Kaahe barse jaaye badariya
Posted on: April 1, 2013
- In: "baadal" song | Ameerbai Karnataki solo | Ameerbai Karnataki songs | Artist century song in blog | Blog century song | Century songs for the blog | Devnagri script lyrics by Sudhir | Guest posts | Lyrics contributed by readers | Post by Sudhir | Rare song | Songs of 1940s (1941 to 1950) | Songs of 1941 | Yearwise breakup of songs
- 9 Comments
This article is witten by Sudhir, a fellow enthusiast of Hindi movie music and a regular contributor to this blog.
78th. . . yes, dear readers and friends. One more century milestone is reached. Congratulations all. 🙂 🙂
Way, way back when we were jumping with joy, on 13th November, 2011 – this blog had reached the magic number of 5000 songs. I am sure many had it in their minds to think about the 10,000th song. But it was only Lalitha ji who put it in words “. . . here’s wishing to many more such delights on our way to the 10,000th song!”.
At that time, it was an apprehension even to crane up the neck to look so far ahead and try to see the 10,000th post coming up. But here we are today, barely one year, four months and nineteen days later, and it turns out that we are way past the half way mark already, i.e. between 5,000th and 10,000th post. And now, the latter milestone does not evoke any apprehensions, or appear to be a magical number way out on the horizon. It does seem approachable now, with expected journey time that one can now dare to guess. 🙂
7,800 and counting. What a fantastic salute to the power of vision, and the dedication of one man, that is driving this musical bandwagon forward, going from strength to strength, zipping from one century post to the next century post within an average of 15 to 19 days overall. Going by the monthly totals, the month of March just ended saw 216 songs posted in a single month – a breakneck pace by any measure. Incidentally, the tally of posts for March 2013 is just one short of the monthly record of 217 posts that came up in the month of September 2011.
And so, the bandwagon trots merrily along, now with a set of very faithful and very regular contributors. Contrary to the age old saying about the problems created by “too many cooks. . .”, in this case, the many cooks are actually adding to the beauty and the variety of songs being added. And this makes the everyday selection oh so wonderful and sweet – every day is a wonderful day to look forward to. The congratulations and felicitations go out to all of us who are pitching in every day with new contributions. The level of participation and the regularity of it is simply mind boggling. A fitting salute to the entire team of contributors, who are making this possible.
On the occasion, we are also celebrating a major milestone for a wonderfully gifted artist. Regulars who have been keeping tabs on the rush of posts of a certain kind would have guessed already. Yes, we are on the 100th song of the redoubtable Ameerbai Karnataki – a singer par excellence and by all assessments probably the very first lady as a singing super star that captured the hearts and imaginations of the listening an viewing public in the 1940s. Recalling the mellifluous numbers such as “Maar Kataari Mar Jaana, Ye Akhiyaan Kisi Se Milaana Na. . .”, (‘Shehnaai’, 1947), “O Jaane Waale Baalamwa, Laut Ke Aa, Laut Ke Aa. . .” (‘Rattan’, 1944), “Ghar Ghar Mein Diwali Hai, Mere Ghar Mein Andhera. . .” (‘Kismet’, 1943), “O Roothe Huye Bhagwan Tumko Kaise Manaaun” ( ‘Sindoor’, 1947), “Dard Mandon Ka Jahaan Mein Aasra Koi Nahin” (‘Veena’,1948). . . and so many more such soulful songs that one can continue listing. A time was when the leading ladies of that era would settle for nothing less than Ameebai singing playback for them – Mumtaz Shanti, Swarnlata, Shamim etc. being some of the ones that benefited singularly with the voice of Ameerbai in the songs they performed onscreen.
Ameerbai was born on 19th February, 1912. Her birthplace is the village of Bilgi, in district Bijapur, Karnataka. (Hence, the suffix ‘Karnataki’). She was born in a poor family of weavers, and was one of the five sisters in that family. Her schooling was done in the local village schools, where she completed her Matriculation, and at the age of 15, she followed the footsteps of her elder sister, Gauhar, and arrived in Bombay to make a career in films. Her elder sister, better known as Gauharbai Karnataki was already an established star in the Bombay industry, having made her debut as a leading lady in 1932, appearing in the films ‘Raas Vilaas’ (1932) and ‘Sassi Punnu’ (1932). Ameerbai had a wonderful singing voice, and for that, she had no difficulty in getting a break. In 1934, she made her debut in the film ‘Vishnu Bhakti’, in which she also sang her first songs in the films, under the direction of Badri Prasad Manik. The information details from that era of cinema is not complete from any source, including the Geet Kosh. She appeared next in the film ‘Yasmin’ (1935), and then beyond it, the next listings that are available are for films in 1940. From another source, the information is that between 1935 and 1940, the she worked in about ten films. By the time 1940 came around, she was already performing as an actor, singing playback for herself, and she had also started singing playback for other leading ladies.
1943 came, and with it came the iconic blockbuster from Bombay Talkies – ‘Kismet’. Under the baton of Anil Biswas, Ameebai sang four songs as playback. And the sounds of “Door Hato Ae Duniya Waalo, Hindustan Hamaara Hai” created such a sensational storm across the entire nation, and shattered all notions of popularity of female singing voices. The sound of this song was on every lip and had reached every home. This song, along with the other three that were soulful solo renderings, signaled the arrival of Ameerbai as a singing sensation of the decade. The following year (1944) saw the release of ‘Rattan’, under the baton of Naushad Sb, and once again, the sound of Ameerbai’s voice carried the songs of this film to unprecedented heights of popularity. Undoubtedly, the remaining part of the decade belonged to her. Hits followed one after another in the films like ‘Prem Sangeet’ 1943, ‘Bhanwara’ in which she sang with KL Saigal, ‘Bharthari’, Pagli Duniya’ and ‘Kaarwan’ from 1944, ‘Chaand Chakori’ and ‘Amrapali’ from 1945, ‘Dulha’, ‘Shikari’ and ‘Eight Days’ from 1946, ‘Sindoor’ and ‘Shehnaai’ from 1947, ‘Gunsundari’ from 1948, ‘Neki Aur Badi’ from 1949, and ‘Samadhi’ from 1950. This last named film carried the unforgettable and evergreen duet she sang with Lata Mangeshkar – “Gore Gore, O Baanke Chhore”. And in 1948, she turned music director with the film ‘Shehnaaz’. Although she did not act in this film, she and Rafi Sb shared the singing credits for all the dozen songs of this film.
The transition in the industry that followed the partition in 1947, brought in a new crop of performers in every field of cinema. And the same was true for singing stars also. The period of 1948 to 1950 saw the rise of female singing voices like Lata Mangeshkar, Geeta Dutt and Asha Bhosle. In 1951 and beyond, Ameerbai’s singing contributions are few and far between. In the first half of 1950s, she sang just about 17 songs in about a dozen films. During this phase, she transitioned back into appearing on screen in character roles. As far as numbers are concerned, in her career she has sung almost 400 sings for about 155 films, of which 50 songs are from about 20 Gujarati and Marwari films.
In her personal life, she was a much married lady, having married four times. The end came for her unexpectedly in March of 1965, at a fairly young age of 53 years. She had a paralytic stroke on 3rd March, and she passed away four days later on 7th March, leaving behind the soulful strains of “Mil Ke Bichhad Gayeen Akhiyaan, Haaye Rama. . .” (‘Rattan’, 1944).
As I was preparing for this write up, I was on the lookout for an earliest song by her that is still un-posted on this blog. My search brought me to this rare song created and sung seventy two years ago. The film is ‘Mala’ from 1941. It is a Prakash Pictures production and is directed jointly by Mahendra Thakur and P Jairaj. The lead pair in this film are Rose and Jayant, with a supporting cast that includes Jairaj, M Nazir, RK Chaubey, Munshi Khanjar, Daya Devi, Heera Kumari, Lallu Bhai, Ram Murti, Tikaram, Athaawale, Roopendra etc. The music composition is by Naushad. Incidentally, this film is from the very starting period of Naushad Sb’s career, and is just his third or fourth film. The songs of this film are written by DN Madhok and Baalam. This song is from the pen of DN Madhok.
A sound of a pining heart, that wonders why does her lover not understand anything when the rain is coming down from the monsoon clouds in the month of Saawan. A wonderful creation and an equally lovely rendition. Listen to this song from more than seven decades ago. Enjoy.
(I must acknowledge the help from Harish ji Raghuvanshi of Surat, for providing me scanned material from his collection of old issues of film magazines and books, for biographical and filmographical background for compiling this write up, including a very sweet photo image of a very young Ameerbai, which can be viewed in the uploaded clip).
Song-Kaahe barse jaaye badariya (Maala)(1941) Singer-Amirbai Karnataki, Lyrics-D N Madhok, MD-Naushad
Lyrics
kaahe barse jaaye badariyaa
kaahe barse jaaye
kaahe barse jaaye badariyaa
kaahe barse jaaye
wo kya denge hamen dilaase ae ae
saawan aaya unki balaa se
wo kya denge hamen dilaase ae ae
saawan aaya unki balaa se
koi marey mar jaaye ae ae
koi marey mar jaaye badariyaa
kaahe barse jaaye
kaahe barse jaaye badariyaa
kaahe barse jaaye
ghanghor ghataayen hain
ghanghor ghataayen hain
aur raat hai saawan ki ee ee
aur raat hai saawan ki
afsos meri kismat
afsos meri kismat
mann hi mein rahi mann ki ee
mann hi mein rahi mann ki
saajan hamre bhole bhaale
saajan hamre bhole bhaale
saawan ke sandes niraale
saawan ke sandes niraale
samjhe na samjhaaye ae ae
samjhe na samjhaaye badariyaa
kaahe barse jaaye
kaahe barse jaaye badariyaa
kaahe barse jaaye
—————————————–
Hindi script lyrics (Provided by Sudhir)
—————————————–
काहे बरसे जाये बदरिया
काहे बरसे जाये
काहे बरसे जाये बदरिया
काहे बरसे जाये
वो क्या देंगे हमें दिलासे
सावन आया उनकी बला से
वो क्या देंगे हमें दिलासे
सावन आया उनकी बला से
कोई मरे मर जाये
कोई मरे मर जाये बदरिया
काहे बरसे जाये
काहे बरसे जाये बदरिया
काहे बरसे जाये
घनघोर घटाएँ हैं
घनघोर घटाएँ हैं
और रात है सावन की
और रात है सावन की
अफसोस मेरी क़िस्मत
अफसोस मेरी क़िस्मत
मन ही में रही मन की
मन ही में रही मन की
साजन हमरे भोले भाले
साजन हमरे भोले भाले
सावन की सन्देस निराले
सावन की सन्देस निराले
समझे ना समझाये
समझे ना समझाये बदरिया
काहे बरसे जाये
काहे बरसे जाये बदरिया
काहे बरसे जाये
9 Responses to "Kaahe barse jaaye badariya"
April 2, 2013 at 8:49 am
Atulji,
Congrats time again for the successful completion 7,800 at break-neck speed.
AK also is my fav singer and I have recently sent 33 songs of her to be posted some of them already logged. Like Madhubala etc insisted on Lata, AK was most preferred singer of the actresses of yore.
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April 2, 2013 at 9:55 am
Sudhir ji,
Thanks for this post celebrating the 78th song.
Congratulations to Atul ji,the CAPTAIN of our team.
I wish Atul ji and all team members a rising graph of wonderful songs for the future too.
-AD
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April 2, 2013 at 11:12 pm
Arunji,
Excuse me but I think you wanted to say 78th century and not 78th song. If possible pl request Atulji to correct it.
DS
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April 2, 2013 at 10:18 am
Sudhir ji,
A very good article on Amirbai Karnataki indeed.
Anyway,we dont expect anything less than the best from you and you never disappoint us,honestly.
The suffix “KARNATAKI” was attached not only because she hailed from Karnataka. Actually in those days,Karnataka as a state had not even existed.This word karnataki was indicative of the language karnataki-i.e.Kannad. However this was not the reason for that suffix.
In fact in the initial days of Talkie films,as also in the 30s and 40s there were many artists with similar names.This happened more in women artists.This was because many of them entered the filmdom from Singing or dancing families or from Tawaif houses. To differentiale their origins such women artists were called ” bai “,like Amirbai,jaddanbai,Zohrabai,Amenabai,neelambai etc. Many artists had similar names causing confusion.To make a difference usually their town name or the area they came from was added as their Surname or suffix-Like Zoharabai Ambalawali,Rajkumari banaraswali,Gauhar karnataki, etc.
When Amirbai entered the films,there was already one Ameerbai acting in the films.To make a difference she followed suit with her sister who had,for same reasons taken the suffix of KARNATAKI.( When this Gauhar entered the films,there were already 2 Gauhars existing in the arena-Gauharjaan and Gauhar Mamajiwala ).
I had written a detailed article on Ameerbai karnataki in the ” Guzara hua Zamana” series on SANGEET KE SITARE on 13-1-2013.
Amirbai Karnataki was one of those rare and handful singers who has sung ALL types of songs,with equal ease and melody.Whether it was a sad,happy,remorse,sorrow,diwali,milan,judai,bidai,play,love,quarrel,comedy,tragedy or any other coneivable type,she sang it beautifully.
She was truely a great singer.
Not many would know that a Theatre AMIR is existing in Bijapur and is run by her relatives,for showing films for the last 40 years,in memory of AMIRBAI KARNATAKI.
-AD
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April 2, 2013 at 11:45 am
Dear Arun,
I have been always in two minds about ‘Karnataki’. The first one as you have explained, has been used as denoting a place ( in this case hailing from Kannad speaking region). The second one is why some Marathi speaking family use the surname ‘Karnataki’. The most famous personality. as you know, is Vinayak Damodar Karnataki popularly known as Master Vinayak, the father of Nanda. I also know of a family having surname as ‘Karnataki’ who settled in Guptakashi (on way to Kedarnath) in Uttarakhand for more than 100 years. This family originally belonged to Yeola in Nashik district of Maharashtra. The head of the family told me that Marathi was their mother tongue and not the Kannad.
There is a reference to the word ‘Karnataku’ in one of the famous Marathi abhangs ( bhajan) of Sant Gyaneshwar. The starting verse of the second abhang is :
‘Kaanada ho Vittalu Karnataku
Tene maj laavilyaa vedhu II
It is said that the statue of Lord Vittal (another name for Lord Vishnu) came from Karnataka which was installed in Pandharpur. The interpretation is that just as Marathi devotees find it difficult to understand His language (Karnataku=Kannad), in the same way, it is difficult to understand His (multi facet) image.
The second explanation is that the word ‘Karnataku’ is derived from two words – ‘Kari’ and ‘Nataku’ which together means ‘ doing drama’. So the second interpretation is that before devotees are trying to understand the swaroop (image) of Lord Vittal, He changes to a different swaroop.
With second interpretation, sometime I feel that since Master Vinayak had his own theater company, he might have adopted the surname ‘Karnataki’. Otherwise the confusion still persists in my mind as to why ‘Karnataki’ surname for Marathi speaking family.
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April 2, 2013 at 12:04 pm
Kamath ji,
Thanks for your musings on the word Karnataki.I remember ,earlier too,in some other comment ,you have referred to this topic.
As far as I know Master Vinayak was staying on the border areas of kolhapur/Sangli/Miraj (Karnataka starts within 6 Kms of Miraj).You will find thousands of people in this area speaking Kannada.One can feel the impact of Kannada food,language and customs in Kolhapur Sangli Miraj area in day to day life.
I have stayed in Sangli for an year and half and Kolhapur for about 2 years so I have seen it all personally.
The original surname might be something else for Master Vinayak.I am not aware.You must be knowing that Surnames in Maharashtra were mainly of three types- 1. formed on the basis of Post held,like Deshmukh,Deshpande,Kulkarni,Joshi etc; 2. based on the profession followed like Saraf etc and 3. for those outside of these 2 categories,surnames only consisted of adding ‘kar’ to the town they belonged to like Mirajkar,Punekar,Waikar, (Most names,obviously were like this category,understandably). In the same way master Vinayak must have added Karnataki to his name to indicate that he was from area connected with Kannad people.
This is all my explanation.
As far as Vithal is concerned,your explanation seems very convincing.I know that basically,VITHAL is a Kannad name and not a Marathi name at all.
-AD
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April 2, 2013 at 10:46 am
Congratulations to all ‘team-atulya’ members, readers, and well wishers of the blog celebrating 7800 th song and all the best wishes for this musical journey to continue further and keep achieving new milestones regularly…
Thanks Sudhir Sir for this beautiful article and Deshmukh Sir for the information provided !
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May 14, 2013 at 10:49 pm
Karnataki is a rather interesting surname. I remember there used to be a Karnataki family at Kashipur, Uttarakhand. I would not be surprised if it had a link with the Karnatakies at Gupt Kashi as referred by Sh. Kamat, and settled down at Kashipur which was being developed by a Maharashtrian administrator by the name of Kashi Nath Lat, hence Kashipur, some 400 years ago. This Karnataki family at Kashipur was known for its histrionic skills and is remembered even today. It may have some successors even today. It was in the midst of theatrical and cultural activities of the town. Kar natak may also be translated as ‘do the theater’. Is it worth exploring then if karnataki has any thing to do with the tribe of theater workers? I am not insisting, just guessing.
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Atul’s Song A Day- A choice collection of Hindi Film & Non-Film Songs 
April 2, 2013 at 7:17 am
Dear Sudhir,
Thanks for the post for double celebrations.
I am very happy that Amirbai Karnataki’s songs have reached a century mark which was long overdue. I consider ‘centuries’ of singers like K L Saigal, Shamshad Begum and now Amirbai Karnataki worthy of the highest praise as they ‘batted on a sticky wicket’.
I can guess that the next on line for a century is Rajkumari 🙂
Dear Atul,
Congratulations for reaching yet another milestone of 7800 songs.
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