सजदा अदा हो जाये
ऐसे तो न देखो

यूँ न हो आँखे रहें काजल घोलें
बढ़ के बेखुदी हंसीं गेसू खोलें
खुल के फिर ज़ुल्फ़ें सियाह काली बला हो जाये
ऐसे तो न देखो

हम तो मस्ती में जाने क्या क्या कहें
लब-ए-नाज़ुक से ऐसा न हो तुम्हें
बेक़रारी का गिला हम से सिवा हो जाये
ऐसे तो न देखो

Song #18 – Mujhe le chalo aaj phir us gali mein

Dev Anand made an image for himself as the romantic hero with a tilt in his walk and super chemistry with all his heroines. However, he also perfected his roles and songs of sadness. In the 1964 Raj Rishi movie Sharabi that had Madhubala as the object of his love, Dev Anand got ample opportunity to polish the sad role and songs. Madan Mohan together with Rajinder Krishan created some unforgettable songs such as this one, Sawan ke mahine mein, and Kabhi na kabhi kahin na kahin koi na koi to aayega. This was the most melancholic of them all.

Please enjoy my rendition of: Mujhe le chalo aaj phir us gali mein…

मुझे ले चलो, आज फिर उस गली में
जहाँ पहले-पहले, ये दिल लड़खड़ाया

वो दुनिया, वो मेरी मोहब्बत की दुनिया
जहाँ से मैं बेताबियाँ लेके आया
मुझे ले चलो …

जहाँ सो रही है मेरी ज़िंदगानी
जहाँ छोड़ आया मैं अपनी जवानी
वहाँ आज भी एक चौखट तज़ा
मोहब्बत के सजादों की होगी निशानी -२
मुझे ले चलो …

वो दुनिया जहाँ उसके नक़्श-ए-कदम हैं
वहीं मेरी खुशियाँ, वहीं मेरे ग़म हैं
मैं ले आऊँगा खाक उस रहगुज़र की
के उस रहगुज़रा की, तो ज़र्रे सनम है -२
मुझे ले चलो …

वहाँ एक रँगेएं चिलमन के पीछे
चमकता हुआ उसका, रुख़सार होगा
बसा लूँगा आँखों में वो रोशनी मैं
यूँ ही कुछ इलाज-ए-दिल-ए-ज़ार होगा -२
मुझे ले चलो …

मुझे ले चलो, आज फिर उस गली में
जहाँ पहले-पहले, ये दिल लड़खड़ाया
वो दुनिया, वो मेरी मोहब्बत की दुनिया
जहाँ से मैं बेताबियाँ लेके आया
मुझे ले चलो …

In the third part, once again, I have given you a wide range of songs of the greatest singer Mohammad Rafi. I hope you liked my selection.

So as not to make the post longer than 30 minutes of your listening pleasure, I give you only six songs at a time.

Please await songs of Part IV.

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.

I hope you liked my choices of songs and their rendition.

Shall post more in the next part.

This tribute to Madan Mohan is in continuation of my tribute to him exactly two months ago: Tribute to Madan Mohan – My Own Singing.

Madan Mohan was born on 25 Jun 1924 at Erbil, Iraqi Kurdistan, where his father Rai Bahadur Chunilal was working as an Accountant General with the Kurdistan Peshmerga forces. Madan Mohan spent the early years of his life in the Middle East. After 1932, his family returned to their home town of Chakwal, then in Jhelum district of Punjab, British India. He joined the Army as a Second Lieutenant in the year 1943. He served there for two years until end of World War II, when he left the Army and returned to Bombay to pursue his musical interests. In 1946, he joined the All India Radio, Lucknow as Programme Assistant, where he came in contact with various artists such as Ustad Faiyaz Khan, Ustad Ali Akbar Khan, Begum Akhtar, and Talat Mahmood.

He was very fond of singing, and so in 1947 he got his first chance to record two ghazals penned by Behzad Lucknawi, Aane Laga Hai Koi Nazar Jalwa Gar Mujhe and Is Raaz Ko Duniya Jaanti Hai. Soon after, in 1948 he recorded two more private ghazals penned by Deewan Sharar, Wo Aaye To Mahfil Mein Ithlaate Huye Aaye and Duniya Mujhe Kahti Hai Ke Main Tujhko Bhoolaa Doon. In 1948, he got his first opportunity to sing a film duet Pinjare Mein Bulbul Bole and Mera Chhotasa Dil Dole with Lata Mangeshkar under composer Ghulam Haider (composer) for the film Shaheed (1948 film), though these songs were never released or used in the film. Between 1948 and 1949, he assisted music composers SD Burman for Do Bhai, and Shyam Sundar in Actress and Nirdosh.

As Music Director, he scored his first big break with the film Aankhen in 1950. He was soon to emerge as a music director par excellence especially for ghazals. Indeed, music director OP Nayyar once said about Madan Mohan that two of his ghazals were better than all that OP Nayyar composed. Some of the best songs of Lata Mangeshkar (she fondly called him “Madan Bhaiyya”) were composed by him on the lyrics of Raja Mehdi Ali Khan and Rajinder Krishan.

Some of my favourite songs of Madan Mohan are: Aaj soch to aansu bhar aaye, Betaab dil ki tamanna yehi hai, Tum jo mil gaye ho (Hanste Zakham 1973), Aapke pehlu mein aa ke ro diye, Naino mein badra chhaye, Jhumka gira re, Tu jahan jahan chalega (Mera Saya 1966), Aapki nazaron ne samajha, Hai isi mein pyaar ki aabru, Vo dekho jala ghar kisi ka (Anpadh 1962), Aapko pyaar chhupane ki buri aadat hai, Tere paas aake mera waqt nikal jaata hai (Neela Akash 1965), Agar mujhase mohabbat hai, Main nigaahen tere chehre se hatayun kaise (Aap Ki Parchhayiyan), Ai mere dil mujhe bata de (Bhai Bhai 1946), Ari vo shokh kaliyon muskara dena vo jab aayen (Jab Yaad Kisi Ki Aati Hai 1967), Baad muddat ke yeh ghadi aayi, Haal-e-dil youn unhe sunaya gaya, Jab jab tumhe bhulaya tum aur yaad aaye, Kisi ki yaad mein duniya ko jhain bhulaye huye, Main teri nazar ka saroor hoon, Phir wohi shaam wohi gham wohi tanhaayi hai, Teri aankh ke aansu pi jaayun, Wo chup rahen to mere dil ke daag jalate hain (Jahan Ara 1964), Hamare baad mehfil mein (Baghi 1953), Bainya na dharo O balma, Ham hain mataa-e-kuchcha-e-bazaar ki tarah, Mai ri main kaase kahun, Tumse kahun ik baat (Dastak, 1970), Bairan neend na aaye mohe (Chacha Zindabad 1959), Basti basti parbat parbat gaata jaaye banjara, Chand madham hai aasman chup hai, Dekh tere Bhagwan ki haalat (Railway Platform 1955), Bhooli hui yaado mujhe itna na satayo, Vo bhooli dastaan lo phir yaad aa gayi (Sanjog 1961), Chanda ja re ja re, Main to tum sang nain mila ke (Manmauji 1962), Chhadi re chhadi kaise gale mein padhi, Dil dhoondata hai fursat ke, Ruke ruke se kadam (Mausam 1975), Chhod kar tere pyar ka daaman, Jao hamane dastaan apni sunaayi, Lag jaa gale ke phir, Naina barse rimjhim rimjhim, Shokh nazar ki bijliyan  (Woh Kaun Thi 1964), Do dil toote do dil haare, Doli chadate hi Heer ne bain kiye, Milo na tum to ham ghabraayen, Ye duniya ye mehfil mere kaam ki nahin (Heer Ranjha 1970), Ham chal rahe the wo chal rahe the (Duniya Na Maane 1959), Ham pyar mein jalane waalo ko chain kahan (Jailor 1958), Hamsafar saath apna chhod chale, Tujhe kya sunayun main dilruba (Aakhri Dao 1958), Hamse aaya na gaya, Kaun aay mere man ke dwaare, Meri veena tum bin roye, Tu pyar kare ya thukraye (Dekh Kabira Roya 1957), Har taraf ab yahi afsaane hain, Hai tere saath meri wafa main nahin to kya (Hindustan Ki Kasam 1973), Hoke majbuur mujhe usne bhualaya hoga, Kar chale ham fida, Khelo na mere dil se, Main ye soch kar uske dar se, Zara si aahat hoti hai (Haqeeqat 1964), Husn haazir hai mohabbat ki saza paane ko, Is reshmi paazeb ki jhankar ke sadake, Tere dar pe aaya hoon (Laila Majnu 1976), Ik haseen raat ko dil mera kho gaya, Kabhi ai haqeeqat-e-muntazar, Sapano mein agar mere (Dulhan Ek Raat Ki 1966), Ishq ki garmi-e-jazbaat kise pesh karun. Mere mehboob kahin aur mila kar mujhase, Naghma o sher ki saugat, Rang aur noor ki baraat (Ghazal 1964), Jaa jaa re jaa saajna, Jaana tha hamse door, Unako ye shikayat hai, Youn hasaraton ke daag (Adalat 1958), Kabhi na kabhi kahin na kahin koi na koi to aayega, Mujhe le chalo aaj us jagah, Sawan ke mahine mein (Sharaabi 1964), Koi shikwa bhi nahin koi shikayat bhi nahin (Neend Hamari Khwab Tumhaare 1966), Main paagal mera manwa paagal (Aashiyana 1952), Meri yaad mein tum na aasnu bahana (Madhosh 1951), Na tum bewafa ho na ham bewafa hain (Ek Kali Muskaaye 1958), Sapne mein sajan se do baaten, Do ghadi wo jo paas aa baithe (Gateway Of India 1957), Teri aankhon ke siwa duniya mein rakha kya hai (Chirag 1969), Tumhari zulf ke saaye mein shaam kar loonga (Naunihaal 1967), Tu mere saamne hai teri zulfen hain khuli (Suhagan, 1964), and Vo jo milate the kabhi hamsase deewano ki tarah (Akeli Mat Jaiyo 1963).

When I learnt singing, I soon got to sing Madan Mohan. Here I present six more of his songs that I sang:

7.  Humse aaya na gaya.

The song is from a 1957 farcical comedy Dekh Kabira Roya directed by Amiya Chakravarty. Three artistes: a singer, painter and writer, ie, Anoop Kumar as Mohan, Daljit as Pradeep, and Jawahar Kaul as Ranjit, have their talents mixed up as they fall in love with three girls: Ameeta as Geeta, Anita Guha as Rekha and Shubha Khote as Kalpana. Their feigned talents as per the liking of their girl friends lead to the farcical comedy.

This song was enacted between Anoop Kumar and Shubha Khote. The beauty of the songs of this movie, composed by the maestro Madan Mohan is that notwithstanding a hilarious comedy, he composed most songs in serious raagas. This was composed by him in Raag Baageshri/Bhimpalasi.

The original was sung by Talat Mahmood. The beautiful lyrics are those of Rajinder Krishan who paired with Madan Mohan to give us some of the most unforgettable songs in Hindi movies.

Please enjoy my own rendition of Humse aaya na gaya….

हम से आया न गया तुम से बुलाया ना गया
फ़ासला प्यार में दोनों से मिटाया ना गया

वो घड़ी याद है जब तुम से मुलाक़ात हुई
एक इशारा हुआ दो हाथ बढ़े बात हुई
देखते देखते दिन ढल गया और रात हुई
वो समां आज तलक दिल से भुलाया ना गया
हम से आया न गया

क्या ख़बर थी के मिले हैं तो बिछड़ने के लिये
क़िस्मतें अपनी बनाईं हैं बिगड़ने के लिये
प्यार का बाग बसाया था उजड़ने के लिये
इस तरह उजड़ा के फिर हम से बसाया ना गया
हम से आया न गया

याद रग जाती है और वक़्त गुज़र जाता है
फूल खिलता है मगर खिल के बिखर जाता है
सब चले जाते हैं फिर दर्दे जिगर जाता है
दाग़ जो तूने दिया दिल ने मिटाया ना गया
हम से आया न गया …

8.  Kaise kategi zindagi tere bagair.

This ghazal by the Ghazal King Madan Mohan is from an album called Tere Bagair that was released in 2009. Songs in this album including this one were sung by Mohammad Rafi. Then there are others that were sung by Lata

Mangeshkar, Talat Mahmood and Asha Bhosle. There is one by Kishore Kumar too.

The song was penned by Rajinder Krishan. It was originally used in the 1968 Pakistani hit movie Jahan Tum Wahan Hum.

Please enjoy my rendition of: Kaise kategi zindagi tere bagair…

कैसे कटेगी ज़िन्दगी
तेरे बगैर तेरे बगैर
पाउँगा हर शै में कमी
तेरे बगैर तेरे बगैर

फूल खिले तोह यु लगे
फूल नहीं यह दाग हैं
तारे फलक पे यु लगे
जैसे बुझे चिराग हैं
आग लगाये चाँदनी
तेरे बगैर तेरे बगैर
कैसे कटेगी ज़िन्दगी

चाँद घटा में छुप गया
सारा जहाँ उदास है
कहती है दिल की धड़कने
तू कही आस-पास है
ा के तड़प रहा है जी
तेरे बगैर तेरे बगैर
पाउँगा हर शै में कमी.

9.   Rang aur noor ki baraat.

This ghazal is from the 1964 movie Gazal directed by Ved Madan and starring Sunil Dutt and Meena Kumari. The movie revolves around this ghazal. It was first sung in the movie by Lata Mangeshkar and picturised on Meena Kumari singing in the mehfil of her female friends. Sunil Dutt is passing by her house and falls in love with her voice and the ghazal. Later, he uses the same tune to sing in a mushaira organised by her father Prithviraj Kapoor. Of course, that seals the love between Sunil Dutt and Meena Kumari.

But, then, before their love would result in nikah (wedding) she loses her voice and doesn’t want Sunil Dutt to go through wedded life without hearing her. So, she agrees to marry the bad and persistent guy Rehman. Rehman is so thrilled with it that he asks Sunil Dutt to sing a sehra (wedding tribute) on his wedding with Meena Kumari.

Sahir excelled in the lyrics on all three occasions. Its lyrics and extraordinary composition by Madan Mohan made it into one of the most iconic songs of its era.

The song equally belongs to Mohammad Rafi for its outstanding rendition. It is one of the most difficult of Rafi songs.

Please enjoy my rendition of: Rang aur noor ki baraat kise pesh karun…

रंग और नूर की बारात किसे पेश करूँ
ये मुरादों की हंसीं रात किसे पेश करूँ, किसे पेश करूँ

मैने जज़बात निभाए हैं उसूलों की जगह (२)
अपने अरमान पिरो लाया हूँ फूलों की जगह
तेरे सेहरे की …
तेरे सेहरे की ये सौगात किसे पेश करूँ
ये मुरादों की हसीं रात किसे पेश करूँ, किसे पेश करूँ

ये मेरे शेर मेरे आखिरी नज़राने हैं (२)
मैं उन अपनों मैं हूँ जो आज से बेगाने हैं
बेत-आ-लुख़ सी मुलाकात किसे पेश करूँ
ये मुरादों की हंसीं रात किसे पेश करूँ, किसे पेश करूँ

सुर्ख जोड़े की तबोताब मुबारक हो तुझे (२)
तेरी आँखों का नया ख़्वाब मुबारक हो तुझे
ये मेरी ख़्वाहिश ये ख़यालात किसे पेश करूँ
ये मुरादों की हंसीं रात किसे पेश करूँ, किसे पेश करूँ

कौन कहता है चाहत पे सभी का हक़ है (२)
तू जिसे चाहे तेरा प्यार उसी का हक़ है
मुझसे कह दे …
मुझसे कह दे मैं तेरा हाथ किसे पेश करूँ
ये मुरादों की हंसीं रात किसे पेश करूँ, किसे पेश करूँ

रंग और नूर की …

10.   Phir wohi shaam wohi gham wohi tanhayi hai

This ghazal is from the 1964 Vinod Kumar movie Jahan Ara starring Prithviraj Kapoor as Shah Jahan and Mala Sinha as his daughter from his favourite wife Mumtaz. At her death two things happened: One, of course, was that Shah Jahan built one of the seven wonders of the world: Taj Mahal and the second was that Mumtaz loved Shah Jahan so much that she took a promise from Jahan Ara that she would, after Mumtaz, look after her father Shah Jahan and not get married.

Jahan Ara wanted to keep the promise but she fell in love with Mirza Yusuf Changezi (Bharat Bhushan). Because of JaHan Ara’s promise at her mother’s death bed, Jahan couldn’t get married to Mirza Yusuf Changezi and that led to a number of poignant songs in the movie, including this one, based on historical story.

The movie was a huge success thanks to its songs composed by Madan Mohan and penned by Rajinder Krishan. Indeed, this ghazal has the best lyrics of Rajinder Krishan as highlighted by me:

फिर वोही शाम वही ग़म वही तनहाई है
दिल को समझाने तेरी याद चली आई है

फिर तसव्वुर तेरे पहलू में बिठा जाएगा
फिर गया वक़्त घड़ी भर को पलट आएगा
दिल बहल जाएगा आखिर ये तो सौदाई है
फिर वोही शाम …

जाने अब तुझ से मुलाक़ात कभी हो के न हो
जो अधूरी रहे वो बात कभी हो के न हो
मेरी मंज़िल तेरी मंज़िल से बिछड़ आई है
फिर वोही शाम …

फिर तेरे ज़ुल्फ़ के रुखसार की बातें होंगी
हिज्र की रात मगर प्यार की बातें होंगी
फिर मुहब्बत में तड़पने की क़सम खाई है
फिर वोही शाम …

This ghazal was originally sung by Talat Mahmood.

Please enjoy my rendition of: Phir wohi shaam wohi gham wohi tanhayi hai…

11.   Woh jo milte the kabhi

Here is a ghazal of Lata Mangeshkar that I sang because I was so fascinated by it. Indeed, with this song I paid my own personal tribute to four of the greatest in the making of songs: the lyricist Majrooh Sultanpuri who was awarded the highest award by the government of India: the Dadasaheb Phalke Award, Madan Mohan the composer, Bharat Ratna Lata Mangeshkar – the singer, and finally the actress Meena Kumari whose superb acting made it into an unforgettably beautiful song.

The song is from the 1963 Nandlal Jaswantlal movie Akeli Mat Jaiyo starring Rajendra Kumar and Meena Kumari.

Please enjoy my rendition of: Woh jo milte the kabhi…

वो जो मिलते थे कभी हम से दीवानों की तरह
आज यूँ मिअल्ते हैं जैसे कभी पहचान न थी

देखते भी हैं तो यूँ मेरी निगाहों में कभी
अजनबी जैसे मिला करते हैं राहों में कभी
इस क़दर उनकी नज़र हम से तो अंजान न थी
वो जो मिलते थे कभी …

एक दिन था कभी यूँ भी जो मचल जाते थे
खेलते थे मेरी ज़ुल्फ़ों से बहल जाते थे
वो परेशाँ थे मेरी ज़ुल्फ़ परेशान न थी
वो जो मिलते थे कभी …

वो मुहब्बत वो शरारत मुझे याद आती है
दिल में इक प्यार का तूफ़ान उठा जाती थी
थी मगर ऐसी तो उलझन में मेरी जान न थी
वो जो मिलते थे कभी …

12.   Main pagal mera manwa pagal.

This song is a favourite of mine. Its beautiful rendition by Talat Mahmood fascinated me. It is from the 1962 movie Aashina starring Raj Kapoor and Nargis, one of the 16 movies that they did together.

Its lyrics were penned by Rajinder Krishan and composed in Raag Kedar by the maestro.

Please enjoy my rendition of: Main pagal mera manwa pagal…

मैं पागल मेरा मनवा पागल
पागल मेरी प्रीत रे
पगले-पन की पीड़ वो जाने
बिछड़े जिसका मीत रे
मैं पागल मेरा मनवा पागल …

कहे ये दुनिया मैं दीवाना
दिन में देखूँ सपने
दीवानी दुनिया क्या जाने – २
ये सपने हैं अपने – २
घायल मन की हंसी उड़ाये
ये दुनिया की रीत रे, मैं पागल …

छुपी हुई मेरी काया में
राख किसी परवाने की
ये मेरा दुखिया जीवन है
रूह किसी दीवाने की
मन के टूटे तार बजाकर
गाऊँ अपने गीत रे

मैं पागल मेरा मनवा पागल
पागल मेरी प्रीत रे, मैं पागल …

So that this post won’t become too long, I shall end here today. Next time I shall give you another six songs of Madan Mohan sung by me in Part III.

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 Song #52 in the series. I hope you liked Song #51 – Ajj din charya tere rang warga.

Song #52
Din dhal jaaye haay raat na jaaye
Theme-word: In the mukhada

Remembering Dev Anand on His Death Anniversary 03 Dec

Dev Anand died young on this day in 2011, at the age of 88 years. Before dying, he had wooed women who were not even born at the time when he had reached half his age.

Forever being young was, of course, his biggest achievement.

In the Common Room of Government College, Dharamsala (Himachal) whereat I studied in Pre-Engineering in the year 1969-1970, there was a group picture of his class with him being one of the standees. When I joined the Engineering College, Chandigarh after that, my roommate had pictures of Dev Anand all over his side of the room whereas I had pictures of gods on the walls (knowing that my dad could suddenly visit me on surprise) and kept Dev Anand’s pictures in my table drawer. Of course, my roommate even displayed his Dev Anand cut hair. I couldn’t match that because I was a turbaned Sardar at that time!

Guide – 1965

Seeing Dev Anand movies was a favourite pastime with all of us; eg, I haven’t come across any of my friends who hasn’t see the 1965 movie Guide. The three Anand brothers were in the movies: Chetan Anand, Vijay Anand and Dev Anand and in their own ways left marks. This movie was produced by Dev Anand’s Navketan Films and directed by Vijay Anand. It starred Waheeda Rehman having been married to Kishore Sahu an archaelogist who had more interest in ruins than in his wife. And hence, Waheeda fell for Raju Guide Dev Anand.

It would have been an ordinary story but for RK Narayan on whose book the movie was based. Suddenly, when he was running away from tinsel world and Waheeda (the successful dancer Nalini), greatness was accidentally thrust upon him. He was taken as a saint who would solve the famine problem of that area by keeping a Fast Unto Death for desperately needed rain. RK Narayan gave a new meaning to the title Guide.

Shailendra and SD Burman

They paired together from the days of 1951 movie Buzdil. It is in the 1963 Bimal Roy movie Bandini that they developed a rift and thus Sampooran Singh Kalra was brought in by SD Burman to write songs and we all gained from his lyrics (later to emerge as the most successful lyricist Gulzar).
Shailendra was very fond of the word Rimjhim and used it any number of times in his songs such as Rimjhim ke tarane leke aayi barsaat, Ab ke baras bhej bhaiya ko babul (Rimjhim padhengi phuharen), O sajana barkha bahaar aayi (Aise rimjhim mein O snama) and Aha rimjhim ke ye pyare pyare geet liye. When he made his house in Bombay, he called it Rimjhim. In this song, here is how he used Rimjhim:

दिन ढल जाये हाय, रात ना जाय
तू तो न आए तेरी, याद सताये, दिन ढल जाये

प्यार में जिनके, सब जग छोड़ा, और हुए बदनाम
उनके ही हाथों, हाल हुआ ये, बैठे हैं दिल को थाम
अपने कभी थे, अब हैं पराये
दिन ढल जाये हाय …

ऐसी ही रिम-झिम, ऐसी फ़ुवारें, ऐसी ही थी बरसात
खुद से जुदा और, जग से पराये, हम दोनों थे साथ
फिर से वो सावन, अब क्यूँ न आये
दिन ढल जाये हाय …

दिल के मेरे तुम, पास हो कितनी, फिर भी हो कितनी दूर
तुम मुझ से मैं, दिल से परेशाँ, दोनों हैं मजबूर
ऐसे में किसको, कौन मनाये
दिन ढल जाये हाये …

This Song

SD Burman never acknowledged the contribution of Mohammad Rafi to his own success and popularity. However, the fact is that like this song, Rafi sang many memorable songs for him. This is as much a classic as the movie.

My Own Poetry

Phir Barsaat Chali Aayi

आज फिर भीगने का दिल करता है बरसात में,
कुछ शोख़ हवा चली है सुहानी रात में I

यादों की बूंदे दिल के आँगन में गिर रही हैं,
और दस्तक दे रही हैं देहलीज़-ऐ-जज़्बात पे I

मेरे रूखे जहान पे सावन को भी तरस आ गया,
लगता है रो रहा है वह भी मेरे हालात पे I

घने धुएं में रौशनी की किरण जगमगाई है,
कुछ और लौ बची है शमा-ए-हयात में I

सावन क्या आया, बस यूँ लगता है,
हल चल सी मच गयी है कायनात में I

हवाएं उनकी बज़्म से लायी हैं खुशबू,
उधर उठ के देखता हूँ बात बात पे I

सोचता हूँ, रवि, यह कहीं सरआब तो नहीं,
कुछ हकीकत तो होगी ख्याल-ए-करामात में I

Ladies and gentlemen, please enjoy: Din dhal jaaye haay raat na jaaye…

I started this series on my Facebook group Yaad Kiya Dil Ne on 23 Aug 20. Since then, many other members have put up these songs. Here, I shall be giving you one of my own, per day.

Last time, I gave you Beautiful Duet #51 – Itna to yaad hain mujhe. So here, then, is the next one:

Song #52 of mine
Ye raatein, ye mausam, nadi ka kinaara

Ravi and not OP Nayyar

Many of Ravi’s songs are similar to those of OP Nayyar and it amazes us no end since the forte’ of Ravi was sitar based serious songs (such as Tora man darpan kehlaye and songs that were dripping with despondency (Lo aa gayi unki yaad woh nahin aaye). Two songs that come to mind are: One, from China Town, ie, Baar baar dekho (Lyrics by Majrooh who, as I told you today itself, often paired with OP Nayyar), and this one penned by Shailendra.

Cult Song

This duet assumed proportions of being a cult song. Husband – wife pair of singers or even those in love often sing this song even today. The song draws heavily from OP Nayyar’s Udhar tum haseen ho idhar dil jawan hai (which Evani Leela gave as a Beautiful Duet #29) and yet, as in a Xerox Ad: “Copy better than the original”, this song became far more popular than OP Nayyar’s.

Dilli Ka Thug

This 1958 movie was written, produced and directed by SD Narang and starred Kishore Kumar and Nutan in the lead with Kishore Kumar and Asha Bhosle providing the playback for them. Here are the lyrics:

कि: ये रातें, ये मौसम, नदी का किनारा, ये चंचल हवा
आ: कहा दो दिलों ने, की मिल कर, कभी हम न होंगे जुदा
(दोनो): ये रातें, ये मौसम, नदी का किनारा, ये चंचल हवा

आ: ये क्या बात है आज की चांदनी में – २
के हम खो गये प्यार की रागिनी में
कि: ये बाहों में बाहें, ये बहकी निगाहें
लो आने लगा ज़िंदगी का मज़ा
(दोनो): ये रातें, ये मौसम, नदी का किनारा, ये चंचल हवा

कि: सितारों की महफ़िल ने करके इशारा – २
कहा अब तो सारा जहाँ है तुम्हारा
आ: मुहब्बत जवाँ हो, खुला आसमाँ हो
करे कोई दिल आरज़ू और क्या
(दोनो): ये रातें, ये मौसम, नदी का किनारा, ये चंचल हवा

आ: क़सम है तुम्हे तुम अगर मुझसे रूठे – २
कि: रहे सांस जब तक, ये बंधन न टूटे
आ: तुम्हें दिल दिया है, ये वादा किया है
सनम मैं तुम्हारी रहूँगी सदा
कि: ये रातें, ये मौसम, नदी का किनारा, ये चंचल हवा
(दोनो): कहा दो दिलों ने, की मिल कर, कभी हम न होंगे जुदा
(दोनो): ये रातें, ये मौसम, नदी का किनारा, ये चंचल हवा

The Song

Ladies and gentlemen, please enjoy: Ye raatein ye mausam nadi ka kinara…

I hope you liked my choice of Beautiful Duet #52.

Please await Beautiful Duet #53 – Bahut shukriya, badi meharbani.

Today is the Birth Anniversary of the greatest singer: Mohammad Rafi.

I am putting up Part II of a post that I published seven months ago: Tribute to Mohammad Rafi – My Own Singing – Part I.

There has been no singer, male or female, like Mohammad Rafi. With his singing, he conveyed to us, what can one do to lyrics and composition simply by singing with his kind of passion, modulation, range, style and aura. Indeed, he made many songs immortal by just singing them.

Irrespective of the awards and honours bestowed on other singers, more often than not due to political reasons, many like me feel that Mohammad Rafi was beyond awards including Bharat Ratna.

Therefore, to be able to sing the songs earlier sung by Mohammad Rafi is a blessing and honour. This doesn’t, by any stretch of imagination, mean that anyone of us can match his prowess. It only means that we can take lots of joy and pride in the fact that we lived in the era when he was alive and fondly sing his songs to relive their magic.

Song #7 – Zara sun haseena – e – nazneen

As always, I want to start with my favourite poet and lyricist: Shakeel Badayuni. This blog has more posts on him than on any other lyricist.

The song is from the 1963 Niranjan movie titled: Kaun Apna Kaun Praya starring the living legend Waheeda Rehman and Vijay Kumar. Indeed, it is Vijay Kumar (Anil) who is lip syncing this song to Waheeda Rehman (Asha Devi) in the voice of Mohammad Rafi.

The song was composed by Ravi in the raag of my place in the hills: Raag Pahadi.

Have a look at the most beautiful lyrics:

ज़रा सुन हसीना ऐ नाज़नीं
मेरा दिल तुझ ही पे निसार है
तेरे दम से ही मेरे दिलरुबा
मेरी ज़िंदगी में बहार है

हुई जब से मुझ पे तेरी नज़र
मैं हूँ अपने आप से बेख़बर
हुआ जब से दिल में तेरा गुज़र
मुझे चैन है न क़रार है

तेरे हुस्न से जो सँवर गई
वो फ़िज़ाएं मुझको अज़ीज़ हैं
तेरी ज़ुल्फ़ से जो लिपट गईं
मुझे उन हवाओं से प्यार है

ये हसीन फूलों की डालियाँ
तुझे दे रही है सलामियाँ
मुझे क्यों न रश्क़ हो ऐ सनम
तेरे साथ फ़स्ल-ए-बहार है

Please enjoy: Zara sun haseena e nazneen….

Song #8 – Ek haseen shaam ko dil mera kho gaya

The best of Madan Mohan’s songs were penned by Raja Mehdi Ali Khan, Rajinder Krishan and Kaifi Azmi. This was penned by Raja Mehdi Ali Khan.

It is from the 1967 DD Kashyap movie Dulhan Ek Raat Ki, which was based upon Thomas Hardy’s Tess of d’Ubervilles.

Nutan (Nirmala) was in the title role, ably supported by Dharmendra (Ashok) and Rehman (Ranjit).

The song has not just heart-warming composition by Madan Mohan but really beautiful lyrics:

इक हसीन शाम को दिल मेरा खो गया
पहले अपना हुआ करता था
अब किसीका हो गया

मुद्दतों से आरज़ू थी
मेरे दिल मे कोई आये
सूनी सूनी ज़िन्दगी में
एक शम्मा झिलमिलाये
वो जो आये तो रोशन ज़माना हो गया
इक हसीन …

मेरे दिल के कारवां को
ले चला है आज कोई
शबनमी सी जिसकी आँखें
थोड़ी जागी थोड़ी सोयी
उनको देखा तो मौसम सुहाना हो गया
इक हसीन …

Please enjoy: Ek haseen shaam ko dil mera kho gaya….

Song #9 – Ajahun na aaye balma sawn beeta jaaye

The comedy pair of Mehmood and Shubha Khote was a pair to watch. The comic chemistry between them was something to be seen.

Composers and music directors vied with one another to make songs for them; some of these being based on raagas.

And, who could sing classical songs better than Mohammad Rafi? Indeed, he was the best in most genre’s of songs; but, particularly delighted us in raaga based songs; eg, Man tadpat Hari darshan ko aaj in Raag Malkauns, O duniya ke rakhwale in Raag Darbari Kanada, and Unake khayal aaye to aate chale gaye in Raag Gara.

This was penned by Hasrat Jaipuri and composed by Shankar Jaikishan in Raag Madhuwanti, Taal Kherava. The only other song that I know of, which was composed in the same raag and taal, was Rasmein ulfat ko nibhayen to nibhayen kaise by Madan Mohan.

This song is from the 1964 Hrishikesh Mukherjee movie Saanjh Aur Savera starring Meena Kumari and Guru Dutt besides the comedy duo of Mehmood and Shubha Khote.

Here are the lyrics:

अजहुँ ना आए बालमा, सावन बीता जाए
हाय रे सावन बीता जाए

नींद भी अंखियन द्वार न आए
तोसे मिलन की आस भी जाए
आई बहार खिले फुलवा
मोरे सपने कौन सजाए
आ … अजहुं …

चांद को बदरा गरवा लगाए
और भी मोरे मन ललचाए
यार हसीन गले लग जा
मोरी उम्र गुज़रती जाए
आ … अजहुं …

This is a duet. The original was sung by Mohammad Rafi for Mehmood and Suman Kalyanpur for Shubha Khote.

Please enjoy my rendition of: Ajahun na aaye balma….

Song #10 – Jo guzr rahi hai mujhpe use kaise main batayun

This is from the 1968 Vinod Kumar movie Mere Huzoor starring Raaj Kumar as Nawab Salim, Mala Sinha as Sultanat and Jeetendra as Akhtar Hussain Akhtar.

Salim had been in love with Sultanat. However, Akhtar had earlier saved the life of Salim and the latter had invited him to his palatial bungalow in Lucknow. Akhtar, in the train journey to Lucknow, sees and falls in love with Sultanat, a co-passenger.

This song was sung by Salim when Akhtar and Sultanat break the news about their impending wedding.

I found the lyrics, penned by Hasrat Jaipuri, as most apt for my wife, Lyn, being in advanced state of Alzheimer’s whilst celebrating our wedding anniversary last year.

Here are the lyrics:

जो गुज़र रही है मुझ पर उसे कैसे मैं बताऊँ -२
वो ख़ुशी मिली है मुझको मैं ख़ुशी से मर न जाऊँ -२

मेरे दिल की धड़कनों का ये सलाम तुमको पहुँचे
मैं तुम्हारा हमनशीं हूँ ये पयाम तुमको पहुँचे
उसे बन्दगी मैं समझूँ जो तुम्हारे काम आऊँ
वो ख़ुशी मिली है …

मेरे दिल की महफ़िलों में वो मुक़ाम है तुम्हारा
के ख़ुदा के बाद लब पर बस नाम है तुम्हारा
मेरी आरज़ू यही है मैं तुम्हारे गीत गाऊँ
वो ख़ुशी मिली है …

मेरी ज़िन्दगी में हमदम कभी ग़म न तू उठाना
कभी आएँ जो अँधेरे मुझे प्यार से बुलाना
मैं चिराग़ हूँ वफ़ा का मैं अँधेरे जगमगाऊँ
वो ख़ुशी मिली है …

Please enjoy my rendition of: Jo guzr rahi hai mujhpe use kaise main batayun…

Song #11 – Jaan-e-bahar husn tera bemisaal hai

Talking about the wedding anniversary, here is a song that I sang to Lyn, totally extempore, last year when we were cutting the anniversary cakes.

I recall the lyrics of most of the songs of my favourite poet and lyricist: Shakeel Badayuni. And so is this song. It was composed by Ravi. Shakeel and Ravi mastered songs describing the Husn (Beauty) of a woman. Indeed, Shakeel received two out of his three Filmfare Awards (the only known hat-trick) for such songs with Ravi: Chaudvinh ka chand ho, and Husn waale tera jawab nahin.

I remember having sung this to Lyn on our wedding night too.

The song is from the 1963 BS Ranga movie Pyaar Kiya To Darna Kya starring Shammi Kapoor and B Saroja Devi; a guy from the North and a lady from the South, exactly like me and Lyn.

Here are the most beautiful lyrics:

जान-ए-बहार हुस्न तेरा बेमिसाल है
वल्लाह कमाल है, अरे वल्लाह कमाल है

आई है मेरे पास तू इस आन-बान से
उतरी हो जैसे कोई परी आस्मान से
मैं क्या कहूँ खुशी से अजब मेरा हाल है

हाय ये तेरी मस्त अदाएं ये बाकपन -२
किरणों को भी मैं छूने न दूँगा ये गोरा तन
तुझसे नज़र मिलाए ये किसकी मजाल है

मैं खुशनसीब हूँ के तुझे मैंने पा लिया -२
तूने करम किया मुझे अपना बना लिया
ऐसे मिले हैं हम के बिछड़ना मुहाल है

Please enjoy my rendition of: Jaan-e-bahar husn tera bemisaal hai…

Song #12 – Tum ek baar mohabbat ka imtihaan to lo…

The primary reason for me to learn singing was to be able to sing to my wife, Lyn (short for Marilyn) suffering from Alzheimer’s. My biggest reward is her smile and look of recognition.

Lyrics are the most important part of the song for me. The part of the lyrics that I find most apt for her, in this song, is:

मैं अपनी जान भी दे दूँ तो ऐतबार नहीं
के तुम से बढ़के मुझे ज़िंदगी से प्यार नहीं

The song (ghazal) is from the 1960 Hemen Gupta movie Babar starring Gajanan Jagirdar, Azra and Sulochana Choudhury. You may recall Hemen Gupta from two of his celebrated movies: Anand Math and Kabuliwala.

This song was penned by Sahir Ludhianvi, composed by Roshan and sung very beautifully by Mohammad Rafi.

Here are the lyrics:

तुम एक बार मुहब्बत का इम्तहान तो लो
मेरे जुनूँ मेरी वहशत का इम्तहान तो लो
तुम एक बार …

सलाम-ए-शौक़ पे रंजिश भरा पयाम न दो
मेरे ख़ोलूस को फ़िरास-ओ-हवस का नाम न दो
मेरी वफ़ा की हक़ीकत का इम्तहान तो लो
तुम एक बार …

न तख़्त-ओ-ताज न लाल-ओ-गुहर की हसरत है
तुम्हारे प्यार तुम्हारी नज़र की हसरत है
तुम अपने हुस्न की अज़मत का इम्तिहान तो लो
तुम एक बार …

मैं अपनी जान भी दे दूँ तो ऐतबार नहीं
के तुम से बढ़के मुझे ज़िंदगी से प्यार नहीं
यूँ ही सही मेरी चाहत का इम्तिहान तो लो
तुम एक बार …

Please enjoy my rendition of: Tum ek baar mohabbat ka imtihaan to lo…

In the second part, once again, I have given you a wide range of songs of the greatest singer Mohammad Rafi. I hope you liked my selection.

So as not to make the post longer than 30 minutes of your listening pleasure, I give you only six songs at a time.

Please await songs of Part III.