Humjoliyon ki thhee toliyaan
Posted on: September 7, 2011
This article is written by Sudhir, a fellow enthusiast of Hindi movie music and a regular contributor to this blog.
The wondrous characteristic about Saigal Saab is that whatever he sang, it became music. Even the songs with passages of prose and pauses, sound like melodies. His rendition of ‘Piye Jaa Aur Piye Jaa’ from Pujaarin (1936) is a combination of verse and prosaic speech, of a person under the influence of alcohol. It is stated that this song was recorded without any rehearsals. Just the first take is the final version we hear today. Or the song ‘Ek Raja Ka Betaa Le Kar Udne Waalaa Ghodaa’ from President (1937). Combining story telling with singing, it set up a fresh style for children songs. All examples of a gifted artist who would convert words to music.
Timir Baran, the composer for Devdas (1935) says, “Saigal was a born singer with a perfectly tuned voice. I composed music for Devdas and taught him the tunes. . . just two or three times. . . and he learnt. He reached the inner sense of the melody, the very core, with rare sensitivity. His voice has the most perfect tonal beauty. He did not learn from a ‘gharaanaa’. His was the voice nurtured by riaz and practiced with mad passion in his own inner world. His effortlessness was the outcome of a deep meditative singing style”.
And nowhere is this style more apparent that in his non-film songs and ghazals. With a minimum of accompaniment, his renditions of some of the more difficult ghazals, and of songs and geets, are satisfying to an extreme. Listening to the songs sung by him, is almost an ultimate experience. The emotional content says it all, and at the end of the song, there is a spontaneous approval from within, “. . . this can never be any more better”. In 1938, at a music conference in Allahabad, Saigal performed on stage in the presence of many contemporary stalwarts of classical music. He received a thunderous applause, as he stepped down from the stage, with people shouting his name for an encore. He went to his mother, who was sitting in the audience, touched her feet, and said with a childlike joy, “Listen mother, They are shouting for me to sing. Listen to them. They think I am a musisican.” The perfect gift was matched only by the perfect humility. A rare person indeed.
Having posted a new KL Saigal song every morning now for some weeks, we are coming close to the end of the series of Urdu/Hindi film and non-film renditions. Majority of his non-film pieces are ghazals, each one a singular masterpiece in its own right. And then there is a handful of non-film songs, which are an epitome of beauty in itself. This song, along with another non-film song, ‘Mein Baithhi Thee – Sajan Kaun Des Raaje’ are the two longest recordings by him. Almost all ghazals and film songs have been recorded to fit into one side of a 78 rpm vinyl record. These two songs are rare in the sense that they are double the length and occupy both sides of the vinyl record, ending up with a little over 6 minutes of listening pleasure.
This song talks about the concept if companionship, especially between the lover and the beloved. The theme that carries through the entire ‘geet’ is an expression of regret on being away from the lover and the desire to be with him. Both the creator of the lyrics and its composition, are unknown. As alluded for many other non-film creations by Saigal Saab, the music may have been composed by the singer himself, although not documented anywhere specifically.
Enjoy this rare creation, in the voice that makes the most difficult classical composition, seem like an effortless performance.
Song-Humjoliyon ki thhee toliyaan (Saigal NFS)(1940) Singer-K L Saigal
Lyrics
humjoliyon ki thhee toliyaan, haan
wo kar rahee thhee thitholiyaan, haan re
kuchh mast thhee sangeet mein, heyyy,
kuchh khelti thee holiyaan
kuchh khelti thee holiyaan
kuchh khelti thee holiyaan
kuchh khelti thee holiyaan
ek mein hoon dukhiyaa janam jalee
ek mein hoon dukhiyaa janam jalee
heyyy, ek mein hoon dukhiyaa janam jalee
gham mein huyee
gham mein palee
gham hee mera hamraaz thhaa
gham hee ki thhee diksha milee
gham hee ki thhee diksha milee
gham hee ki thhee diksha
chaahaa
chaahaa ki main bhi ik zaraa
dekhoon ke aakhir hai ye kyaa
heyyy, chaahaa ki main bhi ik zaraa
dekhoon ke aakhir hai ye kyaa
kyun khush hain saaree ladkiyaan
haan, kyun khush hain saaree ladkiyaan
paayaa hai kyaa khoyaa huaa
paayaa hai kyaa khoyaa huaa
paayaa hai kyaa khoyaa
dekhaa to sachee baat thhee
heyyyy, dekhaa to sachee baat thhee
sab ki suhaag ki raat thhee
apne piyaa ko saath le
daale wo haath mein haath thheen
daale wo haath mein haath thheen
daale wo haath mein haath
haan, masti mein thhee sab jhoomtin
heyyy masti mein thhee sab jhoomtin
apne piyaa ko choomtin
kabhi dekh drishti se prem ki
kabhi dekh drishti se prem ki
aanand le kar jhoomteen
aanand le kar jhoomteen
aanand le kar jhoomteen
aanand le kar jhoom
kaamaatra tab wo ho gayee,
heyyy, haan,
heyyy, kaamaatra tab wo ho gayee,
khaamosh ho kar so gayeen
haan, khaamosh ho kar so gayeen
jis kaa piyaa thhaa saath thhaa
jis kaa piyaa thhaa saath thhaa
madhosh ho kar kho gayeen
madhosh ho kar kho gayeen
madhosh ho kar kho
main hoon meraa na hai piyaa
arre, main hoon meraa na hai piyaa
tadpe hameshaa hai jiyaa
tadpe hameshaa hai jiyaa
dekhaa kisi ko dekh kar
dekhaa kisi ko dekh kar
behlaa liyaa apnaa jiyaa
behlaa liyaa apnaa jiyaa
behlaa liyaa apnaa jiyaa
bhagwan karey aisaa na ho
haan re,
heyyy, bhagwan karey aisaa na ho
dukh ho magar aisaa na ho
jis se piyaa bairaag ho
aisaa na ho
aisaa na ho
aisaa na ho
aisaa na ho
aisaa na ho
Atul’s Song A Day- A choice collection of Hindi Film & Non-Film Songs 
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