Kal chaudhveen kee raat thhee
Posted on: June 9, 2026
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 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 : | 6535 | Post No. : | 20332 |
I present one of the most popular ghazals, ‘kal chaudhveen kee raat thhee’ (1979) composed and rendered by Jagjit Singh. The ghazal is written by Jalandhar-born Pakistani poet, humourist, journalist and travel writer, Ibn-e-Insha (1927-1978).
I had a faint memory of this ghazal sometime in 1980s but at that time, there were other popular ghazals of Jagjit Singh which have remained in my memory like ‘ishq mein ghairat e jazbaat ne rone na diyaa’, ‘duniyaa jise kehte hain’, ‘baat niklegi to phir door talak jaayegi’, etc. It is only during the last 2-3 years that I have listened to this ghazal online umpteen times and have started admiring this ghazal for its soulful rendition.
The ghazal which were initially confined to rendering it in concerts got the boost in its popularity when Jagjit Singh, Ghulam Ali, Abida Parveen, Asad Amanat Ali musically adapted it in their own style and tune. But it was the soulful rendition by Jagjit Singh in 1979 that brought it to wider audiences through live performances and recordings. infusing the verses with emotional depth and melodic grace. This ghazal first appeared in HMV’s (now SAREGAMA) Long Play (LP) gramophone record titled ‘Duniya Jise Kahte Hain’. With this, Jajgit Singh consolidated his journey into the modern ghazal music. Recently, Papon performed live at ‘Jashn-e-Rekhta’ this ghazal with his creative touch but in its original tune and the mood as rendered by Jagjit. This shows that even the current generation of well-established singers like Popan who mainly sings for GenZ has the admiration for the old type of ghazals.
This ghazal is basically about the poet’s one-sided love and his admiration for the beloved’s beauty through the metaphor of a full moon night, evoking his delicate but unattainable desire. The poet compares the full moon night (fourteenth night) with the face of his beloved, where the discussion in the gathering is whether the glow is of the moon or that of the beloved’s face during a night filled with discussions and sharing reverence that heightens the poet’s silent devotion. Although this ghazal is filled with romance, it also gives melancholic atmosphere of pain of separation and the restrained emotions.
The ghazal is of long verses (Bahr-e-Tawil) category which gives a poet more room for developing his thoughts. The ghazal has 10 she’rs but only 5 she’rs have been taken for the rendition for which I give below the couplet-wise English translation:
kal chaudhveen kee raat thhee shab bhar rahaa charchaa teraakuchh ne kahaa ye chaand hai kuchh ne kahaa chehraa teraa
Yesterday was the 14th day of full moon night. The whole night spent in discussing her. While some told that it was the moon. Some others were telling that it was her face.
Note: The background is that the poet is in love with his beloved but it is an unrequited love. The poet is already in the pain of separation when others in the night compared the 14th day of full moon as his beloved’s face. ‘Chaudhvin Kee Raat’ or ‘Chaudhavin Kaa Chaand’ refers to a day before the full moon day. 14th day towards the full moon is regarded as more elegant than the full moon. In Urdu and Hindi literature, the beauty of the loved ones are compared with the 14th day of the moon.
ham bhee waheen maujood thhe ham se bhee sab poochhaa kiyeham hans diye ham chup rahe manzoor thhaa pardaa teraa
I was also present in the night and they also asked me about my opinion. I smiled but kept quiet because it was acceptable to me to have a mask over you (not to reveal you).
Note: The last verse of the she’r indicates that the poet intends to keep the identity of his beloved secret which shows how much he revered for her privacy notwithstanding that he is going through the pain of separation from her.
is shahar mein kis se milen ham se to chhootee mehfilenhar shaḳhs teraa naam le har shaḳhs deewaana teraa
In this city whoever I wanted to meet, I avoided them in gatherings. Everyone talked about you who were crazy for you.
Note: In this couplet, it seems that the lover does not mind if his beloved does not take interest in him. But he dislikes others taking interest in his beloved. The couplet seems to give a situation more or less similar to what Shailendra wrote ‘tum agar mujhko na chaaho to koi baat naheen tum agar aur ko chaaogee to mushkil hogee’ for a song in ‘Dil Hee To Hai’ (1963).
kooche ko tere chhod kar jogee hee ban jaayen magarjangal tere parbat tere bastee teree sehraa teraa
Because of the pain of separation from the beloved, I feel like leaving your place and becoming an ascetic. But even in forest, mountains, villages and deserts I will see the omnipresence of you in them.
Note: In this she’r, there seems to be some Sufi flavours. The poet has used the word, ‘jogee’ which is derived from Sanskrit word, ‘Yoga’ which points to the spiritual and mystic elements. For a Sufi, his beloved is God for whom He is present everywhere – forest, mountains, villages and deserts.
bedard sun nee ho to chal kahtaa hai kyaa achchhee ġhazalaashiq teraa ruswaa teraa shaayar teraa ‘Insha’ teraa
If this ‘bedard’ (heartless) beloved wants to listen to my pain, come. What a good ghazal your lover, your disgraced one, your poet and only your ‘Insha’ has written.
Note: This is the ‘maqta’ of the ghazal in which the poet expresses his frustration by calling his beloved ‘bedard’ (heartless). He makes a sarcastic request to his beloved to at least admire his ghazal.
The musical composition is soft and slow in tempo to reflect a spiritual feel for the listeners. The musical instruments used are few like harmonium and guitar for melody, violin for adding melancholy and tabla/dholak for rhythm. Together the musical composition creates an atmosphere for the listeners to reflect on the romantic and melancholic moods of the ghazal. Jagjit Singh’s usual style of soulful rendering with pauses and emphasis on words allows the listeners to get the nuances of the ghazal.
I have also attached the video clip of Jagjit Singh’s live concert to show as to how his style of rendition of this ghazal differs from the audio clip.
Audio clip:
Video clip(Live concert):
Song-Kal chaudhvin kee raat thhee (Jagjit Singh NFS)(1979) Singer-Jagjit Singh, Lyricist-Ibn e Insha, MD-Jagjit Singh
Lyrics: (Based on Audio Clip)
kal chaudhveen kee raat thhee
shab bhar rahaa charchaa teraa
kal chaudhveen kee raat thhee
kuchh ne kahaa ye chaand hai
kuchh ne kahaa ye chaand hai
kuchh ne kahaa chehraa teraa
kal chaudhveen kee raat
ham bhee waheen maujood thhe
ham bhee waheen maujood thhe
hamse bhee sab poochhaa kiye
ham bhee waheen maujood thhe
hamse bhee sab poochhaa kiye
ham hans diye ham chup rahe
ham hans diye ham chup rahe
manzoor thhaa pardaa teraa
kal chaudhveen kee raat thhee
kal chaudhveen kee raat
iss shahar mein kis se milen aen aen aen aen
iss shahar mein kis se milen
hamse to chhootee mehfilen
iss shahar mein kis se milen
hamse to chhootee mehfilen
har shaksh teraa naam le
har shaksh teraa naam le
har shaksh deewaanaa teraa
kal chaudhveen kee raat thhee
kal chaudhveen kee raat thhee
shab bhar rahaa charchaa teraa
kal chaudhveen kee raat thhee
kooche ko tere chhod kar
kooche ko tere chhod kar
jogee hee ban jaayen magar
kooche ko tere chhod kar….r r r
kooche ko tere chhod kar
jogee hee ban jaayen magar
jungle tere parvat tere
jungle tere parvat tere
bastee teree sehraa teraa
kal chaudhveen kee raat thhee
kal chaudhveen kee raat thhee
bedard sun’nee ho to chal
bedard sun’nee ho to chal
kehtaa hai kyaa achchhee ghazal
bedard sun’nee ho to chal
kehtaa hai kyaa achchhee ghazal
aashiq teraa ruswaa teraa
aashiq teraa ruswaa teraa
shaayar teraa ‘Insha’ teraa
kal chaudhveen kee raat thhee
kal chaudhveen kee raat thhee
shab bhar rahaa charchaa teraa
kal chaudhveen kee raat thhee
kuchh ne kahaa ye chaand hai
kuchh ne kahaa chehraa teraa
kal chaudhveen kee raat thhee
kal chaudhveen kee raat thhee
Atul’s Song A Day- A choice collection of Hindi Film & Non-Film Songs 
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