Jin jaao ree gori aaj paniyaan paniyaan bharan
Posted by: Atul on: September 9, 2011
This article is written by Sudhir, a fellow enthusiast of Hindi movie music and a regular contributor to this blog.
The non-film offerings of Saigal Saab are verily a much more valuable treasure than the film music rendered by him. Although comparatively much smaller, this treasure is much more inspiring and stimulating. Completely un-encumbered by the requirements of music direction, and playing to an audience, these non film offerings are a rare collection of exceptional quality and an expression of a free soul. This collection consists of 26 Urdu ghazals, and 11 bhajans and geets in Hindi. (Please note that these numbers do not include his songs in other languages i.e. Bengali, Tamil, Punjabi, and Persian). Majority of these are now posted on this blog. We are nearing the end of this list, and the postings of this series should conclude in another ten days or so.
A close examination of the list of his non-film offerings reveals a very philosophical and spiritual aspect of this gifted singer. All the ghazals are masterpieces of thoughtful verses coming from some of the most gifted poets of this land. The spiritual content of these ghazals is a revelation that is to be experienced afresh, with every new reading / listening of these masterful creations. I have mentioned before in earlier posts, that the pleasure of listening to Saigal Saabs songs, is heightened by the experience one has, of the words and their meanings coming alive. The profound quality of this voice brings to life the words so powerfully; an expression that has not been emulated since. And the eleven Hindi masterpieces, are almost all related the divine qualities and pastimes of that eternal Purusha, we address as Krsna. Once again the depth of spiritual content in these bhajans and geets is overwhelming and very satisfying.
The tenor of expression can simply not be a realization of the voice alone. The expression comes from within the soul of the person; the voice is simply a vehicle with which it gets enunciated for the listening pleasure of lesser mortals. And this is where I would like to connect this quality of expression with his upbringing and the experiences, especially his unaccounted years of wandering, before landing up in Calcutta. There is a very definite imprint of an intense meditative pursuit, and experiences of revelation. And a realization of the innermost truth that this gifted soul has encountered, in his search for the meanings of existence. One simply has to listen to the rendering of words, like ‘Suno Suno Hey Krishan Kaaraa . . .”, “Kaun Bujhaave . . .” or even “Duniya Mein Hoon Duniya Ka Talab-gaar Nahin Hoon . . .”. As one listens to these renditions, one can feel a divine influence here; the words are not just been spoken in a musical flow. In your heart, you can feel that the words are being felt and experienced and then being said. The emotion of realizing the meanings of the verses, is so inseparable from their singing. And that is where one can begin to feel the spiritual propensity of the singer. The voice is not just sending across words and music, it is actually reaching out to impart an emotional and meaningful sensation, pointing towards and revealing the truth behind the words. Words are simply not adequate to express the experience.
This particular geet is one of his three songs of Holi, celebrating the divine plays of Krsna with the Gopis of Vrindavan, during the festival of colors in the month of Phagun. (One is already posted, “Hori Ho Brijraaj Dulaare. . .”). This song is a conversation between the Gopis. One of them is telling the others not to go to panghat today for fetching water. Krsna has made a play, waiting midway on the path to panghat, waiting for Gopis to pass by to get water. And when an unsuspecting Gopi is within reach, he will drench her with colors and water. He will make her put the vessels aside and make her play Holi with Him, till she will sit down, tired. But he does not tire. He waits for another Gopi to pass by and will again make this loving play of water and colors with her. So just avoid going in that direction, for you will be taken in by his wiles and persuasions. Just don’t go to get water from Panghat today.
This short verse is teeming with allusions of a deeper quality. Krsna is waiting for you to come to Him, and he will douse you with the waters and colors of emotional experiences, and will saturate your being with love. And you will forget to return, and will remain with him, totally suffused by the colors he puts on you, and overwhelmed by the delight of the experiences. So go if you must, but remember that He will ensnare you and you may not want to return home.
The author of these verses is not identified, and it may be appropriate to assume that these are traditional songs of Holi from Braj, the land of Krsna. And again, the music composer is not identified. The melodies may be based on the folk songs and folklore, or possibly even crafted by Saigal Saab himself. But as they say, there isn’t as much joy in describing the qualities of honey, as much as there is in putting a drop on your tongue and tasting it.
So let’s just experience the taste, and cease the word-ly descriptions of it. Enjoy.
Song-Jin jaao ree gori aaj paniyaan paniyaan bharan (Saigal NFS) (1940) Singer-K L Saigal
Lyrics
aaaaaa raaaaan aaaaaa
jin jaao ree gori aaj paniyaan, paniyaan bharan
mat jaa aaa aao ree gori aaj paniyaan, paniyaan bharan
thhaado madh mein kaanh
thhaado madh mien kaanh
kheench kheench ke maarat pichkaari
sakhaa, sakhaa
jin ja, jin jaao ree gori aaj paniyaan, paniyaan bharan
re mat jaao ree gori aaj paniyaan
heyyy, jo koi jaave, waako rang mein bhinjovey
jo koi jaave, waako rang mein bhinjovey
pyaar karey meethhe bachan sunaave ree
pyaar karey meethhe bachan sunaave ree
o jatiyaan dharo yahin rang re go
o jatiyaan dharo yahin rang re go
baithh jaayegi braj naari, thak thak ke
na jaao ree gori aaj paniyaa
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Atul’s Song A Day- A choice collection of Hindi Film & Non-Film Songs 
September 10, 2011 at 9:28 am
“Embedding disabled by request” – what does this mean?
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September 10, 2011 at 9:36 am
Thanks for pointing it out. Now I have provided a working link.
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