Kyun dil mein mere basey ho
Posted on: January 11, 2013
- In: Actor-Singer song | Artist century song in blog | Biography of artists | Biography of lyricist | Century songs for the blog | Duet | G M Durrani song | G M Durrani Suraiyya duet | Guest posts | Post by Sudhir | Songs of 1940s (1941 to 1950) | Songs of 1948 | Suraiyya songs | Yearwise breakup of songs
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This article is written by Sudhir, a fellow enthusiast of Hindi movie music and a regular contributor to this blog.
The best way to write about a poet is to write about his works, his poetry. But when we come to a poet of the stature of Rajinder Krishan, it becomes a very difficult task to write about his poetry. One simply does not know where to start. The body of work is enormous, and the number of pleasing heart stealers is so numerous, that just a sample list of favorites will go beyond a reasonable length for a write up. And no matter how representative one makes this sampler list, readers and friends will come up with wonderful gems of A grade quality that must be included.
There was a time sometimes during 1942 to 1946, when this talented young poet in his mid twenties was knocking at the doors of every studio and every producer’s office in search for a break. And to keep his body and soul together, he was hawking socks and handkerchiefs on the road side and in the Bombay local trains. None could imagine at that time what fortune had in store for this young man. That the songs written by him would be the primary reason behind so many films becoming super hits, across the years.
Rajinder Krishan Duggal was born in the village of Jalaalpur (part of undivided Gujarat, now in Pakistan) on 6th June, 1919. He attended the local village school, and as was the trend in those days, his education included learning Hindi, Urdu and Persian. Writing poetry started as a hobby in school itself. After completing his school, at the age of sixteen, he was sent by his parents to Simla, to stay with his elder brother who worked in the local electricity supply office. He found a job as a clerk in the municipal department. During the years from 1935 to 1942, he stayed in Simla, and continued to write in his spare time. Over this period of time, he started to participate in the local mushairas and kavi sammelans. He came in touch with some of the luminaries of that time, including Firaaq Gorakhpuri and Ahsaan Daanish. On the advise of Firaaq Gorakhpuri, he started to extensively read other poets, both in Hindi and Urdu. This practice stood him in good stead as his own writings became much refined. He started publishing in local and regional newspapers, and especially he would write songs and bhajans about Krishna. Many of these later turned into some of the most famous Krishna bhajans in the films – “Radha Na Bole Na Bole Na Bole Re”(‘Azaad’, 1955, C Ramchandra), “Vrindavan Ka Krishna Kanhaiyyaa. .” (‘Miss Mary’, 1957), “Badi Der Bhai Nandlala. .
.” (‘Khandaan’, 1965), “Govinda Aala Re Aala. . .” (‘Bluffmaster’, 1963) etc.
In this time, another interest that awakened within, and that was films. Besides poetry, he also started to write film reviews and other articles about films, in the local newspapers. And then his mind took the next logical step – and he found the call of the film world irresistible. His new found and intense desire then was to become a lyricist for Hindi films.
He was married by then, and of course a well settled householder by the traditional definition. When he expressed to his family members, his desire for moving to Bombay, there was an intense opposition from one and all. The bug had bit him, and no one could deter him from his determination. The year was 1942, and Rajinder Krishan landed in Bombay, completely without a clue on how to go about starting his film career in this city.
They say that the lure of the filmdom is incessant, for the person who is smitten. The next four years were a difficult struggle, knocking doors and selling wares on the roadside. The payoff eventually came when he got a break in 1947 to write the screenplay and two songs for a film titled ‘Janta’ (1947, Janak Pictures, MD – Harishchandra Bali). The same year, for the film ‘Zanzeer’ (1947, Rakesh Productions, MD – Krishna Dayal), he also shared the lyrics writing with three other poets. These films did not amount to much in terms of being noticed, but a foot in the door nonetheless.
Then came the turning point in year 1948. Two significant things happened. The first was being paired with the premier music director duo of that era, Husnlal Bhagatram, for two films whose song and music became very popular, and the name of Rajinder Krishan started to catch the attention of the producers as well as the public. The first film in 1948 is ‘Aaj Ki Raat’ from the banner of Famous Pictures. Besides the well known music director team, the film also carried along with it the star value with the names of Suraiya, Motilal and Yaqub. He got to write all the 10 songs, seven of which are sung by Suraiya as solo or duets. The other singing voices in the film are of GM Durrani and Meena Kapoor. And the second film, that carried his name and success even further, is ‘Pyaar Ki Jeet’. Another film from the same banner, and with music composed by Husnlal Bhagatram. Once again, the star cast is impressive – Suraiya, Rehman, Manorama etc. The film has eight songs, with lyrics shared equally between Rajinder Krishan and Qamar Jalaalabaadi.The four songs by Rajinder Krishan were shared between Suraiya, Surinder Kaur and Meena Kapoor. Who can forget the timeless classic “Tere Nainon Ne Chori Kiya, Mera Chhota Sa Jiyaa” sung so wonderfully by Suraiya.
(NOTE:
Rajinder Krishan also wrote the screenplay and dialogues for ‘Pyaar Ki Jeet’).
The second significant thing that happened in 1948 was the unfortunate assassination of Mahatma Gandhi. The nation was moved, and so was the heart of this young 29 year old poet, who then put his emotions into words. Composed by Husnlal Bhagatram and rendered wonderfully by Rafi Sb, “Suno Suno Ae Duniya Waalo Bapu Ki Ye Amar Kahaani” rose into the hearts of the people, and gained recognition as a
timeless national song. Rajinder Krishan had found his due place in the industry.
The successes were still to follow, one after the other. 1949 came – the golden year of the Hindi film song. Once again Rajinder Krishan paired with Husnlal Bhagatram to bring to life “Chup Chup Khade Ho Zaroor Koi Baat Hai” and more hits from the film ‘Badi Bahen’. (Once again, the lyricist honors are shared between Rajinder Krishan (5) and Qamar Jalaalabaadi (3)). Also in 1949 came the eternal chartbuster “Mere Piya Gaye Rangoon, Kiya Hai Wahaan Se Telefoon” from the film ‘Patanga’ with music by C Ramchandra. And in 1949 also came another timeless hit from the film ‘Lahore’, with music director Shyam Sunder – “Bahaaren Phir Bhi Aayengi, Magar Hum Tum Judaa Hongey”.
Everything was onwards and upwards after this. The never-say-die naughtiness of the song “Gorey Gorey, O Baanke Chhore”
came in 1950 – the film ‘Samadhi’ and the composition by C Ramchandra. The song became an instant hit and was the favorite one to be played in restaurants and on loudspeakers all over the country. Then came ‘Albela’ (1951), ‘Anaarkali’ and ‘Shagoofa’ (1953), ‘Azaad’ (1955), ‘Devata’ (1956), ‘Sharda’ (1957), ‘Amardeep’ (1958) and on and on and on, just a very short sampler list. Gosh, did I miss something in between. Yes I did – ‘Naagin'(1954). What to say about this film – that became a super hit just on the basis of its songs – one superlative song after another.
The string of his hits seems endless. His fame moved South, and he was the lyricist of choice for many of the production houses in Madras that were also making Hindi films. In all, the films that he has been associated as a lyricist and story / screenplay / dialogue writer is more than 300. He is the first lyricist in the industry for whom HMV created a selection LP of 12 of his most celebrated songs. Not a surprise then that we are now celebrating his 600th song on this blog.
For today’s post, I have selected a song from his first notable film ‘Aaj Ki Raat’ (1948), the film making its debut on this blog today. Coming from the banner of Famous Pictures, Bombay, the film is directed by DD Kashyap, and music by Husnlal Bhagatram.The star credits include Suraiya, Motilal, Yakub, Shah Nawaz, Leela Misra, Raj Mehra, Akhtar, Anita Sharma, Sangeeta, Elvina Oshi etc.
The song is a wonderful duet sung by Suriaya and GM Durrani. The lyrics talk about stirrings of first love. The lady is enamoured and is asking about how her lover has enchanted her and has entered her heart. The gentleman seems to be somewhat out of luck and in despair, but still professes his attachment and love for his lady love. The words, the music and the voices, all combine to makes this a delightful listening pleasure.
Enjoy.
Song-Kyun dil mein mere basey Ho (Aaj Ki Raat)(1948) Singers-Suraiyya, G M Durrani, Lyrics-Rajinder Krishan, MD-Husnlal Bhagatram
Lyrics
kyun dil mein mere basey ho
tum kaun ho kya ho
kyun dil mein mere basey ho
tum kaun ho kya ho
rag rag mein meri chhupe ho
bijli ho hawaa ho
rag rag mein meri chhupe ho
bijli ho hawaa ho
bhoola huaa ik raahi hoon main
kismet ka maara hoon
udji hui ik duniya hoon main
toota huaa taara hoon
bujhti hui shamma hoon
chaaho to jalaa lo
bujhti hui shamma hoon
chaaho to jalaa lo
kyun dil mein mere basey ho
tum kaun ho kya ho
rag rag mein meri chhupe ho
bijli ho hawaa ho
anjaane pardesi se main kaise
preet lagaa loon
do din ki pehchaan mein kaise
man ka meet banaa loon
kyaa jaano dil le ke
tum aankh churaa lo
kyaa jaano dil le ke
tum aankh churaa lo
kyun dil mein mere basey ho
tum kaun ho kya ho
rag rag mein meri chhupe ho
bijli ho hawaa ho
jo kuchh bhi hoon
hoon main tumhaara
ab na mujhe thukraao
pyaar ki ek nazar ka pyaasa
dil ki pyaas bujhaao
rotey huye dil ko
chaaho to hansaa lo
rotey huye dil ko
chaaho to hansaa lo
kyun dil mein mere basey ho
tum kaun ho kya ho
kyun dil mein mere basey ho. . .
Atul’s Song A Day- A choice collection of Hindi Film & Non-Film Songs 
January 13, 2013 at 8:00 pm
It is a wonder that the HB jodi managed to survive in the industry with their mostly similar tunes with very minor variations here and there. Listen to their songs and you will know what I mean.
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