Wo bijli hain ham shola
Posted on: July 14, 2012
This article is written by Raja, a fellow enthusiast of Hindi movie music and a regular contributor to this blog.
The 14th of July is the birth anniversary of Roshan saab, one of my favorite music composers of yesteryear.
It is very much possible that today’s generation has not heard of him at all, or know him as Hrithik Roshan’s grandfather (“He also had something to do with films, right?” may be a typical query).
To be absolutely fair to them, the exact same query would have been asked in my time (1970s) too, though then he might have been referred to by my generation as Rakesh Roshan’s father. As Rajesh Roshan also began getting some popularity later in the 70s, I remember him being referred to as “chip of the old block”.
And the irony of all this is that of all the Roshans, I think it was Roshan Nagrath (better known just as Roshan) who did the ghar ka chiraag “roshan” more than future generations.
This is not to belittle Rakesh, Rajesh or even Hrithik (I know he has his millions of fans) but at least in my opinion, the Roshan who has left, and will leave, the most lasting legacy in the film industry has just got to be the “original” Roshan saab, music composer of the 1950s and 1960s. I’m sure none of his own family members will ever dispute that.
I strongly believe a person is remembered by the legacy he leaves. This applies in every field. A scientist is remembered for his inventions, a poet for his poetry, a composer for his music, an actor for his roles. The legacy need not be a positive one either – some politicians are unfortunately remembered for their corruption more than for their good deeds.
Roshan saab need not fear for his legacy – he has left us with some of the most enduring and beautiful pieces of composition ever in Hindi cinema. Many of his songs are played on radio everyday, people listen to his music everyday without often realizing that it is his.
Just off the top of my head I could reel off a dozen movies for which Roshan saab has composed music that are popular to this day – Baawre Nain, Malhaar, Anhonee, Barsaat Ki Raat, Aarti, Dil Hi To Hai, Taj Mahal, Chitralekha, Nai Umar Ki Nai Fasal, Mamta, Devar, Bahu Begum, Anokhi Raat….and more. And mind you, Roshan saab did not compose music for every other film, his volume of work is rather limited. But what quality!
The compositions in each of these movies are a treasure in themselves. I personally love listening to them all – I cannot even pick a favorite amongst them. How can I possibly pick between “khayaalon mein kisi ke is tarah aaya nahin karte” and “badey armaan se rakha hai balam teri kasam”? Or between the qawwali “na to caravan ki talaash hai” (which seamlessly blends into “ye ishq ishq hai ishq ishq”) and the classical “laaga chunri mein daag”? Or between Rafi saab’s “zindagi bhar nahin bhoolegi ye barsaat ki raat” and “man re tu kaahe na dheer dhare”?
I refuse to pick one Roshan saab favorite – it would be akin to doing injustice to his other songs. I will admit I have some go-to Roshan saab songs – whenever I want to listen to breezy Lata, I tend to go to “rahe na rahe hum”, for example. Though I’m very happy to listen to the Lata-Rafi duet “baar baar tohe kya samjhaye paayal ki jhankar” also, another Roshan composition.
And if you really want a Roshan composition that takes you to the other extreme, and you are not fully torn by “bahaaron ne mera chaman loot kar”, a song that will guarantee you the depth of emotion is “swapn jhade phool se” (often known as “caravan guzar gaya”). I don’t know how many times I’ve listened to that song.
And there are so many more. So many more gems that Roshan saab produced for us – and would likely have continued to, if he hadn’t been cruelly snatched away from us abruptly on 16th November 1967, when he was just 50. Anokhi Raat, one of his last films, is testament that he had much more to give to us if only he’d lived longer.
Today’s song here is from one of his less-known films, Vallah Kya Baat Hai (1962). It is not one of his typical compositions – Roshan saab was not exactly well-known for “club” songs, the type that were quite common in the 1960s. That is why it is a pleasant surprise to see him compose one of these – I always like it when a composer surprises me with something different (in a positive sense!).
I happened to see this film a couple of months ago – and I came away liking the songs quite a lot. They are not very well-known – that’s all the more reason for me to put them out there in public. 🙂
I’ll be brutally honest here – I would most certainly not consider this anywhere close to Roshan saab’s top compositions. That would be a ridiculous comparison – to have this stack up against Chitralekha or Taj Mahal.
But it is a different composition for Roshan saab – and for that alone, it is a pleasure to listen to. One might associate this sort of music from Shankar Jaikishen, but it has its own charm when it is composed by Roshan saab.
And it’s always good to see Shammi Kapoor on a dance floor, isn’t it? ?
Hope you enjoy the song too.
Audio
Video
Song-Wo bijli hain ham shola (Vallah Kya Baat Hai)(1962) Singer-Rafi, Lyrics-Prem Dhawan, MD-Roshan
Lyrics
Wo bijli hain hum shola
aaj na jaane kya hoga
chaand se takkar sooraj ki
lo aaya din qayaamat ka
ho ho yaaron husn ki
ishq se ye pehli mulaaqaat hai
aa ha ha vallah kya baat hai
O ho ho vallah kya baat hai
kya baat hai
wo bijli hain hum shola
aaj na jaane kya hoga
chaand se takkar sooraj ki
lo aaya din qayaamat ka
ho ho yaaron husn ki
ishq se ye pehli mulaaqaat hai
aa ha ha vallah kya baat hai
o ho ho vallah kya baat hai
kya baat hai
hotey hain kaafir yoon to
Allah Allah
kehte hain dilbar jin ko
dil ko udaa len hanske
tauba tauba
aata hai jaadoo jinko
lekin humse jo aankh mili
to khaa gaye wo bhi chakkar
sab naaz wo apne bhool gaye
aur bhool gaye sab akkad
unko paani peena padaa
ye hai naazuk waqt badaa
chaand se takkar sooraj ki
lo aaya din qayaamat ka
ho ho yaaron husn ki
ishq se ye pehli mulaaqaat hai
aa ha ha vallah kya baat hai
O ho ho vallah kya baat hai
kya baat hai
aisi bhi kya madhoshi
dekho dekho
hosh nahin aanchal ka
kehti hain saaf nigaahen
Allah kasam
haal buraa hai dil ka
hai baat abhi to aankhon tak
aage zaalim kya hogaa
jab dil ko chhoo lengin nazren
jaane aalam kya hogaa
chaand se takkar sooraj ki
lo aaya din qayaamat ka
ho ho yaaron husn ki
ishq se ye pehli mulaaqaat hai
aa ha ha vallah kya baat hai
O ho ho vallah kya baat hai
kya baat hai
wo bijli hain hum shola
aaj na jaane kya hoga
chaand se takkar sooraj ki
lo aaya din qayaamat ka
ho ho yaaron husn ki
ishq se ye pehli mulaaqaat hai
aa ha ha vallah kya baat hai
O ho ho vallah kya baat hai
kya baat hai
6 Responses to "Wo bijli hain ham shola"
2 | Ava Suri
July 14, 2012 at 8:38 pm
This is an excellent write up. I find it hard to pick a favorite music director, let alone a single composition by one. 🙂 There was such formidable talent on display during the 60s that one cannot choose, such music directors, such writers, such singers, such actors ! Kya dekhene kya chode.
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So very true. I feel it is going to take a life time to really appreciate all that the Golden era of hfm encompasses. I have not seen so many of these movies, even though i love those songs.
The month of July is especially eventful with so many birthdays and anniversaries.
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Atul’s Song A Day- A choice collection of Hindi Film & Non-Film Songs 
July 14, 2012 at 6:47 pm
‘Vallah kya Baat Hai’ also had a very ‘un-Roshan’ feet tapping duet by Rafi/Asha..”Khanke tho khanke yoon khanke, ye humko kare ishaarey, tera kangana…” It almost had an O P Nayyar feel to it!
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July 14, 2012 at 6:57 pm
That song has already been posted.
https://atulsongaday.wordpress.com/2011/08/19/khanke-to-khanke-kyun-khanke/
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July 14, 2012 at 7:03 pm
Whoops Atul-ji! Didn’t know that!
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