Pehle to ho gayee namaste namaste
Posted on: November 8, 2011
This article is written by Sudhir, a fellow enthusiast of Hindi movie music and a regular contributor to this blog.
Presenting the song in response to the farmaish posted by Arun ji Deshmukh.
I am sure the number of folks would be very few, those who have not heard the iconic song, ‘Mere Piyaa Gaye Rangoon’ . The film Patanaga comes from the year 1949, which is considered as a watershed year in the annals of Hindi film music. So many wonderful movies with great music and great songs were released in this year, that it became a memorable year in terms of rising popularity of film music in India. The film is produced under the banner of Verma Films, Bombay and is directed by the distinguished Harnam Singh Rawail.
Patanga is a romantic comedy film that revolves around a theatre setting, and hence has songs (including the one mentioned above) that are on stage performances. This song appears to be a private performance that is presented by double duo of Yakub and Nigar Sultana, Gope and Mohana. The lyrics of song are penned by Rajendra Krishan and the music is composed by C Ramchandra.
The life and career story of HS Rawail is the typical representation of ‘nothing succeeds like success, and after a failure, you are nothing’. HS Rawail, whose contributions to the Hindi cinema are the monumental works Mere Mehboob (1963, Rajendra Kumar, Sadhna, Ashok Kumar, MD – Naushad), Sungursh (1968, Dilip Kumar, Vijayntimala, Balraj Sahni, Jayant, Sanjeev Kumar, MD – Naushad), Mehboob Ki Mehndi (1971, Rajesh Khanna, Leena Chandawarkar, MD – Laxmikant Pyaarelal) and Laila Majnu (1976, Rshi Kapoor, Ranjeeta Thakur, MD – Madan Mohan). Each of these films have been significant hits on the box office, besides being very well conceived and directed works. Also, all films boast of iconic music and are perennial favorites, revealing the director’s keen ear for music.
Born in Lyallpur, HS Rawail came to Mumbai as a teenager with no money in his pocket and big dreams of making movies. He soon moved to Calcutta where he wrote several scripts before turning director with “Dorangia Daku” in 1940. He made several action and comedy films in the 1940s and 50s, but finally discovered his forte in the popular genre of Muslim social films when he directed “Mere Mehboob”. He went on to direct Sunghursh, Mehboon Ki Mehndi and then Laila Majnu. Laila Majnu is considered really the last big and successful production of a love legend in Hindi cinema. In 1982, a remake of Mere Mehboob was launched with Jeetendra taking on Rajendra Kumar’s role. Jeetendra was also the producer of this film. As destiny would have it, the film was a major disaster, and in the process, wiped out HS Rawail’s career as a moviemaker. After this, he never directed any other film.
HS Rawail passed away in September 2004, unnoticed, unsung. His death was a minor snippet in the back pages of Mumbai newspapers, a coverage that left some of the more sensitive souls in the film industry very dismayed.
This post here is about a light hearted song of young hearts meeting and then falling in love. On stage, the song is performed by two pairs of actors, Yakub and Nigar Sultana being the first, and Gope and Mohana being the second. The story revolves around a theatre that is owned by Yakub. Gope is his friend, and Nigar is the star attraction of the theatre. Yakub has a soft corner for Nigar, but is not able to express himself well. And then Shyam appears on the scene. He is also a signer and performer and is looking for a job. A romantic interest develops between Shyam and Nigar, which becomes a sore point for Yakub. He tries some tricks to create distance between them, and a place for himself in Nigar’s heart, but the true love wins in the end. The role of Yakub is not so much a villain’s role; he mentors Nigar and adores her, and in the final scenes, realizing that Shyam and Nigar are meant for each other, he gracefully steps out of the way.
The clip also shows the performance being viewed by two people. The younger one in a suit and wearing a garland is the actor Randhir. I am unable to place a name on his senior bearded partner, who is referred to as his ‘vanaspati baap’ (fake father) by Randhir, later in the clip.
Enjoy this cheery song of young souls, and thanks to Arun ji for a wonderful reminder. 🙂
pehle to ho gayee namaste namaste
phir pyaar ho gayaa hanste hanste
What started off as a casual encounter and greetings
Turned into love in a jiffy of smiles
dil mein khushi ki kaliyaa khil gayeen
milte milte ankhiyaan mil gayeen
aur bas gayee duniyaa baste baste
Flowers of happiness have blossomed in the heart
Following casual glances, our eyes are now set on each other
Our world is getting set up together
aate jaate miley gali mein
ho gayee ulfat hansi hansi mein
duniya reh gayee jalte jalte
We continued to meet, as we pass each other in the alleyways
And the love between us has blossomed happily
Rest of the world eyes us with jealousy now
qadam qadam par naye nazaare
idhar udhar mat dekho pyaare
chalo chalo bhai apne apne raste
At every step, there is a new face that distracts
My dear, do not let your eyes stray here and there
OK, let us simply go our own way together
Audio
Video
Song-Pehle to ho gayee namaste namaste (Patanga)(1949) Singers-C Ramchandra, Rafi, Shamshad Begam, Mohan Tara, Lyrics-Rajinder Krishan, MD-C Ramchandra
All, C Ramchandra + Rafi , Shamshad Begam + Mohan Tara
Lyrics
haanh haanh namaste
namaste
aji namaste
namaste
pehle to ho gayee namaste namaste
pehle to ho gayee namaste namaste
phir pyaar ho gayaa haste haste
phir pyaar ho gayaa haste haste
pehle to ho gayee namaste namaste
dil mein khushi ki kaliyaan khil gayeen
milte milte ankhiyaan mil gayeen
dil mein khushi ki kaliyaan khil gayeen
milte milte ankhiyaan mil gayeen
aur bas gayee duniyaa baste baste
aur bas gayee duniyaa baste baste
pehle to ho gayee namaste namaste
pehle to ho gayee namaste namaste
phir pyaar ho gayaa hanste hanste
phir pyaar ho gayaa hanste hanste
pehle to ho gayee namaste namaste
aate jaate miley gali mein
aate jaate miley gali mein
ho gayee ulfat hansi hansi mein
hansi hansi mein
duniya reh gayee jalte jalte
duniya reh gayee jalte jalte
pehle to ho gayee namaste namaste
pehle to ho gayee namaste namaste
phir pyaar ho gayaa hanste haste
phir pyaar ho gayaa hanste haste
pehle to ho gayee namaste namaste
qadam qadam par naye nazaare
idhar udhar mat dekho pyaare
qadam qadam par naye nazaare
idhar udhar mat dekho pyaare
chalo chalo bhai apne apne raste
chalo chalo bhai apne apne raste
pehle to ho gayee namaste namaste
pehle to ho gayee namaste namaste
phir pyaar ho gayaa hanste haste
phir pyaar ho gayaa hanste haste
pehle to ho gayee namaste namaste
4 Responses to "Pehle to ho gayee namaste namaste"
January 11, 2012 at 2:27 pm
The Tamil version of this song was the signature tune for the start of the evening schedule of Radio Ceylon,during late 50s and 60s at 4.30 pm followed by Telugu and Tamil songs till 7 pm.
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January 11, 2012 at 3:56 pm
New video link : http://youtu.be/dJv5qikmKBo
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Atul’s Song A Day- A choice collection of Hindi Film & Non-Film Songs 
November 8, 2011 at 2:27 pm
Atul ji and Sudhir ji,
Thank you very much for posting my choice song so soon.I hope others also liked it.
1949 to 1957 was a peak period of C.Ramchandra,when he gave his best.Also during this period,i.e. by 54 onwards,Lata Mangeshkar gave her best contribution to CR’s music.It was the Golden Period of Hindi films and many memorable songs were composed by many Music Directors in this span.
Most songs were well known,but the quantum of good songs was so enormous that,willynilly some gems remained unnoticed and in the background.
This blog is doing a Herculian task in bringing such pearls to the fore and present them to the listeners.SUDHIR JI is doing a great service to the efforts of these composers by discussing the finer points of the songs in his inimitable way.
Thank you Atul ji and Sudhir ji for providing us the opportunity to enjoy these Gems.
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August 12, 2012 at 4:35 pm
here is the Tamil version of this song-
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