Archive for the ‘Rafi solo’ Category
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 : | 3858 | Post No. : | 14871 |
Today’s song is from the musical blockbuster of the 1950s, Suvarna Sundari-58.
There was a love affair going on between the South films and Bombay Film industry during the 50’s decade. Right from film Chandralekha-48, South started pushing into Hindi domain with Remakes and Dubbed southern films. Some films were even made only in Hindi. As the years went by and the southern film market expanded greater than even Bombay, south had no time or need or interest in tapping the Hindi belt anymore.
With the films being made by the South for the Hindi audience, came many southern composers too. Chandralekha-48- had S.Rajeshwar Rao as MD, then came Parthasarthy and kalla (Nishan-49, Mangala-50 and Sansar-51), Sankar Sastry (Mangala, Sansar), C S Ram (Lavangi-50), C R Subbaraman (Ek the Raja-51, Chandi Rani-53), Vishwanathan and R Sudarshana (Ladki-53), S V Venkatraman and T R Ramanathan(Manohar-54), Ram Murthy(Naya Aadmi-56) etc etc.
First Hindi Music Director in a south film Hindi was Bulo C Rani, with C S Ram in film Lavangi-50. The first south Hindi film whose entire music was done by a single Music Director from the Hindi belt was Bahar-51- S D Burman. After this C.Ramchandra, Chitragupta, Madan Mohan, Shankar-jaikishen, N Dutta and others started crowding in south for Hindi films and due to this the influx of south composers for Hindi films almost came to a naught.
Many Hindi composers are known to invade South and make songs in their languages. The first one to do so was C Ramchandra, but then few others like Naushad( for Tamil version of Aan and Mughal E Azam), Salil Chaudhari ( for many Tamil and Malyalam films), Ravi- who became famous in Kerala as Bombay Ravi, for many Malyalam films and few more. However, there was only one south composer who gave music to a Hindi film and made it a Hit Jubilee Musical Blockbuster. He was Adi Narayana Rao and his first Hindi film was Suvarna Sundari-1958. I said First film, because Rao gave music to some more Hindi films later, like Phoolon ki sej-64, Jadoo nagari-72, Gun Fighter Johnny-72, Sati anusuya-74 and Inqilab Zindabad-75. he also gave music to a Dubbed Marathi film ‘ Mahabhakta Tukaram’-60.
His first film was Suvarna Sundari-58 and what Grand music he gave ! The film had 14 songs and from Ghantasala’s ” Laxmi kshir Samudra Raj’ to Sudha Malhotra’s ” Hat jaa re natkhat”, he displayed his originality, creativity and knowledge of Hindustani Raagdari too ! He composed songs in various Raagas like, malkauns, Sohni, Bahar, Jaunpuri, Hameer etc . Songs like ” Mujhe na bula” and ” Kuhu kuhu bole koyaliya” are popular even today and surely can be counted amongst the most memorable of Hindi songs ever.
Born in 1915 in Andhra Pradesh, Rao learnt music from Pt. Sitaram Sastry. He was active on stage for many years. He was an excellent Harmonium player. Surprisingly, he entered film world as a writer and not a musician. Later, he became an assistant to composer Chittur Nagiah from film vande Mataram-1939. His first film as a MD was Vardhini-1946. Along with Folk tunes, Rao used Spanish tunes in his songs. He married actress Anjali Devi,after film Suvarn Sundari in Telugu was released. They started Anjali pictures, a film production company. While he could not get success in Hindi films, after Suvarn Sundari-58, his wife Anjali Devi continued doing roles in Hindi films for many more years. Adi Narayana Rao died on 25-1-1990.
The original Telugu film Suvarn Sundari was made with A.Nageshwar Rao and Anjali Devi in 1957. Tamil version was also made Simultaneously, with Gemini Ganesan and Anjali devi in the lead. Tamil film title was Manaalane Mangaiyi Bakkiyam. The Tamil version was released first. When both Tamil and Telugu films became Hit and Blockbusters, it was planned to dub the Tamil film in Hindi. Lata Mangeshkar was called to Madras to record the songs. When Lata saw the film, she suggested them that instead of dubbing the film, the film may be remade in Hindi. The distributors too opined the same. Therefore the Hindi version was remade with A. Nageshwar Rao and Anjali Devi in the lead. This was the First and the only Hindi film A.Nageshwar Rao made ever in his entire career. The film was shot in Venus Studio, Madras and near Shimsha falls, Mysore. The Hindi film was very successful and celebrated Silver Jubilee in 18 cities.
All the three language versions were directed by Vedantam Raghaviah. He was born to V.Ramiah and Annapoornamma at Kuchipudi village in Krishna District of Andhra Pradesh, on 8-6-1919. from 5th year onwards, he started learning Kuchipudi dance and became a surprise item in many shows and stage dramas. At the age of 9 years he was married to his Maternal cousin. He entered films as an actor and Choreographer in 1937. But from 1949 he changed over to production and Direction. In next 20 years, he directed 30 Telugu and Tamil films plus 2 Hindi films- Suvarna Sundari-58 and Jadoo Nagari-72. His film Devdas-53 was considered as his Best film. He died at the age of only 52 years on 18-11-1971. He received several awards and honours as a Kuchipudi Dancer.
Out of the 14 songs of Suvarn Sundari-58, only 3 songs are discussed on the Blog. Today’s song is the 4th song. The video shows a song coupled with the naughty activities of comedians, small time Thugs in the film, Agha, Mukri and Radha Kishen. Radha Kishen was a comedian with a peculiar style of talking and speaking in a voice that distinguished him from others. I still remember his funny role in film ‘ New Delhi’-1956.
Radha Kishen (Mehra) was born on 13-6-1915 in Delhi. He was a good writer and wanted a job as a writer in films. V.Shantaram, however, offered him a job as an actor in Prabhat. His first role was that of a villain in film ‘ Padosi ‘-41. It was here that he became very friendly with writer Pt. Mukhram Sharma, who helped him by creating special roles for him in the scripts that he wrote. Radhakishen played the roles of a miser to perfection. He became a regular with P.L.Santoshi in films like Shehnai, Sargam, Apni Chhaya etc.
His biggest role as a comedian which brought him to limelight was in film New Delhi-56. He played important roles in Begunah and Naya Daur also. Changing over to comic villain’s role in Parvarish-58, he was equally effective. In Sadhana-58 he was a crafty neighbour and in Chhoti Behan-59, he was a greedy trader. Being a writer himself, he would get effective and ironic dialogues.
At the height of his career, he became a Producer with Amar Rahen ye pyar-61. Because of kavi Pradeep’s left wing songs, the film was held up by Censors for a long time and when finally it was released, it flopped miserably. Before that itself, due to heavy losses, mounting debts and a failed Love affair, Radhakishen committed suicide by jumping to death from the fourth floor terrace of his building, on 18th March 1960. He died after his film Ek ke baad ek-60 was completed. Its Producer Raj Rishi, who was his close friend,put an obituary message in the film’s credits as ” This picture is respectfully dedicated to the fond memories of my friend and great artiste Radhakishen, who is no more with us “.
Same year in May 1960, the well known Distributor Tarachand Barjatya announced a Trophy in the name of Radhakishen, to be given to the Best Comedian of the Year. This is probably the only Trophy of its type in the film industry.
Here is a comedy song video from the film Suvarna Sundari-58. Enjoy….
Song-Raam naam japna paraaya maal apna (Suvarna Sundari)(1958) Singer- Rafi, Lyrics- Bharat Vyas, MD- Adi Narayan Rao
Chorus
Lyrics
arre ajgar kare na chaakri
bhai panchhi kare na kaam
o o o
hum kaahe khat-pat karen
o o
o o o
jab sab ke daata raam
arre raam naam
raam naam
raam naam japna
paraaya maal apna
paraaya maal apna
ho o o
raam naam japna re
raam naam japna
paraaya maal apna ho
hoy
raam naam japna re
raam naam japna
paraaya maal apna
ho ho ho
raam naam japna re
raam naam japna
paraaya maal apna ho o
ho o o
o o o
seedhi ungli ghee na nikle
sun re o anjaane
oye
sun re o anjaane
arre seedhi ungli ghee na nikle
sun re o anjaane
oye jiski laathhi bhains usi ki
keh gaye log sayaane
hoy keh gaye log sayaane
ye bol bade anmol
bhai sach kaha
ye bol bade anmol baawre
man ki ghundi khol khol
bhai raam naam
raam naam
raam naam japna
paraaya maal apna
paraaya maal apna ho
o o
raam naam japna re
raam naam japna
paraaya maal apna ho
arre ho
o o o
ikdam tikdam
tikadtikadbam
ikdam tikdam laga ke saari
duniya bas mein kar le
o duniya bas mein kar le
aha
o ikdam tikdam laga ke
saari duniya bas mein kar le
oye jhoothh bol chaahe loot maar kar
apna khazaana bhar le
phataaphat
apna khazaana bhar le
jag dhokhe ki deewaar
beta sach kaha
o jag dhokhe ki deewaar
yaar tu apna mauka maar maar
bhai raam naam
ho raam raam
raam naam japna
paraaya maal apna
paraaya maal apna ho
o o
raam naam japna re
raam nam japna
paraaya maal apna ho
oye
raam naam japna re
raam naam japna
paraaya maal apna ho
o o
raam naam japna re
raam naam japna
paraaya maal apna ho o
Aisa to kabhi mumkin hi nahin
Posted on: December 24, 2018
This article is written by Raja, 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 : | 3811 | Post No. : | 14807 |
After yet another hiatus of a few months, I am back on the blog today (24 december 2018).
And I’m sure most people who know me here, will know why. 🙂
Yes, it is that big day for Hindi film music lovers all around the world today – it is the birth anniversary of Mohammad Rafi, or, as he is affectionately and reverentially referred to by many, Rafisaab.
And while I might miss out on writing on any other anniversary on this blog, this is one date I try my best to never miss. As I’ve said many times before, this is my very small, entirely insignificant, way of saying “thank you” to the person who has given me countless hours of happiness in my life.
Different people derive happiness from different things. For me, music has always been a core part of my existence for as long as I can remember. I often have a song on my lips – often sub-consciously. This has occasionally led to embarrassing situations but thankfully it has never affected my love or passion for music. And I think I’m in very good company on this one – there are so many people out there for whom music is an integral part of their daily lives.
This is also one big reason we are all here together on this blog. HFM lovers, from all parts of the world, in all age-groups, sharing their love for HFM.
And when we talk of HFM, especially during its golden age, it’s hard not to talk of Rafisaab.
This is why I write tributes to him at least twice a year. On his death anniversary, and on his birth anniversary. I do write about him on other occasions too, but if I miss out on either of these occasions, I feel I’m letting him down. For all that he has given me, can’t I even write a few words on these specific occasions to pay tribute to him?
So here I am today.
Now, what should I write?
I’ve written many posts here on Rafisaab and discussed my feelings about him. About his songs, his personality, how he managed to break in and find a special place in my heart and my life, at a time when Kishore Kumar was absolutely king. There’s nothing more I can write that will not be a repetition.
Yet, the sheer joy of writing about Rafisaab is so exhilarating that, at the risk of boring readers, I will share a few thoughts.
After all, when I watch videos of Jeetendra narrating his now-famous Deedar-e-Yaar experience with Rafisaab, or Shammi Kapoor narrating his “aasmaan se aaya farishta” story about Rafisaab, or SP Balasubramaniam talking about “deewana hua baadal”, I enjoy listening to these stories every single time. I know the stories inside out by now, but the passion and love with which these stories are narrated, is itself special for me.
It would surprise no one if I said that, as an early-1970s boy, the one male singer who was my universe at that time was Kishore Kumar. In those days I’d often listen to “current songs” – and naturally that meant his songs were playing everywhere, on every single radio programme, every single day.
Other singers like Mukesh and Manna Dey (and even Rafisaab) would also figure but almost like an exception. Kishore’s was easily THE most dominant male voice of the time.
I was very fond of Kishore Kumar – in my classroom in school, my friends would all invariably sing the latest Kishore songs.
Then one day, I think it was the afternoon 1.00-1.30 programme (I don’t remember its name), I happened to listen to an old song.
At that time I had only vaguely heard of that song. So I knew a few lines but I’d never heard its rendition before.
What was this song! What was this voice! Who was this singer!
I stood transfixed. Rongte khade ho gaye.
I knew it wasn’t Kishore. And when the announcer said “abhi aapne Mohammad Rafi ko film Baiju Baawra mein sunaa”, I realized that in my universe, the one where Kishore Kumar had until then occupied almost complete mindspace, I’d have to made room for another voice.
It wasn’t as if I hadn’t heard Rafisaab songs till then. Of course I had. But my mind had been so full of Kishore, that every other voice had been drowned out in the process. Hey, I was still a young boy then, so not particularly discerning.
That song was “o duniya ke rakhwaale”.
How I wanted to hold on to that song! To listen to it again. And again.
From the initial “bhagwaan” to the “rakhwaale, rakhwaale”, I didn’t know what hit me. The highs and lows, the peaking and the ebbing, the modulations, the way he sings “bhagwan” three times at the start – and each one is a different cry to God – there was no way this song was not going to make an impact on me.
Of course those were pre-internet days. I couldn’t just search for the song and play it again. ? And where I lived, I didn’t even have access to a music store – nor would I have been able to buy a cassette even if I’d wanted to.
At that time I could only hope that I’d get to listen to the song again. In fact, that was how things were in those days. You’d listen to a song, love it – and then hope it would come in a farmaish again. 🙂
From that moment onwards, I became a keen Rafisaab listener. I am sure the same songs that I might not have paid attention to earlier, suddenly began speaking to me. I distinctly remember songs like “suhaani raat dhal chuki” (a Vividh Bharati favourite 🙂 ) , “parbaton ke pedon par”, “ek dil ke tukde hazaar hue”, “ye teri saadgi”, amongst others.
Every single song I listened to, I fell in love with.
When I listened to “kar chale hum fida”, I had tears in my eyes. Many years later I saw the film but Kaifi Azmi’s lyrics, Madan Mohan’s music and Rafisaab’s voice – how can you remain impassive to that song?
When I listened to “jaane kya dhoondhti rehti hain”, it transported me to a different world. Again Kaifi Azmi’s lyrics are magical, and Rafisaab’s rendition elevates them to a different level altogether.
Another song I got to listen to, and was extremely fond of at that time (I still am!), was “karwaan guzar gaya”. I’ve always had a soft corner for good lyrics – and Neeraj’s lyrics, even by his high standards, are just amazing in this one.
I can reel off many more songs that I listened to – each one only further confirming to me that while Rafisaab might have had a decline in the early 70s, to even suggest that he was in any manner a lesser singer than Kishore Kumar was sheer lack of understanding of music.
My paternal grandmother, who didn’t know a word of Hindi, and didn’t know who Kishore Kumar or Rafisaab were, clearly had a discerning ear. We had a cassette of Abhimaan at home – it would play a lot. It would start with “meet na mila”, and while every song in the film is a gem in its own right, she’d always tell me to play THAT song. Yes, “teri bindiya re” – which is one of my favourite songs of the 1970s.
So this is how Rafisaab managed to break into my Kishore Kumar-dominated young mind. 🙂
And since then he has a permanent and very special place in my mind and heart. In my younger days I didn’t have access to much music other than via radio – now of course it has all changed. I spend hours listening to music, many of these hours listening to Rafisaab. No particular song or playlist – just randomly listening to his songs, one after another. One moment it could be “mere mehboob tujhe”, the next “tumhaari zulf ke saaye mein shaam”, the next “aye gulbadan”. Just listening to his voice gives me so much joy – just the way he joins in in “awaaz deke hamen tum bulao” is special for me. And the way he joins in the middle of “deewana mastaana hua dil” – it’s just so awesome!
So there’s the singer Rafisaab for me.
But my post would be incomplete if I limited it to just Rafisaab’s singing.
What makes him so much more special for me is the person he was. Obviously I never got to meet him, so this is secondhand, but there isn’t a single person who knew Rafisaab, who does not vouch for what a great human being he was. It wasn’t just his soft-spoken nature, he was kindness and generosity personified. He could easily have put on airs, he could have demanded a ransom price, such was his stature and such was the demand for his voice. Yet he was made of a different stock – “kuchh aur mitti ke hi baney the”. There wasn’t a single trace of arrogance or greed in him.
Rafisaab did not hesitate to work with upcoming composers, giving them hits in the process. He knew their financial position and would even refuse to take more than just a token from them. Throughout his career, he believed that whatever he had achieved was due to the grace of God – he would often point upwards when someone praised his singing.
No wonder then that Rafisaab is remembered today not just for his voice but also for the person he was. How often do you come across a person like this?
No wonder that on his death, crowds thronged the streets of Bombay to pay respect to him. This, despite pouring rain.
Is it any wonder that I am such a big fan of Rafisaab? And I can safely say there are many who are much bigger fans of him – main to kuchh bhi nahin.
Now onto the song for today.
It is a special occasion – so I’ve picked a song that I heard for the first time today.
I wanted to pick a song from Rafisaab’s supposedly “lean” period. For some reason, this period fascinates me. I’ve always supported the underdog – so if someone tells me that a particular singer had a bad patch in a particular phase of his career, there’s a good chance I’ll listen to songs of that singer in that particular phase. 🙂 It’s just the way my mind works.
I fell in love with this song the first time I heard it today.
It has trademark Rafisaab elements in it – and is a pleasant song to listen to. I didn’t want a sad song for the occasion, after all it’s his birth anniversary.
It’s from a film, Gunaah Aur Kanoon (1970). I have no clue about the film but going by the name, it sounds a bit like Crime and Punishment. 🙂
The song itself is definitely worth a listen. Music is by Sapan Jagmohan, who might not have been in the top rung of composers, but have created quite a few memorable tunes of their own.
I hope you enjoy this song as much as I did while listening to it the first time. I have already listened to it a few times now. 🙂
Song-Aisa to kabhi mumkin hi nahin(Gunaah Aur Kanoon) (1970) Singer-Mohammad Rafi, Lyrics-Anwar Farrukhabadi, MD-Sapan Jagmohan
Lyrics
Aisa to kabhi mumkin hi nahin
Aisa to kabhi mumkin hi nahin
Mil jaaye nazar aur pyaar na ho
Mil jaaye nazar aur pyaar na ho
Jo baat janam le le dil mein
Jo baat janam le le dil mein
Us baat ka kyun izhaar na ho
Us baat ka kyun izhaar na ho
Aisa to kabhi mumkin hi nahin
Maana ke jawaani hai aayi
tauba
Ye nasheeli angdaayi ee ee
Maana ke jawaani hai aayi
Tauba ye nasheeli angdaayi
Thham thham ke baras ae shokh ghata
Thham thham ke baras ae shokh ghata
Jazbaat ki hadd se paar na ho
Jazbaat ki hadd se paar na ho
Aisa to kabhi mumkin hi nahin
Ye shaam ki surkhi gaalon par
Haaye
Ye raat ka aanchal baalon par r
Ye shaam ki surkhi gaalon par
Ye raat ka aanchal baalon par
Pad jaaye nazar tujh par jiski
Haaye pad jaaye nazar tujh par jiski
Kaise wo tera beemaar na ho
Kaise wo tera beemaar na ho
Aisa to kabhi mumkin hi nahin
Aisa to kabhi mumkin hi nahin
Mil jaaye nazar aur pyaar na ho
Mil jaaye nazar aur pyaar na ho
Aisa to kabhi mumkin hi nahin
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.
| Blog Day : | 3784 | Post No. : | 14767 |
“Dharma”(1973) was directed by Chaand for Kapoor Films Bombay. This “social” movie had Naaveen Nischol, Rekha, Pran, Bindu, Ajeet, Ramesh Deo, Madan Puri, Faryal, Anjali Kadam, Paro, Asit Sen, Mohan Choti, Jayshree T, Rajan Haksar, Sonia Sahni etc in it.
The lead pair, the lyricist as well as the music directors are same as that of “Saawan Bhaado”(1970), so it appears to me that the makers of this movie had signed them up hoping to replicate the success of “Saawan Bhaado”(1970).
“Dharma”(1973) had four songs in it. Three of these songs have been covered in the past. Here are the details of these three songs from the movie:-
|
Song Title |
Post No. |
Post Date |
| Raaz ki baat kah doon to | 1325 | 21-May-09 |
| Main teri gunahgaar hoon | 8339 | 13-Jul-13 |
| Arre saaqi jo kal ki hai bachi baaqi | 14501 | 18-Jul-18 |
Here is the fourth and final song from “Dharma”(1973) to appear in the blog. The song is a teasing song along the lines of “Saawan Bhaado”(1970) song Kaan mein jhumka chaal me thumka.
The song is sung by Rafi. Verma Malik is the lyricist. Music is composed by Sonik Omi. Exactly the same musical team as “Saawan Bhaado”(1970). The song is picturised on the same actors as well, viz on Navin Nischol and Rekha.
I have provided the audio as well as video link of the song. There is slight variation in the lyrics of the two versions in the last stanza.
With this song, “Dharma”(1973) joins the list of movies that have all their songs covered in the blog.
Video
Audio
Song-Na satrah se oopar na solah se kam (Dharma)(1973) Singer-Rafi, Lyrics-Verma Malik, MD-Sonik Omi
Lyrics
sada itni umar teri rahe o sanam
haan aan aan
na satrah se ooper na solah se kam
na satrah se ooper na solah se kam
issi umr mein dhaate jaao sitam
o o o
na satrah se
na satrah se ooper na solah se kam
na satrah se ooper na solah se kam
surhk honthon pe til ye suhaana hai
jaise kaliyon pe shabnam ka daana hai
haaye
surhk honthon pe til ye suhaana hai
jaise kaliyon pe shabnam ka daana hai
ye shabaab hai haaye ya gulaab hai
hisaab koi nahin
ye to behisaab hai
hamesha raho tum
khuda ki kasam
haaye haaye haaye haaye
na satrah se
na satrah se ooper na solah se kam
na satrah se ooper na solah se kam
tum yoon hi apne jalwe lutaate raho
aur kaleje pe chhuriyaan chalaate raho
haaye
tum yoon hi apne jalwe lutaate raho
aur kaleje pe chhuriyaan chalaate raho
o laajawaab ho ya koi khwaab ho
nigaah tik na sake jispe tum wo shabaab ho
mubaarak jawaani ka pehla kadam
oy hoy hoy hoy
na satrah se
na satrah se ooper na solah se kam
na satrah se ooper na solah se kam
sada itni umer teri rahe o sanam
o haay haay haay
na satrah se ooper na solah se kam
na satrah se ooper na solah se kam
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 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.
| Blog Day : | 3754 | Post No. : | 14719 |
Today’s song is the 3rd song from film Oonchi Haveli-55 to be discussed in the Blog. For the last 6-7 months, I have been discussing songs mostly from the decades of the 1930s and the 1940s. The last song from the 1950s that I discussed was on 3-3-2018, which for me was the 5th song from the decade of 1950s in this year. Looking back, I find that I had discussed a song from 1994 also in this year. Good songs, to whatever year they belong to, are my favourites. The only regret is that such songs have become few and far between. Good and meaningful Lyrics is another thing which has become scarce.
Today’s song is sung by Rafi. I strongly believe that God had given at least 10 different voices to this divine singer ! His special voice and style changed to suit the lip syncer on the screen and the song situation. His voice for Dilip Kumar was never the same as one he used for Johnny Walker.
Rafi came from a poor and humble background and had to struggle very hard to enter, sustain and reach the heights in Hindi Film Music. We all know that he came from a poor family but how his early life was spent is not known to many.
Punjab must be proud that two of its sons ruled Hindi cinema music for the first 50 years of its existence, which also happened to be its golden era. initially it was Saigal from 1933 to 1947 and then Mohd. Rafi-as if the baton was handed over by one statemate to another. Both started with humble beginnings and struggled hard to win their places in the History. Saigal, however, had less competition, but then the industry was also smaller. In case of Rafi, the competition was greater, but then the industry had also grown manifolds.
Born into a lower middle class Muslim family belonging to a non descript village in Punjab in 1924, Rafi did not have much education. It was confined to reading and writing in Urdu in Persian script. A little bit of multiplication, and his education was over. In leisure time, Rafi would take his and friends’ cattles for grazing- singing songs all the day.
Rafi did not have exposure to Radio until the beginning of Lahore Radio station in 1937. Of course wealthy people had their gramophones and he would listen to Indubala and Kamla Jharia songs coming from the Havelis and in the Bazaar area. Rafi sang many folk songs.
His father decided to shift to Lahore- 50 miles away, for better earning. Like most Amritsaris, he too was an expert in cooking. He opened a Dhaba and soon did well. Later on he called Rafi to Lahore in 1941 Rafi got a job in a Hair cutting saloon. Whole day he would do people’s shaving, while singing songs. His customers were happy. One day, Programme Director of Lahore A.I.R. Mr. Jeewan lal Mattoo was passing by and he heard Rafi’s singing. Impressed with his enchanting voice, sweetness,range and tonal quality, he shocked Rafi with his offer. Rafi gave his audition next day and passed with flying colours. From March 1943, Mohd.Rafi became a Radio singer, at 35 rupees per song. ( six months later Surinder kaur also joined Lahore Radio).
After hearing his voice on Radio, Music Director Shyam sunder called him to sing in his Punjabi film ” Gul Baloch”. Before coming to Lahore, Rafi was married to his cousin, but his Father in law had told him that his wife will join him only after he starts earning decently. Even after that single song in a film, Rafi continued his shaving job in the saloon. Meanwhile Mr. Mattoo helped him to learn classical music. Also Master Inayat Hussain gave him training. Another teacher was Budh Singh Taan. Noorjehan, Umrao Zia and Zeenat begum were seniors to Rafi in Lahore, but they knew each others. He took training from Bhai Samund Singh and Bhai Santa Singh of local Gurudwaras. Rafi was a saintly person and a true Namazi, doing 5 times Namaz daily.
Rafi’s wife came to him after he became a Radio artiste. He had a large friends circle, who used to gather in his house. There were many Hindi and Punjabi films made in Lahore, but none of the composers thought of Rafi as a singer. Pt. Amarnath and Ghulam Hyder liked his voice and knew his talent. While shifting to Bombay, Ghulam Hyder invited Rafi to join him. Even from Bombay he sent him 2 calls. Finally on his second call, Rafi decided to shift to Bombay, lock stock and barrel, in 1945. In Bombay, till Jugnu-47 happened, Rafi sang few songs in films, but he made his living by singing in private Mehfils of wealthy Punjabis of Bombay.
Story of Rafi after Jugnu-47 is known widely. I just wanted to highlight his less known early days, before coming to Bombay. Some of this information is used from an article by H.S.Aujla in Apnaorg.
May be, because of his humble background and a struggle before he succeeded, he always had a soft corner for struggling composers. Unlike some other famous singers, he was always ready to help such composers, even if the money offered was below par. During his peak period also, poor B and C grade composers could approach Rafi with a request to sing their songs and Rafi rarely disappointed them.
Nissar Baazmi later went to Pakistan and became a big composer. Even Noorjehan and Mehdi Hassan considered it an honour to sing for him in Pakistan. As long as Nissar Baazmi was in India, he somehow remained a C-grade composer. And at the time he did Khoj, he was a nobody.
It was as a nobody in HFM that Baazmi approached Rafi to sing for the rendition of a composition for “Khoj”. He could only afford to pay Rs 50 to Rafi. Rafi charged Baazmi just the token Re 1. The result- Chanda ka dil toot gaya roney lage hain sitaare Just the shot in the arm that a struggling music director, as well as the lyricist (Raja Mehdi ali Khan) could have dreamed of !
Pandit Shivram was a small time composer as well. He too had only Rs 50 to offer Rafi for singing a song. In return, Rafi offered him as well as the music lovers this priceless song Daulat ke jhoothhe nashe mein ho choor (Oonchi Haweli)(1955) .
Rafi left his mark even in movies where Talat Mehmood was the main singer and Rafi got to sing sung one song. Take for instance Ghulam Mohammad composition Hai bas ki har ek unke ishare mein nishaan aur (Mirza Ghalib), S D Burman’s Manzil ki chaah mein (Devdas).
How Rafi could hold his own for a composer where other singers had given their best for him is tellingly illustrated in case of songs composed by Baabul. Manna Dey had sung two superb duets in in Reshmi Roomal, viz. Zulfon ki ghataa lekar saawan ki pari aayi (with Asha Bhonsle) and Aankh mein shokhi lab pe tabassum (with Suman Kalyanpur) . This movie also boasted the Talat Mehmood timeless classic Jab chaaye kabhi saawan ki ghata(Reshmi Roomaal)(1961). Mukesh too added his mite Reshmi Roomal through Gardish mein hon taare na ghabraanaa pyaare (Reshmi Roomaal) .
Next movie that Baabul got was “Naqli Nawaab” where the same hero Majoj Kumar was to lip sync the songs. Despite recording such awesome male playback songs in his previous movie, Babul switched to Rafi in “Naqli Nawaab”. Rafi was paid Rs 200 for this movie. The timeless classics that Rafi came up with were- Tum poochhte ho ishq balaa hai ke nahin hai (Naqli Nawaab) and Chheda jo dil ka fasaanaa( Naqli Nawaab) .
If Rafi’s created gems for Babul did the same for Babul’s erstwhile partner Bipin as well ! For Bipin Datta, Rafi sang Ye Bombay shahar ka badaa naam hai (Kya ye Bombay hai ?)
If music director Dulaal Sen is remembered today, then it is thanks to one “Black Prince”(1960) Rafi solo song viz. Nigaahein na phero chaley jaayenge ham (Black prince) .
C Arjun much later, told that he felt very proud that he had at least created a ghazal that could come somewhere near a Madan Mohan composition. I wanted special attention to this my coveted ghazal from my singer but all good singers available were bigger than the film for which I had composed it! revealed Arjun. It was with great hesitation, therefore, that I approached Rafi Saab to render my ghazal, so feelingly written by Indivar. And Rafi Saab, without bothering about the small payment we were in a position to make, said it was one of the best ghazals that had fallen to his lot and he would give it everything that he had.not ready to sing for a small time music director in a B grade movie. Rafi had no such qualms. He obliged C Arjun and came up with a rendition that ensured that this ghazal even till date in bracketed among the best ghazals of Hindi movies. This ghazal with Madan Mohanesque quality was Paas baitho tabeeyat bahal jaayegi (Punar Milan) .
Lala-Asad-Sattar three instrumentalists turned struggling music directors could get Rafi to sing for them and Rafi did what he always did- provided A grade song in a B grade movie-Main to tere haseen khayaalon mein kho gayaa (Sangram) .
Sapan Jagmohan made their debut as a music director duo with “Begaana”(1962). A good blueprint that the music director duo had created was converted into a memorable masterpiece by Rafi-Phir wo bhooli si yaad aayi hai(Begaana)(1963).
We have had many A grade compositions in B and C grade movies. A good number of such compositions are in Rafi’s voice and they came about because Rafi would put art before commerce and would sing for pittance no matter how “small” a movie or its music directors were. That is how we got Iqbal Quraishi’s composition Subah na aayi shaam na aayi(Cha Cha Cha) and Sonik-Omi offering Dono ne kiya tha pyaar magar(Mahua)(1969).
The Rafi touch could turn any disc into gold! The above information is based partly on an article written by Raju Bharatan for The Illustrated Weekly of India, Aug 93.
The music Director for film Oonchi Haveli-55 was Shivram or Pt. Shivram Krishna. He was one of those composers who could not get very famous, though he composed very well. Pt. Shivram Krishna was born at Jodhpur on March 22, 1927. He started learning music at the age of 8 under the tutelage of his father Master Tulsidas, who worked with Marwar Record Company, Jodhpur from 1934 onwards. He was later employed in the court of the Maharaja of Jodhpur, Umed Singh as a singer/musician. It was the name and fame of Khemchand Prakash that inspired him to try his luck in films. At the age of 16, he went to Lahore where he worked under Pandit Amarnath and Master Ghulam Haider for around three years, only to return to Jodhpur at the time of partition. From the year 1948 till 1950 he worked as a music director with His Masters Voice in Lucknow, and then made his way to Mumbai in 1951.
At Mumbai, Pt. Shivram was given his first break by V. Shantaram, who signed him for two of his films – Teen Batti Chaar Raasta (1953) and Surang (1953). The music of both the films was appreciated and the films became silver jubilee hits. Besides these, V. Shantaram gave him two more films in 1960 – ‘Phool Aur Kaliyan’ and ‘Kaale Gore’, the first winning the National Award for Best Children film, while the second remained unreleased. He used the voices of V. Shantaram’s daughters Charusheela and Madhura in children’s films.
Following the success of his initial films, Pt. Shivram caught the attention of Dhirubhai Desai and Nakhshab Jarchavi, who signed him for their next films, Oonchi Haveli (1955) and Raftaar (1955) respectively. The songs of these two films were also quite successful. Then came Sati Ansuya (1956), another film by Dhirubhai Desai that started the trend and literally sealed his fate as a composer of mythological films. Barring Naya Kadam (1958), a social drama, and Rangeela Raja (1960), a stunt film, and the two children films by V. Shantaram, all the films he got after Sati Ansuya were religious/ mythological films. In all, out of the 23 films he composed for, as many as 14 were religious/ mythological films.
Despite composing some good songs for these films, the success he got with his initial films could not be repeated given the limited popularity of such films and similarity in the genre of songs. Barring a few songs from Shravan Kuman (1960), Kan Kan Mein Bhagwan (1963) and Sati Naari (1965), most of the songs are all but forgotten. ‘Tum Naacho Ras Barse’ by Mahendra Kapoor in Sati Naari fetched Pt. Shivram the Swami Haridas Award in 1966.
The last two Hindi films of Pt. Shivram were Sampoorna Teerth Yatra (1970) and Mahapavan Teerth Yatra (1975), both of which have the unique distinction of featuring what could be the longest Hindi film songs, running 45 and 70 minutes respectively. Both these songs were about the various places of pilgrimage in India and were almost similar in tune and structure. Interestingly, he had also composed two more songs on similar lines in Durga Pooja (1962) and Kan Kan Mein Bhagwan (1963).
Pandit Shivram gave music for various regional languages such as Rajasthani, Bhojpuri, Punjabi, Haryanvi, etc. He was the default composer for Rajasthani films all through the 1960s, starting with the first Rajasthani film Babasa Ri Ladli (1961). He also composed for several Marwari and classical music non-film albums. As a proficient Harmonium player, he teamed with table-nawaaz Ustaad Nizamuddin Khan to produce a classical album. Pandit Shivram was as good a vocal artist as he was a harmonium player. He sang in films like Oonchi Haveli, Rangeela Raja, Sati Ansuya, Badrinath Yatra, etc.
The lyricists Pt. Shivram worked with, were more or less decided by the films he worked in. While he worked with the likes of Asad Bhopali, Shevan Rizvi, Pyare Lal Santoshi, Nakhshab Jarchavi, etc. in his non-mythological films, predominantly ‘Hindi’ writers like Bharat Vyas, Kavi Pradeep, Neeraj, Madan Bharti and Pt. Indra wrote for his mythological films. Pt. Indra and Bharat Vyas were his prime contributors for Rajasthani films.
Pandit Shivram died in February 1980 leaving behind a family of musicians. His daughter Jayshree Shivram is a singer. Two of his sons, Jugal Kishore and Tilak Raj jointly composed for a few Hindi films, debuting with Bheegi Palkein (1983). His third son, Naveen Shivram had started his musical career with giving music for the serial Apnapan in 1999 and went to compose for a few small time Hindi films and some Rajasthani film and non-film albums as well. Another son, Mukesh, was also a composer and is no more. ( Information on Shivram, based on urgetofly.com and my notes.)
Now, here is a fun song from this film, sung by Rafi and chorus. Though Asha Bhosle’s name is also credited, I did not find any female voice in the song.
PS-Now Sadanand Kamath Jee has pointed out that this song is a two part song and Asha Bhonsle’s voice does appear in the second part of the song. So this song is a Rafi-Asha Bhonsle duet, after all.
Song- Baap gaaye Thumri aur Garba gaaye Maiyya (Oonchi Haweli)(1955)Singer- Rafi, Asha Bhonsle, Lyrics- Bharat Vyas, MD- Pt Shivram
chorus
Lyrics
baap gaaye thumri aur garba gaaye maiyya
jab aangna mein raas rachaenge ye rupaiya
ye chaandi ka kanhaiya ho chhan chhan chhan rupaiya
bhabhi gaaye bhim palaasi drupad gaaye bhaiya
jab aangana mein raas rachaenge rupaiya
ye chaandi ka kanhaiya ho chhan chhan chhan rupaiya
gol gol ye nagad narayan hove jiske paas
wo saare aalam ka baalam sab jan uske saath
ki duniya naak ragadti
ke duniya kaan pakadti
ki duniya jhuk jhuk kare salaam
baabuji parnaam
saahab ji salaam
seth ji raam raam raam raam raam
dekh ke saari duniya naache ta ta ta ta thhaiya
jab aangana mein raas rachaenge ye rupaiya
ye chaandi ka kanhiya ho chhan chhan chhan rupaiya
naram naram duniya laage jab garam garam ho jeb
rupaiye ki jhankaar mein bhaiya chhup jaate sab aeb
achcha
haha
zara dekh lo
ek hai saabat ek hai gaayab
ek khuli hai ek hoon hoon hoon
jaane saara gaam inko jaane saara gaam
par laxmi ki kirpa se inka kamalnayan hai naam
arre inka kamalnaian hai naam
ghuti hui hai khopadi
ghuti hui hai khopadi
par paas hai inke rokadi
safaachat sab baal uden
ye ganju ji ganjan hain
paisa inki aankh ka anjan
daanton ka manjan hai
par jeb kare jham jham to
inka naam keshranjan hai
ae bhaiyya inka naam keshranjan hai
ye kaaghji jawaan seena taan ke khade hue
ye laxmi ki duniya mein heere moti se jade huye
aa aa aa aa aa
dehradun ke cartoon
ye mahlon mein rahte
unchi haweli mein rahte
isiliye sab basti waale hastimal kahte
arre inko hastimal kahte
ke moorakh kahlaaye gyaani
ke phoohad kahlaaye raani
ki cheeku kahlaaye daani
ki ye sab rupye ki maaya
arey bhai waah waah waah waah waah
hoy besuri lugaayi bhi kahlaati hai suraiya
jab aangna mein raas rachaenge ye rupaiya
ye chaandi ka kanhaiya ho chhan chhan chhan rupaiya
o jee o jee
aji aao jee
main teri nayi naweli naar
tu mera albela bhataar
kiya sab tere liye singaar
aji aa jee
ho ho ho ho
kaho meri kaisi ankhadiyaan
ke jaise gulaab ki pankhadiyaan
daant ki kaisi jyoti hai
seep mein jaise moti hain
seep mein jaise moti hain
aur mere sar ke kaise baal
aji in ne to kiya kamaal
ke jaise saawan ke baadal
ke jaise bhanwron ka ho dal
ke jaise nainon ka kaajal
haay re wai wai wai wai wai
meethe meethhe lagte hon jo panchhi se baraiyya
kab
jab aangna mein raas rachaaye re rupaiyya
ye chaandi ka kanhiya ho chhan chhan chhan rupaiya
baap gaaye thumri aur garba gaaye maiyya
jab aangna mein raas rachaenge ye rupaiya
ye chaandi ka kanhaiya ho chhan chhan chhan rupaiya
aa aa aa aa aa
aa aa aa
maine laakhon ke bol sahe
chaandi ke chanda
haay re baandi ke banda
haaye re phaansi ke phanda
tere liye ae
maine laakhon ke bol sahe
saajan aaya hey sakhi
ee ee ee ee ee
waah waah waah
haan
kai manuhaar karo
thhal bhara gaz motiyaan aan
aur ooper nain dhara aa aa aa aa aa aa
ho chaandi ke chanda
haaye re baandi ke banda
haaye re phaansi ka phanda
tere liye ae
maine laakhon ke bol sahe
ikanni duwanni
chawanni athhanni
ikanni duwanni
chawanni athhanni
chhote mote maap hain
ki chhote mote maap hainhe
ye hain baal bachche iske
rupaiyya inka baap hai
rupaiyya inka baap hai
is kaljug ki duniya mein paar laage tab hi naiyya
jab aangna mein raas rachaenge ye rupaiya
ye chaandi ka kanhaiya ho chhan chhan chhan rupaiya
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.
| Blog Day : | 3743 | Post No. : | 14700 |
Those who have followed cricket for as long as I have, old time cricket followers may recall that test cricket centuries used to be quite rare. One test Indian batsman managed to score one test century in one test series then it waas considered a major cricketing achievement. One Indian cricketer scoring more than one test century in a test series was a rarity. It was quite a rarity indeed when Sunil Gavaskar scored as many as four test centuries in one test series, and that too his debut series.
It was three years later that Gavaskar would score his next test century in 1974. After that he did not look back snce and went on to make a record breaking 34 test centuries. Subsequently we have another little master, namely Sachin Tendulkar who rewrote that hrecord by scoring more than 50 test centuries and more than one hundred internationa centuries.
In olden days, we often found batsmen batting quite slowly and taking almost one full day to score a century. Mudassar Nazar of Pakistan took 557 minutes to score a test century in 1977-78 against England. He faced 419 balls to reach his century. In contrast, we had someone like Virender Sehwag who scored a triple century against South Africa in 278 deliveries.
We in this blog also regularly score centuries of posts. We have had 146 such centuries so far. quite a few of these centuries have been Sehwag like when 100 posts were completed in 16 days or even less. Such fast centuries have been described as Sehwag like by our regulars- such as Raja.
On the other end of the scale, sometimes our centuries have been painfully slow, like Chris Tavare or Mudassar Nazar. We “fondly” remember both because they often found it easy to showcase their “talent” against India.
This post is the 14700th song post for the blog or in other words this post marks the 147th century for the blog. This century has come at a Mudassar Nazar like rate. It has taken us as many as 53 days to reach this century.
This song is a rare song from “Fariyaadi”(1953).
“Fariyaadi”(1953) was produced and directed by Habib Sarhadi for Habib Productions, Bombay. This “social” movie had Rehman, Shakuntala, Mirza Musharraf, Wazir Mohammad Khan, Ramesh Thakkar, Parvati Devi, H Prakash, Devraj, Sadiq, Krishn, Chaandni, Qamar, Jankidas, Shanta Kunwar, Manju, Minni etc in it.
The movie had eight songs in it. Two songs from the movie has been covered in the past.
This song, the third song from “Fariyaadi”(1953) to appear in the blog is sung by Rafi. Muzaffar Orkazai is the lyricist. Music is composed by B N Bali.
This song is a rare song, that few people may have heard before. And we have chosen this song as the 14700thsong for a special reason. This song happens to be the 29th century of Rafi in the blog. In other words, Rafi now has as many as 2900 songs in the blog, just 100 songs short of the magical 3000 songs mark.
Instead of taking more time than what has already been consumed while reching this century, I decided to just get on with this century without much fanfare so that we can concentrate of future posts. So here is this post that combines blog century number 147 with Rafi century number 29.
So here we are, to yet another landmark, without much fanfare. I take this opportunity to thank one and all for their support and encouragement. We have come a long way and we still have lots of songs yet to be covered. This post gives us an opportunity to take fresh guard and get down to the task of covering more songs from the teasure of HFM.
Song-Jal jal ke shama ki tarah fariyaad na karna (Fariyaadi)(1953) Singer-Rafi, Lyrics-Muzaffar Orkazai, MD-B N Bali
Lyrics
Jal jal ke shama ki tarah fariyaad na karna
main yaad bhi aaun to mujhe yaad na karna
mushqil hai bahut pyaar ki duniya ko basaana
bedard zamaane ka tareeqa hai puraana
do pyaar bhare dil kabhi aabaad na karna
main yaad bhi aaun to mujhe yaad na karna
Jal jal ke shama ki tarah fariyaad na karna
main yaad bhi aaun to mujhe yaad na karna
aakaash ki choti pe mahal hamne banaaya
duniya se bahut door jahaan apna basaaya
kismat ne magar chaaha hamen shaad na karna
main yaad bhi aaun to mujhe yaad na karna
Jal jal ke shama ki tarah fariyaad na karna
main yaad bhi aaun to mujhe yaad na karna
ab apne khayaalon mein mujhe tum na basaana
bhoole se kabhi tum mere sapnon mein na aana
gar dil mein uthhe dard to fariyaad na karna
main yaad bhi aaun to mujhe yaad na karna
Jal jal ke shama ki tarah fariyaad na karna
main yaad bhi aaun to mujhe yaad na karna
Watan ki aabroo khatre mein hai
Posted on: August 15, 2018
- In: Devnagri script lyrics by Avinash Scrapwala | Guest posts | Lyrics by Avinash Scrapwala | Lyrics contributed by readers | NFS | patriotic NFS | Patriotic song | Post by Raja | Rafi NFS | Rafi solo | Rafi songs | Songs of 1960s (1961 to 1970) | Songs of 1962 | Yearwise breakup of songs
- 4 Comments
This article is written by Raja, 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 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.
| Blog Day : | 3680 | Post No. : | 14574 |
The 15th of August, is a special date in the calendar for India.
Every year, there are events across the country celebrating the day. There is flag-hoisting in schools, offices and public places. There are patriotic songs played on radio. There’s a lot more to mark the date and occasion.
All of this is understandable. After all, it was on the 15th of August that many years ago, India became an independent nation, free from British rule.
Today is the 72nd Independence Day for India. I still remember the Silver Jubilee celebrations in 1972 – I was part of my school March Past event. How time flies!
But there is more to this date than just celebration. It is an occasion that at least some of us use to reflect. On India’s journey as an independent nation so far. We take stock of where we are, and where we’d like to see us go from here.
I am sure there must be many articles written on this subject in various media publications this week. On our part, our Avinashji has sent me the lyrics for today’s song and requested me to share my thoughts on this occasion. I am therefore taking the liberty of doing so.
Whenever I think of 15th August, the first thing that comes to my mind is our Freedom Struggle and our Founding Fathers. Today we take our freedom for granted – it is hard to even imagine that we were once a colony of the British Empire.
But if it were not for the struggles and sacrifices of millions of Indians, from every corner of the country, would we have got independence when we did? We are familiar with some of the more prominent names who were part of this struggle. But there were so many more who made sacrifices, who gave up their lives for the cause – and died unsung.
I always think of them on 15th August.
Then the Founding Fathers themselves. Once India became an independent country, Britain left it to fend for itself. Can you imagine the challenges a new-born India would have faced at that time?
India was then a country reeling from the horrors of partition. Although there had been talk of partition for a while, the actual execution of the whole process was done very hastily, without enough attention to detail. Political lines were drawn to create India and Pakistan, but these were still being “negotiated”. Even on independence, many villages did not even know whether they belonged to India or Pakistan. And there were the tricky issues of princely states like Junagadh and Hyderabad. And there was Kashmir.
So things were very fluid on 15th August 1947, though technically India and Pakistan had both become independent nations.
The mass migration of millions across borders, with all the violence and pain that ensued – how can one ever forget that! People lost everything, their families, their possessions. Their entire life got uprooted as they became refugees in their new world.
Then, post independence, the massive task of bringing more than 565 princely states into the fold of one nation. How challenging was that! Some agreed to be part of India. Different tactics were needed to bring the others into the fold.
All this while communal harmony, already severely tested in the tense times leading upto the partition, was just about hanging by a thread. The partition exposed fault lines much more nakedly – there was resentment amongst Hindus in India for Muslims who had not migrated. And the other way round in Pakistan.
As we know, many Muslim artistes in the Hindi film industry even changed their names to Hindu-sounding names to avoid becoming targets of hatred, and to appeal to the largely Hindu audiences.
Such was the fragility of Indian communal harmony in the immediate aftermath of independence.
Talking of fragility, it was not only communal harmony that was fragile. Independent India had inherited unprecedented levels of poverty, exacerbated by partition woes. Its economy was in very bad shape. Poor living conditions meant disease was not uncommon. Added to this was a very high level of illiteracy and social backwardness in general.
Kashmir was still a burning issue, Gandhiji got assassinated.
The overall situation looked so bleak at one time that Life Magazine, in the late 1940s, even ran a story along the lines of “Will India survive?” Clearly the world was skeptical.
Thankfully, our Founding Fathers were not.
Even in the midst of all these seemingly insurmountable challenges, they stayed steadfast on course, buoyed by the exuberance of having a new baby to nurture and nourish. Yes, there were challenges – but, to them, these were teething troubles.
Despite differences amongst themselves (yes, they did have differences!), they were united on one thing – all of them had a dream of a strong, resilient, and free India. Their views on how to get there might have been different – Nehru might have had a socialist mindset, Rajaji a more capitalist mindset – but they shared this common dream.
This dream involved providing, for every Indian, a fair opportunity at life. A life of dignity. India would be a country where justice would be available to one and all. A country which had hitherto been suppressed, but whose peoples would now be able to breathe freely, not be enslaved to any thought. They would be free to pursue a religion of their choice. India would be a country whose people would feel a sense of fraternity towards each other, not be divided by regionalism, casteism, religion and other such divisive elements.
This dream got enshrined in the form of a Constitution for India. When India became a Republic on 26th January 1950, it further underlined the vision of the Founding Fathers – that there would be no monarchy in India, that there would be elected representatives, elected by the people. There’s a lot more in the Constitution – it lays down the terms of reference between organs of the State, separation of powers between the Executive, Legislature and Judiciary, it talks about fundamental rights and duties of citizens.
While there is always scope for improvement, and any document should be a living document kept in tune with the times, the Constitution of India does provide a great framework for the country. Without it, there would be utter chaos.
And for this Constitution too, we need to thank our Founding Fathers and their vision.
I know none of this is new to anyone – and I am rambling – but I do think that at least on Independence Day (if not on other days) we need to remind ourselves of how much struggle, sacrifice and effort went into first making India an independent nation, and then ensuring it survived against the greatest of odds.
Unless and until we appreciate the magnitude of the challenges that were faced and overcome at that time, we will not be able to value the freedom we have today.
So I hope you will excuse my rather long history lesson. 🙂 If there are any inaccuracies here, please do let me know. I’m happy to be corrected.
The song “hum laaye hain toofaan se kashti nikaal ke” comes to mind in this regard.
Now to today’s India. Let’s take stock of where we are.
We’ve come a long way from those early fragile years. Sure, we’re still not where we’d like to be, but we’re definitely not looking at an existential crisis.
Economically too we are far better off today. Although we still have millions below the poverty line, and many above it still struggling to make both ends meet, we are better off than the “independence” generation. Many of us will admit that our own fathers and forefathers had a much tougher life than we are having now.
Education levels have also significantly improved. I have doubts about the quality of education as I see many “highly-qualified” Indians unable to comprehend basics, completely lacking in logical or analytical thinking, lacking in life-skills, but that’s for another debate. Let’s just say, we have many millions more “educated” Indians today.
In many other areas, like tackling disease, or improving sanitation or road infrastructure, India is progressing. It’s a 71-year young nation now, one would expect nothing less.
So on the material front, I think India is on the right track. Still a long way to go, still a lot of poverty to eradicate, but I have hope.
My bigger concern is to do with freedom and independence. Not of India, but of Indians.
I happen to think India became free and independent on 15th August 1947 – but only in a political sense.
Indians are FAR from being free or independent, even today, 71 years later.
When Indians attained freedom from colonial rule, they expected to be able to lead their lives as free citizens. No more being slaves to anyone, no more being treated like third-class citizens.
The reality though is that we are still slaves. Not to British masters anymore, but to Indian ones.
The difference is, we didn’t elect those British masters, we now elect our Indian masters. The specific individuals change, but the underlying master-slave relationship doesn’t.
In theory, in a democracy, we, the people, have power. We elect representatives on our behalf to run the affairs of the country. These representatives are therefore “public servants”, supposed to serve the interests of the people. They are supposed to be accountable to the people for the tasks assigned to them. They are also accountable to the people for funds utilized by them because these funds are collected from, and on behalf of, the people. They are supposed to be transparent about their work, so that the public can evaluate progress (or lack of it).
This is the theory.
We all know how things work in practice.
But why don’t they work?
Simply because there is a huge power imbalance between the people and their representatives. These representatives, so-called “public servants”, have steadily increased their power quotient at the cost of the people they are supposed to serve. As it is, they have the power to make laws – so they make or modify laws to strengthen their power position, to legitimize their power grab, thus further skewing the imbalance in their favour. Sel-aggrandizement is the mantra.
This isn’t just the story of one political party – this is with practically every political party.
Which is why the solution isn’t to just replace one party with another.
The solution is to structurally redress this power imbalance.
Make the public more powerful.
How?
There is very little power in the hands of one individual. I can scream from my rooftop but my single voice means nothing.
But there is a lot of power in a large group. The larger, the better.
When a large group chooses to raise its voice, these representatives have no choice but to listen. Otherwise they know they will be on the wrong side of the numbers game.
And in a democracy, it is all about a numbers game.
But for a large group to raise its voice against the powers-that-be, it has to, first of all, be free. It must NOT have a slave mentality.
And that’s a big problem in India.
Maybe due to historical baggage of being ruled by maharajas, many Indians are still subservient to authority. They are still happy to be “ruled”. Feudalism, although less today, still plays its role in perpetuating this master-slave relationship.
This is also why SO many Indians still have this “mai-baap” attitude towards government and other powers-that-be. They fall at the feet of politicians, seeking favours, sometimes even begging for something that is their right, but has been denied to them.
And of course, the politicians then act high-and-mighty, dishing out largesse as if they are royalty. They act generous – it’s easy to be generous with other people’s money. A sizeable share of the public’s hard-earned money is distributed as an act of generosity by the politicians. And they get praise for this. Not to mention votes.
It is THIS mentality that is my biggest issue with Indians. This slave mentality.
Which is why I say India became a free country on 15th August 1947 – but Indians are still slaves.
Just to clarify, I wouldn’t blame the poor or destitute for this. They are barely struggling to survive on a daily basis – they hardly have any choice or agency. But those who DO have a choice, who don’t HAVE to grovel before the powers-that-be but still do so, they are the ones who are undermining the effort to redress the power imbalance. They are often the ones to first stand up in defence for the powers-that-be, against their own fellow citizens.
So on this Independence Day, my request to all Indians is to abolish this slave mindset – and be free. If you don’t want to be treated like a third-class citizen, you first need to stop behaving like one.
Freedom is too precious to let it be taken away from you by anyone. Like Sahir said “zindagi bheekh mein nahin milti, zindagi badh ke chheeni jaati hai…apna haq sangdil zamaane se, chheen pao, to koi baat baney”.
And please stand up for those who try to break these chains of slavery. As I said earlier, this battle cannot be fought by one individual. So when someone is trying to fight against oppression, against slavery, please support his or her effort, instead of undermining it by being loyal to the master.
Even during our Freedom Struggle, there were Indians who undermined the effort of fellow Indians by taking the side of the British. This only made the freedom struggle harder.
I hope we have learnt from that lesson.
There are a lot more thoughts in my head on this Independence Day – there are a lot more improvements I’d like to see in India. Especially with regard to society.
The thing is, if we harbour aspirations to be a truly developed nation, we need to also have progressive thought in society. Mere material progress isn’t enough.
It saddens me to see that even in 2018, some of our thinking is regressive.
Patriarchy is still rampant in Indian society – with all its negative consequences for women, and even men. It is one of the biggest reasons for rapes and other forms of violence against women.
Then, our casteism. Even today, Dalits are discriminated against – let’s not pretend they aren’t.
Indian society is full of prejudices – just look at matrimonial columns to get an idea.
There’s a lot more that bothers me – I could go on and on.
But this post has already become too long – and each of these topics deserves proper discussion and treatment of its own.
So I will stop here on these topics.
Just to clarify, I’m not saying we haven’t come a long way. We have. But we still have a very long way to go – in terms of poverty alleviation/elimination and society upgradation.
The responsibility lies largely with those of us who are relatively privileged and educated. Even the Freedom Struggle counted amongst its leaders many well-educated Indians, of whom many had had the opportunity to study or live abroad and get a different perspective on life and their country.
So those of us who are in a position to make a difference need to do so. But for that, we first need to CARE for our less-privileged fellow citizens. Instead of looking down on them, we need to think of how we can make their lives better. We need to help make them free and independent citizens. Remember, WE are the fortunate ones, to even be able to read this online. I don’t mean this in the slightest patronizing sense – the fact is that we are all privileged. Millions are not.
Also remember, those well-off Indians from the Freedom Struggle could very easily have just enjoyed their privilege instead of throwing themselves into the Struggle. They chose to make sacrifices because the cause they were fighting for, was bigger than their individual selves.
We need a similar cause that we can all rally around today. If that is the prosperity of India, it must mean the prosperity of all Indians, not just a select few. But prosperity, without peace and harmony, is useless. So the cause must encompass all these components.
India is nothing without Indians. It would be just a piece of land. So talking about “making INDIA a great nation” is all just empty rhetoric if we are not working towards making the future of INDIANS great. And again here I mean ALL Indians, not a select few.
For me it is all about the individual first. She or he is the unit-level of existence. If the individual isn’t empowered, if she or he isn’t free, what’s to celebrate about the nation being free? The nation is just a bunch of individuals, right?
You might not agree with my thoughts (and that’s perfectly fine!) – I’m just sharing them here on request of Avinashji.
A lot more running in my head too – but this post has already become way too long now, so let me get to the song for the occasion.
It is a non-film song. A patriotic song composed by Khayyam, sung by Rafisaab, to Sahir’s lyrics.
I heard this song for the first time only a few days ago – I quite liked it. I hope you like it too.
Happy Independence Day. And thanks for your patience in tolerating this long post. 🙂
Song-Watan ki aabroo khatre mein hai (Rafi NFS)(1962) Singer-Rafi, Lyrics-Sahir Ludhianvi, MD-Khayyam
chorus
Rafi+Chorus
Lyrics
Watan ki aabroo khatre mein hai
Aa aa aa aa aa
Watan ki aabroo khatre mein hai
Hoshiyaar ho jaao
Hoshiyaar ho jaao
Hoshiyaar ho jaao o
Hamaare imtihaan ka waqt hai
Taiyyaar ho jaao
Taiyyaar ho jaao
Taiyyaar ho jaao o
Hamaari sarhadon par khoon behta hai
Jawaanon ka
Aa aa
Huaa jaata hai dil chhalni
Himaalaa ki chattaanon ka
Aa aa
Uthho rukh pher do dushman ki
Topon ke dahaanon ka aa
Aa aa
Watan ki sarhadon par aahni
Deewaar ho jaao
Hoshiyaar ho jaao
Watan ki aabroo khatre mein hai
Wo jinko saadgi mein hamne
Aankhon par bithhaaya thha
Aa aa
Wo jinko bhai kehkar
Hamne seene se lagaaya thha
Aa aa
Wo jinki gardanon mein haar
Baahon ka pehnaaya thha
Aa aa aa
Ab unki gardanon ke waaste
Talwaar ho jaao o
Aa aa aa
Ab unki gardanon ke waaste
Talwaar ho jaao o
Hoshiyaar ho jaao
Watan ki aabroo khatre mein hai
Na ham is waqt Hindu hain
Na Muslim hain
Na Isaayi
Hmm hmm hmm
Agar kuchh hain to hain
Is desh is dharti ke shaidaai
Hmm hmm hmm
Isi ko zindagi denge
Ae ae ae
Isi ko zindagi denge
Isi se zindagi paayi
Lahu ke rang se likhaa huaa
Ikraar ho jaao
Watan ki aabroo khatre mein hai
Hoshiyaar ho jaao
Hoshiyaar ho jaao
Hoshiyaar ho jaao o
Watan ki aabroo khatre mein hai
Khabar rakhna koi gaddaar
Saazish kar nahin paaye ae
Aa aa
Nazar rakhna koi zaalim
Tijori bhar nahin paaye ae
Aa aa
Hamaari kaum par ar ar ar
Hamaari kaum par
Taareekh tohmat dhar nahin paaye ae
Aa aa aa
Kafan dushman
Darindon ke liye
Lalkaar ho jaao
Lalkaar ho jaao
Lalkaar ho jaao o
Lalkaar ho jaao o
Lalkaar ho jaao o o
————————————
Devnagri Script lyrics (Provided by Avinash Scrapwala)
—————————–
वतन की आबरू खतरे में है
आ आ आ आ आ
वतन की आबरू खतरे में है
होशियार हो जाओ
होशियार हो जाओ
होशियार हो जाओ ओ
हमारे इम्तिहान का वक़्त है
तैयार हो जाओ
तैयार हो जाओ
तैयार हो जाओ ओ
हमारी सरहदों पर खून बहता है
जवानों का
आ आ
हुआ जाता है दिल छलनी
हिमाला की चट्टानों का
आ आ
उठो रुख फेर दो दुश्मन कि
तोपों के दहानों का आ
आ आ
वतन की सरहदों पर आहनी
दीवार हो जाओ
होशियार हो जाओ
वतन की आबरू खतरे में है
वो जिनको सादगी में हमने
आँखों पर बिठाया था
आ आ
वो जिनको भाई कहकर
हमने सीने से लगाया था
आ आ
वो जिनकी गर्दनों में हार
बाहों का पहनाया था
आ आ आ
अब उनकी गर्दनों के वास्ते
तलवार हो जाओ ओ
आ आ आ
अब उनकी गर्दनों के वास्ते
तलवार हो जाओ ओ
होशियार हो जाओ
वतन की आबरू खतरे में है
ना हम इस वक़्त हिन्दू है
ना मुस्लिम है
न इसाई
हम्म हम्म हम्म
अगर कुछ हैं तो है
इस देश इस धरती के शैदाई
हम्म हम्म हम्म
इसी को ज़िन्दगी देंगे
ए ए ए
इसी को ज़िन्दगी देंगे
इसी से ज़िन्दगी पायी
लहू के रंग से लिखा हुआ
इकरार हो जाओ
वतन की आबरू खतरे में है
होशियार हो जाओ
होशियार हो जाओ
होशियार हो जाओ ओ
वतन की आबरू खतरे में है
खबर रखना कोई गद्दार
साज़िश कर नहीं पाए ए
आ आ
नज़र रखना कोई ज़ालिम
तिजोरी भर नहीं पाए ए
आ आ
हमारी कौम पर र र र
हमारी कौम पर
तारीख तोहमत धर नहीं पाए ए
आ आ आ
कफ़न दुश्मन
दरिंदों के लिए
ललकार हो जाओ
ललकार हो जाओ
ललकार हो जाओ ओ
ललकार हो जाओ ओ
ललकार हो जाओ ओ ओ
Dahaan – दहान -دہان
mouth; orifice
Shaidaa. ii – शैदाई – شیدائی
lover, enamored
Tohmat – तोहमत – تہمت
Allegation, Accuse
false accusation, suspicion of guilt
This article is written by Peevesie’s mom, 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 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.
| Blog Day : | 3679 | Post No. : | 14573 |
Hullo Atuldom
I think I should get over this habit of waking up late to dates. I remembered that today (14 august 2018) was Johnny Lever’s birthday and later, yesterday, around seven in the evening I remembered that 14th august is also Shammi Kapoor’s anniversary. He passed away this date in 2011. Its been seven years.
Shammi Kapoor the man with “Neeli aankhen” (bade hai dil ke kale haan yehi neeli si aankhon waale) were his eyes actually blue or were they light? The gora-chitta-banka naujawan. The dancer who, I am sure, made a number of choreographers cry by doing his own stuff to the rhythm of the songs and had audiences lapping it up. And IMHO Helen was one dancer who managed to follow the choreographer when Shammi did his own stuff on his cue during dance numbers – the last part of “ai ai ya karoon main kya suku suku”is the best example for this. He would have continued in this manner but for the death of his beloved wife Geeta Bali, post which he lost interest for a few years, and then when he returned to the screen he began looking older than his age. He played Vinod Khanna’s older brother in 1971 in “Preetam” and father two years later in “Zameer”. Leena Chandavarkar, his heroine in Preetam, looks very tiny in front of him.
His movies all had memorable songs, mostly sung by Mohd. Rafi in the 60s and later in the 70s & 80s Kishore Kumar sang a few songs filmed on Shammi. There is video on YouTube wherein Shammi talks of his friendship with Kishore Kumar which possibly began at the time of “Mem Sahib” (1956/57) but (in Shammi’s words) he got a chance to lip-sync to Kishore only in the late 70s and 80s. when I heard Shammi mention “Mem Sahib” I decided to see it on YouTube. First thing that struck me was all the actors played characters that we later generation audiences are not familiar with. Meena Kumari played a mod-girl, Shammi Kapoor a negative character and Kishore Kumar a brahmachari who is confused about the ways of the world.
Yesterday when I realised the significance of 14th august with regard to Shammi Kapoor I had a chat with our Atulji to find out if there were any Shammi song left, are we at the bottom of the barrel? He gave me a list of post 1970 movies and also mentioned “Preetam”. I remember having seen this movie made by Bhappi Sonie in the times when doordarshan was the sole source of entertainment. I remember Leena Chandavarkar was paired opposite Shammi and Helen was for Vinod Khanna. I remembered the songs were also decently good.
Today’s song is a typical Shammi Kapoor song in the sense it is sung by Mohd. Rafi with music by Shankar Jaikishan. Only odd man out here is the lyricist -Rajinder Krishan.
Remembering Shammi Kapoor with this song from 1971.
Song-Sher se ladne aayi dekho shahar ki ik billi (Preetam)(1971) Singer-Rafi, Lyrics-Rajinder Krishan, MD-Shankar Jaikishan
Chorus
Lyrics
sher se ladne aayi dekho
shahar ki ik billi
sher se ladne aayi dekho
shahar ki ik billi
chidiya ghar mein bhej den isko
kalkatte ya dilli
dilli thheek rahegi
sher se ladne aayi dekho
sher se ladne aayi dekho
shahar ki ik billi
chidiya ghar mein bhej den isko
kalkatte ya dilli
dilli thheek rahegi
sher se ladne aayi dekho
maasha allaah
aankhen dekho
masha allah aankhen dekho
bilkul makdi jaisi hain
allah allaah
taangen dekho
allaah allaah taangen dekho
sookhi lakdi jaisi hai
daal ke choohe daani mein
daal ke choohe daani mein
phenk aate hain paani mein
nahin nahin
dilli thheek rahegi
sher se ladne aayi dekho shahar ki ik billi
chidiya ghar mein bhej den isko
kalkatte ya dilli
dilli thheek rahegi
sher se ladne aayi dekho
doodh malaai
chori ka ye
doodh malaai chori ka ye
kha kha ke gurraati hai
kad hai poore dedh haath ka
kad hai poore dedh haath ka
meri kamar tak aati hai
bilti iski karwaa den
bilti iski karwaa den
baans bareilli pahuncha den
nahin nahin dilli thheek rahegi
sher se ladne aayi dekho
shahar ki ek billi
chidiya ghar mein bhej den isko
kalkatte ya dilli
yeah
dilli thheek rahegi
sher se ladne aayi dekho
aahaa
naazuk naazuk bhoore bhoore
naazuk naazuk poore bhoore
tan par haath phiraayenge
gale mein iske baandh ke ghanti
gale mein iske baandh ke ghanti
isko dance karaayenge
sabko naach dikhaayegi
sabko naach dikhaayegi
paise chaar kamaayegi
nahin nahin dilli thheek rahegi
sher se ladne aayi dekho
shahar ki ik billi
chidiya ghar mein bhej den isko
kalkatte ya dilli
dilli thheek rahegi
sher se ladne aayi dekho
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