Laakh sahi hain pee ki batiyaan
Posted on: July 9, 2011
In olden days, men used to play the roles of women because it was not very easy to get women from decent background to appear in movies (and also dramas). Hopefully, they were able to get women to sing for themselves, I hope.
On the other hand, I find that sometimes men have sung song meant to be sung by women. I have no idea why. Forget old song, even a song as “recent” as “Dil Hi To Hai” (1963) has this famous song Laaga chunri me daag chhupaaun kaise which is really meant to be sung by a female singer. I hope our knowledgeable readers will be able to throw light on this matter.
In olden days, K L Saigal too has sung such songs that are meant to be sung by women. For instance,Baabul mora naihar chhooto hi jaaye (Street Singer) is one such song.
Here is another K L Saigal song, which is a song meant to be sung by a woman. This song is a rare song in the sense that it is not available on youtube. This son is from “Yahudi Ki Ladki” (1933). Agha Hashra Kashmiri is the lyricist. Music is composed by Pankaj Mullick.
Song-Laakh sahi hain pee ki batiyaan (Yahudi Ki Ladki) (1933) Singer-K L Saigal, Lyrics-Agha Hashra Kashmiri, MD-Pankaj Mullick
Lyrics
laakh sahi hain
laakh sahi hain
laakh sahi hain
pi ki batiyaan
ek sahi naa jaaye
haan-haan
ek sahi naa jaaye
aa re
laakh sahi ham
laakh sahi hain
laakh sahi ham
pi ki batiyaan
ek sahi naa jaaye
haan-haan
ek sahi naa jaaye
jaaye rahen sautin ghar nis-din
jaaye rahen sautin ghar nis-din
jaaye rahen sautin ghar nis-din
jaaye rahen sautin ghar nis-din
hamraa jee kalpaaye
hamraa jee kalpaaye
hamraa jee kalpaaye
laakh sahi ham
pi ki batiyaan
ek sahi naa jaaye
haan ab
ek sahi naa jaaye
nainaa laal kapol pe anjan
aaa
nainaa laal kapol pe anjan
chaal bhayi matwaari
nainaa laal kapol pe anjan
chaal bhayi matwaari
raat jage kis bairan ke ghar
raat jage kis bairan ke ghar
raat jage kis bairan ke ghar
kis sautin bharmaaye
kis sautin bharmaaye
kis sautin bharmaaye
raam
kis sautin bharmaaye
laakh sahi hain
laakh sahi hain
laakh sahi hain
laakh sahi ham
pi ki batiyaan
ek sahi naa jaaye
haan haan
ek sahi naa jaaye
Atul’s Song A Day- A choice collection of Hindi Film & Non-Film Songs 
July 10, 2011 at 3:11 am
Atul ji,
I am taking a liberty to post a comment, the text of which is also included in a write up that I have sent for another song from Saigal Saab. Please esxcuse this duplication – but as I was doing the write up (for Suno Suno Hey Kishan Kaala), I realized that there are some ideas that answer a query you have raised in the write up for this song. And so I reproduce below a part of the text of the other write up.
In the domain of Prema Bhakti, Lord Krishna is considered as the supreme being and the Master of all living souls. This relationship, in mundane terms, can be compared with the relationship of a lover and his beloved. Yet it is dimensions apart and wholly transcends the customary understanding of this relationship. The discipline of Bhakti is basically to establish a very personal and an emotional relationship with the Lord. This relationship can be any – a devotee, a server, a friend, a parent, a child, a sibling, even as a spouse. The various relationships are actually the varying and progressive representations of the relationship that a human person can experience. It is believed that a seeker truly on this path, will transition across the various emotions of relationship to the Lord, in one or multiple life times. The progression is marked by the focus and the purity of thought one can apply to this search. And the supreme stage of a soul is that of the ‘Kaant Bhaav’ – a relationship that can be represented the closest by a lover-beloved analogy, but is in fact much more profound and emotionally adept than the simple lover-beloved relationships that we see, experience or read about. The eventual stage is of the soul truly coming face to face with the supersoul after transcending all the physical barriers presented by the existence of this body and all the apparatus of mind, intellect, experiences and ego.
As one distills the residue of this experiential phenomena, the soul of the being, which is called the ‘aatman’, embraces the qualities of a female existence, whereas the Lord, the super soul, who is called the ‘Paramaatman’ is endowed with the qualities of the Supreme Master, the ‘Purusha’ or the fundamental and supreme representation of the male characteristic. In the discipline of Prema Bhakti, that is the reason for the practitioners of either gender to consider themselves to be the female soul representation, in the loving service of the Lord, the supersoul ‘Purusha’. That is one explanation to the query of why so many male singers sing songs of Bhakti as if they were of the female gender.
The famous song ‘laaga chunri mein daag’ – the poet is identifying self with the soul of the being, that is wearing the ‘chunri’ that is this body. When it is time to leave this existence (i.e. life on this earth) and return to ‘baabul’, the Maker, the Master, the Supreme Soul, at that time the self is analyzing that the life’s experiences and actions have not been pure, and the ‘chunri’ now has blemishes and stains, and is feeling apprehensive and nervous on how to face Him, “Jaa ke babul se nazren milaa’un kaise, ghar jaa’un kaise, Laaga chunri mein daag . . . “. In this representation, the relationship being expressed with the Supreme is that of the child with the Father.
Another song, ‘Babul mora naihar chhooto hi jaaye’ – consider the emotions and sentiments above, with a different relationship perspective, this time that of a lover-beloved, or a spouse. In this case, the emotions are different, however the undercurrent of going to meet the Object of the relationship is the same – ‘le babul ghar aapno, mein chali piyaa ke des”. The emotional content is different; there is some small regret in leaving this existence, but there is a greater anticipation, almost an excitement of being able to travel to the abode of the Master of my soul.
As one would search through the Sufi poetry of Rumi, Omar Khayyaam, Amir Khusro, Farid, Bulle Shah etc., one finds an almost identical representation of this emotional relationship to the Supreme Being.
In the song ‘Suno Suno Hey Kishan Kaala’, the emotional threads being followed are similar. There is an entreaty to the One for whom the poet considers him(?)self to be the beloved, and He is the lover – ‘aayee tumre dwaar, suno meri pukaar, ab sun le baansari waala’. There is nothing that the poet wants, than a simple ‘darhsan’ – ‘haaye morey nainan ne, dekha naahin abhi Shyaam’. Here the feelings represented are those of ‘Sakhi’ bhaav or the ‘Gopi’ bhaav. The mind and the soul of the seeker actually does not want anything from the Lord, except for an opportunity to serve Him. The seeker does not want anything for himself/herself, but only wants to some way, somehow please Him. In the Sakhi bhaav, there is an explicit acknowledgement of Shri Radha and the divine relationship between Lord Krishna and Shri Radha. The desires of the seeker is not to intervene in any way, in this divine relationship, but seeks opportunities to serve Them, and derive – not happiness for the self, but a solace.
Rgds
Sudhir
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July 8, 2013 at 1:18 pm
‘anjnaa’ in fact is ‘anjan’ which means ‘kajal’. Kindly correct.
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July 8, 2013 at 2:48 pm
Thanks for the correction.
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