Ek samay kee baat dhyaan mein baithhe Shankar mahayati
Posted by: Atul on: January 26, 2025
This article is written by Arunkumar Deshmukh, 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 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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Today’s song is from the religious film Prabhu Ki Maya-1955. The film was made by Filmistan Ltd., Bombay. It was directed by an old veteran- Vithaldas Panchotiya and the Music was by Ravi.
Religion is a good thing and a bad thing. Good when it remains personal and within the confines of one’s house, his family and his community. It is good as long as it is harmless to others and creates divisions on the silly question of superiority. All religions have one aim. To follow the rules for personal improvement and collective well being. They all lead to one Supreme Entity.Lord Shri Krishna had said in Bhagavad Gita that ” different religions are different roads to reach me.”
Younger generation takes pride in detesting religion, underestimating it, but the same generation, in its old age becomes highly religious. Ask yourself if you are an Astik (believer in God) or a Nastik (Non believer in God). In my opinion, there can not be a 100% Nastik. In times of emergency and bad times, whom does he seek help from ? He may not openly agree but we all know the answer. I have seen many such cases in my life.
Indian public never gets tired of the routine. Films on Love Triangle are being made since 1931 till today though by repackaging them differently in keeping with the changing times. Though the final outcome is predictable and very well known to the viewers, these films still celebrate jubilees in the Theatres !
Similarly, all Mythological films are based on the principle of ” Satyamev jayate” or “Victory of good over the Evil”, each film presents it in different ‘dressing’ and different routes. The fights of the Gods and the Rakshasas are very interesting, because of lot of firework(literally and figuratively), Trick scenes and unimaginable get-ups of the Rakshasas ( like only one eye on the forehead, or half animal body or simply an ugly looking Giant etc ). In olden days, I remember that there used to be loud rants of “Jai Shri Ram ” or ” Har Har Mahadev” within the theatre at the end of the movie- depending on who the main God of the film was.
But then, who are these Asurs, daitya or the Rakshasas ?
Their literary origins can be traced to Vedic sources through Hymn 87 of the tenth mandala of the Rig Veda. Here they are classified amongst the Yatudhanas, demonic creatures who consume the flesh of humans. It is said that Rakshasas were created from the breath of Brahma when he was asleep at the end of the Satya Yuga. As soon as they were created, they were so filled with bloodlust that they started eating Brahma himself. Brahma shouted “Rakshami ! ” (Sanskrit for “protect me!”) and Vishnu came to his aid, banishing to Earth all Rakshasas (thus named after Brahma’s cry for help).
The tracing back to Kashyapa is not necessarily a later edit, but is not mentioned in the dense Hymns of the Vedas because of poetic choice. The knowledge of the Rakshasa lineage traceable to Kashyapa may have been known at the time of the compilation of the Vedas, but lineages are altogether foreign from the style of the Vedas and thus would have appeared out of place. That is why the Puranas and Epics elaborate on lineages, but Vedas do not.
Kashyapa was married to the thirteen daughters of Daksha, among them were Aditi, Diti and Danu.
His sons with Danu are the Danavas
His sons with Diti are the Daityas
His sons with Aditi are the Adityas, who are considered Devas and are also called Suras.
Rakshasa were most often depicted as ugly, fierce-looking and enormous creatures with two fangs protruding down from the top of the mouth as well as sharp, claw-like fingernails. They are shown as being mean, growling like beasts and as insatiable cannibals who could smell the scent of flesh. Some of the more ferocious ones were shown with flaming red eyes and hair, drinking blood with their palms or from a human skull (similar to vampires in later Western mythology). Generally they could fly, vanish, and had Mayaawi shakti (magical powers of illusion), which enabled them to change size at will and assume the form of any creature.
Aside from its treatment of unnamed rank-and-file Rakshasas, the epic tells the stories of certain members of the race who rose to prominence, some of them as heroes, most of them as villains. In the world of the Ramayana and Mahabharata, Rakshasas were a populous race of supernatural humanoids. There were both good and evil rakshasas, and as warriors they fought alongside the armies of both good and evil. They were powerful warriors, expert magicians and illusionists. As shape-changers, they could assume various physical forms, and it was not always clear whether they had a true or natural form. One example is Ghatotkach. As illusionists, they were capable of creating appearances which were real to those who believed in them or who failed to dispel them. Some of the rakshasas were said to be man-eaters, and made their gleeful appearance when the slaughter on the battlefield was at its worst. Occasionally they serve as rank-and-file soldiers in the service of one or the other warlord.
The story of the film Prabhu ki Maya-1955 was….
A landlord is weeping as his son has died of Snake Bite. By coincidence, Swami Atmanand is passing by. Seeing the plight of the father, he revives his son and advises the landlord not to get involved in worldly affairs and lead a detached life like Shukdev. Upon asking about the story, Swami tells the story.
Instigated and coaxed by Narada, Parvati goes to Shiv ji and requests to learn the secret of Amaratva (immortality),so that she can become Amar too. Shivji,in a good mood then, narrates the Tatva to her, but in the long discourse Parvati falls asleep and the rest of the tatva is heard by a small bird-Shukdev. When Shiv ji learns about this, he wants to destroy Shukdev. Terrified, Shukdev enters the open mouth of Vyas Muni’s wife, when she is yawning. Once inside ,he remains safe for 12 years.It takes a birth and immediately flies away in search of Bramhagyan.
Narada takes him to Vyas Muni, who teaches him and then takes him to King Janaka. While in transit Shukdev sees a Lion, killed by king Parikshit get salvation by listening to Shrimad Bhagwat. A thirsty King Parikshit goes to Shyamak muni’s ashram and asks for water. Since the Muni is in samadhi, he does not respond,so irritated, king Parikshit puts a dead snake in his neck. This is seen by Muni’s son and he curses Parikshit. To get rid of the curse he goes to Ganga maiya who sends him to Shuk Dev. After listening to Shrimad Bhagwat from Shukdev, King Parikshit goes to heaven freed from the curse.
The cast of the film was Prem Adib, Vithaldas Panchotiya, P. Kailash, Kanu Roy, Parshuram, Uma Devi and many others. Today’s song is sung by Asha Bhosle, with a few starting lines from Hemant Kumar.
Hemant Kumar, with his 430 Hindi film songs, was a towering personality and one of the most respected composers in the industry. Hemant Kumar achieved his unassailable position through difficult times in his early career, which he had begun with NFS. While reading material on Hemant Kumar from Bangla Literature, I found an article written by one of his close friends. Luckily I also found its English translation. I reproduce here only a part of the article which reports two important events of his early life. One in Calcutta and one in early Bombay days- which also exposes the ugly face of competition in Bombay musical circles by a known Jodi !
“Although Hemanta was making ground as a singer, he had never intended to become one in the first place. He wanted to become a writer. Hemanta used to attend writer’s communions at the local library and was also the editor of the communion. A story written by him even got published in the prestigious ‘Desh’ magazine in 1937. But Hemanta’s friends did not want Hemanta the writer, they were more fond of Hemanta the singer. With a mild annoyance Hemanta gradually distanced himself from the literary world. Nevertheless he maintained deep ties with literary personalities throughout his life.
Columbia’s trainer Sailesh Duttagupta first initiated Hemanta to Rabindrasangeet. In the beginning Saileshbabu used to stay near Hemanta’s house in Bhawanipur, but later he shifted to Ballygunge. One day he scolded Hemanta, “What’s up with you? Earlier you used to be on time, but since I have moved you seem to be consistently late.” Hemanta hesitated a bit and replied in a mild voice, “Earlier you used to stay near my place. I have to walk all the way now, so sometimes I get late.” Saileshbabu was taken aback, “You walk all the way? Why on earth?” Hemanta stood silently with a melancholic face, but Saileshbabu understood. He affectionately told Hemanta, “I will give you an anna daily to cover your travel expenses.”
Sailesh Duttagupta was Hemanta’s only music tutor. He went to an ustad to train in classical music for a few days but could not concentrate. (Hemanta Mukherjee mentions in his autobiography that he had started to learn Hindustani classical music under the tutelage of Ustad Faiyaz Khan, but his learning was cut short by the Ustad’s untimely death.) Hemanta’s lack of classical training proved to be a blessing in disguise. His god gifted voice was as fluent as the undeterred winds. Grammatical rules of classical music might have restricted the flowering of his sweet voice. The fluency with which Hemanta sings ‘Amar bhanga pather ranga dhulaaye’ or ‘Dekonaa amare Dekonaa’ might not have been observed in classical oriented songs such as ‘Tabu mone rekho’ or ‘Era porke apon kore’. Hemanta did not possess a harmonium for quite a few days after submerging himself in the ocean of music. He had to go to other people’s homes to practice. After a couple of records Hemanta had enough to purchase his first harmonium. After his third record Hemanta decided to quit studies and direct all his efforts to music. His father was not happy with this, but Hemanta’s mother supported her son’s wish. She knew what was best for him.
Unlike the other stalwarts of those times, Hemanta was not born into an affluent family. Sachin Dev Burman was the prince of Tripura, Pahari Sanyal’s ancestors were called the uncrowned nawabs of Lucknow, Pankaj Mullick had worked with the Indian Railways to sustain himself before he got established and K. L. Saigal also held a regular job before he came into music. How then did Hemanta dare to forego the security of a job and plunge himself into the darkness of an uncertain future?
Hemanta was one of those rare artistes who savoured unearthly pleasure by keeping himself busy within the domain of his work. Affluence and luxury used to create the same emotions within him, as did melancholy and poverty. I have seen the same untainted humble countenance on a young struggling Hemanta, as I have seen years later on Hemanta sitting at the pinnacle of success surrounded with plenitude. Wealth, awards, trophies did not bring about a change in his simple attire. Clad in a dhoti and a shirt with sleeves rolled up, the same mundaneness in conversation, it was the same Hemanta always. Success never blinded him and so he stayed ever so close to our hearts.
Hemanta’s struggle along the road to success started from the very first day. He worked tirelessly night and day, from music tuitions, to the radio office, to the Tollygunge studios looking for a break in film playback. But success seemed to elude him and he had to make his living from the meagre remuneration of the music tuitions and the odd song that he recorded. Then one day suddenly he got his much awaited break in a film called ‘Nimai Sanyas’ as the playback for the leading star Chhabi Biswas. A kirtan style devotional song ‘Kotha krishna, kotha krishna, prabhu dekha dao dekha dao’. Two years after this Hemanta cut his first Rabindrasangeet disc ‘Amar aar habenaa deri’ and ‘Keno pantha e chanchalata’. A rich voice with a clear throw of words. This time nobody taunted him as Pankaj’s parody. The record won critical acclaim not only from the common masses but also from the educated elite. Thus began the saga of a new exponent of Rabindrasangeet, who brought Rabindrasangeet from the phonographs of the affluent to the lips of the common masses. Rabindra Sangeets, which were undoubtedly popular at that time, also became ‘hits’ in this golden voice.
Hemanta composed the entire score for Hemen Gupta’s film ‘Abhijatri’ in 1944. It was this Hemen Gupta, who gave Hemanta’s rising career a shot in the arm with the Hindi film ‘Anandmath’ in 1951. Hemanta migrated to Bombay and joined S. Mukherjee’s Filmistan Studios at a monthly salary of Rs. 1500. But that was just the beginning of another long strain of struggle to carve a niche for himself in the competitive Hindi film music scenario. The leading composer duo of those times Shankar Jaikishen even offered Hemanta a chance for playback in their movies on the condition that he would not compose music in films; Hemanta modestly declined the offer. But true talent never goes unrecognized and it was in a matter of a few years that Hemanta became a foremost singer as well as music director in Bombay. Rabindrasangeet and Bengali modern songs had made Hemanta the darling of the Bengalis, and Bombay gave him nationwide recognition. Hemanta’s days of struggle and worries were finally coming to an end. Success, fame, wealth, awards continued to radiate throughout his life.
I remember an incident from the early years of Hemanta’s life. After his first record was released, Hemanta and I were returning after purchasing a few copies of it from a record shop adjoining the Purna cinema hall. A strain of a Pankaj Mullick song being played in a house entered our ears. Suddenly Hemanta asked, “Will my songs ever play like this in people’s homes?” I don’t remember what I had replied then. But later, much later, Hemanta got that answer himself – not only did his songs play in people’s homes in Bengal, it played all over the country. It played not only on gramophone discs, but it played in people’s hearts, its strains returned on their lips and it got ensconced forever in their psyche.” (This article was composed in Bengali by Hemanta Mukherjee’s friend Sudhiranjan Mukhopadhyay. Translated by Prithviraj Dasgupta. My thanks to faculty ist unomaha.)
Let us now enjoy this 70 year old song….
Audio
Video
Song- Ek samay kee baat (Prabhu Ki Maaya)(1955) Singers- Hemant Kumar, Asha Bhosle, Lyrics- Saraswati Kumar Deepak, MD- Ravi
Lyrics
ek samay ki baat dhyaan mein baithhe
shankar mahayati
kaliyaan chuntee
jhoom jhoom kar gaatee thhee ye parvati
aha ha
aha ha
aa aa aa aa aa aa aa
sati ka pati se hee sammaan
pati hai patni ka bhagwaan
reet ye jeewan ka aa
reet ye jeewan ka
sati ka pati se hee sammaan
pati hai patni ka bhagwaan
reet ye jeewan ka aa
reet ye jeewan ka
pati kee mahima prabhu kee mahima
jeewan ka sangeet hai
ye sapnon ki ?? aartee
ye praanon ka geet hai
pati kee mahima prabhu kee mahima
jeewan ka sangeet hai
ye sapnon kee ?? aartee
ye praanon ka geet hai
jeewan dhan ka diya prabhu ne naaree ko vardaan
geet ye jeewan ka
geet ye jeewan ka
sati ka pati se hee sammaan
pati hai patni ka bhagwaan
reet ye jeewan ka aa
reet ye jeewan ka
pati pooja ka deep hai
man mandir kee maala aa
pati pooja ka deep hai
man mandir kee maala
piya naam ka diya jagaayee jeewan mein ujiyaala
ho
jeewan mein ujiyaala
bina pati ke kahaan sati ka hota hai kalyaan
reet ye jeewan ka aa
reet ye jeewan ka
sati ka pati se hi sammaan
pati hai patni ka bhagwaan
reet ye jeewan ka aa
reet ye jeewan ka
sati ka pati se hee sammaan
pati hai patni ka bhagwaan
reet ye jeewan ka aa
reet ye jeewan ka
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