Ek chameli ke mandve tale
Posted on: March 6, 2009
One is used to seeing Helen in a cabaret number dressed in “western” clothes. Also her role would typically be confined to that one song.
“Cha cha cha” was an excetion. This 1964 movie may have a “western” sounding title, but this movie had quite desi sounding music. And more interestingly, this movie had Helen playing the female lead opposite Chandrashekhar.
It is quite interesting and refreshing to see Helen dressed in a sari and singing a duet with Chandrashekhar.
The song “ik chameli ke mandwe tale” is quite a nice song to listen to. It was written by Makhdoom Mohinuddin and the music director was Iqbal Qureshi.
Audio
Video
Song-Ek chameli ke mandwe tale (Cha Cha Cha) (1964) Singers-Asha Bhonsle, Rafi, Lyrics-Makhdoom Mohinuddin, Lyrics-Iqbal Qureshi
Lyrics
ik chamelii ke mandwe tale
ik chamelii ke mandwe tale
maikade se zaraa door us mod par
maikade se zaraa door us mod par
do badan pyaar ki aag mein jal gaye
ik chamelii ke mandwe tale
pyaar harf-e-wafaa pyaar unkaa Khudaa
pyaar harf-e-wafaa pyaar unkaa Khudaa
pyaar unki chitaa
do badan pyaar ki aag mein jal gaye
ik chamelii ke mandwe tale
os mein bheegte chaandni mein nahaate huye
os mein bheegte chaandni mein nahaate huye
jaise do taazaa-ru taazaa-dam phool pichhle pahar
jaise do taazaa-ru taazaa-dam phool pichhle pahar
thandi thandi subuk rau chaman ki hawaa
thandi thandi subuk rau chaman ki hawaa
sarf-e-maatam huyi
sarf-e-maatam huyi
sarf-e-maatam huyi
kaali-kaali laton se lipat garm rukhsaar par
ek pal ke liye ruk gayi
do badan pyaar ki aag mein jal gaye
ik chamelii ke mandwe tale
o hamne dekhaa unhen din mein aur raat mein noor-o-zulmaat mein
o hamne dekhaa unhen din mein aur raat mein noor-o-zulmaat mein
masjidon ke minaaron ne dekhaa unhen
mandiron ke kivaadon ne dekhaa unhen
maikade ki daraadon ne dekhaa unhen
dekhaa unhen
dekhaa unhen
do badan pyaar ki aag mein jal gaye
ik chamelii ke mandwe tale
ye bataa chaaraagar teri zambeel mein
zambeel mein
nuskaa-e-keemiyaa-e-muhabbat bhi hai
nuskaa-e-keemiyaa-e-muhabbat bhi hai
kuchh ilaaj-o-mudaavaa-e- ulfat bhi hai
ulfat bhi hai
do badan pyaar ki aag mein jal gaye
ik chamelii ke mandwe tale
16 Responses to "Ek chameli ke mandve tale"
March 7, 2009 at 1:10 am
I always imagined this song being filmed on one of the lesser known pairs like Pradeep Kumar and Anita Guha or Bharat Bhushan and Nirupa Roy. It is a great song and Helen looks very nice. But, yes, I have never heard of this movie, or of the actor, Chandrashekhar, but I have heard the song several times and I have always liked it. Thanks for the song, and your write up.
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October 26, 2009 at 12:02 pm
super song by rafi sahab and asha ji
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November 10, 2009 at 11:42 am
Meaning of unheard words in Urdu
Zambeel – Zoli/Batuwa
Nuskha – prescription/remedy
Anybody? Harf-?, Sarf-?
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March 9, 2010 at 12:51 pm
Do you maybe have a translation of the song. I try to look everywhere on the net what Mandve Tale exactly means – but no result till now.
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March 9, 2010 at 1:28 pm
mandwe tale= “under the mandwa”.
I guess mandwa here means mandap.Mandap means a place where wedding takes place. I could be wrong too.
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[…] tune of this song may remind listeners of another song viz Ik chameli ke mandwe tale(Cha Cha Cha). It is no coincidence, because the movie “Cha Cha Cha” (1964) also had music by Iqbal […]
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July 26, 2011 at 5:16 pm
Atul ji,
I was going thru the older postings of songs and I suddenly came accross this song.
This song has made my memories greener.The writer of this song MAKHDOOM MOHIUDDIN (not Moinuddin) was our family friend in the 50s and 60s till he died in 1969.
Our Hyderabad house was very big and my father had a beautiful garden where there was a big Chameli Mandav on which the Chameli vine was flowering in the seasons.There also was a big Zopala( a wellspread jhoola with cushions to seat 3 to 4 people).Whenever Makhdoom saab used to come,he preferred sitting under the Chameli Mandav on an easychair.Actor,director and producer Chandrashekhar,who hailed from Hyderabad and knew Makhdoom saab well,requested for a song for his film and Makhdoomsab wrote the above song for him.But it came in the movie after a lapse of time only.
Makhdoom was a Poet,Dramatist,Teacher and in the last phase of life,a political leader with left inclinations.He was also an MLA.
His 3 more songs feature in films- 1) Jaanewale sipahi se poocho-Usne Kaha tha(1960) 2)Aapki yaad aati rahi-Gaman(1979),and Phir chhidi raat-Bazaar(1982).
-AD
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July 26, 2011 at 5:46 pm
That is a lovely tale. So in a way he was inspired to write this song from your chameli mandwa.
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July 26, 2011 at 11:33 pm
Deshmukh sir / Atul ji,
Must have been some chameli ka mandwa to inspire such poetry. There are a few things which need to be mentioned. This is not Lata Mangeshkar, but Asha Bhosle who is singing this duet. This is also a ‘dream sequence’ song.
Also the following line :
pyaar harf-e-wafaa pyaar unkaa Khudaa
pyaar unki chitaa
should be :
pyaar unki “Kitaab”
Since the video link is not working, here are the links :
Full Audio:
Partial video :
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October 30, 2012 at 11:33 pm
Lovely number. I like the use of the word mandve, sounds really good :).
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November 15, 2016 at 12:21 am
can anybody make available the video of the movie for downloading
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Atul’s Song A Day- A choice collection of Hindi Film & Non-Film Songs 
March 6, 2009 at 11:18 pm
Very pleasant song to listen to.
Both Lata and Rafi have done very well here.
I think this song deserves more recognition than it has got.
Maybe because of the actors and the movie.
Had this been Rajendra Kumar + Sadhana it would have been a different story.
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August 30, 2011 at 7:03 pm
RAJA SAHAB / ATUL SAHAB
These are my combinations for this lovely song – Rajendra Kumar and Sadhana don’t seem to be ideal for this song!
This song should have been filmed on:
1. Dilip Kumar and Madhubala.
2. Raj Kumar and Meena Kumari.
3. Dev Anand and Waheeda Rahman.
4. Shashi Kapoor and Asha Parekh.
5. Rajesh Khanna and Mumtaz.
I would love to have your take on these combinations.
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