Kaisee laagee karejwaa kataar
Posted on: January 20, 2026
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.
|
Blog Day : |
6395 | Post No. : | 19837 |
Today’s song is from a social film Ferry aka Kashti-1954.
Produced and directed by Hemen Gupta for his own banner Film trust of India, Bombay, the film had music by hemant kumar. In this film, his assistant was Ravi (Ravi Shankar Sharma), who soon made his Debut as an independent Music Director with the film ” Vachan “-1955. However, for many films even after ‘Vachan’, he continued to be an assistant to Hemant Kumar. Wherever possible, he also used Hemant Kumar as a Playback singer in the films wherein he was the Music Director.
The cast of the film was Geeta Bali, Dev Anand, Ram Singh, Gulab, Chand Burke, Premlata, Janaki Das, Master Babu, Baby Bula and many others. Geeta Bali’s name appeared before Dev’s, because this was her 48th film compared to 35th film of Dev Anand, thus she was senior.
The story of the film was written by Dhruv Chatterjee, dialogues were by Akhtar Ul Imaan and the screenplay was done by the Producer and Director of the film – Hemen Gupta. His entire family was involved in this film. Wife Ratna Gupta sang a song in the film and his daughter Baby Bula acted in the film. This Baby Bula became Archana, when she grew up to be a Heroine in her debut film Umang-70. Next film was Buddha Mil Gaya-71 and her third and last film was Anokha Daan-72. After this she left films, married her classmate Yogesh Motwani and settled in life. For some time, she was doing Fabric business also.
The lead actor of this film was Dev Anand. Dev was still uncertain as to what type of roles he fits into. His own wish was to be a Romantic Hero and from the film Munimji-55 onwards, his career really took off as a Romantic hero – an image he desperately (and later on pathetically) tried to preserve in his films. When others stopped giving him films,he started producing and directing his own films, acting in it the same way he did, when he was young.
Dev Anand acted in 116 films, directed 19 films, sang in 4 films and even wrote 2 songs in the film ‘Mr. Prime Minister’-2005. Prior to film Ferry-54, his films were of a variety of subjects, from musical to comedy to serious types. In the film Zalzala-52, he died on screen for the first time. The only second time he died on screen was in the film Guide-65. He never liked to die on screen. It did not fit into his scheme of future planning to become a Romantic Hero. Film Tamasha-52 was a sort of comedy film and Ferry -54 was still a different type of role.
The film was a story of a widower Zamindar, Vikas (Dev), who also worked as a Government officer in a village. He has a young child-Raju (Master Babu, who became Ritesh Kumar as a grown up actor and also married actress Maushumi Chatterjee. He was the son of Hemant Kumar and his real name was Jayant), who was curious about his mother. His father has told him that she has gone beyond the river and lives in a big white palace. The child hopes that one day his mother will surely come back to him. So, he, along with his next door friend Minu (Baby Bula) goes to the River bank every day, expecting his mother to arrive in the Ferry some day.
Once when Vikas has gone to the city for work, a young girl is found in the river. She is unconscious. Villagers bring her to the nearest house of Vikas. Doctor is called. The girl survives. She is Juhi-a tawayaf’s daughter (Geeta Bali). She stays in that house. The boy Raju develops a bond with her and she too starts loving the boy. However the Chachi of Vikas, who looks after the household does not like it. When Vikas comes back, he learns everything. When she tells her story he understands that she was kidnapped as a baby and sold to the tawaif – Munnibai (Chand Burke). Munnibai tries to sell her to customers. To avoid further trouble, Juhi jumps into the river.
Due to the opposition of Chachi and the villagers, Juhi is asked to leave the house. She goes to the river to wait for the Ferry. Raju falls sick and Vikas too is uneasy. He has also developed an affinity for her. He takes Raju and rushes to the river in time to stop Juhi from boarding it. They come back to the house. Vikas finally decides to marry Juhi and Raju also gets his mother. Happy ending.
Film Ferry was released first in Bombay at the Swastik cinema on 8-10-1954 and it ran for only 7 weeks. The All India response was also lukewarm. When I saw this film in Hyderabad in late October, I liked it, but felt that the ending was too hastily wound up. Maybe the length was already too much. The film had music by Hemant Kumar. Like all Bangla composers, Hemant also had a ”Maajhee” song in this film (they could never resist the temptation if a river is in the film). There was a child song ( another weak point of HK), by Baby Bula and Master Babu. 2 solos by Geeta Dutt and 1 by Ratna Gupta. One 2 part Mujra song by Laxmi Shankar. In addition a record for Sitar and Sarod playing was also issued. Ustad Ali Akbar Khan and his protege Nikhil Bannerjee had played them.
Today’s song is a Mujra song sung by Laxmi Shankar. Not many readers may know about her, because she retired early from Hindi film singing and went to the USA. Here is some information about her. Laxmi Shankar went to the USA. She won several awards, got nominated for Grammy awards, held several shows and taught Classical music to American students. She was held in high esteem in the USA. She died on 30-12-2013 in the USA. After her death, ‘India West’ published her obituary, which clearly indicated her achievements and respect she earned in USA-
” One of the most influential Indian musicians in America, vocalist Lakshmi Shankar, passed away Dec. 30 evening in Southern California, surrounded by her son, daughter-in-law, grandchildren, and close friends. She was 87.
Shankar was extraordinarily versatile, excelling in Indian classical dance before illness halted her dancing career and she committed herself to vocal music. Shankar was proficient in a wide range of Indian vocal music styles including Carnatic, khayal, thumri, dadra, kajri, Rabindra sangeet and bhajans, and sang in 14 languages.
“Bhajans were her specialty,” her son, Kumar Shankar, told India-West by phone. “As far as I’m concerned, nobody could sing a bhajan like her.”
Lakshmi Shankar was born June 16, 1926, in the eastern Indian city of Jamshedpur, and first trained as a child in Bharatnatyam. Later on, she was accepted into the prestigious music institute founded by Uday Shankar in Almora, in what is now Uttarakhand.
While working under Shankar, she mastered the Manipuri, Kathakali and ballet styles, and it was there that she met her future husband, Rajendra Shankar, Uday’s brother. The two were married in 1941, and went on to settle in Mumbai, where Lakshmi’s career grew as an actress and dancer, also branching out into playback singing for regional films. In her career she sang 27 songs in 18 Hindi films, starting from Neecha Nagar-46 to Aarop-74.
In the early 1950s, she was struck with pleurisy, a condition that leads to painful inflammation of the membrane surrounding the lungs. “She could not dance,” explained Kumar. “She had breathing problems, and weight gain.”
But instead of giving up the arts, Lakshmi Shankar decided to put her talent on course in a different direction. In an interview with Traditions Engaged, she explained, “I know the meaning of what I am singing, which is a very big thing in music. When I sing I see the expression and the movement of the words and feel them as a dancer would.”
Lakshmi Shankar had a musical epiphany when she discovered ghazals and other north Indian music forms, and soon started studying with Ustad Abdul Rehman Khan of the Patiala gharana. Her new affection for Hindustani music led her to collaborate with sitar maestro Pandit Ravi Shankar(brother to Uday and Rajendra), for whom she assisted in many projects for ballets, films and festivals. It was a family affair, with her son Kumar handling sound checks for their performances.
Through her work with Ravi Shankar, Lakshmi’s talent was able to reach a global audience. She made numerous recordings with Western artists, including on the soundtrack to Richard Attenborough’s film “Gandhi,” and in 1974 she toured extensively in the U.S. and Europe with George Harrison and Ravi Shankar as the lead singer for George Harrison’s groundbreaking “Music Festival from India.”
Among the many honors she received, her 2008 Grammy nomination for “Dancing in the Light” was a milestone, but Shankar also received a Durfee Foundation grant to teach Indian music to American students; a Kalpana Chawla Award for “Woman of the Year”; a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Bengali Association of New York; and an award for “Uplifting the World with Music” from Sri Chinmoy.
Kumar Shankar explained that a private memorial will be held Jan. 6 in the San Fernando Valley, and a more public memorial will take place at this year’s Ravi Shankar Foundation music festival. A statement from the Shankar family reads: “She had a heavenly voice which would melt any heart. She was a kind and beautiful soul. We will miss her. “
Lakshmi’s children, Kumar and Vijayshri (who passed away in 1995), were blessed to grow up in a household where nonstop music filled every day, explained Kumar. “She would practice for hours and hours each day … we were surrounded by music all the time.”
Knowing that her loss will also be felt by countless music lovers around the world is small comfort for Kumar. “I have mixed feelings,” he told India-West. “I knew it would happen. But it’s overwhelming.”
Hats off to this worthy soul who did monumental work in spreading Indian culture in advanced countries.
In a very rare Interview, this is what Laxmi Shankar said about herself-
” I initially started training, at the age of eight, in classical Bharata Natyam. It was from Guru Kandappa Pillai in Madras. Dance was my first love and I was probably one of the first Brahmin girls to take it up as a career.It was my mother’s initial training and her tenacious effort, together with my arangetram and subsequent successful performances that helped in brushing aside any criticism.
In 1939, when Uday Shankar brought his troupe to Madras. I was so enchanted by their dance that, in 1940, I joined the Almora Centre to learn Uday Shankar’s original style of dance based on the Indian classics. I thus became a part of his troupe. From then on, my association with the family was to remain with me to this day. Through my marriage to Rajendra (Raju), Uday’s brother and subsequently my musical training with their younger brother, Ravi (Shankar).
I developed pleurasy and was forbidden to dance. My dreams were shattered. It was then that, encouraged by my husband and family, I took to vocal training. By then, we had moved to Bombay where I learnt intensively under Ustad Abdul Rehman Khan and completed my Bachelor of Music degree under Professor Deodhar.
In fact, I could almost say that, had I not fallen ill, my life would have taken a different turn, into the world of cinema. I took an active part in playback singing in Hindi and Tamil films, even acted in a Tamil film ‘Bhakta Tulsidas’, singing the songs and directing the dances. I had also performed in the ballet ‘Discovery of India’ based on Jawaharlal Nehru’s work. But classical music was now my main focus and interest so, after the initial five years of my training with Ustad Abdul Rehman Khan, which equalled fifteen to twenty years in intensity, I gave my first public concert in Calcutta. Here, I may add that my earlier training in Carnatic music greatly facilitated my rapid progression.
In 1962-63, I went to the US, Canada and Europe with Uday Shankar, as a vocalist and director of the ballet orchestra. My second trip was in 1968, in the Festival from India organised by Ravi Shankar. And then, in 1970 as a solo performer to Florence, Venice, Rome and the Shiraz Festival in Iran in what was to be the first of innumerable tours abroad.
My Guru, Ustad Abdul Rehman Khan, was of the Patiala Gharana. A woman’s voice is meant for sweetness and I feel this style is most ideal for her. Moreover, the words are sung clearly and this is necessary for the enhancement of the audience’s understanding. However, at present, gharanas have less significance as each takes the best from the other, thereby making a breakthrough in tradition without losing its classicism. That is what I have aspired to do.My sound training in Carnatic music in my early years helped me immensely when I started learning Hindustani vocal. Acquiring a knowledge of both systems also helped me to learn many Indian languages. Today, I sing bhajans in Sanskrit, Tamil, Hindi, Bengali, Marathi, Gujarati, Kannada and Telugu.
I believe a performer on the stage is never a completely different entity to the audience. As a performer, I must be able to feel the pulse of the listeners and react accordingly. In that sense, presentation is an important factor which every musician must bear in mind. As for western audiences, what began as a matter of curiosity in a novel experience many decades ago has burgeoned into a full-fledged understanding and proves once again that music is universal, transcending all languages and cultural barriers.I never worry about criticism because critics have a right to give their honest opinion. Besides, I welcome it, as long as it is not biased, for it helps me to correct myself.
My music helps me to acquire this serenity for it is to me something divine in which I Can lose myself. Through my bhajan compositions, I try to infuse devotion, fordevotion is an important element to draw the listeners to music and to render it emotionally effective. I am grateful to God and the public for whatever I have achieved although I know there is no end to one’s accomplishments. “
Here is the Mujra song, in 2 parts, from this film. Enjoy….
Part 1
Part 2
Song-Kaisee laagee karejawa kataar (Ferry)(1954) Singer- Laxmi Shankar, Lyricist- Rajendra Krishna, MD- Hemant Kumar
Lyrics
Part 1
—————
aa aa aa aa
kaisee laagee karejwa kataar
ho o o kaisee laagee karejwa kataar
chubh gayee seene mein nainon kee dhaar
haaye chubh gayee seene mein nainon kee dhaar
kaisee laagee karejwa kataar
ho o kaisee laagee karejwa kataar
bedardee ke nain raseele ae
bedardee ke nain raseele
maar kare jyun baan kateele
maar kare jyun baan kateele
ghaayal kar gayo julmee ka waar
ghaayal kar gayo julmee ka waar
kaisee laagee karejwa kataar
ho kaisee laagee karejwa kataar
chubh gayee seene mein nainon kee dhaar
haaye chubh gayee seene mein nainon kee dhaar
kaisee laagee karejwa kataar
ho kaisee laagee karejwa kataar
——————-
Part 2
——————-
kaisee laagee karejwa kataar
haaye kaisee laagee karejwa kataar
roye roye manwa karat pukaar
haaye
roye roye manwa karat pukaar
kaisee laagee karejwa kataar
haaye kaisee laagee karejwa kataar
din apne na ratiyaan apnee
din apne na ratiyaan apnee
ka se kahoon main batiyaan apnee
ka se kahoon maie batiyaan apnee
ankhiyaan piroye meree ansuwan dhaar
haaye
ankhiyaan piroye meree ansuwan dhaar
kaisee laagee karejwa kataar
haaye kaisee laagee karejwa kataar
kaisee laagee karejwa kataar
haaye kaisee laagee karejwa kataar
roye roye manwa karat pukaar
haaye
roye roye manwa karat pukaar
kaisee laagee karejwa kataar
haaye kaisee laagee karejwa kataar
Atul’s Song A Day- A choice collection of Hindi Film & Non-Film Songs 
Leave a comment