UNAKE KHAYAAL DIL MEIN MEHMAAN BAN KE REHATE HAIN

उनके ख़याल दिल में मेहमान बन के रहते हैं,
क्या क्या सितम हम उनके लिए सुबह ओ शाम सहते हैंI

मैंने तो घर खाली करने का notice भी दे दिया,
“दो रोज़ और रहेंगे” हर बार यही कहते हैंI

सूखी वीरान बस्ती की शिकायत वह करते हैं,
कैसे कहूँ के अश्क़ मेरे ज़ार ज़ार बहते हैं?

दिल के गरीबखाने पे ताला लगा दूँ मैं क्या?
पर उनहे कैसे बेदखल करूँ जो पहले ही से रहते हैं?

मेरे ही घर में मुझको अब पनाह नहीं कबूल,
मेरे ही दिल से मुझको जाने के लिए कहते हैंI

No Room in Heart

Unake khayaal dil mein mehmaan ban ke rehate hain,
Kyaa kyaa sitam hum unake liye subah o shaam sehte hain.

Maine to ghar khaali karne kaa notice bhi de diya,
“Do roz aur rahenge” har baar yahi kehte hain.

Sookhi veeraan basti ki shikaayat woh karte hain,
Kaise kahun ke ashq mere zaar zaar behte hain?

Dil ke gareebkhaane pe taala laga doon main kyaa,
Par unahe kaise bedakhal karun jo pehle hi se rehate hain.

Mere hi ghar mein mujhako ab panaah nahin kabool,
Mere hi dil se mujhako jaane ke liye kehte hain.

TIME AND RAINBOW

It suddenly appeared across the hill, across the river and the rocks. Before it appeared in its seven visible vibgyor colours, there was a wedding of giddad-giddadi (he and she jackal); as was the folklore to describe rain and sun appearing together.

It appeared so near and yet so far. As a young boy I ran after it, to catch it in my little soiled hands, to bathe in its vivid hues, even to climb up and look down on the world through its prism. At that time it appeared far; it was near when I didn’t want to own it, when I wasn’t very conscious of its existence; it was far when it crept over my consciousness, when I wanted to hold it and possess it.

I have had the same experience with Time.

Before I lost myself in the rapid whirlpool of later-life Time, it flowed like a gentle stream. Indeed, at times it stood still and placid like a pond, like a lake. I didn’t know how much of it I had but it appeared vast, endless, infinite.

I played lukan-chhipi (hide n seek) with my friends and graduated to marbles, gilli-danda, football and cricket. I was small but Time was big. It was everywhere and totally free. I bought kaafal (a type of berry sold near my school, Vijay High School, Mandi), ice on stick, and an anna a booklet of film-songs lyrics. But, I never had to buy Time.

Perhaps because it was freely available, I didn’t place too much of value on it. As a young boy, I read Herman Wouk’s Caine Mutiny and as was normal for me during those days, finished it in a night’s time. How much I still remember; I am surprised. “Wasted hours” it said somewhere in the book, “Are just as painful in the beginning as in the end; only, in the end, it becomes more apparent”.

And now, looking back in time, that halcyon period of my life, when I had all the Time in the world, passed so quickly. I never tried to catch it but it appeared and disappeared like a rainbow; it was here a moment ago: red, orange, yellow and so on and now it is gone; not even the fading colours beyond violet and below red are there now.

Last to last night I saw the Hindi movie Maya that I wanted to see with its beautiful Salil da numbers based on Western classical music beats: Tasveer teri dil mein, jis din se banaayi hai and Jaa re jaa re udd jaa re panchhi. It turned out to be a trash movie and I rued the two and a half hours’ time that I wasted watching it. Two and half hours; in my boyhood days, I used to spend many times that time just day dreaming, writing worthless poetry or catching butterflies.

It is the same sand, passing through the same small opening in the hour-glass; why does it appear to be draining out much faster now? There appears to be lots to do and very little Time to do it. How do I slow it down? Should I catch it now before it gets still faster and makes me akin to a twig being pushed through the flow against my wish? Did I ever have the power to slow it, to stop it; if not to reverse it? Could I have ever caught the rainbow?

Hour Glass

I don’t even think about how it would have been if I had thought, planned and done things differently. I am not even filled with ‘If Only’ regrets. But, it still gnaws me to think about whether I ever had the power to do things independently in my own way or whether I have been in a puppet in the hands of Time, trying to catch rainbows and doing things what have been writ for me including writing this article?

ज़िन्दगी में
ज़िन्दगी की तलाश में
ज़िन्दगी को पाने के लिए
कहाँ कहाँ नहीं गया?
क्या क्या ना किया?
पल पल, छिन छिन,
ज़िन्दगी मोम की तरह
पिघलती रही
ना जाने क्या थी?
ना जाने क्या है?
चंद लम्हे और मिल जाते
लौ कुछ और देर जलती
फिर क्या होता?
वक़्त का सितम
ठहर जाता क्या?
यादों के मरहले
खड़े होके क्या ना बिखरते?
कौस-ओ-क़ज़ाह
हाथ में आ जाता क्या?
ख्वाब की
ख़याल की
सराब की
असलियत समझ आ जाती क्या?
किस को मिली है आज़ादी
वक़्त की ज़ंजीरों से?
कौन समझा  है?

Sand castle

Zindagi mein
Zindagi ki talaash mein
Zindagi ko paane ke liye
Kahaan kahaan nahin gaya?
Kyaa kyaa na kiyaa?
Pal pal, chhin chhin,
Zindagi mome ki tarah
Pighalti rahi.
Naa jaane kyaa thi?
Naa jaane kyaa hai?
Chand lamhe aur mil jaate
Lau kuchh aur der jalati
Phir kyaa hota?
Waqt ka sitam
Thehar jaata kyaa?
Yaadon ke marhale
Khade hoke kyaa na bikharte?
Qous-o-qazah
Haath mein aa jaata kyaa?
Khwaab ki
Khayaal ki
Saraab ki
Asleeyat samajh aa jaati kyaa?
Kis ko mili hai azaadi
Waqt ki zanjeeron se?
Kaun samajha hai?

RHYTHM HOUSE, KALA GHODA, MUMBAI TO SHUT DOWN!

I can’t believe it. It has been such a landmark for us in South Bombay, within walking distance of the Naval Dockyard. I have spent hours going through and buying music at Rhythm House.

We are a family of music lovers. We have neither been rich nor poor. In our middle-class hand to mouth existence, music has been food for us – food for soul that is.

I can relate dozens of anecdotes about this music shop but the one that best describes our junoon concerns my younger brother Dr JP Singh.

I was a Lieutenant posted on INS Talwar as Signal Communication Officer (SCO), on my first posting after undergoing the Long C course at Signal School, Cochin.

JP, my younger brother, was studying in St Xavier’s College, graduating in Economics.

Salaries, at that time, used to be dispersed in cash. I used to get about 1400 rupees in hand, which was enough for me to pay for mess, wines, movies and other sundry expenses to keep body and soul together. JP used to receive money orders from our dad to pay for his studies, hostel etc.

One day, in the beginning of the month, on a make and mend day (Wednesdays and Saturdays are called make and mend days in the navy, from the days of the sail when sailors used to make and mend their sails in the afternoons on these days. Nowadays, these are just half days), I had retired in the afternoon to my cabin after the three Bs: that is, Bridge, Beer and Biriyani.

Sleep had just settled over me like fog over the hills when there was a knock at the door. I opened the door and there stood JP. He had bluffed his way at Lion Gate security and had reached the ship entirely unescorted; an impossibility these days of heightened security.

He was visibly shaken. He said his Money Order from home hadn’t arrived and since he hadn’t paid the hostel mess bill, they were at the verge of throwing him out. I was aghast at their cruelty about throwing out my younger just because his payment was delayed by a few days. But, it came out that JP, due to “some urgency”, hadn’t paid the bill for the last two months.

I reasoned it out with him that although I had just got my salary, I too hadn’t yet paid my mess and wine bills and that’s all the money I had.

He countered that by saying since I was on “permanent (he stressed on this word) commission” in the navy, they were unlikely to throw me out whereas he would be out on the street.

I relented and after keeping just a hundred rupees with me, gave him the remaining money. I went to sleep after seeing him off.

I had merely dosed off, when after about 30 minutes or so, there was another knock and there stood JP again, holding dozens of Long Playing (LP) records in both hands and arms. He wanted keys to our wardroom turn-table so that he could play them. This was his story:

“Bhaiyya, after getting money from you, I didn’t take a cab or bus back to the hostel. I said to myself that it is my bhaiyya’s hard-earned money and I have no right to waste it on cabs and buses. So, I started walking back to the hostel. On the way, at Rhythm House, what did I see? There was a sale of records. I peeped in just to have a look and found that all my favourite records were being sold at half the price. I said to myself I would indeed save huge amount of money if I were to buy the complete lot. So, that’s exactly what I did.”

Rhythm HouseIn the next few days we listened to all the records over and over again and got our money’s worth of fun. With the hundred rupees that I had kept with me, I went to the Central Telegraph Office, booked a call to dad and got him five hours after booking the call. I managed to convey to him to expedite sending money to JP. Until then, we lived on love and fresh air and music.

And now, they are thinking of closing down Rhythm House. Why couldn’t the idea occur to them when JP was walking back from my ship to his hostel in St Xavier’s on that make and mend day in 1981?

P.S. To be fair to JP, I might as well admit that if our positions were reversed, the chances of my doing anything different were remote. All’s well that ends well. After a week or ten days, dad’s money order arrived (the only order from my dad that I really liked) and the rhythm of our life was restored.

THE BEST RAAGA BASED SONGS IN HINDI MOVIES – RAAGA DARBARI KANADA – PART II

As you are already aware, these blogs are being recreated from the posts on my Facebook page Lyrical wherein I started with this theme of giving you the best raaga based songs in Hindi movies on the 8th of Aug 2015. Presently, I am on my 11th Raaga: Raag Gara. I have already given you blogs on Raaga Bhairavi, Yaman or Kalyan, and Jhinjhoti. This means that I am well behind schedule.

Anyway, lets re-start with our fourth Raaga here: Raag Darbari Kanada; I have already given you Part I of this blog.

Raag Darbari Kanada

After Bhairavi and Yaman or Kalyan, I have chosen to give you songs composed in Raag Darbari Kanada. Darbari Kanada, or simply Darbari, (pronounced darbāri kānada), is a raga in the Kanada family, which is thought to have originated in Carnatic music and brought into North Indian music by Miyan Tansen, the legendary 16th-century composer in emperor Akbar’s court. This tradition is reflected in the name itself; Darbar is the Persian derived word in Hindi meaning “court.” As the most familiar raga in the Kanada family, it may sometimes also be called Shuddha Kanada or pure Kanada. It belongs to the Asavari thaat.

It is also sometimes written as Durbari and Durbarikanada.

Raag Darbari Kanada1Lets recommence listening to Raag Darbari Kanada based songs. We have so far listened to the following in Part I:

  1. Sarfroshi ki tamanna ab hamaare dil mein hai.
  2. O duniya ke rakhwaale.
  3. Tora man darpan kehlaaye.
  4. Main nigaahen tere chehre se hataayun kaise.
  5. Dil jalata hai to jalane de.
  6. Ye hawa ye raat ye chandni.
  7. Tu pyaar ka saagar hai.
  8. Ghunghat ke pat khol re.
  9. Satyam shivam sundaram.
  10. Meri vinti suno Bhagwan.
  11. Toote huye khwaabon ne.
  12. Teri duniya mein dil lagata nahin.

Here is then, the 13th Hindi song composed in Raag Darbari Kanada:

Song #13 Hum tumase juda hoke mar jaayenge ro ro ke…

Fifth day of Raag Darbari based songs. Lets turn to our 13th music director: Usha Khanna. I have taken this from the 1965 Feroze Khan movie Ek Sapera Ek Lutera that he did with Kumkum. Asad Bhopali penned the lyrics and Mohammad Rafi sang it. The song was quite popular during our days.

Please enjoy in Raag Darbari: Ham tumase judaa hoke mar jaayenge ro ro ke…..

ham tumase judaa ho ke mar jaa_e.Nge ro-ro ke -2
mar jaa_e.Nge ro-ro ke

duniyaa ba.Dii zaalim hai dil to.D ke ha.Nsatii hai -2
ik mauj kinaare se milane ko tarasatii hai
kah do na ko_ii roke -2
ham tumase judaa …

vaade nahii.n bhuule.nge kasame.n nahii.n to.De.nge -2
ye tay hai ki ham dono.n milanaa nahii.n chho.De.nge
jo rok sake roke -2
ham tumase judaa …

sochaa thaa kabhii do dil milakar na judaa ho.nge
maaluum na thaa ham yuu.N naaqaam-e-vafaa ho.nge
qismat ne.n di_e dhokhe
ham tumase judaa …

https://youtube.com/watch?v=xOFwVg-02Xo%3F

Song #14 Tumhen zindagi ke ujaale mubarak….

What about Kalyanji Anandji; you are bound to ask me? Well, he too composed in this royal raaga and did it very well indeed. This is also from a 1965 movie. The movie was called Purnima and starred, if you recall, Dharmendra and Meena Kumari. Mukesh sang for him. Lyrics were penned by Gulzar.

Please enjoy in Raag Darbari: Tumhen zindagi ke ujaale mubaarak….

tumhe.n zindagii ke ujaale mubaarak
a.ndhere hame.n aaj raas aa ga_e hai.n
tumhe.n paa ke ham Kud se duur ho ga_e the
tumhe.n chho.Dakar apane paas aa ga_e hai.n
tumhe.n zindagii ke …

tumhaarii vafaa se shiqaayat nahii.n hai
nibhaanaa to ko_ii ravaayat nahii.n hai
jahaa.N tak qadam aaa sake aa ga_e hai.n
a.ndhere hame.n aaj …

chaman se chale hai.n ye ilzaam lekar
bahut jii li_e ham teraa naam lekar
muraado.n kii ma.nzil se duur aa ga_e hai.n
a.ndhere hame.n aaj …

https://youtube.com/watch?v=4Iq_pfISaEc

Song #15 Suhaani chandini raatein hamein sone nahin detin…

Talking about Mukesh, 12 years after Purnima and more than 30 years after he started singing for Hindi movies, he still had the same voice. In the 1977 movie Mukti starring Shashi Kapoor and Vidya Sinha, he sang this beautiful number that became very popular indeed. It was put together by Anand Bakshi and RD Burman.

Please enjoy in Raag Darbari: Suhaani chandini raaten hamen sone nahin deti….

suhaanii chaa.Ndanii raate.n, hame.n sone nahii.n detii.n
tumhaare pyaar kii baate.n, hame.n sone nahii.n detii.n
suhaanii chaa.Ndanii raate.n, hame.n sone nahii.n detii.n

tumhaare reshamii julfo.n me.n dil ke phuul khilate the
inhii.n phuulo.n ke mausam me.n ham tum bhii milate the
puraanii vo mulaakaate.n, hame.n sone nahii detii.n
tumhaare pyaar kii baate.n, hame.n sone nahii.n detii.n
suhaanii chaa.Ndanii raate.n …

kahii.n aisaa n ho laga jaaye aag dil me.n paanii se
badal le raastaa apanaa ghaTaae.n meharabaanii se
ki yaado.n kii ye barasaate.n, hame.n sone nahii.n detii.n
tumhaare pyaar kii baate.n, hame.n sone nahii.n detii.n
suhaanii chaa.Ndanii raate.n …

https://youtube.com/watch?v=FKsIfx0GrBk%3F

Song #16 Mere mehboob na jaa, aaj ki raat naa jaa…

Sixth day of Raag Darbari based songs in which we already have taken up 15 composers: Prem Dhawan, Naushad Ali, Ravi, Madan Mohan, Anil Biswas, Sajjad, Shankar Jaikishen, Bulo C Rani, Laxmikant Pyarelal, Hemant Kumar, Salil Choudhury, Roshan, Usha Khanna, Kalyanji Anandji and RD Burman.

I am going to turn to two relatively modern composers now and one not heard much.

Lets first turn to the relatively unknown one: Jani Babu Qawwal whose qawwali Damadam mast kalandar was very popular but who composed only one popular song in Hindi movies; the one in 1965 movie Noor Mahal. This was written by Saba Afghani and sung by Suman Kalyanpur. The movie starred Jagdeep and Chitra.

Please enjoy in Raag Darbari: Mere mehboob naa jaa, aaj ki raat na jaa….

mere mahabuub na jaa, naa jaa naa jaa
mere mahabuub na jaa, aaj kI raat na jaa
hone vaalI hai sahar, tho.DI der aur Thahar
mere mahabuub na jaa …

dekh kitanaa hasIn mausam hai
har taraf ik ajIb aalam hai
jalave is taraha aaj nikhare hai.n
jaise taare zamI.n pe bikhare hai.n, mere mahabuub …

mai.nne kaaTe.n hai.n intazaar ke din
tab kahii.n aaye hai.n bahaar ke din
yU.N naa jaa dil ki shamaa gul kar ke
abhI dekhaa nahI.n hai jI bhar ke, mere mahabuub …

jab se zulfo.n kii chhaa.Nv paaI hai
beqaraarI ko nI.nd aaI hai
is taraha mat jaa yU.NhI sone de
raat Dhalane de subaha hone de, mere mahabuub …

is tarah pher kar nazar mujh se
dUr jaaegaa tU agar mujhase
chaa.NdanI se bhI aag barasegI
shammaa bhI roshanI ko tarasegI, mere mahabuub …

dhaDkano.n me.n yahii taraane hai.n
tere rukane ke sau bahaane hai.n
mere dil kii zaraa sadaa sun le
pyaasii nazaro.n kii iltajaa sun le, mere mahabuub …

https://youtube.com/watch?v=KVt7eG4AyWw%3F

Song #17 Dekha hai pehli baar saajan ki aankhon mein pyaar…

Lets turn to the two relatively modern composers now: Composer #17 and 18. The first one is Nadeem Shravan and once again, the song is a favourite from the 1991 movie Saajan starring Madhuri Dixit with Salman Khan and Sanjay Dutt.

As with many of Nadeem Shravan songs, the lyrics are by Sameer. Singers are Alka Yagnik and SP Balasubramaniam.

Please enjoy in Raag Darbari Kanada: Dekha hai pehli baar, saajan ki aankho mein pyaar….

dekhaa hai pahalii baar saajan kii aa.Nkho.n me.n pyaar
tab jaa ke aayaa mere bechain dil ko karaar
dilabar tujhe milane ko kab se thaa mai.n bekaraar
ab jaa ke aayaa mere bechain dil ko karaar
dekhaa hai pahalii baar …

palake.n jhukaa_uu.n tujhe dil me.n basaa_uu.n
ab bin tere mai.n to kahii.n chain na paa_uu.n
tuu mera jigar hai tuu merii nazar hai
tuu merii aarazuu tuu meraa hamasafar hai
dekhaa hai pahalii baar …

merii adaa_e.n ye merii javaanii
bas tere li_e hai ye merii zi.ndagaanii
tuu merii gazal hai tuu meraa taraanaa
aa terii dha.Dakano.n pe likh duu.N dil kaa fasaanaa
dekhaa hai pahalii baar …

dekhaa hai pahalii baar jaanam kii aa.Nkho.n me.n pyaar
tab jaa ke aayaa mere bechain dil ko karaar
dilabar tujhe milane ko kab se thii mai.n bekaraar
ab jaa ke aayaa mere bechain dil ko karaar
dekhaa hai pahalii baar …

Song #18 Pag ghungroo baandh Meera naachi thi…

And the last one tonight, before we take up the last three tomorrow composing in this Raag, is Bappi Lahiri.

This movie is very nostalgic for me since this was the last movie that I saw with my father before he died in a jeep accident. The 1982 movie Namak Halaal possibly had the best of the songs composed by Bappi Lahiri. I can still recall how my father laughed and laughed with Amitabh‘s acting in the song. It was sung by Kishore Kumar.

Please enjoy in Raag Darbari: Pag ghunghru baandh Meera naach thi…..

buzurgo.n ne,
buzurgo.n ne, faramaayaa ke pairo.n pe apane kha.De hoke dikhalaao
phir ye zamaanaa tumhaaraa hai,
zamaane ke sur taal ke saath, ba.Dhate chale jaao
phir har taraanaa tumhaaraa, fasaanaa tumhaaraa hai

are to lo bhaiyaa ham, apane pairo.n ke uupar,
kha.De ho gae,
aur milaalii hai taal
dabaa legaa daa.Nto.n tale u.Ngaliyaa.N … liyaa.N …
ye jahaa.N dekh kar, dekh kar
apanii chaal… vaah vaah!

dhanyavaad!
ke pag ghu.Ngharuu …
ke pag ghu.Ngharuu baa.Ndh, miiraa naachii thii
aur ham naache bin ghu.Ngaruu ke
ke pag ghu.Ngaruu baa.Ndh, miiraa naachii thii
vo tiir bhalaa, kis kaam kaa hai
jo tiir nishaane se chuuke chuuke chuuke re
ke pag ghu.Ngharuu …

sa sa sa ga ga rii rii sa nii nii sa sa sa (3)
ga ga ga pa pa ma ma ga rii rii ga ga ga (2)
pa nii sa (4). ma pa nii (4)
re re re re re ga re ga re ga
## (Kishore stops) ##
pa pa pa pa pa ma ga re sa nii sa dha
sa nii sa dha sa nii sa dha
sa nii sa dha sa nii sa dha
sa dha nii sa sa dha nii sa
sa dha nii sa sa dha nii sa
pa ma pa ma ga ma ga re
ga re sa nii sa nii sa ga
sa re sa ga re ga re ma
re ma ga ma ga ma pa ma
pa ma ga re sa nii sa pa sa
pa ma ga re sa nii sa pa sa
## (Kishore continues) ##
## Mmmmmmm… ##

aap a.ndar se kuchh,
aur baahar se kuchh aur nazar aate hai.n,
barakhurdaar shakl se to, chor nazar aate hai.n,
umr guzarii hai saarii chorii me.n
saare sukh chain band, jurm kii tijaurii me.n

aap kaa to lagataa hai bas yahii sapanaa
raam naam japanaa paraayaa maal apanaa (2)

vatan kaa khaayaa namak to, namak halaal bano,
farz iimaan kii zi.ndaa yahaa.N misaal bano
paraayaa dhan, paraaii naar pe nazar mat Daalo
burii aadat hai ye, aadat abhii badal Daalo

kyo.n ki!! ye aadat to, vo aag hai jo
ik din apanaa ghar phuu.Nke phuu.Nke phuu.Nke re
ke pag ghu.Ngharuu …

## (Some English lines here………) ##
mausam-e-ishq me.n machale hue armaan hai.n ham
dil ko lagataa hai kii do jism ek jaan hai.n ham
aisaa lagataa hai to lagane me.n kuchh buraaii nahii.n
dil ye kahataa hai aap apanii hai.n, paraaii nahii.n

sa.ngemaramar kii haay, koii muurat ho tum
koii dilakash ba.Dii, khuubasuurat ho tum
dil dil se milane kaa koii muhuurat ho
pyaase dilo.n kii zaruurat ho tum

dil chiirake, dikhalaa duu.N mai.n,
dil me.n yahii, suurat ha.nsii.n
kyaa aap ko lagataa nahii.n, ham hai.n mile pahale kahii.n

kyaa des hai, kyaa jaat hai,
kyaa umr hai, kyaa naam hai,
are chho.Diye in baato.n se,
hamako bhalaa kyaa kaam hai

ajii suniye to… ham aap mile
to phir ho shuruu
afasaane lailaa, majanuu lailaa majanuu ke

ke pag ghu.Ngharuu …

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cTvUrpSr9ck

Song #19 Kitana haseen hai mausam….

Seventh day of Raag Darbari based songs in which we already have taken up 18 composers: Prem Dhawan, Naushad Ali, Ravi, Madan Mohan, Anil Biswas, Sajjad, Shankar Jaikishen, Bulo C Rani, Laxmikant Pyarelal, Hemant Kumar, Salil Choudhury, Roshan, Usha Khanna, Kalyanji Anandji, RD Burman. Jani Babu Qawwal, Nadeem Shravan and Bappi Lahiri.

Lets start with C Ramchandra today.

This is a beautiful duet between C Ramchandra and Lata Mangeshkar singing for Dilip Kumar and Meena Kumari for the 1955 movie Azad. Lyrics are by Rajinder Krishan.

Please enjoy in Raag Darbari: Kitana haseen hai mausam, kitana haseen safar hai….

l: kitanaa hasii.n hai.n mausam, kitanaa hasii.n safar hai
chi: sAthI hai khUbasuurat, ye mausam ko bhI khabar hai
kitanaa hasii.n …

chi: milatii nahii.n hai.n ma.nzil, rAhI jo ho akelaa
do ho to phir jahaa.N bhI, chaahe lagaa lo melaa
dil mil gaye to phir kyA, j.ngal bhI ek ghar hai
sAthI hai khUbasuurat, ye mausam ko bhI khabar hai
kitanaa hasii.n …

l: nA jaane havaae.n kyA kahanaa chaahatii hai.n – 2
pa.nchhii terI sadaaye.n kyA kahanaa chaahatii hai.n – 2
kuchh to hai aaj jisakaa, har chiiz par asar hai
chi: sAthI hai khUbasuurat, ye mausam ko bhI khabar hai
kitanaa hasii.n …

chi: kudarat ye kah rahii hai, aa dil se dil milaa le
ulafat se aag lekar, dil kA diyaa jalaale
sachchii agar lagan hai, phir kisakaa tujhako Dar hai
sAthI hai khUbasuurat, ye mausam ko bhI khabar hai
kitanaa hasii.n …

https://youtube.com/watch?v=EecCzvJkaxM%3F

Song #20 Mitwa laut aaye ri…

19 songs by 19 different composers so far. Here is our 20th composer in Raag Darbari Kanada: SN Tripathi.

This is from the 1962 movie Sangeet Samrat Tansen starring Bharat Bhushan and Anita Guha. Lyrics are by Shailendra and singer is Manna De.

Please enjoy in Raag Kanada: Mitwa laut aaye ri….

aa~ ta na Om
mitavaa aa jaao

mitavaa lauT aaye rii
aaj mero jiyaraa kyo.n na aaye
subh din dash.ran paaye
mitavaa laut aaye rii

nainaa jo the niir bhare
piyaa ko dekh phir se muskaaye
aaye rii, aaye rii
aaye mitavaa lauT aaye rii

divaa laa de bujhaaye ko_ii
jaaguu.N priit kii jyot jagaaye
aaye rii, aaye rii, aaye rii
mitavaa lauT aaye rii

% tej gati
mitavaa lauT aaye rii
aaj mero jiyaraa kyo.n na gaaye
subh din dash.ran paaye
mitavaa laut aaye
mitavaa laut aaye
mitavaa laut aaye

https://youtube.com/watch?v=l2gIE8r10fs%3F

Song #21 Hungama hai kyun barpa thodi si jo pi li hai…

And our last composer in this Raag, the 21st, is singer-composer Ghulam Ali. It is not really a Hindi movie song but I am giving it here because of its background and popularity. It is a creation of the poet Akbar Allahabadi. 

Akbar Allahabadi’s song is clearly about the pleasures of imbibing alcohol, it is claimed that its genesis is in the social context of the British Raj in India, at a time when the Muslim League had begun to exert its independent approach to interacting with the British, against the wishes of the Congress. Some Muslims, including Akbar Allahabadi, hoped for Hindu-Muslim unity. This caused others to suggest that he had been given alcohol by the Hindus. (Muslims are forbidden to drink alcohol.) His ghazal was intended as a response to those insinuations.

The ghazal was made famous by Ghulam Ali lending his voice to it.

Please enjoy in Raag Darbari Kanada: Hungama hai kyun barpa thodi si jo pi li hai….

Hungama Hai Kyon Barpa, Thodi Si Jo Pii Lii Hai
Daakaa Toh Nahin Daalaa Chori Toh Nahi Kii Hai

Naa Tajurbakaari Se Vaais Kii Ye Baatein Hai
Is Rang Ko Kyaa Jaane Puchho Toh Kabhi Pii Hai

Us Ma’ay Se Nahi Matlab, Dil Jis se Hai Begaanaa
Maqasudd Hai Us Mai Se Dil Hii Mein Jo Khinchati Hai

Har Zarra Chamaktaa Hai Anwaar-e-Ilaahi Se
Har Saans Ye Kehati Hai Hum Hai To Khuda Bhi Hai

Suraj Mein Lage Dhabba Fitrat ke Karishme hain
But Hum ko Kahein Kaafir Allah Ki Marzi Hai

Here is my translation for those who require it:

Why is there so much hue and cry if I have had some alcohol?
I haven’t robbed someone, nor have I committed any theft.

Inexperienced are the words of the preacher/saintly(Va’iz).
For someone who has never tasted alcohol, can never rightly comment about it.

Us Ma’ay Say Nahin Matlab,
Dil Jis Say Ho Baygaana
Maqsood Hay Oos Ma’ay Se,
Dil Hee Main Jo Khinchtee Hai
(In the next lines he tries to respond to the dogmatic politicians)
Ma’ay here meaning, Wine.
I am not concerned with that wine (ma’ay), whose consumption does not touch the heart. It does not bother me as it is just for the sake of drinking.
I am bothered with, or by saying ‘wine’, I intend (maqsood) that entity, using which some people are trying to play dirty politics and dividing hearts.

Every thing that exists (har zarra) in this universe, is due to the grace of the almighty.(Anwar-e-Elaahi, meaning Grace of God). Then very beautifully the poet says, Har Saans ye kehti hai, Hum hai to Khuda Bhi hai..Its like we are a part of the Lord, and we exist and breathe within his shadow of Divinity.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=enoX89bQvug

Song #22 Aap ki nazaron ne samajha pyaar ke kaabil mujhe…

Now that we have taken up the compositions in Raag Darbari of as many as 21 composers, we are going to take up, songs chosen by me to end Raag Darbari based songs; three songs in this part and some more in Part III.

The first is from Madan Mohan with lyrics by Raja Mehdi Ali Khan. The song is from the 1962 movie Anpadh with Mala Sinha in the title role and Dharmendra as the professor.

The song is listed amongst the top ten songs of Lata Mangeshkar.

Please enjoy in Raag Darbari: Aap ki nazaron ne samajha pyaar ke kaabil mujhe….

aap kii nazaro.n ne samajhaa, pyaar ke kaabil mujhe
dil kii ai dha.Dakan Thahar jaa, mil ga_ii ma.nzil mujhe
aap kii nazaro.n ne samajhaa

jii hame.n ma.nzuur hai, aapakaa ye faisalaa – 2
kah rahii hai har nazar, ba.ndaa-paravar shukariyaa
do jahaa.N kii aaj khushiyaa.N ho ga_ii.n haasil mujhe
aap kii nazaro.n ne samajhaa …

aap kii ma.nzil huu.N mai.n merii ma.nzil aap hai.n – 2
kyuu.N mai.n tuufaan se Daruu.N mere saahil aap hai.n
koii tuufaano.n se kah de, mil gayaa saahil mujhe
aap kii nazaro.n ne samajhaa …

pa.D ga_ii dil par merii, aap kii parchhaa_iyaa.N – 2
har taraf bajane lagii.n saika.Do.n shahanaa_iyaa.N
ha.Nsake apanii zi.ndagii me.n, kar liyaa shaamil mujhe
aap kii nazaro.n ne samajhaa …

https://youtube.com/watch?v=iGwdq0pbEWc%3F

Song #23 Yaad mein teri jaag jaag ke hum….

The second has been composed by Naushad and is from the 1963 iconic movie Mere Mehboob. As with most Naushad songs, lyrics are by my favourite lyricist: Shakeel Badayuni and the duet is between Mohammad Rafi and Lata Mangeshkar singing for Rajendra Kumar and Sadhana respectively.

Please enjoy in Raag Darbari: Yaad mein teri jaag jaag ke ham….

yaad me.n terI jaag-jaag ke ham
raat bhar karavaTe.n badalate hai.n
har gha.Dii dil me.n terI ulfat ke
dhiime dhiime chiraaG jalate hai.n

jabase tUne nigaah pherii hai
din hai suunaa to raat a.ndherii hai
chaa.Nd bhI ab najar nahii.n AtA
ab sitaare bhI kam nikalate hai.n
yaad me.n terI jaag-jaag ke ham …

luT gayii vo bahaar kI mahafil
chhuT gayii hamase pyaar kI ma.nzil
zi.ndagii kI udaas rAho.n me.n
terI yaado.n ke sAth chalate hai.n
yaad me.n terI jaag-jaag ke ham …

tujhako paakar hame.n bahaar milii
tujhase chhuTakar magar ye baat khulii
baaGabaan hii chaman ke phuulo.n ko
apane pairo.n se khud masalate hai.n
yaad me.n terI jaag-jaag ke ham …

kyA kahe.n tujhase kyuu.n huii duurii
ham samajhate hai.n apanii majabuurii
tujhako maaluum kyA ke tere liye
dil ke gam aa.Nsuo.n me.n Dhalate hai.n
yaad me.n terI jaag-jaag ke ham …

Song #24 Sau baar janam lenge……

And the last song for the Part II of the blog on Raag Darbari Kanada based best songs in Hindi movies has been composed by my namesake: Ravi. I often marvel at the beautiful, somewhat enigmatic picturisation of the song. It is from another 1963 movie: Ustaadon Ke Ustaad starring Pradeep Kumar and Shakeela. Asad Bhopali wrote the lyrics and Mohammad Rafi sang it.

Please enjoy in Raag Darbari: Sau baar janam lenge….

sau baar janam le.nge, sau baar fanaa ho.nge
ai jaan-e-vafaa phir bhii, ham tum na judaa ho.nge

qismat hame milane se, rokegii bhalaa kab tak
in pyaar kii raaho.n me.n, bhaTakegii vafaa kab tak
qadamo.n ke nishaa.N khud hii, ma.nzil kaa pataa ho.nge

ye kaisii udaasii hai, jo husn pe chhaaii hai
ham duur nahii.n tum se, kahane ko judaaii hai
aramaan bhare do dil, phir ek jagah ho.nge

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CTprvBjARLY

That brings us to the end of Part II of The Best Raaga Based Songs In Hindi Movies – Raaga Darbari. Please await Part III.

THE BEST RAAGA BASED SONGS IN HINDI MOVIES – RAAGA DARBARI – PART I

As you are already aware, these blogs are being recreated from the posts on my Facebook page Lyrical wherein I started with this theme of giving you the best raaga based songs in Hindi movies on the 8th of Aug 2015. Presently, I am on my 11th Raaga: Raag Gara. I have already given you blogs on Raaga Bhairavi, Yaman or Kalyan, and Jhinjhoti. This means that I am well behind schedule.

Anyway, lets start with our fourth Raaga here: Raag Darbari Kanada.

Raag Darbari KanadaAfter Bhairavi and Yaman or Kalyan, I have chosen to give you songs composed in Raag Darbari Kanada. Darbari Kanada, or simply Darbari, (pronounced darbāri kānada), is a raga in the Kanada family, which is thought to have originated in Carnatic music and brought into North Indian music by Miyan Tansen, the legendary 16th-century composer in emperor Akbar’s court. This tradition is reflected in the name itself; Darbar is the Persian derived word in Hindi meaning “court.” As the most familiar raga in the Kanada family, it may sometimes also be called Shuddha Kanada or pure Kanada. It belongs to the Asavari thaat.

It is also sometimes written as Durbari and Durbarikanada.

Raag Darbari Kanada1Song #1 Sarfroshi ki tamanna ab hamaare dil mein hai…

My most favourite song in this Raag forms the cover picture of this Raag: Sarfroshi ki tamanna ab hamaare dil mein hai…

An Urdu poem written by an Arya Samaji? Well, that was the strength of my Bharat or India before politicians on both sides of the border divided us along religious and casteist lines for their vested interests.

Ram Prasad Bismil was born on 11th June 1897 in Shajahanpur. He was merely 30 when he was hanged to death by the British at Gorakhpur Jail. His crime? Well, he, along with a few others such as Ashfaqulla Khan, Roshan Singh and Rajendra Nath Lahiri sought to break the shackles of slavery for India and let its people live in Freedom.

He was one of the founding members of Hindustan Republican Association. The association and his writings later became the inspiration for Shaheed Bhagat Singh.

Bismil wrote about many poems and Ghazals (both in Hindi and Urdu) inspiring people to revolt against the British. This Urdu Ghazal (his most famous) is written in Beher-E-Ramal/Mazahif Musamman. This type of Beher in Urdu poetry was the favourite meter of Ram Prasad Bismil. He had written almost 35 ghazals in this meter.

Here is his famous poem…

Sarfaroshi ki tamanna ab hamaare dil mein hai
Dekhna hai zor kitna baazu-e-qaatil mein hai

aye watan Karta nahin kyun doosra kuch baat-cheet
Dekhta hun main jise woh chup teri mehfil mein hai
Aye shaheed-e-mulk-o-millat main tere oopar nisaar
Ab teri himmat ka charcha ghair ki mehfil mein hai
Sarfaroshi ki tamanna ab hamaare dil mein hai

Waqt aanay dey bata denge tujhe aye aasman
Hum abhi se kya batayen kya hamare dil mein hai
Khainch kar layee hai sab ko qatl hone ki ummeed
Aashiqon ka aaj jumghat koocha-e-qaatil mein hai
Sarfaroshi ki tamanna ab hamaare dil mein hai

Hai liye hathiyaar dushman taak mein baitha udhar
Aur hum taiyyaar hain seena liye apna idhar
Khoon se khelenge holi gar vatan muskhil mein hai
Sarfaroshi ki tamanna ab hamaare dil mein hai

Haath jin mein ho junoon katt te nahi talvaar se
Sar jo uth jaate hain voh jhukte nahi lalkaar se
Aur bhadkega jo shola-sa humaare dil mein hai
Sarfaroshi ki tamanna ab hamaare dil mein hai

Hum to ghar se nikle hi the baandhkar sar pe kafan
Jaan hatheli par liye lo barh chale hain ye qadam
Zindagi to apni mehmaan maut ki mehfil mein hai
Sarfaroshi ki tamanna ab hamaare dil mein hai

Yuun khadaa maqtal mein qaatil kah rahaa hai baar baar
Kya tamannaa-e-shahaadat bhi kisee ke dil mein hai
Dil mein tuufaanon ki toli aur nason mein inqilaab
Hosh dushman ke udaa denge humein roko na aaj
Duur reh paaye jo humse dam kahaan manzil mein hai

Wo jism bhi kya jism hai jismein na ho khoon-e-junoon
Toofaanon se kya lade jo kashti-e-saahil mein hai

Sarfaroshi ki tamanna ab hamaare dil mein hai.
Dekhna hai zor kitna baazuay qaatil mein hai.

And, here is the translation

The desire for revolution is in our hearts
Let us see what strength there is in the arms of our executioner

Why do you remain silent thus?
Whoever I see, is gathered quiet so…
O martyr of country, of nation, I submit myself to thee
For yet even the enemy speaks of thy courage
The desire for struggle is in our hearts…

When the time comes, we shall show thee, O heaven
For why should we tell thee now, what lurks in our hearts?
We have been dragged to service, by the hope of blood, of vengeance
Yea, by our love for nation divine, we go to the streets of the enemy
The desire for struggle is in our hearts…

Armed does the enemy sit, ready to open fire
Ready too are we, our bosoms thrust out to him
With blood we shall play Holi, if our nation need us
The desire for struggle is in our hearts…

No sword can sever hands that have the heat of battle within,
No threat can bow heads that have risen so…
Yea, for in our insides has risen a flame,
and the desire for struggle is in our hearts…

Set we out from our homes, our heads shrouded with cloth,
Taking our lives in our hands, do we march so…
In our assembly of death, life is now but a guest
The desire for struggle is in our hearts…

Stands the enemy in the gallows thus, asking,
Does anyone wish to bear testimony?…
With a host of storms in our heart, and with revolution in our breath,
We shall knock the enemy cold, and no one shall stop us…

What is that body that does not have hot blood in it,
How can a person conquer a Typhoon while sitting in a boat near the shore.

The desire for struggle is in our hearts,
We shall now see what strength there is in the boughs of the enemy.

In the 1965 movie Shaheed starring Manoj Kumar as Shaheed Bhagat Singh, this poem was composed in Raag Darbari by Prem Dhawan. Mohammad Rafi, Manna Dey and Rajendra Mehta sang it for Bhagat Singh, Rajguru and Sukhdev in the movie.

Please enjoy in Raag Darbari: Sarfroshi ki tamanna ab hamaare dil mein hai….

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bwuXM31XjPE

Song #2 O duniya ke rakhwaale….

I am sure you enjoyed my most favourite song in Raag Darbari: Bismil’s nazm: Sarfroshi ki tamanna ab hamaare dil mein hai.

Now, let me turn to Naushad whose composition in this Raag always leaves me spellbound. It is absolutely easy for you to guess it: Yes, it is from 1952 movie Baiju Bawra starring Bharat Bhushan and Meena Kumari. Naushad was the music director for several movies and each one of these, eg, Mughal-e-Azam, has songs composed in various Raagas. He received his only Filmfare award for Best Music Director for Baiju Bawra. Each one of those 13 songs was composed in some raaga or the other. Raaga Darbari Kanada occurs twice: once in this song that I am giving you, and once in the sargam by Ustad Amir Khan; it was a master-stroke by Naushad Ali to have roped in the great classical singers Ustad Amir Khan and DV Paluskar to sing in the movie.

The song that I have selected for you is: O duniya ke rakhwaale. To call it merely a song wopuld be insulting its lyricist, composer and most of all the singer: Mohammad Rafi. It is a cry of the heart by Baiju Bawra to God to give him that dard in his singing that would make him take on Tansen (coincidentally, the man who brought the Raag from the South!) and avenge his father’s death because of him. It is not one of the best of god of songs: Mohammad Rafi; it is indeed his best ever. No one has ever been able to raise his singing voice to that kind of high pitch as in the end of this song.

No, no one can write like Shakeel from Badayun in UP.

Please enjoy in Raag Darbari Kanada: O duniyaa ke rakhwaale….

bhagavaan, bhagavaan … bhagavaan
o duniyaa ke rakhavaale, sun dard bhare mere naale
sun dard bhare mere naale
aash niraash ke do ra.ngo.n se, duniyaa tuune sajaaI
nayyaa sa.ng tuufaan banaayaa, milan ke saath judaaI
jaa dekh liyaa harajaaI
o … luT gaI mere pyaar kii nagarii, ab to niir bahaa le
ab to niir bahaa le
o … ab to niir bahaa le, o duniyaa ke rakhavaale …

aag banii saavan kii barasaa, phuul bane a.ngaare
naagan ban ga_ii raat suhaanii, patthar ban gae taare
sab TuuT chuke hai.n sahaare, o … jiivan apanaa vaapas le le
jiivan dene vaale, o duniyaa ke rakhavaale …

chaa.nd ko Dhuu.NDhe paagal suuraj, shaam ko Dhuu.NDhe saveraa
mai.n bhii Dhuu.NDhuu.N us priitam ko, ho naa sakaa jo meraa
bhagavaan bhalaa ho teraa, o … qismat phuuTii aas na TuuTii
paa.nv me.n pa.D gae chhaale, o duniyaa ke rakhavaale …

mahal udaas aur galiyaa.n suunii, chup-chup hai.n diivaare.n
dil kyaa uja.Daa duniyaa uja.Dii, ruuTh gaI hai.n bahaare.n
ham jiivan kaise guzaare.n, o … ma.ndir girataa phir ban jaataa
dil ko kaun sambhaale, o duniyaa ke rakhavaale …

o duniyaa ke rakhavaale
rakhavaale
rakhavaale
rakhavaale … % (throat bleeding pitch !!)

https://youtube.com/watch?v=GygqxgYqwQc%3F

Song #3 Tora man darpan kehlaaye….

Meena Kumari was the one who was Gauri in Baiju Bawra whose song I have given you above. Talking about Meena Kumari takes me to her role in 1965 movie Kaajal. The bhajan that she sang in the movie is ranked amongst the best bhajans ever. Asha Bhosle sang it for her. The composer was my namesake Ravi. Lyrics are by another great lyricist: Sahir Ludhianvi.

Please enjoy in Raag Darbari Kanada: Tora man darpan kehlaaye….

praaNii apane prabhu se puuchhe kis vidhii paauu.N tohe
prabhu kahe tu man ko paa le, paa jayegaa mohe

torA man darpaN kahalAye – 2
bhale bure sAre karmo.n ko, dekhe aur dikhAye
torA man darpaN kahalAye – 2

man hI devatA, man hI Ish{}var, man se ba.DA na koy
man ujiyArA jab jab phaile, jag ujiyArA hoy
is ujale darpaN pe prANI, dhUl na jamane pAye
torA man darpaN kahalAye – 2

sukh kI kaliyA.N, dukh ke kA.nTe, man sabakA AdhAr
man se koI bAt chhupe nA, man ke nain hazAr
jag se chAhe bhAg lo koI, man se bhAg na pAye
torA man darpaN kahalAye – 2

tan kii daulat Dhalatii chhaayaa man kaa dhan anamol
tan ke kaaraN man ke dhan ko mat maaTi mein rau.nd
man kii qadar bhulaanevaalaa viiraa.N janam gavaaye
torA man darpaN kahalAye – 2

https://youtube.com/watch?v=c44Ah24hr9M%3F

Song #4 Main nigaahen tere chehre se hataayun kaise….

Madan Mohan has composed remarkably beautiful songs in Raag Darbari; so beautiful that I would probably end up giving you quite a few.

Most of these are on the lyrics of Raja Mehdi Ali Khan. This one sung by Mohammad Rafi for the 1964 movie Aap Ki Parchhayiyan (in which there is another one too: Agar mujhase mohabbat hai mujhe sab apane gham de do) is really one of the best of Rafi.

Dharmendra sings it in the movie for Shashikala.

Some people feel that the song has actually closeness to Raag Gara. There is nothing strange about that. Many of the Hindi songs, not being in pure Raaga, would have closeness to more than one Raaga.

Please enjoy in Raag Darbari: Main nigaahen tere chehre se uthaayun kaise….

mai.n nigaahe.n tere chehare se haTaa_uu.N kaise
lut ga_e hosh to phir hosh me.n aa_uu.N kaise

chhaa rahii thii terii mahakii hu_ii zulfo.n kii ghaTaa
terii aa.Nkho.n ne pilaa dii to mai.n piitaa hii gayaa
taubaa taubaa taubaa taubaa taubaa taubaa
vo nashaa hai ki bataa_uu.N kaise

merii aa.nkho.n me.n gile-shikave hai.n aur pyaar bhii hai
aarazu_e.n bhii hai.n aur hasarat-e-diidaar bhii
itane tuufaan mai.n aa.Nkho.n me.n chhupaa_uu.N kaise

shoK nazare.n ye sharaarat se na baaz aa_e.ngii
kabhii ruuThe.ngii kabhii mil ke palaT jaa_e.ngii
tujh se nibh jaa_egii mai.n in se nibhaa_uu.N kaise

https://youtube.com/watch?v=ADiu3W1vgOM%3F

Song #5 Dil Jalata hai to jalane de….

Lets now take this outstanding composition of Anil Biswas for Mukesh to sing. Mukesh was at that time copying KL Saigal. After he sang it and KL Saigal heard the song, he remarked, “I don’t remember having sung this song”!

The song is from the 1945 movie Pehli Nazar. It was written by Aah Sitapuri.

Please enjoy in Raag Darbari: Dil jalata hai to jalane de….

dil jalataa hai to jalane de
aa.Nsuu nA bahaa fariyaad nA kar
dil jalataa hai to jalane de

tU paradaa nashii.n kA aashiq hai
yuu.n naam-e-vafaa barabaad nA kar
dil jalataa hai to jalane de

maasuum najar ke tiir chalaa
bismil ko bismil aur banaa
ab sharm-o-hayaa ke parade me.n
yuu.n chhup chhup ke bedaad nA kar
dil jalataa hai to jalane de

ham aas lagaaye baiThe hai.n
tum vAdaa karake bhuul gaye
yA suurat aake dikhaa jaao
yA kaha do hamako yaad nA kar
dil jalataa hai, dil jalataa hai, dil jalataa hai …

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mJ5wi339HvE

Song #6 Ye hawa ye raat ye chandni….

Let me now give you a very popular number picturised on Dilip Kumar set in this Raag. It is from the 1952 movie Sangdil. The composer was Sajjad. So successful was he in this composition that Madan Mohan himself copied this!

Dilip Kumar is a rich, reckless guy in the movie who hates women except to use them as objects of desire. He sings this for an affluent woman in his party circle. However, the song has inspired a number of videos depicting his and Madhubala’s real love (she too acted in the movie!)

Rajinder Krishan penned the lyrics and Talat Mehmood sang it.

Please enjoy in Raag Darbari: Ye hawa ye raat ye chandini…

(ye havaa ye raat ye chaa.Ndanii
terI ek adaa pe nisaar hai ) – 2
mujhe kyuu.N nA ho terI aarazuu
terI justajuu me.n bahaar hai
ye havaa ye raat ye chaa.Ndanii

tujhe kyA khabar hai o bekhabar
terI ek nazar me.n hai kyA asar
jo gazab me.n aaye to kahar hai
jo ho meharabaa.n vo qaraar hai
mujhe kyuu.N nA ho terI aarazuu
terI justajuu me.n bahaar hai
ye havaa ye raat ye chaa.Ndanii

terI baat-baat hai.n dilanashii.n
koI tujhase ba.Dhake nahii.n hasii.n
hai.n kalii-kalii me.n jo mastiyaa.n
terI aa.Nkh kA ye khumaar hai
mujhe kyuu.N nA ho terI aarazuu
terI justajuu mai.n bahaar hai
ye havaa ye raat ye chaa.Ndanii …

https://youtube.com/watch?v=xQCMe6ZDifs%3F

Song #7 Tu pyaar ka saagar hai….

The royal court Raag Darbari that Tansen imported from the South, and that’s why it is called Darbari Kanada, is into its third day tonight here on Lyrical. We have so far taken up the compositions of Prem Dhawan, Naushad Ali, Ravi, Madan Mohan, Anil Biswas and Sajjad.

I must remind you at this stage and periodically that in Hindi movies it is very difficult to find pure Raaga compositions. My cover picture normally shows the composition that comes closest to the pure Raaga.

Let me start tonight by giving you one from Shankar Jaikishen. This is really a favourite of mine, as always, sung so well by Manna De. The lyricist was Shailendra whose birth anniversary we celebrated on 30th Aug.

The name of the movie is Seema starring Balraj Sahni and Nutan.

Please enjoy in Raag Darbari: Tu pyaar ka saagar hai….

tuu pyaar kaa saagar hai
terii ik buu.Nd ke pyaase ham
lauTaa jo diyaa tumane, chale jaaye.nge jahaa.N se ham
tuu pyaar kaa saagar hai …

ghaayal man kaa, paagal pa.nchhii u.Dane ko beqaraar
pa.nkh hai.n komal, aa.Nkh hai dhu.Ndhalii, jaanaa hai saagar paar
jaanaa hai saagar paar
ab tuu hi ise samajhaa, raah bhuule the kahaan se ham
tuu pyaar kaa saagar hai …

idhar jhuumatii gaaye zi.ndagii, udhar hai maut kha.Dii
koii kyaa jaane kahaa.N hai siimaa, ulajhan aan pa.Dii
ulajhan aan pa.Dii
kaano.n me.n zaraa kah de, ki aaye kaun dishaa se ham
tuu pyaar kaa saagar hai …

https://youtube.com/watch?v=e2D-kjOMNF0%3F

Song #8 Ghunghat ke pat khol re…..

Some of you understand this mood that I frequently get into of listening to bhajans; not to proclaim my being virtuous or anything like that, but, for the cleaning of my own soul.

I have posted this Meera bhajan many times. I am in love with it since the direction of the bhajan is to open the veil of one’s heart so as to receive God. I sometimes think how great Meerabai must have been to renounce her princely life in order to love Lord Krishna single mindedly. In this bhajan, she has actually given us the key to receive God: Ghuunghat ke pat khol re tohe piya milenge!

Music is that of Bulo C Rani and the singer is Geeta Roy (before she became Geeta Dutt). The movie is the 1950 movie Jogan starring Nargis in the title role and Dilip Kumar.

Please enjoy in Raag Darbari: Ghuunghat ke pat khol re tohe piya milenge…..

( ghuu.NghaT ke paT khol re
tohe piyaa mile.nge ) -2
ghuu.NghaT ke paT khol re

( ghaT-ghaT me.n tore
saa_ii.n basat hai.n ) -2
kaThuu bachan mat bol re
tohe piyaa mile.nge
ghuu.NghaT ke paT khol re
tohe piyaa mile.nge
ghuu.NghaT ke paT khol re

dhan-joban kaa garb na kiije -2
jhuuThaa inakaa mol re
tohe piyaa mile.nge
ghuu.NghaT ke paT khol re
tohe piyaa mile.nge
ghuu.NghaT ke paT khol re

jaa ke jatan se ra.ng-mahal me.n -2
piyaa paayo anamol re
ghuu.NghaT ke paT khol re
tohe piyaa mile.nge
ghuu.NghaT ke paT khol re

suune mandir
suune mandir diyaa jalaa ke -2
aasan se mat Dol re
tohe piyaa mile.nge
ghuu.NghaT ke paT khol re
tohe piyaa mile.nge
ghuu.NghaT ke paT khol re

https://youtube.com/watch?v=9yZOArXPlP8%3F

Song #09 Satyam shivam sundaram….

In keeping with the mood of tonight, let me give you one last bhajan penned by Pandit Narendra Sharma for the 1978 movie Satyam Shivam Sundaram. Laxmikany Pyarelal composed it in Raag Drabari and Lata Mangeshkar sang it for Zeenat Aman

Please enjoy in Raag Drabari: Satyam shivam sundaram….

la: iishvar satya hai
satya hii shiv hai
shiv hii sundar hai
jaago uTh kar dekho
jiivan jot ujaagar hai

satyam shivam sundaram -2
ko: iishvar satya hai
satya hii shiv hai
shiv hii sundar hai
satyam shivam sundaram
la: satyam shivam sundaram -2

raam avadh me.n
raam avadh me.n kaashii me.n shiv kaanhaa brindavan me.n
dayaa karo prabhu dekhuu.N inako
dayaa karo prabhu dekhuu.N inako har ghar ke aa.Ngan me.n
raadhaa-mohan sharaNam
satyam shivam sundaram
aa.a
ko: satyam shivam sundaram

la: ek suurya hai
ek suurya hai ek gagan hai ek hii dharatii-maataa
dayaa karo prabhu ek bane.n sab
dayaa karo prabhu ek bane.n sab sabakaa ek se naataa
raadhaa-mohan sharaNam
satyam shivam sundaram -2
aa.a
ko: satyam shivam sundaram
la: iishvar satya hai
satya hii shiv hai
shiv hii sundar hai
ko: satyam shivam sundaram
la: aa.a

https://youtube.com/watch?v=BdU3qP5EYoY%3F

Song #10 Meri vinti suno Bhagwan….

Fourth day of Raag Darbari that Tansen imported from the South, and that’s why it is called Darbari Kanada. In the last three days, we have so far taken up the compositions of Prem Dhawan, Naushad Ali, Ravi, Madan Mohan, Anil Biswas, Sajjad, Shankar Jaikishen, Bulo C Rani and Laxmikant Pyarelal.

Lets start with Hemant Kumar today evening.

I have taken this song from 1956 movie Taj. Rajinder Krishan was the lyricist and Mohammad Rafi was the singer.

Please enjoy: Ab mori vinti suno bhagwan….

aaaa aaaa aaa aaa
aa aa aa aa aa
mori vinti suno bhagwaan
abb mori vinti suno bhagwaan
aaj meri tooti veena mein
phir se daaro praan
abb mori vinti suno bhagwaan
abb mori vinti suno bhagwaan

na maangoon yeh mahal khazaane
na maangoon yeh taaj
aaj bhare darbaar mein swaami
rakhiyo meri laaj
raagi ko bas saat suron ka aa
raagi ko bas saat suron ka
daata de vardaan
abb mori vinti suno bhagwaan
abb mori vinti suno bhagwaan
aaj meri tooti veena mein
phir se daaro praan
abb mori vinti suno bhagwaan
abb mori vinti suno bhagwaan

sooraj ki raftaar badal de
maan tu rakh le mera
jab tak toota saaz na boley
jag mein rahe andhera
shabnam se niklen angaare
daal daal jal jaaye
kaanton se bhar jaaye bagiya
reti phool khilaaye
jis jag mein sangeet nahin
woh ho jaaye shamshaan
woh ho jaaye shamshaan
woh ho jaaye shamshaan
woh ho jaaye shamshaan

Song #11 Toote huye khwaabon ne….

After Hemant Kumar, this evening, lets turn to Salil Choudhury. This is from the 1958 movie Madhumati, which was directed by Bimal Roy.

Madhumati (Vyjayanthimala) is the love of Anand (Dilip Kumar) who is an estate manager in the estate of Raja Ugra Narayan (Pran). Raja Ugra Narayan, in order to molest Madhumati, gets Anand out of the way by sending him on a tour. After Anand returns from the tour, he doesn’t find Madhumati and is sad. Little does he know that she has jumped off the roof of Raja’s palace after the Raja made an attempt to rape her. Anand in his down cast mood, enacts this song penned by Shailendra and sung for him by Mohammad Rafi.

Please enjoy in Raag Darbari: Toote huye khwaabon ne….

TuuTe hue Kvaabo.n ne, hamako ye sikhaayaa hai
dil ne, dil ne jise paayaa thaa, aa.Nkho.n ne ga.nvaayaa hai
TuuTe hue Kvaabo.n ne

ham Dhuu.NDhate hai.n unako, jo milake nahii.n milate
ruThe hai.n na jaane kyuu.N, (mehamaan mere dil ke – 2)
kyaa apanii tamannaa thii, kyaa saamane aayaa hai
dil ne, dil ne …
TuuTe hue …

lauT aaI sadaa merii, Takaraa ke sitaaro.n se
uja.Dii huI duniyaa ke, (sunasaan kinaaro.n se – 2)
par ab ye ta.Dapanaa bhii, kuchh kaam na aayaa hai
dil ne, dil ne …
TuuTe hue …

https://youtube.com/watch?v=i1LdlO_WzxI%3F

Song #12 Teri duniya mein dil lagata nahin….

For the last song of the evening composed in Raag Darbari and the last song in this part of the blog, lets turn to music director Roshan. This is from the 1950 movie Bawre Nain starring Raj Kapoor with Geeta Bali. The singing voice of Raj Kapoor in the movies, Mukesh, has sung this. Lyrics are by Kedar Sharma.

Please enjoy in Raag Darbari: Teri duniya mein dil lagata nahin waapis bula le…..

terii duniyaa me.n dil lagataa nahii.n, vaapas bulaa le
mai.n sajade me.n giraa huu.N, mujhako ai maalik uThaa le
terii duniyaa…

bahaar aaii thii kismat ne magar ye gul khilaayaa
jalaayaa aashiyaa.N saiyyaad ne, par noch Daale
terii duniyaa…

bha.Nvar kaa sar na chakaraae na dil laharo.n kaa Duube
ye kashtii aap kar dii maine tuufaa.n ke havaale
terii duniyaa…

https://youtube.com/watch?v=ddnvHPicOHo%3F

That brings us to the end of Part I of songs based on Raag Darbari. We started with the quiet resolve of Ram Prasad Bismil’s Sarfroshi ki tamanna ba hamaare dil mein hai, and ended with the lugubrious Teri duniya mein dil lagata nahin, one of the saddest songs of Mukesh.

Please await another bouquet of songs in Raag Darbari Kanada in Part II.

THE BEST RAAGA BASED SONGS IN HINDI MOVIES – RAAGA JHINJHOTI – PART II

I run a Facebook page called Lyrical wherein I often give theme based songs. The current theme, since 12th Aug 15, is The Best Raaga Based Songs In Hindi Movies.

On Lyrical, I am on the tenth Raaga: Raaga Jhinjhoti, that is. I am conscious that I have so far converted only two Raaga based song-posts on Lyrical into blogs; that is, Raaga Bhairavi (in three parts) and Raaga Yaman (in three parts) and that I still have to convert into blogs song-posts on Raaga Darbari Kanada, Bhimpalasi, Khammaj, Peelu, Pahadi, Kirwani, and Malkauns. However, I am straightway jumping to Raaga Jhinjhoti because I just finished with that and it is fresh in my mind.

This raga is considered as “Ashraya Raga” of Khamaj Thaat or Parental Scale. Since all the seven notes are used in the raga, its Jati is Sampoorna or heptatonic.
The seventh note Ni in this raga is Komal or Flat and the rest of the notes are Shuddha. The most important and prominent note in this raga is the “Ga” which is called the Vadi swar and the Samvadi swar or the supporting note is “Dha”.
The raga structure is more prominent in the lower octave and hence the improvisation of this raga is mostly done in the Mandra and Madhya Sthaans.
This raga is generally performed between10.00 p.m. and mid-night .

Being originally a late night Raaga, the songs based on this Raaga are very intense and soulful and full of self-pity, eg, Jehan Ara number: Teri aankh ke aansu pi jaayun aisi meri taqdeer kahan; or Pagla Kahin Ka number: Tum mujhe youn bhula na paayoge. As we go along, you will understand.

I seek your forgiveness that I am not able to give you the song depicted in the cover picture: Mere mehboob tujhe meri mohabbat ki kasam. This song is the reason why the raag is so dear to me. However, I have never considered myself big enough to be actually able to put up this song put together by Shakeel Badayuni, Naushad Ali and Mohammad Rafi. I consider it the best the Hindi films ever produced (its equivalent by Sahir and Roshan and Rafi, I have put up though there too I should have my emotional reasons not to).

Raag JhinjhotiSo far, in The Best Raaga Based Songs In The Hindi Movies – Raaga Jhinjhoti – Part I, we have taken up the following:

  1. Jaa jaa re jaa baalamwa.
  2. Tum mujhe youn bhula naa paaoge.
  3. Ghungroo ki tarah bajata hi raha hoon main.
  4. Koi hamdam na raha koi sahara na raha.
  5. Teri aankh ke aansu pi jaayun.
  6. Rehate the kabhi jinake dil mein.
  7. Chhup gaya koi re duur se pukaar ke.
  8. Teri aankhon ke siwa duniya mein rakha kyaa hai.
  9. Ek raat mein do do chand khile.
  10. Dil ke tukade huye aur jigar lut gaya.
  11. Chali pi ko milan.

Lets re-commence our journey into the best songs in Hindi movies based on Raaga Jhinjhoti.

Song #13 Kyaa se kyaa ho gaya, bewafa…

Here is a composition in this Raag by Sachin Dev Burman for 1965 Dev Anand classic that starred him with Waheeda Rehman. The movie’s story was written by RK Narayan and the movie transcends from Raju (Dev Anand) Guide to almighty, the ultimate Guide. Rosie (Waheeda Rehman) played wife to Marco (Kishore Sahu) and architect who was so involved in his work that he neglected her. She found acceptance by Raju who brought out her dancing talent in the open.

Raju, however, felt neglected when she emerged as a great and popular dancing star. Ultimately, he found acceptance from unexpected quarters: villagers who mistook him as a sage who would pray and fast for them to get them the rain that they so desperately wanted.

Shailendra as a lyricist and SD Burman as a music director brought each one of the emotions of Dev Anand and Waheeda Rehman as they went through the above screenplay in the form of songs.

This one brings out Dev Anand’s when he felt that he didn’t get his due from Waheeda (Nalini in her new avatar as dancer) after he gave up everything in her love.

Mohammad Rafi sang it for him. Do not forget the self-pity intrinsic in songs based on Raag Jhinjhoti.

Please enjoy in Raag Jhinjhoti: Kyaa se kyaa ho gaya bewafa tere pyaar mein….

kyaa se kyaa ho gayaa
bevafaa .a.a.a
tere pyaar me.n
chaahaa kyaa kyaa milaa
bevafaa .a.a.a
tere pyaar me.n

chalo suhaanaa bharam to TuuTaa
jaanaa ke husn kyaa hai
ho o o
chalo suhaanaa bharam to TuuTaa
jaanaa ke husn kyaa hai
kahatii hai jisako pyaar duniyaa
kyaa chiiz kyaa balaa hai
dil ne kyaa naa sahaa
bevafaa .a.a.a
tere pyaar me.n
chaahaa kyaa …

tere mere dil ke biich ab to
sadiyo.n ke faasale hai.n
ho o o
tere mere dil ke biich ab to
sadiyo.n ke faasale hai.n
yaqiin hogaa kise ki ham tum ik raah sa.ng chale hai.n
honaa hai aur kyaa
bevafaa .a.a.a
tere pyaar me.n
chaahaa kyaa …

https://youtube.com/watch?v=DPY4sg8QE70%3F

Song #13 Raat nikhari hui, zulfen bikhari hui….

Here is a very sensuous song composed by Usha Khanna for the 1960 movie Hum Hindustani that starred Sunil Dutt, Asha Parekh, Joy Mukherjee, Helen, Agha and Leela Chitnis; and picturised in the song on Joy Mukherjee and Helen. The singer was Mukesh and K Manohar penned the lyrics.

Hum Hindustani was produced by Joy Mukherjee’s uncle Sashadhar Mukherjee and directed by Ram Mukherjee. The film depicts clash between the then modern Indian youth and feudalism. It had a very popular song seeped in the enthusiastic optimism of the youth to be able to bring about a change: Chhodo kal ki baaten, kal ki baat purani, naye daur pe likhenge hum, mil kar nayi kahaani, Hum Hindusyani.

Please enjoy in Raag Jhinjhoti: Raat nikhari hui, zulf bikhari hui…

(raat nikharii huii, zulf bikharii huii
har adaa terii phuulo.n kii Daalii
aaj subah nahii.n hone vaalii
aaj subah nahii.n hone vaalii) – 2

yah samaa tham gayaa, ye hasii.n adaae.n dekhake – 2
dha.Dakane.n so ga_ii.n, ye nashiilii aa.Nkhe.n dekhake
… dekhake …
raat nikharii huii …
raat nikharii huii …

ra.Ng bharii mastiyaa.N, ye bahaaro.n ke kaafile – 2
ham chale tum chale koii saath saath chal diye
… chal diye …
raat nikharii huii …
raat nikharii huii …

https://youtube.com/watch?v=WLCWWeHlBPU%3F

Song #14 Sanssar se bhaage phirte ho….

Talking about sensuousness of the last number from Hum Hindustani takes us to the 1964 movie Chitralekha starring Meena Kumari in her most sensuous role as the courtesan Chitralekha. The movie’s story was based on the novel by Bhagwati Charan Sharma. It depicted the love between the emperor Chandra Gupta Maurya and the courtesan Chitralekha nearly three and half centuries Before Christ.

So popular was the theme of the movie that it was remake of 1941 movie by Kidar Sharma (rare for a director remaking his own movie 23 years later!)

Ashok Kumar acted as Yogi Kumargiri and in this song Chitralekha taunts him for running away from the world (on sanyas) and hence unfit to find God! Sahir Ludhianvi‘s lyrics are simply awesome and so is the composition by Roshan. Lata Mangeshkar sang it.

Please enjoy in Raag Jhinjhoti: Sansaar se bhaage phirte ho, Bhagwan ko tum kyaa paayoge…

sansaar se bhaage phirate ho
bhagawaan ko tum kyaa paa_oge
is log ko bhii apanaa naa sake
us lok me.n bhii pachhataa_oge
sansaar se bhaage phirate ho

( ye paap hai kyaa ye puNy hai kyaa
riito.n par dharm kii mohare.n hai.n ) -2
riito.n par dharm kii mohare.n hai.n
har yug me.n badalate dharmo.n ko
kaise aadarsh banaa_oge
sansaar se bhaage phirate ho

( ye bhog bhii ek tapasyaa hai
tum tyaag ke maare kyaa jaano ) -2
tum tyaag ke maare kyaa jaano
apamaan rachetaa kaa hogaa
rachanaa ko agar Thukaraa_oge
sansaar se bhaage phirate ho

( ham kahate hai.n ye jag apanaa hai
tum kahate ho jhuuThaa sapanaa hai ) -2
tum kahate ho jhuuThaa sapanaa hai
ham janam bitaa kar jaaye.nge
tum janam ga.Nvaa kar jaa_oge

sansaar se bhaage phirate ho
bhagawaan ko tum kyaa paa_oge
sansaar se bhaage phirate ho

https://youtube.com/watch?v=pueoTXV6FLY%3F

Song #15 Taa thai taa taa thai….

We haven’t finished with the sensuous sub-theme under Raag Jhinjhoti. Sometimes, I wonder what would happen if I do not find all three songs that I post on Lyrical everyday on the same sub-theme!

This is from the 1971 movie Tere Mere Sapne starring Dev Anand, Mumtaz and Hema Malini. The movie’s story was based on the novel Citadel by AJ Cronin.

Being a Dev Anand movie, the music is by Sachin Dev Burman. Hasrat Jaipuri wrote the lyrics of this song and this sensuous dance number by Hema Malini was sung by Asha Bhosle.

Please enjoy in Raag Jhinjhoti: Taa thai taa taa thai….

thA thaI thatha thaI aththathaI thaI thaT
phirake pag jiyaa gaaye gaaye gaaye
thA thaI thatha thaI aththathaI thaI thaT
jaane nA huA mujhe kyaa phirake pag jiyaa gaaye gaaye gaaye
thA thaI thatha thaI aththathaI thaI thaT

mahakii rAho.n tak bahakatii chhaaho.n tak
piyaa kii baaho.n taq mujhe hai jaanaa
ghaTA aaye jhuk jhuk ke havaa chale ruk ruk ke
kare dil dhuk dhuk re gaalii maare tan
o jaane nA huA mujhe kyaa phirake pag jiyaa gaaye gaaye gaaye
thA thaI thatha thaI aththathaI thaI thaT

nA so_ii akhiyaa.N re rulaaye ratiyaa.n re
sataaye sakhiyaa.n re karuu.N hai mai.n kyA
zaraa balakhaake aa jaraa ghabaraake aa
zaraa laharaake aa dil hai pyAs
o jaane nA huA mujhe kya phirake pag jiyaa gaaye gaaye gaaye
thA thaI thatha thaI aththathaI thaI thaT

kah do sitaaro.n se kah do bahaaro.n se
kah do nazaro.n se hame.n vo dekhe.n nA
rijhaauu.Ngii pii ko manaauu.Ngii pii ko
sulaauu.ngii pii ko bichhaake nainaa
o jaane nA huA mujhe kya phirake pag jiyaa gaaye gaaye gaaye
thA thaI thatha thaI aththathaI thaI thaT

https://youtube.com/watch?v=QPuZ-FXzRr4%3F

Song #16 Phir teri kahani yaad aayi…..

Why do I have this unquenchable thirst to keep returning to Shakeel Badayuni and his mentor Naushad Ali every now and then? This blog itself has at least five articles on them.

This one is from their 1966 movie Dil Diya Dard Liya starring Dilip Kumar and Waheeda Rehman and Pran; the latter accounting for most part of the Dard that came the way of Dilip Kumar.

This one has been sung by Lata Mangeshkar and is amongst the best of the movie songs. Its popularity can be made out from the fact that the mukhada of the song became the name of a 1993 movie.

Please enjoy in Raag Jhinjhoti: Phir teri kahani yaad aayi….

phir terii kahaanii yaad aaI phir teraa fasaanaa yaad aayaa
phir aaj hamaarii aa.Nkho.n ko
phir aaj hamaarii aa.Nkho.n ko, ek Kvaab puraanaa yaad aayaa
phir terii kahaanii yaad aaI …

jalate hai.n chiraago.n kii suurat
har shaam terii ham yaado.n me.n
jab subah ko shabanam rotii hai
kho jaate hai.n ham fariyaado.n me.n – 2
jab dil ne koI aavaaz sunii
jab dil ne koI aavaaz sunii, teraa hii taraanaa yaad aayaa
phir terii kahaanii yaad aaI …

shaayad kabhii milanaa ho jaae
baiThe.n hai.n isii aramaan me.n ham
tuune to kinaare paa hii liye
ulajhe hai.n magar tuufaan me.n ham
ai jaan-e-vafaa phir aaj hame.n
ai jaan-e-vafaa phir aaj hame.n,
pichhalaa vo zamaanaa yaad aayaa
phir terii kahaanii yaad aaI …

https://youtube.com/watch?v=4zsjnE7CZmQ%3F

Song #17 Piya bin nahin aavat chaina…

As soon as you must have started listening to the last song: Phir teri kahani yaad aayi from 1966 movie Dil Diya Dard Liya, I am sure you must have remembered the self-pity atmosphere of Jhinjhoti.

I am now going to take you back all of eighty years; a little less than my mother’s age and in some of your cases, your grand parents age.

This is from the original Devdas movie made in 1935 based on Sharat Chandra Chattopadhyay’s novella by the same name. It starred KL Saigal as Devdas, Jamuna Barua as Parvati (Paro) and Chandrabati Devi as Chandramukhi. The movie was directed by Pramathesh Barua, Jamuna’s husband. He made the movie in Bengali, Hindi and Assamese.

Who evokes self-pity better than Devdas?

This song had Kedar Sharma‘s lyrics, Timir Baran‘s music and KL Saigal sang for himself.

Please enjoy in Raag Jhinjhoti: Piya bin nahin aavat chaina…

piyaa bin naa
bin naa hii.n aavat chainaa

piyaa bin naa naahii.n aavat chainaa

kaase kahuu.N jii ke bainaa
kaa
se kahuu.N
jii ke bainaa

piyaa bin naa aahii.n aavat chainaa

#‪#‎dialogue‬##

kaa se kahuu.N jii ke bainaa
piyaa binaa naahii.n aavat chainaa

https://youtube.com/watch?v=BOq9iHp-uQQ%3F

Song #18 Chali ban ke dulhan unase laagi lagan….

I am going to take you to the height of self-pity now, making some of you wonder that what you saw so far wasn’t the height after all!

This is from the 1952 movie Subah Ka Tara, a V Shantaram movie starring Pradeep Kumar and Jayshree. Jayshree plays the role of a young widow pursued by a young man (Pradeep Kumar) who falls in love with her but is unable to marry her due to societal norms and subsequently becomes insane.

If I were not to give you this background, you won’t understand the song and her acting in it. The song was penned by Noor Lucknowi, its music composed by C Ramchandra and sung by Lata Mangeshkar.

Please enjoy in Raag Jhinjhoti: Chali banke dulhan…

chalii ban ke dulhan unase laagii lagan moraa maike me.n jii ghabaraavat hai
moraa maane na man hai.n dvaare sajan moraa maike me.n jii ghabaraavat hai
chalii ban ke dulhan …

malake meha.ndii mai.n solah si.ngaar karuu.N aur si.nduur se apanii maa.Ng bharuu.N
Tiikaa maathe pe mohe suhaavat hai moraa maike me.n jii ghabaraavat hai
chalii ban ke dulhan …

duur kaa hai safar ko_ii saathii nahii.n hai akelii dulhan ko_ii baaraatii nahii.n
mohe jaane me.n ab bhay aavat hai moraa maike me.n jii ghabaraavat hai
chalii ban ke dulhan …

shaadiyaane kahii.n sab bajaate chale.n giit pii ke milan ke sunaate chale.n
Dolaa sasuraal ko moraa jaavat hai moraa maike me.n jii ghabaraavat hai
chalii ban ke dulhan …

https://youtube.com/watch?v=uhHcRVmnUdA%3F

Song #19 Mose chhal kiye jaaye….

The 1965 Dev Anand‘s classic movie Guide has two songs in Raag Jhinjhoti. One, I have already given you, viz, Kyaa se kyaa ho gaya that reflected his (Dev Anand’s feelings). The other one, the one that reflected Waheeda Rehman‘s feelings is: Mose chhal kiye jaa, which is not just a beautiful number but a lovely dance too.

Shailendra as lyricist, Sachin Dev Burman as music director and Lata Mangeshkar as singer have put this together.

Please enjoy in Raag Jhinjhoti: Mose chhal kiye jaaye….

mose chal kiye jaaye, haay re haay haay dekho sai.nyaa beimaan
sai.nyaa beimaan
mose chal, mose chal, mose chal kiye jaaye, haay re haay haay dekho haa.N
sai.nyaa beimaan

samajhaake mai.n to haarii
dhamakaaya ?, nii nii nii re re ga ga ma ma pa pa dha nii saa saa saa
samajhaake mai.n to haarii
haa.N dhamakaaya ?, aur karuu.N bhii kyaa
dekho moraa jiyaraa haa.N jiyaraa ta.Dapaaye, jiyaraa ta.Dapaaye
mohe haay haay dekho sai.nyaa beimaan
mose chal, mose chal, mose chal kiye jaaye, haay re haay haay dekho sai.nyaa
beimaan

man kaa hai bairii baala, dil jise de Daalaa, nii nii nii re re ga ga ma ma
pa pa dha nii saa saa saa
man kaa hai bairii baala, dil jise de Daalaa
haa.N dil jise de Daalaa
priit morii pal pal roye
ta.Dapaaye ta.Dapaaye tarasaaye, ta.Dapaaye tarasaaye
mohe haay haay dekho sai.nyaa beimaan
mose chal haa.N, mose chal, mose chal kiye jaaye, haay re haay haay dekho
haa.N sai.nyaa beimaan
(dekho sai.nyaa beimaan)-2
mose chal kiye jaaye, dekho sai.nyaa beimaan
haa.N beimaan, haa.N beimaan

https://youtube.com/watch?v=fKFv0lXyFE0%3F

Song #20 Sakhi re pi kaa naam, naam na puuchho….

Sometimes, I have heard, many friends bringing out the comparison between Lata Mangeshkar and other singers and how Lata Mangeshkar never allowed anyone else to come up on thier own. I, however, maintain that the young voice of Lata ji was a veritable delight to listen to.

I have already given you a beautiful dance number from the 1965 movie Guide. Here is one from 1964 movie Sati Savitri that had remarkably beautiful numbers such as Tum gagan ke chandrama, Itani jaldi kyaa hai gori saajan ke ghar jaane ki, and Jeevan dore tumhi sang bandhi.

Here is a delightful number penned by Bharat Vyas, music composed by Laxmikant Pyarelal and sung by her.

Please enjoy in Raag Jhinjhoti: Sakhi re pi ka naam, naam na poochho…

sakhi re, sakhi re
sakhi re pi ka naam, naam na pucho
sakhi re pi ka naam, naam na pucho
main kaise bataun ye kehte lajjaun
main kaise bataun ye kehte lajjaun
sakhi re pi ka naam, naam na pucho
sakhi re pi ka naam

jamuna kinare ek din main khadi thi
pehli ghata ke halki halki jhadi thi
kaise suhani anokhi gadi thi
palkhen utthi aur ankhiyan ladi thi
banaya tujko banwari bata de uska naam ri
sakhi re pi ka naam, naam na pucho
sakhi re pi ka naam, naam na pucho
main kaise bataun ye kehte lajjaun
main kaise bataun ye kehte lajjaun
sakhi re pi ka naam, naam na pucho
sakhi re pi ka naam

naina the jaise kamal ki panhkudiyan
baina the jaise ke bande bashuriya
roop tha jaise ke chanda gagan ka
rang tha bohar ki pehli kiran sa
bani tu jiski kaam ri bata de uska naam re
sakhi re pi ka naam, naam na pucho
sakhi re pi ka naam, naam na pucho
main kaise bataun ye kehte lajjaun
main kaise bataun ye kehte lajjaun
sakhi re pi ka naam, naam na pucho
sakhi ri pi ka naam

https://youtube.com/watch?v=DNstdJ0j3kM%3F

Song #21 Hum aaj kahin dil kho baihte….

We are coming to the last two songs in Raag Jhinjhoti. The first one is a rare one. It has Naushad‘s music but it has not been penned by Shakeel Badayuni; it has been penned by Majrooh Sultanpuri.

What is the other rare thing in the song? Well, it has been sung by Mukesh.

The name of this 1949 movie is Andaz starring Raj Kapoor, Nargis and Dilip Kumar.

Please enjoy in Raag Jhinjhoti: Ham aaj kahin dil kho baithe…

ham Aj kahI.n dil kho baiThe
yU.N samajho kisI ke ho baiThe
ham Aj kahI.n …

haradam jo koI pAs Ane lagA
bhed ulfat ke samajhAne lagA
nazaro.n se nazar kaa TakarAnA
thA dil ke liye ik afasAnA
ham hAtho.n se dil ko ga.nvA baiThe
ham Aj kahI.n …

A.Nkho.n me.n samAyA koI magar
kaun AyA kisI ko kyA ye khabar
pUchho to yahI hai usakA patA
cha.nchal nainA aur shokh adA
ham dil kI naiyyA Dubo baiThe
ham Aj kahI.n …

https://youtube.com/watch?v=nBseHpDcOFE%3F

Song #22 Aaj hai pyaar ka faisla ae sanam…

Finally, the last of best songs set in Raag Jhinjhoti.
Now this actually has almost the complete team that made the best songs in Hindi movies: Shakeel Badayuni as lyricist, Naushad Ali as Music Director, and Lata as a singer in a Dilip Kumar, Vyjayanthimala movie: the 1964 movie Leader that had such great songs as Apani azaadi ko ham hargiz bhulaa sakate nahin, Hamin se mohabbat hamin se ladaayi, Mujhe duniyawaalo sharaabi na samajho, Tere husn ki kyaa tareef karun and Wk Shahenshah ke banwa ke haseen Taj Mahal.

Here is the last composition in Raag Jhinjhoti: Aaj hai pyaar ka faisla ai sanam….

aaj hai pyaar kaa faisalaa ai sanam
aaj meraa muqaddar badal jaa_egaa
tuu agar sa.ngadil hai to paravaah nahii.n
mere naGamo.n se patthar pighal jaa_egaa

dekh mai.n huu.N ba.Dii choT khaa_e hu_e
tere qadamo.n me.n huu.N sar jhukaa_e hu_e
aa gale se lagaa le mujhe varanaa phir
baat rah jaa_egii vaqt Tal jaa_egaa
aaj hai pyaar kaa …

dil ko mere teraa dil nahii.n chaahi_e
aur sivaa isake kuchh nahii.n chaahi_e
tuune kar dii agar ik nigaah-e-qaram
meraa TuuTaa hu_aa dil sa.mbhal jaa_egaa
aaj hai pyaar kaa …

https://youtube.com/watch?v=YwNjURH4V5M%3F

That brings us to the end of the best songs in Hindi movies based on Raaga Jhinjhoti. I hope you liked the selection.

Next we shall take up songs based on Raaga Darbari Kanada.

THE BEST RAAGA BASED SONGS IN HINDI MOVIES – RAAGA JHINJHOTI – PART I

I run a Facebook page called Lyrical wherein I often give theme based songs. The current theme, since 12th Aug 15, is The Best Raaga Based Songs In Hindi Movies.

On Lyrical, I am on the tenth Raaga: Raaga Jhinjhoti, that is. I am conscious that I have so far converted only two Raaga based song-posts on Lyrical into blogs; that is, Raaga Bhairavi (in three parts) and Raaga Yaman (in three parts) and that I still have to convert into blogs song-posts on Raaga Darbari Kanada, Bhimpalasi, Khammaj, Peelu, Pahadi, Kirwani, and Malkauns. However, I am straightway jumping to Raaga Jhinjhoti because I just finished with that and it is fresh in my mind.

This raga is considered as “Ashraya Raga” of Khamaj Thaat or Parental Scale. Since all the seven notes are used in the raga, its Jati is Sampoorna or heptatonic.
The seventh note Ni in this raga is Komal or Flat and the rest of the notes are Shuddha. The most important and prominent note in this raga is the “Ga” which is called the Vadi swar and the Samvadi swar or the supporting note is “Dha”.
The raga structure is more prominent in the lower octave and hence the improvisation of this raga is mostly done in the Mandra and Madhya Sthaans.
This raga is generally performed between10.00 p.m. and mid-night .

Being originally a late night Raaga, the songs based on this Raaga are very intense and soulful and full of self-pity, eg, Jehan Ara number: Teri aankh ke aansu pi jaayun aisi meri taqdeer kahan; or Pagla Kahin Ka number: Tum mujhe youn bhula na paayoge. As we go along, you will understand.

I seek your forgiveness that I am not able to give you the song depicted in the cover picture: Mere mehboob tujhe meri mohabbat ki kasam. This song is the reason why the raag is so dear to me. However, I have never considered myself big enough to be actually able to put up this song put together by Shakeel Badayuni, Naushad Ali and Mohammad Rafi. I consider it the best the Hindi films ever produced (its equivalent by Sahir and Roshan and Rafi, I have put up though there too I should have my emotional reasons not to).

Raag JhinjhotiSong #1 Jaa jaa re jaa, baalamwa…

Having said that, let me give you my second choice of the best of Lata (the first is naturally Rasik balma). It is from the 1956 movie Basant Bahar. The movie starred Bharat Bhushan, Nimmi and Kum Kum in the lead roles. Have a look at the 9 songs of this super songs movie:

1. Badi Der Bhai Mohd. Rafi
2 Bhay Bhajana Vandana Sun Manna Dey
3 Duniya Na Bhaye Mohd. Rafi
4 Ja Ja Re Ja Balama Lata Mangeshkar
5 Kar Gaya Re Lata Mangeshkar, Asha Bhosle
6 Ketaki Gulab Juhi Manna Dey, Bhimsen Joshi
7 Main Piya Teri Lata Mangeshkar
8 Nain Mile Chain Kahan Lata Mangeshkar, Manna Dey
9 Sur Na Saje Manna Dey

If anyone were to listen to these nine, it would be a veritable treat. We chose the one in Raag Jhinjhoti.

Shailendra penned the lyrics of the first song that I have chosen for you. Shankar Jaikishen composed the music and I have already told you that it has been sung by Lata ji.Please enjoy in Raag Jhijhoti: Jaa jaa re jaa baalmwaa…..

jaa jaa re jaa, baalamavaa
sautan ke sa.ng raat bitaa_ii
kaahe karat ab jhuuTii batiyaa.N
jaa jaa re jaa, baalamavaa

Gair ke ghar karii raat jagaa_ii
mose kahe tere binaa nii.nd na aayii
kaiso harajaa_ii daiyyaa
jaa jaa re, jaa baalamavaa …

kaa.Ndhe lagaa laayii bindiyaa kisiikii
jaanuu.N mai.n churaayii tuune nindiyaa kisiikii
laaj na aayii tohe
jaa re jaa, jaa re jaa, jaa re jaa, baalamavaa …

https://youtube.com/watch?v=tDbmRcssXmA%3F

Song #2 Tum mujhe youn bhula naa payoge…

How many super hit movies have been directed by the Bengali director Shakti Samanta? By a rough estimate, he made a duper hit once every two years; films such as Howrah Bridge, China Town, Kashmir Ki Kali, An Evening in Paris, Kati Patang and Amar Prem.

He received Filmfare Awards for Best Film for Aradhana (1969), Anuraag (1973) and Amanush, which was also made in Bengali, a language in which he made six films, including an Indo-Bangladesh joint production in 1984.

Pagla Kahin Ka is a favourite of mine starring Shammi Kapoor, Asha Parekh, Helen and Prem Chopra. Indeed, Shammi Kapoor himself acknowledged that that was the most intense role that he ever did.

Shammi Kapoor is a mentally “insane” person (that’s why the title of the movie). But, as we go along, we realise that he is perhaps more sane than all the so called “sane” society around him.

Songs set in Raag Jhinjhoti tend to become immortal and this song fits the bill so eminently.

This has been put together by house-musicians of Kapoors: Shankar Jaikishen, the lyricist Hasrat Jaipuri and the god of songs: Mohammad Rafi.

Please enjoy in Raag Jhinjhoti: Tum mujhe youn bhula naa paayoge….

tum mujhe yU.N bhulaa naa paaoge
haa.N tum mujhe yU.N bhulaa naa paaoge
jab kabhii bhii sunoge giit mere
sa.ng sa.ng tum bhii gunagunAoge
haa.N tum mujhe yU.N bhulaa naa paaoge
ho tum mujhe yU.N …

(vo bahaare.n vo chaa.ndanii raate.n
hamane kii thii jo pyAr kii baate.n ) – 2
un nazaaro.n kii yaad aaegii
jab khayaalo.n me.n mujhako laaoge
haa.N tum mujhe yU.N bhulaa naa paaoge
ho tum mujhe yU.N …

(mere haatho.n me.n teraa cheharaa thaa
jaise koI gulaab hotaa hai ) – 2
aur sahaaraa liyaa thaa baaho.n kaa
vo shaam kis tarah bhulaaoge
haa.N tum mujhe yU.N bhulaa naa paaoge
ho tum mujhe yU.N …

(mujhako dekhe binaa qaraar naa thaa
ek aisaa bhii daur guzaraa hai ) – 2
jhUTh maanU.N to pUchhalo dil se
mai.n kahU.ngaa to rUTh jaaoge
haa.N tum mujhe yU.n bhulaa naa paaoge

jab kabhii bhii …

https://youtube.com/watch?v=3WQAfAfxFoI%3F

Song #3 Ghungru ki tarah bajata hi raha hoon main….

Intensity of feelings, soulfulness and self-pity are present in large measure in this song from 1974 movie Chor Machaye Shor picturised on Shashi Kapoor.

It is Ravindra Jain both as lyricist and music director. It was sad to let him go recently. The voice is that of Kishore Kumar and this must be amongst his best.

Please enjoy in Raag Jhinjhoti: Ghungru ki tarah bajata hi raha hoon main…

ghu.Ngharuu kii tarah bajataa hii rahaa huu.N mai.n
kabhii is pag me.n kabhii us pag me.n ba.Ndhataa hii rahaa huu.N mai.n
ghu.Ngharuu kii tarah …

kabhii TuuT gayaa kabhii to.Daa gayaa
sau baar mujhe phir jo.Daa gayaa
yuu.N hii TuuT-TuuT ke, phir juT-juT ke
bajataa hii rahaa huu.N mai.n
ghu.Ngharuu kii tarah …

mai.n karataa rahaa auro.n kii kahii
mere man kii ye baat man hii me.n rahii
hai ye kaisaa gilaa jisane jo kahaa
karataa hii rahaa huu.N mai.n
ghu.Ngharuu kii tarah …

apano.n me.n rahe yaa Gairo.n me.n
ghu.Ngharuu kii jagah to hai pairo.n me.n
kabhii mandir me.n kabhii mahafil me.n
sajataa hii rahaa huu.N mai.n
ghu.Ngharuu kii tarah …

https://youtube.com/watch?v=SRY4oEWaYsk%3F

Song #4 Koi hamdam naa raha, koi sahaara naa raha….

Lets now take up a song from the 1961 movie Jhumroo starring Kishore Kumar as Jhumroo and Madhubala as Anajana.

Anjana lives a wealthy lifestyle with her dad, Dwarka Nath (Jayant), in a hilly region in India. When she returns home after several years, she finds that her dad has become more strict and a disciplinarian, and even has his erring employees and villagers flogged. Then she meets with local villager, Jhumroo, and both fall in love with each other. Jhumroo takes her home to introduce her to his mom, Kamla (Lalita Pawar), who approves of her instantly. When Dwarka comes to know about this, he is enraged, and quickly announces her marriage with his Manager, Ramesh (Anoop Kumar). Jhumroo is heart-broken and goes to meet with Anjana, who does tell him that she loves him, but must obey her father. What Jhumroo and Anjana do not know is that she is not Dwarka’s daughter, but is the daughter of Kamla, and abducted at a very young age. The question remains what impact will this have on their lives when they find that they are brother and sister, and who actually did abduct Anjana?

The fact is that these stories get repeated in Hindi movies, once these are successful. The latter day movie with similar predicament of lovers Amitabh Bachchan and Saira Bano was 1975 movie Zameer. At Intermission both are faced with the harsh fact that they are brother and sister!

Jhumroo had another very beautiful song: Thandi hawa ye chandini suhaani and this one in Raag Jhinjhoti. It has Kishore Kumar’s voice on his own music. Lyrics are by Majrooh Sultanpuri.

On my cellphone I have a recording by Pancham that Kishore Kumar always wanted to sing this song since Pancham used to sing it. The latter told him that it has to be sung in 14 maatra. However, Kishore sung in his own way and it is one of his most memorable songs.

Don’t forget the self-pity that I told you about yesterday.

Please enjoy: Koi hamdam naa raha, koi sahaara naa raha….

ko_ii hamadam naa rahaa ko_ii sahaaraa na rahaa
ham kisii ke na rahe ko_ii hamaaraa na rahaa
ko_ii hamadam naa rahaa …

shaam tanhaa_ii kii hai aa_egii ma.nzil kaise -2
jo mujhe raah dikhaa_e vahii taaraa na rahaa
ko_ii hamadam naa rahaa …

ai nazaaro.n naa ha.Nso mil naa sakuu.Ngaa tumase -2
tum mere ho naa sake mai.n tumhaaraa naa rahaa
ko_ii hamadam naa rahaa …

kyaa bataa_uu.N mai.n kahaa.N yuu.N hii chalaa jaataa huu.N -2
jo mujhe phir se bulaa_e vo ishaaraa naa rahaa
ko_ii hamadam naa rahaa …

https://youtube.com/watch?v=TDPb2ShfjHo%3F

Song #5 Teri aankh ke aansu pi jaayun…

The theme of self-pity, the innate theme of Jhinjhoti continues even in this song from the 1964 movie Jahan Ara on the historical but tragic love story between Shahjahan’s daughter Jahan Ara (Mala Sinha) and Mirza Yusuf Changezi (Bharat Bhushan).

Misfortune visits the emperor Shahjahan, when his wife, Mumtaz Mahal (Achala Sachdev), passes away. The emperor gets deeply devastated, and, still mourning his wife’s death, he pledges to build a memorial in her name (which would subsequently be called Taj Mahal, one of the seven wonders on Earth). At her deathbed, Mumtaz makes Jahan promise that she will take care of her father, which she promises to do. This responsibility makes her sacrifice her love for Mirza, who is heartbroken and continues to believe that Jahan will sooner or later reunite with him.

So, Jahan Ara is kept captive in her own palace unable to meet Mirza and this song came about. It has lyrics by Rajinder Krishan and music by Madan Mohan. Talat has sung this for Bharat Bhushan acting as the Mirza.

Please enjoy in Raag Jhinjhoti: Teri aankh ke aansu pi jaayun aisi meri taqdeer kahan….

teraa GamaKvaar huu.N lekin mai.n tujh tak aa nahii.n sakataa
mai.n apane naam terii bekasii likhavaa nahii.n sakataa

terii aa.Nkh ke aa.Nsuu pii jaauu.n aisii merii taqadiir kahaa.N
tere Gam me.n tujhako bahalaauu.n aisii merii taqadiir kahaa.N

ai kaash jo mil kar rote, kuchh dard to halake hote
bekaar na jaate aa.Nsuu, kuchh daaG jigar ke dhote
phir ra.nj na hotaa itanaa, hai tanahaaI me.n jitanaa
ab jaane ye rastaa Gam kaa, hai aur bhii lambaa kitanaa
haalaat kii ulajhan sulajhaauu.N aisii merii taqadiir kahaa.N
terii aa.Nkh ke aa.Nsuu pii jaauu.N

kyaa terii zulf kaa leharaa, hai ab tak vohii sunaharaa
kyaa ab tak tere dar pe, detii he.n havaae.n paharaa
lekin hai ye khaam-o-khayaalii, terii zulf banii hai savaalii
mohataaj hai ek kalii kii, ik roz thii phuulo.n vaalii
vo zulfe.n pareshaa.n mahakaauu.n aisii merii taqadiir kahaa.N
terii aa.Nkh ke aa.Nsuu pii jaauu.N

https://youtube.com/watch?v=JBNQPynLoS8%3F

Song #6 Rehate the kabhi jinake dil mein….

And finally, tonight, the ultimate in self-pity, the theme of Hindi songs based on Raag Jhinjhoti. This is from the 1966 movie Mamta starring Ashok Kumar, Suchitra Sen and Dharmendra. I saw this movie on my computer just last night.

If you recall, I had given you a super song from this movie in Raag Yaman earlier that is one of the best of Hemant Kumar and Lata Mngeshkar: Chhupa lo youn dil mein pyaar mera.

Here is now the song in this Raag. Lyrics are by Majrooh Sultanpuri, composition is by Roshan and voice is that of Lata Mangeshkar.

Devyani (Suchitra Sen) is in love with Ashok Kumar (Monish Rai). He leaves for London to complete his studies to become a barrister. In his absence, however, extreme poverty drives her to marry Bipin Gupta (Kantilal) who marries her only to exploit her sexually and for monetary gains. She has a child from him (a girl). The moment Kantilal signs the release papers for her mother’s house, Devyani takes her child and runs away from Kantilal. Destiny brings her to a kind-hearted Chhaya Devi (Mina Bai) who converts Devyani into a tawaif Panna Bai. When Monish Bai returns from London he is still in love with her but doesn’t understand why she had to become a tawaif. Through a stranger, he invites her to his place so that her true identity as tawaif is revealed. That’s the time when she sings the song.

Please enjoy in Raag Jhinjhoti: Rehate the kabhi jinake dil mein…..

rahate the kabhii jinake dil me.n
ham jaan se bhii pyaaro.n kii tarah
baiThe hai.n unhii ke kuuche me.n
ham aaj gunahagaaro.n kii tarah – 2

daavaa thaa jinhe.n hamadardii kaa
khud aake na puuchhaa haal kabhii – 2
mahafil me.n bulaayaa hai ham pe – 2
ha.Nsane ko sitamagaaro.n kii tarah – 2
rahate the…

baraso.n se sulagate tan man par
ashko.n ke to chhii.nTe de naa sake – 2
tapate hue dil ke zakhmo.n par – 2
barase bhii to a.ngaaro.n kii tarah – 2
rahate the…

sau rup dhare jiine ke liye
baiThe hai.n hazaaro.n zahar piye – 2
Thokar naa lagaanaa ham khud hai.n – 2
giratii huii diivaaro.n kii tarah – 2
rahate the…

https://youtube.com/watch?v=szPnGL5y-gY%3F

Song #7 Chhup gaya koi re duur se pukaar ke….

I hope you are enjoying my selection of songs composed in Raag Jhinjhoti in which my all time favourite song and what I feel is the best in Hindi films is composed: Mere mehboob tujhe meri mohabbat ki kasam.

The last song Rehate the kabhi jinake dil mein picturised on Suchitra Sen has got me to another excellent song picturised on her. This time the composition is of my favourite Hemant Kumar for the 1957 movie Champakali that Suchitra did with Bharat Bhushan. Rajinder Krishan penned the lyrics and the voice is that of Lata Mangeshkar.

Please enjoy in Raag Jhinjhoti: Chhup gaya koi re duur se pukaar ke….

chhup gayaa koii re, duur se pukaar ke
dard anokhe haay, de gayaa pyaar ke
chhup gayaa …

aaj hai.n suunii suunii, dil kii ye galiyaa.N
ban gaI.n kaa.NTe merii, khushiyo.n kii kaliyaa.N
pyaar bhii khoyaa maine, sab kuchh haar ke
dard anokhe haay, de gayaa pyaar ke
chhup gayaa …

a.Nkhiyo.n se nii.nd gaI, manavaa se chain re
chhup chhup roe mere, khoe khoe nain re
haay yahii to mere, din the si.ngaar ke
dard anokhe haay, de gayaa pyaar ke
chhup gayaa …

https://youtube.com/watch?v=x5FkSvxnOqE%3F

Song #8 Teri aankhon ke siwa duniya mein rakha kyaa hai…

This Madan Mohan‘s composition is amongst the best that has been made on eyes. It has two versions: Mohammad Rafi‘s and Lata Mangeshkar‘s. Majrooh Sultanpuri penned the lyrics and the name of the movie is the 1969 film Chirag starring Sunil Dutt and Asha Parekh.

Please enjoy in Raag Jhinjhoti: Teri aankhon ke siwa duniya mein rakha kyaa hai…

terii aa.Nkho.n ke sivaa duniyaa me.n rakkhaa kyaa hai
ye uThe.n subah chale, ye jhuke.n shaam Dhale
meraa jiinaa meraa maranaa inhii.n palako.n ke tale
terii aa.Nkho.n ke sivaa …

(rafii)
palako.n kii galiyo.n me.n chehare bahaaro.n ke ha.Nsate hue
hai.n mere Kaabo.n ke kyaa-kyaa nagar iname.n basate hue
ye uThe.n subah chale …

iname.n mere aanevaale zamaane kii tasviir hai
chaahat ke kaajal se likhii huii merii taqadiir hai
ye uThe.n subah chale …

(lataa)
Thokar jahaa.N maine khaaI inho.nne pukaaraa mujhe
ye hamasafar hai.n to kaafii hai inakaa sahaaraa mujhe
ye uThe.n subah chale …

ye ho.n kahii.n inakaa saayaa mere dil se jaataa nahii.n
inake sivaa ab to kuchh bhii nazar mujhako aataa nahii.n
ye uThe.n subah chale …

https://youtube.com/watch?v=ZcS-Cx_yIwc%3F

Song #9 Ek raat mein do do chand khile…

Yesterday, 16th November was the birth anniversary of the composer Chitragupta Srivastava who gave us such melodies as Chhedo na meri zulfen sab log kyaa kahenge, Haay re tere chanchal nainva, Jay jay he Jagdambe mata, Laagi chhuute na, Muft huye badnaam, Teri duniyaa se duur chale hoke majbuur, and Muskarao ke ji nahin lagata.

Here is a very melodious duet by Lata Mangeshkar and Mukesh on the lyrics of Rajinder Krishan for the 1959 movie Barkha starring Nanda and Anant Kumar.

Please enjoy in Raag Jhinjhoti: Ek raat mein do do chand khile….

ek raat me.n do-do chaa.Nd khile
ek ghuu.NghaT me.n, ek badalii me.n
apanii apanii ma.nzil se mile
ek ghuu.NghaT me.n, ek badalii me.n
ek raat me.n do-do chaa.Nd khile …

badalii kaa vo chaa.Nd to sabakaa hai
ghuu.NghaT kaa vo chaa.Nd to apanaa hai
mujhe chaa.Nd samajhane vaale vataa
ye sach hai yaa sapanaa hai
ek raat me.n do-do chaa.Nd khile …

maaluum nahii.n do an_jaane
raahii kaise mil jaate hai.n
phuulo.n ko agar khilanaa ho
viiraane me.n bhii khil jaate hai.n
ek raat me.n do-do chaa.Nd khile …

https://youtube.com/watch?v=PaP962D-Mng%3F

Song #10 Dil ke tukade huye aur jigar lut gaya….

Mehboob Khan’s 1962 movie Son of India starred minor actors Kanwaljit, Simi Grewal and Kumkum. But, he retained the team that made super hit and memorable songs for his Mother India five years ago: Shakeel Badayuni as a lyricist, Naushad Ali as Music Director and Mohammad Rafi and Lata Mangeshkar as singers. Of course he had Shanti Mathur singing the iconic children’s song: Nanha munha raahi hoon. Just have a look at the list of songs:

1. “Aaj Chhedo Mohabbat Ki” Lata Mangeshkar 3:57
2. “Aaj Ki Taaza Khabar” Shanti Mathur 3:58
3. “Chal Diye Peeke Gham” Lata Mangeshkar 3:05
4. “Dil Todne Wale” Lata Mangeshkar, Mohammed Rafi 4:28
5. “Diya Na Bujhe Ri Aaj” Lata Mangeshkar, Chorus 3:14
6. “Insan Tha Pehle Bandar” Shanti Mathur 2:47
7. “Mujhe Huzoor Tum Se” Geeta Dutt 2:18
8. “Nanha Munna Rahi Hoon” Shanti Mathur, Chorus 4:13
9. “Zindagi Aaj Mere Naam” Mohammed Rafi 3:48

We have already concluded, with adequate evidence, that self-pity is the most important emotion of Hindi songs composed in Raag Jhinjhoti. Listen to the first song in the list picturised on Kumkum and reconfirm that finding.

Please enjoy in Raag Jhinjhoti: Aaj chhedo mohabbat ki….dil ke tukade huye…

aaj chhe.Do mohabbat kii shahanaa_iyaa.N
dil ke Tuka.De hu_e aur jigar luT gayaa
Gam kisii ko milaa aur kisii ko Kushii
ek ghar bas gayaa ek ghar luT gayaa
dil ke Tuka.De hu_e …

ek taraf apane Duube sitaaro.n kaa Gam
ek taraf apanii luTatii bahaaro.n kaa Gam
dil ke luTane kii kisase shiqaayat karuu.N
kuchh idhar luT gayaa kuchh udhar luT gayaa
dil ke Tuka.De hu_e …

kisako apanaa kahuu.N ab mai.n jaa_uu.N kahaa.N
ko_ii dekhe muhabbat kii majabuuriyaa.N
dil lagaayaa to dil kii Kushii miT ga_ii
sar jhukaayaa jo maine to sar luT gayaa
dil ke Tuka.De hu_e …

bujh gayaa dil ab roshanii kyaa karuu.N
le ke uja.Dii hu_ii zindagii kyaa karuu.N
dil kii qismat me.n likhii thii.n naakaamiyaa.N
laakh maine bachaayaa magar luT gayaa
dil ke Tuka.De hu_e …

https://youtube.com/watch?v=dNM_7vraYt8%3F

Song #11 Chali pi ko milan…

I give you the next song from the 1948 movie Ziddi, a movie that launched the career of three stars: Dev Anand, Kamini Kaushal and Pran.

Ziddi (English: Stubborn) is a 1948 Hindi film directed by Shaheed Latif. It was based on a story by Ismat Chughtai. The playback singers – Kishore Kumar and Lata Mangeshkar recorded their first duet – “Ye Kaun Aya Re” together in this 1948 film Ziddi.

The song that I have chosen for you has lyrics by Prem Dhawan and music by Khemchand Prakash. Shamshad Begum sang it.

Please enjoy in Raag Jhinjhoti: Chali pi ko milan, ban than ke dulhan….

chalii pii ko milan ban Than ke dulhan
jhan jhananan paayal gaavat hai
ab kaahe ko der karo rii sakhii
moraa maike me.n jiyaa ghabaraavat hai

mai.n to baabul se mukh mo.D chalii
viiran sa.ng naataa to.D chalii
us chhor kabhii jaa ke rii sakhii
koii lauT ke phir nahii.n aavat hai

kab diip jale bin baatii ke
kab raah kaTe bin saathii ke
ji saagar se bichha.De nadiyaa
us saagar me.n mil jaavat hai

https://youtube.com/watch?v=kDfOa79ZEDk%3F

That brings us to the half-way mark in my list of best Hindi songs based on Raag Jhinjhoti. Please await Part II of this blog for the remaining eleven songs.

“WE ARE ABOUT TO GET FULL OROP”

This is in good humour and should be read in that spirit only:

The year is 2023. In a solemn ceremony, veterans (those who are stll alive, that is) have gathered fondly at the venue of their fiercest and bitterest campaign field; not Kargil, not Poonchh or Khemkaran, not even at Siachen, but, at Jantar Mantar. They are celebrating the golden jubilee of their campaign to restore OROP that was taken away from them in 1973.

I am just about to touch seventy but there is still enthusiasm in covering mammoth events and rallies.

I overhear an old veteran telling another with immense satisfaction, “We were lucky that although we won the Kargil War in 1999, lost and wounded nearly 2000 soldiers and it was indeed a great victory, the government of India still didn’t punish us as they did after 1971 War.”

To this, one really old veteran, barely able to stand even with his walking stick, responds, “Indira Gandhi was different. Her way of rewarding the victors in war was to reduce their pensions. But, thankfully she didn’t follow in the footsteps of emperor Shahjehan who cut off the hands of the chief architect who made the Taj Mahal”.

Now, it is the turn of the first veteran to interject: “Yeah, she was a kind lady. No wonder the Congress refers to her as Priyadarshini (delightful to look at).”

They would have continued on and on like…like…well, like talking old soldiers but then Major General Satbir Singh, SM, OM, Retd., arrived at the venue. If you are wondering what OM is, it is an OROP Medal that the government introduced in the year 2016, just to keep the agitators in good humour. This medal, the government was proud of proclaiming, had been made after melting all the other medals that the veterans returned in end 2015, showing their displeasure at the government’s apathy towards veterans.

Soon after that babus, police and para-military personnel demanded OM to be given to them too. The government had tough time reasoning with them that they couldn’t have their cake and eat it too; or in other words, have OROP as well as OM. As always, babus, police and para military personnel were not convinced and demanded that the government should give them too adequate medals so that they too have something to return when they don’t get what they want.

General Satbir is old but his face still has that glow and his eyes still have the glint that only those have who believe in honest and straightforwardness and for the cause of their men more than for themselves.

The shouts of, “Sadda haq, itthe rakh” ( Our right, give it now) fill the air. It has been a great war-cry. JP Dutta, the veteran film-maker, in the year 2019 made a movie with this title. The movie had remake of a popular fauji song: ‘Sandeshe aate hain, hamen tadpaate hain’ to tell the plight of the veterans receiving messages from the Prime Minister Narendra Modi that finally the full OROP was just around the corner but the veterans still not seeing light across the tunnel.

image
Sandeshe aate hain, hamen tadpaate hain (Cartoon courtesy: sainikdarpan.blogspot.com)

It is 14th Aug 2023 and they find an extremely frail, 91 years old, Grenadier Vishambar Singh, stumbling across to the venue with a naked torso. General Satbir noticing him shirtless asks, “Vishambar ji aap shirt ghar bhool aaye, kyaa?” (Vishambar ji, you forgot your shirt at home, or what?)

Vishambhar replies, “Nahin saab ji; kal azaadi diwas hai. Aath saal pehle, aaj ke din, pulsiyon ne mil ke meri shirt faad di thi. Ab saab ji itane paise to nahin hai jo har saal nayi shirt banwaayun. Isliye ghar chhod ke aaya hoon.” (No, Sahib ji; tomorrow is the Independence Day. Eight years ago, the police tore my shirt (here). Now, Sahib ji, I don’t have enough money to buy a new shirt every year. That’s why I left it at home.)

Colonel Kaul whispers from behind General Satbir Singh, “Theek hai. But, we should be ashamed. Men are losing their shirts and sleep over OROP but the blasted OROP is nowhere in sight.”

General Satbir, “I have been told it is just around the corner now. They have nearly sorted out the VRS issue by coming up with a formula that decides your share of OROP depending upon your medical category, age, retirement age, rank and number of years left for superannuation. Of course, it would still be denied to you if you don’t follow the family planning norms. That’s the latest clause introduced by the babus“.

In the background, a reporter is heard talking to a Times of India reporter, “Massive rally by the veterans. I hope this time, at least; you are going to cover it”. The ToI reporter replies, “We have normally been giving it space next to the Obituary column as both are serious and dead issues. Let me see, if someone dies we shall give adequate cover to his body and to this grave issue”.

Just then a plush limousine slides to a halt in front of Jantar Mantar. A happy veteran alights in his worsted suit, gold tie-pin etc. All the other veterans are agog with envy and ask, “So, you actually got arrears of OROP, did you?”

“Nothing of that sort” the wealthy veteran replies, “I took General Satbir’s call for Black Diwali seriously. I invested, in the last eight years, money saved from lamps and crackers, in Narendra Modi’s Achhe Din Aa Rahen Hain Fund (Happy Days Are Coming Fund). The bourses gave me hundred to one on my betting correctly on the outcome of the promise and the fund. I also bought 100 shares of Mann Ki Baat Radio Services at 10 rupees a share. Each one is a lakh rupees a piece now.”

Ninety-one year old Vishambar starts crying uncontrollably. He lost his shirt for nothing.

OROP AGITATION AND THE AVERAGE INDIANS

Three days back, the veteran Indian born British actor Saeed Jeffrey passed away. I was reminded of this scene in Satyajit Ray’s 1976 movie Shatranj Ke Khiladi (The Chess Players) based on a story by Munshi Premchand. The scene is the last scene of the movie in which two rich noblemen of Awadh kingdom, Mirza Sajjad Ali (Sanjeev Kumar) and Mir Roshan Ali (Saeed Jeffrey) continue playing chess, a game they are obsessed with, even when a small boy alarmingly brings the news to them that just next to where they are engaged in their game of chess, British forces are marching to take over Awadh, without opposition.

Shatranj Ke Khilari kept playing chess even when the British Forces marched by to take over Awadd, unopposed
Shatranj Ke Khilari; they kept playing chess even when the British forces marched by to take over Awadh, unopposed

The story by Munshi Premchand and its outstanding portrayal by Satyajit Ray is a true reflection of the attitude of our countrymen in general and noblemen (the elite) in particular about matters concerning national security. They are the modern-day Noahs; the same Noah, who during the deluge, in a lighthearted ditty, was brought out with seemingly unconcerned repose:

“And Noah, he often said to his wife,
Whenever he sat down to dine,
“I don’t care where the water goes,
If it doesn’t get into the wine.”

And what about the government? A report in a national daily brought out that “the government is losing patience with the veterans”. How preposterous can that be? After 42 years of the government having snatched OROP from the veterans, after numerous promises by subsequent governments, after repeated recommendations of several committees including the 2011 Koshiyari Committee, after being passed by two parliaments and upheld by the Supreme Court of India, after five months of continuous agitation by the veterans, the government notifies a much truncated OROP, and – hold your breath – it is the government that is losing patience. The only analogy that comes to mind is that of a rapist complaining to a rape-victim about her crying.

The fact is that the government has already assessed that even after five months of agitation, neither the noblemen nor the countrymen appear to be bothered. Presently, the veterans are fighting a lone battle.

And in the meantime another Colonel (Colonel Mahadik) is killed in the valley bravely fighting the terrorists. But then, as one of the politicians said, “They are paid to die”. Who is really bothered? Also, in the meantime, in PM’s own state, last week, Army had to control even small scale riots that police and para-military forces couldn’t control. Armed forces are the preferred forces for disaster relief and even for law and order situations that someone else is paid to do. But, they do their job and are forgotten and no one is bothered.

We are all Shatranj Ke Khiladi; we don’t care as long as the water doesn’t get into our wine.

Another ludicrous statement attributed to the Raksha Mantri Shri Manohar Parrikar in a national daily was: Let the veterans prove that their agitation is not political. The pot calling the kettle black? As recently as 05 Sep 15, it is you and your government, Mr. Parrikar, who played politics with OROP by announcing it just before the Bihar elections; when there was no need for any such announcement since it was already passed by the parliament. The UPA government played politics with OROP all those four decades and just before the parliamentary elections. And, you, have the temerity to ask veterans to prove that their agitation is not political. Once again, you have assessed that our people are not concerned about the specifics of any issue. Hence, knowing anything about OROP would be beyond the grasp of average Indians. Why only politicians and bureaucrats? Even the Indian justice system works on the principle of delaying justice so long that it becomes fait-accompli.

image

The present government started off with the promise that it would be a government with a difference in its approach towards all issues concerning the nation and its citizens. So then, what appears to have gone wrong with the promise to implement the full OROP within 100 days of coming to power? Is it so helpless and, more importantly, blinded by the designs of the bureaucracy that it cannot trust its faujis against the same bureaucracy; especially when the Indian faujis have amply proved to be amongst the best in the world and the Indian babus have proved to be amongst the worst?

Or, is it that since the previous governments paid only lip-service to the OROP issue, this government, in a bid to take credit for finally having sanctioned the OROP, is losing patience with the veterans for denying it its carefully crafted moment of glory? If that is the case then hasn’t the government got itself to blame? Shouldn’t it have studied the issue independently rather than through the coloured glasses of the bureaucracy?

It is quite likely that the government must have by now realised that something that should have brought it enormous goodwill and credit seems to have backfired by its playing into the hands of the bureaucracy. In that case, rather than reinforcing an erroneous stand should it not do the honourable thing of exposing these wily babus and let the nation know that it made a mistake? I am sure the government would immediately win back the trust of the faujis. There is no glory in the government being at war with its own armed forces; and, even if the government wins, India and Indians lose though it may not be apparent to them straightway.

THE BEST RAAGA BASED SONGS IN HINDI MOVIES – RAAGA YAMAN – PART III

I run a Facebook page called Lyrical wherein I often give theme based songs. The current theme, since 12th Aug 15, is The Best Raaga Based Songs In Hindi Movies.

I have just finished for you The Best Raaga Based Songs In Hindi Movies – Raaga Bhairavi – Part I, Part II and Part III. Recently, I put up ‘The Best Raaga Based Songs In Hindi Movies – Raaga Yaman – Part I’,  and Part II.

What is the first thing that you think of when you think of Raag Yaman? Well, nine out of ten of us will think of evening time. Even though, in later times, Raagas could be performed any time of the day, traditionally, these were based on the time of the day. And, like Hemant Kumar would sing: Hum ne shaam chuni hai.

Yaman is a raag that emerged from the Carnatic Music, whereat it is known as Kalyani or Kalyan. It is such a basic Raaga that often it is the first Raaga that is taught to the students of classical music.

yamanIt is a sampooran (complete) raaga in that all the seven swar (heptatonic) are present in the raaga. The notes of the raaga are considered similar to the Western Lydian scale of tones.

There is some discussion about the origin of the name of the Raaga Yaman. Some say its origin is Persian ‘Ei’man’ whereas the others feel that its origin is Raag Yamuna (Lord Krishna used to call Radha at the banks of Yamuna in the evenings with his flute) and over a period of time, it transformed into Yaman. The raaga is also called Kalyan or Yaman-Kalyan. There are, of course, traditionalists who feel that these are separate raagas.

With this background, it would be right to say that just like Raag Bhairavi there are hundreds of Hindi songs that are based on Raag Yaman or Kalyan and we are certainly going to have great time.

Lets recommence our journey into Raag Yaman based songs.

In the last two parts, we have taken compositions by the following music directors:

  1. Sardar Malik (Saranga teri yaad mein).
  2. Pankaj Mullick (Do naina matwaare tihaare).
  3. Jaidev (Abhi na jaao chhod kar).
  4. Hemant Kumar (Woh shaam kuchh ajeeb thi).
  5. OP Nayyar (Savere ka suraj tumhaare liye hai).
  6. Madan Mohan (Bhuuli hui yaadon mujhe itana naa satayo).
  7. Naushad Ali (Dilruba maine tere pyaar mein).
  8. RD Burman (Is mod se jaate hain).
  9. Chitragupta (Jay jay he Jagdambe mata).
  10. Ghulam Mohammad (Inhi logo ne le leena).
  11. Dattaram (Aansu bhari hain ye jeevan ki raahen).
  12. Faiyyaz Shaukat (Har ek baat pe kehte ho ke tuu kyaa hai).
  13. Khemchand Prakash (Diya jalao jag mag jag mag).
  14. Roshan (Chhupa lo youn dil mein pyaar mera).
  15. Nisar Bazmi (Ranjish hi sahi dil hi dukhaane ke liye aa).
  16. Ravindra Jain (Jab deep jale aana).
  17. Shankar Jaikishen (Ehsaan tera hoga mujh par).
  18. Kalyanji Anandji (Chandan sa badan chanchal chitavan).
  19. Salil Choudhury (Aaansu samajh ke kyun mujhe).
  20. Anil Biswas (Seene mein sulgate hain armaan).
  21. Khaiyyam (Phir naa kijai gustaakh nigaahon ka gila).
  22. Ravi (Jiyo to aise jiyo jaise sab tumhaara hai).
  23. SN Tripathi (Lagata nahin hai dil mera).
  24. Rajesh Roshan (Ghar se nikalate hi).

Song #25 Woh jab yaad aaye bahut yaad aaye…

Here is our 25th music director composing in Raag Yaman or Kalyan: Laxmikant Pyarelal. I have several songs of their composed in this raaga to choose from; but, I have chosen this from the 1963 movie Parasmani as their best in this raaga. The movie starred Mahipal and Geetanjali in leading roles. Farooq Qaiser penned the lyrics and the song is one of the most remembered duets of Mohammad Rafi and Lata Mangeshkar.

Please enjoy in Raag Yaman: Woh jab yaad aaye bahut yaad aaye….

vo jab yaad aae bahut yaad aae
Gam-e-zi.ndagii ke a.ndhere me.n hamane
chiraag-e-muhabbat jalaae bujhaae

aahaTe.n jaag uThii.n raaste ha.ns diye
thaamakar dil uThe ham kisii ke liye
ka_ii baar aisaa bhii dhokhaa huaa hai
chale aa rahe hai.n vo nazare.n jhukaae

dil sulagane lagaa ashq bahane lage
jaane kyaa-kyaa hame.n log kahane lage
magar rote-rote ha.nsii aa ga_ii hai
Kayaalo.n me.n aake vo jab muskuraae

vo judaa kyaa hue zi.ndagii kho ga_ii
shammaa jalatii rahii roshanii kho ga_ii
bahut koshishe.n kii.n magar dil na bahalaa
ka_ii saaz chhe.De ka_ii giit gaae

https://youtube.com/watch?v=lJti8tOpG0o%3F

Song #26 Jo tum todo piya main nahin todu…

Lets now take a composition by Pandit Ravi Shankar for the 1979 movie Meera that starred Hema Malini in the title role. It is a famous Meerabai bhajan sung by Vani Jairam.

Please enjoy in Raag Yaman: Jo tum todo piya main nahin todu…

jo tum to.Do piiyaa mai.n nahii.n to.Duu.N re
tosaa priit to.D kR^ishhN kaun sa.Ng jo.Duu.N re

tum bhae motii prabhu ham bhae dhaagaa
tum bhae sonaa ham bhae suhaagaa

miiraa kahe prabhu brij ke baasii
tum mere Thaakur mai.n terii daasii

https://youtube.com/watch?v=GyVfwxJrWfA%3F

Song #27Aaye ho meri zindagi mein tum bahaar banake..

Okay, we are now on to relatively newer composer Nadeem Shravan who composed this song for the 1996 Aamir Khan and Karishma Kapoor movie Raja Hindustani.

It has Sameer‘s lyrics and Alka Yagnik and Udit Narayan have sung it.

Please enjoy the composition in Raag Yaman of our 27th Music Director Nadeem Shravan: Aaye ho meri zindagi mein tum bahaar banake….

aa_e ho merii zi.ndagii me.n tum bahaar ban ke
mere dil me.n yuu.n hii rahanaa tum pyaar pyaar ban ke
aa_e ho merii zi.ndagii …

aa.Nkho.n me.n tum base ho sapane hazaar ban ke
mere dil me.n yuu.n …

mere saathii mere saajan mere saath yuu.n hii chalanaa
badalegaa ra.ng zamaanaa par tum nahii.n badalanaa
merii maa.ng yuu.n hii bharanaa taare hazaar ban ke
mere dil me.n yuu.n …

gar mai.n jo ruuTh jaa_uu.n to tum mujhe manaanaa
thaamaa hai haath meraa phir umr bhar nibhaanaa
mujhe chho.D ke na jaanaa vaade hazaar karake
mere dil me.n yuu.n …

https://youtube.com/watch?v=r7cUMWxS6Xo%3F

Song #28 Badhe bhole ho hansate ho sunake duhaai…

Look at the popularity of this Raaga Yaman or Kalyan that we are on to our 28th music director composing in it. This is by Vasant Desai. This song is a Hindi version of Marathi song ‘tuzya preetiche he’ by Vasant Desai for film ‘Ramjoshi’. The name of this 1959 movie is Ardhangini, which is one of the several intense movies starring Meena Kumar and Raj Kumar like Dil Apana Preet Praayi.

It too has Majrooh Sultanpuri’s lyrics and Lata Mangeshkar’s voice. It is a Krishna vandana.

Please enjoy in Raag Yaman: Badhe bhole ho hansate ho sunake duhaai…

ba.De bhole ho, o …
ba.De bhole ho ha.Nsate ho sunake duhaaii
kanahaaii kanahaaii kanahaaii
ba.De bhole ho …

bhaage hai.n jag merii chhaayaa se duur
tan man meraa sab kii Thokar se chuur
phir phir ke phir tumare dar pe aaii
ho… phir phir ke phir tumare dar pe aaii
ba.De bhole ho ha.Nsate ho sunake duhaaii
kanahaaii kanahaaii kanahaaii
ba.De bhole ho …

jalate aa.Nsuu… jalate aa.Nsuu
jalate aa.Nsuu bhiige nayano.n kaa haar
dekhaa to hai sab kuchh tumane gopaal
phir tumarii akhiyaa.N hai.n kyuu.N musakaaii
ho… phir tumarii akhiyaa.N hai.n kyuu.N musakaaii
ba.De bhole ho… ho… ba.De bhole ho

kit jaauu.N o…
kit jaauu.N mai.n mukh to kholo zaraa
chor banake chup kyuu.N ho bolo zaraa
achchhii ye ba.nsii kii oTh lagaaii
ho… achchhii ye ba.nsii kii oTh lagaaii
ba.De bhole ho ha.Nsate ho sunake duhaaii
kanahaaii kanahaaii kanahaaii
ba.De bhole ho …

https://youtube.com/watch?v=pFBIFfJvZBo%3F

Song #29 Maangne se jo maut mil jaati…

I am now giving you the last of the music directors composing in this basic raag: Raag Yaman or Kalyan: Bulo C Rani.

It is from the 1966 movie Sunhere Qadam that starred Shashikala and Rehman. Lyrics were by Mahendra Pran and the singer is Lata Mangeshkar.

Please enjoy in Raag Yaman: Maangne se jo maut mil jaati….

maangane se jo maut mil jaatii, kaun jiitaa is zamaane me.n
dard hotaa naa bekalii ? hotii, dam naa ghuTataa yuu.N viiraane me.n
maa.Ngane se jo maut mil jaatii, kaun jiitaa is zamaane me.n

(aa.Nsuuo.n kii shamaa se gar Gam kii taariikiyaa.N miTatii)-2
tujh ko Kushiyo.n kii raushanii hotii zi.ndagii ke is fasaane me.n
maa.Ngane se jo maut mil jaatii, kaun jiitaa is zamaane me.n

(aarazuuo.n ke janaaze ko leke kaa.ndhe pe ham ghuume)-2
chalke manzil jo aaii milane ko, ham hii na rahe is zamaane me.n
maa.Ngane se jo maut mil jaatii, kaun jiitaa is zamaane me.n

https://youtube.com/watch?v=iKVTXhePlHs%3F

Song #30 Zindagi bhar nahi bhoolegi wo barsaat ki raat…

Now that we have finished with all the music directors who have composed songs in this raag, I shall present some top three directors who deserve to be given more than one song.

The first of this is Roshan. Earlier, we heard his song from Mamta: Chhupa lo youn dil mein pyaar mera. Now we take up his best composition in Raag Yaman.

This is from the 1960 movie Barsaat Ki Raat. Unlike Raj Kapoor’s first major directorial attempt of 1949 called Barsaat (which could have been called anything since it had nothing to do with Barsaat except for the songs), Barsaat Ki Raat actually revolves around those few minutes on a rainy night when Madhubala, taking shelter from sudden rain, accidentally bumps into Bharat Bhushan, her favourite poet. The entire movie, thereafter, revolves around those moments in Barsaat Ki Raat.

These are also some of the finest lyrics of Sahir Ludhainvi, comparable with best of Shakeel Badayuni: Mere mehboob tujhe meri mohabbat ki kasam.

Mohammad Rafi sings it first; and just like Mere Mehboob song, Lata Mangeshkar sings it later.

Please enjoy in Raag Yaman: Zindagi bhar nahin bhoolegi wo barsaat ki raat…..

zi.ndagii bhar nahii.n bhuulegii vo barasaat kii raat
ek a.njaan hasiinaa se mulaakaat kii raat
zi.ndagii bhar nahii.n bhuulegii …

haay vo reshamii zulfo.n se barasataa paanii
phuul se gaalo.n pe rukane ko tarasataa paanii
dil me.n tuufaan uThaate hue
dil me.n tuufaan uThaate hue haalaat kii raat
zi.ndagii bhar nahii.n bhuulegii …

Dar ke bijalii se achaanak vo lipaTanaa usakaa
aur phir sharm se balakhaake simaTanaa usakaa
kabhii dekhii na sunii aisii ho
kabhii dekhii na sunii aisii tilismaat ki raat
zi.ndagii bhar nahii.n bhuulegii …

surkh aa.nchal ko dabaakar jo nicho.Daa usane
dil pe jalataa huaa ek tiir saa chho.Daa usane
aag paanii me.n lagaate hue
aag paanii me.n lagaate hue jazabaat ki raat
zi.ndagii bhar nahii.n bhuulegii …

mere naGmo.n me.n jo basatI hai vo tasvIr thI vo
naujavAnI ke hasI.n Kvaab kI tAbIr thI vo
aasmano.n se utar aaI thI jo raat kI raat
zi.ndagii bhar nahii.n bhuulegii …

‪[lataa:]
zi.ndagii bhar nahii.n bhuulegii vo barasaat kii raat
ek a.njaan musaafir se mulaaqaat kii raat
zi.ndagii bhar nahii.n bhuulegii

haay jis raat mere dil ne dha.Dakanaa siikhaa
shoKh jazabaat ne siine me.n bhaDakanaa siikhaa
merii taqadiir me.n nikharii huii, ho
merii taqadiir me.n nikharii huii saramaat kii raat
zi.ndagii bhar nahii.n bhuulegii

dil ne jab pyaar ke ra.ngiin fasaane chhe.De
aa.Nkho.n aa.Nkho.n ne vafaao.n ke taraane chhe.De
soz me.n Duub gaii aaj vahii
soz me.n Duub gaii aaj vahii naGhamaat kii raat
zi.ndagii bhar nahii.n bhuulegii

[rafii]
ruuThanevaalii!
ruuThanevaalii merii baat pe maayuus naa ho
bahake bahake Khayaalaat se maayuus naa ho
khat_ma hogii naa kabhii tere, ho
khat_ma hogii naa kabhii tere mere saath kii raat
zi.ndagii bhar nahii.n …

https://youtube.com/watch?v=Hw3Cy3wVg0I%3F

Song #31 Tum bin jeevan kaise beeta….

I started this last part of Raag yaman by giving you a song by Laxmikant Pyarelal, viz, oh jab yaad aaye bahut yaad aaye. That time I mentioned that although I introduced the duo very late in the proceedings, they actually composed several songs in this Raag, eg, Jeevan dore tumhi sang bandhi, Tum gagan ke chandrama, and Tum bin jeevan kaise beeta. Lets listen to the last one.

I am going to give you this from 1965 movie Anita because of several reasons: One, it has been shot close to my home place Shimla. Two, the lyrics are by my second most favourite lyricist Raja Mehdi Ali Khan. Three, Mukesh has sung it so well.

Please enjoy in Raag Yaman: Tum bin jeevan kaise beeta puuchho mere dil se….

tum bin jiivan kaise biitaa,
puuchho mere dil se, puuchho mere dil se

saavan ke din aae, biitii yaade.n laae
kaun jhukaakar aa.Nkhe.n, mujhako paas biThaae
kaisaa thaa pyaaraa ruup tumhaaraa,
puuchho mere dil se, puuchho mere dil se
tum bin jiivan …

prem kaa saagar haay, chaaro.n taraf laharaae
jitanaa aage jaauu.N, gaharaa hotaa jae
Gam ke bha.nvar me.n, kyaa kyaa Duubaa,
puuchho mere dil se, puuchho mere dil se
tum bin jiivan …

jaise juganuu ban me.n, tuu chamake a.nsuvan me.n
ban kar phuul khilii ho, jaane kis bagiyan me.n
mai apanii kismat pe royaa,
puuchho mere dil se, puuchho mere dil se
tum bin jiivan …

https://youtube.com/watch?v=-c6iyy_Zpqg%3F

Song #32 Man re tu kaahe naa dheer dhare…

The 1964 movie Chitralekha had some of the finest numbers of Sahir Ludhianvi as lyricist and Roshan as Music Director. Two of these have been composed in Raag Yaman: Sansaar se bhaage phirte ho; and this one. I have chosen this one because of the excellent quality of singing by Mohammad Rafi singing playback for Pradeep Kumar.

Please enjoy in Raag Yaman: Man re tu kaahe na dheer dhare…

man re tuu kaahe naa dhiir dhare
vo nirmohii moh naa jaane, jinakaa moh kare
man re …

is jiivan kii cha.Dhatii Dhalatii
dhuup ko kisane baa.ndhaa
ra.ng pe kisane pahare Daale
rup ko kisane baa.ndhaa
kaahe ye jatan kare
man re …

utanaa hii upakaar samajh koI
jitanaa saath nibhaa de
janama maraN kaa mel hai sapanaa
ye sapanaa bisaraa de
koI na sa.ng mare
man re …

https://youtube.com/watch?v=aSRN316hGFA%3F

Song #33 Kabhi kabhi mere dil mein khayaal aata hai…

This has the genius of the lyrics of Sahir Ludhianvi and is a composition of Khaiyyam (earlier we took up Khaiyyam’s: Phir naa kijai meri gustaakh nigaahi kaa gila).

The song has been sung by Mukesh and Lata Mangeshkar separately.

Please enjoy in Raag Yaman: Kabhi kabhi mere dil mein khayaal aata hai..

kabhii kabhii mere dil me.n, Kayaal aataa hai
ke jaise tujhako banaayaa gayaa hai mere liye
tuu abase pahale sitaaro.n me.n bas rahii thii kahii.n
tujhe zamii.n pe bulaayaa gayaa hai mere liye
kabhii kabhii mere dil me.n, Kayaal aataa hai

kabhii kabhii mere dil me.n, Kayaal aataa hai
ke ye badan ye nigaahe.n merii amaanat hai.n
ye gesuo.n kii ghanii chhaa.Nv hai.n merii Kaatir
ye ho.nTh aur ye baahe.n merii amaanat hai.n
kabhii kabhii mere dil me.n, Kayaal aataa hai

kabhii kabhii mere dil me.n, Kayaal aataa hai
ke jaise tuu mujhe chaahegii umra bhar yuu.Nhii
uThegii merii taraf pyaar kii nazar yuu.Nhii
mai.n jaanataa huu.N ke tuu Gair hai magar yuu.Nhii
kabhii kabhii mere dil me.n, Kayaal aataa hai

kabhii kabhii mere dil me.n, Kayaal aataa hai
ke jaise bajatii hai.n shahanaaiyaa.n sii raaho.n me.n
suhaag raat hai ghuu.NghaT uThaa rahaa huu.N mai.n (2)
simaT rahii hai tuu sharamaa ke merii baaho.n me.n
kabhii kabhii mere dil me.n, Kayaal aataa hai

https://youtube.com/watch?v=dLjvPShWkos%3F

Song #34 Paan khayo sainyya hamaro…

The 1966 movie Teesri Kamam by lyricist Shailendra was a work of passion for him even though it wasn’t a commercial success. Raj Kapoor was the main protagonist in the movie directed by Basu Bhattacharya. Hiraman (Raj Kapoor) is a rustic villager, a bullock cart driver, from a remote village in Bihar. Hiraman takes two vows based on difficult situations in his life. He then meets and befriends Hirabai (Waheeda Rehman), a nautanki dancer. In the end, Hiraman takes a third vow never to be involved with a nautanki dancer.

Waheeda Rehman does several dances in the movie in a viallge repertory theatre. This was one of them. It has Shailendra’s lyrics, Shankar Jiakishen’s music and Asha Bhosle’s voice.

Please enjoy in Raag Yaman: Paan khayo sainyya hamaaro…

paan khaaye sai.nyaa.N hamaaro
saa.Nvalii suuratiyaa ho.nTh laal-laal
haay-haay malamal kaa kurataa
malamal ke kurate pe chhii.nT laal-laal
paan khaaye sai.nyaa.N hamaaro

( hamane ma.Ngaa_ii suramedaanii
le aayaa zaalim banaaras kaa zaradaa ) -2
aa
apanii hii duniyaa me.n khoyaa rahe wo
hamare dil kii na puuchhe bedardaa
puuchhe bedardaa

paan khaaye sai.nyaa.N hamaaro
hoy-hoy
saa.Nvalii suuratiyaa ho.nTh laal-laal
haay-haay malamal kaa kurataa
##laugh##
malamal ke kurate pe chhii.nT laal-laal
paan khaaye sai.nyaa.N hamaaro

( bagiyaa gun-gun paayal chhun-chhun
chupake se aa_ii hai rut matavaalii ) -2
aa
khil ga_ii.n kaliyaa.N duniyaa jaane
lekin na jaane bagiyaa kaa maalii
bagiyaa kaa maalii

paan khaaye sai.nyaa.N hamaaro
hoy-hoy
saa.Nvalii suuratiyaa ho.nTh laal-laal
haay-haay malamal kaa kurataa
malamal ke kurate pe chhii.nT laal-laal
paan khaaye sai.nyaa.N hamaaro

( khaa ke gilorii shaam se uu.Nghe
so jaaye wo diiyaa-baatii se pahale ) -2
haa
aa.Ngan-aTaarii me.n ghabaraa_ii Doluu.N
chorii ke Dar se dil moraa dahale
dil moraa dahale

paan khaaye sai.nyaa.N hamaaro
saa.Nvalii suuratiyaa ho.nTh laal-laal
haay-haay malamal kaa kurataa
##laugh##
malamal ke kurate pe chhii.nT laal-laal
paan khaaye sai.nyaa.N hamaaro

https://youtube.com/watch?v=pyhnIDiWSU8%3F

Song #35 Woh hans ke mile hamase…

We have taken up one of the compositions of this great music director in this raag: Savere ka suraj tumhaare liye hai. Here is one with his favourite lyricist SH Bihari (you may remember him from Kashmir Ki Kali). The name of this 1966 movie is Bharen Phir Bhi Aayengi starring Dharmendra, Tanuja and Mala Sinha. The movie had another beautiful number enacted by Dharmendra on piano and both Tanuja and Mala Sinha feel that he is singing for them.

This has, as with all songs of OP Nayyar with female voice, Asha Bhosle’s voice.

Please enjoy in Raag Yaman: Woh hans ke mile hamase…

vo ha.Ns ke mile ham se ham pyaar samajh baiThe
bekaar hii ulfat kaa izahaar samajh baiThe
vo ha.Ns ke mile …

aisii to na thii qismat apanaa bhii ko_ii hotaa -2
apanaa bhii ko_ii hotaa
kyuu.N Kud ko muhabbat kaa haqadaar samajh baiThe
vo ha.Ns ke mile …

ro_e.N to bhalaa kaise khole.n to zubaa.N kyuu.N kar -2
khole.n to zubaa.N kyuu.N kar
Darate hai.n ki jaane kyaa sa.nsaar samajh baiThe
bekaar hii ulfat kaa …

https://youtube.com/watch?v=pLwozZZaOP0%3F

Song #36 Jaa re badra bairi jaa re…

I end with the genius of Madan Mohan (earlier we took up Bhooli hui yaadon; and there are more such as Jiya le gayo ji mora saanwariya, and Zara si aahat hoti hai). This song has the best combination of Rajinder Krishan as lyricist, Madan Mohan as composer and Lata Mangeshkar as the singer.

The name of the movie is Bahana, a 1960 movie starring Meena Kumari and Sajjan.

Please enjoy in Raag Yaman: Jaa re badra bairi jaa re….

jaa re badaraa bairii jaa re jaa re
piyaa kaa sandesavaa laa re laa re laa re
jaa re badaraa bairii jaa re jaa re

pii ke daras ko jiyaraa tarase
pii kii khabariyaa laa re laa re laa re
jaa re …

kahiyo sajan se man kii batiyaa
ro ro haal sunaa
jaa re …

baaT takat morii haarii najariyaa
kab aaye.nge saa.Nvariyaa
mohe kyo.n sataaye paapii
shor machaaye jaa re
moraa saa.Nvariyaa laa re laa re laa re
jaa re …

https://youtube.com/watch?v=qMpfQzszkL8%3F

That brings us to the end of my choice of three dozen songs composed in Raag Yaman or Kalyan in Hindi movies.

We have so far taken up Raag Bhairavi and Raag Kalyan based songs. Our next Raag is a royal raag from the south of India: Raag Darbari Kanada. Please wait for that.

 

THE BEST RAAGA BASED SONGS IN HINDI MOVIES – RAAGA YAMAN – PART II

I run a Facebook page called Lyrical wherein I often give theme based songs. The current theme, since 12th Aug 15, is The Best Raaga Based Songs In Hindi Movies.

I have just finished for you The Best Raaga Based Songs In Hindi Movies – Raaga Bhairavi – Part I, Part II and Part III. Recently, I put up ‘The Best Raaga Based Songs In Hindi Movies – Raaga Yaman – Part I’. This is Part II.

What is the first thing that you think of when you think of Raag Yaman? Well, nine out of ten of us will think of evening time. Even though, in later times, Raagas could be performed any time of the day, traditionally, these were based on the time of the day. And, like Hemant Kumar would sing: Hum ne shaam chuni hai.

Yaman is a raag that emerged from the Carnatic Music, whereat it is known as Kalyani or Kalyan. It is such a basic Raaga that often it is the first Raaga that is taught to the students of classical music.

yamanIt is a sampooran (complete) raaga in that all the seven swar (heptatonic) are present in the raaga. The notes of the raaga are considered similar to the Western Lydian scale of tones.

There is some discussion about the origin of the name of the Raaga Yaman. Some say its origin is Persian ‘Ei’man’ whereas the others feel that its origin is Raag Yamuna (Lord Krishna used to call Radha at the banks of Yamuna in the evenings with his flute) and over a period of time, it transformed into Yaman. The raaga is also called Kalyan or Yaman-Kalyan. There are, of course, traditionalists who feel that these are separate raagas.

With this background, it would be right to say that just like Raag Bhairavi there are hundreds of Hindi songs that are based on Raag Yaman or Kalyan and we are certainly going to have great time.

Lets recommence our journey into Raag Yaman based songs.

Song #13 Diya jalao jag mag jag mag…

I have been dying to give you this song from the beginning. However, since I had already given you a KL Saigal number composed by Pankaj Mullick, I held back to give you another by KL Saigal. Nevertheless, this is by another music director Khemchand Prakash.

Of course, some of you have already guessed the number. It is from the 1943 movie Tansen in which KL Saigal did the title role. Pt Indra penned the lyrics.

Please enjoy in Raag Kalyan: Diya jalao jag mag jag mag…..

din suunaa suuraj binaa
aur chandaa bin rain
ghar suunaa diipak binaa
jyoti bin do nain

diyaa jalaao
jagamag jagamag diyaa jalaao (2)
diyaa jalaao (4)
jagamag jagamag diyaa jalaao (2)

saras suhaagan sunarii (4)
tere mandir me.n dekh a.ndheraa (2)
ruuTh na jaaye diyaa teraa (2)
aa~
diyaa jalaao (4)
diyaa manaao diyaa jalaao
diyaa manaao manaao jalaao
jagamag jagamag (2)
jagamag jagamag diyaa jalaao

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0PklcRlXinA

Song #14 Chhupa lo youn dil mein pyaar meraa….

How about the music director Roshan‘s composition in Raag Yaman or Kalyan? Well, there are several indeed. But, this one that I am giving you is special indeed. It has been sung by Hemant Kumar and Lata Mangeshkar; some of the best duets in Hindi movies have been sung by both of them. Here, they have sung for Ashok Kumar and Suchitra Sen respectively.

You have already guessed the name of the movie. But, for those who haven’t, let me tell you that it is 1966 movie Mamta. Majrooh Sultanpuri penned the lyrics of this outstandingly beautiful duet.

Please enjoy in Raag Yaman: Chhupa lo youn dil mein pyaar meraa……

chhupaa lo yuu.N dil me.n pyaar meraa
ke jaise ma.ndir me.n lau diye kii

tum apane charaNo.n me.n rakh lo mujhako
tumhaare charaNo.n kaa phuul huu.N mai.n
mai.n sar jhukaae kha.Dii huu.N priyatam – 2
ke jaise ma.ndir me.n lau diye kii

ye sach hai jiinaa thaa paap tum bin
ye paap maine kiyaa hai ab tak
magar hai man me.n chhavi tumhaarii – 2
ke jaise ma.ndir me.n lau diye kii

phir aag birahaa kii mat lagaanaa
ke jalake mai.n raakh ho chukii huu.N
ye raakh maathe pe maine rakh lii – 2
ke jaise ma.ndir me.n lau diye kii

https://youtube.com/watch?v=GXgKgZt9Jik%3F

Song #15 Ranjish hi sahi dil hi dukhaane ke liye aa…..

Even though this is not really a Hindi Movie song, I am tempted to give you my second most favourite ghazal by Mehdi Hasan (my most favourite is: Zindagi mein to sabhi pyaar kiya karte hain). The lyricist is Ahmed Faraz-Talib Baghpati and it is composed by Nisar Bazmi.

Please forgive me only for one detour from the declared title of ‘Best Raaga Based Songs in Hindi Movies’.

Please enjoy in Raag Yaman: Ranjish hi sahi dil hi dukhaane ke liye aa…..

ra.njish hii sahii dil hii dukhaane ke liye aa
aa phir se mujhe chho.D ke jaane ke liye aa

pahale se maraasim naa sahii phir bhii kabhii to
rasm-o-rah-e-duniyaa hii nibhaane ke liye aa

% The following one sher is not by faraaz but by Talib
maanaa ke muhabbat kaa chhupaanaa hai muhabbat
chupake se kisii roz jataane ke liye aa

kuchh to mere pi.ndaar-e-muhabbat kaa bharam rakh
tuu bhii to kabhii mujhako manaane ke liye aa

% The following one sher is not by faraaz but by Talib
jaise tujhe aate hai.n, na aane ke bahaane
aise hii kisii roz na jaane ke liye aa

% The following shers were not in the version I heard

ab tak dil-e-Kushafaham ko hai.n tujh se ummiide.n
ye aaKirii shamme.n bhii bujhaane ke liye aa

ik umr se huu.N lazzat-e-giriyaa se bhii maharuum
ai raahat-e-jaa.N mujhako rulaane ke liye aa

https://youtube.com/watch?v=cgKDqh2ccuU%3F

Song #16 Jab deep jale aana…

I have great pleasure in putting up this song from the 1976 movie Chitchor at this stage. The period 1975 to about 1980, just after I became a commissioned officer in the Indian Navy was the period when they brought in fresh faces in Hindi films: Farooq Sheikh, Amol Palekar, Smita Patil, Deepti Naval, Zarina Wahab, Naseeruddin Shah etc.

Chitchor had Amol Palekar and Zarina. Like Dosti, it was a Rajshri Production film directed inhouse by Tarachand Barjatya. When I saw the movie, I was stunned by the freshness of the story. Zareena Wahab’s family, who are in village Madhupur, are informed by her elder sister Meera who lives in Mumbai that an engineer would be coming to their village and they could assess him as a possible match for Zarina (Geeta). Amol Palekar (Vinod) duly arrives and the family and Zarina take liking to him. He even teaches Zarina how to sing and that’s how some beautiful classical raaga based songs came up including this one.

The family was in for a shock when they receive communication from Meera that the engineer Vijayinder Ghatge was delayed and would now arrive soon! They had already taken liking for Amol Palekar whom they now discover is only an overseer!

Ravindra Jain wrote these lovely lyrics. He composed the music too. Yesudas sang for Amol Palekar and Hemlata sang for Zarina Wahab.

Please enjoy in Raag Yaman Kalyan: Jab deep jale aana, jab shaam dhale aana……

jab diip jale aanaa, jab shaam Dhale aanaa
sandes milan kaa bhuul na jaanaa meraa pyaar naa bisaraanaa
jab diip jale aanaa …

nit saa.njh savere milate hai.n
unhe.n dekhake taare khilate hai.n
lete hai.n vidaa ek duuje se kahate hai.n chale aanaa
jab diip jale aanaa …

% ni re ga, re ga, pa ga re sa sa ni
% pa pa ma^, re (ga) , sa ni sa ga pa ma^ pa
% where ma^ is the tiivra madhyam and (ga) is re ga pa re ga in one beat.
nii re ga, re ga, ma ga re sa sa nii
pa pa ma, re ga, sa nii sa ga pa ma pa

mai.n palakan Dagar buhaaruu.ngaa
terii raah nihaaruu.ngaa
merii priit kaa kaajal tum apane naino.n me.n male aanaa
jab diip jale aanaa …

jahA.n pahalI baar mile the ham
jis jagah se sa.ng chale the ham
nadiyA ke kinAre aaj usI
amavA ke tale aanaa
jab diip jale aanaa …

https://youtube.com/watch?v=11yh-UCeev4%3F

Song #17 Ehsaan tera hoga mujh par….

Those of you who are perceptive would have noticed that I haven’t given you a single song by Shankar Jaikishen so far though I have given you as many as 16 songs in Raag Yaman by 16 different music directors. And it is not as if SJ didn’t compose in Yaman.

Here is one from 1961 movie Junglee starring Shammi Kapoor and Saira Bano. Hasrat Jaipuri penned the lyrics. Both Mohammad Rafi and Lata Mangeshkar sang it separately; but the composition is the same for both.

Please enjoy in Raag Yaman: Ehsaan tera hoga mujh par…

ehasaan teraa hogaa mujhapar, dil chaahataa hai vo kahane do
mujhe tumase muhabbat ho gaI hai mujhe
palako.n kii chhaa.No me.n rahane do

(tumane mujhako ha.nsanaa sikhaayaa – 2)
rone kahoge ro le.nge ham
aa.Nsuu kaa hamaare Gam naa karo
vo bahate hai.n to bahane do …

(chaahe banaa do, chaahe miTaa do – 2)
mar bhii gae to de.nge duaae.n
u.D-u.D ke kahegii Kaak sanam
ye dard-e-muhabbat sahane do …

https://youtube.com/watch?v=Zmh2Au15yfo%3F

Song #18 Chandan sa badan chanchal chitavan…

Okay, here is our 18th Music Director composing in Raag Yaman. Yes, I am talking about Kalyanji Anandji. This is from the 1968 movie Saraswati Chandra starring Nutan and Manish. Lyrics are those of Indeevar and the singer is Mukesh.

Please enjoy in Raag Yaman: Chandan saa badan chanchal chitavan dheere se tera ye muskaana…..

chandan saa badan cha.nchal chitavan
dhiire se teraa ye muskaanaa
mujhe doshh na denaa jag vaalo.n – (2)
ho jaauu.N agar mai.n diivaanaa
chandan saa …

ye kaam kamaan bha.Nve terii
palako.n ke kinaare kajaraare
maathe par si.nduurii suuraj
ho.nTho.n pe dahakate a.ngaare
saayaa bhii jo teraa pa.D jaae – (2)
aabaad ho dil kaa viiraanaa
chandan saa …

tan bhii su.ndar man bhii su.ndar
tuu su.ndarataa kii muurat hai
kisii aur ko shaayad kam hogii
mujhe terii bahut zaruurat hai
pahale bhii bahut mai.n tarasaa huu.N – (2)
tuu aur na mujhako tarasaanaa
chandan saa …

https://youtube.com/watch?v=O_ZFtaonBPQ%3F

Song #19 Aansu samajh ke kyun mujhe aankh se tune gira diya…

Salil Choudhary is often known as the music director who based his songs on western classical beats. However, his songs based on raagas are also classic. This is a favourite of mine. This is from the 1961 movie Chhaya and sung outstandingly well by Talat Mehmood for Sunil Dutt singing for Asha Parekh. Rajinder Krishan was the lyricist.

Please enjoy in Raag Yaman: Aansu samajh ke kyun mujhe aankh se tune gira diya….

aa.Nsuu samajh ke kyo.n mujhe aa.Nkh se tuune giraa diyaa
motii kisii ke pyaar kaa miTTii me.n kyo.n milaa diyaa
aa.Nsuu samajh ke kyo.n mujhe

naGmaa huu.N kab magar mujhe apane pe koii naaz thaa -2
gaayaa gayaa huu.N jis pe mai.n TuuTaa huaa vo saaz thaa
jis ne sunaa vo ha.Ns diyaa, ha.Ns ke mujhe rulaa diyaa
aa.Nsuu samajh ke kyo.N mujhe …

jo naa chaman me.n khil sakaa mai.n vo gariib phuul huu.N
jo kuchh bhii huu.N bahaar kii chhoTii sii ek bhuul huu.N
jis ne khilaa ke khud mujhe, khud hii mujhe bhulaa diyaa
aa.Nsuu samajh ke kyo.n mujhe

merii Kataa muaaf mai.n bhuule se aa gayaa yahaa.N
varanaa mujhe bhii hai khabar meraa nahii.n hai ye jahaa.N
Duub chalaa thaa nii.nd me.n achchhaa kiyaa jagaa diyaa
aa.Nsuu samajh ke kyo.n mujhe

https://youtube.com/watch?v=lkP1V-HjTyo%3F

Song #20 Seene mein sulagate hain armaan…

Another music composer that I haven’t given so far in Raag Yaman is Anil Biswas, the genius music director. This one is an all time favourite of mine sung as a duet between Talat Mehmood and Lata Mangeshkar singing for Dilip Kumar and Madhubala for the 1951 Taraana that brought out the best chemistry between the reel and real loving couple of those times until Madhubala’s father stood in the way of their real wedding.

Please remember that songs are, for me, chain reaction. My having put up a Talat Mehmood song just before this (Aansu samajh ke kyun mujhe) led to this.

It is a Prem Dhawan penned song from Taraana, which I saw recently to understand this much talked about chemistry.

Please enjoy in Raag Yaman: Seene mein sulagte hain armaan….

talat: sIne me.n sulagate hai.n aramaa.n
aa.Nkho.n me.n udaasI chhaaI hai
ye aaj terI duniyaa se hame.n
taqadIr kahaa.N le aaI hai
sIne me.n sulagate hai.n aramaa.n

latA: kuchh aa.Nkh me.n aa.NsU baakI hai.n
jo mere Gam ke saathI hai.n – 2
ab dil hai.n naa dil ke aramaa.n hai.n – 2
bas mai.n hU.N merI tanhaaI hai
sIne me.n sulagate hai.n aramaa.n

talat: na tujhase gilaa koI hamako
nA koI shikaayat duniyaa se
do chaar kadam jab manzil thii – 2
qismat ne Thokar khaaI hai
sIne me.n sulagate hai.n aramaa.n

lata: kuchh aisI aag lagI man me.n
jIne bhI naa de marane bhI naa de …
chup hU.N to kalejaa jalataa hai – 2
bolU.N to terii rusavaaI hai

both: sIne me.n sulagate hai.n aramaa.n

https://youtube.com/watch?v=GMlTeyN3zo4%3F

Song #21 Phir na kijai meri gustaakh nigaahon ka gila….

Frankly, the only song that goes well with the other two that I have put up above has been composed by an equally accomplished composer like Salil da and Anil Biswas before this. Yes, it is Khaiyyam. And, it was not my find. It is the find of a friend in my Facebook group Yaad Kiya Dil Ne for the singer Mukesh‘s Death Anniversary that day. It is a duet between him and Asha Bhosle.

Sahir Ludhianvi wrote these superb lyrics for the 1958 movie Phir Subah Hogi wherein he had another outstanding song: Wo subah kabhi to aayegi.

The song is picturised on Raj Kapoor and Mala Sinha.

Please enjoy in Raag Kalyan: Phir na kijai meri gustaakh nigaahon ka gila….

mukesh: phir nA kIjai merI gustaaK nigaaho.n kA gilaa
dekhiye aap ne phir pyaar se dekhaa mujhako
aashaa: mai.n kahaa.N tak ye nigaaho.n ko palaTane detii
aap ke dil ne ka_ii baar pukaaraa mujhako

mukesh: is kadar pyaar se dekho nA hamaarii jaanii
dil agar aur machal jaaye to mushkil hogii
aashaa: tum jahaa.N merI taraf dekh ke ruk jaaoge
vohii ma.njil merI taqadIr kii ma.njil hogii
mukesh: dekhiye aap ne phir pyaar se dekhaa mujhako
aashaa: aap ke dil ne ka_ii baar pukaaraa mujhako

mukesh: ek yuu.Nhii.n sI najar dil ko jo chhuu letii hai
kitane aramaan jagaa detii hai tumhe kyA maaluum
aashaa: rUh bechain hai kadamo.n se lipaTane ke liye
tumako har saa.Ns bulaatii hai tumhe kyA maaluum
mukesh: dekhiye aap ne phir pyaar se dekhaa mujhako
aashaa: aap ke dil ne ka_ii baar pukaaraa mujhako

mukesh: har nazar aap kii jazabaat ko ukasaatii hai
mai.n agar haath paka.D luu.n to khafaa mat honaa
aashaa: merI duniyaa-e-mohabbat hai tumhaare dam se
merI duniyaa-e-mohabbat se judaa mat honaa
mukesh: dekhiye aap ne phir pyaar se dekhaa mujhako
aashaa: aap ke dil ne ka_ii baar pukaaraa mujhako

https://youtube.com/watch?v=rau5gPhmYwE%3F

Song #22 Jiyo to aise jiyo jaise sab tumhaara hai…

The last three Raag Yaman based songs in this part. I am going to take up those music directors who have so far not figured in the list of composers put up by me for having composed in Raag Yaman.

The first is my namesake: Ravi

The name of this 1965 movie is Bahu Beti starring Joy Mukherjee and Mala Sinha. The lyrics were penned by Sahir Ludhianvi and Mohammad Rafi sang it.

Please enjoy in Raag Yaman: Jiyo to aise jiyo jaise sab tumhaara hai…

jiyo to aise jiyo jaise sab tumhaaraa hai
maro to aise ki jaise tumhaaraa kuchh bhii nahii.n

ye ek raaz hai ki duniyaa na jisako jaan sakii
yahii vo raaz jo zindagii se haasil hai
tumhii.n kaho ye raaz tumhe.n kaise samajhaa_uu.N
ke zindagii kii ghuTan zindagii kii qaatil hai
har ek nigaah ko ye qudarat kaa ishaaraa hai
jiyo to aise jiyo …

jahaa.N me.n aa ke jahaa.N se khi.nche-khi.nche na raho
vo zindagii hii nahii.n jisame.n aas bujh jaa_e
ko_ii bhii pyaas dabaa_e se dab nahii.n sakatii
isii se chain milegaa ki pyaas bujh jaa_e
ye kahake mu.Dataa hu_aa zindagii kaa dhaaraa hai
jiyo to aise jiyo …

ye aasamaa.N ye zamii.n ye fizaa ye nazaare
taras rahe hai.n tumhaarii ik nazar ke li_e
nazar churaa ke har ek shai ko yuu.N na Thukaraa_o
ko_ii shariiq-e-safar Dhuu.NDh lo safar ke li_e
bahut qariib se maine tumhe.n pukaaraa hai
jiyo to aise jiyo …

https://youtube.com/watch?v=dVDHTeRr8LQ%3F

Song #23 Lagata nahin hai jee mera ujhade dyaar mein….

We have heard Raag Yaman or Kalyan songs of 22 different music directors. Here is the 23rd: SN Tripathi.

This is actually the last Mughal Emperor Bahadur Shah Zafar‘s famous ghazal at the twilight of his life, for the 1960 movie Laal Qila. Mohammad Rafi has sung it so well that it has become immortal.

Please enjoy in Raag Kalyan: Lagata nahin hai jee mera ujhade dyaar mein….

lagataa nahii.n hai jii meraa uja.De dayaar me.n
kis kii banii hai aalam-e-naa-paayedaar me.n

bulabul ko baaGabaa.n se na saiyyaad se gilaa
qismat me.n qaid thii likhii fasal-e-bahaar me.n

umr-e-daraaz maa.Ng ke laaye the chaar din
do aarazU me.n kaT gaye, do i.ntazaar me.n

kah do in hasarato.n se kahii.n aur jaa base.n
itanii jagah kahaa.N hai dil-e-daaGadaar me.n

hai kitana badanasiib zafar dafn ke liye
do gaz zamiin bhii na milii kU-e-yaar me.n

https://youtube.com/watch?v=KiAfTauealQ%3F

Song #24 Ghar se nikalate hi, kuchh door chalate hi….

Here is the last of our famous composers who composed in Raag Kalyan or Yaman: the 24th one: Rajesh Roshan. It is from the 1996 movie Papa Kehte Hain starring Jugal Hansraj and Anupam Kher. Lyrics are by Javed Akhtar and voice is that of Udit Narayan.

Please enjoy in Raag Yaman: Ghar se nikalate hi, kuchh door chalate hi….

(ghar se nikalate hii, kuchh duur chalate hii
raste me.n hai usakaa ghar
kal subah dekhaa to bal banatii vo
khi.Dakii me.n aayii nazar) -2

maasuum chaharaa, niichii nigaahe.n
bholii sii la.Dakii, bholii adaaye.n
na apsaraa hai, na vo parii hai
lekin yah usakii jaaduugarii hai
diivaanaa kar ke vo, ek ra.Ng bhar ke vo
sharmaa ke dekhe jidhar
ghar se nikalate hii kuchh duur chalate hii
raste me.n hai usakaa ghar …

karataa huu.N usake ghar ke mai.n phere
ha.Nsane lage hai.n ab dost mere
sach kah rahaa huu.N, usakii kasam hai
mai.n phir bhii khush huu.N, bas ek Gam hai
jise pyaar karataa huu.N, mai.n jisape marataa huu.N
usako nahii.n hai khabar
ghar se nikalate hii kuchh duur chalate hii
raste me.n hai usakaa ghar …

la.Dakii hai jaise, koii pahelii
kal jo milii mujhako usakii sahelii
mai.nne kahaa usako, jaake yah kahanaa
achchhaa nahii.n hai, yuu.N duur rahanaa
kal shaam nikale vo, ghar se tahalane ko
milanaa jo chaahe agar
ghar se nikalate hii kuchh duur chalate hii
raste me.n hai usakaa ghar …

https://youtube.com/watch?v=arK4ybYfH4k%3F

With this we have finished with Part II of Best Raaga Yaman Based Hindi Songs. The last part, Part III, would have mixed bag of some of the other most popular songs composed in this popular raaga. Please wait for it.

NOISE IS THE NEWEST FORM OF DEVOTION

Life in the armed forces, as anyone would tell you, is tough. Armed forces are not a vocation but a way of life; and hence, one is on duty 24/7 throughout the year. You hardly have any family life. With the perpetual shortage of officers in the armed forces, you actually end up doing the work of your absent friends, in addition to your own. Hence, when you retire after nearly 37 years, as I did, all that you are looking for is some well deserved peace and quiet. You know that with your armed forces’ savings you cannot have too much of a comfort and would get just about 900 feet of accommodation poorly constructed house in an Air Force Naval Housing Board colony; poorly constructed being more a norm than an exception in AFNHB (Air Force Naval Housing Board) houses.

After retirement, I shifted to this flat I had bought through AFNHB  in installments. I soon found out that because of poor construction, most flats leaked and most flats had renovation going on even after eleven years of construction, causing perpetual noise of tile cutting and other machines especially on the weekends. Each one of us had to shell out more than one tenth of the original cost of the flats (available at the same rate as any accommodation in civil areas; thereby doing away with any advantage whatsoever for having found a flat through the armed forces) to leak proof the houses collectively. In addition, each one has spent more than twice the sum in leak-proofing bathrooms and other rooms. And this is for a housing colony in Indian Navy’s station whereat it has its premiere command.

To add to these woes is the fact that some denizens of our society love noise. Indeed, they have promoted, together with many people in modern India, noise as a form of devotion. They get very vociferous and violent if told to curb noise. Their reasoning is that the government, whilst respecting the sentiments of people (Please read: ‘Who Are The “People” Whose “Sentiments Need To Be Respected”?’) have permitted noise up to certain hours and hence they intend to make full use of those hours. Pleas to them that government orders only condone the noise but do not make it compulsory for people to have noise falls on – you guessed it – deaf ears (Please read: State Sponsored Noise). Reminders about the fact that throughout our fauji lives we never made religious noise in the open have no effect on them. When people all around you are making religious noise, you feel left out.

So, now, if there is one thing that the denizens of our colony guard fiercely, it is their right to make noise so that they won’t be seen as less religious in comparison to our neighbouring colonies who make unfettered noise during festivals. Indeed, it appears that if there is one thing that they ruefully missed whilst being in active service in the armed forces, it is noise. So, now that they have come out of the imposed discipline, they want to do with vengeance what they missed all these years.

20151017_09043020151017_09044920151017_090424Recently, when it was proposed that since ours is a colony that already has an indoor community hall for such purposes and that they don’t have to make noise in the open, they took their petition straight to God. It went like this:

God: You don’t have to rely on loudspeaker to make me hear your prayers. I can hear all my devotees even when they silently pray to me.

Noisy Devotee: We know it, God. But, we want people to hear our prayers DTH.

God: What is DTH, for heavens’ sake?

ND (looking shocked and surprised): You don’t have cable TV in heaven? DTH is Direct To Home. When we pray in the open with loudspeaker, people really don’t have to come to pooja pandal since they can hear it DTH. Also, God, what’s the point in praying to you unless maximum people come to know that we are praying to you. This cannot happen in indoor community hall. There only the devotees who are present can hear the prayers.

God: You appear to be confused; are you praying to me or to them?

ND: Don’t abandon us, God; already there are people who behave like as if they are God. Today they would ban noise; tomorrow they may have objection to our breathing too. Ham dharam ka satyanaash nahin hone denge.

God: I am not convinced. I think you are imposing your own style of worship on others who have a choice to worship me in their own quiet way.

ND: We beg you, God; don’t do that. There is hardly any religion left in this world. People hate you. We are the only ones who still have devotion for you; the noisier we are, the more godly we become and the closer we get to you.

God: Sorry. I made each one of my people in my likeness. I cannot make any special concessions for you because of your propensity to make loudspeaker noise.

ND (On his knees now): Please God, don’t take away from us our right to make noise. If you wish, take away anything else that you have given us or intend giving us. But, we are emotionally attached to having us heard on the loudspeakers.

God: You have too many issues; OROP for example…

ND (Eagerly): We can do without it, God. In any case, the politicians and bureaucrats took it away from us 42 years back. Noise is all that is left with us; something that we can call our own. What’s the point in living in a free country if you cannot make noise 15 days in a year?

God: You have water shortage in your colony; what about that?

ND: We are used to being without water. On our ships, water used to be available only once or twice a day for short durations. But, we cannot do without our right to make noise.

Listening to this conversation, I wonder what used to happen to devotion of people when loudspeakers were not invented. I also repeatedly ask myself in the nearly three  months of noise immediately after the rains ‘A Quiter Mumbai – Is It A Pipe Dream?’ It is not just 15 days of relentless noise, as ND told God; it is actually a full season of noise.

Deepawali, for example, used to be a festival of lights (Deep + Awali = Row of Lights) to commemorate our Lord Ram returning to Ayodhaya after 14 years of exile. In our colony, for the last six years that I have been here, it is no Deepawali but ‘Patakhawali and Bombawali That Has Nothing In Common With Depawali’. With incessant explosive detonations during the Diwali week or ten days (it is not a day’s festival in our colony), we often feel that we are ‘In The War Zone’.

IMG00730-20101106-0921 IMG00718-20101106-0905So, now that, about one fourth of the year is taken up by noise, the question is why don’t we raise our voice against this flagrant noise? You cannot raise voice against noise because that adds to the noise. We can only educate people about the ill effects of noise. Fortunately, in our colony, there are also many right minded people who are convinced that we need to carry these people too with us. Already, it has become a worrisome problem and people are engaged in finding solutions.

A number of solutions have been suggested:

  1. When you admonish children not to watch too much of television, the incorrect method is to just rhetorically keep telling them not to do so; the more you tell them, the more they want to watch. The best method is to create an alternative to television that adds to their learning as well as is equally entertaining. Similarly, some of the members have suggested that we engage the community in something constructive in the name of religion rather than in destructive crackers and noise.
  2. We have so much of poverty in our country and we have underprivileged children. We, as a colony, can sponsor anti-poverty programmes and programmes for the education of the underprivileged. We can collect funds to do so rather than wasting these on crackers and loudspeakers.
  3. We can educate the people that chanting hymns and mantras over loudspeakers is not the only method of devotion and worship. We can have indoor discourses about our religion, history and heritage and even plays and drama. After all, we are all religious in our own ways and not pagans.
  4. I am sure making noise in the name of religion or otherwise is a problem not only in our colony but also in thousands of colonies. Already, the High Courts are ruling that people can get together to have pooja pandals at a central place rather (to be shared by many colonies) than at hundreds and thousands of these places making cacophony that doesn’t help anyone. Noise by itself is bad. However, competitive noise that we have got used to now is really harming the society. Perhaps we should listen to the courts and not the politicians who have vested interests in promoting parochialism and religious noise.

When people get used to a way of doing things (Read: Whose God Is It Anyway?), it is generally very difficult to wean them away from their habits. As Abba Eban said: “History teaches us that men and nations behave wisely once they have exhausted all other alternatives”. For every argument that we present to them now, the noise-makers have a counter argument. They would probably listen after they have exhausted all such arguments.

I am, on the other hand, a great believer in the intrinsic goodness of people. I sincerely believe that we have all been made by God in His own likeness and that goodness finally prevails. I can only do my bit to nudge them in the right direction.

If you have any suggestions or even differences of opinion, please do write in the comments below.

THE BEST RAAGA BASED SONGS IN HINDI MOVIES – RAAGA YAMAN – PART I

I run a Facebook page called Lyrical wherein I often give theme based songs. The current theme, since 12th Aug 15, is The Best Raaga Based Songs In Hindi Movies.

I have just finished for you The Best Raaga Based Songs In Hindi Movies – Raaga Bhairavi – Part I, Part II and Part III. Now, I turn to our second Raaga Yaman.

What is the first thing that you think of when you think of Raag Yaman? Well, nine out of ten of us will think of evening time. Even though, in later times, Raagas could be performed any time of the day, traditionally, these were based on the time of the day. And, like Hemant Kumar would sing: Hum ne shaam chuni hai.

Yaman is a raag that emerged from the Carnatic Music, whereat it is known as Kalyani or Kalyan. It is such a basic Raaga that often it is the first Raaga that is taught to the students of classical music.

yamanIt is a sampooran (complete) raaga in that all the seven swar (heptatonic) are present in the raaga. The notes of the raaga are considered similar to the Western Lydian scale of tones.

There is some discussion about the origin of the name of the Raaga Yaman. Some say its origin is Persian ‘Ei’man’ whereas the others feel that its origin is Raag Yamuna (Lord Krishna used to call Radha at the banks of Yamuna in the evenings with his flute) and over a period of time, it transformed into Yaman. The raaga is also called Kalyan or Yaman-Kalyan. There are, of course, traditionalists who feel that these are separate raagas.

With this background, it would be right to say that just like Raag Bhairavi there are hundreds of Hindi songs that are based on Raag Yaman or Kalyan and we are certainly going to have great time for the next ten days or so.

Song #1 Saaranga teri yaad mein…

This was the song of the cover picture of Raag Yaman based songs on Lyrical.

It was penned by Bharat Vyas and Sardar Malik was the one who composed it in Raag Kalyan or Yaman. As you already know Sardar Malik is the father of present day composer Anu Malik. He was not counted as one of the top 5 composers of his times: Naushad, Shankar Jaikishen, SD Burman, C Ramchandra and OP Nayyar. However, this and a few other songs that he composed are memorable indeed. The singer was Mukesh.

The song is nostalgic for me. I was a seven years old in a colony in the city of Mandi in Himachal Pradesh. People in our colony had frequent get-togethers (my father was in the horticulture department). Sing song sessions were aplenty. I have listened to this popular song many times from one of my dad’s friends.

It is from the 1961 movie Saaranga starring Sudesh Kumar and Jayashree.

Please enjoy in Raag Yaman: Saaranga teri yaad mein….

saara.ngaa terI yaad me.n nain hue bechain
madhur tumhaare milan binaa
din kaTate nahii.n rain, ho~
saara.ngaa terI yaad me.n …

vo ambuvaa kA jhuulanaa, vo pIpal kii chhaa.Nv
ghuu.NghaT me.n jab chaa.Nd thA, meha.ndii lagI thI paa.nv
ho, (aaj uja.Dake rah gayaa – 2)
vo sapano.n kA gaa.Nv, ho …
saara.ngaa terI yaad me.n …

sa.ng tumhaare do gha.Dii, bIt gaye jo pal
jal bharake mere nain me.n, aaj hue ojhal
ho, (sukh leke duHkh de gayii.n -2)
do akhiyA.N cha.nchal, ho …
saara.ngaa terI yaad me.n …

https://youtube.com/watch?v=AXQgClapKYc%3F

Song #2 Do naina matvaare tihaare ham pe zulm karen….

I gave you Saaranga teri yaad mein as the very first song in Raag Yaman. The fact is that even a novice in Raagas, that’s what I am (since I am learning together with you), this was the first song that I became aware of the Raaga in which it was composed! This is the beauty of this fundamental Raaga.

I am compelled now to take you back straightway to KL Saigal who sang many a song in this basic Raaga. This one was composed by Pankaj Mullick for the 1944 movie Meri Behen or My Sister. Lyrics were penned by Pt. Bhushan. KL Saigal, as always, sang for himself in the movie. This is amongst his top ten numbers.

Please enjoy: Do naina matvaare tihaare ham pe zulm karen….

do nainaa matavaare tihaare – 2, ham par zulm kare
do nainaa matavaare tihaare – 2, ham par zulm kare

naino.n me.n rahe to, sudh budh khoye – 2
chhupe to chain hare
do nainaa matavaare tihaare – 2, ham par zulm kare

tan tan ke chalAe tIr, nas nas me.n uThAe pIr – 2
madabhare rasIle niThor ba.De, na Dare na dhar dhare
do nainaa matavaare tihaare – 2, ham par zulm kare

jab hotI ho tum us paar, nas nas me.n uThAe pIr – 2
man kI bInA ke baj uThate, jor jor se taar
do nainaa matavaare tihaare – 2, ham par zulm kare

paas Ae to aise bhUl gae, pal khyan me.n saba kuchh bhUl gae – 2
khushiyo.n ke sote ubal pa.De, har a.ng to ra.ng bhare
do nainaa matavaare tihaare – 2, ham par zulm karen

https://youtube.com/watch?v=T_URwqxX5lE%3F

Song #3 Abhi na jaayo chhod kar….

I am going to mix relatively newer with older songs composed in Raag Yaman Kalyan; if only for the fact that I saw this 1961 movie as late as last night on my computer. The music by Jaidev, the singing by Mohammad Rafi and Asha Bhosle, and the excellent lyrics by Sahir Ludhianvi need no reminder to tell you that it is an evening song, late evening that is.

It is, after all these years, still the number one duet between Mohammad Rafi and Asha Bhosle singing for Dev Anand and Sadhana. It is a duet that I heard live with my parents when I was samll.

Please enjoy in Raag Yaman: Abhi na jaayo chhod kar….

ra: abhii na jaao chho.D kar ke dil abhii bharaa nahii.n – (2)
abhii abhii to aaii ho – abhii abhii to
abhii abhii to aaii ho, bahaar banake chhaaii ho
havaa zaraa mahak to le, nazar zaraa bahak to le
(ye shaam Dhal to le zaraa – 2), ye dil sambhal to le zaraa
mai.n tho.Dii der jii to luu.N, nashe ke ghuu.NT pii to luu.N
nashe ke ghuu.NT pii to luu.N
abhii to kuchh kahaa.Nahii.n, abhii to kuchh sunaa nahii.n
abhii na jaao chho.Dakar ke dil abhii bharaa nahii.n

aa: sitaare jhilamilaa uThe, sitaare jhilamilaa uThe, charaaG jagamagaa uThe
bas ab na mujhako Tokanaa
bas ab na mujhako Tokanaa, na ba.Dhake raah rokanaa
agar mai.n ruk ga_ii abhii to jaa na paauu.Ngii kabhii
yahii kahoge tum sadaa ke dil abhii nahii.n bharaa
jo khatm ho kisii jagah ye aisaa silasilaa nahii.n
ra: abhii nahii.n abhii nahii.n
aa: nahii.n nahii.n nahii.n nahii.n
ra: abhii na jaao chho.Dakar ke dil abhii bharaa nahii.n

ra: adhuurii aas, adhuurii aas chho.Dake, adhuurii pyaas chho.Dake
jo roz yuu.Nhii jaaogii to kis tarah nibhaaogii
ki zi.ndagii kii raah me.n, javaa.N dilo.n kii chaah me.n
ka_ii muqaam aae.nge jo ham ko aazamaae.nge
buraa na maano baat kaa ye pyaar hai gilaa nahii.n
aa: haa.N, yahii kahoge tum sadaa ke dil abhii nahii.n bharaa
ra: haa.N, dil abhii bharaa nahii.n
aa: nahii.n nahii.n nahii.n nahii.

https://youtube.com/watch?v=9VlDX_U2PkI%3F

Song #4 Woh shaam kuchh ajeeb thi…

Just like Raag Bhairavi, for Raag Yaman too, we have already taken up three different music directors: Sardar Malik, Pankaj Mullick and Jaidev.

Now, I start with Hemant Kumar just to drive home the point regarding Yaman being a Raaga of the evening. This has some of the finest lyrics of Gulzar and Kishore Kumar‘s voice. You have already guessed it; but, for those who didn’t the song is from the 1969 movie Khamoshi.

This movie is often considered to be most successful film of Waheeda Rehman.

The film was shot in Calcutta. The film is based on Bengali short story titled, ‘Nurse Mitra’ by noted Bengali writer, Ashutosh Mukherjee, and is an almost frame by frame remake of director Asit Sen‘s own Bengali film, Deep Jwele Jaai (1959) starring Suchitra Sen.

Director Asit Sen (not to be confused with the actor-comedian Asit Sen) acted in the original Bengali film Deep Jélé Jaai (1959) in a role, which was essayed by Dharmendra in Khamoshi, where the movie-goers actually could not recognise him because it was a dark scene marked with the baritone voice of Hemant Kumar. Later he revealed himself in an interview in the 1990s. After his success in off-beat films, Mamta (1966) and Anokhi Raat (1968), Sen wanting to make it big in Bombay as well decided to remake his Bengali hit.

Actress Waheeda Rehman suggested the name of actor Rajesh Khanna, having been impressed by his work in Aakhri Khat (1966), though she later said, after the movie was released, that “he (Rajesh Khanna) was not mature enough to enact such a complex character” and that Sanjeev Kumar would have been a better choice. She also said that nobody could really hope to equal Basanta Choudhury in the Bengali original, and that her own performance came “nowhere near Suchitra Sen.” She credited the director for helping her lot during difficult scenes.

Please enjoy in Raag Yaman: Woh shaam kuchh ajeeb thi….

vo shaam kuchh ajiib thii, ye shaam bhii ajiib hai
vo kal bhii paas paas thii, vo aaj bhii kariib hai

jhukii huii nigaah me.n, kahii.n meraa Kayaal thaa
dabii dabii ha.Nsii.n me.n ik, hasiin saa savaal thaa
mai.n sochataa thaa, meraa naam gunagunaa rahii hai vo
na jaane kyuu.N lagaa mujhe, ke muskuraa rahii hai vo
vo shaam kuchh ajiib thii …

meraa Kayaal hai.n abhii, jhukii huii nigaah me.n
khulii huii ha.Nsii bhii hai, dabii huii sii chaah me.n
mai.n jaanataa huu.N, meraa naam gunagunaa rahii hai vo
yahii Kayaal hai mujhe, ke saath aa rahii hai vo

vo shaam kuchh ajiib thii, ye shaam bhii ajiib hai
vo kal bhii paas paas thii, vo aaj bhii kariib hai

https://youtube.com/watch?v=MDXFi3avqo0%3F

Song #5 Savere ka suraj tumhaare liye hai…

Just want to tell the patrons that all Shaam songs are not in Raag Yaman. For example, the Pushpanjali song sung by Manna De and Lata Mangeshkar that you all are so fond of: Shaam dhale Jamuna kinaare, aaja Radhe aaja tohe shaam pukaare has been composed in Raag Khammaj and we shall come to that when we take up that Raag.

Here is a different type of shaam song by the great music director OP Nayyar whose favourite Raag was Pilu or Peelu. In this song, through he has composed so well in Raag Yaman that one is stunned. The 1972 movie Ek Baar Muskara Do starred the two brothers Deb and Joy Mukherjee opposite Tanuja.

I would give full credit to Indeevar for the excellent lyrics and Kishore Kumar that he was able to sing so many different types of songs. In the last stanza, he does a high-pitch, a la Mohammad Rafi style.

Please enjoy this gem in Raag Yaman: Savere ka suraj tumhare liye hai…..

savere kA suuraj tumhAre liye hai
ye bujhate diye ko nA tum yaad karanaa
hue ek biitii huI baat ham to
koI aa.Nsuu ham par nA barabaad karanaa

tumhAre liye ham, tumhAre diye ham
lagan kI agan me.n abhii tak jale hai.n
hamaarii kamii tum ko mahasuus kyo.n ho
tumhaarii subah ham tumhe.n de chale hai.n
jo har dam tumhArI khushI chaahate hai.n
udaas hoke unako nA naashaad karanaa
savere …

sabhii vaqt ke aage jhukate rahe hai.n
kisI ke liye vaqt rukataa nahii.n hai
chiraaG apanii dharatii kaa bujhataa hai jab bhii
sitaare to ambar ke hote nahii.n hai.n
koI naav tuufaan me.n Duube to kyaa hai
kinaare to saagar ke hote nahii.n hai.n
kinaare to saagar ke hote nahii.n hai.n
hai.n ham Dolatii naav Duube to kyaa hai
kinaare ho tum, tum na fariyaad karanaa
savere kaa suuraj …

chaman se jo ek phUl bichha.Daa to kyaa hai
naye gul se gulashan ko aabaad karanaa
savere …

https://youtube.com/watch?v=m6Y55w1JMfw%3F

Song #6 Bhuuli hui yaadon mujhe itana naa sataayo….

As is to be expected, Madan Mohan composed a number of songs in Raag Yaman. My choice of the best by him in Raag Yaman or Kalyan is from the 1961 movie Sanjog starring Pradeep Kumar and Anita Guha. As is mostly the case with Madan Mohan songs, Rajinder Krishan was the lyricist.

This is one of the best of Mukesh too.

Please enjoy in Raag Yaman: Bhuuli hui yaado mujhe itana naa sataayo….

bhuulii huii yaado.n, mujhe itanaa naa sataao
ab chain se rahane do, mere paas na aao
bhuulii huii yaado.n …

daaman me.n liye baiThaa huu.N, (TuuTe hue taare – 2)
kab tak mai.n jiyuu.Ngaa yuu.Nhii, (khvaabo.n ke sahaare – 2)
dIvaanaa huu.N, ab aur naa dIvaanaa banaao
ab chain se rahane do, mere paas na aao
bhuulii huii yaado.n …

lUTo naa mujhe is tarah, (doraahe pe laake -2 )
aavaaz na do ek (nayI raah dikhaake – 2)
sa.nbhalaa huu.N mai.n gir-girake mujhe, phir naa giraao
ab chain se rahane do mere paas naa aao

bhuulii huii yaado.n, mujhe itanaa naa sataao
ab chain se rahane do, mere paas na aao
bhuulii huii yaado.n …
The Best Raaga Based Songs in Hindi Movies

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dzu4VKQ7nAE

Song #7 Dilrubaa maine tere pyaar mein kyaa kyaa na kiya…

Does it seem like I am ignoring Shakeel and Naushad? Well, you have another guess coming since I live by them all the time.

This is from the 1966 movie Dil Diya Dard Liya when love between Dilip Kumar and Waheeda Rehman had gone sour. Mohammad Rafi has sung this with so much of feelings that it is amongst his best.

Please enjoy in Raag Yaman: Dilrubaa maine tere pyaar mein kyaa kyaa na kiya….

dilarubaa maine tere pyaar me.n kyaa-kyaa naa kiyaa
dil diyaa dard liyaa -2
kabhii phuulo.n me.n guzaarii kabhii kaa.NTo.n pe jiyaa
dil diyaa dard liyaa -2

zindagii aaj bhii hai bekhudii aaj bhii hai
pyaar kahate hai.n jise vo Kushii aaj bhii hai
maine din-raat mohabbat kaa terii jaam piyaa
dil diyaa dard liyaa -2
dilarubaa maine tere …

kyaa kahuu.N tere li_e maine aa.Nsuu bhii pi_e
kabhii Kaamosh rahaa kabhii shikave bhii ki_e
kar liyaa chaaq garebaa.n kabhii daaman ko siyaa
dil diyaa dard liyaa -2
dilarubaa maine tere …

pyaar kii aan hai tuu dil kaa aramaan hai tuu
kaun duniyaa se Dare jab nigehabaan hai tuu
apanii kashtii ko sahaare pe tere chho.D diyaa
dil diyaa dard liyaa -2
dilarubaa maine tere …

https://youtube.com/watch?v=_MX-KmQjp0c%3F

Song #8 Is mod se jaate hain…

What about Rahul Dev Burman? Well, he, like his father Sachin Dev Burman was so steeped in Raagas that some of his compositions are out of this world; eg, his first song for Lata ji for Chhote Nawab was in litle heard of Raag Malgunji: Ghar aaja ghir aaye badra saanwariya.

His Aandhi songs are awesome indeed and 40 years after the movie was made in 1975, they are as fresh today.

This needs no introduction when I tell you that these were penned by Gulzar and are rated amongst his best. This particular one has been sung by Lata Mangeshkar and Kishore Kumar.

Please enjoy in Raag Yaman: Is mod se jaate hain…..

la: is mo.D se jaate hai.n – (2)
kuchh sust qadam raste kuchh tez qadam raahe.n – (2)
ki: patthar kii havelii ko shiishe ke gharau.ndo.n me.n
tinako.n ke nasheman tak is mo.D se jaate hai.n

la: aa.Ndhii kii tarah u.Dakar ik raah guzaratii hai – (2)
sharamaatii huii koii qadamo.n se utaratii hai
in reshamii raaho.n me.n ik raah to vo hogii
tum tak jo pahu.nchatii hai is mo.D se jaatii hai
is mo.D se jaate hai.n…

ki: ik duur se aatii hai paas aake palaTatii hai – (2)
ik raah akelii sii rukatii hai na chalatii hai
la: ye sochake baiThii huu.N ik raah to vo hogii
tum tak jo pahu.nchatii hai is mo.D se jaate hai.n

is mo.D se jaate hai.n
kuchh sust qadam raste kuchh tez qadam raahe.n
ki: patthar kii havelii ko shiishe ke gharo.ndo.n me.n
tinako.n ke nasheman tak is mo.D se jaate hai.n
la: is mo.D se jaate hai.n

https://youtube.com/watch?v=STOM6NZfcrs%3F

Song #9 Jay jay he Jagdambe mata….

Long time no bhajan; even though you already know that Bhajans are my favourite genre’ of music.

This one is from the 1964 movie Ganga Ki Lehren starring Kishore Kumar and Kumkum. This movie has a favourite Chitragupta number of mine: Chhedo na meri zulfen. The way, Chitragupta elongates the singing of Chhedo is really enchanting. Then there is another beautiful number from the movie: Machalati hui hawa mein chham chham.

This is a favourite bhajan. It has been penned by Majrooh Sultanpuri and sung by Lata Mangeshkar.

Please enjoy in Raag Yaman: Jay jay he Jagdambe mata….

jay-jay he jagadambe maataa
dvaar tihaare jo bhii aataa bin maa.Nge sab-kuchh paa jaataa

tuu chaahe to jiivan de-de chaahe pal me.n jiivan le-le
janm-maraN sab haath me.n tere he shakti he maataa
jay-jay he …

paapii ho yaa hove pujaarii raajaa ho yaa hove bhikhaarii
phir bhii tuune jo.Daa sabase maa.N-beTe kaa naataa
jay-jay he …

jab-jab jisane tujhako pukaaraa tuune diyaa hai ba.Dhake sahaaraa
har bhuule raahii ko teraa pyaar hii raah dikhaataa
jay-jay he …

https://youtube.com/watch?v=rq9cAFNo9cA%3F

Song #10 Inhi logo ne le leena dupatta mera…

So far, we have taken up the following nine music directors’ songs:

1. Sardar Malik.
2. Pnakaj Mullick
3. Jaidev
4. Madan Mohan
5. OP Nayyar
6. Hemant Kumar
7. Naushad Ali
8. RD Burman
9. Chitragupta

Lets now turn to Ghulam Mohammad, composer of most of the songs for the 1972 Kamal Amrohi movie Paakeezah. Though this song has been composed twice, for example in the 1943 movie Aabru, Ghulam Mohammad’s composition is superb indeed.

Majrooh Sultanpuri was the lyricist for most of Pakeezah’s songs. The song has been sung by Lata Mangeshkar and picturised on Meena Kumari as the tawaif Sahibjaan.

Please enjoy in Raag Yaman: Inhi logon ne le leena dupatta mera….

inhii.n logo.n ne -4
inhii.n logo.n ne le liinaa dupaTTaa meraa -2

inhii.n logo.n ne le liinaa dupaTTaa meraa -2

hamarii na maano bajajavaa se puuchho
hamarii na maano sayyaa.N … bajajavaa se puuchho
jisane … jisane asharafii gaz diinaa dupaTTaa meraa

hamarii na maano ra.Ngarajavaa se puuchho -2
jisane gulaabii ra.Ng diinaa dupaTTaa meraa -2
inhii.n logo.n ne -3

hamarii na maano sipahiyaa se puuchho -2
aa
hamarii na maano
hamarii na maano sipahiyaa se puuchho
sipahiyaa se
sipahiyaa se puuchho
jisane
jisane bajariyaa me.n chhiinaa dupaTTaa meraa -2
inhii.n logo.n ne -3
inhii.n logo.n ne le liinaa dupaTTaa meraa
dupaTTaa meraa -፬

https://youtube.com/watch?v=EDwvnOkDqSg%3F

Song #11 Aansu bhari hain yeh jeevan ki raahen…

Here is a Raj Kapoor song that has been penned by Hasrat Jaipuri and sung by Mukesh, his singing voice, but has not been composed by Shankar Jaikishen. It actually has Dattaram‘s music.

It is from the 1958 movie Parvarish that Raj Kapoor did with Mala Sinha.

This is amngst the most famous, if not the most famous song of Mukesh.

Please enjoy in Raag Kalyan: Aansu bhari hain ye jeevan ki raahen….

aa.Nsuu bharii hai.n ye jiivan kii raahe.n
koii unase kah de hame.n bhuul jaae.n
aa.Nsuu …

vaade bhulaa de.n qasam to.D de.n vo – (2)
haalat pe apanii hame.n chho.D de.n vo
unhe.n ghar mubaarak hame.n apanii aa.Nhe.n
koii unase kah de …

barabaadiyo.n kii ajab daastaa.N huu.N – (2)
shabanam bhii roe mai.n vo paasabaa.N huu.N
aise jahaa.N se kyuu.N ham dil lagaae.n
koii unase kah de …
aa.Nsuu …

https://youtube.com/watch?v=ETYfiRPLRDs%3F

Song #12 Har ek baat pe kehate ho ke tuu kyaa hai..

I think, going by the genre’ of the music direrctors and lyricists taken up so far, we are ready to take up Mirza Ghalib now. This would have been sung by many singers including KL Saigal and Jagjit Singh; but, I have taken up the Lata Mangeshkar version that has been composed by Faiyaaz Shauqat.

Please enjoy in Raag Yaman: Har ek baat pe kehate ho ke tuu kyaa hai….

har ek baat pe kahate ho tum ke tuu kyaa hai
tumhii.n bataa_o ye andaaz-e-guftaguu kyaa hai

rago.n me.n dau.Date phirane ke ham nahii.n qaa_il
jab aa.Nkh hii se na Tapakaa to phir lahuu kyaa hai

e piyuu.N sharaab agar Kum bhii dekh luu.N do-chaar
ye shiishaa-o-qadah-o-kuuzaa-o-subuu kyaa hai

hu_aa hai shah kaa musaahib phire hai itaraataa
wagaranaa shahar me.n Gaalib kii aabaruu kyaa hai

https://youtube.com/watch?v=8zFw7YMJUSk%3F

That brings us to the end of Part I in the Best of Hindi Songs composed in Raag Yaman or Kalyan. I hoped you liked my choices so far. Brace yourself for Part II coming up shortly.

KAALI DIWALI KA GEET

Most defence colonies in India, this Diwali, present a desolate look as a mark of protest against the machinations of netas and babus who denied the veterans full OROP despite its approval by two parliaments. The idea of the babus, as we understand, is to discredit and dishonour the faujis in the eyes of the general public. What do they think of themselves? In a country, wherein we are often told that we have the worst bureaucracy in the world, how can these faujis continue being proud of being amongst the best armed forces in the world? It is incumbent on us babus to bring them down to our level. Now how do we do it? Simple, the moment they are long enough on the streets protesting, the public loses respect for them since they are now deemed to be of the same mould as us. If they are assaulted in the Jantar Mantar, their medals snatched, their shirts torn, it shows them in poor light to have been there in Jantar Mantar with ordinary protesters in the country.

This Diwali, the babus are enjoying the fruits of their labour and rejoicing. They feel that the general public is losing respect for the faujis in the same manner as sooner or later people lose respect for rape victims working on the analogy (since then made famous by a Goa MLA) that they deserved to be raped!

(Pic courtesy: www.newindianexpress.com)
(Pic courtesy: www.newindianexpress.com)

Dear Babus, this Diwali, our homes are dark. We are saddened by your continued intransigence towards OROP and veterans. This song comes to you from us on the day of Deepawali, in remembrance of our Lord Ram having returned after fourteen years of exile. I have tinkered with the original song put together by Anand Bakshi as lyricist, Rahul Dev Burman as composer and Kishore Kumar as singer to send this earnest request across to you:

देखो ऐ बाबू, तुम ये काम ना करो
फौजी का नाम बदनाम ना करो, बदनाम ना करो

फौजी ने हँस कर सब सुख त्यागे, तुम सब दुख से डर कर भागे
जवान ने कर्म की रीत सिखाई – २
तुमने फ़र्ज़ से आँख चुराई, ओ राम दुहाई
जय जवान जय किसान (chorus)
उसकी OROP को अपनी NFU का गुलाम न करो
फौजी का नाम बदनाम ना करो, बदनाम ना करो
देखो ऐ बाबू …

OROP को समझो, फौजी को जानो, नींद से जागो ओ मस्तानो
एक दिन झेलना सीने पे गोली
खून की खेलना इक दिन होली
जय जवान जय किसान (chorus)
OROP की मौत का इंतजाम न करो
फौजी का नाम बदनाम ना करो, बदनाम ना करो

देखो ऐ बाबू, तुम ये काम ना करो
फौजी का नाम बदनाम ना करो, बदनाम ना करो

(Pic courtesy: www.spora.in)
(Pic courtesy: www.spora.in)

Dekho ai baabu, tum ye kaam nA karo
Fauji ka naam badnaam na karo, badnaam nA karo

Fauji ne ha.Ns kar sab sukh tyAge, tum sab dukh se Dar kar bhaage
Jawan ne karm kI riit sikhAI
Tumane farz se aa.Nkh churaa_ii, o raam duhaa_ii
Jai Jawan, Jai Kisaan (chorus)
Usaki OROP ko apni NFU ka gulaam na karo
Fauji kA naam badanAm nA karo, badanAm nA karo
Dekho ai baabu …

OROP ko samajho, fauji ko jaano, nI.nd se jaago o mastaano
Ek din jhelna seene pe goli
Khoon ki khelna ik din Holi
Jai Jawan, Jai Kisaan (chorus)
OROP ki maut ka intejaam na karo
Fauji kA naam badanAm nA karo, badanAm nA karo

Dekho ai baabu, tum ye kaam nA karo
Fauji kA naam badanAm nA karo, badanAm nA karo

OROP AND BIHAR ELECTIONS

Armed forces personnel, even after retirement, by and large, continue being apolitical. That’s how it should be in a democracy. However, armed forces personnel should be politically savvy. They do vote, don’t they? What politicians do affects them, in many cases, even more than the civilians. For example, they say, war is politics by other means; soldiers, sailors and airmen die in war and all because of international and national politics. Similarly, their life-style, liberties, position in society, salaries and pensions are dependent upon political considerations. Hence, to expect that armed forces personnel shouldn’t or won’t be interested in outcomes of elections, national and international politics would be naive and wrong.

Why were the Bihar elections and their outcome important to faujis? It would be appropriate to remember that  Shri Narendra Modi’s government itself linked OROP to Bihar election considerations by making an announcement on OROP on 5th Sep 15, just before the Bihar elections. It was widely discussed that the very announcement of OROP without a matching notification was to pull all plugs out to favour the ruling party at the centre since Bihar accounts for one of the largest induction of faujis in the Indian armed forces. That, apart from this electoral consideration, the government was not serious about actually honouring the approval of OROP by two parliaments, can be made out from the following:

  1. It pooh-poohed the UPA government for announcing OROP at the fag-end of its tenure with a token budget of only Rupees 500 Crores. It tried to bring out that the UPA government was playing politics with OROP for electoral gains. However, whilst it tried to bring out that the UPA government was never serious about OROP, by itself it questioned the very definition of OROP once it came into power; the same definition that was approved by two parliaments earlier.
  2. During the electoral campaign for the Lok Sabha, it promised that it would implement (already approved OROP) within 100 days of coming to power. However, when it finally announced OROP after 16 months of coming to power, it became apparent why the government required so much of time. It twisted and turned the approved concept of OROP so that its announcement of 05 Sep 15 would have very little to do with the approved OROP and would be only an apology for the same (because of its seven serious flaws).
  3. The country never questioned as to what was the need of the announcement on 05 Sep 15 when the OROP had already been passed by the parliament. All that the government was required to do was to notify the OROP. However, as is clear now, the government played into the hands of the wily bureaucracy who revel in keeping the faujis always dissatisfied. This same wily bureaucracy, belatedly, and without any discussions with the faujis, introduced clauses into the OROP announcement that made a mockery of it (eg, VRS, review after five years, to be reviewed by 7th CPC, to have calendar year 2013 as the base year and not financial year 2013-14, effective date being 01 Jul 14 rather than 01 April promised earlier, and midway band of pay to be considered for pension rather than earlier promised highest of pay band). Naturally, it made the faujis very distrustful of the government, politicians and bureaucrats (Please read: As A ‘Fauji’ I Don’t Trust You Anymore) and they concluded, with enough justification, that the government required extra time (four times the time promised) so as to tinker with the approved OROP and reduce it to nothingness.
Shri Manohar Parrikar announcing truncated OROP on 05 Sep 15 (Pic courtesy: www.indiatvnews.com)
Shri Manohar Parrikar announcing truncated OROP on 05 Sep 15 (Pic courtesy: www.indiatvnews.com)

It built up to the excuse that it couldn’t notify even the truncated OROP because of electoral code of conduct for Bihar elections when actually, since it had been earlier approved by the parliament, it had nothing to do with Bihar elections. This stance conveyed that the government was banking on the protests against its chicanery of 05 Sep 15 to die down (time is a great healer!) before making the notification as a fait-accompli.

Now that the Bihar election results are out, it appears that the gamble of the BJP to play politics with OROP before the elections, just as Congress did before the Lok Sabha elections, failed. It doesn’t look like that the political constituency in Bihar was hoodwinked into believing that the government was sincere about something like OROP. The faujis, despite dissatisfaction with the BJP government, didn’t do anything to sabotage its chances in Bihar because of the apolitical tag that they feel they are committed to. But, now, after the results, one can safely surmise that the results would have been much more disastrous for the BJP otherwise.

Yes, the faujis by themselves are very small constituency for the political parties to lose their sleep over. But, in this regard, their comparison to the mainstream English language media is apt. The English language media is very small as compared to the vernacular (in states like Gujarat, for example, until about a decade and a half back, it was unheard of). However, its influence over policy matters is disproportionately large. It is the same with the faujis. By and large, the countrymen hold the faujis in high esteem. In states like Punjab, Haryana, and Himachal, for example, every second family has someone in the armed forces. That makes it a fairly influential lobby; if that’s the language that the politicians understand.

BJP would have also realised that the politics of arrogance is not fetching it the desired results. Before and after Delhi elections, it supported by its henchmen media (exactly how the media is doing it now with OROP news), ridiculed AAP with undisguised arrogance and had a complete blackout of the massive AAP rallies. Even with all this, the BJP received only three seats but it was unruffled thinking that probably Delhi was a fluke case and Bihar would get back everything. It thus staked its reputation on the outcome of Bihar elections. When it started becoming clear that it was nowhere near winning Bihar, it still didn’t abandon the politics of arrogance. It indulged in divisive and parochial politics and even declared that those who don’t vote for BJP deserve to be sent to Pakistan.

BJP MP Giriraj Singh who was banned by the Election Commission from campaigning in Jharkhand and Bihar for his controversial remarks that people who do not vote for Narendra Modi will have to find a place in Pakistan. (Pic courtesy: www.deccanchronicle.com)
BJP MP Giriraj Singh who was banned by the Election Commission from campaigning in Jharkhand and Bihar for his controversial remarks that people who do not vote for Narendra Modi will have to find a place in Pakistan. (Pic courtesy: www.deccanchronicle.com)

I am sure that now, it would do well to reconsider arrogance as a governance model. Sheer numbers do not win battles, even electoral ones; the righteous, courageous and the moral do. The famous Battle of Saragarhi was fought on 12 September 1897 between just 21 committed Sikhs and 10000 Afghans. It is ranked by the United Nations as one of the bravest battles ever fought. Each one of the 21 Sikhs was given the highest honour by the British: Indian Order of Merit (equivalent to the present Param Vir Chakra or the Victoria Cross of the British). That is the power of the righteous. Numbers are merely deceptive.

Political parties, over the years (42 years to be exact since 1973 when they snatched the OROP from faujis), have played politics with what is now highly emotional issue affecting the izzat of the faujis. The picture of the 82 years old Vishambar Singh with his shirt torn, his medals snatched, after being assaulted by the police at Jantar Mantar on 14th Aug 15 would be enough to galvanise the faujis to fight another Saragarhi and defend their honour against all odds. Petty politics, the kind the BJP played recently, and UPA played all these years earlier, is not going to deter them. Soon it may occur to the government that the politics of arrogance is losing politically too.

Those engaged in the agitation for a full and undiluted OROP have given a call for Black Diwali; that is, Diwali minus the accompanying lighting of lamps without and happiness within. It may not be making enough clamour now or later when they, nation-wide, go about returning their medals in disgust. But, it is time to start listening.

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