Waah re zamaane kya rang dikhaaye
Posted on: October 25, 2013
This article is written by nahm, a fellow enthusiast of Hindi movie music and a regular contributor to this blog. This article is meant to be posted in atulsongaday.me. If this article appears in sites like lyricstrans.com and ibollywoodsongs.com etc then it is piracy of the copyright content of atulsongaday.me and is a punishable offence under the existing laws.
The ‘W’ song is a Rafi solo from the film ‘Ghar ki Izzat'(1948). From the sound of it, it does not sound like a 40’s song at all. Rather it feels like a 50’s song. The lyricist is Ishwar Chandra Kapoor and Pandit Govindram is the music director. Though the first hit solo by Rafi sahab is said to be from the film ‘Dulaari'(1949), Suhaani raat dhal chuki, but there are by some amazingly melodious songs like Keh ke bhi na aaye tum, Bahut maayoos hokar koochha e qaatil se ham nikle, Bahut mukhtsar hai hamaari kahaani, Ab na been bajaa, Mohabbat mein khudaaya aise guzre, Ae dil neend na aayee tamaam raat from before 1949. In these songs too he is standing out as the clearest and most mellifluous voice among singers of the time. Even more so in those two songs from the film ‘Amar Raj” (1946) posted in the blog. With songs like Ye zindagi ke mele and Ik dil ke tukde hazaar huye also in 1948, which are my personal favourites, Rafi sahab had already announced his arrival, even though we were not born to hear this announcement 🙂 🙂 .
Even this Watan ki raah mein watan ke naujawaan shaheed ho song from Shaheed (1948), is quite enough to mark him as an outstanding and versatile singer. I have just now heard three parts of the song. First part is fully chorus played with the titles of the film, second part is the at the beginning of the film, where Rafi is giving playback to Dilip Kumar, for the entire song, with Khan Mastana singing for some other actor. The third part is at the end of the film, slower and sad version, sung entirely by Rafi, On screen someone who is the flag-bearer is shown as lip-syncing Rafi’s voices at times in first and second stanza. I have heard this song many times on radio and at railway stations on 15th August 2-3 times. Believe it or not the Central Railway still played this songs on 15th August from the Central Broadcasting system till late 90’s. I do not know if the practice still continues or not. I have seen a video clip of the entire song on youtube now. The news flash is that I am certain that the the person singing the third part of the song on screen(the flag bearer) is none other than Mohammad Rafi sahab himself.
As far as I know there are very few films stories and songs from late 40’s and early 50’s either celebrating the new found independence or bemoaning the partition. May be the film fraternity in Calcutta and in Mumbai were skirting the issue as it was caught in the center of partition as the rest of the country. Or it is possible I have not come across any films about independence and partition from late 40’s and early 50’s. Being from the undivided Punjab, it must have been a difficult time for Rafi Sahab too. The people of my generation cannot begin the imagine the hardships and struggle of those times. Having crossed these barriers, the regard and adulation that Rafi sahab has received from millions of his fans, is no mean feat. He is one of the real achievers of post colonial India, who was revered, adored by the masses, spontaneously, and from the heart.
How did a guileless person like him achieve so much ? I can not say he did it with sheer grit, ambitions blah blah blah. What I will say is he gained much through goodwill, sincerity, pious and pure intentions(nek neeyat) at all times. Combine these qualities with the his ‘ God gifted voice ‘. And you get a personality, who could not articulate two sentences to express himself, but could sing anything and everything, that he was told to sing.
Let us come back to the song from ‘Ghar ki izzat” (1948) under discussion. Once I got hold of the link to this song and heard it for the first time, I have not been able to forget it. Another song from the 40’s is a must to complete the picture, in the series.
This song is a background song, while a well groomed Dilip Kumar, is trying to get away from his domestic worries. His wife, Mumtaz Shanti, is crying at home and his parents who are tormenting and traumatizing the wife, are sitting in the drawing room, with angry expressions. I can understand that there is an exchange of words/quarrel among them and Dilip Kumar in a typically male reaction, storms out of the house, leaving the wife at home to bear the brunt of her in-laws. He goes to a restaurant and tries to order some tea/refreshments. Really, if his parents are too difficult for him to handle, it is unfair of a man to leave the house and expect his wife to deal with the problems.
Two songs of the film are posted in the blog. One is Bahut be takalluf ja rahe hain giving the detailed story of the film. So it is easy to understand the situation when this song is appearing the film. It is a family drama film as the title suggests.
The wide range of Rafi sahab’s voice and the glorious melodious tenor is show-cased in this song.
Song-Waah re zamaane kya rang dikhaaye (Ghar Ki Izzat)(1948) Singer-Rafi, Lyrics-Ishwar Chandra Kapoor, MD-Pandit Govindram
Lyrics
Waah re zamaane ae ae
kya rang dikhaaye ae
waah re zamaane ae ae
kya rang dikhaaye ae
pal mein hansaaye ae ae
pal mein rulaaye ae
kya rang dikhaaye ae
waah re zamaane ae ae
kya rang dikhaaye ae
mohabbat ka nanhaa
diyaa timtimaaya aa aa
pehle hi jhonke ne
aa kar bujhaayaa
aankhon mein taareeki
dil mein andheraa
aankhon mein taareeki
dil mein andheraa
pag pag thokar khaaye ae ae
pag pag thokar khaaye ae
kya rang dikhaaye ae
waah re zamaane ae ae
kya rang dikhaaye ae
haathon ki mehndi ko
dekhe suhaagan
haathon ki mehndi ko
dekhe suhaagan
aankhon mein aansoo
soona hai aangan
aankhon mein aansoo
soona hai aangan
khushiyon ke din
to beet chuke hain ae
khushiyon ke din
to beet chuke hain ae
reh gayeen haay
haay ae
kya rang dikhaaye
waah re zamaane ae ae
kya rang dikhaaye
pal mein hansaaye ae ae
pal mein rulaaye ae
kya rang dikhaaye ae
wah re zamaane ae ae
kya rang dikhaaye
Atul’s Song A Day- A choice collection of Hindi Film & Non-Film Songs 
April 10, 2021 at 11:27 am
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