Sarfaroshi ki tamanna ab hamaare dil mein hai
Posted on: August 9, 2016
This article is written by Sadanand Kamath, 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 ghazal na kisi ki aankh ka noor hoon was earlier wrongly associated with Bahadur Shah Zafar, the last Mughal emperor as most of us thought that this ghazal was written by him. The sentiments expressed in the ghazal suited his state of mind after the decline of the Mughal dynasty and the uprising of 1857. Recently, it has been proved that the author of this ghazal was Muztar Khairabadi (1865-1927).
Recently, I came to know about one more ghazal which was most popular during India’s freedom struggle as a patriotic song. The ghazal was ‘sarfaroshi ki tamanna ab hamaare dil mein hai’. Like others, I was under the impression that the ghazal was written by Ram Prasad ‘Bismil’ (1897-1927). But, I came to know from an article in Milli Gazette (October 1-15, 2014 issue) that this ghazal was written by ‘Bismil’ Azimabadi (1901-1978). This led me to do the further research in the matter and came to know that the debate as to who wrote this ghazal had been going on for the last few years.
From the information I gathered from the internet, it would appear that Bismil Azimabadi used to write revolutionary ghazals during India’s freedom struggle which were liked by the young freedom fighters like Shaheed Bhagar Singh, Chandrashekar Azad, Ram Prasad Bismil, Ashfaaqulla Khan, Rajguru, Sukhdev Thapar etc. The ghazal under discussion was published in a Urdu magazine ‘Sabah’ in 1921. However, British Government not only confiscated the publication but also the place of publication. It is said that many of Bismil Azimabadi’s ghazals were lost in the process.
Added to the confusion is that Ram Prasad ‘Bismil’ was also a poet and used the same takhallus ‘Bismil’. It is mentioned that it was Ram Prasad Bismil who made this ghazal as a rallying point for the young freedom fighters When he was arrested for ‘Kakhori Conspiracy’ in 1925 along with other freedom fighters, he would sing this ghazal with others whenever he was taken in the court for hearings and then back to jail. Just before his execution in a Gorakhpur jail on December 19, 1927, he is reported to have sung the entire ghazal as he was being hanged.
I have also got to know from the internet that a few historians of Urdu literature (with no names mentioned) believe that this ghazal may have written by Bismil Azimabadi considering his style of composing the metre in some of his other ghazals. http://www.rekhta.org has already recognised the authorship of this ghazal to Bismil Azimabadi by listing this ghazal under his name.
With this ghazal becoming so much a part of Ram Prasad Bismil, I, for one, still get the feeling that this ghazal and Ram Prasad Bismil are inseparable. The authorship of the ghazal is a moot point. What is important is that he made this ghazal immortal.
This ghazal has been one of the favourites of Hindi film industry. I have no idea whether this ghazal was used in the films of 30s and 40s. But if I go by the 50s and later, this ghazal was a part of the films like ‘Shaheed-E-Azam Bhagat Singh (1954), ‘Shaheed Bhagat Singh’ (1963), ‘Shaheed’ (1965), ‘Mere Watan Ke Logon’ (1997), ‘The Legend of Shaheed Bhagat Singh’ (2002) and a few more. But, in my view, sarfaroshi ki tamanna ab hamaare dil mein hai in ‘Shaheed’ (1965) creates the patriotic fervour in the minds of the listeners due to the sombre music and the good picturisation. And it still remains the most popular song among the same song from the films mentioned above.
I am presenting the same ghazal from the film SHAHEED-E-AZAM BHAGAT SINGH (1954). The song is sung by Mohammed Rafi and Chorus and is composed by Lachchiram. Again, in my view, the song composition creates patriotic fervour for the listeners especially when Mohammed Rafi sings the last line in a very high pitch.
Since all the four she’rs (couplets) are part of the full ghazal of 11 she’rs as listed in http://www.rekhta.org under Bismil Azimabadi, I feel, it is in order to credit the authorship of this ghazal to Bismil Azimabadi. I guess, Rekhta must have listed this ghazal under Bismil Azimabadi after doing the due diligence.
The film was produced under the banner of Poonum Production and was directed by Jagdish Gautam. The star cast included Jairaj, Prem Adib, Ashita Majumdar, Smriti Biswas, Johny Walker, Cuckoo, Ameerbai Karnataki etc. There were 5 songs in the film none of which has so far been covered in the Blog.
The tune of the song was later used in a song of Hindi film of the 60s. The said song is here.
With this song, SHAHEED-E-AZAM BHAGAT SINGH (1954) makes its debut in the Blog.
Song-Sarfaroshi ki tamanna ab hamaare dil mein hai (Shaheed e Azam Bhagat Singh)(1954) Singer-Rafi, Lyrics-Bismil Azimabadi, MD-Pt Lachchiram
Chorus
Lyrics
sarfaroshi ki tamanna ab hamaare dil mein hai
dekhna hai zor kitna baazu-e-qaateel mein hai
sarfaroshi ki tamanna ab hamaare dil mein hai
waqt aane de
bataa denge tujhe ae aasmaan
ae aasmaa….aan
waqt aane de
bataa denge tujhe ae aasmaan
ae aasmaa..aan
ham abhi se kyaa bataayen
kyaa hamaare dil mein hai
ham abhi se kyaa bataayen
kyaa hamaare dil mein hai
ab na agle walwale hain
aur na armaanon ki bheed
ab na agle walwale hain
aur na armaanon ki bheed
ek mit jaane ki hasrat
ab dil-e-‘bismil’ mein hai
ek mit jaane ki hasrat
ab dil-e-‘bismil’ mein hai
aaj maqtal mein ye qaatil kah raha hai baar baar
baar baa…aar
kyaa shaahadat ki tamanna
ab kisi ke dil mein hai
dekhna hai zor kitna baazu-e-qaatil mein hai
sarfaroshi ki tamanna ab hamaare dil mein hai
sarfaroshi ki tamanna ab hamaare dil mein hai
dil mein ha……..i
3 Responses to "Sarfaroshi ki tamanna ab hamaare dil mein hai"
August 10, 2016 at 7:00 pm
Same popular freedom struggle song was recorded by Jaidevji and chose Ashaji to sing for him. According to Asha’s comments about the song, that Jaidevji wanted her to bring out that required force of freedom fighting in the song.
Atulites, please listen and GIVE comments
LikeLike
August 10, 2016 at 10:58 pm
An excellent article, Kamath Saheb,
I was also till date mistakenly sanguine that this most popular patriotic piece was authored by the great revolutionary Ram Prasad Bismil. Thanks a lot, Sir, for correcting my false belief.
However, I would endorse your view that notwithstanding the authorship, in the minds of public, the ghazal will always remain associated with the great martyr rather than the poet.
And a good composition from Pt. Lachhiram.
Thanks also to Bharat Bhai for the version of Asha ji & the genius Jaidev.
Regards,
Avadh Lal
LikeLike
Atul’s Song A Day- A choice collection of Hindi Film & Non-Film Songs 
August 9, 2016 at 11:52 pm
Laudable research effort took us back in Time!
LikeLike