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

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.

Today’s song is from a film called ‘Shiv Kanya’ (1954). The title may surprise some readers. Did Bhagwan Shiv ji have a daughter? Some people may brush it off thinking that it is yet another fruit of the fertile imagination of the “story department” of the production house. Can’t blame them either, because film makers are known experts in creating close relatives of popular film characters. Some examples are ‘Son of Aladdin’ (1939), ‘Daughter of Hatimtai’ (1940 and 1955) or even ‘Son of Zimbo’ (1966). Poor Alladin or Hatimtai would not be even knowing that they had a son or a daughter !

However, as far as mythological film subjects are concerned, there is absolutely no need to imagine or cook up stories, because the old scriptures like Puraanas provide varied situations for making films. That is how there is a film called ‘Krishna Arjun Yuddh’ in 1934, 1945 and 1971, based on a story from Bhagwat Mahapuraan. We also have ‘Ram Hanuman Yuddh’ in 1957 and 1975, based on Valmiki Ramayan. There was even a strange sounding film called ‘Shankar, Seeta, Anusuya” in 1965, made on a story from Garud Puraan and then there was a film called ‘Vish Waman ‘ (1936) based on Waman Puran.

When I first came across this film ‘Shiv Kanya’ in the mid 50s, I was perplexed, because I was not aware of Shiv Ji having a daughter too ! I knew about Kartikeya and Ganesh. Then I looked into a book ‘Stories from Puraanas’ and I learnt about it. Stories in Puraanas have sometimes slightly different versions in different Puraans. For example, Ram Hanuman Yuddh is mentioned in Valmiki Ramayan and you will find a modified version in Vishnu Puraan also. This is because Puraanas are based on Shrutis and there are additions by many scholars over the centuries.

As far as Shiv Kanya is concerned, it is a story of Manasa Devi. (Interestingly, there is a Goddess in Greek Mythology, with the name Ma Na Sa).

Ma Manasa Devi, the snake goddess, is worshipped by Hindus, mainly for the prevention and cure of snakebites and infectious diseases like smallpox and chicken pox as well as for prosperity and fertility. She stands for both ‘destruction’ and ‘regeneration’, akin to a snake shedding its skin and being reborn.

The idol of the Manasa Devi Goddess is depicted as a graceful lady with her body, adorned with snakes and sitting on a lotus or standing on a snake, under a hooded canopy of seven cobras. She is often seen as ‘the one-eyed goddess’, and sometimes portrayed with her son Aastika on her lap.

Also known as ‘Nagini,’ the female serpentine avatar or ‘Vishahara’, the goddess who annihilates poison, Manasa, in the Hindu mythology, is believed to be the daughter of sage Kasyapa and Kadru, and the sister of the serpent king Sesha. She is also the sister of Vasuki, king of Nagas and the wife of Sage Jagatkaru. I present here a simplified version of the myth regards Manasa as the daughter of Lord Shiva. Legends have it that she was rejected by her father Shiva and husband Jagatkaru, and hated by her stepmother, Chandi, who scooped out one of Manasa’s eyes. So, she appears to be foul-tempered, and benevolent only towards her devotees.

Manasa, due to her mixed parentage, is denied full godhead. Ancient Hindu legends in the Puranas, narrate the story of the birth of this powerful serpentine goddess. Sage Kashyapa created goddess Manasa from his ‘mana,’ or mind, so she could control the reptiles that were creating havoc on earth and Lord Brahma made her the presiding deity of snakes. It is believed that Lord Krishna granted her divine status and she established herself in the pantheon of gods.

During the monsoon season, Goddess Manasa is worshipped, mainly in the eastern Indian states of Bengal, Assam, Jharkhand, and Orissa, throughout the months of June, July and August (Ashaad – Shraavan), a time when the snakes leave their nesting ground and come out into the open and become active. In Bangladesh, the Manasa and Ashtanaag Puja is a month-long affair spanning July and August. Devotees pay obeisance to goddess Manasa and perform various ‘pujas’ or rituals to appease her. Special ‘murtis’ or statues of the goddess are sculpted, various sacrifices made, and prayers chanted. In some places, worshippers are seen to pierce their bodies, poisonous snakes are displayed on the altar, and live shows depicting the life and legends of Manasa Devi are performed. (From the book ‘Hindu Mythology-Gods and Goddesses’ by Acharya Shyam Purohit.)

And this is what ‘Hindu Daivat in India’ by Shrinivas Potdar says – “Manasa Devi is also known as the snake Goddess who is worshipped mainly in Bengal and other North-Eastern states of India. It is believed that Goddess Manasa is the one who controls all the snakes on Earth and a snake bite can be cured by worshipping Her. People also worship Goddess Manasa for fertility and prosperity. According to the legends Goddess Manasa is the daughter of Lord Shiva. However some scriptures suggest that she is the daughter of Sage Kashyapa and is distantly related to Shiva. She is the sister of Vasuki and wife to Sage Jagatkaru. Due to the confusion in her parentage, Goddess Manasa has been denied the position which other deities enjoy. Hence, she is an extremely furious Goddess for those who refuse to worship Her while extremely kind to those who worship Her with devotion.”

Film ‘Shiv Kanya’ was made by Chandrakala Pictures, produced by Ravji Bhai Patel and Sharad Desai and was directed by Sharad’s father, Dhirubhai Desai.

Dhirubhai Desai was a Hindi and Gujarati film director. He was born in Kaliawadi, near Navsari, Gujarat, on 31-1-1908. He started at Sharda Studios in 1927 by assisting AP Kapoor. He completed Gujarati film ‘Maya No Rang’, which was left unfinished by PV Chavan and Sunder Rao Nadkarni, when Bhogilal Dave took over his United Pictures Syndicate in 1929. His early work was in silent films of action (17 silent films), in Sharada and later with Indulal Yagnik.

He also worked with Saroj Films of Nanubhai Desai. In 1933, he set up his own studio – Vishnu Cinetone and made ‘Suryakumari’ (1933) with Natwar Shyam Manyar and Chaturbhai Patel. Later he owned Chandrakala Pictures also. After 1940 he directed mainly B grade Mythological films, usually remakes of his silent films. He was one of the few silent film makers, who had a long career in Hindi and Gujarati films. He had directed 17 silent films and 56 talkie films in Hindi. Some of his notable Hindi films are ‘Dilli Ka Thug’ (1935), ‘Fashionable Wife’, ‘Bhakta Prahlad’ (1946), ‘Bhakta Pundalik’, ‘Oonchi Haveli’, ‘Saaranga’ (1960), ‘Kailashpati’, ‘Badrinath Yatra’ and ‘Sampoorna Teerth Yatra’ etc. His last film was ‘Daaku Aur Bhagwan’ (1975). He passed away on 30-7-1990.

The film’s story is written by Pt. Narottam Vyas. Born in Moradabad (UP) in 1896, Pandit ji edited some magazines in Calcutta. He first wrote the story of  film ‘Pooran Bhagat’ (1933), but his name was not in the credits. He also wrote for film “Seeta” (1934). Coming to Bombay he joined Bhavnani Productions and then Prabhat. In all he wrote stories of 50 films. He also wrote more than 50 books. After producing and directing some films, he was fed up and retired to Moradabad in 1964. He passed away on 27-2-1980.

The Music Director of this film is Manna Dey (1-5-1919 to 24-10-2013). Manna Dey was essentially a singer, but initially he wanted to become a composer. So, by becoming assistant first to his uncle KC Dey and later to Khemchand Prakash, he managed to give music to 17 films, composing 129 songs in these films, in his career. None of his composed songs became a hit or very popular. In contrast, he sang in 839 Hindi films and sang 1370 songs ! This output clearly proves that he was a successful singer. The problem with many singers is that they want to become music directors or act in the films or do both or even all three (like Mukesh), but they do not possess that mindset. A composer is a planner and a singer is an implementer. You can either be this or that. In any case an implementer rarely has the talent of a planner. Singers like Mukesh, Talat, SD Batish, Khan Mastana and few others never became famous or popular or successful composers or actors. Singers like Talat realised this too late and spoiled his singing career too.

Today’s song is written by Bharat Vyas and sung by Manna Dey himself. Actually, the tune is quite melodious, but being a B grade film, even good songs do not get wider exposure to become popular. This is the 3rd song from this film,to be posted on the Blog. Enjoy this Bhajan…

[Acknowledgements: The above write up has adapted some material from
a. ‘Hindu Mythology – Gods and Goddesses’ by Acharya Shyam Purohit
b. ‘Hindu Daivat in India’ by Shrinivas Potdar]

Song – Meri Doobti Naiyya Ko Paar Lagaane Waala Kaun. . . Bhola Nath Re. . (Shiv Kanya) (1954) Singer – Manna Dey, Unidentified Female Voice, Lyrics – Bharat Vyas, MD – Manna Dey
Chorus

Lyrics

meri doobti naiyya ko paar lagaane waala kaun
bhola nath re
o meri doobti naiyya ko paar lagaane waala kaun
bhola nath re
meri toot’ti aasha ko dheer bandhaane waala kaun
bhola nath re
o meri doobti naiyya ko paar lagaane waala kaun
bhola nath re

jhukti uthen ghataayen
jab vipda ke baadal chhaaye
kachhu na padey dikaai
manwaa pag pag thokar khaaye
us andhkaar mein. . .
us andhkaar mein aasha deep jalaane waala kaun
bhola nath re
o meri doobti naiyya ko paar lagaane waala kaun
bhola nath re
dukh ke kaanton mein sukh ke phool khilaane waala kaun
bhola nath re
o meri doobti naiyya ko paar lagaane waala kaun
bhola nath re

ban ban baat bigad jaaye
aur ghor niraasha chhaaye
bhagya baney vipreet jisey saari duniya thukraaye
thukraaye jisey. . .
thukraaye jisey duniya usey apnaane waala kaun
bhola nath re
ho meri doobti naiyya ko paar lagaane waala kaun
bhola nath re
meri toot’ti aasha ko dheer bandhaane waala kaun
bhola nath re

bhola nath re
bhola nath re
bhola nath re
o bhola nath re
bhola nath re
bhola nath re
bhola nath re
bhola nath re
bhola nath re
———————————————————
Hindi script lyrics (Provided by Sudhir)
———————————————————

_{मेरी डूबती नैय्या को पार लगाने वाला कौन
भोला नाथ रे
ओ मेरी डूबती नैय्या को पार लगाने वाला कौन
भोला नाथ रे
मेरी टूटती आशा को धीर बंधाने वाला कौन
भोला नाथ रे
ओ मेरी डूबती नैय्या को पार लगाने वाला कौन
भोला नाथ रे}

झुकती उठें घटाएँ
जब विपदा के बाड़ा छाए
कछु ना पड़े दिखाई
मनवा पग पग ठोकर खाये
उस अंधकार में॰॰॰
उस अंधकार में आशा दीप जलाने वाला कौन
भोला नाथ रे
ओ मेरी डूबती नैय्या को पार लगाने वाला कौन
भोला नाथ रे
दुख के काँटों में सुख के फूल खिलाने वाला कौन
भोला नाथ रे
ओ मेरी डूबती नैय्या को पार लगाने वाला कौन
भोला नाथ रे

बन बन बात बिगड़ जाये
और घोर निराशा छाए
भाग्य बने विपरीत जिसे सारी दुनिया ठुकराये
ठुकराये जिसे॰॰॰
ठुकराये जिसे दुनिया उसे अपनाने वाला कौन
भोला नाथ रे
हो मेरी डूबती नैय्या को पार लगाने वाला कौन
भोला नाथ रे
मेरी टूटती आशा को धीर बंधाने वाला कौन
भोला नाथ रे

भोला नाथ रे
भोला नाथ रे
भोला नाथ रे
भोला नाथ रे
ओ भोला नाथ रे
भोला नाथ रे
भोला नाथ रे
भोला नाथ रे
भोला नाथ रे
भोला नाथ रे
भोला नाथ रे
भोला नाथ रे