Parmukh bani tu Kamla
Posted on: October 20, 2012
This article is written by Arunkumar Deshmukh, a fellow enthusiast of Hindi movie music and a regular contributor to this blog
MUSIC is an inseparable part of Indian culture.
From the Vedic periods, music has been in use. Many Mantras and Richas are to be recited in musical notes. It was believed that sound waves have special powers.
In those days, when knowledge had to be passed on to the next generation by SHRUTI(reciting, hearing and remembering) and SMRITI (remembering and repeating), music was a great help as it made the most mundane subject also an interesting one.
In the entire Indian subcontinent, music has occupied its place in everything one does from Birth to Death and from Agriculture to Marketing. There are songs for every occasion of our life.
Music was promoted by great kings by appointing Raj Gaayaks and Vaadaks.
Even our great saints, like Tulsidas, Kabir, Rahim, Tukaram, Namdeo, Tyagraja, Purandardas, Kanakdas, Kumargurupara, Sri Andal Swamy and others composed Bhajans and Kritis set to tunes and music for greater acceptability and understanding.
Music encompassed every aspect of human life in our culture and hence, when Films were being made, it came as no surprise that music played an important role in it. When the films were silent, orchestra used to play in front of the screen and when Talkie started, there were songs galore in films.
Actually, sound recording came to India in 1902, when the first recording was done with Miss Shashimukhi. Soon after 3-4 days, a three minute song by GAUHAR JAAN of Calcutta was recorded in a Hotel in Calcutta,by a team of U.K.Technicians. Initially, only professional singers(read Tawayafs), sang songs on records, but once the records were lapped up by the people, records of many classical, Gazal, Geet and Bhajans singers rolled out.
Initially,in Talkie films, there were too many songs. In films of 1932/33, the average of the songs per film was in 20s, later it came down slowly. Indrasabha-a film of 1932 had 71 songs in it !
To start with, no one thought of making records of film songs. It was the owners of Imperial Film Company, Bombay, who first recognised the commercial value of marketing film song records.
As a trial, it was decided to make 2 records 0f 78 RPM, for 4 songs of a film made by the company.
The Film chosen for this was MADHURI-1932, an adventure story based on the conflict between Ujjain and Kanauj in Upper India.
The songs were to be sung by VINAYAK RAO PATWARDHAN, who did the Hero’s role in the film. Vinayakrao was a professional stage singer and was used to singing a song atleast for 15 minutes. For making a record,it was necessary that the song should finish in 3 minutes maximum. Vinayakrao, who had worked on marathi stage along with the famous BALGANDHARVA, for last 10 years, found it extremely difficult to restrict singing in just 3 minutes. He had to do practice for several days. Credit must be given to the film’s Music Director-PRANSUKH NAYAK, for convincing and getting the desired song from Vinayakrao in 3 minutes.
Anyway,the FIRST song that was sung and recorded was ” Sarita sugandh shobhe Vasant ” and the second was ” Kaise jaun Madhuri “. These 2 songs were on one 78 RPM record bearing No. N-5622 (HMV Label).
Later 2 more songs, ” Ahankar kar ke ” and ” Parmukh bani tu ” were recorded on another 78 RPM Record bearing No.-N-5623.
HISTORY WAS CREATED !!!
God only knows, whether the participants in this recording had any clue that they were a part of the Historical achievement. Whether they did or did not, was immaterial as History was made in making India’s FIRST recorded film song for commercial use. Both Vinayak Rao Patwardhan and Pransukh Nayak had etched their names on the pages of History.
As the time passed on, slowly many film songs-NOT ALL- were recorded. Still there were hundreds of films where not even one song was recorded and thus many singers and composers remained in dark.
Actual Playback started in Calcutta in 1935 and in Bombay in 1937, with songs made by R.C.Boral in DHOOP CHHAON in 1935 and by Anil Biswas in MAHAGEET-37 in Bombay.After this ofcourse the number of recorded songs increased considerably.
Few years back, a search was undertaken to trace the original records of Madhuri, but till date only ONE record out of the TWO has been traced. According to one report this record was traced to one MR.V.A.K.RANGA RAO of Madras, who had a collection of over 35000 records ! More than 100 collector were found who had more than 5000 records with them !!
The record which was found was the SECOND record of MADHURI-32. The FIRST record with the FIRST song is still untraced. May be….some day….. somewhere……
We are happy to to provide BOTH songs of MADHURI-32, which were made FIRST time in Indian Film Industry. The No. is N-5623 HMV Label.
Before we hear the songs, let us know something about the singer, composer and the film.
VINAYAK RAO PATWARDHAN was born in Miraj, Maharashtra,on 22-7-1898, in a Dashgranthi Marathi bramhin family. He lost his mother in 1902 and father after six months. His uncle, in the joint family sent him to Balkrishnabuwa Ichalkaranjikar for training in music. He was spotted by the great classical singer Vishnu Digamber Paluskar and taken to Lahore for further music training in his Gandharva mahavidyalaya. He learnt music from 1905 to 1908 at Lahore and then from 1911 to 1914 at Bombay with a scholarship of Rs.16/- from the Miraj rulers. After becoming Sangeet praveen he learnt music from Bhaskarbuwa Bakhale. From 1921 to 1931 he was in Balgandharva’s Natak mandali,singing and acting on stage. In 1932 he did MADHURI, but then went back to teaching Music. He also taught to D.V.Paluskar son of V.D.Paluskar who died in 1931 when DV was just 9 year old. Thus he taught Guru’s son also. Vinayak Rao got several awards and rewards. He got Academy award in 1965 and Padma Bhushan in 1972. He died on 23-8-1975 at Poona.
Pransukh Nayak was attached to Imperial Film Co. He was a famous Gujarati composer, particularly in the BHAVAI dance drama music. He has become immortal in Hindi Film Music by recording the FIRST songs of Madhuri-32. He also gave music fifteen movies including Bharati mata, Dorangi Duniya, Daku ki Ladki, Sati Anusuya etc till 1937 and then devoted himself to Gujarati stage. He gave singing opportunities to Rajkumari,Sabita Devi,Sardar Akhtar and Surendra. In the film Deccan Queen-36, he gave a parody song to Surendra which became an instant hit. The song was ” Birha ki aag basi more man me “, a parody of K.L.Saigal’s Devdas -35 song “Balam aaye baso mere man mein “. Nayak also helped composed Ashok Ghosh by making him his assistant.
MADHURI-1932 was an action and adventure film set in the background of rivalary between Ujjain and Kanauj in Upper India, in the 4th century.
It was also a love story of Prince of Malwa-Amber (Vinayak Rao) and Madhuri-princess of Ujjain(Sulochan alias Ruby Myers). Their love affair is disturbed first by Tikka (Mohammed)-the prince of a carvan of tribe-Gulwari and later by Mahasamant (Jamshed) the evil commander of Kanauj, who is interested in kidnapping and marrying Madhuri.
In one fight, Mahasamant defeats Amber and imprisons him in a dungeon. Madhuri has sword duel with him in which,she defeats him.
Then donning a male attire, she rescues Prince amber. There is a sword fight in the soldiers and these two lovers. You have guessed it right. The lovers kill everybody and run away to Ujjain, where they are married by the king.
In the entire film, Vinayakrao was very uncomfortable acting with Sulochana, as he had always acted with Balgandharva donning a female attire. Here it was a real lady !
Here is one of the songs from “Madhuri” (1932).
Atul’s note:- The lyrics of this song are very challenging to note down. Sudir jee has not only deciphered the lyrics of this song, he has also provided translation of this historical song.
= = = = = = = == = = =
Translation
= = = = = = = == = = =
paramukh bani tu kamala
mohey kaahe sharmaawe
O lotus faced One
Thou command the prime place
(Amongst all the beautiful ones)
Be not reticent
Be not bashful with me
madhur bani nav ramani
vimukh naa hi shobhaaye
O so sweet and pleasant You be
O so new and playful You be
Do not turn away from me
It may seem so unbecoming
prem waali prem karey
nav vadhu bani sukh paawe
O the One so full of love
Love is Your only nature
Gaining pleasant happiness
Like a new pristine bride
madhur banaa nav yauwana
sukhmaye tu Raadhe
Your ever new splendor
Is always so pleasing, delightful
You are, O Raadhe
The wellspring of happiness and wellbeing
Song-Parmukh bani tu kamla (Madhuri)(1932) Singer-Vinayakrao Patwardhan, MD-Pransukhlal Nayak
= = = = = = = == = = =
Lyrics
= = = = = = = == = = =
paramukh bani tu kamala
paramukh bani tu kamala
mohey kaahe sharmaawe
paramukh bani tu kamala
mohey kaahe sharmaawe
paramukh bani tu kamala
madhur bani
ee ee eee ee
nav ramani
eee ee eee eee eee
madhur bani nav ramani
madhur bani nav ramani
madhur bani nav ramani
vimukh naa hi shobhaaye
vimukh naa hi shobhaaye
paramukh bani
paramukh bani
paramukh bani tu kamala
mohe kaa. . .aaaaahe sharmaawe
mohe kaahe sharmaa. . .aaawe
mohe kaa. . .aaaaahe sharma. . . aaa. . .aaa. . .aaaawe
paramukh bani tu kamala
mohey kaahe sharmaawe
paramukh bani
paramukh bani
paramukh bani tu kamala
prem waali prem karey
ae ae
prem waali prem karey
nav vadhu bani sukh paawe
nav vadhu bani sukh paawe
madhur banaa
nav yauwana. . .
aa aa aaa aaa
aaa aaa
aaa aaa aaa
madhur banaa
madhur banaa
aaa aaaa
madhur banaa
aaa aaa aaaa
aaa aaa aaa
madhur banaa
aaa aaa
madhur banaa
aaa aaa aaaa
aaa aa aaa
madhur banaa
nav yauwana
madhur banaa
nav yauwana
sukhmaye tu Raadhe
sukhmaye tu Raadhe
paramukh bani tu kamala
mohey kaa. . .aaahe sharmaawe
sharmaa. . .aaawe
sharmaawe
sharmaa. . .aaawe
paramukh bani
paramukh bani
paramukh bani tu kamala
paramukh bani tu kamala
aaa aaa
aaa aaa aaa aaaa
aa aa aaa aaa aaa aaaa
aaa aaa aaa
paramukh bani
paramukh bani
paramukh bani tu kamala
mohe kaahe sharmaawe ae ae ae ae
paramukh bani tu kamala
mohe kaahe sharmaawe ae ae
paramukh bani tu kamala
37 Responses to "Parmukh bani tu Kamla"
October 20, 2012 at 8:04 am
Arun,
Wonderful article on the history of first recorded songs of the Hindi films.
The rendition is in the typical style of ‘natya sangeet’ and it appears from the rendition that Vinayakrao Patwardhan was under psychological pressure to finish the song in about 3 minutes 🙂
Atul,
I get to hear the starting words as ‘paramukh bani tu kamla’ .
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October 20, 2012 at 2:07 pm
Kamath ji,
I am happy that you liked it.
As I wrote in one of my earlier posts,in the western centre of film production in the early years,the Marathi stage/drama music was great and one will find many songs tinged with or even copied from the Marathi Natya Geets.
Similarly the impact of even Gujrati and parsi stage songs was also noticeable.
As far as pressure of completing the song in 3 minute,I remember one anecdote.
When All India Radio became popular and was developing its listeners’ numbers,they decided to invite reknowned singers from the classical fold to sing on the radio.
Once they invited one such India-famous singer to sing on the Radio,live.The time limit given for that song was only 3 minutes.The singer was again and again warned not to exceed the limit.
The song started and he finished it in just 3 minutes.Immediately after the song was completed the singer proudly swore loudly and said,” huwa na 3 minute mein ?” since the mike was still on,his swearing and the subsequent remark went all over India to his listeners !
-AD
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October 20, 2012 at 5:20 pm
Atul ji, Arun ji
I agree with Sadanand ji regarding the lyrics. I have this song in my collection, and went back to hear it again, after seeing the lyrics and the comment from Sadanand ji. The recording I have is much more clear, and the words are definitely ‘Paramukh Bani Tu Kamala’. As I listened to the complete song, I find a few more corrections, I am sending the revised lyrics, as best as I could make out, by email.
And Arun ji, a very imporant news. The second record of Madhuri, N5622, is no longer ‘untraced’. In my collection, I have the recording of all four songs available from both the record released for this film. 🙂
Rgds
Sudhir
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October 20, 2012 at 5:31 pm
Sudhir ji,
I am pleasantly surprised to know that all the 4 songs are available
with you.I am very curious to know how and from where you got these songs.have you got the 78 RPM records or only the song recordings.
For your information 99.9% people ,who are in our type of hobby,are under the impression that only 2 songs are traceable.
RMIM and IRCI may also be under this impression.
If you can disclose your source, we shall be obliged.
-AD
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October 20, 2012 at 5:37 pm
sorry,the II para should be -” RMIM and SIRC…….”
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October 20, 2012 at 8:57 am
Arun ji,
Thanks for this wonderful sojourn through the initial history of the recorded sound in India. Wonderful song accompanied by a most interesting and informative write up getting back to the very origins of the Hindi film song.
Thanks for this post.
Rgds
Sudhir
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October 20, 2012 at 2:08 pm
Sudhir ji,
Nice to read your comments after a loooooooooooong time.
Thanks.
-AD
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October 20, 2012 at 5:09 pm
Arun ji
Yes, it is good to be back. I was distracted for some time. But OK now. 🙂
Rgds
Sudhir
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October 20, 2012 at 10:18 am
Atulji, Arunji
I am so used to this blog that yesterday was a restless day for me.No posting!
But today was the compensation.
Atulji, you are alright no?
Arunji, you are raising our expectations higher and higher.
Can’t stop saying ARUN is ATUL (not comparable)
D Samant
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October 20, 2012 at 2:09 pm
Samant ji,
Thanks for your appreciation.
-AD
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October 20, 2012 at 4:58 pm
Samant ji,
Atul ji is well. I had a communication with him yesterday evening. He was in road travel almost all day yesterday, and away from his computer.
But yes, we all did miss the daily bouquet of musical flowers from him. 🙂
Rgds
Sudhir
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October 20, 2012 at 10:31 am
Arunji,
The song reminds me of the Marathi song -Sur sukh khani tu vimala
from the play Vidyaharan. The tunes are just the same.
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October 20, 2012 at 2:10 pm
Samant ji,
Please read my reply to Kamath ji,above.
-AD
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October 20, 2012 at 11:16 am
Excellent post. In fact, I am at loss for words. 🙂 Thank you very much.
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October 20, 2012 at 12:03 pm
Was Pransukhlal Nayak also using Gadgil as his surname. Though Nayaks are in Marathis and Gujaratis; as he is using Gadgil, he could be from Maharashtra and not Gujarat. ADji, please clarify.
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October 20, 2012 at 1:37 pm
Nitin ji,
I have clarified earlier also and now again I repeat Pransukh Nayak can not be a Gadgil.There is history of PN’s work on BHAVAI in Gujarat.Further Nayak is NOT a Maharashtrian surname,NAIK is !
I know in one You Tube song his name has been mentioned as Gadgil,which is baseless.
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October 21, 2012 at 12:22 pm
I think the confusion is coming because there are couple of movies like, Daku Ki Ladki and Sulochana from 1933, where Pransukh Nayak teamed up with another person called Gadgil to give the music. Thats the impression i got from the geet kosh.
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October 20, 2012 at 3:05 pm
Arunkumarji,
You must have already seen this . I accidentally came across it
http://hindi-movies-songs.com/sirc/index-sirc.html
A sample issue here
Click to access trn2006printable.pdf
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October 21, 2012 at 10:23 am
Sorry, I did not express the above properly. Having studied in Telugu medium, it is still somewhat difficult to express myself English. I meant that the above is a useful source and perhaps familiar to the experts. The article ‘Rotating Discs’ in the 2003 issue confirms some of the things that Shri Arunkumar said.
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October 21, 2012 at 10:49 am
gaddeswarup ji,
parwa ledu.
What is important is I got your point.
Let me tell you that I already have all these references and I have used info from them several times,including this time.
Thanks,and please continue to help us/me.
-AD
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October 21, 2012 at 1:11 pm
I am unable to devote time for blogging for the last few days. Hopefully normal service will resume soon.
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October 21, 2012 at 5:54 pm
Atul ji,
The song has disappeared !
-AD
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October 21, 2012 at 5:58 pm
It has appeared as “Parmukh bani tu kamala” with Sudhir jee’s translations and lyrics now.
Atul
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October 21, 2012 at 6:13 pm
Is it that only I can not see the song ?
I can see and hear all other songs on the page…..
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October 21, 2012 at 6:20 pm
Click the home page atulsongaday.me again and they you will be able to see this song in the page.
Atul
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October 21, 2012 at 6:33 pm
No, it is not coming.Very strange.
Is there any perticular reason for this ?
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October 21, 2012 at 6:52 pm
Arun ji
The title of this song has changed. If you are try to look for “Padam Kamal Tu Kamla”, you will not find it on the home page. The new title is “Parmukh Bani Tu Kamla”.
As mentioned in my email, I have sent the corrected lyrics and the translation of this song. The same have now been updated by Atul ji in the write up, also correcting the title of the song.
Rgds
Sudhir
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October 21, 2012 at 7:16 pm
Sudhir ji,
I have tried everything,but ONLY this song is not coming to me,all others are visible.
You are an expert,what could be done now ?
-AD
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October 21, 2012 at 7:31 pm
Arun ji,
Yes now I see problem correctly. So far, I (and it seems Atul ji also), were presuming that you are not able to see the post. But what you mean is that the the You Tube link of the song is now missing from the post. I think this happened as Atul ji was updating the post, he inadvertently deleted the You Tube link and the tags list beneath it.
Atul ji,
That is what I think has happened. Please restore the You Tube link and the tags into the post.
Rgds
Sudhir
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October 21, 2012 at 8:10 pm
Sudhir ji,
All is well that ends well !
Now I am relieved.I was afraid that only my laptop is having a problem.
Now I can see the song also.
Thanks for identifying and solving the problem.
Tussi great ho !
–AD
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October 21, 2012 at 6:55 pm
Arun ji,
Reading the corrected lyrics, and especially the last line, I find out that this song is actually a very beautiful bhajan in Vrindavan tradition. The words are a very wonderful poem in the praise of Sri Raadha ji. From the tone and words, it appears as if Sri Krishna is addressing this to Sri Raadha.
Rgds
Sudhir
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August 23, 2022 at 8:44 pm
1st recording of any Indian singer was that of Shashimukhi( 3/4 days before Gauhar Jaan).
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August 24, 2022 at 10:58 am
Anoop ji,
Thanks for reminding me.
Actually this post is from my earliest posts of 2012 and that time I was not aware of the First recording of Shashimukh, hence this error.
I will request Atul ji to make a suitable correction in the above post.
Thanks again for making the post updated with this bit of information.
-AD
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Atul’s Song A Day- A choice collection of Hindi Film & Non-Film Songs 
October 20, 2012 at 7:58 am
Wow, what an amazing and historical post. Thank you Arun Ji. It was only yesterday that I was chatting with a friend of mine about this blog, and he was stunned to hear that songs from the 1930’s were discussed on this blog. I am going to direct him to this article today. Thank you for this article Arun Ji.
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October 20, 2012 at 1:55 pm
Pradeep ji,
I am glad you liked it.Thanks for your words.
-AD
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