Lat uljhi suljhaa jaa baalam
Posted on: November 15, 2015
This article is written by Sadanand Kamath, 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.
Lat uljhi suljha ja baalam
haathon mein mehandi lagi hai mori
Maathe ki bindiya bikhra gayi mori
Apne haath sajaa jaa baalam
Pag paijhaniya uljha gayi mori
Apne haath lagaa jaa baalam
The above is the original bandish written by saint-poet Chandrasakhi and composed in Raag Bihag.
I have not been able to get the name of the original composer and the gharana to which the composer belongs. YouTube uploads show that Ustad Bade Ghulam Ali Khan rendered this bandish in thumri style. Pandit Jasraj rendered this bandish in khayal style stretching it to nearly 15 minutes. Pandit Bhimsen Joshi also rendered this bandish in chhota khayal style. But the uploader seems to have edited the vilambit (beginning slow tempo) part of the khayal. Still the drut (concluding fast tempo) portion is of the duration of nearly 9 minutes. Some more vocalists have also rendered this bandish.
When a bandish becomes popular, it receives attention from the Hindi film industry. There are many instances where popular bandishes have been the source of inspirations for the music directors. Generally, the song writers will retain the one or two lines of the mukhdas fron bandishes and write the new lyrics for antara parts. A few examples of some of the popular bandishes which have been used in Hindi film songs:
Jhan jhan jhan jhan paayal baaje – Raag Nat Bihag
Mohe panghat pe Nandalal chhed liyo re – Raag Gara
Sajan tum kaahe ko neha lagaaye – Raag Tilang
Main waari waari jaaungi preetam pyaare – Raag Yaman
Banaao batiyaan chalo kaahe ko jhoothi – Raag Bhairavi
I was keen to know whether there were any songs from Hindi films inspired from the bandish ‘lat uljhi suljha ja baalam’. A search in websites like, http://www.earthmusic.net, http://www.myswar.com and google searches yielded the following results:
1. Chandragupta (1934) – Singer unattributed, Original bandish, K C Dey.
2. Pooja (1940) – Jyoti, Shatir Ghaznavi, Anil Biswas.
3. Phulwari (1946) – Singer unattributed, Pandit Indra, Hansraj Bahl.
4. Gunaah (1953) – Rajkumari, Kidar Sharma, Snehal Bhatkar.
5. Shobha (1954) – Shamshad Begum, Mahendra Pran, Robin Chatterjee
6. Insaan Aur Insaan(1985) – Geeta Dutt, Tajdar Taj, Ratandeep-Hemraj.
7. Yuvraj (2008) – Vijay Prakash, Gulzar, A R Rahman.
Unfortunately, songs based on the bandish from first five films listed above are not available on YouTube. As regards 6th film, Geeta Dutt recorded the song “Latt uljhi hai suljha de morey baalma” sometime in 1970 but the film was released in 1985.
The interesting features of the song “lat uljhi suljha ja baalam” in ‘Yuvraj’ (2008) is that the first line of the mukhda of the bandish is preceded by a short taraana and in keeping with the current trend in Hindi film music, A R Rahman has composed the song with a fusion of western instrumentations and Hindustani classical vocal style.
Incidentally, Noor Jahan sang a song based on this bandish for a Pakistani film ‘Sawaal’ as a playback singer. The song is here.
I was keen to select a song for the post based on the bandish under discussion from an old Hindi film. Since none of the songs from the film listed in this category was available on YT, I browsed through the mp3 clips listed on Surjit Singh’s website. After a lot of search, I could manage to get one mp3 clip of ‘lat uljhi suljha ja baalam’ from the film POOJA (1940) sung by Jyoti ( Wife of G M Durrani, the younger sister of Wahidan Bai and the aunt of Nimmi). The song was penned by Shatir Ghaznavi who, while retaining the mukhda of the bandish, wrote fresh lyrics for the song. Anil Biswas composed the tune based on Raag Bihag. Since Jyoti acted in the film, it is apparent that she sang the song on herself.
The film was produced under the banner of National Studios and was directed by A R Kardar. The star cast included Sardar Akhtar, Zahoor Raja, Sitara, Jyoti, Satish, Sunalini Devi, Ameer Bano, Bhudo Advani, Baby Meena, etc.
Since the song clip was not available on YT, I have created an audio clip from mp3 clip downloaded from Surjit Singh’s website. The audio quality of mp3 clip is not very good. But as is often said, something is better than nothing.
Enjoy this bandish-based melodious song in Raag Bihag.
With this the film makes its debut in the Blog.
Song-Lat uljhi suljha jaa baalam (Pooja)(1940) Singer-Jyoti, Lyrics-Shaatir Ghaznavi, MD-Anil Biswas
Lyrics
lat uljhi ee
suljha aa jaa baalam
morey haathon mein mehandi lagi
haan aan aan aan
morey haathon mein mehandi lagi
lat uljhi ee
suljha jaa baalam
sooraj se main jhoomar laayi ee
sooraj se main jhoomar laayi ee
chandrma se bindiya aa aa
sooraj se main jhoomar laayi ee
chandrma se bindiyaa aa aa
phoolon se main chatkan laayi
kaliyon se muskaana
aa aa aa
phoolon se main chatkan laayi
kaliyon se muskaana aa
raat se maanga kaajal maine ae ae
raat se maanga kaajal maine
din se sundartaa aa
raat se maanga kaajal maine
din se sundartaa aa
bijli se li teekhi chitwan
lehar se chanchaltaa
bijli se li teekhi chitwan
lehar se chanchaltaa
tore milan ko chali re baalam m
kar ke haar singaar
tore milan ko chali re baalam m
kar ke haar singaar
aaya jhakora ek pawan ka
gayo re baal bikhaar
aaya jhakora ek pawan ka
gayo re baal bikhaar
mora gayo re baalam paar
lat uljhi suljha jaa baalam
haathon mein mehandi lagi
lat uljhi suljha jaa baalam
14 Responses to "Lat uljhi suljhaa jaa baalam"
November 15, 2015 at 12:24 pm
Sadanandji,
I wrote the comments before reading your another excellent post. Thanks
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3 | Bharat Upadhyay
November 15, 2015 at 12:25 pm
Good researched article. When are you going to start teaching me ‘How to write interesting write-up’. I am waiting with a ‘Guru-Dakshina’ for you.
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November 15, 2015 at 3:13 pm
Bharat ji,
Aap to jaldi jaldi guru badal rahe hain. . .
😀
Rgds
Sudhir
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Bharat Upadhyay
November 15, 2015 at 6:10 pm
Sadanandji to hamaare ghar ki baat hai.
Kya do guru nahi ho sakte? Sangeet mein mere do Guru hai. Sumanji Ghosh (Mevati Gharana) and Dayalji (Agra Gharana)
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November 15, 2015 at 12:42 pm
Are you sure Chandrasakhi is a Poetess and not a Poet ? Encyclopedia of India (Vol.2) on page no. 1540 , refers to him as a Poet .
Kindly cross check and confirm.
Best Reagrds
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November 15, 2015 at 1:08 pm
I got the original bandish as well as the name of the poetess from the link given below:
https://www.swarganga.org/bandish_details.php?id=43
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November 15, 2015 at 3:32 pm
Sadanand ji,
The Encyclopedia of Indian Literature lists a brief bio-sketch of ‘Chandrasakhi’ on page 634-635. It identifies the person as a male with the name Chandra Vyas. Born in Dacha in Bundelkhand, Rajasthan in 1643, he was appointed as ‘Thanedar’ (police chief) of Motha. Being an ardent devotee of Lord Krishna, he renounced the world and his family, and settled in Vrindavan.
He has composed a very large number of bhajans, that have become the subject of two well researched books. All his creations are in the Rajasthani folk milieu and are very popular in Rajasthan. He continues to have a large following. In Vrindavan, there is a ‘Chandraskhi Ki Kunj’ and in Neem-Ka-Thana (Rajasthan) there is an ‘akhaada’ by his name.
He used the pen name of ‘Chandrasakhi’.
Rgds
Sudhir
Rgds
Sudhir
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November 15, 2015 at 4:45 pm
Thanks , Sudhirji – you have settled the doubt I too had in my mind . Perhaps the Swarganga people got misled by the name ending in “sakhi” and thought it to be female . True , Chandrasakhi’s songs were female oriented and women loved his songs for they echoed their hurt feelings . Since it is no longer a “poetess” , I doubt if we should address him as “Saint Poet”. Saint Poets are few and far between in our Country.
Thanks , once again
Partha Chanda
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November 15, 2015 at 12:42 pm
Shatir Ghaznavi
Ja Ud Ja Re Kaagwa Le Ja Sandesva
Zeenat Begum Ghulam Haider, Hansraj Behl Kaneez (1949)
Apni Ruthi Hui Kismat Ko Mana Lu
Zeenat Begum Ghulam Haider, Hansraj Behl Kaneez (1949)
Tum Kya Jaano Mere Maathe Ki Bindiya Ka Mol
G. M. Durrani, Shamshad Begum Ghulam Haider, Hansraj Behl Kaneez (1949)
Dheere Dheere Ga Re Panchhi
Ghulam Haider Bhai (1944)
Duniya Ki Ye Khushi Hai
Zeenat Begum Ghulam Haider Bhai (1944)
Hindu Muslim Sikh Isaayi
Ghulam Haideri Bhai (1944)
Is Dil Ki Haalat Kya Kahiye
Naseem Akhtar Ghulam Haider Bhai (1944)
Jhulo Ki Aayi Hai Bahar
Ghulam Haider Bhai (1944)
Kaahe Hoye Adheer Re Panchhi
Rafiq Ghaznavi Swami (1941)
Kaun Kisi Ke Meet Re Baba
Rajkumari, Sitara Devi Rafiq Ghaznavi Swami (1941)
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November 15, 2015 at 8:20 pm
Only first 2 lines! Later on not connected to the original bandish. Anyway it’s a rare upload. Thanks
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November 17, 2015 at 9:48 am
Wow, it’s a treasure trove for finding interesting song repertoire. I know only two songs by Noor Jahan and Geeta Dutt.
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November 18, 2015 at 9:11 pm
Sadanand Ji, your post is painstakingly researched & presented. Thanks .
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Atul’s Song A Day- A choice collection of Hindi Film & Non-Film Songs 
November 15, 2015 at 12:19 pm
Lat Uljhi Hai Suljha De More Baalma sung by Geeta Dutt. MD>Ratandeep-Hemraj Ly>Tajdar Taj from Insaan Aur Insaan (1985)
Again the lines were adopted Sawal-1966(Pak)
Jyoti>>
kaise raiin kati morii aali from Sanskaar/ Chhoti Bahu-1940
suno panchhi ke raag from Aurat-1940
tum ruth gai ruth gai baah ri sajaniya from Aurat-1940
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