Ye jeena hai angoor ka daana
Posted on: June 20, 2013
This article is written by Raja, a fellow enthusiast of Hindi movie music and a regular contributor to this blog.
One of the advantages of advancing years, I feel, is that you tend to get a perspective. You are able to relate events and situations not just in THAT moment in time but also relative to events/situations in the past.
Now, this can be a double-edged sword, depending on your perspective – sometimes it leaves you a bit despondent (kya zamaana aa gaya hai!), at other times it makes you realize how much better some things are today.
I think many of us go through this. Speaking for myself, I know there are many things that are much better today than they used to be. Those of us who went through life without phones (forget mobiles), who had to stand in long Diwali-rush queues at VT station in Bombay to somehow get a ticket to Howrah (and try to avoid the touts) know how much easier life is today in this respect. Yes, I can say – been there done that. Wasted an entire Sunday from 8.30 a.m – 4.00 p.m standing in this queue in 1985. Even skipped lunch that day.
But, other than mobiles (and for many of us, far more than mobiles), the biggest thing that’s changed our lives is the Internet. Thanks to the net, the world is a much smaller place. We have e-mail, we have search engines like Google, we have so many other applications that have become so much a part of our daily lives that it’s becoming increasingly difficult to imagine how life was in pre-Internet days.
One of the biggest things that the Internet has done is to make the world a smaller place. In cyberspace, physical distances don’t matter at all. Speaking for myself (and I’m sure for others too), I’ve made lots of friends from around the world that I’d never have been able to know, if it were not for the net.
You might be wondering where this post is leading. And whether it is leading anywhere at all. And, given my history of rambling, you could be excused for assuming its sole purpose is to test your patience.
But no, I am coming to the point – even if it is in my labored way. If I’ve to travel from Churchgate to Borivali, instead of taking a direct local train, I’m more likely to walk to VT, have a look at the books on the roadside along the way (do they still have them?), enjoy the walk along Fountain and DN Road, take a slow Harbour line train to Bandra and then catch another Western line train from Bandra to Borivali. I’m that type of annoying guy. 🙂
Coming to the point, among the many reasons I need to thank the Internet is because it has introduced me to so many friends from around the world.
And one of them is Atul.
And today is his birthday.
So I thought I should not only wish him on his birthday (Happy Birthday, Atul!), but also do a write-up about him – with a bit of nostalgia and a trip down memory lane.
I first “met” Atul on a cricket website (primarily for Pakistani cricket fans) in May 2005. He was also somewhat new there – his first few posts already told me that he was from my generation, the 1970s. Even his moniker was “squarecut”, a tribute to Gundappa Vishwanath, one of India’s finest batsmen of that generation and whose squarecut was legendary.
Soon after, I got to know about another website, which had been formed by primarily Indian origin fans because BBC’s cricket bulletin board (which had been hugely popular and which I used to frequent) was shut down.
When I visited that cricket forum, I found that Atul had also recently joined there. I immediately felt comfortable joining. At least I’d have somebody to discuss the 1970s with.
We immediately hit it off. We’d discuss those days, how we’d listen to radio commentary in Hindi and English, how terrible the Indian performances used to be most of the time, how exhilarating the feeling was when India won that 1976 Port of Spain (Trinidad) Test, and so on.
We’d also discuss a lot of non-cricketing stuff. I remember I once started a contest on the forum – who could write the longest sentence in English. Atul won that contest.
We would also discuss songs. We would often make parodies, usually based on a cricket match or some cricket players.
On the forum, Atul was famous for his one-liners. In just a few words, he would say something very wise, very insightful – and usually loaded with wry humour. I had a special term for this – I’d call such a comment an Atulism.
We then started something called “Geetmala” on the forum. Every week, one person would make a list of a few songs based on one theme.
Atul’s first post in this context was rail songs. I remember my first post was “Songs that pep me up”.
It was perhaps this that set the stage for Atul to start his song blog. It was initially meant to be a song a day, but it moved on to multiple songs a day, after a while. I’m sure in his early days, Atul would never have imagined how big the blog would become – he was just happy to have his own space to publish songs of his choice, with his commentary on them.
I’ve been with the blog from day one – and in the early days, I’d bombard Atul with requests to post songs of my choice. If you look at the early farmaishes, a whole lot of them are from me. Atul would patiently oblige.
I finally got to meet Atul face-to-face in late October 2010. At that time, Atul was posted at Nagpur – and I happened to make a trip to that city. A common friend from our cricket site also happened to be there then – we all met up at Atul’s place. It was just wonderful meeting him face-to-face, after so much interaction in cyberspace.
Atul showed me how he works on his blog, he showed me some handwritten scoreboards from the 1970s. (I used to do the same at that time, only I unfortunately don’t have any of those sheets with me anymore.) We had a lovely dinner that evening too.
There are several things about Atul that I’ve always liked and respected.
We all know how absolutely dedicated he is, to his blog. And this, while he has his family, pets, his work to also pay attention to. And the net connectivity is also not necessarily great or reliable for him, depending on where he happens to be. Inspite of this, there’s hardly a day he misses posting on the blog. And if he can, he informs us beforehand.
But it’s not just the dedication to the blog – it’s the mindset. It calls for tremendous discipline to be able to put in so much time and energy into something, day in and day out. Especially when it is primarily a labour of love. Atul has it. He has that discipline. If I had started a blog like this, say on a Monday, I don’t think it would have seen it even to the weekend. 🙂
But apart from this dedication, what I really like and respect about Atul is his earthiness. I’ve never known him to put on airs, to be superficial. He is honest and direct in his views. And I respect and like that a lot. I’m uncomfortable with people who say one thing when they actually mean another. With Atul, I’ve never had that problem.
Then of course, there is his sense of humour. The Atulisms. They can be seen often on his posts on this blog too. Whether he is discussing how he tries to find time to post when his wife’s around. Or discussing his pets’ playfulness. Always in good humour.
And then, of course, his love for his pets. It is just so wonderful to read his posts about his pets.
Apart from being in the same age group, and our interest in cricket and songs (writing down scoreboards and lyrics in our teens), Atul and I share one other thing – we both grew up in small-town India. Later in life, we might have lived in the metros but much of our early upbringing was influenced by life in small-town India. In the 1970s. That is an ethos that is difficult to describe – it needed to be experienced.
In general, I think a lot has to do with one’s attitude towards life. If you want to complain, there’s plenty to complain about. For each one of us.
For Atul, living in MP, Vidarbha, Chhatisgarh for many years now (and we know these places haven’t got the greatest of infrastructure), he could have been complaining everyday. Yet, he accepts things as they are – he makes the most of what’s available. In some of his posts, he jokes about the roads. In other posts, he jokes about the net connectivity (or lack of it). Always taking it in his stride, never bitter about anything. He is able to make Atulisms out of them all.
Today’s song I’ve picked on this occasion of Atul’s birthday is also something to do with an attitude towards life. It’s not a sober or particularly introspective song – it’s just a fun song, but with a good message in it.
It’s from the film Khatta Meetha (1977). I loved this movie when I saw it the first time all those years ago. And last night, when I decided I’d do a write-up for Atul on his birthday with this song, I watched the movie again.
Oh, it is still so delightful! Timeless film. If you’ve not seen the movie, you just HAVE to. It is an extremely sweet film about relationships, about managing with what you have, and very importantly, about sharing.
This is certainly one of the best feel-good Hindi movies I know. This song is the title song of the film, and is shown when the credits roll. It is a very peppy song, by Kishore Kumar and Usha Mangeshkar. Lyrics are by Gulzar, the peppy music is by Rajesh Roshan.
This post has already become rather lengthy so I will not discuss details of the movie here. In any case, the main purpose of writing this post was to wish Atul on his birthday and to share some of my personal memories about, and with, him.
I cannot thank him enough, not just for starting and running this blog, but for bringing me into contact with so many others through this blog. It’s something that cannot be quantified. Of course we have to thank the Internet but that’s the backbone, the technological platform. It is this blog that has enriched our lives, not just with its posts and songs, but with its becoming a meeting place for so many of us.
So, from the bottom of my heart, a very big thank you to you, Atul. Wish you a VERY happy birthday. And many, many more to come.
Audio
Video
Song-Ye jeena hai angoor ka daanaa (Khatta Meethha)(1977) Singers-Kishore Kumar, Usha Mangeshkar, Lyrics-Gulzar, MD-Rajesh Roshan
Chorus
Lyrics
Khatta meetha khatta meetha
khatta meetha khatta meetha
khatta meetha khatta meetha
khatta meetha khatta meetha
ye jeena hai angoor ka daana
khatta meetha khatta meetha
khatta meetha khatta meetha
khatta meetha khatta meetha
khatta meetha khatta meetha
ye jeena hai angoor ka daana
kuchh kacha hai, kuchh pakka hai
kuchh kacha hai, kuch pakka hai
arrey jitna khaaya meetha tha
jo haath na aaya khatta hai
ta ra ra
ta ra rum
ta ra ra
ye jeena hai angoor ka daana
khatta meetha khatta meetha
khatta meetha khatta meetha
khatta meetha khatta meetha
khatta meetha khatta meetha
ye jeena hai angoor ka daana
kuchh kacha hai, kuchh pakka hai
kuchh kacha hai, kuchh pakka hai
arrey jitna khaaya meetha tha
jo haath na aaya khatta hai
ta ra ra
ta ra rum
ta ra ra
ye ghoomta pahiya gol rupaiyya
ye ghoomta pahiya gol rupaiyya
haath na aaye re
haath na aaye re
haath na aaye re
arrey main hoon iske saath ye saathi
arrey main hoon iske saath ye saathi
saath na jaaye re
saath na jaaye re
saath na jaaye re
arrey haay haay haay haay
haay dil bole
ke haay dil bole
arrey haay haay haay haay
haay dil bole
haay dil bole
haath na aaye to samjho hai sapna
jeb me ho to maal hai apna
ye jeena hai angoor ka daana
khatta meetha khatta meetha
khatta meetha khatta meetha
khatta meetha khatta meetha
khatta meetha khatta meetha
ye jeena hai angoor ka daana
kuchh kacha hai, kuch pakka hai
kuchh kacha hai, kuch pakka hai
arrey jitna khaaya meetha tha
jo haath na aaya khatta hai
ta ra ra
ta ra rum
ta ra ra
jeeke dekho jeenewaale ae
jeeke dekho jeenewaale
yoon bhi jeete hain
yoon bhi jeete hain
yoon bhi jeete hain
jin ki chaadar phat jaaye to
jin ki chaadar phat jaaye to
raat mein seetey hain
raat mein seetey hain
raat mein seetey hain
arrey haay haay haay haay
haay dil bole
ki haay dil bole
thoda sa rokey, thoda sa hansna
thoda sa rukna, thoda sa chalna
ye jeena hai angoor ka daana
khatta meetha khatta meetha
khatta meetha khatta meetha
khatta meetha khatta meetha
khatta meetha khatta meetha
ye jeena hai angoor ka daana
kuchh kacha hai, kuch pakka hai
kuchh kacha hai, kuch pakka hai
arrey jitna khaaya meetha tha
jo haath na aaya khatta hai
ta ra ra
ta ra rum
ta ra ra
42 Responses to "Ye jeena hai angoor ka daana"
June 20, 2013 at 12:05 pm
Bar bar din ye aaye, bar bar dil ye gaaye, tu jiye hazaaron saal, ye meri hai aarzoo, Happy Birthday to you, Happy Birthday to you, Happy Birthday to Atul ji, Happy Birthday to you! (With apologies to Anand Bakshi, who wrote this lyrics for that birthday song in ‘Farz’) 🙂
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3 | Bharat Upadhyay
June 20, 2013 at 12:07 pm
Many happy returns of the day, Atul.
You, being not a lady (I am sure), may i ask your birth year?. Mine is 1933, for your information.
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June 20, 2013 at 12:08 pm
Ha Atulji, as Bharatji asked, may I know your age? I was born in 1949, making me 64 years young.
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June 20, 2013 at 12:11 pm
By the way, ‘Khatta Meetha’ was a remake of the English ‘Yours Mine and Ours’ (1968) starring Lucille Ball and Henry Fonda. Having said that, ‘Khatta Meetha’ was as enjoyable as the original!
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June 20, 2013 at 12:21 pm
Happy Birthday once again, Atul!
Wish you a long and healthy life and much strength to enjoy it!
Thank you Raja for this wonderful post! It gives so much insight into Atul’s life, making him more familiar to us. As usual you have started very nicely in Bombay and arrived in Bilaspur and then to Atul!
Enjoyed every word of it!
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June 20, 2013 at 12:30 pm
Atul,
Many many happy returns of the day.
I guess you are back in your headquarter as ‘song posting rate’ has gone up today :).
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June 20, 2013 at 12:33 pm
Thanks ! I am trying to see that the blog limps back to its normal rate of posting of songs.
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June 20, 2013 at 12:31 pm
Many happy returns of the day to you, Atul. So that we many also make many happy returns to your blog.
Raja, what a lovely write up. Trust you to make even the meandering enjoyable. What you say is absolutely true. It is so easy to connect with people these days. Just yesterday I ran into an old Delhi friend on my cousin’s wall on facebook. She lives in Virginia, and I would never have run into her in real life ever! She would have become a distant memory. But now, I can see what she is up to and exchange comments with her from time to time.
I would have not known Atul, and other song-a-dayers if it had not been for this blog. And never known such wonderful people also exist on earth who love to discuss the same songs that I love.
I love this movie. I did not realize how long back I saw it. I still remember Deven Verma’s happy face when he spots Priti Ganguly and says – Kitni tandurust hai. Wonderful film.
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June 20, 2013 at 12:35 pm
Thanks a lot.
Raja’s writeup makes me watch this movie. 🙂
Yes, I am one of those few who have not watched this movie. 🙂
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June 20, 2013 at 12:42 pm
So finally, ‘raaz’ khul hi gaya, so here is once again wishing ATUL ji a very HAPPY BIRTHDAY !!
@ Raja ji – great post as usual. yes life has changed from that long queues at Reservation window at railway station (earlier the manual register of reservation), LIC office(to deposit premium) , all banking/transactions, etc etc.
– thanks for taking back to ‘square cut’ days – remember Sushil Doshi ‘s ‘ aur Vishwanath ne apni kalaayiyon ka upyog karte huye gend ko boundary line ke baahar bhej diya’
– remember the hand written records that I maintain for all the newcomers .. (I started with Suru Nayak , I think), remember my first article when Chetan Chauhan was dropped from the side (1980 I think), and yes, like you , I have also lost all that records, the cuttings from ‘illustrated weekly’, ‘dharmyug’, ‘ekach shatkar’, ‘kridangan’. etc etc,
– like this ‘… early upbringing was influenced by life in small-town India. In the 1970s. That is an ethos that is difficult to describe – it needed to be experienced.” yes , one who had experienced all those can feel it …it was really a different life …
– a Nagpur connection – yes now it is there with me since 1994 …. and shall complete a 19 the next Thursday ..
– finally the song … one of our all time favorite … and I was just thinking for a Rajesh Roshan number for this occasion, you perfectly do that… and to add to this I would say Atul ji – ham to ……… aapke deewaane hain ….
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June 20, 2013 at 12:57 pm
Wish you many happy returns of the day, Atul!
I thoroughly enjoyed doing this write-up – it brought back so many memories. 🙂
You haven’t seen this movie yet? You just HAVE to. I know you don’t like to waste hours on a movie but this one is TOTALLY worth it.
And what do you mean by “Rajaisms”? You mean “jaana tha Japan, pahunch gaye Cheen, samajh gaye na”? 😉 Let’s just say, I’d never get a job in a courier service company to deliver mail. 🙂
Hey I was just wondering. Do you, by any chance, have that “longest sentence” post that you’d put up? We lost at lot in the server upgrade, I fear we’ve lost this one too. Maybe you have it somewhere. Would be great to read it again. 🙂
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June 20, 2013 at 1:16 pm
gr8 write up Raja.
and u bet me to writing for Atul’s Birthday
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Thank you. 🙂
And you should also write a post for his birthday. The more the merrier. 🙂 Expecting a party song from you. 🙂
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June 20, 2013 at 3:05 pm
hey Raja
i ve sent a party song to Atul. and i am waiting Ke “mera Number Kab Aayega”
oh by the way this was a slogan for some advertisement.
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Here is the link to “Long sentence” that I had posted in one of my by now defunct blogs.
Those were the days. 🙂
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Haha. Read the sentence again and had a real laugh. Part-3 is really the best because that is where you take on BCCI, the suckers who follow the game and go on to end the sentence in total style.
Thank you. This is a timeless sentence, full of Atulisms. 🙂
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June 20, 2013 at 1:09 pm
Wish you Atulji many happy returns of the day. This blog is verily an open university! On the pretext of writing about old film songs and lyrics, you are opening many windows to the wide world of life and letters, art and literature, history and biography, etc. We are so much enriched in mind and spirit by attending to your blog. Thank you.
And thanks to Raja for this nice post. It struck a deep chord in me. I too was raised in a small town but spent over 35 years in 7 metros- all state capitals. I too have been passionate about old Hindi film music (though not cricket). But I have been able to enjoy it all the more since discovering this blog. This is now like my extended family. I feel like proclaiming in the language of Shailendra: ‘Ab tak na miley lekin pehchan purani hai’ It is such a wonderful feeling. Thank you so much.
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June 20, 2013 at 1:18 pm
so we get a nice write up from Raja as a treat for Atul’s birthday. now what next a party song i hope?
Wish you a very Happy Birthday Atul
may you help us connect with more like minded people
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June 20, 2013 at 1:36 pm
Atul ji,
HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU !
Like you said,most people in India are fond of Cricket,Films and politics.
Some are more interested in one,less in others.
From cricket you have moved to Films.
Hope the third one is not in Line !
Thanks for creating and providing us a platform to share our views,info and likes/dislikes in HFM.
May GOD bless you and your family,with ALL the Happiness in the world.
-AD
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June 20, 2013 at 1:44 pm
Raja ji,
Thanks for your very interesting write up and a nostalgic recounting of your association with Atul ji-from the First awareness to present day.
Atul ji has all those qualities,which you have identified.
Plus I can add 2 more.
1. he has a magnetic personality to attract like-minded ‘ Rasik’s and a quality to hold them together and
2. he has exhibited tremendous tolerance and energy to run this Blog.
I wish to read more of your writings,other than only on ‘occasions’.
Thanks.
-AD
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Thanks for your kind words, Arunji.
I totally agree on your two points about Atul.
One thing about the song. When I listened to it, I was very impressed by Usha Mangeshkar, though she has only a few lines. She has such a sweet voice – I wonder why she didn’t sing much more. Is it because she chose not to (maybe she didn’t take singing as seriously as her sisters) or is there any other reason? Maybe you could shed some light on this?
I remember liking some of her other songs also. Note to self – must listen more to her songs.
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June 20, 2013 at 2:13 pm
Very nice write up for a worthy cause. Many happy returns Atulji, our birthdays differ only by a day and several years.
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June 20, 2013 at 2:33 pm
Raja ji,
It is important to respond to your wonderful post, but I will first take a very important detour for a couple of minutes. 😉
Atul ji,
So many happy returns of today. We talk about so many milestones in our posts. Well, this one here is one of the more important milestones to celebrate. The bandwagon has many a hanger-on, but driver is definitely just one. 🙂
And here is what came about from my keyboard, as my mind tried to describe the greetings and good wishes for you. Poetic license has been used abundantly and lavishly, so please bear with that 😀 :D.
And ah yes, before it puzzles the readers, असोडे = अतुल-सोंग-ए-डे. 🙂
अतुल जी, आप कितने रंगीले होते हैं
रांची वाले क्या सब इतने सुरीले होते हैं
जवानी आपकी बरकरार रहे बरसों बरस
हर बरस के दिन सितारों से भी चमकीले होते हैं
क्या नेमत अता की है इंटरनेट की दुनिया को
असोडे के दीवाने तो खुश खुश खुशहीले होते हैं
वो अलफाज, वो मौसिकी, वो दिल-नवाज़ अंदाज़-ए-बयान
सुनहरी यादों के ये हसीं तार कितने दिलकशीले होते हैं
बड़ी दूर तक असोडे की बात जा कर आई है जनाब
हर देश हर शहर में आपके चाहनेवाले मटकीले होते हैं
खुदा आपके इंटरनेट कनैक्शन को सलामत रखे
हर सुबह इंतज़ार के पल बड़े ही कटीले होते हैं
कारवां ये सुरों का नूर की रवानी तक जाएगा
और असोडे के बाशिंदे तो साथ ही झूमतीले होते हैं
I join all the Atulites on this bandwagon in wishing you a very healthy and musically active long life.
Cheers and best regards.
And so, Raja ji, I am back to this post now.
Thanks for this view back into the nostalgia, and how this blog came about. You have written so well about Atul ji, his unflagging consistency and dedication, plus the commitment to apply so much effort and time to this endeavor, it certainly is a remarkable accomplishment. Having met him, I cannot but wholeheartedly agree with you about his personality, and all the characteristics that make him oh so likeable. 🙂
And so, three cheers and heartfelt greetings; and a good reason to celebrate.
Best regards
Sudhir
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June 22, 2013 at 1:18 pm
Sudhir Ji,
Regarding the missing Mukesh song from Nirdosh – 1941, I believe the former cricketer B. S. Chandrasekhar has an extensive collection of rare songs by Mukeshji. Is it possible to contact him and request his help?
Oh, and great poem (I hope I understood it right – I don’t know much Hindi, though I love the songs 🙂 )
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June 20, 2013 at 2:37 pm
Atulji,
Happy Birthday again. Hope my wishing you twice does not make you older by 2 years instead of the normal one.
May you score more runs 4s, 6s, centuries, double centuries and triple centuries, with your square cuts and late cuts. Happy Batting.
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June 20, 2013 at 8:00 pm
Atulji,
I am a person who feels the whole day void if I can’t get to go thru this blog.I expect at least a little.But today was a gr8 feast and the comments (as you call them) were pouring like rain.Thanks to Raja and all ATULITES.
A few words of mine also.
Wish you many many happy returns of this day.
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June 20, 2013 at 8:17 pm
Atul, many happy returns of the day. You are doing something monumental and of immense value to music lovers and bloggers like me.
Raja, thanks for a very fond write-up.
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June 21, 2013 at 11:37 am
Many many happy returns of the day Atul. You are doing a highly commendable job.
Rajaji ka write-up bahut accha hai.
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June 23, 2013 at 8:13 pm
Belated birthday greetings. I had been to Chennai and opened my mail box only today. Thanks, Raja Sir, for the superb write-up on Atul-ji.
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June 25, 2013 at 2:27 am
Thanks to everybody for liking the write-up to celebrate Atul’s birthday. It was fun writing it – it is the least I can do for somebody who has given all of us so many wonderful moments to cherish here, somebody who has brought all of us together. And also somebody who is building a treasure trove of songs for eternity.
Yes, this is the least I could do. Thank you all.
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June 25, 2013 at 10:43 am
I stumbled on this blog with your post on ‘Tere dar pe aaya hoon… kuch kar ke jaaonga…’. 😀
It was quite a long time ago, though I am joining the discussion only now.
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June 27, 2013 at 6:23 am
Atul Ji,
I have opened the mail late. Belated good wishes. I immensely enjoy the blog,- informative,entertaining ,nostalgic, amazing ( the way contributors write, and their homework,& passion).
In my days of retirement ,one of the best things to happen to me ( thanks to internet).
Raja Ji- well written.Thanks
Thanking all contributors. Sorry ,I only read & enjoy
K S Shenoy (69)
Bangalore
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July 7, 2013 at 12:52 pm
Atul ji many many happy returns of the day though quite belated! My habit of catching up with Atulsongaday mails at leisure is the culprit! Wish you all the best in life! Warm Regards,
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Atul’s Song A Day- A choice collection of Hindi Film & Non-Film Songs 
June 20, 2013 at 11:47 am
Atul ji
Many many many many
Happy returns of the day
Prakash
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June 20, 2013 at 11:49 am
Thanks a lot !
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