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.

जब मैं छोटा बच्चा था, (and my, not just then. . . even now). . .

No, no I am not going to start a description of my ‘शरारती’ pranks and naughtiness. I am going to tell somethings about my favorite actor and songs; that my favorite male performer was Dev Anand. There was a charismatic attraction in his face, his smile with one out of line canine, his mannerism, and his style of dialogue delivery – all put together made for a striking package,  that would steal hearts. I am talking of the time when films like ‘Baazi’ and ‘Jaal’ and ‘Taxi Driver’ continued to be popular in re runs, and continued to be discussed as iconic films. This popular set of films was shown more than once on TV, and it would be a gala Saturday/Sunday when a Dev Anand film was scheduled. Those were days when the weekly film shows were split across the two last days of the week. And needless to say, the break was very irritating. 🙂

That was for the days of the film shows. And for the rest of the week – well, it was the songs that would occupy the mind. My favorite of all times was (and is) “Ye Raat, Ye Chaandni. . .” from ‘Jaal’. As I look back on those days of childhood, and surmise, I realize that there is a set of songs that stood apart, even amongst the other thousand favorites. And practically all these songs belonged to Dev Anand on screen. Be it “Jaayen To Jaayen Kahaan”, or “De Bhi Chuke Hum Dil Nazraana. . .”, or “Hum Hain Raahi Pyaar Ke. . .”, or “Chup Hai Dharti. . .”, or “Dukhi Mann Mere. . .”, or “Haaye Haaye Haaye Ye Nigaahen. . .” or “Hai Apna Dil To Awaara. . .”, or “Khoya Khoya Chaand. . .” or “Dil Ka Bhanwar Kare Pukaar. . .”, or “Chupke Se Miley, Pyaase Pyaase. . .”, or “Gaata Rahe Mera Dil. . .”,or “Ye Dil Na Hota Bechaara. . .” and more. Mind you, all these songs were first heard on radio, and by association of the film name, one concluded that Dev Anand would have sung them on screen. And then, when the opportunity came to watch the film on TV, or in some cases, many years later, in the morning show re runs, when we would bunk the morning classes at college to go and see a favorite. Most of such films were seen, only to view the songs – how a wonderful favorite had been presented on screen. And for a Dev Anand movie, I would travel miles to the other end of the city even.

It was many years later, as the interest grew in film music, and the awareness spread from just knowing the lyrics and the tune of the song, to learning about the other members of the team who collaborated to create these wonderful melodies, that the realization settled in. That all these lovely songs of Dev Anand, that I adored and loved to sing to myself, had one thing in common – the music was composed by SD Burman. That added a new dimension to my awareness and appreciation of film music, and the name Sachin Da became associated with great music, all time and every time.

After this understanding settled in, I became more careful in noting the names of music directors and lyricists when I heard a song that would pull at the strings of the heart. And with that, I began to search for songs and films of this creator of magical music, other than those of Dev Saab. And with every film that I came across, I had these ‘Aha’ moments – OKay, so this song, which I have been liking for so long, is also a creation of Sachin Da, wow.

Let me pause and tell about the special occasion. You are right, we are not near any of his anniversaries. And the occasion was so imminent, we could not have waited for one of his days to come along. The special thing is that this post celebrates the 600^th song of Sachin Da to be posted on our blog. Given that his portfolio of film songs numbers a little above 650, means that we have almost 90% of his work already accounted for on our blog. That certainly speaks volumes about his work.

Hailing from the north east part of the country,Sachin da is a princely composer, or we can also say, a prince of composers. He belongs to the royal families of Tripura and Manipur. His grandfather was the king of Tripura, and his mother was the daughter of the king of Manipur. His father was trained in classical music, and was a major inspiration in the life of Sachin Da. His father’s untimely and unexpected departure created some difficult situations in the household. The young Sachin decided to leave home. He spent time in the villages and forests of Tripura, and then went on to Calcutta, where he joined the radio station in 1932 as a singer. It was in 1932 itself that he recorded his first song on a 78 rpm record. One side of that record carries the classical composition “Ee Pathery Aaj Eso Priyo” and the second side has a folk song “Dakle Kokil Roj Bihaane”.

His reputation as a singer of note spread in Calcutta, and Pankaj Babu invited him to sing for New Theatres – for the film ‘Yahudi Ki Ladki’ (1933). However, the recording never took place, as in a shift of casting, Pahadi Sanyal was brought on board, replacing the young Sachin. It is noted that he played small singing roles in Hindi film ‘Selima’ (1935) and Bangla film ‘Bidrohi’ (1935). He went on to sing for some more Bangla films, and continued to record non film songs. His non-film repertoire is on the better side of 130, but majority of it is in Bangla. By the end of 1930s, he started getting independent assignments for composing music for films, starting with ‘Rajgee’ in 1937. The music of the film ‘Rajkumarer Nirbashan’ (1940) became very popular. He went on to compose for 17 Bangla films, in this phase of his career.

Not satisfied with the success and its rewards in Calcutta, he decided to move to Bombay in 1944. Veterans like Prithviraj Kapoor and KL Saigal, friends like Manna Dey (Sachin Deb had part of his training under KC Dey), had preceded him, and he too chose to head to the Bombay center. Filmistan’s ‘Shikari’ and ‘Eight Days’ were the first assignments that he bagged. The year was 1946. More films followed – ‘Chittor Vijay’ and ‘Dil Ki Rani’ both in 1947. And then, in 1947 came ‘Do Bhai’, and the Geeta Roy gem – “Mera Sunder Sapna Beet Gaya”. Rest, as they, is history, that lasted till 1975.

Coming to the song for today. As noted above, almost 90% of his work is already accounted for on our blog, and so, searching for a special song for today has not been easy. As I pored through the song lists of his films, I came across this wonderful folk melody, which I instantly picked for this post. Two reasons I did. For one, this song is one of those which, for the longest time, I did not know that it is composed by Sachin Da. The connect with the film, ‘Sitaaron Se Aagey’ (1958) did not happen till quite recently. The song has been a favorite since the radio listening days. The pace at which it flows is remarkable. A very heartening composition – the line “. . . bhool jaana naa. . .”, simply gets into the strings of the heart.

And yes, the second reason for this song, I was surprised that such a lovely melody has managed to keep away from the eyes of the team on this blog. And I wondered, how come this song is not posted so far. Anyway, we are getting to it today, as we celebrate six hundred songs of this peerless composer.

Majrooh Sultanpuri is the songwriter. The singing voice is that of Asha Bhosle. On screen, this song is performed by a very energetic Vijayantimala, and a chorus of dancing ladies. This is a stage song, and apparently, this is a audition performance. The seats in the theatre are empty and there are just two people in the audience – Ashok Kumar and Jagdish Sethi. Actually there is a third person also, sitting in the row behind these two, but I am not able to place a name. In the wings, there are other people present, notably Iftekhar and two others, who look familiar but once again, I am not able to place a name to them. The gentleman standing ahead of Iftekhar; is that Prem Dhawan? (yes, the name appears in the list of actors). The lady in this group turns away almost immediately as the camera pans in. I have feeling it is Raja Sulochana. I request other friends and readers to place confirm or correct.
[Ed Note:  With inputs from Prakash ji and Nayan Yagnik ji, we now confirm that the third person sitting behind Ashok Kumar and Jagdish Sethi is Kundan; and that the persons standing in the wings with Iftekhar are Prem Dhawan and Raja Sulochana. Thanks Prakash ji, Nayan ji.]

It is a village scene, complete with fields, a scarecrow, a machaan, and also a peacock thrown in for good measure. The song is about calling home the beau, who has gone to faraway lands. The message is that the fields are blooming with the crop of ‘sarson’ (mustard), and it is time now to come home for the harvest. A lovely song, and as I said, a favorite from the radio listening days. The song leaves behind a feeling of cheerfulness in the heart. Enjoy.

Song – Aaj Kal Parson Mein Phoole Jab Sarson (Sitaaron Se Aage) (1958) Singer – Asha Bhosle, Lyrics – Majrooh Sultanpuri, MD – SD Burman
Chorus

Lyrics

oo oo ooooo oo
ho oo oooo ooooo oo
oo oo aaa aaa aaa aaa aaaaaa

ho ho ho ho ho. . .
ho oo oo ooooo

aaj kal parson..on..on..on
aaj kal parson
mein phoole jab sarson
videsi piya aa jaana
bhool jaana na
bhool jaana na
videsi piya aa jaana
aaj kal parson
mein phoole jab sarson
videsi piya aa jaana
bhool jaana na
bhool jaana na
videsi piya aa jaana

jeth mein jalan se. . .
jeth mein jalan se
pasina bahey tan se
to latt bikhraa jaana
bhool jaana na
bhool jaana na
oy latt bikhraa jaana
jeth mein jalan se
pasina bahey tan se
to latt bikhraa jaana
bhool jaana na
bhool jaana na
videsi piya aa jaana

jhoome kaare badra. . .
jhoome kaare badra
bahaun jab kajra
galey se lipta jaana
bhool jaana na
bhool jaana na
galey se lipta jaana
jhoome kaare badra
bahaun jab kajra
galey se lipta jaana
bhool jaana na
bhool jaana na
videsi piya aa jaana

hariyaali chhaaye. . .
hariyaali chhaaye
pawan lehraaye
kadam taley aa jaana
bhool jaana na
bhool jaana na
kadamb taley aa jaana
hariyaali chhaaye
pawan lehraaye
kadamb taley aa jaana
bhool jaana na
bhool jaana na
videsi piya aa jaana

aaa aaa ja
aa ja aa ja re aa ja

aaa aaa ja
aa ja aa ja re aa ja

aaj kal parson
mein phoole jab sarson
aaj kal parson
mein phoole jab sarson
videsi piya aa  jaana
videsi piya aa  jaana
bhool jaana na
videsi piya aa jaana
bhool jaana na
videsi piya aa jaana
bhool jaana na
videsi piya aa jaana

———————————————————
Hindi script lyrics (Provided by Sudhir)
———————————————————
ओ ओ ओsss ओ
हो ओ ओss ओsss ओ
ओ ओ आs आs आs आs आssss

हो हो हो हो हो॰॰॰
हो ओ ओ ओsss

आज कल परसों॰॰ओं॰॰ओं॰॰ओं
आज कल परसों
में फूले जब सरसों
विदेसी पिया आ जाना
भूल जाना ना
भूल जाना ना
विदेसी पिया आ जाना
आज कल परसों
में फूले जब सरसों
विदेसी पिया आ जाना
भूल जाना ना
भूल जाना ना
विदेसी पिया आ जाना

जेठ  में जलन से॰॰ए॰॰ए
जेठ में जलन से
पसीना बहे तन से
तो लट बिखरा जाना
भूल जाना ना
भूल जाना ना
ओय लट बिखरा जाना
जेठ मे जलन से
पसीना बहे तन से
तो लट बिखरा जाना
भूल जाना ना
भूल जाना ना
विदेसी पिया आ जाना

झूमे कारे बदरा॰॰आ॰॰आ
झूमे कारे बदरा
बहाऊँ जब कजरा
गले से लिपटा जाना
भूल जाना ना
भूल जाना ना
गले से लिपटा जाना
झूमे कारे बदरा
बहाऊँ जब कजरा
गले से लिपटा जाना
भूल जाना ना
भूल जाना ना
विदेसी पिया आ जाना

हरियाली छाए॰॰ए॰॰ए
हरियाली छाए
पावन लहराए
कदम्ब तले आ जाना
भूल जाना ना
भूल जाना ना
कदम्ब तले आ जाना
हरियाली छाए
पावन लहराए
कदम्ब तले आ जाना
भूल जाना ना
भूल जाना ना
विदेसी पिया आ जाना

आ॰॰ आ॰॰ जा
आ जा आ जा रे आ जा

आ॰॰ आ॰॰ जा
आ जा आ जा रे आ जा

आज कल परसों
में फूले जब सरसों
आज कल परसों
में फूले जब सरसों
विदेसी पिया आ जाना
विदेसी पिया आ जाना
भूल जाना ना
विदेसी पिया आ जाना
भूल जाना ना
विदेसी पिया आ जाना
भूल जाना ना
विदेसी पिया आ जाना