Modhu gandhe bhara mridu snigdho chhaaya
Posted on: May 5, 2020
This article is written by Sadanand Kamath, a fellow enthusiast of Hindi movie music and a contributor to this blog. If this article appears in other sites without the knowledge and consent of the web administrator of atulsongaday.me, then it is piracy of the copyright content of atulsongaday.me and is a punishable offence under the existing laws.
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Regional language songs in Hindi movies- 1
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I had heard of ‘Rabindra Sangeet’ many years back in the context of our national anthem. Without knowing much about Rabindra Sangeet, in my younger days, I used to think that like Hindustani classical music, Carnatic classical music, folk music, Western classical music etc, Rabindra Sangeet was a different genre of music. (Now that I know it, I was not off the mark then). When I got associated with our Blog about 10 years back, I started looking at the Hindi film songs in a wider perspective encompassing, among other things, the genres of and the artists behind the Hindi film music. It was during the course of writing articles for the Blog covering songs of the golden period of Hindi film music, singers, lyricists and music directors that I came to know much about Rabindra Sangeet and its influence in Hindi film songs.
Rabindra Sangeet (Tagore songs) refers to over 2000 Bangla songs which were penned and set to music by Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore. During the course of my search on Rabindra Sangeet, I had come across a very informative website, http://www.geetabitan.com, dedicated to Rabindra Sangeet. The website is the repository of around 2200 songs written and composed by Gurudev during his life time. The website gives the main features of each of song with lyrics in Bangla and English with English translations wherever available. The songs are also classified in 6 main themes – Devotion, Patriotic, Love, Nature, Ceremonial and Amazement. In addition, other features of the songs such as raag, taal, and background history etc are also given. I also found that Rabindra Sangeet is complete with swarlipi (notations) which indicates that the system of notations in Indian music may have started with Rabindra Sangeet.
With the help of the lyrics in English, I have listened to many songs on the video sharing platform with the support of English translations. I am aware of the limitation of translation in English of the original Bangla songs or for that matter of any language. But for a non-Bengali like me, translation serves the purpose of understanding something about the song rather than not knowing at all. In a nutshell, Rabindra Sangeet is the amalgam of Hindustani classical music, Bangla folk music, and Western classical music. What attracts a non-Bengali like me to listen to Rabindra Sangeet is the unique sounding melody embedded in the song even though the full understanding of the meaning of the song would have enhanced the listening pleasure. Nevertheless, I feel like listening to Tagore songs again and again. They are soothing to my ears and they sounds like prayers.
It is well known fact that some of Mirza Ghalib’s ghazals can be interpreted differently by different persons. Based on the English translation of Tagore songs, I feel that some of these songs may have multiple interpretations. Probably, the interpretation of Tagore songs could be one of the debating issues for ‘bhadralok’ in the poetic soirees or even in the Coffee House. Hence, like Mirza Ghalib’s ghazals, Rabindra Sangeet would always remain one of the topics for discussion among the musicians. It is because of such interests and the spirituality in Tagore songs that Rabindra Sangeet retains its popularilty even after nearly hundred years when the songs were written and composed.
It is believed that Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore started writing and composing songs since 1875. But his songs were rendered mostly in the confines of Shantiniketan by his students of music and his plays. The credit for making Rabindra Sangeet popular among the masses goes to Pankaj Mullick. ‘Mukti’ (1937) was the film in which Tagore songs featured for the first time.
During the making of the film ‘Mukti” (1937), Pankaj Mullick, the music director for the film, had gone to meet Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore to seek his permission to use the song ‘diner sheshey ghumer deshey’ in the film. Pankaj Mullick was not sure whether he could get the nod from Gurdev as till then, Tagore songs were not used in the films. Moreover, Gurudev had not yet set the music for the song under consideration. Pankaj Mullick rendered the song which was set to music by him, in the presence of Gurudev who was so much impressed by his rendering of the song that he not only allowed Pankaj Mullick to use the song with his music in the film but also allowed him to set to music those Tagore songs which Gurudev had not find time to set to the tune. In the event, Pankaj Mullick got a rare distinction of being the only composer allowed by Gurudev to set tunes to his songs. [Based on http://www.pankajmullickfoundation.org/%5D. Later on, Pankaj Mullick devoted his efforts to make the Rabindra Sangeet popular by singing them on All India Radio and in the concerts.
On the basis of the number of song clips of Rabindra Sangeet available on the video sharing platforms, I feel that among the old stalwarts, Hemant Kumar, Debabrata Biswas, Dwijen Mukherjee, Kanika Banerjee, Suchitra Mitra, Sroboni Sen etc have immensely contributed to to make Rabindra Sangeet popular among the masses.
The popularity of Rabindra Sangeet influenced some of the music directors, especially of Bangla and Hindi films. Just like we say that a song is based on folk music, similarly, it has become common to say that song is influenced by Rabindra Sangeet. There are instances where Hindi films songs have been inspired from Rabindra Sangeet especially under the music direction of Pankaj Mullick, Anil Biswas, Salil Chowdhury. Hemant Kumar, S D Burman, R D Burman etc who hail from Bengal. There are many Hindi film songs inspired from Rabindra Sangeet but here, I will give only few examples:
Anil Biswas: Raahi matwaale (Rabindra Sangeet: ore grihobashi khol dwaar khol)
S D Burman: naina deewaane ek nahin maane (Rabindra Sangeet: shedin dujone dulechhune bone)
Hemant Kumar: mann mera udta jaaye (Rabindra Sangeet: man mor meghe sangi)
Salil Chowdhury: saawan ki raaton mein aisa bhi hota hai (Rabindra Sangeet: jete jete akla pothe)
Kishore Kumar: panthhi hoon us path kaa (Rabindra Sangeet: pather shesh kothay)
Rajesh Roshan: bandan khula panchhi udaa (Rabindra Sangeet: pagla hawaar baadol dine)
Some of the music directors seems to have used some parts of the tunes from Rabindra Sangeet which for a lay man it is difficult to pin point. I can only get some feel of Rabindra Sangeet in some of the songs composed by Anil Biswas like in ‘Anokha Pyaar’ (1948) and ‘Aaraam’ (1951). Some songs of R D Burman’s last film ‘1942 – A Love Story (1994) gives the shades of Rabindra Sangeet. Some of the other songs composed by S D Burman have some traces of Rabindra Sangeet. I found an interesting trivia about a small part of the tune taken from Rabindra Sangeet in jaane wo kaise log thhe jinko pyaar se pyaar mila :
In a conversation between S D Burman and Pulak Bandhyopadhyay, the Bangla film lyricist, S D Burman had revealed that the second verse of the mukhda of the song i.e., hamne to jab kaliyaan maangi kaanthon kaa haar mila’ was inspired from the second verse of our national anthem ‘Punjab Sind Gujarat Maratha Dravid Utkal Banga’. [Source: S D Burman – The Prince Musician – Anirudha Bhattacharjee and Balaji Vittal (2018).]
Rabindra Sangeet has a special place in ‘Hamraahi’ (1945) which had two Tagore songs in Bangla. One Tagore song, jan gan man adhinaayak jaya he has been covered in the Blog. The second Tagore song is ‘modhu gandhe bhara mridu snigdho chhaaya’ which are rendered by Binota Bose (Roy) and Hemant Kumar. The song was written and composed by Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore.
‘Hamraahi’ (1945) was a Hindi remake of Bangla film ‘Udayare Pathe’ (1944). It was a debut Bangla feature film for Bimal Roy as a director who also directed its Hindi remake. Both the versions of the film had, more or less the same star cast which consisted of Radhamohan Bhattacharya, Binota Bose (Roy), Rekha Mallik (Mitra), Maya Basu, Tulsi Chakraborty, Dev Bala, Parul Kar, Manorama etc. Interestingly, the Tagore song under reference was not there in the Bangla version of the film.
Since the song under discussion is in Bangla, I have taken the lyrics in English as well as the English translation from http://www.geetabitan.com. I know that the feelings expressed in Bangla in Tagore songs are difficult to replicate in English translation. The words are in Sanskritised Bangla. The song seems to convey the emotion through nature.
Anil Biswas used the complete tune of this Tagore song for mere chanchal naina madhur ras ke bhare in ‘Angulimaal’ (1960).
Audio Clip:
Song-Modhu gandhe bhara mridu snigdho chaaya (Humraahi)(1945) Singers-Binota Bose, Hemant Kumar, Lyrics-Rabindranath Tagore, MD-Rabindranath Tagore
Lyrics
(Sourced from http://www.geetabitan.com)
modhu gandhe bhaara
mridu snigdho chhaaya
nipo kunjo tale
shyamo kaantimoyi kon swapnomaaya
phire brishti jale
ae ae ae ae
gandhe bhaara
phire rakto aloktako dhouto paaye
dhaara sikto baaye
ae ae ae ae
phire rakto aloktako dhouto paaye
dhaara sikto baaye
ae ae ae ae ae ae
megho mukto sahasyo shashanko kaala
snithi praante jwaale
megho mukto sahasyo shashanko kaala
snithi praante jwaale
ae ae ae ae
gandhe bhara
mridu snigdho chhaaya
nipo kunjotale
shyamo kaantimoyi kon swapnomaaya
phire brishti jale
ae ae ae ae
gandhe bhara
piye uchchhalo tarol prolayo modira
un mukhoro tarongini dhaay adhira
piye uchchhalo tarol prolayo modira
un mukhoro tarongini dhaay adhira
kaar nirbhiko murti tarongo dole
kalo mandro role
kaar nirbhiko murti tarongo dole
kalo mandro role
ae taarahaara nihsimo andho kare
ae ae ae ae
kaar taroni chole
ae taarahaara nihsimo andho kare
ae ae ae ae
kaar taroni chole
modhu gandhe bhara
mridu snigdho chhaaya
nipo kunjotale
shyamo kaantimoyi kon swapnomaaya
phire brishti jale
ae ae ae ae
gandhe bhara…aa
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English translation (source: http://www.geetabitan.com)
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Passionate is languor,
That roam about in the dripping wetness,
Like a dark silhouette of a veiled maid
Under the arbour of kadam trees,
Delightfully fragrant and sombre.
Treading on red-alta washed feet,
Heading the gentle breeze, moist;
Sporadic flashes on forehead,
Smiling crescent peeping through clouds.
She swirls amuck, gurgling,
Having taken elixir of catastrophe.
Emerges from the roaring streams
A face of a valour, unknown.
In this star-less darkness of the night
Who sails his raft all alone.
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8 Responses to "Modhu gandhe bhara mridu snigdho chhaaya"
May 5, 2020 at 8:44 pm
Sadanand Ji,
What an excellent post. I was stunned by the detailed ( as detailed as one can be for a blog) account of Rabindra Sangeet. Applause, applause applause.!!!
I read somewhere that ‘ Tu pyar ka saagar hai…’ ( Seema) is influenced by Rabindra Sangeet. Can you or any reader respond?
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May 5, 2020 at 10:15 pm
Dear Shenoy ji,
You may like to listen to this :
There is another version by KL Saigal, in the 1938 Film “JIBAN MARAN”, but that is a faster pace. It is said that Saigal had to personally audition before Kabiguru before he permitted Saigal Saab to sing Rabindra Sangeet.
With warm regards
PARTHA CHANDA
May 5, 2020 at 10:32 pm
Thanks Satish ji for yur appreication.
As I mentioned in my article, when there is only ‘traces’ of Rabindra Sangeet in a HIndi film song, it become very difficult to identify the source. ‘Tu pyaar ka saagar hai’ has definitely the traces of Rabindra Sangeet because the song has spirituality. As you know, it is a prayer song.
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May 5, 2020 at 10:20 pm
Dear Sadanand ji,
The song under discussion was rendered by Hemanto and Lata in 1953 :
With warm regards
PARTHA CHANDA
May 5, 2020 at 10:42 pm
Partha Chanda ji,
As you surely know, in addition to Lata and Hemant Kumar, there are many more singers who had rednered this Tagore song. Prominent among them are Srabani Sen, Srikanto Acharya & Indrani Sen, Rezwana Chowdhury, Kavita Krishnamurty and some of the current upcoming singers.
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Atul’s Song A Day- A choice collection of Hindi Film & Non-Film Songs 
May 5, 2020 at 6:48 pm
Dear Sadanand ji,
Your essay with the delicate nuances of Rabindra Sangeet would put many a Bangalee to shame. One feels proud that you have explored the RS to such detail and I wish you all success in your future attempts.
There are some Trivia about “UDAYER PATHE” which many would not be aware of. The words “Udayer Pathe” are part of a Poem named “Suprobhat” written by Tagore in April 1907 in which he is exhorting the freedom fighters to carry on regardless. I am just reproducing the relevant portion below :
” Udoyer Pathe shuni kar baani , bhoy nai orey bhoi nai , nisshesey pran je koribey daan , khoy nai , tar khoy nai ”
[ Hark ! Someone is calling out from the path of a new dawn, o ye – fear not, fear not, those who make the supreme sacrifice will attain immortal glory ]
For those with a working knowledge of Bangla, you may like to listen to the recitation of the complete Poem :
( Rudro tomar daroon deepti , esechho duar bhediya ……)
[ Listen to the recitation with your eyes shut, turn up the volume a wee bit and you will be transported to the Bengal of another era, when laying down one’s life for the Country’s Honour was the noblest deed of all –
” mahasampad tomarey lobhibo, sab sampad khoaye – mrityurey labo amrito koriya, tomar charoney chhoanye ” ].
BN Sircar, the Boss of New Theatres had assigned the Direction of UDAYER PATHE to BIMAL ROY with the express proviso that he was not to touch the fresh raw stock (which Sircar had reserved for a Big Project) and had to make do with the cut pieces left behind from other Films. When UDAYER PATHE was completed, Sircar could not believe that it was made out of cut-pieces, so deft was the editing, and it is said that he personally re-checked the Inventory of Raw Stock in the Studio, to
re-confirm that nothing was missing ! “Udayer Pathe” turned out to be the biggest money spinner for New Theatres for all times ( and for good measure, that Mega Project that Sircar was betting all his efforts on, turned out to be a damp squib and a flop ).
It is worth mentioning that one of the Editors of the Film was a fresh Chemistry Graduate who had recently joined New Theatres. His name HRISHIKESH MUKHERJEE!
Except for the veteran Tulsi Chakravarty, the entire cast of UDAYER PATHE were first timers.
Sadanand ji, you may try to look up the Rabindra Sangeet in the Film “ANUBHAV” (1971).
With warmest regards
PARTHA CHANDA
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May 5, 2020 at 10:25 pm
Thank you Partha Chanda ji. The liberal appreciations coming from you means so much to me.
Thanks for providing the interesting anecdotes about ‘Udayer Pathe’ (1944). I had also read in some article that B N Sircar had specifically chosen the story for Bimal Roy’s debut film which he would have usually left it the director to choose the story.
I have taken note of the Rabinsdra Sangeet in ‘Anubhav’ (1971) and hope to present in the coming days. There is also a Bangla folk song in a HIndi film which I am unable to recall it in which Salil Chowdhury was the music director.
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