Archive for the ‘Hemant Kumar NFS’ Category
Kitna karte pyaar bataa do
Posted on: March 5, 2023
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 : |
5343 | Post No. : | 17519 |
Today’s song is a Non Film Song (NFS). It is a duet sung by Jharana Devi and Hemant Kumar.
After a long time,possibly 2 years or so, I am discussing a NFS. Many of our readers may not know that for the first 3 years of this Blog, no NFS was discussed. When I started visiting and commenting on this Blog, I was thinking that only film songs are posted here. In the year 2011, one of our regulars, Shri. AK ji of Songs of Yore first wrote a lengthy comment here advocating that this Blog should discuss NFS too. After this I too wrote supporting his view and very soon Atul ji started posting NFS here.
Dance, Music and Songs have a special place in Indian culture. Dance requires training, Music requires musical instruments, but songs are for everyone. Centuries ago, Dance and Music was the prerogative of the Kings and the Rich. But songs had already permeated into the daily lives of people. From birth to death, from celebrations to festivals and from Naamkaran to Marriage, songs were available and used freely by the womenfolk. Songs had also entered the educational system. I remember, during my school days in the late 40’s, teachers insisted that we recited poems like a song, so that we remembered them. Even the Tables or the Pahades were loudly repeated by the entire class in tune. This helped to make the dry mathematics enjoyable. Due to that, people in the age bracket of 70+ still do remember the tables of 1/4,1/2,3/4,1 1/4, 1 1/2 etc even today. In the age of computers, Calculators and Mobiles, I find it easier and faster to calculate in my old learned way !
In India, the first recording was done in 1902 by a German team and there was no looking back after that. HMV opened a factory to make records in Calcutta. In those days, records and gramophones were affordable only to the rich people. In 1936, All India Radio started. from 1931 onward talkie films provided film songs, but film song records were regularly made only by the end of the 30’s decade. Until then Non Film Songs were popular all over the country.
During the period 1930 to almost 1960, it was the era of NFS. In the early years, Saigal, Pankaj Mullick, Juthika Roy, Jagmohan and Talat Mahmood ruled this segment. I remember we had a gramophone and one of my uncles was a fan of NFS, so we had many records of these singers. Very soon Hemant Kumar and S.D.Burman also joined the singing group. Bengali singers were in the forefront of singing NFS. Faiyyaz Hashmi, Kamal Dasgupta and his brother Subal Dasgupta looked after the lyrics and the music. Slowly in the western India too, almost every singer sang NFS. Lata, Asha, Geeta, Mukesh, Rafi and even Kishore Kumar cut several NFS records.
After 1960. the NFS died its natural death. The melody of Bangla singers ended with the demise of all those singers. That is why music lovers in the age bracket of 70+ remember the Golden period of NFS by the specialists. The newer generations, however , have missed the train. Once the NFS started featuring on the Blog, almost all famous and popular old time NFS were discussed. So far we have 254 NF songs by 81 singers listed on this Blog. Initially, when the NFS of Jagmohan, Pankaj Mullick, Juthika Roy etc were discussed, music lovers from far and wide countries put their comments on every song. These were the indicators of the popularity of the NFS.
Today’s NFS is a duet which is not only rare but also very old i.e. from the 40’s decade – almost 70-80 year old period. The singers are Hemant Kumar and Jharana Devi. I do not know anything about Jharana Devi. She was a famous bengali singer who sang film and Non film songs. In Hindi, I found that she sang only in one film ” Iran ki ek raat”-1949. No more information on her. About Hemant Kumar , ofcourse we know a lot, but some points of his life too are less known. Let us read further.
” Listening to Hemant da, I feel as though a Sadhu is singing a Bhajan in a Temple ” -said Lataji.
I agree with Lata ji 100%. I have always loved songs of Hemant Kumar-be it Aao bachchon tumhe dikhaayen jhanki Hindustan ki (Jaagriti) or Ya dil ki suno duniyawaalon(Anupama) or any of the Hemant – Lata duet like Saanwle salone aaye din bahaar ke (Ek Hi Raasta) or Yaad kiya dil ne kahaan ho tum(Patita).
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 cherished 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 Bhabanipur, 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 par ke apan 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 savours 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. Rabindrasangeets 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, 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 ensconsced 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 today’s rare duet NFS by Hemant Kumar and Jharana Devi. I must also thank shri Syed Zafar Shah, who regularly uploads old gems from films and Non Film songs.
Song-Kitna karte pyaar bata do (Jharna Devi Hemant Kumar NFS)(1950) Singers- Jharna Devi, Hemant Kumar, Lyrics- Pt. B.C.Madhur, MD- Hemant Kumar
Both
Lyrics
Kitna karte pyaar bataa do
kitna karte pyaar
sajan mohe kitna karte pyaar
Kitna karte pyaar bataa do
kitna karte pyaar
sajan mohe kitna karte pyaar
tumhen meri qasam
sach kehna sajan
mohe karte ho tum kitna pyaar
tumhen meri qasam
sach kehna sajan
mohe karte ho tum kitna pyaar
meri pyaas tum ho meri zindagi ho
meri aarzooo ho
hansi ho khushi ho
meri pyaas tum ho meri zindagi ho
meri aarzooo ho
hansi ho khushi ho
tumhi raaah e ulfat ki meethhi gali ho
tumhi raaah e ulfat ki meethhi gali ho
jo hansti chaman mein hai tum wo kali ho
jo hansti chaman mein hai tum wo kali ho
agar main hoon gulshan to tum ho bahaar
agar main hoon gulshan to tum ho bahaar
ab tum hi bata do meri pyaari sajni
ab tum hi bata do meri pyaari sajni
mujhse tumko kitna pyaar
kitna pyaar
in meethhi aankhon mein hai meri duniya
hanste honthhon pe hai meri khushiyaan
inhi paaon mein mere jeewan ki ghadiyaaan
inhi paaon mein mere jeewan ki ghadiyaaan
hai tum par nichhaawar aankhon ki ladiyaan
hai tum par nichhaawar aankhon ki ladiyaan
main dil hoon aur tum ho ?? karaar
do khoye dilon ka mila hai thhikaana
do khoye dilon ka mila hai thhikaana
idhar hai deewaani
udhar hai deewaana
idhar hai deewaani
udhar hai deewaana
hain donon baraabar
karen kiski haar
hain donon baraabar
karen kiski haar
idhar pyaar jitna
udhar utna pyaar
idhar pyaar jitna
udhar utna pyaar
Kitna dukh bhulaaya tumne pyaari
Posted on: June 11, 2021
This article is written by Arunkumar Deshmukh, 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 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 : |
4711 | Post No. : | 16417 |
MUSIC is an integral part of every Indian. From birth to death, we are drenched in music. During Vedic times, the Rishis used to teach their students verses in Taal and Sur, so that the students would remember them easily. You will have observed that whenever there is a Mahapooja or an Yadnya, the Purohits will recite the Mantras in a typical rhythm and sur.
In our school days, teachers used to literally force us to learn poems by heart in a tune, so that it was easier to remember. Not only poems, even the Maths teacher taught us the ” Pahade ” (Paadhe or the Tables) in a particular tune. That is how we remember the difficult tables of 1/4, 1/2, 3/4, 1-1/2,or the 1-1/4 etc even today. In these days of calculators and Mobiles, the tables are nowhere now !
In ancient times, Fine Arts like Dance, Drama and Music were the exclusive preserves of the Royalties and the Rich. Over a period, the commoners too found pleasures in village arts like Folk dances and Folk songs. In every festival and during the Harvesting times, there used to be musical entertainments.
Record making came to India in 1902, when a song by a professional singer ( read Tawayaf) Gauhar Jan was recorded by a German technician in a Hotel in Calcutta. A factory was set up in Dumdum,Calcutta in 1908 by the gramophone company-UK to make records in India. There was no looking back ever since. There was a spate of records of songs and geets, Bhajans and Gazals etc, by noted singers and classical gurus. By 1925, Electrical recordings started. Gramophones became popular and singers also multiplied. Records of geets, Thumris, ghazals, natya sangeet, Bhajans, Naats,love songs, sad songs etc became available and the songs became popular quickly.
In 1930, All India Radio started and in 1931 the films started talking. However, records of film songs were in general not made those days, though the first film song record came in 1932. Until about 1939-40, records of all film songs were not made from every film. So, people continued to enjoy the NON FILM SONGS by famous singers. This trend of making records of NFS was so popular that most Film singers started their careers by recording NFS. Examples are Talat Mehmood, Hemant Kumar, S D Burman, Lata, Asha, Mukesh, Rafi etc.
Those of our readers, who were young in the 40s…50s….60s, will remember the melodious NFS played on Radios and in homes. Songs of Saigal, Jagmohan, Pankaj Mullick, Kamla Jharia, Juthika Roy, Paluskar, Talat, Mukesh, Hemant etc were played in many Hotels and restaurants too.
NON FILM SONGS played a very vital role in entertaining people and in giving opportunities to singers to become famous. As Radio became popular, these songs reached millions of Indians, and the singer’s names became famous all over India. Singers like Jagmohan, Pankaj Mullick and Talat Mehmood were invited to sing their NFS on stage shows and they toured countries all over the world for these shows.
As Radio Ceylon became more and more popular after 1950 and the Vividh Bharati after 1957, film songs started getting extensive exposure and slowly they stole the limelight from the NFS. However some NFS were immortal and are remembered even today.
There is a popular equation that Non Film Songs means Talat, Jagmohan, Pankaj mullick, Juthika Roy, Hemant etc. But the fact is from 1930 onwards, almost every Film singer sang Non Film songs, because NFS had a special place in people’s heart then.
Today we are about to enjoy one such famous and very very melodious NFS by Hemant Kumar- ” Kitna dukh bhulaya tumne pyari “, which was recorded somewhere in early 40s, when Hemant Kumar started recording Bangla and Hindi Geets, prior to his involvement in film music.
Poet Lyricist Faiyaz Hashmi and composer Kamal Dasgupta were regularly churning out wonderful melodies on 78 RPM every month and listeners all over India were enjoying them fully.
Actually,in 1985,Jagmohan Sursagar wrote in his Autobiography…..
” In the initial stages Kamal Dasgupta was influenced by Rabindranath Tagore. Tagore’s songs and compositions(Rabindra sangeet) were extremely popular, but were limited to Bangla people only. Ghazal, qawwali, Dadra, Naat, Thumri, Hori, Kajari etc used to come to market but had a very limited listenership. These never reached the top.
” The fusion of Gazal,Dadra and Qawali with Bangla Geet style gave birth to Hindi Hindi Non Film Songs or geets. As such Geet had a known and accepted place in Literature, but not in Music. To establish this new Genre, Kamal babu used lyrics by Pt.Madhur, Pt. Anjum and Faiyaz Hashmi, got them sung by Jagmohan, Hemant, Talat, Juthika etc. Their records were inscribed with ‘ Hindi Geet (Hindustani Song) ‘. What thus started as NFS Geet from 1936 continued upto next 20 years non stop. “
Let us know about Faiyyaz Hashmi first……Fayyaz was born on 18-6- 1920 at Calcutta. His father, Syed Muhammad Hussain Hashmi Dilgeer was a very famous poet and writer of stage drama. He was director at the top class theater of that time named “ MADAN THEATER LTD.” He knew 8 languages.
Senior lyricist, Faiyyaz Hashmi, passed away in Karachi on Nov 29 th 2011. He shot to fame after penning lyrics for such non-film songs as ;Ye Raatein Ye Mausam; (Pankaj Mullick), ;Tasveer Teri Dil Mera; (Talat Mehmood), ;Dil Ko Hai Tum Se Pyar Kyun; (Jagmohan), ;Bhala Tha Kitna Apna Bachpan; (Hemant Kumar), and so many more rendered by the likes of Juthika Roy and Feroza Begum.
Mr. Fayyaz Hashmi is a legendary song and dialogue writer and above all a true loving person. He is by himself an institution and a common asset of the Indo-Pakistan film-world. His admirers as ever are not confined in national frontiers. Those fond of Hindi / Urdu songs anywhere in the world have affection for him. The emergence of this bright star was evidenced much before independence of India, when Fayyaz Hashmi, still a teenager wrote the most famous song “Tasveer Teri Dil Mera Behla Na Sakhe Gi”. It was recorded in the voice of Talat Mehmood and music was composed by Kamal Das Gupta. This song brought “Talat” to limelight. Music for most of the Fayyaz Hashmi’s songs recorded at Calcutta was composed by Kamal Das Gupta.
The dynamic achievements of young Fayyaz Hashmi and his clarity of expression by using simple words were greatly appreciated by Qazi Nazrul Islam -“Tum mann main doob kar mann ka bhed nikaltey ho. Aasan shubdoon mein mushkil baat kehna buhut mushkil hay”. His unique combination of Urdu, Hindi and Sanskrit words to produce a harmonious song thus became a guideline for the future poets of geets. The transformation of some traditional Bangla songs was also facilitated. He has also written songs in Brij Bhasa and Purbi. His pre-independence songs total to about 1000.
Fayyaz Hashmi wrote his first verse “Chaman main Ghuncha-o-gul ka tabassum dekhne walo – Kabhi tum ne haseen kalyoon ka murjhana bhi dekha hai” when he was in 7th class. As a student of 9th class, he was participating in regular “mushairas”. He got an assignment in the British owned Gramophone Company at DumDum (now called Jessore Road, Kolkotta) India. He served there during 1943 to 1948 period. At that time the average monthly production of record was only 16. Once all the records (16) issued in a month were written by Mr. Fayyaz Hashmi- a record by itself. Some of the evergreen hit songs of Mr. Fayyaz Hashmi are quoted here:
1- Honton se gulfishan hain who – Aankhoon se ashkbar hum Talat Mahmood
2- Do Kafir Aankhoon ne mara Talat Mahmood
3- Dil ko hai tum se pyar kyoon Jag Mohan
4- Aaj use phir dekha hai Jag Mohan
5- Bhala tha kitna apna bachpan Hemant Kumar
6- Yeh Raaten yeh mausam yeh hansa hansana Pankhaj Mallick
(Also re-sung by Lata Mangeshkar as a tribute to the legendary Pankhaj Mallick)
7- Tasveer teri dil mera behla na sake gi Talat Mehmood
8- Ab yad hamein kyoon aati ho Hemant Kumar
9- Kitna dukh bhulaya tum ne Hemant Kumar
10-Maloom hay mujhko – ban Jao gi tum ek din taqdeer hamari Jag Mohan.
While in India, he wrote 48 songs in 9 Hindi films, namely-Subah Shyam-44, Meghdoot-45, Zameen Aasmaan-46, Pehchan-46, Krishna Leela-46, Arabian Nights-46, Giribala-47, Faisla-47 and Iran ki ek raat-49
He chose to migrate to Pakistan after the Partition.
In 1948, he was posted as recording Manager at Dhaka Center of the Gramophone Company and thereafter in 1951 at Lahore. He promoted many talents like Farida Khanum, Saeen Marna, Saeen Akhtar and Saeen Budha. He diverted towards the writing of film songs in 1956. “Kunwari Bewa” was the first film in Pakistan with his songs. He wrote more than 2000 songs for films and Gramophone Recording Company. He had also written stories, dialogues and scripts of many hit films like AULAD, ZAMAN KIYA KAHE GA, NEHLEY PE DEHLA, INTEKHAB, PEHCHAN, KHUDA AUR MUHABBAT, GHAREEBON KA BADSHAH etc. including “ HUM AIK HAIN” which was also directed by him. It was the first Pakistani film with 5 songs filmed in colour and as such a record in Pakistan film industry.
Every film, songs of which were written by Mr. Fayyaz Hashmi became super hit like SAHELI, AULAD, ASHIANA, SUHAGAN, HONAHAR, PEGHAM, SARTAJ, SHAREEK-E-HAYAT, EID MUBARAK, SHABNAM, LOVE IN JUNGLE, TOBA, SAWAL, LAKHOON MAIN AIK, DEWAR BHABI etc.
He received Graduate Award 3 times and also Nigar award for the best song in 1978 on “Chalo Achha Hua Tum Bhool Gaye” film “Lakhoon Main Aik”. He received International award in 1986 and another Nigar award in 1988 for the best dialogue of film “ Ghareebon Ka Badshah”. In addition to these he recounts about 11 Silver Jubilee Awards and 17 Golden Jubilee**. “Deewane Tere Pyar ke” is the latest film all songs of which have been written Fayyaz Hashmi.
The first compilation of his poetry was published as “ RAG RANG” in 1944 in India. His poems were published in various journals and magazines like Adbi Duniya, Adbe Lateef, Alamgeer, Beesveen Sadi, Shama (Delhi), Chitrali (Dhaka), Nigar (Karachi), Amar Jadeed and Amrit Bazar Patrika (Calcutta, India). He wrote many Naats and Qawwalis. He also wrote many National songs like (Ae Quiad-e-Azam tera ehsan hai ehsan” & “ Suraj Kare Salam – Chanda kare Salam”.
On the publication of his mystic verses, Mr. Raees Amrohi commented that “History of Sufi poets is indicative of a glorious future for them and Mr. Fayyaz.
(Based primarily on the article by Nadeemur Rehman, courtesy shri Rajnikumar Pandya ji and my own notes. )
Today’s NFS by Hemant kumar – my favourite singer – is very melodious and had become very popular in the 40s, 50s and the 60s. Enjoy…..
Song- Kitna dukh bhulaaya tumne pyaari (Hemant Kumar NFS)(1945) Singer-Singer- Hemant Kumar, Lyricist- Fayyaz Hashmi, MD- Kamal Dasgupta
Lyrics
kitna dukh bhulaaya tumne pyaari ee
kitna dukh bhulaaya tumne pyaari ee
mere zakhmi dil pe rakhkar apna komal haath
mere zakhmi dil pe rakhkar apna komal haath
preetam kyun ghabraaye ho
preetam kyun ghabraaye ho
bas chhed ke itni baat
sab dard mitaaya tumne ae pyaari
sab dard mitaaya tumne ae pyaari
apni bal khaayi zulfen seene se mere bichha ke
apni bal khaayi zulfen seene se mere bichha ke
apne gulaabi honthon ko
apne gulaabi honthon ko
mere honthon se milaa ke ae
amrit ras pilaaya tumne pyaari
amrit ras pilaaya tumne pyaari
ham tum chup baithhe hain
ham tum chup baithhe hain
dil kahta hai kisse dil ke
churaa liyaa hai hosh hamaara
churaa liyaa hai hosh hamaara
chaar aankhon ne milke
kismat ko jagaaya tumne pyaari
kismat ko jagaaya tumne pyaari
kismat ko jagaaya tumne pyaari
Main saaz bajaaun tum gaao
Posted on: June 28, 2020
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: |
4363 | Post No. : | 15689 |
I do not remember when was the last time that I wrote about a NFS. I guess it might have been about 4-5 years ago. There is no specific reason for this gap. I came across a good NFS by Hemant kumar-my favourite singer- that prompted me to take it up for discussion today.
1936 to 1956 was a period when NFS were very very popular, not only in India, but wherever in the world Indian population lived. In western Music, NFS has been a routine since the beginning. For India, where different types of Music existed, it was not possible for one type of music to be popular all over the country. In olden days, like in the period of 1900 to 1940s, the Royalties of various states, depending upon the King’s or the Nawab’s liking and understanding, gave support to Classical music or Ghazals etc. Many Classical singers and Ghazal singers won the Patronage of different states. For the common public, there used to be Jalsas, stage shows or Mushayaras etc. The audience used to be different for each type of singing.
It was somewhere in the mid 1930s when an enterprising pair of a writer and a Musician decided to promote a new type of presentation – singing of Geets. Geet was a type of song which existed in Poetry, but it was not connected with Music in any way. Poet Lyricist Faiyyaz Hashmi and Musician Kamal Dasgupta identified a few aspiring singers and recorded Hashmi’s Geets in their voice. Probably the first ever such Non Filmi Song – a Geet – came out as a 78 RPM record. From 1934 to 1945, this pair (Faiyyaz and Kamal) made NFS extremely popular all over the country. For their 400 recorded songs (in Bangla and Hindi), they selected singers like Jagmohan, Pankaj Mullick, Talat Mahmood, Juthika Roy, Hemant Kumar and few others to sing these Non Film Songs. The NFS thus got established.
Those readers, who are in the age bracket of 60 to 85, will surely remember the popular NFS during their younger days. Sometimes the sales of such NFS exceeded even the popular Film songs! These NFS were popular from Kashmir to Kanyakumari, irrespective of the language barrier. Some of the popular NFS of yore were by Hemant Kumar, Geeta Dutt, Juthika Roy, Jagmohan, K L Saigal, Pankaj Mullick etc. Seeing the popularity of these NFS, even the Film Singers cut their NFS records. Some of them were Lata, Asha, Rafi, Mukesh, Shamshad Begum, Manna Dey, Laxmi Shankar, Jaddan bai, Noorjehan and even Indurani etc etc. These lists are only indicative and not exhaustive.
Today’s NFS is sung by Hemant Kumar (16.6.1920 – 26.9.1989). Hemant Kumar was very fond of singing from his childhood. While in school, one day, one teacher was absent and the period was blank. The boys started pressing HK to sing a song. He too, enthusiastically started singing and all the students started beating the benches to give ‘ music’ to his song. All this commotion went to the Head Master’s room. He came and Hemant was sent home immediately. Next day, his parents met the Headmaster, said sorry and Hemant was allowed in the school again. While he was in H.S.C. he got a call from A.I.R to sing songs.
After HSC, he joined Engineering college, but after an year, he left it and started singing. Columbia cut his few records in Bangla. Then came Bangla film playback singing in film “Nimai Sanyas”. In 1942 he gave a playback in hindi film ‘Meenakshi’-42, under the baton of Panbkaj Mullick. However there was no record issued. In film ‘Irada’-44, Pt. Amarnath gave him an opportunity to sing.
After film ‘Anand Math’-52, he came into Hindi films as an MD. He continued to sing songs even for any MD, who wanted him. Thus he sang more songs for other MDs than for his own films as MD ! On Lata’s insistence, he sang Marathi Koli Geet and some film songs too, in Marathi. He also sang in Gujarati, Punjabi,Oriya and Assamese language films. Vishwa Bharati gave him D.Litt. Sangeet Natak Akademi awarded him in 87. He refused Padmashree and later Padma Bhushan awards.
Today’s song is written by Fayyaz Hashmi, with music by Kamal Dasgupta. This must have been recorded sometime in the early 40s. This song is included in the 1961 LP No.33 E Sx 4252 ” Geets of Hemant Kumar.”
In the 1940s, Kamal Dasgupta was a star composer. He had many firsts to his name. He was the most educated man across the industry in those days. He came to the rescue of singers who were trying to break into the music world. He gave music in the most successful films of the 40s. The sale of his private records touched an all-time high. Yet the man behind many unforgettable melodies has been forgotten.
Kamal was born on July 28, 1912, in Kalia village in the district of Jasore, then in British India (now in Bangladesh). He was initiated into music by his father Prashanna Dasgupta. He later learnt it from his brother Bimal Dasgupta. Afterwards, he became a disciple of the legendary Dilip Kumar Roy and Ustad Zamiruddin Khan. He did his matriculation from Calcutta Academy. Later, he completed his B Com from Komila Victoria Collage. He joined Banaras Hindu University (BHU) for his masters. He earned his PhD from BHU for his work on Mirabai’s bhajaans and music.
Kamal Dasgupta was a versatile musical genius. He used to sing modern songs in Bangala, Hindi, Urdu and Tamil. He was a brilliant composer who composed around 8,000 songs. His first composition was recorded in 1932 in the voice of Satyaboti, (she seems to be the mother of actress Leela Desai). His composition was classical based and folk music. Later he tended to lean towards Thumri style and Naats. In 1935, Kamal Dasgupta joined the Gramophone Company of India in Calcutta as a music director. During this stint, he developed a close and lasting association with the poet Nazrul Islam. They became fond of each other and the relationship lasted for eleven years (1934-45). The culmination of their friendship were 400 songs – inspired by the works of the poet.
Calcutta was the major hub of Indian films produced in the 1930s. New Theatres and Madan Pictures were the main studios along with the other companies. After earning a name with his compositions, Kamal tried his luck in films. His first picture was Pandit Moshai (1936) in Bangla which was followed by Sarbjanin, Vivahotsab and Devyani between 1936-1942. The legendary actor, director Prathmesh Chandra Barua was impressed by his music and gave him a break in Jawaab in 1942. PC Barua directed both the version in Hindi and Bangla. The film was an instant hit. It had cult numbers like Toofan mail ye duniya toofan mail, Ae chand chhup na jana and Kuchh yaad na rahe.
Kamal Dasgupta’s next film was MP productions social, Hospital, starring Kanan Devi, Ahindra Choudhary and Heeralal. The very same year he did another Barua Production, Ranee. The cast included J Ganguly, Kalawati, PC Barua and Jamuna. Like his earlier films, his music became popular. Kamal Dasgupta was as successful in films as he was in his private recording career.
In 1944, he moved to Bombay and did the film Meghdoot (1945), based on the Sanskrit poet Kalidas. Leela Desai and Sahu Modak were in the lead. The film was directed by the legendary Debki Kumar Bose. During his stay in Bombay, he did several films across different genres. His next film was Arabian Nights, directed by Niren Lahari. The cast included Kanan Devi, Nawab and Robin Majumdar. All the numbers of the film became very popular. The same year, he did a social film Bindiya, starring Ragini, Amar, M Shakeer and E Billimoriya. The film was directed by CM Luhar. Kamal Das Gupta used the voices of Anima Dasgupta, Kalyani Das, Hemant Kumar and Amar. His next film was the mythological Krishna Leela (1946) which was directed by Debki Kumar Bose and had Kanan Devi and Paresh Banerjee in the lead. 1946 was the busiest year for Kamal Das Gupta. He did Zameen Asmaan for director Dwarka Khosla, starring Ranjana, Jeevan and Kusum Deshpande.
Coming back to Calcutta, he did Faisala (1947) followed by Manmani. The film had Ragini and Jairaj in the lead. The film was directed by Sarvottam Badami. His last film with his mentor PC Barua was Iran Ki Ek Raat (1949) – a costume drama, starring Jamuna, Narang, Chandrakant and Chandrawati. Its melodious number were: Ulfat mein jise banaya tha, Chhalke chhalke sarabein jawani ke palaye, Kaun hai teer andaaj bada, Ae dil kya and Khel hai ye zindagi. His last release was Phulwari in 1951. He had 40 films to his credit. He gave music to 17 Hindi films. His first film was Jawab-42 and the last Hindi film was Phulwari-51. He had also sung 1 song in Hindi in film Jawab-42.
Following this, the maverick composer got completely disillusioned by the film industry and recording companies. His favourite songs which were sold in the lakhs didn’t carry his name on the jackets. At the age of 44, he married his favourite singer, Firoza Begum and embraced Islam. Kamal Dasgupta, by now, became Kareemuddin Ahmed. He kept on doing movies whenever an offer came. His last film in Bangla was Bodhu Baran in 1967.
He shifted to Dhaka. When Bangladesh became independent, he became a citizen in 1972. The composer was a man of taste. He owned a Buick, a rare thing in Calcutta in the 1950s. He was a great human being. He fed hundreds of people during the Bengal famine. He was also extremely fond of cricket. He was blessed with three sons – Shafin Ahmed, Hamin Ahmed and Tahsin Ahmed. They followed their father in music and cricket. Two brothers played cricket at the state level and Hamin Ahmed was selected for the national team of Bangladesh. Kamal Das Gupta with his failing health and lack of proper medical treatment succumbed to his ailments and passed away in Dhaka on July 28, 1974, at the age of 62.
With all his work in film line, his name will be remembered forever, for making the Geet form of songs in Hindi and Bangla, popular in India. His pioneering contribution to promoting the Non Film Songs, is beyond words. Music lovers throughout the country are indebted to him for this work. Poet Lyricist Faiyaz Hashmi and composer Kamal Dasgupta were regularly churning out wonderful melodies on 78 RPM every month and listeners all over India were enjoying them fully. Surprisingly, while Kamal’s name was written correct, Hashmi was credited in several ways like F Hashmi, F. Hashmi, Faiaz Hashmi, Faiaz Hashumi, Faiyaz Hashmi, Faiyyaz Hashami, Falyyaz Hashmi, Fayyaz Hashimi etc.
Actually,in 1985,Jagmohan Sursagar wrote in his Autobiography…..
” In the initial stages Kamal Dasgupta was influenced by Rabindranath Tagore. Tagore’s songs and compositions(Rabindra sangeet) were extremely popular, but were limited to Bangla people only. Ghazal, qawwali, Dadra, Naat, Thumri, Hori, Kajari etc used to come to market but had a very limited listenership. These never reached the top.
” The fusion of Ghazal,Dadra and Qawali with Bangla Geet style gave birth to Hindi Non Film Songs or geets. As such Geet had a known and accepted place in Literature, but not in Music. To establish this new Genre, Kamal babu used lyrics by Pt.Madhur, Pt. Anjum and Faiyaz Hashmi, got them sung by Jagmohan, Hemant, Talat, Juthika etc. Their records were inscribed with ‘ Hindi Geet (Hindustani Song) ‘. What thus started as NFS Geet from 1936 continued upto next 20 years non stop. “
(adapted, with thanks, from an article by Sharad Dutt, in milleniumpost.in, ‘Yaad kiya Dil ne’ by Subhash Chandra Jadhav and my notes.)
Today’s song is a lovely NFS. I am sure you will love it too.
Song- Main saaz bajaaun tum gaao (Hemant Kumar NFS)(1943) Singer- Hemant Kumar, Lyricist- Faiyaz Hashmi, MD- Kamal Dasgupta
Lyrics
Main saaz bajaaun oon
tum gaao o
tum gaao
Main saaz bajaaun oon
tum gaao o
tum gaao
taaaron main main tumhen suna doon
is dil ki jhankaar aar
geeton mein tum mujhse keh do
chhupi baat ek baar
taaaron main main tumhen suna doon
is dil ki jhankaar aar
geeton mein tum mujhse keh do
chhupi baat ek baar
main tumko kuchh samjhaaun
tum mujhko kuchh samjhaao
main tumko kuchh samjhaaun
tum mujhko kuchh samjhaao
Main saaz bajaaun oon
tum gaao o
tum gaao
mere sur mein dard chhupaa ho o
ek jaadoo ho geet tumhaara
mere sur mein dard chhupaa ho o
ek jaadoo ho geet tumhaara
hum tum donon milen jahaan aan
hum tum donon milen jahaan
(?) wo dariya ka kinaara
meri dhun par maujen tadpen
meri dhun par maujen tadpen
tum geet se lehron ko sharmaao o
tum geet se lehron ko sharmaao o
Main saaz bajaaun oon
tum gaao o
tum gaao
Masti bhari nazar teri
Posted on: November 9, 2013
This article is written by Sudhir, 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 Many Colors of Love #9 – Glances Stealing the Heart
– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –
And so wrote the scribe
tere nainon ne chori kiya
mera chhota sa jiyaa, pardesiaa. . .
Read more on this topic…
This article is written by Sudhir, a fellow enthusiast of Hindi movie music and a regular contributor to this blog.
When he passed away twenty four years ago, in 1989, it was just one year after that he had received the national award for the Best Male Singer (1988). This was despite the fact that he had suffered a major heart attack in 1980, after which, many reviewers said that he was not his original self, and had lost the quality of his voice.
Read more on this topic…
Bhala thha kitna apna bachpan
Posted on: May 6, 2013
This article is written by Arunkumar Deshmukh, a fellow enthusiast of Hindi movie music and a regular contributor to this blog.
I must really thank ATUL JI for providing us all,a platform to share our information/knowledge and enjoy the best of Hindi Film and Non Film music.
But for him, it would not have been possible.
Read more on this topic…
This article is written by Sadanand Kamath, a fellow enthusiast of Hindi movie music and a regular contributor to this blog.
It is interesting to note the striking similarities in the musical career of S D Burman and Hemant Kumar though the latter was 14 years younger than the former. Both started their musical careers as singers in the 30s followed by composing many non-filmy Bengali and Hindi songs in Calcutta (Kolkatta). Both started their Hindi filmy careers as music directors under the banner of Filmistan – S D Burman in Shikhar (1946) and Hemant Kumar in ‘Anand Math’ (1952).
Read more on this topic…
Atul’s Song A Day- A choice collection of Hindi Film & Non-Film Songs 
Recent comments