Rum jhum rum jhum chaal tihaari
Posted on: July 29, 2011
This article is written by Sudhir, a fellow enthusiast of Hindi movie music and a regular contributor to this blog.
Taansen (1943), a Ranjit Movietone productions, is rated as one of the major hit movies of Saigal Saab, right up there with Devdas, Yahudi Ki Ladki an Street Singer. True to the primary subject, this film is a musical bonanza of the first order. Directed by Jayant Desai, the film carried music compositions by the great Khemchand Prakash. There are 13 songs in this film, and the lyrics are shared between DN Madhok and Pt. Indra.
The legend has it that the singers of the caliber of Taansen and Baiju Baawra had the capability to tame and command even wild animals, just by the influence of their singing. It is stated as part of one of such legends about the competition that occurred between Taansen and Baiju Baawra. The contest takes place in the palace of Emperor Akbar. Taansen starts to sing, and after a little while, a small deer wanders into the palace and comes to the place where Taansen is singing. The deer is so enamored by the music, that it comes and sits besides Taansen, completely unmindful of the crowd of people around him. Continuing to sing, Taansen puts a garland of flowers around the neck of the deer, and as the singing comes to an end, the deer gets up and runs back to the forest. Taansen then requests Baiju that he (Taansen) would accept the mastery of Baiju, if he could get the garland back. Baiju starts to sing, and after a little while, the same deer wanders into the palace once again, and this time comes and sits besides Baiju. Baiju removes the garland from the deer’s neck and returns to Taansen.
This particular song presents an episode from the early years of Taansen, wherein he demonstrates the power and influence of music, in taming a runaway she-elephant. The elephant is gone berserk in the village and is chasing village folks. People are running helter skelter, trying to save themselves. The elephant targets the leading lady, Taani (played by Khursheed). In an effort to get away quickly from the elephant, Taani’s foot gets stuck in the roots of a tree, and there is imminent danger to life and limb. Taansen appears at this very moment, and starts to sing. The elephant is shown to be mesmerized by the singing; it slows down and settles down to listen to this beautiful voice.
The lyrics of this song are by Pt. Indra. The composition is semi classical, with Khemchand ji composing this using Raag Shankara. There is not enough superlatives in the language to describe the singing by Saigal Saab. Enjoy this wonderful creation from the film Taansen.
Audio
Video
Song-Rum jhum rum jhum chaal tihaari (Tansen) (1943) Singer-K L Saigal,Lyrics-Pt Indra,MD-Khemchand Prakash
Lyrics
rum jhum rum jhum chaal tihaari
rum jhum rum jhum chaal tihaari
kaahe bhayee matwaari
rum jhum rum jhum chaal tihaari
kaahe bhayee matwaari
balihaari
balihaari
balihaari
balihaari
airaawat balihaari
balihaari
balihaari
airaawat balihaari
rum jhum rum jhum chaal tihaari
kaahe bhayee matwaari
rum jhum
tumhri chaal jo chale kaamini
tumhri chaal jo chale kaamini
piyaa man bhaave wo gaj gaamini
tumhri chaal jo chale kaamini
piyaa man bhaave wo gaj gaamini
bisrat kaahe birad aapno
bisrat kaahe birad aapno
ye achraj hai bhaari
rum jhum rum jhum
rum jhum rum jhum
rum jhum rum jhum chaal tihaari
kaahe bhayee matwaari
rum jhum
Atul’s Song A Day- A choice collection of Hindi Film & Non-Film Songs 
July 30, 2011 at 7:33 am
Great write up on one of my favorite Saigal songs! I saw this movie a long, long time back, so long back that I didn’t even remember this song was in that movie, and it was good to read about the incidents leading to the song, and about the similar incident with Baiju, which I vaguely remember reading about somewhere! That is another reason for my following this blog – not only do I get to listen to old favorites, but I learn trivia about those songs as well. Thanks, Atul and Sudhirji!
LikeLike