This article is written by Sudhir, a fellow enthusiast of Hindi movie music and a 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.
Missing Films of 1960s – 4
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The term ‘cancelled’ is not a difficult word to decipher and understand – something incorrect, or outdated, or not required. It simply gets ‘cancelled’ – like a train or a plane reservation, a defective product coming off from the assembly line, or even an appointment that is not required, or cannot be met. Besides this general usage and its association with sundry and trivial experiences in life, I have come across this term in two other fields, where the meaning and intent of usage turned out to be very specific, and took some time to understand and assimilate it.
I have been a philately buff since my school days. At one time, before the current craze descended upon me, collecting stamps was an extreme passion, evidence of which is this huge collection that I still retain – about a dozen or so albums, a small briefcase, and a few cardboard boxes, that are chock full of stamps and related postal material.
So when I started this hobby, in my school years, I came across this term ‘cancelled’. My untrained brain at that time, picked the first meaning that obviously implied itself – something useless. But soon I was to learn, that primarily, there are two conditions / status that apply to stamps. Either a stamp is a ’mint’ – meaning that it has been bought at the post office counter, and has not been used for postage purposes, and its original condition is preserved – clean and undamaged appearance of the printed side and the original gum on the other side. Or a stamp is ‘cancelled’ – meaning that it has been used on some postal material, the duty person in the post office has put a mark on it, indicating that the stamp has been used for postage. The mark, usually in black (but other colors are also used sometimes) carries the name of the originating post office, and the date of its first usage. It was a while before the significance of the word ‘cancelled’ would dawn upon me – that the stamp has been used once, and it can now never be used again for postage purposes.
In the realm of philately, these two conditions – ‘mint’ and ‘cancelled’, play a defining role in attaching a monetary value to a stamp. Depending on specific issue, how long back it was first issued, whether it is currently being sold over the post office counter, plus other factors such as country of issue, whether any specific event or persona is associated with it etc., the stamp may become very valuable. There is of course, much more detail to it, and I can take up that discussion off line, with anyone who may be interested.
Later in life, when music became a passion, and the search and acquisition of Hindi film songs became the more significant hobby, I came across this term once again. And once again, the mind initially assigned the obvious implied meaning to it – that a particular song is not important and / or not to be used. Very soon, I realized that this simplistic interpretation was very wrong. How could a song “not be used” after it was created, recorded and released? Again, very very soon, I would come to know that this term did not apply to the song, but rather to the gramophone record that carried it. After getting some more inputs from various collector friends, the actual meaning became clear.
A gramophone record is deemed as cancelled by the company, when they determine that a particular song, or a set of songs from a film, do not project any useful revenues for the company, and they decide not to republish that record or set of records, any time in the future. When this interpretation became clear, with it also dawned the significance of a record being cancelled. That no more such records will be ever produced. And that makes the existing such records a rarity, a prized possession, and an asset of significant value. Since no more such records are to be manufactured, then over a period of time, their numbers and availability will only be decreasing, and consequently the value will rise.
Over the past two to three years, as I have delved into the search for specific songs (and hence for the specific gramophone record), getting inputs from various friends, collectors, and people who do this as a commercial business, and being involved in discussions related to this, I now see a significant impact of this concept.
Take the gramophone companies. Let’s take HMV (in its various incarnations over the decades). In their ‘sublime’, or rather misguided and egoistic wisdom, over the years they have been applying the label of ‘cancelled’ to certain songs, or certain films, which by their market research, they determined to be ‘NON-PROFITABLE’ to manufacture more of. The capitalization of the word is intentional, since the operative word for the business always is ‘PROFIT’. They not only labeled them as such, but over a period of time, once again in their ‘extreme’ wisdom, they would even destroy the original masters. I personally can’t think of a greater disservice done to this art form, and would go as far as tagging this as a ‘criminal’ act.
And so, the recordings of ‘Anmol Ghadi’ from 1946 got preserved, released multiple times, and then even recompiled released as an LP. But countless other films were determined to be ‘PROFIT-LESS’, and their recordings were quietly butchered.
Another facet to this is other smaller record companies. Many of them e.g. Bulbul Records, Young India Records etc. came into existence, but did not survive the business competition. Their closure is tantamount to the same thing – original recordings not available, and will never be published again.
Consequences of such business models, business policies and business fortunes, are far reaching. Examples are rampant, wherein the record companies had to eventually return to the dealers and private collectors, whenever there arose a need to acquire the original recordings of any songs. It was embarrassing, but then whatever makes ‘business sense’ is always appropriate.
Another consequence of this is that based on availability, the price of such rare items simply goes through the roof. A few months back, a rumor was doing significant rounds in Delhi – that a private collector (most probably from UK) had purchased a rare record of a Bangla song sung by Kishore Kumar for a price around 25 thousand rupees. Mind boggling, isn’t it.
We have discussed the volume of films and their songs, and consequently, the associated gramophone records many times earlier on this blog. For the first five decades, we are looking at approximately 5700 Hindi films and a little less than 44000 Hindi film songs created. Of course in the first decade, comparatively, songs from fewer films were released on gramophone records. Progressively, this situation got better, as more and more songs got imprinted on the 78 rpm records. E.g. in the first decade, the no. of songs listed in the Geet Kosh is close to 9850. In conversations with Girdharilal ji Vishwakarma, whom I consider an authority on the songs from that era, less than 1500 songs maybe are available. Situation becomes much better in the second decade. The total songs listed in the Geet Kosh is close to 11000. And based on the information available in the Geet Kosh itself, the number of songs that were imprinted on records is close to 7700. Situation in the subsequent decades gets this number to more than 90%. By a rough estimate, we are looking at approximately 35000 songs which were probably released on gramophone records, and could be available.
Now consider this number, and then estimate for yourself, how many songs an individual person remembers over a life time. And this remembering is based on accessibility and hearing to the songs. Where would you put this estimate? 5000? 7000? 10000? Let’s say that a passionate music lover may recall in memory 10000 songs. Even then, we are looking at a staggering 25000 songs which may not even be in the collective memory, for they were aired so less (or not aired at all), and sparingly heard and picked up by the listeners, even the listeners with a passion. Yes, I agree that there are collectors who have very large collections. But those collections are not accessible, and the inventory of such collections remains a tenuous mystery in many cases.
So we are now confronted with a significant remainder that is largely in the regime of ‘cancelled’ records. So, the going becomes tougher with every milestone that we cross. But then, the rewards? From realm of ‘cancelled’ records will come the bulk of the remaining songs that we should be tracking and showcasing. From all indications, the content and quality of this ‘cancelled’ material is actually ‘A’ grade. Which implies that we are in for an unmatched and unexpected musical treat as we are going to continue discovering never before heard songs, and we are going to continue locating absolute gems lying under layers of dust at the bottom of this ocean that we call the Hindi film song.
With this post, I bring one such unheard gem. The team that came together to create this song is an unexpected pedigree. The music composition is by Gunjan. Now this mysterious name, that appeared in the credits as a music director in just two films, is actually the famous singer GM Durrani himself. Way back in 1946, he had taken up music direction for a film titled ‘Dhadkan’ that had 9 songs. Then fifteen years later, he once again donned the mantle of a music director. In 1961, he composed music for two films – ‘Kismat Palat Ke Dekh’ and ‘State Express’. Only that he used the pseudonym of ‘Gunjan’. The song in this post is from the film ‘State Express’.
The lyrics are written by Shakeel Nomani. The singing voice is that of Mubarak Begum. Goodness, what a wonderful song this one is. Hidden inside an unheard and obscure film, the song itself is maybe a novelty. I am fairly certain, most people would neither have heard it, or even anticipated its existence. But then here we are with it.
Listen and enjoy this Mubarak Begum song that almost amounts to a new discovery. And tighten your seat belts. We are now embarking on journey passing through uncharted territories. The gems will now be coming from the realm of ‘cancelled’ records.
Song – Daiyya Chori Chori Kare Waar Baalma (State Express) (1961) Singer – Mubarak Begum, Lyrics – Shakeel Nomani, MD – Gunjan
Lyrics
haaye daiyya . . .
ho daiyya chori chori karey waar baalma mohey nainan ki maare kataar baalma haaye daiyya ho daiyya chori chori karey waar baalma. . .
mori baali umariya hai behki si chaal mori baali umariya hai behki behki chaal mo pey julmi najariyaa ka jaadu na daal loot le na kahin tora pyaar baalma haaye pyaar baalma haaye daiyya ho daiyya chori chori karey waar baalma mohey nainan ki maare kataar baalma haaye daiyya ho daiyya chori chori karey waar baalma. . .
chandni se karey chanda chhup chhup ke baat chandni se karey chanda chhup chhup ke baat aaj ki raat jaisi na aayegi raat kaise aayega dil ko qaraar baalma haaye qaraar baalma haaye daiyya ho daiyya chori chori karey waar baalma mohey nainan ki maare kataar baalma haaye daiyya ho daiyya chori chori karey waar baalma. . .
mora natkhat haaye mora natkhat balam karey jora jori mora natkhat balam karey jora jori aise dhadhke jiya jaise paayal mori main tihaari hui tain hamaar baalma tain hamaar baalma haaye daiyya ho daiyya chori chori karey waar baalma mohey nainan ki maare kataar baalma haaye daiyya ho daiyya chori chori karey waar baalma. . .
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Hindi script lyrics (Provided by Sudhir)
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हाय दैय्या॰॰॰
हो दैय्या चोरी चोरी करे वार बालमा
मोहे नैनन की मारे कटार बालमा
हाय दैय्या
हो दैय्या चोरी चोरी करे वार बालमा॰॰॰
मोरी बाली उमरिया है बहकी सी चाल
मोरी बाली उमरिया है बहकी बहकी चाल
मो पे जुल्मी नजरिया का जादू ना डाल
लूट ले ना कहीं तोरा प्यार बालमा
हाय प्यार बालमा
हाय दैय्या
हो दैय्या चोरी चोरी करे वार बालमा
मोहे नैनन की मारे कटार बालमा
हाय दैय्या
हो दैय्या चोरी चोरी करे वार बालमा॰॰॰
चाँदनी से करे चंदा छुप छुप के बात
चाँदनी से करे चंदा छुप छुप के बात
आज की रात जैसी ना आएगी रात
कैसे आएगा दिल को करार बालमा
हाय करार बालमा
हाय दैय्या
हो दैय्या चोरी चोरी करे वार बालमा
मोहे नैनन की मारे कटार बालमा
हाय दैय्या
हो दैय्या चोरी चोरी करे वार बालमा॰॰॰
मोरा नटखट
हाय
मोरा नटखट बलम करे जोरा जोरी
मोरा नटखट बलम करे जोरा जोरी
ऐसे धड़के जिया जैसे पायल मोरी
मैं तिहारी हुई तैं हमार बालमा
तैं हमार बालमा
हाय दैय्या
हो दैय्या चोरी चोरी करे वार बालमा
मोहे नैनन की मारे कटार बालमा
हाय दैय्या
हो दैय्या चोरी चोरी करे वार बालमा॰॰॰
Awesome song. How can a song like this be cancelled beats me. It should indeed be considered a criminal act to kill such songs. How sad that these songs have been killed by the very people who were supposed to preserve such songs.
Let us see how many such cancelled songs still survive. They need to be brought to public domain so that the chances of their survival into future become brighter.
Sudhirji,
Thanks for taking through the journey of trials and tribulation of salvaging hidden gems.
Gunjan
Daiya Re Daiya by Asha Bhosle, Kismat Palat Ke Dekh (1961)
Koi Gori Gulabi Si Ladki by Mohammed Rafi, Geeta Dutt Kismat Palat Ke Dekh (1961)
Ada Se Dil Chura Lena by Asha Bhosle Kismat Palat Ke Dekh (1961)
Hua Karejwa Pe
Usha Mangeshkar, Asha Bhosle Kismat Palat Ke Dekh (1961)
Zara Palat Ke Dekh Wo
Manna Dey Kismat Palat Ke Dekh (1961)
Mai Nachu Balam Tu Aa
Shakeel Nomani State Express (1962)
Mohabbat Kitna Pyar Naam
Shakeel Nomani State Express (1962)
Nazro Ko Nazar Bhar Ke
Shakeel Nomani State Express (1962)
Bas Mohabbat Ka Itna Fasana Hai
Shakeel Nomani State Express (1962)
Haaye Daiya Chori Chori Kare Waar Balma
Shakeel Nomani State Express (1962)
Shakeel Nomani
Teri Mehfil Mein Aaye Hai
Mohammed Rafi, Asha Bhosle, Usha Mangeshkar Sajjad Shakeel Nomani Mera Shikar (1973)
Nazar Mili Hai Ek Qaatil Se
Mohammed Rafi, Asha Bhosle S Mohinder Reporter Raju (1962)
Haansi Hontho Par
Sardul Kwatra Dakoo Maan Singh (1971)
Ek Do Dus, Upar Se Aai Bus
Kamal Barot, Suman Kalyanpur Kalyanji Anandji Dil Bhi Tera Hum Bhi Tere (1960)
Pyar Ki Baate Koi Na Jane
Mohammed Rafi, Asha Bhosle Ram Prasad Magic Carpet (1964)
Bhanwar Me Hai Meri Kashti
Manna Dey Suresh Talwar Sair-e-paristan (1958)
Changa Re Changa Re Changa
Nashad Flight To Assam (1961)
Meri Mehfil Me Aa Ke Dekh Le Zara Aankhe Mila Ke Dekh Le
Mohammed Rafi, Asha Bhosle Ravi Tu Nahin Aur Sahi (1960)
This blog discusses Bollywood songs of yesteryears. Every song has a brief description, followed by a video link, and complete lyrics of the song. This is a labour of love, where “new” songs are added every day, and that has been the case for over SEVENTEEN years. This blog has more than 19700 song posts by now. This blog is active and online for over 6000 days since its beginning on 19 July 2008.
Atul’s Song A Day- A choice collection of Hindi Film & Non-Film Songs 
October 24, 2015 at 6:30 pm
Wah Wah !!!
MD as well as the Singer – both of them my very favorites
Thanks. Please continue posting such ‘cancelled’ but ‘amar’ (never dieing)
gems.
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