Chanda ke paas ik taara
Posted on: April 26, 2012
This article is written by Sudhir, a fellow enthusiast of Hindi movie music and a regular contributor to this blog.
Sometimes a rhythm, a tune just sticks into the mind and keeps replaying itself over and over again. This is what has happened, when I bumped into this song two days ago. I was preparing for a write up on Shailendra, having identified other songs (which I will post later now). And then found this song – “dar a dad a daa a dad daaraa, chandaa ke paas ik taara”. The rhythm just refuses to go away from my mind, even though it is a tongue twisting formation, and the mind does stumble sometimes, when trying to go over it. A real foot tapping, ear catching melody that just stays with you once you have heard it.
But first, apologies for being unrepresented on the blog for some days. I did reach back Delhi on Saturday, and then have been caught up with work and personal related things to be attended to. I have been in email communication with some of our friends, and did receive a couple of emails of concern about lack of activity from my end. All is okay; just have to get back into the groove (pun intended 🙂 ).
And so, with this post, we celebrate 400th song written by Shailendra. A gifted poet and a lyricist par excellence, his play on words is intriguing and enchanting at the same time. “Aaj Phir Jeene Ki Tamanna Hai, Aaj Phir Marne Ka Iraada Hai” (Guide, 1965), or “Main Nadiyaa Phir Bhi Main Pyaasi, Bhed Ye Gehraa, Baat Zaraa Si” (Madhumati, 1958), or “Is Pyaar Ki Baazi Mein Hans Kar, Jo Dil Haara Wo Sab Jeeta” (Jis Desh Mein Ganga Behti Hai, 1960), or “Dum Bhar Jo Udhar Moonh Phere, O Chandaa, Mein Un Se Pyaar Kar Loongi” (Awaaraa, 1951), and many, many more such wonderful songs have come from his pen.
His filmography makes a very interesting reading, for one can identify one hit after another in this list with songs that are well remembered and popular even today. A poet’s success is that his words, performed on screen, to get into the heart and mind of the audience, and then play from the lips of thousands. Songs like “Mera Joota Hai Japaani” and “Ramaiyyaa Vasta Vaiyyaa” from ‘Shri 420’ (1955), ‘Kisi Ki Muskuraahaton Pe Ho Nissar’ (Anaari, 1959), “Saath Ho Tum Aur Raat Jawaan” (Kaanch Ki Gudiya, 1961), “Ye Raat Bheegi Bheegi” (Chori Chori, 1955). . . — I must stop, for I could simply go on listing the famous hits that he has created. But maybe I must add one more – “Naani Teri Morni Ko Mor Le Gaye” (Maasoom, 1956). The songs written by him, eventually have come to reside in the memory and on the lips of thousands of fans, and that is the true measure of his prowess as a poet.
The year was 1964, and the Filmfare award for the best lyrics for the year 1963 was announced for the song “Jo Waada Kiya Wo Nibhaana Padegaa” (Taj Mahal, 1963). The poet – Sahir Ludhianvi. And the winner’s reaction – he did not attend the award ceremony to accept the honor. For in his belief, the best song of the year that should have graced this honor was “Mat Ro Maata Laal Tere Bahutere” (Bandini, 1963), penned by Shailendra. The lyricist award went un-accepted that year, for Sahir acknowledged that a better man should have been picked for the honor. Well, the time were surely simpler then. . .
Shailendra made his debut in 1949 with the film Barsaat, and wrote two songs both of which became hits – “Patli Kamar Hai Tirchhi Nazar Hai” and “Barsaat Mein Hum Se Miley Tum. . .”. There is an interesting story behind how he came to work with Raj Kapoor for ‘Barasaat’. A mechanical engineer by profession, Shailendra worked for the Railways and was posted in Bombay. There was a poet in him, and he used to write and recite his poems at literary gatherings and kavi sammelans. The partition of the country was still fresh. Although his family hailed from Bihar, he was born in Rawalpindi in the undivided Punjab, where his father, working for the army, was posted. His memories of Punjab, and then the trauma of partition, erupted out of Shailendra’s mind onto paper in the form of the famous poem, ‘Jaltaa Hai Punjab’. He presented this poem at many a gatherings. It so happened that Raj Kapoor was present at one such gathering and he heard Shailendra’s poetry. He met with Shailendra after the program and invited him to write for the film ‘Aag’. Shailendra declined, not wanting to work in films. Raj Kapoor left, giving and open offer to him, to come and join him at any time. Production of ‘Aag’ went ahead. But it was not long before Shailendra, worried about domestic economics and an upcoming addition to his family, made his way to Raj Kapoor’s office, and took him up on the offer to write for films. ‘Barsaat’ was on the studio floor then, and Shailendra wrote these two, now very famous songs for it.
Soon after the release of ‘Barsaat’ another interesting episode occurred. One day, ‘Hasrat Mian’ (Hasrat Jaipuri) knocked on Shailendra’s door. In the ensuing conversation, Hasrat offered Shailendra to join the team – the team of Shankar-Jaikishan, Hasrat Jaipuri, and Shailendra. Shailendra agreed and the rest is history. For the next almost two decades, this team would be working together on almost 100 films, churning out one popular hit after another. The phenomenal success of Shankar Jaikishan in the 50s and 60s could not have been possible without the lyrics from Hasrat and Shailendra. Shailendra has written lyrics for more than half the films for which Shankar-Jaikishan composed the music.
From 1949, till his passing away in 1966, Shailendra wrote songs for more than 180 Hindi and regional language films, many of which continued to be released long after he had left. The last film carrying songs written by him is ‘Mamta Ki Chhaon’ that was released as late as 1989. On record, there are approximately 800 songs written by Shailendra. And it is a proud moment for this blog to claim that we already have half of all the songs written by him, represented here. Putting the numbers in a perspective – this blog has 500+ songs from only one lyricist so far, and that is Majrooh Sultanpuri. He is followed by two prolific poets, Rajinder Krishan and Anand Bakshi, both having crossed the 400 mark. And today, it is the turn for the talented Shailendra to reach this landmark.
The film is ‘Jawaani Ki Hawaa’. It is a 1959 production under the banner of All India Pictures, Bombay, produced by PN Arora and directed by M Sadiq. The lyrics for this film are penned by Rajendra Krishan and Shailendra, this song being written by Shailendra. The music is composed by Ravi. The leading cast of the movie includes Pradeep Kumar, Vijayantimala, Raj Mehra, Purnima, Shammi, Anwar, Helen, Badri Prasad, Johnny Walker, Parshuram, Anil Kumar, S Bannerjee etc. The singing voice is that of Asha Bhosle, just the right choice for the type of song, and the only voice that can do justice to this style and melody. On screen, the song is performed by Vijayantimala, who is apparently trying to appease an upset or annoyed Pradeep Kumar. The video print is not very clear, and there are places where the audio is not in sync with the action on the screen. I have included an audio only link also.
It is a very frisky and a peppy number that Vijayntimala is performing on screen. The pace and the rhythm is fast and melodious, and the tag line is bound to stick in your mind, when you listen to it. The very first rendering is enough to get you hooked. 🙂 dar a dad a daa a dad daaraa. Enjoy. 🙂
chandaa ke paas ik taara, karey door door se ishaara
yun baitthaa hai mann maarey, aaja pyaare ye nazaare
ye samaa hai pyaara pyaara
Behold the bright moon
Accompanied by a solo star
Beckoning from a distance
To come near
This time, this ambience
Is so lovely and joyful
O say, why do you sit away
With spirits so low
aasmaan pe chaand taare, kal bhi hansenge pyaare
hongey kahaan hum dono, ye kaun jaane
manzil judaa hai teri, raahen judaa hain meri
dum bhar ka saath hai ye, sun o deewaane
Tomorrow
This moon, and these stars
Will smile again in the skies
But who knows
Where the two of us may be
Maybe my paths are different
Maybe your destination is elsewhere
Listen my friend
This nearness maybe short lived
aaj ki ye raat pyaari, pehli mulaqaat pyaari
meetthi meetthi yaad ban ke dil mein rahegi
chaahe jahaan tu jaaye, chaahe jahaan mein jaaun
chandaa se chaandni ye, hardam kahegi
This lovely night of companionship
The delight of our first encounter
Will stay in our hearts
Like honey sweet memories
Tomorrow, we may go different ways
But still
The moonlight will always remind the moon
(of tonight’s joyful meeting)
Video
Song-Chanda ke paas ik taara (Jawaani Ki Hawaa)(1959) Singer-Asha Bhonsle, Lyrics-Shailendra, MD-Ravi
Lyrics
dar a dad a daa a dad daaraa
dar a dad a daa a dad daaraa
laa la la laara
li li laara
li li laara
li li laara
li li laara
lillee laara
chandaa ke paas ik taara
karey door door se ishaara
kyun baithhaa hai mann maarey
aaja pyaare
ye nazaare
ye samaa hai pyaara pyaara
chandaa ke paas ik taara
dar a dad a daa a dad daaraa
aasmaan pe chaand taare
kal bhi hansenge pyaare
hongey kahaan hum dono
ye kaun jaane
aasmaan pe chaand taare
kal bhi hansenge pyaare
hongey kahaan hum dono
ye kaun jaane
manzil judaa hai teri
raahen judaa hain meri
dum bhar ka saath hai ye
sun o deewaane
sun o deewaane
dar a dad a daa a dad daaraa
dar a dad a daa a dad daaraa
kyun baithhaa hai mann maarey
aaja pyaare
ye nazaare
ye samaa hai pyaara pyaara
chandaa ke paas ik taara
dar a dad a daa a dad daaraa
aaj ki ye raat pyaari
pehli mulaqaat pyaari
meethhi meethhi yaad ban ke
dil mein rahegi
aaj ki ye raat pyaari
pehli mulaqaat pyaari
meethhi meethhi yaad ban ke
dil mein rahegi
chaahe jahaan tu jaaye
chaahe jahaan main jaaun
chandaa se chaandni ye
hardam kahegi
hardam kahegi
dar a dad a daa a dad daaraa
dar a dad a daa a dad daaraa
kyun baithhaa hai mann maarey
aaja pyaare
ye nazaare
ye samaa hai pyaara pyaara
chandaa ke paas ik taara
dar a dad a daa a dad daaraa
13 Responses to "Chanda ke paas ik taara"
April 26, 2012 at 12:03 pm
Congratulations Atulji for reaching this milestone of Shailendraji’s 400th song. Welcome back Sudhirji and thanks for the beautiful write up for Shailendra, my fav poet. His words may be simple but with a depth. This particular song with the rhythm
dar a dad a daa a dad daaraa……
is new for me for his and Raviji’s style.
ab ye dhun/tune ek do din to dimaag mein rahegi.
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April 26, 2012 at 1:50 pm
Sudhir ji,
Welcome back.We were missing you.
A very good post on Shailendra(what else is expected of you,otherwise ?).
Shailendra was having a very bad opinion about our politicians.He once wrote,in disgust,the following lines-
“Bhagat singh ,is baar na lena kaaya tum Bharatwasi ki
Deshbhakti ke liye aaj bhi sajaa milegi Phaansi ki
yadi janata ki baat karoge
tum Gaddar kahalaoge
Bamb Samb ki chhodo
Bhashan doge to bhi pakde jaaoge ! ”
A great poet,truly !
-AD
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April 26, 2012 at 3:29 pm
Very happy to see you back, Sudhirji. We were indeed missing you.
As usual, a very interesting write-up. And very informative too, full of interesting trivia. I didn’t know, for example, that Sahir did not pick up his award because he felt Shailendra deserved it more. Those were different times, for sure.
Everytime we get to a milestone here, I’m thrilled because it is an indication of how this blog is progressing. The fact that we’ve got to 400 Shailendra songs (i.e about half his entire output) says a lot about the persistence on this blog, especially considering many of them are gems that may not be otherwise well-known (like this song posted today – well, it’s a gem for me at least and I’m hearing it for the first time).
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April 26, 2012 at 4:25 pm
His real name was Shankerdas Kesarilal. After Barsaat, SJ promised Shailendra that they would recommend him around. Nothing was happening. He sent a note across with “Chhotisi yeh duniya pehchhane raaste, kahi toh miloge toh puchenge haal”. SJ realized their mistake and like true musicians turned the note into a beautiful song in Rangoli!!!
Hasrat claimed that he was the best lyricist in the industry. Everything was going hunkery dunkery but alas the bug to produce films bugged him too. Teesri Kasam lead him to Chauta Sansar.
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April 26, 2012 at 10:57 pm
Sudhirji’s bio on Shailendra was fantastic. What happened to his son, Shailly ? I had an impression that Raj warned him against producing TEESARI KASAM. But when he went ahead, cooperated with him. The film flopped as was expected. Shailendra did not compromise. And he deid on 14th December — the birthday of Raj Kapoor.
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April 27, 2012 at 1:09 am
Shaily writes lyrics from time to time. Most recent one was probably, Umar (2006).
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April 28, 2012 at 1:15 am
Vijay ji, Bluefire ji,
It is a sad thing that Shaily Shailendra is no more. Born on 9th Dec 1949, he made his debut with the film ‘Mera Naam Joker’ in 1970. In subsequent years, he has written lyrics for about 40 films, working with 14 music directors.
Some films with lyrics by Shaily, that I am able to identify are
‘Kal Aaj Aur Kal’ (1971),
‘Vachan’ (1974),
‘Romeo In Sikkim’ (1975),
‘Jaan Haazir Hai’ (1975),
‘Aap Ki Khaatir’ (1977),
‘Tere Pyaar Mein’ (1978),
‘Aangan Ki Kali’ (1979),
‘Do Hawaldaar’ (1979)
‘Jeete Hain Shaan Se’ (1988)
‘Radha Ka Sangam’ (1992)
‘Dil Ka Doctor’ (1995)
‘Aatank Hi Aatank’ (1995)
‘Zordaar’ (1996)
‘Umar’ (2006) etc.
Some memorable songs from his pen are
“Hum Jab Hongey Saatth Saal Ke Aur Tum Hogi Pachpan Ki” from ‘Kal, Aaj Aur Kal’,
“Bambai Se Aaya Mera Dost” from ‘Aap Ki Khatir’,
“Pyaara Ik Banglaa Ho Bangley Mein Gaadi Ho” from ‘Aap Ki Khatir’
“Hum Na Rahenge, Tum Na Rahoge, Ye Pyaar Hamaara Hamesha Rahega” from ‘Jaan Haazir Hai’
“Saawan Aaya Baadal Aaye” from ‘Jaan Haazir Hai’
“Sainyyaan Bina Ghar Soona Soona” from ‘Aanagan Ki Kali’
He passed away on 7th Mar 2007, in Bombay, just 57 years old.
His daughter, Priyanka Shailendra, is an aspiring poet and singer.
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April 28, 2012 at 1:22 am
Hi all,
Yes, good to be back, and good to be exchanging notes on our favorite subject. 🙂
Thanks all for your notes of appreciation.
Shailendra’s writings have very simple words, but have depth of meaning, and are endearing to the heart.
And yes, the story behind Teesri Kasam and Shailendra’s demise is intriguing. I will write about it again shortly.
Rgds
Sudhir
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April 28, 2012 at 7:34 am
Thank you for information on Shaily Shailendra. It doesnt give me a reply option to ur answer in previous comment, so replying here.
I believe these are the rest of the movies penned by him:
Aangan Ki Kali (79)
Chorni (82)
pyar ke rahi (82)
kaala sooraj (85)
pyar ho gaya (86)
mangal dada (86)
naamo nishan (87)
shukriya (88)
shiva-shakti (88)
kahan hai kanoon (89)
danga fasad (90)
naamcheen (91)
dil ki baazi (93)
vijaypath (94)
miss 420 (98)
le chal apne sang (2000)
Regards.
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April 28, 2012 at 10:30 am
Oh my God
Shaily Shailendra is no more,Really.
It is like just yesterday I was reading a small piece of interview of Shailey in magazine STAR & STYLE(eventhough I read it some 15 years back)
It is hard to digest.
“Hum na rahenge, tum na rahoge, ye pyaar hamaraa hameshaa rahegaa”
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Atul’s Song A Day- A choice collection of Hindi Film & Non-Film Songs 
April 26, 2012 at 12:01 pm
There were also stories that RK didnt believe in newcomer Basu Bhattacharya during the shooting of Teesri Kasam (1966) and Waheeda Rehman had to keep reassuring him that it would all turn out just fine. Although movie did win the national award, producer Shailendra had to face many hardships thru the hands of RK, and soon died a bitter man.
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