Atul’s Song A Day- A choice collection of Hindi Film & Non-Film Songs

This article is written by Sudhir, 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.

नभ: स्पृशम् दीप्तम्

Touch the Sky with Glory

What an appropriate motto this is, for the flying heroes of our national force that is responsible for the defense of our nation’s skies, and the keepers of our aerial security. The Indian Air Force, the aerial arm of our armed forces, celebrated its 85 anniversary yesterday – 8^th October, 2017.

War is never a good thing. No one wins in a war. Everyone loses. Behind the victories claimed by the conquerors, there always are brutal losses which one does not speak of. But then, if a war is thrust upon someone, then standing up and fighting for what is right is the inevitable path to be taken.  The lines written by Kaifi Azmi in this song, express this so well,

jung rahmat hai ke laanat, ye sawaal ab na uthe
jung jab aa hi gayi sar pe to rahmat hogi

जंग रहमत है के लानत, ये सवाल अब ना उठे
जंग जब आ ही गई सर पे तो रहमत होगी

This post is a salute to the fearless warriors of our armed forces, and especially our Air Force, on this day of celebrating its 85 years of history.

The origins of the Indian Air Force are in the Royal Air Force of Great Britain. India was under the British rule in 1932, when the decision was taken to set up an auxiliary air force unit in India, under the larger umbrella of the Royal Air Force.

In 1928-29 the Government of India (under British rule) decided to induct some Indians in the Royal Air Force. The first six Indians selected to undergo two years of flying training at the Royal Air Force College, Cranwell were Subroto Mukherjee, Harish Chandra Sircar, Aizad Baksh Awan, Bhupendra Singh, Amarjeet Singh and JN Tandon. After completing their training at Cranwell, the Indian pilots passed through the Army Cooperation School at Old Sarum in Wiltshire. After the completion of their training, five of these men were commissioned into service with the Royal Air Force. JN Tandon, on account of his short stature, was reverted to a logistic role, and not commissioned for flying.

On 8th October, 1932, the Indian Air Force Act was passed by the Indian Legislative Assembly, and the Indian Air Force was born. The Indian Air Force was established as an auxiliary air force of the Royal Air Force. The new force adopted the uniforms, badges, brevets and insignia of the Royal Air Force.

The first five pilots commissioned into the IAF were the same five who had been inducted into the Royal Air Force after completing their training at RAF Cranwell – Harish Chandra Sircar, Subroto Mukerjee, Bhupendra Singh, Aizad Baksh Awan and Amarjeet Singh. All of them were commissioned as Pilot Officers. Subroto Mukerjee later went on to become the IAF’s first Indian Chief of the Air Staff.

On 1 April 1933, the Indian Air Force got its first flying machines – four Westland Wapiti biplanes. The IAF commissioned its first squadron, No. 1 Squadron, at Karachi (now in Pakistan) with five Indian pilots listed above. The Indian pilots were led by RAF Commanding officer Flight Lieutenant (later Air Vice Marshal) Cecil Bouchier.

Subsequent batches inducted before World War II included Aspy Engineer, KK Majumdar, Narendra, Daljit Singh, Henry Runganadhan, RHD Singh, Baba Mehar Singh, SN Goyal, Prithpal Singh and Arjan Singh. Here is another name that is very familiar to all – Arjan Singh went on to become the first and only Air Chief designated as the Marshal of the Air Force (MAF). He is the only five star officer in the history of our Air Force. MAF Arjan Singh recently passed away (16^th September, 2017) in Delhi, at the age of 98.

In recognition of the services rendered by the IAF during the World War II, King George VI conferred the prefix “Royal” in 1945. Thereafter the IAF was referred to as Royal Indian Air Force. In 1947, when the British left the Indian sub-continent, and the partition of this country happened the military forces were also partitioned. On 15^th August, 1947, the Royal Indian Air Force gave up 3 divisions which were geographically based in the newly formed territories of Pakistan, and the Royal Pakistan Air Force was born.

Although the nation supposedly attained independence on 15^th Aug, 1947, it continued to be a Dominion within the British Commonwealth of Nations, which means that we as a nation, were actually still paying our allegiance to the British Crown. In January 1950, when India adopted their own Constitution, and became a republic, the prefix “Royal” was dropped and the force became truly the Indian Air Force. However, the person at the head of the Air Force continued to be a non-Indian till 1954. As per seniority and age, the Air Force continued with three more Air Chief Marshals from 1947 to 1954. In 1954, the last of the Birtish chiefs superannuated from the top position, and the mantle of the top official came to Air Marshal Subroto Mukherjee, the first Indian head of the Indian Air Force.

The IAF has seen serious action in the four wars that have been fought with Pakistan (1948, 1965, 1971 and 1999). The force was not utilized during the 1962 conflict with China, despite being the superior air power in the region at that time. China’s forays into the Himalayan regions were recent at that time and their air force did not have the reach to come up to the Indo-China borders. A lack of political will and vision, one may say, and the IAF was utilized only for supplying the front lines.

Although a child (in single digits) at that time, my memories of the 1965 war are still quite detailed. The Pakistan Air Force was supposedly the superior force, equipped with American supplied F-86 Sabre jets, with the Indian Air Force flying the comparatively puny Gnat and Mystere aircrafts. But the valor and the heroism of the Indian pilots is now the stuff of a very proud history. The supposedly puny Gnat fighter planes were responsible for downing 6 Sabre jets, and earned the nickname of ‘Sabre Slayers’. Names like Sqadron Leader Keelor (actually two brother flyers – Trevor and Denzill) and Flying Officer Nebb, became household heroes, as the news poured in every day about the victories of the Indian Air Force.

The force was led by Air Marshal Arjan Singh during this period of conflict. Retired and past officers of the Air Force remember him dearly as a valiant leader who led from the front. While the conflict was in progress, the Air Marshal refused to stay put in Delhi, and was constantly visiting the front line airfields, meeting his officers and pilots, each one of them personally. So many of his people have consistently mentioned his reaching out to his men, how he would remember the names of each one of them, how he would be interested in knowing the details of their exploits in the air. And not just that, he reached out personally to the families of the heroes, and taking care to connect with the widowed wives and children of the flyers who laid down their lives in action.

He put the interest and safety of his airmen before his own. Close friend and former Air Chief Marshal NC Suri narrates an episode that underlines this. The Canberra bomber planes, one of the planes with the IAF, had a peculiar design. The pilot’s seat was designed as an ejection seat (that allows the pilot to eject automatically from the aircraft, in case of an emergency). However, the navigator seat was not, and the navigator, in the time of an emergency, had to physically disengage himself from the seat, break open some window and jump out of the aircraft. Whenever Arjan Singh flew a Canberra, he would refuse to take out the safety pin of the pilot seat’s ejection mechanism, rendering it ineffective. In other words, he was also incapable of ejecting from the aircraft, if an emergency arose. ACM NC Suri adds “So here is a man who felt that his navigator was equally important to him, which was very remarkable.”.

Yes, ‘Touch the Sky with Glory’, a motto that MAF Arjan Singh believed in and also lived by. The saga of our nation’s Air Force is full of numerous such people and their acts of valor and heroism.

As a salute to the brave airmen of our Air Force, I present this rousing song of bravery and leadership, from the 1973 film ‘Hindustan Ki Kasam’. Folks will remember this film one of the very few films made on the theme of Indian Air Force, its airmen and their exploits and triumphs. The time frame it was released indicates that it covered the events of the then recent past, i.e. the 1971 war with Pakistan.

The song itself needs no introduction – it has been one of the most popular patriotic songs to emerge from Hindi films. The words are from the pen of Kaifi Azmi, and the rousing marching music comes from the baton of Madan Mohan. The singing voices are of Rafi Sb and Manna Dey. In the film, this song appears at 3 places. In the beginning when the titles start to roll, somewhat later once again when the war with the enemy is in full swing, and at the end, as the film comes to a close. Interestingly enough, the titles of the film do no start till almost twelve and a half minutes into the film. (So this song cannot be categorized as the film opening song.)

We see a few characters in the video clip, especially in the first part. There is Rajkumar, Chetan Anand, Balraj Sahni, Veena, Vijay Anand, Priya Rajvansh, Parikshit Sahni etc. I have edited to present all the three parts of this song as a single clip. I have retained a few seconds of the scene just prior to the start of the first part – I really like the dialogue rendered by Rajkumar, just as the song starts.

So here is a salute and a tribute – to the daring ‘jaanbaaz’ flyers and the brave ground and support staff, that man this valiant Air Force – the safe keepers of the Indian airspace.

नभ: स्पृशम् दीप्तम्
Jai Hind.

[Ed Note: This song is the fourth and final one from this film to be posted on our blog. With this post, the film ‘Hindustan Ki Qasam’ joins the list of films with all songs posted.]

Song – Hindustan Ki Qasam  (Hindustan Ki Kasam) (1973) Singer – Mohammed Rafi, Manna Dey, Lyrics – Kaifi Azmi, MD – Madan Mohan
Rafi + Manna Dey
Chorus

Lyrics (Provided by Prakashchandra)

Part 1

[Dialogue]

hindustan ki kasam

hindustan ki kasam

hindustan ki kasam
na jhukega sar watan ka
har jawaan ki kasam
na jhukega sar watan ka
har jawaan ki kasam
hindustan ki kasam
ho ho o ho o o
hindustan ki kasam

[Dialogue]

o ho o o o
oho ho ho o o
ho ho o o o ho o o

jinhein pyaar hai watan se
wo jaan se khelte hai
khwaabon se khelte hain
armaan se khelte hain
miley raah mein jo toofaan
toofaan se khelte hain
na rukenge hum kisi se
is udaan ki kasam
hindustan ki kasam
ho ho ho o o o
hindustan ki kasam

o o o
ho ho ho o o
o o o ho ho ho

[Dialogue]

phir imtihaan na hoga
yoon imtihaan denge
khayenge zakham hans ke
khush ho ke jaan denge
mit jaayenge zubaan par
hum jab zabaan denge
hai issi mein shaan apni
issi shaan ki kasam
na jhukega sar watan ka
har jawaan ki kasam
hindustan ki kasam
ho ho o ho o o
hindustan ki kasam

ho o ho o o o
ho o ho o o o
ho o ho o o o

Part 2

jung rahmat hai ke laanat
ye sawaal ab na uthe
jung jab aa hi gayi sar pe
to rahmat hogi
aa haa
to rahmat hogi
door se dekho
na bhadke huye sholon ka jalaal
isi dozakh ke
kisi koney mein jannat hogi
aa haa
wo jannat hogi
jannat hai apni manzil
aasmaan ki kasam
na jhukega sar watan ka
har jawaan ki kasam
hindustan ki kasam
ho ho o ho o o
hindustan ki kasam

Part 3

dil hoga jitna ghaayal
utnaa magan rahega
duniya ko
yaad apnaa
ye baankpan rahega
lehraayega tiranga
jab tak razm rahega
yeh nishaan hai hamaara
iss nishaan ki kasam
yeh nishaan hai hamaara
iss nishaan ki kasam
hindustan ki kasam
hindustan ki kasam
na jhukega sar watan ka
har jawaan ki kasam
hindustan ki kasam
ho ho o o o
hindustan ki kasam
ho ho o o o
hindustan ki kasam
———————————————————
Hindi script lyrics (Provided by Sudhir)
———————————————————

भाग १

हिंदुस्तान की कसम

हिंदुस्तान की कसम

हिंदुस्तान की कसम
न झुकेगा सर वतन का
हर जवान की कसम
न झुकेगा सर वतन का
हर जवान की कसम
हिंदुस्तान की कसम
हो हो ओ हो ओ ओ
हिंदुस्तान की कसम

[संवाद]

ओ हो ओ ओ ओ
ओहो हो हो ओ ओ
हो हो ओ ओ ओ हो ओ ओ

जिन्हें प्यार है वतन से
वो जाँ से खेलते हैं
ख्वाबों से खेलते हैं
अरमां से खेलते हैं
मिले राह में जो तूफां
तूफां से खेलते हैं
ना रुकेंगे हम किसी से
इस उड़ान की कसम
हिंदुस्तान की कसम
हो हो ओ हो ओ ओ
हिंदुस्तान की कसम

ओ ओ ओ
हो हो हो ओ ओ
ओ ओ ओ हो हो हो

[संवाद]

फिर इम्तिहान ना होगा
यूं इम्तिहान देंगे
खाएँगे जख्म हंस के
खुश हो के जान देंगे
मिट जाएँगे जुबां पर
हम जब जुबां देंगे
है इसी में शान अपनी
इसी शान की कसम
न झुकेगा सर वतन का
हर जवान की कसम
हिंदुस्तान की कसम
हो हो ओ हो ओ ओ
हिंदुस्तान की कसम

हो ओ हो ओ ओ ओ
हो ओ हो ओ ओ ओ
हो ओ हो ओ ओ ओ

भाग २

जंग रहमत है के लानत
ये सवाल अब ना उठे
जंग जब आ ही गई सर पे
तो रहमत होगी
आ हाss
तो रहमत होगी
दूर से देखो
ना भड़के हुये शोलों का जलाल
इसी दोज़ख के
किसी कोने में जन्नत होगी
आ हाss
वो जन्नत होगी
जन्नत है अपनी मंज़िल
आसमान की कसम
न झुकेगा सर वतन का
हर जवान की कसम
हिंदुस्तान की कसम
हो हो ओ हो ओ ओ
हिंदुस्तान की कसम

भाग ३

दिल होगा जितना घायल
उतना मगन रहेगा
दुनिया को याद अपना
ये बाँकपन रहेगा
लहराएगा तिरंगा
जब तक रज़्म रहेगा
ये निशान है हमारा
इस निशान की कसम
ये निशान है हमारा
इस निशान की कसम
हिंदुस्तान की कसम
हिंदुस्तान की कसम
न झुकेगा सर वतन का
हर जवान की कसम
हिंदुस्तान की कसम
हो हो ओ हो ओ ओ
हिंदुस्तान की कसम
हो हो ओ हो ओ ओ
हिंदुस्तान की कसम
हो हो ओ हो ओ ओ
हिंदुस्तान की कसम