Hain mauj mein apne begaane
Posted on: September 8, 2012
This article is written by Sudhir, a fellow enthusiast of Hindi movie music and a regular contributor to this blog.
Greetings, Asha ji, on your 79th birth anniversary.
One can say a lot, but then what more new can be said about this wonderful, indefatigable voice that continues to reign in the world of music, and continues to grace us with musical offerings. A voice that has defined a whole new level of accomplishment, as also, having defined a complete era spanning the significant portion of the history of Hindi film music. Greetings again and best wishes for many more happy returns of this day.
Asha ji’s career in Hindi films gets launched by the hands of Hans Raj Behl. The year is 1948. And the film is ‘Chunariya’. In this film, Asha makes her debut as part of a trio of singers (along with Geeta Roy and Zohrabai), singing “Saawan Aaya Re. . .”. And for a solo debut, she has to wait another year. Another film under the baton of Hans Raj Behl – the 1949 production ‘Raat ki Rani’. The film has ten songs. It has five lyricists, and a bevy of singers including Lata Mangeshkar, Geeta Roy, Zohrabai and Mohammed Rafi. And the list of 10 songs contains 2 solo songs by this new, very fresh voice that sounds almost untrained and very amateur. And yet, there is an appeal, and an enticement that is for real. An enticement that has sustained for more than six decades with numbers like “Ye Hai Reshmi Zulfon Ka Andheraa. . .”(Mere Sanam, 1965) and “In Aankhon Ki Masti Ke. . .” (Umrao Jaan, 1981).
The film is produced and directed by Jagdish Sethi, under his own banner of JS Pictures, Bombay. The five lyricists are Rajinder Krishan, Buta Ram Sharma, Aarzoo Lucknowi, A Shah Shikarpuri and Darbari Lal Shamim. This song is penned by Aarzoo Lucknowi. It is a ghazal, short and sweet. It talks about the state of affairs in a tavern, where the devotees of the tipple are engrossed in their own worlds, wistfully contemplating the joys and sorrows of life, the futilities of fate and the ultimate conclusion all must face – a nameless ruin, like the moths getting their lives sniffed out in the irresistible tryst with the flame, falling by the wayside – a few here, and a few there. “. . .Do Chaar Idhar, Do Chaar Udhar”. A most defining perspective of life.
The verses sound simple, and yet they carry a profundity of life’s truths. Munshi Aarzoo Lucknowi, the poet behind this ghazal, has been the doyen of Urdu poets in the 30s and 40s. Born in 1893 in Lucknow, the city that was the cultural capital of the country’s heartland, his real name is Syed Anwar Hussain. He was a disciple of the famous Urdu teacher and poet, Jalaal Lucknowi. The distinctive feature of his writings is the use of simple day to day language and the avoidance of the difficult Persian vocabulary, that made his writings very popular in his time. In 1934, he moved to Calcutta, and started writing for New Theatres. ‘Manzil’ 1936 was his first film, and the song “Sunder Naari Preetam Pyaari. . .” rendered by Pankaj Mullick, was an instant success. From his pen have come a number of very popular songs sung by Saigal Saab and Pankaj Mullick.
In 1942 he moved to Bombay and continued to produce popular songs one after another. When the partition happened, he decided to move to Pakistan, and went to stay in Karachi. But he continued to write for the Hindi film industry in Bombay till he left this world. He passed away in 1961. Notably, the last song one hears from him in Hindi films, is from the film ‘Anita’ (1967) –“Gorey Gorey Chaand Se Mukh Pe. . .”.
The voice one hears in this rendition, is such a far cry from the Asha Bhosle we are all so very familiar with. Even the pronunciation may irk some avid listeners. But, ah well, this is just the start of the singing career, and the voice will learn to modulate and learn to render a more perfect sound. A little known trivia here – it may sound counter-intuitive, but it is true that Asha ji has more songs recorded in the decade of 1950s, than her illustrious elder sibling, Lata ji.
Listen to the original sound, a wonderful ghazal with a depth.
hain mauj mein apne begaane, do chaar idhar do chaar udhar
dhalke hain chhalakte paimaane, do chaar idhar do chaar udhar
Known and strangers, all
Engrossed, lost in the depths
Of private ecstasies, each one
A few here
And a few there
Overflowing cups
Tilting, spilling over
A few here
And a few there
(??) ki aafat dhaa ke gaye, matwaali adaa dikhlaa ke gaye
sar phod rahe hain deewaane, do chaar idhar do chaar udhar
Bestowing the devastation of dreams
Enticing with winsome manners and style
Leave behind the inane
Breaking their heads
(to make a meaning of it)
A few here
And a few there
(NOTE: the word (??) that I cannot fully decipher, sounds like ‘ruyaa-ee’; the word ‘ruyaa’ means a dream, a vision.
The couplet is somewhat mysterious, as it does not explicitly identify who enticed and then left. Could be the saaqi, or could be he wiles of this life; I am guessing.)
tooti umeedon ke tukde, bikhre hain aansoon ban ban ke
jaise kisi maala ke daane, do chaar idhar do chaar udhar
The shards of shattered dreams
Are strewn around, like streaming tears
Like pearls from a broken necklace
Scattered
A few here
And a few there
lehraati batti kya jaane, aapey mein nahin hain mastaane
jal jal ke girey hain parwaane, do chaar idhar do chaar udhar
The flickering flame (of the lamp)
Is blissfully unaware
That its devoted lovers
Are now beyond reason –
Burning their wings
They fall to their end
A few here
And a few there
Song-Hain mauj mein apne begaane (Raat Ki Raani)(1949) Singer-Asha Bhonsle, Lyrics-Aarzoo Lucknowi, MD-Hansraj Bahl)
Lyrics
aaaaaaaaa aaaaa aaaaaa
aaaaaaaaaa aaaaaa aaaaa
hain mauj mein apne begaane
ae ae ae ae
ae ae
hain mauj mein apne begaane
do chaar idhar
do chaar udhar
do chaar idhar
do chaar udhar
dhalke hain chhalakte
o ji chhalakte
aaaa chhalakte paimaane
do chaar idhar
do chaar udhar
do chaar idhar
do chaar udhar
(??) ki aafat dhaa ke gaye
matwaali adaa dikhlaa ke gaye
matwaali adaa dikhlaa ke gaye
sar phod rahe hain deewaane
do chaar idhar
do chaar udhar
do chaar idhar
do chaar udhar
tooti ummeedon ke tukde
haaye bikhre hain aansoon ban ban ke
kyun bikhre hain aansoon ban ban ke
jaise kisi maala ke daane
do chaar idhar
do chaar udhar
do chaar idhar
do chaar udhar
lehraati batti kya jaane
aapey mein nahin hain mastaane
aapey mein nahin hain mastaane
jal jal ke girey hain parwaane
haaye parwaane
do chaar idhar
do chaar udhar
do chaar idhar
do chaar udhar
2 Responses to "Hain mauj mein apne begaane"
February 18, 2013 at 8:28 pm
I am afraid the pathos of partition in 1947, the underlying force of this ghazal of 1949 is completely missing the way it is presented in this column. Arzoo was a staunch nationalist who was quite vocal in his opposition to partition. His love for Hindi-Urdu unity at the expense of Urdu-Persian unity arose from his love for Hindu-Muslim unity to get our motherland free from chains. Imagine the plight of a man who had to witness the bloodshed of brothers on both sides at such a massive scale and then the hippocricy of celebrating the ‘hard earned freedom’ on both sides of the bloody dividing line. His world was shattered completely as if he was cut into two halves. ‘do char’ is very expressive. It denotes the sharply shrinking world of the poet and the pain that even those handful are not at one place. It was a pity that our democracy could not retain a man like arzoo who was a symbol of secularism and pluralism of our country. Its a greater pity that ultimately he had to go to a state whose formation he opposed vehemently.
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Atul’s Song A Day- A choice collection of Hindi Film & Non-Film Songs 
September 8, 2012 at 9:02 am
Many happy returns of the day, wish you Happy Birthday Ashaji…
The pronunciation of the words…like mauj, mastana, parwana…is very soft…that’s make Ashaji, voice like her elder sister Meena Mageshkar.
Some early 50’s records I have heard in that her voice has some similarity with Lata.
Nice song to remember.
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