Kaisi anokhi maaya hari ki
Posted on: May 22, 2014
This article is written by Arunkumar Deshmukh, 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.
BHAJAN MALA – GOLDEN 50s (Pushp- 1)
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I grew up in a joint family of about 20 people including children. My childhood memories are vivid and I remember playing with cousins and enjoying Festivals with the elders. By coincidence ,by 1947-48 our joint family was fragmented, not because of the Partition, but because One Uncle joined Army, the other joined Navy and the third one joined Police. My own father had to go underground to evade arrest, after Gandhi ji’s assassination..He was an RSS worker. We shifted coolly to Banaras and stayed there for an year. Ultimately father was traced and arrested and we were escorted by the police to mother’s town in Maharashtra.
Father was released along with Sawarkar and others soon and by 1950 we joined together again in Hyderabad as a joint family of about 12 people. My grandfather was a religious person and he liked to see Mythological films. I was neither a big man nor a child at that time, but I had to take 3-4 adults and 3-4 children to these Mythological films. Going to the movies used to be a big event and a challenge for me to look after all people and arrangements. May be, I developed a liking for Religious films from here onwards. I enjoyed the trick scenes and the costumes of the actors in the films. I used to see Mythological films regularly.
The decade of the 50s was indeed a decade of Religious films. From 1951 to 1960, there were about 120 such films, averaging 1 religious film every moth for 10 years. Those were the times when even Big stars did not hesitate to act in Mythologicals. Ashok Kumar, Prithviraj Kapoor, Meena Kumari,Durga Khote, Leela Chitnis, Nalini Jaywant , Shanta Apte etc used to act in religious films without any complex. It was much much later that a few artistes were branded as “Mythological actors’,like Mahipal, Manhar Desai, Trilok Kapoor, Nirupa Roy, Prem Adib, Shobhana Samarth etc. etc.
There was a fixed and permanent audience for these films. Prakash pictures was famous for making many religious films. But other studios like Prabhat, New Theatres, Ranjit, Sagar, Basant pictures or Wadia movietone, Bombay talkies, Filmistan etc too made mythological films. Besides the eye catching scenes, another attraction of these films used to be its music. Very melodious and memorable Bhajans were composed for these films by S N Tripathi, Bulo C Rani, Avinash Vyas, Shankarrao Vyas, Hemant Kumar, Vasant Desai etc. Some of the famous Bhajans were sung by Rafi,Hemant Kumar, Geeta Dutt and others.
Bhajan is one genre of the HFM which is generally overlooked, neglected or snubbed. Being a fan of these Bhajans, I thought why not present a series of such Bhajans from the 50s to our readers and so, we are starting a New Series ” BHAJAN MALA – GOLDEN 50s ” from today. The decade of the 50s is most ideal for such a series, because maximum number of Religious films came from this decade, thereby creating maximum Bhajans too. I do hope our readers will enjoy these nostalgic Bhajans from the past.
In our Puranas, there are stories about the SAMUDRA MANTHAN. It is believed that Kamala or Laxmi emerged from this churning and Narayan married her. In all, 14 unique, magical and invaluable things came out of the ocean after this Samudra Manthan or Churning of the Ocean. For your information,here are these 14 objects-
1. Halahal-The Poison 2.Varuni-The wine 3.Kamdhenu-Magical Cow 4. Airawat-The Flying Elephant 5. Uchhaiswas-The 6 Headed Horse 6. Apsaras like Rambha,Urvashi, Menaka etc. 7. Kaustubh Mani- A powerful Diamond 8. Kalpvriksha-The Magical Tree 9. a Divine Bow 10. Chandra-The Moon 11. Ratnas or Gems 12. Laxmi or Kamala 13. Dhanwantari with a book of Ayurveda-The Gods’ Physician and 14. The Amrit- the drink that makes one immortal.
There are variations in the list depending on its sources. Here is some information on Samudra Manthan-
The great sage, Durvasa Muni, once offered a garland to Indra, who ignored it and put it on the tusk of his elephant, which trampled it. Seeing Indra’s disregard, the revered sage became furious. He cursed Indra saying that he and the other gods would lose all their powers. In due course, Indra and the other gods began losing all battles against the demons, and the demons led by Bali took control of the universe. Seeing no other way, the helpless Indra rushed to Vishnu for help.
Vishnu had a plan. He said that to get back their powers the gods would have to churn the oceans and bring out the magical nectar-amrita. Only after consuming it could they regain their powers. This great churning is known as samudra manthan. But as the gods were powerless now, they sought the help of the demons to accomplish this huge task.
The gods and demons got together for the the herculean task. The huge mountain, Mandara, was used as the pole to stir the waters. But as the pole entered the water it kept sliding into the depths of the ocean. To stop this, Vishnu quickly transformed himself into a tortoise and supported the mountain on his back. This image of Vishnu as the tortoise was his second avatar called ‘Kurma.’
Once the pole was balanced, it was tied to the gigantic snake, Vasuki, and the gods and demons started pulling it from either side. As the churning began and the massive waves whirled, an extremely poisonous drink called halahal came out. The gods became scared because this blue drink could destroy creation.
They all got together and prayed to the powerful Shiva to help him them. Shiva appeared before all and gulped the entire poison. But, he did not swallow it. He kept the poison in his throat. Since then, Shiva’s throat became blue, and he became known as Neelkantha or the blue-throated one.
The churning continued and poured forth a number of gifts and treasures. They included Kamdhenu, the wish-fulfilling cow; the goddess of wealth, Laxmi; the wish-fulfilling tree, Kalpavriksha; and finally, came Dhanvantari carrying the pot of amrita and a book of medicine called Ayurveda.
Once the amrita was out, the demons forcefully took it away. Two demons, Rahu and Ketu, disguised themselves as gods and drank the amrita. The sun and moon gods recognised it to be a trick and complained to Vishnu, who in turn, severed their heads with his Sudarshan Chakra. As the divine nectar did not get time to reach below the throat, the heads remained immortal, but the body below died. This helps Rahu and Ketu take revenge on the Sun and Moon by devouring them every year during solar and lunar eclipse.
A great war between the gods and demons followed. Finally, Vishnu disguised as the enchanting Mohini tricked the demons and recovered the nectar. While fleeing the clutches of the demons, Vishnu gave the amrita to his winged charioteer, Garuda. But the demons caught up and a tussle followed. During this tussle few drops of the drink fell at Ujjain, Nasik, Allahabad, and Haridwar. The drops are said to have purified the land and it is here that every year devotees come to wash away theit sins in the famous assembly called Kumbh Mela.
Once Garuda got back and the Gods drank the nectar, they became immortal. But as some demons had managed to taste a few drops of the drink, they too became immortal and to this day the fight between good and evil continues.
The film ” Laxmi Narayan”-51 was made by Homi Wadia’s Basant pictures. The Direcctor was Nanabhai Bhatt( father of Mahesh and Mukesh Bhatt). The composer was S N Tripathi,who also acted in the film and sang a few songs as well-as was his habit always. The cast included Meena Kumari (this was her second Mythological film, after earlier working in Shri Ganesh mahima aka Sri krishna Vivah-51), Mahipal, Amarnath, Dalpat, Sulochana etc. The story of this film was-
Arishtanemi, the king of Danavas was ruining Mother Earth for his own sadistic enjoyment. He had polluted the waters of the rivers. All the Gems were thrown away in the sea and every where there was a tale of suffering. At the same time Bhuwanmohini, daughter of Bhrigu Rishi was in the bloom of her youth and many Kings and Gods were aspiring to marry her. Indra, the King of Gods and Arishtanemi were two aspirants competing with each other, while Bhuwanmohini herself wished to marry Lord Vishnu, thanks to the praise of the Lord by Narad. Indra took away Bhuwan with him against her wishes. To take advantage of this situation, Arishtanemi started a Yagna with Bhrigu as his Purohit. From the holy fire of the Yagna emerged Vritasur with whose help Arishtanemi conquered the kingdom of Gods. There Arishtanemi searched for Bhuwan but she had left Indra’s palace and sat alone on the top of a mountain and prayed the Lord to come to her rescue. Having lost his kingdom Indra prayed to God Shankar for help to conquer Arishtanemi. God Shankar told him that only one weapon could kill Vritasur and that was to be made from the bones of Sage Dadhichi. Indra went to Dadhichi and served him while power-mad Arshtanemi attacked Sage Dadhichi only to be burnt down by the Sage. Indra got the weapon he wanted and won the battle with Vritasur. Indra then went in search of Bhuwanmohini but unwilling to surrender to Indra she jumped down to the sea. When Bhrigu learnt about this mishap he went to Lord Vishnu who was asleep and kicked him in the chest to wake him up. In anger he called out “How can you sleep sound when my daughter died crying out ” lord Vishnu said,” dont worry, Oh Sage She will come to me when time is ripe for the same. In the meanwhile let me massage your foot which must have been hurt when you struck me”. . Later the Gods and the Danavas churned the great sea when Bhuwanmohini emerged out as Laxmi radiant with wealth and Lord Vishnu accepted her as his consort. This union is famous in the Hindu mythology by the name LAXMI NARAYAN.
let us now enjoy this video song depicting the Samudra Manthan and marriage of Laxmi Narayan. The song is sung and composed by S N Tripathi. The song is written by Ramesh Pandey.
Song-Kaisi anokhi maaya hari ki (Laxmi Narayan)(1951) Singer-S N Tripathi, Lyrics-Ramesh Pandey, MD-S N Tripathi
Chorus
Lyrics
laakh jatan kar jab sab haare
bhed samajh na aaya
saagar manthan rachkar prabhu ne ae
kartab naya dikhaaya
kaisi anokhi maaya hari ki
kaisi anokhi maaya
kaisi anokhi maaya hari ki
kaisi anokhi maaya
manthan shuru hua saagar ka
dharti nabh tharraaye
laga doobne mandar parwat
dekh sabhi ghabraaye
le kachchap avtaar vishnu ne
chamatkaar dikhlaaya
jal mein paith peethh par apni
saara bhaar uthhaaya
shankh chakr aur gada padm ka
roop shikhar par aaya
dekh prabhu ki leela sabne
jaijaikaar manaaya aa
jai jaikaar manaaaya
kaisi anokhi maaya hari ki
kaisi anokhi maaya
kaisi anokhi maaya hari ki
kaisi anokhi maaya
vishdhar naag raaj ki saansen
hain agni ki jwaala
phhan ki taraf asur hain
unka rang pad gaya kaala
sabse pehle kaal koot vish
lahron par utraaya
jisko peekar bhola shankar
neel kanth kahlaaya
jagmag karta nikla chanda
khila madhur ujiyaara
shiv ke sir ka mukut bana
wo laga sabhi ko pyaara
ichcha pooran karne waali
kaamdhenu bhi aayi
gaumaata paakar rishiyon ne
hari ki mahima gaayi
uchchaiswas albela
jal ke baahar aaya
veer daanawon ne wo ghoda khush hokar apnaaya
airaawat haathi nikla
jo sabke man ko bhaaya
de gajraaj indr ko prabhu ne swarg ka maan badhaaya
kaisi anokhi maaya hari ki
kaisi anokhi maaya
kaisi anokhi maaya hari ki
kaisi anokhi maaya
kalp vriksh nikla samudr se
le kanchan si kaaya
parijaatak se dev ganon ne
apna swarg sajaaya
kaustubh padm raag mani nikli
sab maniyon se pyaari
use swayam le gaye chaturbhuj
chakr sudarshan dhaari
rambha aadi apsaraa niklin
liye chhata matwaali
devlok sab gayin saloni
chanchal chitwan waali
madira ka ghhat ooper aaya
masti ki ritu laaya
peekar sura dusht daityon ka ang ang lahraaya
kaisi anokhi maaya hari ki
kaisi anokhi maaya
kaisi anokhi maaya hari ki
kaisi anokhi maaya
saawdhaan
saawdhaan
saawdhaan
jaag uthhe hain bhaag hamaare
dekh rahe hain ham nainon se
adbhut chamatkaar
nikli kamla kamal par a
magan hua sansaar
saagar manthan se hua aa aa aa
laxmi ka aa aa avtaar
laxmi ke sundar swaroop se
soorya chandr sharmaaye
unko dekh dev daanav sab man hi man lalchaaye
bhrigu boley varmaala dekar
beti charan badhaao
poora hai adhikaar tumhe
jisko chaaho apnaao
mahalaxmi ne keshav se apni lagn lagaayi
jag ke paalahhaar prabhu ko varmaala pahnaayi
naaraayan ne bhi laxmi ko prem sahit apnaaya
ek huye laxmi naaraayan
jag mein mangal chhaaya
ek huye laxmi naaraayan
jag mein mangal chhaaya
kaisi anokhi maaya hari ki
kaisi anokhi maaya
kaisi anokhi maaya hari ki
kaisi anokhi maaya
ek huye laxmi naaraayan
jag mein mangal chaaya
ek huye laxmi naaraayan
ek huye laxmi naaraayan
ek huye laxmi naaraayan
ek huye laxmi naaraayan
jag mein mangal chaaya
jag mein mangal chaaya
9 Responses to "Kaisi anokhi maaya hari ki"
May 23, 2014 at 11:01 am
Thanks for your appreciation.
By the way,the name is SHUBHA KHOTE and not Shobha Khote. This is a very common confusion. her full real name is SHUBHADA,made into short form SHUBHA.
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May 26, 2014 at 12:51 pm
simonvaishnav99
Yes You were spot on , It was common mistake Arunsaab ……I recollect magic of phototechniques was by Phali Mistry …..Some one may correct me ,as Franz Osten was mainly working with ” Bombay -Talkies “
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May 26, 2014 at 5:24 pm
BABUBHAI MISTRY was well known for his expertise in Trick scenes in films. in fact he is called the Father of Trick scenes in India. I have written about him in the 2nd Flower of this mala.
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May 23, 2014 at 3:36 pm
Arunji,
Whether it is vibrant 40’s or golden 50’s, mythology or social drama you rule the roost. Thank you for this well written and informative article and the song too.
Thank you.
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May 23, 2014 at 5:58 pm
Venkataraman ji,
Thanks for your kind words. you have always been generous in it.
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May 23, 2014 at 11:34 pm
Sir, Congratulations on yet another new series and many many best wishes for it !!
I do also get to watch many mythological movies (b/w) in my childhood and as said by you the trick scenes and costumes was very fascinating and even today if i get to watch old movies i do not miss it.
Mahipal and Manhar Desai – my favorite of these kind of movies.
thanks for the Post !!!
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May 29, 2014 at 2:48 pm
Arun ji,
Great new series. Your efforts are always grand and so full of information and knowledge.
Interesting trivia about this song – it is not listed in Geet Kosh, which may also mean that it is not listed in the booklet for this film. And so a rare and unexpected find.
Best regards
Sudhir
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Atul’s Song A Day- A choice collection of Hindi Film & Non-Film Songs 
May 23, 2014 at 9:21 am
shekhar vaishnav…..
So much to learn in deep concept about ” Samundra – Manthan ” well written ….Other actors of those years to add on were Late 1958- were Shahu Modak, Abhibhattacharya, Jairaj, Shobha Khote….Arunsaab awesome article.
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