atul's bollywood song a day- with full lyrics

This article is written by Raja, a fellow enthusiast of Hindi movie music and a regular contributor to this blog.

One of the advantages of advancing years, I feel, is that you tend to get a perspective. You are able to relate events and situations not just in THAT moment in time but also relative to events/situations in the past.

Now, this can be a double-edged sword, depending on your perspective – sometimes it leaves you a bit despondent (kya zamaana aa gaya hai!), at other times it makes you realize how much better some things are today.

I think many of us go through this. Speaking for myself, I know there are many things that are much better today than they used to be. Those of us who went through life without phones (forget mobiles), who had to stand in long Diwali-rush queues at VT station in Bombay to somehow get a ticket to Howrah (and try to avoid the touts) know how much easier life is today in this respect. Yes, I can say – been there done that. Wasted an entire Sunday from 8.30 a.m – 4.00 p.m standing in this queue in 1985. Even skipped lunch that day.

But, other than mobiles (and for many of us, far more than mobiles), the biggest thing that’s changed our lives is the Internet. Thanks to the net, the world is a much smaller place. We have e-mail, we have search engines like Google, we have so many other applications that have become so much a part of our daily lives that it’s becoming increasingly difficult to imagine how life was in pre-Internet days.

One of the biggest things that the Internet has done is to make the world a smaller place. In cyberspace, physical distances don’t matter at all. Speaking for myself (and I’m sure for others too), I’ve made lots of friends from around the world that I’d never have been able to know, if it were not for the net.

You might be wondering where this post is leading. And whether it is leading anywhere at all. And, given my history of rambling, you could be excused for assuming its sole purpose is to test your patience.

But no, I am coming to the point – even if it is in my labored way. If I’ve to travel from Churchgate to Borivali, instead of taking a direct local train, I’m more likely to walk to VT, have a look at the books on the roadside along the way (do they still have them?), enjoy the walk along Fountain and DN Road, take a slow Harbour line train to Bandra and then catch another Western line train from Bandra to Borivali. I’m that type of annoying guy.

Coming to the point, among the many reasons I need to thank the Internet is because it has introduced me to so many friends from around the world.

And one of them is Atul.

And today is his birthday.

So I thought I should not only wish him on his birthday (Happy Birthday, Atul!), but also do a write-up about him – with a bit of nostalgia and a trip down memory lane.

I first “met” Atul on a cricket website (primarily for Pakistani cricket fans) in May 2005. He was also somewhat new there – his first few posts already told me that he was from my generation, the 1970s. Even his moniker was “squarecut”, a tribute to Gundappa Vishwanath, one of India’s finest batsmen of that generation and whose squarecut was legendary.

Soon after, I got to know about another website, which had been formed by primarily Indian origin fans because BBC’s cricket bulletin board (which had been hugely popular and which I used to frequent) was shut down.

When I visited that cricket forum, I found that Atul had also recently joined there. I immediately felt comfortable joining. At least I’d have somebody to discuss the 1970s with.

We immediately hit it off. We’d discuss those days, how we’d listen to radio commentary in Hindi and English, how terrible the Indian performances used to be most of the time, how exhilarating the feeling was when India won that 1976 Port of Spain (Trinidad) Test, and so on.

We’d also discuss a lot of non-cricketing stuff. I remember I once started a contest on the forum – who could write the longest sentence in English. Atul won that contest.

We would also discuss songs. We would often make parodies, usually based on a cricket match or some cricket players.

On the forum, Atul was famous for his one-liners. In just a few words, he would say something very wise, very insightful – and usually loaded with wry humour. I had a special term for this – I’d call such a comment an Atulism.

We then started something called “Geetmala” on the forum. Every week, one person would make a list of a few songs based on one theme.

Atul’s first post in this context was rail songs. I remember my first post was “Songs that pep me up”.

It was perhaps this that set the stage for Atul to start his song blog. It was initially meant to be a song a day, but it moved on to multiple songs a day, after a while. I’m sure in his early days, Atul would never have imagined how big the blog would become – he was just happy to have his own space to publish songs of his choice, with his commentary on them.

I’ve been with the blog from day one – and in the early days, I’d bombard Atul with requests to post songs of my choice. If you look at the early farmaishes, a whole lot of them are from me. Atul would patiently oblige.

I finally got to meet Atul face-to-face in late October 2010. At that time, Atul was posted at Nagpur – and I happened to make a trip to that city. A common friend from our cricket site also happened to be there then – we all met up at Atul’s place. It was just wonderful meeting him face-to-face, after so much interaction in cyberspace.

Atul showed me how he works on his blog, he showed me some handwritten scoreboards from the 1970s. (I used to do the same at that time, only I unfortunately don’t have any of those sheets with me anymore.) We had a lovely dinner that evening too.

There are several things about Atul that I’ve always liked and respected.

We all know how absolutely dedicated he is, to his blog. And this, while he has his family, pets, his work to also pay attention to. And the net connectivity is also not necessarily great or reliable for him, depending on where he happens to be. Inspite of this, there’s hardly a day he misses posting on the blog. And if he can, he informs us beforehand.

But it’s not just the dedication to the blog – it’s the mindset. It calls for tremendous discipline to be able to put in so much time and energy into something, day in and day out. Especially when it is primarily a labour of love. Atul has it. He has that discipline. If I had started a blog like this, say on a Monday, I don’t think it would have seen it even to the weekend.

But apart from this dedication, what I really like and respect about Atul is his earthiness. I’ve never known him to put on airs, to be superficial. He is honest and direct in his views. And I respect and like that a lot. I’m uncomfortable with people who say one thing when they actually mean another. With Atul, I’ve never had that problem.

Then of course, there is his sense of humour. The Atulisms. They can be seen often on his posts on this blog too. Whether he is discussing how he tries to find time to post when his wife’s around. Or discussing his pets’ playfulness. Always in good humour.

And then, of course, his love for his pets. It is just so wonderful to read his posts about his pets.

Apart from being in the same age group, and our interest in cricket and songs (writing down scoreboards and lyrics in our teens), Atul and I share one other thing – we both grew up in small-town India. Later in life, we might have lived in the metros but much of our early upbringing was influenced by life in small-town India. In the 1970s. That is an ethos that is difficult to describe – it needed to be experienced.

In general, I think a lot has to do with one’s attitude towards life. If you want to complain, there’s plenty to complain about. For each one of us.

For Atul, living in MP, Vidarbha, Chhatisgarh for many years now (and we know these places haven’t got the greatest of infrastructure), he could have been complaining everyday. Yet, he accepts things as they are – he makes the most of what’s available. In some of his posts, he jokes about the roads. In other posts, he jokes about the net connectivity (or lack of it). Always taking it in his stride, never bitter about anything. He is able to make Atulisms out of them all.

Today’s song I’ve picked on this occasion of Atul’s birthday is also something to do with an attitude towards life. It’s not a sober or particularly introspective song – it’s just a fun song, but with a good message in it.

It’s from the film Khatta Meetha (1977). I loved this movie when I saw it the first time all those years ago. And last night, when I decided I’d do a write-up for Atul on his birthday with this song, I watched the movie again.

Oh, it is still so delightful! Timeless film. If you’ve not seen the movie, you just HAVE to. It is an extremely sweet film about relationships, about managing with what you have, and very importantly, about sharing.

This is certainly one of the best feel-good Hindi movies I know. This song is the title song of the film, and is shown when the credits roll. It is a very peppy song, by Kishore Kumar and Usha Mangeshkar. Lyrics are by Gulzar, the peppy music is by Rajesh Roshan.

This post has already become rather lengthy so I will not discuss details of the movie here. In any case, the main purpose of writing this post was to wish Atul on his birthday and to share some of my personal memories about, and with, him.

I cannot thank him enough, not just for starting and running this blog, but for bringing me into contact with so many others through this blog. It’s something that cannot be quantified. Of course we have to thank the Internet but that’s the backbone, the technological platform. It is this blog that has enriched our lives, not just with its posts and songs, but with its becoming a meeting place for so many of us.

So, from the bottom of my heart, a very big thank you to you, Atul. Wish you a VERY happy birthday. And many, many more to come.

Song-Ye jeena hai angoor ka daanaa (Khatta Meethha)(1977) Singers-Kishore Kumar, Usha Mangeshkar, Lyrics-Gulzar, MD-Rajesh Roshan
Chorus

Lyrics

Khatta meetha khatta meetha
khatta meetha khatta meetha
khatta meetha khatta meetha
khatta meetha khatta meetha

ye jeena hai angoor ka daana
khatta meetha khatta meetha
khatta meetha khatta meetha
khatta meetha khatta meetha
khatta meetha khatta meetha
ye jeena hai angoor ka daana
kuchh kacha hai, kuchh pakka hai
kuchh kacha hai, kuch pakka hai
arrey jitna khaaya meetha tha
jo haath na aaya khatta hai
ta ra ra
ta ra rum
ta ra ra
ye jeena hai angoor ka daana
khatta meetha khatta meetha
khatta meetha khatta meetha
khatta meetha khatta meetha
khatta meetha khatta meetha
ye jeena hai angoor ka daana
kuchh kacha hai, kuchh pakka hai
kuchh kacha hai, kuchh pakka hai
arrey jitna khaaya meetha tha
jo haath na aaya khatta hai
ta ra ra
ta ra rum
ta ra ra

ye ghoomta pahiya gol rupaiyya
ye ghoomta pahiya gol rupaiyya
haath na aaye re
haath na aaye re
haath na aaye re
arrey main hoon iske saath ye saathi
arrey main hoon iske saath ye saathi
saath na jaaye re
saath na jaaye re
saath na jaaye re
arrey haay haay haay haay
haay dil bole
ke haay dil bole
arrey haay haay haay haay
haay dil bole
haay dil bole
haath na aaye to samjho hai sapna
jeb me ho to maal hai apna
ye jeena hai angoor ka daana
khatta meetha khatta meetha
khatta meetha khatta meetha
khatta meetha khatta meetha
khatta meetha khatta meetha
ye jeena hai angoor ka daana
kuchh kacha hai, kuch pakka hai
kuchh kacha hai, kuch pakka hai
arrey jitna khaaya meetha tha
jo haath na aaya khatta hai
ta ra ra
ta ra rum
ta ra ra

jeeke dekho jeenewaale ae
jeeke dekho jeenewaale
yoon bhi jeete hain
yoon bhi jeete hain
yoon bhi jeete hain
jin ki chaadar phat jaaye to
jin ki chaadar phat jaaye to
raat mein seetey hain
raat mein seetey hain
raat mein seetey hain
arrey haay haay haay haay
haay dil bole
ki haay dil bole
thoda sa rokey, thoda sa hansna
thoda sa rukna, thoda sa chalna
ye jeena hai angoor ka daana
khatta meetha khatta meetha
khatta meetha khatta meetha
khatta meetha khatta meetha
khatta meetha khatta meetha
ye jeena hai angoor ka daana
kuchh kacha hai, kuch pakka hai
kuchh kacha hai, kuch pakka hai
arrey jitna khaaya meetha tha
jo haath na aaya khatta hai
ta ra ra
ta ra rum
ta ra ra