When I try to compile the most melodious, the most beautiful songs of Lata Mangeshkar, the following songs invariably come to my mind:

All these songs are composed by Chitragupta and they should figure in any list of Lata’s best.

Yet you do not hear of the Lata-Chitragupta hyphenation in the same glowing terms as you hear of Lata-Madan Mohan special tuning or Lata-C Ramchandra special bonding (till it turned sour towards the end), or Ghulam Hyder’s role in discovering and introducing Lata, or Naushad grooming Lata’s voice in the 50’s out of Noorjehan’s mould or Khemchand Prakash’s singular contribution of Ayega Anewala (Mahal 1949), or Lata having the largest number of songs and the most hits with Laxmikant Pyarelal.

There are many more gems Chitragupta composed for Lata such as:

The Chitragupta-Lata story would not be complete without mentioning Lata’s duets with various singers, composed by Chitragupta. These duets are again incredibly sweet and beautiful and would easily figure among the best of Lata with those singers:

Lata Mangeshkar with Mohammad Rafi

Lata Mangeshkar with Mukesh

Lata Mangeshkar with Talat Mahmood

Lata with Kishore Kumar

Lata Mangeshkar with Mahendra Kapur

Lata Mangehskar with PV Srinivas

Lata Mangeshkar with Usha Mangeshkar

Now let us look at some of Chitragupta’s other songs in which Lata Mangeshkar does not feature at all. Chal ud ja re panchi (Bhabhi) would be always counted among Rafi’s greatest. There are some more Rafi solos: Mujhe dard-e-dil ka pata na tha (Akashdeep), Jaag dile deewana (Oonche Log), Ankhiyan sang ankhiya laagi aaj (Bada Admi 1961). There is a seldom heard but a very pleasant Rafi solo in Barkha – Admi chirag hai, uski chalegi kya chalti hawa ke saamne. Can any list of Mukesh’s songs be complete without Muft hue badnam (Barat).

There is a world of Bhojpuri films where Chitragupta was the undisputed monarch. In fact he defined Bhojpuri film music in the early sixties. Those who lived in Bihar or Eastern UP those days are witness to their mass popularity. Their immense popularity, Chitragupta’s characteristic sweetness and the fact that they were sung by Lata Mangeshkar, Rafi, Talat and Usha Mangeshkar made these songs mainstream. The songs of Ganga Maiya Tohe Piyari Chadaibe (1962) such as Hey ganga maiya tohe piyari chhadaibo (Lata, Usha), More karejwa mein peer (Lata, Usha), Sonawa ke pinjra mein band bhaile (Rafi), Luk chhip kajraa mein, Hum ta khelat rahli ammaji ke godiya and of Lagi Nahi Chute Ram (1963) such as Lal lal othawa se (Talat, Lata), Mori kalaiya sukumar ho (Lata), Ja ja re sugana ja re (Talat, Lata), Rakhiya bandhaa la bhaiya jiya tu lakh barees ho were popular much beyond Bhojpuri region without anyone caring for the distinction.

Then why did Chitragupta remain unheralded, under-rated and grossly unrewarded? He never won a Filmfare award (that the awards in some years were patently perverse is another story for some other time) or the state Padma awards.

The reason perhaps has to do with the sociology of Hindi film world of those days.

For someone who was born as Chitragupta Srivastava (1917) in Karmaini village of Gopalganj district of Bihar and left his job as a lecturer in a Patna college to make a career in music composing, the entry barriers to Bombay film world must have been daunting. He started working as assistant to SN Tripathi, which explains a slew of devotional/ mythological films Chitragupta did. Now most of these films had zero production and creative value. These were essentially meant for the kind of audience who offered flowers, incense and money at the screen when they saw a god making appearance in the film. Some of these films were Shivratri, Balyogi Upmanyu, Gayatri Mahima, Sati Madalasa and Pavanputra Hanuman.

The other kind of films which fell to Chitragupta’s lot was D-grade stunts. The name of some of the films such as Mala the Mighty, Fighting Hero, Stunt Queen, Tigress, Lady Robinhood, Toofan Queen says it all.

It was after struggling for several years that in the fifties he got introduced by SD Burman to a banner of some standing. That was the AVM Productions of South. SD Burman himself was too big for a banner like AVM, and he was familiar with Chitragupta’s work as SN Tripathi’s assistant. AVM and some other studios from South such as Gemini made what were known as clean family drama. These mahaan parivarik films were the ones which youngsters from decent middle class families were allowed to watch. But they remained stuck in-between. They did not have the lovable tramp of Raj Kapur or the tragedy King of Dilip Kumar or the carefree romantic of Dev Anand or the rebellious teaser of Shammi Kapur. They could have a middling Balraj Sahni or an occasional Ashok Kumar, Manoj Kumar, Sunil Dutt or a struggling Dharmendra. Aside from AVM’s Bhabhi, Main Bhi Ladki Hun, Main Chup Rahungi, Barkha for which Chitragupta composed music, his large number of other films had cast such as Sundar, Chandrashekhar, Ajit, Aga, Mahipal, David, Jagdeep, Kumkum etc.

What is amazing is the way Chitragupta’s music rose above his films. The fifties heralded the golden era of film music when hundred of flowers bloomed. The industry was dominated by the big three Naushad, Shankar Jaikishan and SD Burman who were the favourite composers of the three greats Dilip Kumar, Raj Kapur and Dev Anand. Standing alongside them were the two other superstars OP Nayar and C Ramchandra. After the big five the remaining space was occupied by other greats, Madan Mohan, Roshan, Hemant Kumar, Salil Choudhry and Kalyanji Anandji. You still have to reckon with Khayyam, Jaydev, Ravi and several more. That Chitragupta made a mark in this crowd with the kind of films he got and with the background he came from is a testimony to his talent.

Chitragupta now in heaven (died 1991) would be contented that his sons Anand Milind have made a mark for themselves, and at least in one respect done better than him – they have a Filmfare award for Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak, which eluded him. But what would he make of some of their famous songs such as Dhak dhak karne laga (Beta), Sarkai lo khatiya jada lage (Raja Babu), Tujhko mirchi lagi to main kya karun (Coolie No 1) etc. I would not charge them with denigrating their father’s legacy. It is only a sign that the times have changed, and so has the music. The music of the fifties and sixties are our precious gems which would have remained locked in vaults, but thanks to internet they are now accessible. Chitragupta is one of the greats of that era. If Madan Mohan was King of Ghazals, Naushad, King of classical and OP Nayar, King of rhythm, I have no hesitation in describing Chtragupta as King of Melody right up there along with Roshan, another of my great favourite.

Travesty of missing the Filmfare award

This is the Golden Jubilee year of Mughal-e-Azam (1960), and the media, both print and electronic, is rightly full of the movie. Everything about the film was superlative – its lavish production, awesome battle scenes with thousands of camels, horses and soldiers (there were no computer generated imaging those days), great acting by all the lead players Prithviraj Kapur (Akbar), Dilip Kumar (Salim) and Madhubala (Anarkali), grand ornate dialogues, and above all its timeless music composed by Naushad. But all the stories in the media have missed what Sherlock Holmes would have called the most significant thing about the film – that is, the Filmfare award for the best music director which Naushad did not win. The composers who beat him to it were the duo Shankar Jaikishan for Dil Apna Aur Preet Parayee.

Like everything else about Mughal-e-Azam, the music also had to be opulent and of epic proportions. Naushad also had the challenge of surpassing C Ramchandra’s Anarkali (1953). So if Tansen’s ragini had to waft through the lovers’ secret rendezvouz, it had to be who else but Ustad Bade Ghulam Ali Khan singing Prem jogan ban ke. Ustad Saheb would have nothing to do with film music, so to ward off approaches made to him, he quoted some humungous amount, several times more than what was paid to Lata and Rafi. Naushad instantly agreed. Another piece the Ustad sang was Shubh din ayo. Naushad had earlier worked magic with doyen of classical singers DV Paluskar and Amir Khan in Baiju Bawra (1952) with Aj gawat man mero jhum ke in Raag Desi.

If an expensive sheesh mahal had to be erected just for picturisation of one song, so be it. The song Jab pyar kiya to darna kya is an eternal metaphor for a lover’s defiance of a stubborn authority. The Emperor Akbar’s silent rage at this challenge, the mother Jodha Bai’s (Durga Khote) understanding the gravity of the situation and Salim’s surprised admiration at Anarkali’s courage are unforgettable images from this song.

Krishna lore has inspired many great film songs. But Mohe panghat pe Nandlal ched gayo re (Lata) enacted so beautifully on the screen by Madhubhala remains unsurpassed. Shakeel Badayuni has been credited as the lyricist of this song too. As a matter of fact this is a much older traditional composition, predating Shakeel Badayuni’s arrival by several years. Ignoring this matter of a little detail, what is remarkable is the way Naushad adapted the traditional classic to film medium with a little tweaking of the Raag and making it incredibly beautiful in the voice of Lata. Compare the film version of Mohe panghat pe Nandlal ched gayo re with a very old recording of 78 rpm era sung by Indubala, who belonged to the earliest era of female singers such as Gauhar Jan, Angurbala and Kamla Jharia, whose gramophone records became famous much before the advent of sound films:

Lata Mangeshkar sings Mohe panghat pe Nandlal ched gayo re

Indubala sings Mohe panghat pe Nandlal ched gayo re

The qawwali duet Teri mehfil mein kismet azma kar by Lata and Shamshad, presented on the screen by the pure Madhubala and her jealous rival Nigar Sultana for the prince’s love, brings to life their different world view of ‘love’ – one, all conquering, and the other, all sacrificing. Other Lata numbers – Mohabbat ki jhuthi kahani pe roye, Khuda nigehban ho tumhara, Bekas pe karam kijiye – all haunting melodies bring out so beautifully the pain and hopelessness of Madhubala thrown in a dungeon shackled in heavy chains. You are still left with great Lata gems Ye dil ki lagi kam kya hogi and Humein kash tumse mohabbat na hoti.

Though, surprisingly, there are no songs on Dilip Kumar, yet there is a very evocative Rafi number Zindabad, zindabad ae mohabbat zindabad, picturised on the rebel sculptor, who had a great deal of scorn for the ways of the palace. Coming towards the end when Salim was going to be executed for treason for the sake of his love, Ae mohabbat zindabad captures the entire spirit of Mughal-e-Azam in those few minutes.

Naushad was naturally disappointed to be denied the Filmfare award for the best music direction. Shankar Jaikishan’s Dil Apna Aur Preet Parayee did have some good numbers such as, Ajeeb dastan hai ye, Mera dil ab tera o sajna and Jane kahan gayee. But it would be stretching credulity to suggest it was any match to Mughal-e-Azam.

This was not the only time SJ were able to spring such surprises. In 1971 their Pehchan won the Filmfare over Laxmikant Pyarelal’s Do Raste and SD Burman’s Talaash, and most perverse of all, in 1973 their Beiman(!) won over Ghulam Mohammad’s Pakeezah. While SJ’s music ability declined, they were not beyond showing their non-musical prowess. Filmfare and the Times group did not enhance their prestige by such decisions.

It beats me why SJ should have even cared for such things. That they were one of the greatest music directors was never in doubt. With their very first film Barsaat (1949), they came to occupy the top place with Naushad, and dominated the film music for the next 15 years. There is no other instance of such a meteoric entry and such a long domination in the history of film music.

One more or less award does not add or detract anything from Naushad’s contribution to Hindi film music. He is the only one who has given everlasting gems with singers of vintage era such as Saigal, Surendranath, Parul Ghosh, Amirbai Karnataki, Zohra Ambalewali, Noorjehan, Shamshad Begum, Uma Devi (Tuntun) and Suraiya as with singers of golden era such as Lata, Talat, Rafi and Mukesh. I entirely agree with those who regard him as the greatest music director of all time. Mughal-e-Azam was not any film for him, it meant the peak and essence of whatever was in him. Indeed if the movie is a timeless classic, much of it is due to the timeless music of Naushad.

Would Noorjehan have survived the 1949 Lata tornado?

Noorjehan’s migration to Pakistan in 1947 left behind the enduring question – if she had stayed back in India, would Lata still have reached the commanding heights as she did in the following three decades? As Lata’s early songs had a distinct Noorjehan tinge, the suggestion is that Noorjehan’s absence from the scene in a way helped Lata’s rise; with her around Lata might have perhaps remained a copy of the original.

A ‘what if’ question of this kind is bound to arouse strong opinions and sentiments. But there are enough evidences and trends based on which one can visualise a plausible scenario.

Lata (born 1929) had been struggling for a few years when Ghulam Haider noticed her potential and gave her the first big break in his Majboor (1948) with songs like Dil mera toda hae kahin ka na chhoda tere pyar ne, Ab darne ki koi baat nahin (with Mukesh). He was so impressed with her that when he could not take her for Shaheed (1948) because of the opposition of Filmistan’s chief S Mukherji on the ground that her voice was too thin, he is reported to have said that a day would come when producers and composers would fall at her feet begging her to sing for their films. Then came some more numbers in 1948 such as Chanda re ja re ja re (Ziddi) by Khemchand Prakash, Yaad rakhna chand taro is suhani raat ko and Ek dil ka lagana baqi tha (Anokha Pyar) by Anil Biswas, which are unforgettable classics.

Listen to Lata’s Yaad rakhna chand taro>

Word about her spread fast. And then you have the watershed year of 1949 when Lata tornado hit the music scene with a force the like of which had no parallel in the history of Hindi film music. (A weak parallel would be 1969 when Kishore Kumar with Aradhana emerged as the dominant male singer). This was the year when Shankar Jaikishan with their very first movie, RK’s Barsaat, created a sensation riding on Lata’s voice. Then you have all the top composers Naushad, Anil Biswas, C Ramchandra, Husnlal Bhagatram, Khemchand Prakash, Shyam Sundar etc., as if driven by some mysterious unifying force, giving their best with this girl, who was barely 20, in the face of their favourite stalwarts like Shamshad Begum, Suraiya, Rajkumari, Amirbai Karnataki. Zohra Ambalawali etc. Here is a list of some of the famous Lata songs in 1949:

Lata songs in 1949

This is a truly awesome list. How many songs of 2009 we remember today? Hardly any. But each of the above songs, which were created many years before most of us were born, is a part of our musical consciousness after over 60 years. We can imagine the storm Lata would have caused then. Was it helped by Noorjehan’s absence? Now we can try to answer this question.

It is important to remember that pre-Lata film music was a crowded field. Noorjehan’s departure only meant one less, there were at least half a dozen other stalwarts. Noorjehan herself was a protégé of Ghulam Haider with Khandaan (1942) –Tu kaun si badli mein mere chand hai a ja. However, Ghulam Haider had also launched Shamshad Begum with enormous success a year earlier in Khazanchi – Sawan ke nazare hain, Ek kali nazon ki pali, Naino ke baan ki. She was equally important for him, and he later gave beautiful songs with her such as in Shama (1946) – Ek yaad kisi ki yaad rahi (with GM Durrani). Yet when he could not have Lata for Shaheed (1948), did he go back to Shamshad? No, he created terrific songs with Surinder Kaur (Badnam na ho jaye mohabbat ka fasana, Ana hai to a jao, Hum kahan aur tum kahan) and Lalita Deolkar (Bachpan ki yaad dhire dhire pyar ban gayee). Lalita Deolkar we also remember for her duets with Rafi by C Ramchandra –Humko tumhara hi aasra (Sajan 1947) and More raja ho le chal nadiya ke paar (Nadiya Ke Paar 1948). Nadiya Ke Paar also had a famous Shamshad duet with C Ramchandra himself (Chitalkar) – Mar gayo re more dil pe katari. C Ramchandra had already given super hit songs with Shamshad Begum and Amirbai Karnataki in Shehnai and Sindoor (both 1947) – Ana meri jaan meri jaan Sunday ke Sunday, Maar katari mar jana, Hamare angana aj baje shehnai, Koi roke mujhe aur ye kah de etc. Earlier he had given a very pleasant duet with Binapani Mukherji, Kabhi yaad kar ke gali paar kar ke (Safar 1946). In Patanga (1949), which had Lata’s great songs mentioned in the table above, he also gave everlasting Shamshad songs – Gore gore mukhade pe gesu jo chha gaye, Boloji dil loge to kya kya doge (with Rafi) and duets with himself, Mere piya gaye Rangoon, O dilwalo dil ka lagana achha hai par kabhi kabhi, Namaste pahle to ho gayee namaste namaste. Ghulam Haider migrated to Pakistan (along with other composers like Khursheed Anwar, Firoz Nizami and Rashid Atre). But once C Ramchandra discovered the magic of Lata, did he take any time in jettisoning all others? His deep fascination for Lata, both personal and professional is a part of the film world folklore.

Noorjehan’s reign overlapped that of the grand-uncle of film music Anil Biswas (considering RC Boral as grand-daddy, but that was of New Theatres, Calcutta). Yet his lead singers were Amirbai Karnataki and his sister, Parul Ghosh. If you spread the net wider you would get Begum Akhtar, Sitara Devi, Bibbo, Waheedan etc. One hardly comes across a memorable Noorjehan-Anil Biswas number. There was no question of his missing Noorjehan, and later he became one of the biggest votaries of Lata.

Noorjehan’s instant recall is because of her songs with Naushad from Anmol Ghadi (1946) – Awaaz de kahan hain (with Surendra), A ja meri barbaad mohabbat ke sahare, Mere bachpan ke sathi mujhe bhool na jana, Jawan hai mohabbat and Kya mil gaya bhagwan. But Naushad had earlier given spectacular music with Zohra Ambalawali and Amirbai Karnataki in Rattan (1944) – Ankhiya mila ke jiya bharma ke chale nahin jana, Rum jhum barse baadarwa, Sawan ke baadlo, Mil ke bichhad gayee ankhiyan, O janewale balamwa laut ke a laut ke a. Naushad was a true magician, whatever he touched turned into gold. Surendra was Anil Biswas’s lead singer, yet we recall him today by his Kyun yaad a rahe hain guzare hue zamane and Ab kaun hai mera kaho ab kaun hai mera (Anmol Ghadi). We know Tun Tun as the singer Uma Devi because of Afsana likh rahin hun (Dard 1947). If you are asked to recall three songs of Parul Ghosh, one would be Aye bhi wo gaye bhi wo ab to fasana ho gaya (Namaste 1943). Saigal’s greatest songs are for New Theatres by RC Boral, Pankaj Mallik and Timir Baran. Yet you instantly recall Jab dil hi toot gaya and Gham diye mustaqil for Shahjahan (1946), which was the only film Naushad did for him.

Listen to Noor Jehan’s Jawan hai mohabbat>

So did Naushad miss Noorjehan?

Does not seem so. He was bigger than his singers. He soon created gold with Shamshad Begum (Mela 1948), who sang all the songs for Nargis. Alongside came Anokhi Ada with Shamshad’s Aj kahan ja ke nazar takrayee, Nazar mil gayee hai kisi ki nazar se and Kyun unhe dil diya (with Surendra), and Chandni Raat (Kaise baje dil ke sitar with Rafi). Dulari (1949) also had extremely popular Shamshad songs Chandani ayee ban ke pyaar and Na bol pee pee more angana. And just when she thought she was firmly ensconced as Naushad’s top singer, he quietly jettisoned her for Lata to go on Nargis in Andaaz. He brought back Shamshad in Babul (1950) as the lead singer, but had a beautiful Lata solo Lagan mere man ki balam nahin jane and a duet between the two Kisi ke dil mein rahna tha. Duet (or duel?) between the two was repeated in Deedar (1951) – Bachpan ke din bhi bhula na dena, as if he was trying to make up his mind. He leaned distinctly towards Lata in Aan with an unforgettable chorus Aj mere man mein sakhi and a solo Tujhe kho diya humne pane ke baad. Then came the big bang of Baiju Bawra (1952) which finally settled all doubts. And then started a long journey of incredibly beautiful Naushad-Lata numbers in Amar, Shabab, Udankhatola, Kohinoor, Ganga Jamna, reaching its apogee in Mughal-e-Azam. It is difficult to imagine any other singer in place of Lata for these songs.

Listen to Lata’s Aj mere man mein sakhi>

Husnlal Bhagatram along with their elder brother Amarnath had given terrific songs with Noorjehan in Mirza Sahiban (1947) – A ja tujhe afsana judai ka sunayen, Kya yehi tera pyar tha and Haath seene pe rakh do to qarar a jaye (with GM Durrani). Noorjehan’s absence did not seem to cause any problems for them. They came out with everlasting songs with Suraiya in Pyar Ki Jeet (1948) – Tere nainon ne chori kiya and O door janewale, and in Badi Bahen (1949) – Wo paas rahen ya door rahen, Tum mujhko bhool jao, Likhanewale ne likh dee meri taqdeer mein barbadi and Bigadi banaewale bigadi bana de naiya hamari paar laga de. You remember Badi Bahen as much for Suraiya as for Lata’s Chale jana nahin and Chup chup khade ho zaroor koi baat hai. But there was some magic in Lata which enchanted them post-1949 as it did C Ramchandra.

Shankar Jaikishan arrived with Lata in Barsaat, and she was central to the musical dream of RK-SJ-Shailendra-Hasrat Jaipuri. Soon to come Madan Mohan and Roshan started their first major breaks without Lata. Madan Mohan’s Ankhen (1950) had a humorous Shamshad number Humse nain milana BA pass kar ke (with Mukesh) and a very famous Meena Kapur’s Mori atariya pe kaga bole. Roshan’s Bawre Nain (1950) had Rajkumari’s Suno bairi balam kuchhh bol re ib kya hoga, Mujhe sach sach bata do (with Mukesh) and Geeta Dutt’s Khayalon mein kisi ke is tarah aya nahin karte (with Mukesh). Yet they soon came to be identified with Lata. Madan Mohan’s mystique as ghazal king was built around Lata. No doubt Lata herself helped the build-up when she gave him the rare honour of including two of his songs in her best 10 she selected in 1967 (Reference Raju Bharatan’s Lata Mangeshkar) – Bairan neeend na aye (Chacha Zindabad, 1959) and Lag ja gale ki phir wo haseen raat ho na ho (Woh Kaun Thi, 1964). Naushad added his bit in a rare display of professional generosity when he proclaimed that his entire work was insignificant before Madan Mohan’s just two ghazals of Anpadh (1962) – Apki nazaron ne samjha and Hai isi mein pyar ki abroo. Roshan’s best songs by Lata are the ultimate in melody.

The composers who came still later such as Kalyanji Anandji, Hemant Kumar, Salil Chaudhry and Chitragupta had no pre-Lata baggage. They came for Lata, they created their best for her, and if every one of them gave memorable music it was because of Lata. Laxmikant Pyarelal were of course known as Lata’s boys, and their mutual support dominated the film music in the late sixties.

OP Nayyar is the sole exception who for his own personal reasons shunned Lata completely. This was a gain for Geeta Dutt and Asha Bhosle. They also had ultra-popular numbers with SD Burman, which was also helped by his hiatus with Lata for six years on account of some misunderstanding after Paying Guest (1957). But Lata remained central to his music. His best would always include Lata’s Thandi hawayen (Naujawan), Jhan jhan jhan jhan payal baje (Buzdil), Tum na jane kis jahan mein kho gaye (Saza) of 1951, Ye raat ye chandni phir kahan (with Hemant Kumar) in Jaal (1952) and Chand phir nikala (Paying Guest, 1957). When he realised Lata was essential for his music they came together again in Bandini (1963) with supremely melodious Jogi jab se tu aya mere dware, and you again have a long SDB-Lata musical association with unforgettable numbers in Guide, Ziddi, Jewel Thief, Tere Mere Sapne, Talaash, Prem Pujari, Abhimaan etc.

Noorjehan came in full bloom in Pakistan, her dominance was perhaps more comprehensive than Lata’s in India. If Lata was the Queen of Melody, she was Malika-e-Tarannum, but their music transcended borders. Many of Noorjehan’s Pakistan era songs and ghazals are of unparalleled beauty such as, Firoz Nizami composed Chandani raaten, Tum zindagi ko gham ka fasana bana gaye (Dopatta, 1952); Rashid Atre’s Nigahen milakar badal janewale (Mehboob, 1962), Lat uljhi suljha ja re balam (Sawal), Gayegi duniya geet mere, Raseele more rasiya (Mauseqaar, 1962), Faiz Ahmed Faiz’s famous ghazal Mujhse pahli si mohabbat mere mehboob na mang (Qaidi); Khursheed Anwar’s O bewafa tujhko maine pyar kyon kiya, Rimjhim pade phuhar tera mera (Koel, 1959); Ghulam Haider’s Bachpan ki yaadgaro, Lo chal diye wo humko tasalli diye bagair, Sakhi ri nahin aye sajanwa mor (Gulnar, 1963); M Ashraf’s Hamari saanson mein aj tak wo hina ki khushboo mahak rahi hai (Mere Huzoor). Yet you get the feeling what she did there was more of the same Punjab-Lahore-Urdu tradition of music. We remember Noorjehan’s Firoz Nizami’s songs in India for Jugnu (1947) – Humein to shaam-e-gham mein kaatni hai zindagi apni, Umangein dil ki machleen muskurayee zindagi apni and Yahan badla wafa ka bewafaai ke siwa kya hai (with Rafi). Khursheed Anwar we remember in India more for his Suraiya songs – Jab tum hi nahi apne duniya hi begani hai and Mere mundere na bol (besides Saigal’s Toot gaye sab sapne mere, Ae phool hans ke bagh mein, Mohabbat mein kabhi aisi bhi haalat payee jati hai, Kahin ulajh na jaana) in Parwana (1947). Rashid Atre was not very prolific in India, we remember him for Zohra’s Unhen bhi raaz-e-ulfat ki na hone di khabar maine in Nateeja (1947).

Listen to Noorjehan’s Hamari saanson mein>

Lata on the other hand had the advantage of amazing range of musical traditions working for her – you had Anil Biswas and SD Burman from East Bengal, Hemant Kumar and Salil Chaudhry from West Bengal, Chtragupta from Bihar, Naushad and SN Tripathi from UP, C Ramchandra and Vasant Desai from Maharashtra, Kalyanji Anandji from Gujarat, Shankar Jaikishan from Andhra-Gujarat, Husnlal Bhagatram, Shyam Sundar, Madan Mohan, Roshan, Khayyam and Jaidev from Punjab. They realised their musical dreams in her voice, their best was by her, and you cannot imagine any other singer singing their greatest songs.

What was special about Lata’s voice? People have struggled to find words to describe her magic. In mathematics you often approach a problem from the other side. So let us ask what was special about Noorjehan, Shamshad, Geeta Dutt or Asha Bhosale’s voice. Now this is easy to answer. Every one of them had something very distinct, very special about her voice. Someone had a deep throated full voice, someone had a nasal voice, some had a vivacious voice for racy or vampish numbers, someone was very good for ghazals, someone was very good for folk songs , etc. They all had their distinct fizz and flavour. We enjoy fizzy drinks; each of us has one’s own favourite. But it is pure water which quenches our thirst. Lata was pure music, Noorjehan was Noorjehan, Shamshad was Shamshad and so on.

So I paraphrase the ‘what if’ question. The question is not what would have happened to Lata if Noorjehan had stayed on. Rather, the question is would Noorjehan have survived the Lata tornado? And I have no doubt about the answer.

[Image courtesy: topnews.in]

Haal-e-dil unko sunana tha sunaya na gaya

Suman Kalyanur had to remain in the shadows of Lata Mangeshkar because of her uncanny similarity to Lata’s voice. Many of her songs are indistinguishable from Lata’s style, either because she was subconsciously imitating her style or the music directors were viewing her essentially as Lata’s replacement. Yet there are several songs which bear her special imprint. There is one particular song in which she seems to have clearly overshadowed Lata. I am referring to Haal-e-dil unko sunana tha sunaya na gaya from the film Fariyad (1964).

The beautiful lyric by Kedar Sharma is worth reproducing in full:

Haal-e-dil unko sunana tha sunaya na gaya, sunaya na gaya
Jo zubaan par mujhe lana tha woh laya na gaya
Pyar se seene pe sar rakh ke to dil kadmon par
Apko apna banana tha, banaya na gaya
Khelati aankh micholi rahi nazrein apni
Jinko palkon mein chupana tha chupaya na gaya
Ek hi waar mein haathon se jigar cheen liya
Haye jis dil ko bachana tha bachaya na gaya

Here is my rough English translation:

The turmoil of my heart I wanted to tell but could not
Words were simmering inside me but I could not bring them to lips
Putting my head in your lap with love and heart on your feet
I wanted to make you mine but could not
Hide and seek my eyes played on and on
But the one I was to hide in my brows I could not
With one wave of your hand you swept me away
Alas my heart I wanted to save but could not

The song has been wonderfully composed by Snehal Bhatkar, and Suman Kalyanpur’s singing has ethereal beauty. This should surely rank as one of the great songs of the golden era where everything – lyrics, music and the voice are superb.

Suman Kalyanpur sings Haal-e-dil unko sunana tha>

Now let us hear Lata Mangeshkar singing Haal-e-dil yun unhe sunaya gaya, aankh hi ko zuban banaya gaya from the film Jahan Ara (1964).

Haal-e-dil yun unhe sunaya gaya
Aankh hi ko zuban banaya gaya
Zindagi ki udaas raaton ko
Aapki yaad se sajaya gaya
Ishq ki woh bhi ek manzil thi
Har kadam par fareb khaya gaya
Laakh toofan samet kar yaa rab
Kis liye ek dil banaya gaya

Lata sings Haal-e-dil yuun unhe sunaya gayaa>

Rarely do you come across a song which seems so clearly as a rejoinder to another song. My conjecture is Lata must have been so astonished to hear Suman Kalyanpur’s beautiful Haal-e-dil that she would have been dying to outdo this song. Thus you have Lata’s own Haal-e-dil written by another top lyricist Rajendra Krishna, and composed by the King of Ghazal, her own Madan Bhaiya. Yet you feel Lata is trying too hard, and it is Suman Kalyanpur’s song that lingers in your memory.

This song was no flash in the pan. Leaving aside her Lata-type songs, there are several others which have similar beauty and her distinct style that leave a lasting imprint. Here is a list of some of Suman Kalyanpur’s all time great solos:

Suman Kalyanpur’s best solos:

^1. This song has also been sung by Hemant Kumar.

^2. There is also a duet with Mukesh on the same tune – Chura le na tumko ye mausam suhana, mentioned later.

Suman Kalyanpur earned more fame for her duets, especially with Rafi, many of which became roaring hits such as, Na na karte pyar tumhi se kar baithe (Jab Jab Phool Khile, 1965, Kalyanji Anandji), Kya kahne masha allah nazar teer aapki (Ji Chahta hai, 1964, Kalyanji Anandji), Itna hai tumse pyar mujhe (Suraj, 1966, Shankar Jaikishan), Aaj kal tere mere pyaar ke charche har zaban par (Brahmchari, 1968, Shankar Jaikishan), Tumse O hassena kabhi mohabbat (Farz, 1967, Laxmikant Pyarelal), Tujhe dekha tujhe chaha tujhe pooja maine (Chhoti Si Mulaquat, 1967, Shankar Jaikishan), Tumne pukara aur hum chale aye (Rajkumar, 1964, Shankar Jaikishan) etc. One can uncharitably say that these songs came her way fortuitously because of some rift between Rafi and Lata during that period. But even if you take out all the songs which may sound Lata-ish, you still have a large number of duets in which she adds something distinct, beautiful and everlasting. While many of her duets with Rafi are breezy in SJ or LP style, there are several others which are extremely soulful and melodious. Her duets with Mukesh are of rare beauty. Here are some of her best duets with male singers:

Suman Kalyanpur’s best duets with male singers:

³ There is also another version of this duet sung by Mukesh and Kamal Barot.

Suman Kalyanpur had a special niche in folk based songs she sang with other female singers. Her songs with female singers occupy a special place in Hindi film music, and they easily rank among the best of the type.

Suman Kalyanpur’s best songs with female singers:

It is sad that a singer with such enormous talent did not get her due; her similarity with Lata’s voice became her curse. Yet her best is no inferior to any singer’s best, and she is one of the great singers of the golden era.

The Ultimate in Melody

Hemant Kumar in his voice brought the beauty of Bengal and melody of Rabindra Sangeet. When he joined with Lata Mangeshkar the effect was magical. Easily the best duets of Hindi films are of Hemant-Lata. One can also safely say no song of Hemant Kumar was pedestrian. With his deep resonant voice he could be nothing but melody personified. As for Lata, she surpasses any superlative. Here is my selection of their best duets.

1. Aa neele gagan tale pyar hum karein, film Badshah (1954) Shankar Jaikishan

There are two other very close contenders for the top spot – Ye raat ye chandni phir kahan and Chandan ka palna resham ki dori. After listening very closely I give this honour to Shankar Jaikishan’s Aa neele gagan tale pyar hum karein. The beautiful lyric, the opening prelude, Lata creating magical environment with the opening mukhada, then her first stanza at high pitch Ye shaam ki bela ye madhur mast nazaare transport you to a surreal world. Hemant Kumar enters in the second stanza in the lower octave Do jaan hain hum aise mile ek hi ho jayen to give a beautiful contrast. Finally Lata sums up again in the upper octave with Tu maang ka sindur hai aankhon ka hai kaajal, concluding with Saamne baithe raho shringar hum karein. The heavenly romance of this song mesmerises you.

Aa neele gagan tale pyar hum karein
Hil mil ke pyar ka iqaraar hum karein
Aa neele gagan tale…

Ye sham ki bela ye madhur mast nazaare
Baithe rahen hum tum yun hi bahon ke sahare
Wo din na aye intezaar hum karein
Aa neel gagan tale…

Do jaan hain hum aise mile ek hi ho jayen
Dhhoonda kare duniya humein hum pyar mein kho jayen
Bechain baharon ko gulzaar hum karein
Aa nele gagan tale…

Tu maang ka sindur hai aankhon ka hai kajal
Le baandh le daman ke kinaron se ye anchal
Samne baithe raho shringaar hum karein
Aa neele gagan tale…

Hemant Kumar-Lata sing Aa neele gagan tale pyar hum karein

2. Chandan ka palna resham ki dori, film Shabab (1954) Naushad

Starting with KL Saigal’s So ja rajkumari so ja from the film President (1940) composed by Pankaj Mallik, lullaby has been attracting composers. Aside from Saigal’s which is a class apart, lullaby never reached greater heights than Naushad’s Chandan ka palna, even surpassing C Ramchandra’s Dheere se aa ja ri ankhiyan mein from Albela (1951). Shakeel Badayuni’s lyrics Oonche gagan se koi bulaye/Ayee hain pariyan dola sajayen create a magic world, and who else but Hemant Kumar to transport you there. I am so moved by this song every time I hear it, I could have very easily put it at No. 1 – it is just that between two great songs I have to give one of them the second slot.

Hemant Kumar-Lata sing Chandan ka palna resham ki dori

But the real magic of Hemant Kumar’s voice comes out in the solo version of this song. The song is preceded by his recitation, not set to music, Sangeet hai shakti Ishwar ki har sur mein basein hain Ram/ Raagi jo sunaye raag madhur rogi ko mile araam, and then when he sings Ho chandan ka palna resham ki dori, you are transported to a fairy land.

Hemant Kumar sings Chandan ka palna

3. Ye raat ye chandni phir kahan, film Jaal (1952), SD Burman

It is sad that I have to put it at No. 3. Sahir Ludhiyanvi – SD Burman association which had started a year earlier with Baazi and Naujawan reached greater heights in Ye raat ye chandni phir kahan. No wonder Sahir was regarded as a poet’s poet in the film world, and you do not often get more romantic, lyrical and profound lyrics than:

Ye raat ye chandni phir kahan sun ja dil ki dastan
Chandni raatein pyaar ki baatein kho gayin jane kahan

Aati hai sadaa teri toote hue taaron se
Aahat teri sunati hun khamosh nazaaron se
Bheegi hawa doobi ghata kahti hai teri kahani
Tere liye bechain hai sholon mein lipati jawani
Seene mein bal kha raha hai dhuan
Sun ja dil ki dastaan

Lahron ke labon par hain khoye hue afsane
Gulzar ummidon ke sab ho gaye veerane
Tera pata paaun kahan soone hain saare thikane
Jane kahan gum ho gaye ja ke wo agale zamane
Barbad hai arzoo ka jahan, sun ja dil ki dastan

Hemant Kumar-Lata sing Ye raat ye chandni phir kahan sun ja dil ki dastan

The reason why I had to give it No. 3 spot is that this duet has very little of Hemant Kumar – he comes only in between to sing the refrain Ye raat ye chandni phir kahan. And once you have taken in the full Hemant solo version of this song which is slightly faster paced (different lyrics though, another masterpiece by Sahir), the duet suffers in comparison. The lyrics of Hemant solo are so beautiful it is worth reproducing them:

Ye raat ye chandni phir kahan, sun ja dil ki dastan
Pedon ki shakhon par soyee soyee chandni
Tere khayalon mein khoyee khoyee ragini
Aur thodi der mein thak ke laut jayegi,
raat ye bahar ki phir kabhi na ayegi
Lo ek pal aur hai ye samaan, sun ja dil ki dastan

Lahron ke hothon pe dhima dhima raag hai
Bheegi hawaaon mein thandi thandi aag hai
Is haseen aag mein tu bhi jal ke dekh le
Zindagi ke geet ki dhun badal ke dekh le
Sun meri ab dhadkanon ki zuban, sun ja dil ki dastan

Jaati baharein hain uthati jawaaniyan,
taaron ki chhaon mein kah le kahaniyan
Ek baar chal diye gar tujhe pukar ke
Laut kar na ayenge kafile bahar ke
Aa ja lagi zindagi hai jawan, sun ja dil ki dastan

Hemant Kumar sings Ye raat ye chandni phir kahan

4. Badli mein chhupe chand ne kuchh mujhse kaha hai, film Shatranj (1956), C Ramchandra

C Ramchandra completed the big quartet with Shankar Jaikishan, Naushad and SD Burman. After they have occupied the first three slots, it is befitting that he takes the 4^th slot. I put it over his more well known Jaag dard-e-ishq jag from Anarkali (1953), as Badli mein chhupe chand ne kuchh mujhse kaha hai has the same ethereal beauty which is the hallmark of Hemant Kumar.

Hemant Kumar-Lata sing Badli mein chhupe chand ne kuch mujhse kaha hai

5. Ek baar zara phir kah do mujhe sharma ke tum deewana, film Bin Badal Barsaat (1963) music Hemant Kumar

After floating in fairyland with the first four songs I come down to this planet for my No. 5 in the list. When Hemant Kumar himself is the composer you can expect he would take his talent to a still higher level. No song perhaps illustrates this better than Ek bar zara phir kah do mujhe sharma ke tum deewana from Bin Badal Barsaat. Biswajeet prancing around Asha Parekh in the midst of trees and flowers in a very unabashed Shammi Kapoor or Joy Mukherjee style, and Asha Parekh’s playful yes/no and finally yielding to call him deewana as demanded by him, is a perfect cliché of Bollywood. You can visualise any number of Rafi-Lata or Rafi-Asha Bhosle duets fitting this scene composed by Shankar Jaikishan or OP Nayyar. But Hemant Kumar makes this song to a trite situation into a classic. See how, to Lata’s Aisi meethi meethi baatein kar ke kahan seekha hai dil ka lagana, Hemant Kumar instead of responding to that query, persists with O jaane jaan, ek baar zara phir kah do mujhe sharma ke tum deewana. This duet stretches the bar he had set for naughty, playful numbers with his solo Zara nazron se kah do ji nishana chook na jaye in Bees Sal Baad a year earlier.

Hemant Kumar-Lata sing Ek baar zara phir kah do

6. Jaag dard-e-ishq jag dil ko beqaraar kar, film Anarkali (1953) C Ramchandra

It would be a surprise if this beautiful duet from C Ramchandra’s most renowned film Anarkali, the music of which became the bar for Naushad to surpass in Mughal-e-Azam, did not figure in the top 10. It is a tribute to the quality of Hemant-Lata duets that this had to figure at No.6.

Hemant Kumar and Lata Mangeshkar sing Jaag dard-e-ishq jaag

7. Nain so nain naahi milao, film Jhanak Jhanak Payal Baje (1955) Vasant Desai

This film had the title song by the doyen of Hindustani classical Ustad Amir Khan, and Lata Mangeshkar’s heavenly solo Saiyan ja ja tose na bolun. Therefore, when Hemant Kumar had to sing this duet with Lata Mangeshkar to the pure classical dance of Gopi Krishna and Sandhya, the challenge must have been enormous. Yet see how effortlessly he sings Nain so nain naahi milao which is an all time classic.

Hemant Kumar-Lata sing Nain so naahi milao

8. Chhupa lo yun dil mein pyar mera, film Mamta (1966) Roshan

When it comes to melody, Roshan’s name would always be among the very top. The mood of this song is serene appropriate to Raag Yaman. You can see the imagery of a lamp, diya or deepak often in poetry from Mahdevi Verma’s Yah mandir ka deep ise neerav jalne do or Madhur madhur mere deepak jal/ Yug yug pratidin prati kshan prati pal priyatam ka path alokit kar to Pankaj Mallik’s bhajan Tere mandir ka hun deepak jal raha to songs like Jalte hain jiske liye teri ankhon ke diye. Shama of course is one of the stock imageries of Urdu poetry. Chupa lo yun dil mein pyar mera ki jaise mandir mein lau diye ki uses the imagery of the lamp in a temple to describe the love between a man and a woman. You needed the voice of Hemant Kumar to lift the song to a spiritual plane.

Hemant Kumar-Lata sing Chhupa lo yun dil mein pyar mera

9. Yaad kiya dil ne kahan ho tum, film Patita (1953) Shankar Jaikishan

Shankar Jaikishan who topped this list come again with this mellifluous Hemant-Lata duet. This shows SJ’s versatility who combined creative talent with huge commercial success.

Hemant Kumar-Lata sing Yaad kiya dil ne kahan ho tum

10. Tumhe yaad hoga kabhi hum mile the, film Satta Bazaar (1959) Kalyanji Anandji

Kalyanji Anandji debuted in the late 50s, initially solo by Kalyanji Virji Shah and soon joined by his brother Anandji Virji Shah to make the official duo Kalyanji Anandji. This was a very crowded field with the big composers Naushad, Shankar Jaikishan, SD Burman and OP Nayyar at their peak, followed by greats like Madan Mohan and Roshan and several others. Yet KA made tremendous impact with their very initial films. This Hemant-Lata duet is a testimony to their talent. Even in the crowded field they achieved acclaim, especially for their Mukesh songs and his duets with Lata in Madari, Chalia, Himalay Ki God Mein etc. After the decline of the old era stalwarts in the seventies, they occupied the top slot with RD Burman and Laxmiknat Pyarelal, with these three capturing over 80% of all the big films. It is remarkable the way they reinvented themselves in the 1970s and 80s – it is difficult to believe the same composers could give Khaike paan banaraswala for Kishore Kumar who gave songs like Chaand si mehbooba hogi meri kab, Hum chhod chalein hain mehfil ko, Mere toote hue dil se koi to aj ye poochhe, Tumhe zindagi ke ujale mubarak andhere humein aj raas aa gaye hain etc for Mukesh.

Hemant Kumar-Lata sing Tumhe yaad hoga kabhi hum mile the

This completes my list of top ten Hemant Kumar-Lata duets. This still leaves out great songs like Dekho wo chand chupke karta hai kya ishare (Shart, 1954, Hemant Kumar), Saanwle salone aye din bahar ke (Ek Hi Rasta, 1956, Hemant Kumar) and Neend na mujhko aye (Post Box 999, 1958, Kalyanji Virji Shah). If you include his duets with other singers such as Aa gup chup gup chup pyar karein with Sandhya Mukherji in Sazaa (1951, SD Burman); Ye hansta hua karwaan zindagi ka na poochho chala hai kidhar with Asha Bhosle in Ek Jhalak (1957, Hemant Kumar); Mujhko tum jo mile ye jahan mil gaya with Geeta Dutt in Detective (1958, Mukul Roy); Tumhi mere meet ho tumhi mere preet ho with Suman Kalyanpur in Pyase Panchhi (1961, Kalyanji Anandji) and Na tum humein jano na hum tumhe jane with Suman Kalyanpur in Baat Ek Raat Ki (1962, SD Burman), the choice becomes further difficult.

Rafi and Mukesh were more prolific than Hemant Kumar – they were mainstream, he was unique. Yet his songs, especially his duets would rank among the greatest of all. He was truly God’s gift to music.

Remembering Mohammad Rafi on his death anniversary July 31

Mohammad Rafi and Lata Mangeshkar were two colossus whose comprehensive domination in the golden era of 1950’s and 60’s made them synonymous with playback singing. They were what is described in marketing jargon as the brand becoming the product. What better way than to write on their best ten duets to pay my tribute to Rafi on his death anniversary, July 31.

The criteria I have followed is not to have more than one duet from any composer.  I have also not pre-selected the composers (except one or two towards the end).  Rather I have selected my absolute favourite songs in order of priority, and then go down the list skipping repeat composers.  So here is my best ten Rafi-Lata duets by ten different composers.

1. Ae mohabbat unse milne ka bahana ban gaya from Bazaar (1949), lyrics Qamar Jalabadi, music Shyam Sundar

1949 was a watershed year marking the change from the vintage era to the golden era with Shankar Jaikishan storming with his debut Barsaat, and Lata Mangeshkar creating a sensation with her everlasting songs with all the leading composers of the time (see Lata Mangeshkar versus Noorjehan). She at barely 20 and Rafi, barely 25 had been around for a couple of years, and not yet the dominant figures they would soon become. Shyam Sundar himself from the vintage era creating this masterpiece at the cusp of transition – this song is steeped in history, and I still find it of eternal quality, and very easily my top choice. It appears to be a stage song performed by Shyam and Nigar Sultana with a bicycle as a prop. While Nigar Sultana looks quite comely, Shyam looks unduly stiff; was it because they made him wear bandgalaa in hot summer in the auditorium which had no AC?

2. Bhigi palke utha meri jaan gham na kar from Do Gunde (1958), lyrics Majrooh Sultanpuri, music Ghulam Mohammad

How do you describe a song which has such ethereal quality, which puts you in trance and transports you into another world? You do not care if it is picturised on Ajit and Jayshree Gadkar. Such songs make me very hesitant in using the pejorative term B-grade for these films.  Ghulam Mohammad was one of the greatest composers, and several of his songs for Talat Mahmood, Suraiya and Shamshd Begum are of unparalleled beauty.  Some more of his Rafi-Lata duets are absolute gems, such as Hum tum ye bahaar (Ambar) and Ankhiyan mila ke zara baat karo ji (Pardes).  So you can imagine his class if he could create Bhigi palke utha towering over even these songs.

3. Sun mere sajanaa ho from Aansoo (1953), lyrics Qamar Jalalabadi, music Husnlal Bhagatram

Again a duet in the same heavenly class. Husnlal Bhagatram were probably the first duo in film music. They were also mentors of Shankar Jaikishan. With such quality of music it is ironic that SJ’s rise in a way directly led to their downfall.

4. Bhula nahi dena jib hula nahi dena from Baradari (1955), lyrics Khumar Barabankvi, music Nashad

Wow, this is Ajit again, now with Geeta Bali! Let me tell you I was not aware before writing this that this was picturised on Ajit. Moreover, the music director is Nashad (not Naushad as some websites have erroneously attributed), so is this what we call a B-grade movie? The song is undoubtedly A-plus and for me this belongs to the category of eternal songs making automatic entry at number 4.

5. Tere bin soone nain hamaare from Meri Soorat Teri Ankhen (1963), lyrics Shailendra, music SD Burman

This duet again I would put in heavenly category and makes automatic entry at my number five. Ashok Kumar is a talented singer, but ugly looking and shunned by the world.  Rafi pours the pain of this character in this plaintive melody.  Beautiful Asha Parekh is involuntarily drawn towards this enchanting voice, and as she thinks she has come near it, she breaks into Lata Mangeshkar’s equally moving rendition of the last stanza.

6. Tu Ganga ki mauj main Jamuna ki dhara from Baiju Bawra (1952), lyrics Shakeel Badayuni, music Naushad

This is a landmark film in the career of Naushad when he finally settled on Rafi and Lata Mangeshkar as his lead singers, even after having great success with Mukesh (Mela, Anokhi Ada and Andaaz), Talat Mahmood (Babul) and Shamshad Begum (Mela, Dulari, Babul). The song itself has several landmarks to its credit. The first ever Filmfare award to a music director went to Naushad for this song (those days the award was for a specific song), and unbelievably this remained his only Filmfare trophy (even his Mughal-e-Azam lost to the ‘mighty’ Shankar Jaikishan’s Dil Apna Aur Preet Parayee). As Meena Kumari rows away her canoe alone, Bharat Bhushan comes into view. Rafi’s opening Akeli mat jaiyo Radhe Jamuna ke teer in slow tempo sounds like a caring person’s pleading to her not to venture alone to the bank of river Jamuna, and when you least expect, it breaks into Naushad’s beautiful orchestration, and this duet with a different mukhda. This is pure magic.

7. Teri ankhon mein pyar maine dekh liya from Chand Mere Aa Ja (1960), lyrics Rajendra Krishna, music Chitragupta

It would be a surprise if the great melody maker Chitragupta did not make it to my list. His Teri duniya se door (Zabak) and Laagi chute na ab to sanam (Kali Topi Lal Rumal) have acquired iconic status. There are some more I like immensely such as Beet gayi hai aadhi raat (Nache Nagin Baje Been) and Chand jane kahan kho gaya (Main Chup Rahungi). I choose Teri ankhon mein pyar maine dekh liya, because it has all the sweetness for which I like Chitragupta so much. Bharat Bhushan – Nanda are childhood buddies and, as grown up lovers, are having a romantic ride on a bullock cart. This rural idyll needed the melody of Chitragupta, who would create a sensation with this genre in Bhojpuri films like Ganga Maiya Tohe Piyari Chhdayibe and Laagi naahi chute Ram.

8. Jeevan mein piya tera saath rahe from Goonj Uthi Shenai (1958), music Vasant Desai

Vasant Desai is known for classical/semi-classical compositions. When Lata Mangeshkar recites in slow tempo Rok sake na raah humari duniya ki deewar, saath jiyenge saath marenge amar humara pyar you least expect it would be followed by a very fast orchestration, and this duet continues in the same gay abandon of exuberance.

9. Kali ghata ghir aye re from Kali Ghata (1951), music Shankar Jaikishan

The first eight duets came to me spontaneously. For the remaining two I have to do some deliberation. Shankar Jaikishan should enter as a matter of right with the kind of domination they had in the golden era. Their music was to a great extent instrumental in the huge success of stars like Rajendra Kumar and Shammi Kapoor and one can recall a number of famous duets from their films of 1960s. Some of SJ’s melodious duets are Awaaz de ke humein tum bulaao (Professor), Tujhe jeevan ki dor se baandh liya hai (Asli Naqli) and Dheere dheere chal chand gagan mein (Love Marriage) However, my special favourite is this duet from early 1950s, a period which had a very unique charm in the kind of music produced by the great composers like Naushad and C Ramchandra. The young SJ team was equal to them in quality and commercial success. The voices of the great singers like Lata Mangeshkar, Rafi and Mukesh also had that period feel. Here is this 1951 duet sung so beautifully by the two stalwarts, and picturised equally beautifully on Kishore Sahu and Bina Rai.   (The video’s audio quality was poor, therefore I have replaced it with  its audio).

10. Baar baar tohe kya samjhaun from Aarti (1962), music Roshan

The one remaining slot I have to give to Roshan whom I put at the top in melody. His soulful, romantic and soft songs have the power to transport you to another world.  Aapne yaad dilaya to mujhe yaad aya is more typical of Roshan.  A middle of the road and perhaps more famous is Jo vada kiya wo nibhana padega (Tajmahal). Baar baar tohe kya samjhaun is somewhat atypical of Roshan. But its beauty is enhanced by its picturisation. A group of villagers are enjoying this item number (by those days’ standards) performed by an extra dancer. Then the newly weds Pradeep Kumar and Meena Kumari come upon this group. Pradeep Kumar coyly beckons to the wife to join. Meena Kumari in big bindi, a very prominent mangalsutra and huge jhumkas, so very gingerly starts swaying her body and sings the same Baar baar tohe kya samjhaun in a very kosher style appropriate to a virtuous patni. Towards the end of the duet you see the couple, now by themselves under the stars, walking off towards the sea and generally soaking the romantic ambience.

The above list has one important omission, Laxmikant-Pyarelal. In sheer quantity of Rafi and Lata Mangeshkar songs they would probably outnumber any other composer. In the later 1960’s they had become an assembly-line hit producing factory which also included some outstanding songs such as their very first Wo jab yaad aye bahut yaat aye (Parasmani) to their later Jhil mil sitaron ka angan hoga (Jeevan Mrityu). But I find it difficult to squeeze them in at the cost of the above ten. Madan Mohan’s songs for Lata Mangeshkar have acquired iconic status, so have Ravi’s for Mohammad Rafi, but off hand I can not recall their any great Rafi-Lata duet. It is possible there are some hidden gems created by minor composers for obscure movies. Given Rafi and Lata Mangeshkar’s enormous scale and their ardent following, it is quite likely there would be more such compilations on the blogworld. It would be quite interesting to compare each other’s favourites.

Having recently done a list of happy songs of Mukesh, I had no intention of doing another Mukesh post anytime soon. But dustedoff, AP Joshi and Subodh Agrawal in their comments entered into an earnest discussion on ‘happy’ duets of Mukesh and requested I do a list of my favourite such duets. This opened the floodgates of my memory and several beautiful duets came streaming in my mind. About the same time another amazing coincidence happened. I heard on radio, after at least four decades, a most fabulous Mukesh-Lata duet lying in deep recesses of my memory. This post is an outcome of all these happenings.

Duets are a special class of film songs, which I feel are more than the sum of their parts. I also hold that a peppy song becomes peppier in a duet, especially if the male singer is one whose natural instinct favours soulful, slow emotional songs. You would see this in Mukesh duets I am presenting. It becomes more pronounced in case of Talat Mahmood, as if the presence of a female singer lets him come out of his own shackles. That is for some other time when I get to write about Talat Mahmood. For the moment I invite you to savour my favourite ‘happy’ duets of Mukesh.

1. Thane kajaliya bana lun with Lata Mangeshkar from Veer Durgadas (1960), lyrics Bharat Vyas, music SN Tripathi

This is the song that made me overcome my hesitation to do this post now. Unfortunately only the audio of the song is available, but from its beautiful music, beat and variation in pitch one can imagine the dance must have been out of this world. Before Lata’s voice fully tapers off, Mukesh joins at high pitch and glides smoothly to low pitch when Lata joins in a seamless manner as if passing the baton in a musical relay race. Its tune was etched in my memory, though I remembered only snatches of its lyric. I could never have traced it on my own because of its mukhda in Rajasthani (the lady tells her lover I would transform you into kajal and keep you shut inside my eyelids), but it must have been destined that Vividh Bharti should play this song about the time my readers were asking for my favourite Mukesh duets.

2. Tujhe chand kahun ya phool kahun with Lata Mangeshkar from Sunehri Nagin (1963), music Kalyanji Anandji

What if the actors are Mahipal and Helen if the song is so good? Another B-grade movie, but a fabulous duet. AP Joshi mentioned that contrary to popular perception, Mukesh sounds good at high pitch also. Mukesh is mesmerising at low pitch, but this duet is a prime example that at high pitch also he is beautiful. If you think of it, in his iconic solo Ye mera diwanapan hai (Yahudi), he starts the recital part Dil se tujhko bedili hai at high pitch and glides down effortlessly to the main song at low pitch.

3. Kahe nainon mein kajra bharo with Lata Mangeshkar from Badi Bahu (1951), lyrics Prem Dhawan, music Anil Biswas

Early 1950’s and Anil Biswas – class would always show. Folk based songs have something enchanting and universal about them.

4. Chura le na tumko ye mausam suhana with Suman Kalyanpur from Dil Hi To Hai (1963),lyrics Sahir Ludhiyanvi, music Roshan

Contrast this unrestrained duet with the sad solo version by Suman Kalyanpur Yun hi dil ne chaha tha rona rulana teri yaad to ban gayee ak bahana; you would agree with my theory about the duets being more than sum of its parts, and bringing in extra zest.

5. Begani shadi mein Abdullah diwana with Lata Mangeshkar from Jis Desh Mein Ganga Bahti Hain (1960), lyrics Shailendra, music Shankat Jaikishan

The dacoit Sardar’s daughter Padmini falls for the simpleton Raj Kapoor, who is completely clueless about women, heart, love etc. She throws enough hints about her feelings for him. She even mentions she might get married one day. Raj Kapur gets excited and proclaims he would sing at her marriage party. Idiot! But lovable, and she cannot help dancing and singing at this queer character. The song starts primarily as a Lata solo and you can feel the impact when Mukesh joins in.

6. Dekho mausam kya bahar hai with Lata Mangeshkar from Opera House (1961), lyrics Majooh Sultanuri, music Chitragupta

My first song was by SN Tripathi from a B grade film. Here is another foot tapping lovely duet from a B grade film composed by his once assistant Chitragupta, picturised on Ajit (the villain we all know) and B Saroja Devi.

7. Lagi tumse lagan sathi chute na with Lata Mngeshkar from Saranga (1960), lyrics Bharat Vyas, music Sardar Mallik

I have to now stop describing films as B-grade. Saranga was a landmark score of Sardar Malik (father of Anu Malik). Though he was hugely talented, he could not hit the big league. This beautiful duet picturised on Sudesh Kumar and Jayshree Gadkar is but only one of several fabulous songs in this movie (Every Mukesh fan would know Saranga teri yaad mein).

8. Humse hoti mohabbat jo tumko with Asha Bhosle from Mohabbat Isko Kahte Hain (1965), lyrics Majrooh Sultanpuri, music Khayyam

Mukesh with Asha Bhosle is not a natural combination. But what a lilting duet on Shashi Kapoor and Nanda composed by one of the greatest composers Khayyam who never compromised his standards. He was not counted in the big league but while his giant contemporaries fell by the wayside in 1970s and 80s, he achieved great commercial success as well with films like Kabhi Kabhi, Umrao Jaan, Bazaar etc. You can notice Mukesh opening recital Tum isko khel samjhe ho, followed by mukhda by Asha Bhosle at normal pitch. Then Mukesh joins in at high pitch with Chhod do tum ada roothane ki and glides down to low pitch. Again at his next turn he follows the same pattern with Is qadar lag rahi ho haseen tum at very high pitch and comes down effortlessly. Beautiful!

9. Ye wada karo chand ke samne, with Lata Mngeshkar from Rajhath (1956), lyrics Hasrat Jaipuri, music Shankar Jaikishan

A foot tapping duet picturised on Pradeep Kumar and Madhubala, but Mukesh in his sweet voice beckons you to enjoy the song in solitude of night all by yourself.

10. Ye kisne geet chheda with Suman Kalyanpur from Meri Surat Teri Ankhen (1963), lyrics Shailendra, music SD Burman

If you consider the longest lasting, and the largest variety of singers for whom any music director has composed everlasting songs, SD Burman would be perhaps the undisputed king. His talent is awesome, another great duet from this film Tere bin soone nain hamare figured in my best ten list of Rafi-Lata duets.

11. Dil lootnewale jadugar ab maine tujhe pahchana hai with Lata Mangeshkar from Madari (1959), lyrics Farooq Qaiser, music Kalyanji Anandji

Among KA’s earliest work and what great talent! An immortal song on perfect B-grade stars. Laxmikant Pyarelal were their assistant. The mentor and protégé would later rule the music world in 70’s.

12. Duniyawalon se door jalnewalon se door with Lata Mangeshkar from Ujala (1959), lyrics Shailendra, music Shankar Jaikishan

Shammi Kapoor had not yet fully switched to Mohammad Rafi, therefore you have a different Shammi flavour appropriate to Mukesh. The duet is great all the same.

13. Tum chal rahe ho hum chal rahe the magar duniyawalon ke dil jal rahe hain with Lata Mangeshkar in Duniya Na Mane (1959), music Madan Mohan

The same year and similar song in which the lovers talk about going far away from this world which is so jealous and intrusive about two people in love. This breezy duet makes even a staid Pradeep Kumar let himself go and join the revelry with carefree Mala Sinha. Contrast the peppy duet with Mukesh’s solo version which is in his typical melancholy style.

14. Mano ya na mano with Suman Kalyanpur from First Love (1961), lyrics Gulshan Bawra, music Dattaram

Suman Kalyanpur’s biggest asset – that she was born with a voice like Lata Mangeshkar’s – became her curse.  But her solos and duets with Rafi and Mukesh are among the most beautiful songs of their class.  See Suman Kalyanpur outshines Lata Mangeshkar for a more detailed article on her.

15. Tum kahan le chale ho with Lata Mangeshkar from Poonam Ki Raat (1965), lyrics Shailendra, Salil Chaudhry

Even as the lady is asking the hero where is he taking her, she is thoroughly enjoying this journey to the unknown. A beautiful composition by Salil Chaudhry.

16. Ankhiyon ka noor hai tu with Suman Kalyanpur from Johar Mahmood in Goa (1965), lyrics Qamar Lalalabadi, music Kalyanji Anandji

Is it a happy or sad song? While Sonia Sahni lip synchs Suman Kalyanpur, Mukesh’s voice is coming from her invisible lover, whose presence is felt through a dancing flower or footprints.

17. Nee baliye rut hai bahar ki with Lata Mangeshkar from Kanhaiya (1959), lyrics Shailendra, music Shankar Jaikishan

If you are as thrilled as Raj Kapur at getting married, even if you do not know dancing you would not feel inhibited to break into a jig.

18. Hum tum ye khoyee khoyee raahein with Lata Mangeshkar from Rangoli (1962), lyrics Shailendra, music Shankar Jaikishan

A beautiful duet picturised on perfect B-grade actors (I have no clue who they are nor do I want to quote second hand information from the internet).

19. Dil se dil ki dor bandhe from Chhaya (1961), lyrics Rajendra Krishna, music Salil Chaudhary

If the heroine is in sari (which was the norm those days), the hero too is in dhoti kurta. But they can still have a romantic day out in the woods and the sea (Oops! by the end of the song Sunil Dutt’s dhoti has become pyjamas and Asha Parekh has changed into more than one salwar kurta even though they were not carrying any bag which could allow them this sartorial experimentation in this wilderness).

20. Mehboob mere mehboob mere with Lata Mangeshkar from Pathar Ke Sanam (1967), lyrics Majrooh Sultanpuri, music Laxmikant Pyarelal

Laxmikant Pyarelal were now emerging as the top composer duo, displacing the titans Shankar Jaikishan. By 1967 they had established their distinct style of melody. Here is my top LP favourite. I am aware, in a voting Sawan ka maheena pawan kare shor or Yug yug se ye geet milan ke from Milan would perhaps win hands down, but my own favourite is Mehboob mere.

I have been generally stopping at ten in my favourites lists. But in this case even after ten there were several which I found impossible to leave out. Therefore, you have a rather longish list of twenty. What is interesting is that it still leaves out several songs mentioned by readers in my earlier Mukesh post. That just shows what inexhaustible reservoir of wonderful music we have.  These are my personal favourites and I had indicated my list would contain surprises.

Birthday greetings to Lata Mnageshkar on September 28

Presenting my favourite Lata Mangeshkar songs composed by C Ramchandra, as my birthday greetings to her on September 28, is not a very diplomatic thing to do, given the history of their relationship. As her biographical accounts go, Lata Mangeshkar was more than a muse to C Ramchandra, and central to his music. But when the relationship turned sour, its repudiation (by her) was ruthless and complete. When she gave her famed public performance of Ae mere watan ke logo at Lal Quila on the Republic Day 1963, which brought tears to Nehru’s eyes, its lyricist Pradeep was acknowledged, but its composer C Ramchandra was not. (Note: Please also see comments 49, 51, 52, 54). When in 1967 Lata Mangeshkar selected her best 10 songs for HMV, she did not include any song by C Ramchandra, but her by then favourite boys Laxmikant Pyarelal’s – made it to the list!

Let us leave the human Lata Mangeshkar for her biographers to analyse; for me her music is divine, and to a great extent I consider her C Ramchandra songs, especially of early 1950s, among her best, most romantic, most melodious and deeply moving. But his music became so Lata-centric that the breakdown of their relationship also spelt his music’s doom. Among the greats of the Vintage/Golden Era, he faded out relatively early. In a sharp contrast, SD Burman was able to weather his hiatus with Lata Mangeshkar for about 5 years 1957-62 (she came back to him with Bandini) because he could work wonders with Geeta Dutt and Asha Bhosle, and he gave immortal songs with all the great male singers Rafi, Mukesh, Kishore Kumar, Talat Mahmood, Manna Dey and Hemant Kumar, and of course, himself. No wonder Dada was the longest lasting among the great composers. Interestingly if I try to recall C Ramchandra’s great songs by male singers, there is hardly much beyond his own (Chitalkar) songs.

Another important aspect of C Ramchandra is that among the great composers, he has the largest number of Lata gems, which are still hidden and relatively unknown, but incredibly beautiful. Of course, as music lovers know, there are two distinct C Ramchandra’s – one, fast, western and comic a la Ana meri jaan meri jaan Sunday ke Sunday and the other, soulful Lata, best characterized by the iconic Ye zindagi uis ki hai. Here are ten of my very special Lata Mangeshkar songs composed by C Ramchandra.

1.  Dil se bhula do tum hamein from Patanga (1949), lyrics Rajendra Krishna

Picturised on Purnima, with Shyam in the frame, is a quintessential C Ramchandra-Lata Mangeshkar melancholic song.  Lata Mangshkar in 1949 was still under the influence of Noorjehan style.  C Ramchandra was one of the major influences to help her evolve her own distinct style.  Patanga is a prime example of two contrasting C Ramchandra’s.  This is the film which had breezy songs with Shamshad Begum and C Ramchandra himself (Chitalkar) like   Mere piya gaye Rangoon, Pahle to ho gayee namaste etc.

2.  Aisi mohabbat se hum baaj aye from Nirala (1950), lyrics PL Santoshi

Mehfil mein jal uthi sama from Nirala was very famous and well known.  Many years later I heard this song for the first time from an elderly lady who could reproduce the exact tune and the emotion of the song, but she was not aware about its film or the composer.  I had no doubt it had to be C Ramchandra, but only in the internet era I could fully place the song.

3.  Abhi sham ayegi nikalenge tare from Samadhi (1950), lyrics Rajendra Krishna

Who has not heard the foot tapping breezy song Gore gore banke chore from this film, which has acquired an iconic status,  and you have this somewhat less heard but absolutely mesmerising soulful Lata Mangeshkar melody picturised on Nalini Jaywant.  Two very distinct C Ramchandra’s again.

4.  Koi kisi ka diwana na bane from Sargam (1950), lyrics PL Santoshi

Picturised on Rehana, this song is one of the defining songs of C Ramchandra-Lata Mangeshkar.

5.  Balma bada nadan from Albela (1951), Rajendra Krishna

Albela was another movie which had two distinct and contrasting C Ramchandra’s.  You have the breezy dance songs, all legends by now, such as Shola jo bhadke, Sham dhale khidki tale and Bholi surat dil ke khote, and you have soulful, emotional melodies including the iconic lullaby Dheere se aa ja ri ankhiyan mein.  It is a difficult choice but my favorite is Balma bada nadaan re for its pathos.

6.  Dil ki kahani to chahe from Sagai (1951), lyrics Rajendra Krishna

On Rehana again. His favourite lyricist creates another masterpiece, composed equally beautifully by C Ramchandra.

7.  Ai pyar teri duniya se hum from Jhanjhar (1953), lyrics Rajendra Krishna

C Ramchandra-Rajendra Krishna-Lata Mangeshkar is matchless when it comes to most beautiful Lata Mangeshkar songs.  This one is again not among his very well known, but it has again the same quality of mesmerising you the first time you hear it.

8.  Kaise bhaye sakhi rut sawan ki from Pehli Jhalak (1954), lyrics Rajendra Krishna

When I heard this song for the first time on the internet, my reaction was O my God, where was this song hidden? I have mentioned about undiscovered C Ramchandra gems. You have this fabulous classical song performed equally brilliantly by Vyjayantimala.

9.  Kaise aaun Jamuna ke teer from Devta (1956), lyrics Rajendra Krishna

One of the best classical Raga based songs picturised on Anjali Deve.

10.  Dil ki duniya basa ke sanwariya tum na jane kahan kho gaye from Amardeep (1958), lyrics Rajendra Krishna

I started this list with a dil song, there was another dil song in between and now I end with a fabulous dil song.  C Ramchandra – Lata Mangeshkar gave some of the most heart touching songs.  My all-time great Lata-C Ramchandra favourite, picturised so beautifully on Vyjayantimala.

I have reached ten, all absolute gems, without including any song from his runaway hits Anarkali and Azad. C Ramchandra was reputed to be a very fast composer.  After completing the Tamil version of Azad, its producers wanted to complete its Hindi version on the same sets in Madras in quick time of 3-4 weeks. For its music Naushad declined the offer on the ground that he did not do a rush job.  C Ramchandra, of course created an all time great score.  Dilip Kumar wanted Talat Memood to playback for him.  When he was unavailable, C Ramchandra convinced Dilip Kumar that he would sing for him in Talat style, and no one would notice the difference.  How true when you hear Kita hassen hai mausam.  None of his great songs appear to be a rush job, every song seems to be crafted with a great deal of effort. I feel very happy to present these songs as my birthday greetings to Lata Mangeshkar on her 82nd birthday.

A tribute on his death anniversary on November 16

I have expressed great admiration for Roshan at several places in my blog. Among the greatest and most melodious songs of Lata Mangeshkar, Roshan compositions occupy a very high place. He did not achieve big commercial success as some of his peers, but for music lovers he was among the greatest, especially as regards his songs for the two titans Rafi and Lata Mangeshkar. His compositions were unmistakably identifiable with incredibly beautiful use of the flute and sarangi.

As per Wikipedia he was born on July 14, 1917 in Gujrewala in Punjab (now in Pakistan). He had keen interest in music from early childhood. He had formal training at Morris College (Bhatkhande College of Music) under SN Ratanjankar, was hired as staff artist by All India Radio for playing dilruba, went to Bombay in 1948 and became assistant to Khursheed Anwar. He struggled until he met Kidar Sharma who gave him a break in Neki Aur Badi (1949). The film flopped, but Kidar Sharma must have been impressed by him enough to continue him for Bawre Nain next year, which became a musical landmark.

Interestingly his early films did not have Lata Mangeshkar, but from the very next year he composed songs for Lata Mangeshkar which have become immortal. In this sense Roshan – Lata association mirrors that of Madan Mohan with Lata. This was further consolidated when Amarnath Productions of Mehbooba (1954) sought to replace its music director Roshan midway with OP Nayyar who had become a roaring hit with Aar Paar. Lata Mangeshkar took cudgels on his behalf which led to her complete break with OP Nayyar, but a very enriching association with Roshan.

Lyricists Anand Baxi and Indivar had their first break with Roshan.

Roshan died at a young age of a sudden heart attack on November 16, 1967. The song Mehlon ka raja mila from Anokhi Raat, which was composed by him, was recorded posthumously. Here are my ten favourite Roshan-Lata songs as my tribute to him on his death anniversary.

1. Ae ri main to prem diwani from Naubahar (1952), lyrics Satyendra Athaiya

Ashok Kumar and Nalini Jaywant were the lead actors in the movie. The first two lines are a traditional Meera bhajan, rest of the lyrics are different by the lyricist Satyendra Athiya. If Beena madhur madhur kachhu bol was not there, Ae ri main to prem diwani would have been the definitive Bhimpalasi. I regard this as the undisputed No. 1 Roshan-Lata song.

2. Garjat barsat bheejat ayee lo from Malhar (1951), lyrics Indeevar

Nirupa Roy and Trilok Kapur were the lead actors in this film. Roshan’s first major hit film Bawre Nain a year earlier had no Lata Mangeshkar song. Malhar marks his teaming up with Lata Mangeshkar, and what a partnership they started giving some of the most melodious music of the golden era. This was also debut of Indeevar and a very productive partnership with Roshan. Roshan also used the same tune in Barsaat Ki raat as a duet between Suman Kalyanpur and Kamal Barot (used elsewhere in this blog).

3. Bahe ankhiyon se dhaar from Humlog (1951), lyrics Udhav Kumar

This Nutan, Shyama, Balraj Sahni starrer had several outstanding songs. Another famous song is Chhum chum chum baje payal mori. I find Lata Mangeshkar of the early 1950s absolutely magical, and you have the brilliant Roshan with his signature melodious style.

4. Dheere se gagari utaar re from Zindagi Aur Hum (1962), lyrics Shivkumar

This song picturised on Chand Usmani is a discovery in the internet era. I have shared this with several knowledgeable friends, and they were all mesmerized by it and surprised how this song remained hidden for so long.

5. Mujhe mil gaya bahana teri deed ka from Barsat Ki Raat (1960), lyrics Sahir Ludhiyanvi

Barsaat Ki Raat was not only a major Roshan landmark, but also a musical landmark of the golden era. It established Roshan’s reputation as the master composer for qawwalis with Na to karwan ki talash hai merging into Ye ishq ishhq hai ishq ishq. This also had several Rafi gems as well as other singers’ all of which are extremely popular. Here is my one of the top Lata favourites.

6. Kabhi to milegi kahi to milegi from Aarti (1962), lyrics Majrooh Sultanpuri

Aarti was another Roshan musical masterpiece, with several iconic songs, all of which had beautiful picturisation. Kabhi to milegi kahi to milegi is not only a Roshan gem but one of the timeless Lata Mangeshkar songs.

7. Rahte the kabhi jinke dil mein hum jaan se bhi pyaron ki tarah from Mamta (1966), lyrics Majrooh Sultanpuri

With Mamta you run out of superlatives. All its songs are all time great classics. I had a tough time choosing between this song and Rahe na rahe hum. I opted for Rahte the kabhi jinke dil mein as it has beautiful poetry depicting the pathos of a courtesan, sung so beautifully by Lata, and enacted with great empathy by Suchitra Sen.

8. Duniya kare sawal to from Bahu Begum (1967), lyrics Sahir Ludhiyanvi

When Shankar Jaikishan had started sliding and Naushad too was past his best, Roshan created this masterpiece in the Muslim social, for which Roshan seemed to have a special expertise.

9. Raat ki mehfil sooni sooni from Norjehan (1967), lyrics Shakeel Badayuni

Roshan magic in a movie in Muslim milieu continued with several great songs including Suman Kalyanpur’s Sharabi sharabi ye sawan ka mausam.

10. Saari sari raaton teri yaad sataye from Aji Bas Shukriya (1958), lyrics Farooq Qaiser

This song is beautifully picturised on the vivacious Geeta Bali who is singing before an audience (Suresh was the hero in the film). This film also had an excellent mujra Nazarein mila ke kah de kya hai teri marzi picturised on Minoo mumtaz.

SoY award for the best female playback singer goes to Lata, Lata, Lata, Lata….Mangeshkar

(It is a while since I wrote the survey article on the Best songs of 1955 and its first wrap up on the Best male playback singer of 1955. Then a number of interesting themes came up, and completing this string of posts somehow went out of sight. By the time I remembered, it was coming quite close to Lata Mangeshkar’s birth anniversary. Therefore, I am coinciding it with her anniversary as my greetings to her. I realise this is not a satisfactory way of handling this series. Hopefully from the next year onwards I should be able to complete a particular year’s posts in continuity. – AK)

When I wrote the first wrap up on the best male playback singers of 1955, I posed it with a question mark, and as we saw, there was indeed a tough choice between all the six great male playback singers – Rafi, Mukesh, Talat Mahmood, Hemant Kumar, Manna Dey and Kishore Kumar. The scenario changes completely in the case of female playback singers. Not only in 1955, but most of the 50’s and 60’s you could pick up ten top songs and they might all be Lata Mangeshkar’s. Never had any playback singer dominated more than this, nor anyone has done so since. Therefore, my using a similar question mark to maintain the form would be like a recent award function anchored by Shahrukh Khan. This was when Vidya Balan was wining all the awards for Dirty Picture. After the customary ‘And the award for the best actor (female) goes to..’, the envelope containing her name was announced. When she jumped with excitement, Shahrukh Khan snapped at her, ‘Vidya, you should stop acting, you know that you are going to get the award.’

So we know who is going to get the award. But it would still be interesting to discuss the best female solos, and see how ‘others’ fare. This asymmetry in female playback requires a somewhat different treatment than the first wrap-up. Therefore, I am putting two somewhat longer lists of the best songs – one for Lata Mangeshkar and the other for others.

Lata Mangeshkar’s best songs
There should be a fair agreement on this.  

1.  Radha na bole na bole na bole re      -   Azaad
2.  Dekhoji bahar ayi            
3.  Ja ri ja ri wo kari badariya
4.  Pee ke daras ko taras gayi ankhiyan
5.  Kitni jawan hai raat koi yaad aa gaya
6.  Mohabbat ki bas itni dastan hai    -    Baradari
7.  Kho diya maine paakar kisi ko
8.  Dard bhara dil bhar bhar jaye
9.  O janewale ruk ja koi dum        -    Devdas
10. Jise tu qubool kar le
11. Jogiya se preet kiye dukh hoye    -    Garam Coat
12. Phaili hui hai sapnon ki bahein    -    House No. 44
13. Saiyan ja ja                -    Jhanak Jhanak Payal Baje
14. Ghayal hiraniya main ban ban dolun -    Munimji
15. Aise hain sukh sapan hamare    -    Ratnaghar
16. Chand madham hai aasman chup hai    – Railway Platform
17. Suno chhoti si gudiya ki lambi kahani    -  Seema
18. Manmohana bade jhoothe
19. O janewale mud ke zara dekhte jana        -  Shree 420
20. Hamare dil se na jana            -  Udankhatola
21. Na ro ae dil kahin rone se taqdeerein badalti hain 
22. More saiyan ji utarenge paar ho
23. Sitaron ki mahfil saji tum na aaye
24. Mujhpe ilzaam-e-bewafaai hai        -   Yasmin

Other singers
25.  Wo na ayenge palat ke          -   Mubarak Begum  -  Devdas
26.  Jate ho to jao par jaoge kahan  -  Geeta Dutt  -  Milaap
27.  Preetam aan milo             -   Geeta Dutt –  Mr and Mrs 55  
28. Thandhi hawa kali ghata              -   Geeta Dutt 
29.  Ab to ji hone laga                      -   Shamshad Begum  –  Mr & Mrs 55
30.  Chanda mama door ke          -   Asha Bhosle   -  Vachan

Now we come to the difficult part to bring it down to ten. As I said earlier, many of us would simply choose ten Lata Mangeshkar songs, with some regret that we still had to leave her some outstanding songs. I myself belong to that school. But I know there are some very passionate Geeta Dutt and Asha Bhosle lovers out there. Geeta Dutt was mentioned by several readers. Among her three songs mentioned above, even though Preetam aan milo was mentioned by many readers, since it is so strongly associated with CH Atma, we can take one from the remaining two. Asha Bhosle’s song was mentioned by some readers, but with so many superlative gems vying for place, we can leave out Chanda mama door ke without arousing the ire of anyone. Mubarak Begum’s Won na ayenge palat ke is a major landmark in her career and among the best mujra songs. But that is as far as it goes. Ashok Vaishnavji very generously mentioned that it can be among best also-rans. That leaves Shamshad Begum, who is my great personal favourite among non-Lata singers. Her Ab to ji hone laga has everything which makes her singing so joyous. So I include ‘Thandhi hawa’ and ‘Ab to ji hone laga’ from ‘others’, and choose eight from Lata Mangeshkar, hoping to capture what would be generally agreed as her best.

Ten best songs

Here are thus the ten best female solos of the year 1955, which has to be seen with several caveats mentioned above. Some of these songs have also appeared earlier, but there is no harm in repeating them.

1. Radha na bole na bole by Lata Mangeshkar from Azaad, lyrics Rajendra Krishna, music C Ramchandra

Subodh in his first post on songs based on classical ragas had chosen this as the leading song based on Bageshree. That is some distinction! And as is well known by now, C Ramchandra did Azaad as a quickie, when Naushad declined the request of the Madras based producer to complete the score in four weeks.

2. Jise tu qubool kar le by Lata Mangeshkar from Devdas, lyrics Sahir Ludhiyanvi, music SD Burman

Devdas is a film in which all the songs are on the ‘other’ girl. But if you think of it, both Paro and Chandramukhi are sympathetic lovers of Devdas. SD Burman gave a mujra also in Lata’s voice, Ab age teri marzi. Jise tu qubool kar le is not actually a mujra, though sung by the courtesan. In this somewhat fast-paced song, Chandramukhi expresses her dilemma how to comfort Devdas and relieve his suffering.

3. Jogiya se preet kiye dukh hoye by Lata Mangeshkar from Garam Coat, lyrics Meerabai, music Amarnath (Chawla)

This must rank as one of exceptional gems of 1955. The music director Amarnath is different from the more well known Pandit Amarnath, who was the elder brother of the duo Husnlal Bhagatram. Based on the information from Mr Sadanand Kamath’s article on Atul’s site, Amarnath Chawla was a highly talented person, a writer, poet and singer, having received training under several gurus including Ustad Amir Khan. This is probably the only film for which he gave music, and what divine and eternal music he composed for this Meera bhajan.

4. Phaili hui hai sapnon ki bahein by Lata Mangeshkar from House No 44, lyrics Sahir Ludhiyanvi, music SD Brman

Almost everyone mentioned this song in their shortlist. House No. 44 was another landmark of SD Burman in the year. He showed great diversity in the year by creating top quality songs for different playback singers.

5. Saiyan ja ja tose na bolun by Lata Mangeshkar from Jhanak Jhanak Payal Baje, lyrics Hasrat Jaipuri, music Vasant Desai

My absolute top favourite from this film, and in my opinion one of the best of Vasant Desai- Lata Mangeshkar combination.

6. Ghayal hiraniyan main ban ban dolun by Lata Mangeshkar from Munimji, lyrics Shailendra, music SD Burman

You cannot get a more innocent doe than Nalini Jaiwant.

7. Manmohna bade jhoothe by Lata Mangeshkar from Seema, lyrics Shailendra, music Shankar Jaikishan

This was the first song mentioned by Subodh in his first post on songs based on classical ragas. Does not need any more proof of its greatness. A representative piece in Jaijaiwanti.

8. Chand madham hai aasman chup hai by Lata Mangeshkar from Railway Platform, lyrics Sahir Ludhiyanvi, music Madan Mohan

I was not very familiar with this song till some readers mentioned this song in the short list. A very ethereal tune, which has the power to transport you to another world.

9. Thandhi hawa kali ghata by Geeta Dutt from Mr & Mrs 55, lyrics Majrooh Sultanpuri, music OP Naiyyar

A quintessential Geeta Dutt.

10. Ab to ji hone laga kisi ki soorat ka samna by Shamshad Begum from Mr & Mrs 55

Shamshad Begum lovers would love this song. Lata Mangeshkar’s domination did not dim her forceful and joyous singing whenever she got a chance.

This still leaves out Lata Mangeshkar’s Aise hain sukh sapan hamare (Ratnaghar) composed by a very elegant composer Sudhir Phadke, and my favourite Naushad’s Udankhatola, from which I would have put More saiyanji utarenge paar ho at the very top, had I not been under moral obligation to reflect the readers views faithfully. This would always happen given the amazing range and overwhelming dominance of Lata Mangehskar. So it is not a spoiler if I announce that:

SoY’s award for the best playback singer (female) for 1955 goes to Lata Mangeshkar, Lata Mangeshkar, Lata Mangeshkar and Lata Mangeshkar.

But this does not preclude us from discussing which is her best song for the year. Readers’ comments would be interesting, and they need not confine to what is listed here.

Songs of Yore award for the Best Female Playback Singer goes to Lata, Lata,.…..Lata Mangeshkar

Continuing the string of posts on the best songs of 1953, and Wrap Up 1 on the best male playback singer, I present here the second wrap up on the best female playback singer, based on the readers’ comments and my own preferences.

Who is the best female playback singer of 1953, is really a no-brainer. You can give slot 1 to 10 to Lata Mangeshkar, and there would be another ten outstanding songs, anyone of which could have made it to the list. So, writing the second wrap up on female playback songs boils down to looking carefully at the songs by ‘other’ singers to see how many can be included in the final list of ten, leaving the rest for ‘The Female Playback Singer’ of the Golden Era.

Besides Lata Mangeshkar, I had included solo songs of Geeta Dutt, Shamshad Begum, Asha Bhosle, Rajkumari, Jagjit Kaur, Mubarak Begum and Sudha Malhotra in my long-list in the survey article on the best songs of 1953. The erudite and passionate readers of Songs of Yore, as usual, came up with many more gems, their own top choice, some backed with detailed reasoning and analysis. Based on all this, let me try to present what I consider the best female solos of 1953.

The best way to ensure that we do not miss out the ‘other’ singers altogether is to start with them. The ‘other’ singer who has a great following, Subodh being even more passionate about her than Lata Mangehskar, is Geeta Dutt. He is not alone; there could be more like him among SoY family. I had posted her ‘Baat chalat nayi chunari rang daari’ in ‘special’ songs, which is a category for unique songs which may not fit in the main list. I had another Geeta Dutt song in mind – Ayi biraha ki raat mora tadape jiya (Nav Durga) – which is my top favourite and which I intended to put in the list of ten. But it turned out, Baat chalat evoked a great deal of support. So if one song of Geeta Dutt is to be included, it should be Baat chalat.

Next in reckoning has to be Shamshad Begum, and she did have some outstanding songs. My own favourite is Angan more aaoji sajan dheere dhhere, which I included in ‘special’ songs, leaving the choice for the mainstream between the two more popular and known songs – Badi mushqil se dil ki beqaraari ko qaraar aya and Kahe jadu kiya mujhko itana bata jadugar balmaa. My sense is, people would be OK with either. I go for Kahe jadu kiya, which has more of the verve and joyousness of Shamshad Begum. It also has an Amirbai Karnataki version, and some readers – even I hold the same view – find that better. But since the original song in the film is by Shamshad Begum, and Amirbai’s is a cover version, I have no hesitation in including the former in the list of ten.

I have great fascination for Asha Bhosle’s Gore gore hathon mein mehdi lagaa ke. This song was the reason for my doing a post on my favorite ‘special’ songs of Asha Bhosle long back.

Now the exercise is getting difficult. If I glance down the long list of 93 songs in the survey article, my instinct is to include Jagjit Kaur’s Kahmosh zindagi ko afsana mil gaya, which has also been mentioned by Mr Ashok M Vaishnav. Then, the more I listen to Mubarak Begum’s Suno more naina (mentioned by Jignesh) or Deep ke sang jalun main, I am entranced, and would feel guilty if I do not include one of them. There is also Rajkumari, who sang about a dozen songs, whose Na main dil ki baat bataungi I had included in ‘special’ songs to give a flavor of the vintage era. But this has touched a chord in the readers – Venkataramnji and Jignesh added some more, including a very beautiful Kagwa re ja balma ke deswa, and fervently wished that she figured in the final ten.

We have still not come to Lata Mangeshkar, who sang some legendary songs like Ye zindagi usi ki hai, Raja ki ayegi baraat and Aa ja ri aa nindiya tu aa, and many more outstanding songs as had become her second nature in the early 50s. I think Subodh is unfair when he says ‘Female solos too don’t do much better’ in the context of his remark that this was not a great year for male solos.

Coming to Lata Mangeshkar, Ye zindagi usi ki hai was the Ayega anewala of 1953, probably better. Aa ja ri aa nindiya tu aa as one of the greatest loris makes a straight entry. Aah had several outstanding songs, but Raja ki ayegi baraat also became a legend. In many old movies, its tune is often played in the background or by bands as a quintessential wedding song. SJ’s musical piece in the interludes is one of their best orchestration, which established their signature style.

This was the era when C Ramchandra-Lata combination became the most recognizable style of Lata songs. Apna pata bata de ya mere paas aa ja (Shagufa) and Ae pyar teri duniya se hum bas itani nishani le ke chale (Jhanjhar) are among eternal favourites of any CR-Lata lover. I think we should take at least one – I go for Ae pyar teri duniya se hum for its sweetness and the quintessential CR-Lata trademark.

Shankar Jaikishan also had a great year, as mentioned by several readers, and showed their talent with a different style of Lata songs outside RK banner in Aurat, Mayurpankh, Patita and Shikast, with several songs of eternal popularity. It is a difficult choice between so many, as good as any. Let us take Kare badra tu na ja na ja in the shortlist.

On SJ, I must draw the reader’s attention again to Laga kar dil parishan hain from Naya Ghar, which I had included at the top of my ‘special’ songs. Venkataramanji is so much charmed by this song, as I was, that he would like to see it in the top ten. (I mentioned CR-Lata school of music; do you see that influence?)

There is another great Lata Mangeshkar song, which I intended to include in the top ten, and which has also been mentioned by Ashokji – Hamare baad ab mehfil mein afsaane bayan honge (Baghi), composed by Madan Mohan. It is not a terribly original song, as it seems quite clearly inspired by Baharein phir bhi ayengi magar hum tum juda honge from Lahore (1949), composed by Shyam Sundar. Madan Mohan’s another famous inspiration Tujhe kya sunaun main dilruba (Rafi), based on Sajjad Hussain’s Ye hawa ye raat ye chandni (Talat Mahmood) has become a part of music folklore. I do not hold these against MM, because these songs are absolutely awesome.

Thus we have ‘shortlisted’ at least a song each of Geeta Dutt, Shamshad Begum, Asha Bhosle, Jagjit Kaur, Mubarak Begum, Rajkumari, and seven of Lata Mangeshkar, making a total of 13 songs. So, three songs have to give way. Whichever I knock off would leave a void and sense of yearning. But the exercise has been worthwhile; at least we had discussion to our heart’s content. May be, I could have segregated it into a Lata and non-Lata list, as Ashokiji and Venkaramanji did in a structured manner, and several others did instinctively.

Here is the final list of ten, which has some of my bias, and with some sadness that I had to leave out three of my great favourites.

1. Ye zindagi usi ki hai by Lata Mangeshkar from Anarkali, music C Ramchandra

2. Ae pyar teri duniya mein hum by Lata Mangeshkar from Jhanjhar, music C Ramchandra

3. Raja ki ayegi baraat by Lata Mageshkar from Aah, music Shankar Jaikishan

4. Kare badra tu na ja na ja by Lata Mangeshkar from Shikast, music Shankar Jaikishan

5. Aa ja ri aa nindiya tu aa by Lata Mangeshkar from Do Bigha Zameen, music Salil Chaudhary

6. Hamaare baad ab mahfil mein afsane bayan honge by Lata Mangeshkar from Baghi, music Madan Mohan

7. Baat chalat nayi chunari rang daari by Geeta Dutt from Ladki, music R Sudarshanm-Dhaniram

8. Kahe jadu kiya mujhko itana bata by Shamshad Begum from Naghma, music Nashad

9. Gore gore hathon mein menhdi racha ke by Asha Bhosle from Parineeta, music Arun Kumar Mukherjee

10. Khamosh zindagi ko afsana mil gaya by Jagjit Kaur from Deil-e-Nadan, music Ghulam Mohammad

To sum up the obvious:

Songs of Yore Award for the Best Female Playback singer of 1953 goes to Lata Mangeshkar

And the best song is: When an iconic song – Ye zindagi usi ki hai jo kisi ka ho gaya – is there, why strain your brain?

Wishing Lata Mangeshkar Happy 84th Birthday

The most discussed aspect about SD Burman-Lata Mangeshkar combination is their break up for about five years, 1958-62, rather than their music. In that, he is among a long line of film and music personalities with whom she had one of her famous run-ins. But there is a vital difference. From all accounts, this one did not have the acrimony common to her other fall-outs. And when they finally came together, my understanding is – again from accounts available in public domain – that it was with mutual respect. In the hiatus of five years SD Burman was none the worse as he continued to give some of the greatest music of his career, now with Geeta Dutt and Asha Bhosle, but he realized he had something beyond, where only Lata Mangeshkar could reach. She also felt that there was something unique in Dada’s music, without which she would remain incomplete. Thus their second innings led to another set of great melodies in Bandini, Guide, Tere Mere Sapne, Prem Pujari, Talash, Anurag, Abhiman etc which continued till the very end of his career. For those interested, here is one account of their split and patch-up.  (Note: While most accounts mention Bandini (1963) as their patch-up film, she has a couple of songs in Dr Vidya (1962). Mr Arunkumar Deshmukh has informed me that their first song after patch up was ‘Pawan diwani’ from Dr Vidya.)

Even though SD Burman was 23 years senior to Lata Mangeshkar, their debut in Hindi films was almost concurrent. He debuted as a composer in 1946 with Shikari, she as a playback singer a year later with the film Aap Ki Sewa Mein (though her singing, as distinct from ‘playback’, started five years earlier, details of which are widely available on the net). As we have noted earlier, his first big success was with Geeta Dutt in 1947 with Do Bhai, and he also continued with other singers of yesteryears such as Amirbai Karnataki and Suraiya etc. While Lata Mangeshkar was creating waves with Naushad, Khemchand Prakash, Anil Biswas, Shyam Sundar, Shankar Jaikishan, Ghulam Haider and C Ramchandra as the voice of the future, SD Burman seems to have warmed up to her somewhat late. Lata’s first song for him was probably in Mashal (1950). Mashal is more well known for Manna Dey’s Upar gagan vishaal, which possibly stands as his first super hit song. But next year from Thandi hawayein lahraa ke aayein and Jhan jhan jhan jhan payal baaje onwards, SD Burman created for Lata Mangeshkar a kind of music which was unique and established him as one of the greatest composers of the Golden Era regardless of whether he matched the commercial success of his peers or not.

In one of my earlier posts in the series on SD Burman with major singers, there was a discussion that some of them have been less than fair to SD Burman in acknowledging his contribution in their growth and fame. Lata Mangeshkar has been very prolific in public domain in interviews and writings under her by-line. I think she has been quite generous in praising him. But regardless, I have planned this series not only as a tribute to the singer, but also to SD Burman. So let me present this double tribute with their best songs on the 84^th Birth anniversary of Lata Mangeshkar. Incidentally, SD Burman’s Birth anniversary (107^th) would come in three days, i.e. October 1.

1. Aaj nahi to kal bikhar jayenge ye badal from Mashal (1950), lyrics Pradeep

I start with this song more for historical interest as this should be among her first songs by SD Burman. I heard this song for the first time while researching for this post. I find the song is very melodious, and it is quite surprising that it was not on the radar screen of the All India Radio. The video quality is excellent. I believe the lady lip synching the song is its heroine Sumitra Devi.

2. Ankhon se door door hi par dil ke paas jo from Mashal (1950)

I can’t help including the second song too from the same film. As you listen, these songs grow on you, and I should classify them as outstanding. Lata’s voice is very fluid and smooth; she had already created sensation with other composers. There is another interesting fact associated with this song. A comment on YT identifies the actor lip synching the song as Rooma Devi, the first wife of Kishore Kumar.

3. Thandi hawayein lahraa ke aayen from Naujawan (1951), lyrics Sahir Ludhiyanvi

After a couple of Lata songs in Mashal, which did not create much waves in spite of their intrinsic musical merit, SD Burman creates a song of everlasting fame in the very next year. It is said that this was inspired by Charles Boyer’s C’est la vie from the movie Algiers (1938). Here is a very good article on the legacy of this song, and other ‘inspired’ Hindi film songs based on this source. I listened to the ‘original’ very carefully. For a lay listener, the likeness, if any, is very tenuous. This information does not take away anything from the great composition of SD Burman to my mind. Here is the landmark song:

4. Jhan jhan jhan jhan payal baaje from Buzdil (1951), lyrics Shailendra

I have said earlier that creating one masterpiece can be a lifetime’s achievement. Here is another iconic song from the same year. Though Shailendra is credited as the lyricist, it is – at least the mukhadaa - a traditional composition which has been sung by many classical singers in the Raga Nat Bihag. SD Burman himself  sang it much earlier in this Raga which we have seen in my post on his non-film songs.  Cuckoo, the precursor of Helen, and more famous for fast and westernised dances in a party scene, performs an elegant dance in Kathatk style.

5. Dard lage pyara pyara pahla pahla pyar ka from Ek Nazar (1951), lyrics Rajendra Krishna

Perhaps it is not counted among SD Burman-Lata Mangeshkar classics, but at a very young age somehow I fell for this song. This was a kind of pahla pahla pyar for me just as a very fresh Nalini Jaywant has for someone (Rahman or Karan Diwan?) in this song.

6. Tum na jane kis jahan mein kho gaye from Sazaa (1951), lyrics Sahir Ludhiyanvi

Now another timeless song of not only SD Burman, but also among the all time great songs of Lata Mangeshakar. It is said about Sahir Ludhiyanvi that while other lyricists wrote film songs, he wrote poetry which was used as lyrics for film songs. He starts one of the most celebrated lyricist-composer associations with SD Burman this year.

7. Dil se mila ke dil pyar kijiye from Taxi Driver (1954), lyrics Sahir Ludhiyanvi

The music of Taxi Driver won for SD Burman his first Filmfare Award for the song Jayen to jayen kahan – those days the Award was given for a particular song. But when I watched this film about forty years ago, what remained indelibly etched in my memory was Sheila Ramani’s beautiful dance in the night club to this peppy tune, and the small kid playing the maracas in masti. In between, the kid also picks up a coke bottle to take a sip, without a break in his playing and delicate swaying to the tune.  Towards the end as the tempo reaches its peak, Sheila Ramani goes up on a stool that has been brought unobtrusively, and continues her dancing, and other companion dancers now dance in circles around her.  You could also spot among the dancers, Edwina, who has been rediscovered and made famous by Greta of Memsaabstory.  This song would rank at the top in my list of night club dance-songs.  My special romance for this song has grown more since I read a trivia about it in a review of Sidharth Bhatia’s book, Cinema Modern: The Navketan Story, done by Madhu. It turns out the Anglo Indians playing the musical instruments – the man with the guitar, the lady on the piano and the child with the maracas – were the Corke family, the landlords of the Pali Hill flat in which the Anand brothers lived. They were offered bit roles in the film by Navketan in a friendly gesture. Without knowing their background, for me they were an important part of the song. So while you sway to the seductive dance of Sheila Ramani, you can’t fail to notice the child, Noel Corke, the father Vernon Corke, and the mother Mrs Corke playing different instruments.

8. Chand phir nikalaa magar tum na aye from Paying Guest (1957), lyrics Majrooh Sultanpuri

It was ironical that the tremendous acclaim which SDB-Sahir combo received for the music of Pyasa this year should also be a cause for strain between the two. Majrooh Sultanpuri begins his association with SD Burman with this film. A renowned Urdu poet in his own right, he also belonged to the Progressive Writers’ Movement, but in films he became famous for his deeply romantic songs. SD Burman, as I have repeated several times in my earlier posts, was a genius who could create iconic songs for different voices and in different genres. Chand phir niklaa is easily among the most romantic songs you could think of, and among the best of Lata songs ever.

9. Khanke kanganaa bindiya hanse from Dr Vidya (1962), lyrics Majrooh Sultanpuri

SDB-Majrooh magic continues, now with Lata Mangeshkar back into his fold after their long hiatus. Even for someone like Mukesh, who was not his favourite singer, SDB created a beautiful Ae dil-e-awara chal in this film. For Lata Mangeshkar he created two outstanding songs in two different genres – Pawan diwani, a classical dance number, and Khanke kangana, in which the bangles’ clanking, Lata’s singing and SDB’s orchestration become one. Notice the pause at khanke at the end of a line which is followed by a combination of wind, string and percussion instruments creating a magical effect.

10. Jogi jabse tu aya mere dware from Bandini (1963), lyrics Shailendra

This song is my greatest SDB-Lata Mangeshkar favourite. I don’t know how to express my feelings for this song. It is absolutely awesome. I am reminded of Arunji’s comments in my earlier post in which he mentioned the opinion of a ‘famous critic’ that SDB was not a talented or original composer, but a lucky one, and that one couldn’t name any song of his which could be considered iconic. There must be something seriously wrong with that ‘famous critic’ if he did not find this or other dozens of SD Burman’s compositions, some of which I have mentioned in my earlier posts on Geeta Dutt, Mohammad Rafi, Mukesh and Asha Bhosle, as iconic.

11. Kanton se kheench ke ye anchal from Guide (1965), lyrics Shailendra

Since I had included two songs from Mashal for historical interest, I would make up by adding two more than the usual ten. Talking of iconic songs, every song in Guide is an acknowledged classic, besides the movie being an undisputed classic for its bold theme far ahead of its time. Typical of SD Burman’s versatility, he pours great songs in the movie in the voice of Kishore Kumar and Rafi as well, besides two solos in his own voice. Lata Mangeshkar had two more solos – a wonderful dance song, Piya tose naina lage re, each stanza of which represents a different form of dance, and another dance song set in classical style, Mose chhal kiye jaye. Each of us would have our own favourite, but Kanton se kheench ke ye anchal encapsulates of essence of Guide – a married lady breaking free from a hopeless and cruel marriage, to go with her lover, who had assured to help in her pursuit of her passion for dance.  For those interested in trivia, I have read at more than one source that Vijay Anand found Waheeda Rahman very inhibited, and he had a difficult time getting her to perform in an unrestrained manner for this song.

12. Mera antar ek mandir from Tere Mere Sapne (1971), lyrics Neeraj

This was another movie based on a literary work – AJ Cronin’s novel, The Citadel. An extremely sensitive movie which also gave an image makeover to Mumtaz, known for B-grade movies earlier and later for racy romantic roles, that she could play serious roles with equal élan. I also remembered the movie for equally beautiful songs. Lata Mangehakar’s had two great solos – Jaise Radha ne mala japi Shyam ki besides Mera antar ek mandir. Normaly I would have ended with Guide, but SD Burman was the only composer among his great contemporaries who continued his success in the 70s unabated. I conclude this post with a beautiful song from early 70s.

A tribute on his birth anniversary February 24

When you think of Talat Mahmood you think of his iconic soft, sentimental melodies like Meri yaad mein tum na aansoo bahana, Jalte hain jiske liye, Humse aya na gaya tumse bulaya na gaya, Ae dil mujhe aisi jagah le chal jahan koi na ho, Zindagi denewale sun, Jayen to jayen kahan etc. These are all solos obviously, as would be the case if you have to choose the best songs of any great singer. Then why I am doing my first Talat Mahmood post on his duets?

Hindi films are essentially about romantic love, and it is inevitable every singer would get to sing duets too picturised on the hero and the heroine, and sometimes on side actors. I view duets as a special category, more so in the case of Talat Mahmood whose many duets brought out a breezy side of him. His solos in a blue mood on Dilip Kumar for films like Arzoo, Babul, Devdas, Tarana, Sangdil, Shikast, Footpath, Daag etc. in many ways consolidated the latter’s image as the Tragedy King. This also became a trap for Talat Mahmood who unfortunately was the first one among his contemporaries to fade away. Rafi and Mukesh had debuted in playback singing several years before Talat Mahmood’s Bombay debut in 1950 with Arzoo (he was already famous as a singer because of his non-film songs, and some film songs in Calcutta). Yet Talat stopped getting any worthwhile offer after Jahan Ara (1964), whereas Rafi and Mukesh continued to reign strongly for many more years. And just as Dilip Kumar wanted to break free of this image before his reel life tortured his real life – with comedy capers like Azaad (1955), Kohinoor (1960) and Leader (1964), and later Ram and Shyam (1967) – perhaps Talat also needed the company of a female singer to break free of his image trap, in several duets.

For someone like Talat Mahmood, who is among my top favourites, I am quite late in doing a post on him (though his songs would have figured off and on). So to make up for my omission, let me present a different side of Talat Mahmood with his breezy duets as my tribute on his birth anniversary, February 24.

1. Chahe nain churaao chahe daman bachao by Talat and Lata from Aas (1953), lyrics Shailendra, music Shankar Jaikishan

Top of such duets in my list is this beautiful foot tapping number with Lata Mangeshkar Chahe nain milao chahe daman chhudaao. This is an idyllic setting in the midst of meadows , and river and mountain in the background. A group of villagers, apparently fishermen, are enjoying themselves when a man and a woman (not the lead actors) from the group get up and break into a dance. Then you see the lead pair Shekhar and Kamini Kaushal, emerging in the scene from behind and happening upon this group. The couple seems to be recently married, with the hero looking somewhat abashed and the heroine extremely coy. The song now acquires meaning as the hero’s tentative flirtations with the lady to open her up synchronises with चाहे नैन चुराओ चाहे दामन बचाओ प्यार हो के रहेगा (Whether you shift your gaze or evade my touch, we can not but fall in love)

2. Humein haal-e-dil unse kahna tha kahiye by Talat Mahmood and Asha Bhosle from 24 Ghante (1958), lyrics Raja Mehadi Ali Khan, music Bipin Babul

Talat-Asha combination had a good number of superb duets, both breezy and melodious. Here is a foot tapping number with a very pleasant beat. Premnath and Shakila seem to have just finished their picnic lunch. As Shakila washes the plates in the garden waterbody, you see Premnath reclining on the picnic durrie browsing a magazine (such an insensitive MCP !), but there was no doubt about gender roles those days. You would think now they should be heading back home, but Premnath breaks into this song while still reclining, then gradually rises. Having done with the dishes, Shakila also joins him, swirls around with the picnic basket (by now empty) in her hand, dancing to the beautiful beat. As they cavort around the bushes in what would soon become the most recognizable Bollywood cliché, the Director chooses to give it a quirky touch by highlighting the prop of the picnic basket, with the lead pair playing with it and tossing it to each other. The most remarkable thing about this song is the composer (duo?) Bipin Babul, about whom I know little and can not recall their any other famous song. I am always fascinated by everlasting songs composed by unknown music directors. So here is my big Talat-Asha favourite.

3. O dildar suno ek bar by Talat Mahmood and Lata Mangeshkar from School Master (1959), lyrics Pradeep, music Vasant Desai.

You see the pretty B Saroja Devi and this funny looking guy in a neta type dress and Chaplinesque moustache (he is surely not the hero Karan Dewan, then why did they make this beauty flirt with this clown?) on a horse carriage singing this racy duet. They stop by a pond in the wilderness, and in a similar gender stereotyping, Saroja Devi goes to fetch water from the pond. And what do you see here? A lavish picnic repast in a huge tiffin- carrier! They continue their frolicking around water, and now the pail of water becomes a prop in her hand to play with while they sing and dance. But alas, as they get lost in their revelry, they seem to forget about the spread-out food and the hungry horse, which is merrily helping himself to the spread. By the time they come back from their frolicking exhausted, I doubt if they would find any food left.  (PS: YT have removed the video link.  I have replaced with an audio link)

4. Teri nigahon mein teri hi bahon mein by TalatMahmood and Ash Bhosle from Bahana (1960), lyrics Rajendra Krishna, music Madan Mohan

Bahana starring Meena Kumari and Sajjan had several MM’s signature style melodious songs such as Talat Mahmood’s solo Beraham Asmaa and Lata Mangeshkar’s Ja re badra bairi ja. And you have this fabulous Talat-Asha contrast which would make your feet dance. The video is not available so you can only guess it might have been picturised on the lead pair

5. Chori chori dil ka lagana buri baat hai by Talat Mahmood and Asha Bhosle from Bada Bhai (1957), lyrics Raja Mehdi Ali Khan, music Nashad

Oh, I can not have enough of Talat Mahmood-Asha Bhosle duets. The actor (Anant Kumar?) is pulling the lady (Ameeta?) on a cycle rickshaw. But apparently he does it effortlessly as he frequently looks back to her and sings this breezy song. The music director Nashad (not Naushad), has created some everlasting music in a number of films. With such huge talent I wonder why he felt the need to change his name to one sounding like Naushad (his real name was Shaukat Ali Dehelvi and later took the name Nashad because, as the anecdote has it, he thought some of Naushad’s fame might rub on him).

6. Itna na mujhse tu pyar badha by Talat Mahmood and Lata Mangeshkar from Chhaya (1961), lyrics Rajendra Krishna, music Salil Choudhary

This is an iconic Talat-Lata duet with Salil Choudhry’s familiar foot tapping style. You only wonder what is holding back Sunil Dutt and Asha Parekh from breaking into a dance.  A great Talat-Lata duet composed by Salil Chaudhry,which is inspired by Motzart’s Symphony No. 40.

7. Aha rimjhim ke ye pyare pyare geet liye by Talat Mahmood and Lata Mangeshkar from Usne Kaha Tha (1960), lyrics Shailendra, music Salil Choudhry

Another iconic Talat-Lata-Salil Choudhry number. You again have Sunil Dutt, but now the lady is Nanda. And mercifully they are not as stiff as Sunil Dutt-Asha Parekh were in Itna na mujhse pyar badha. And what beautiful scenery of the night in a forest, raindrops falling and the lead pairs drenched, but no suggestion of any amorous thoughts crossing their mind, only pure bliss and joy (the rain drenched lovers stranded in a remote hut, getting into a situation where they would have to later remorsefully say Humein ye paap nahi karna chahiye tha, had not yet become the norm).

8.   Rahi matwale with Suraiya from Waris (1954), lyrics Qamar Jalalabadi, music Anil Biswas

Talat Mahmood, also the hero of the film, discovers the person on the adjacent seat in men’s dress is actually a woman, who has some reason to be in disguise, travel in the men’s compartment and tell a lie to the conductor.  In the beginning he disapproves of her, but it does not matter.  The setting is enough to prompt Talat to break into this beautiful song to the beat of the train.  The lovely Suraiya in reverie gives romantic glances, and later joins in the duet.  This song has at least three versions in the film, this one is a foot tapping duet and befitting addition to my list.

9. Ye nayi nayi preet hai with Lata Mangeshkar from Pocketmar (1956), lyrics Rajendra Krishna, music Madan Mohan

 Dev Anand, the eternal romantic and Geeta Bali, with a lovely pout make a great pair.  Madan Mohan, who created quintessential sad Talat songs like Humse aya na gaya and Meri yaad mein tum na ansoo bahana, changes tack and creates this breezy romantic duet.

10.  Ayi jhoomti bahar with Lata Mangeshkar from Insaniyat (1955), lyrics Rajendra Krishna, music C Ramchandra

Choosing the the last song of a post is always difficult, more so if my choice was between Dev Anand in moustache in this song and Shammi Kapoor in moustache in Kehta hai dil tum ho mere liye in Mem Sahib – both equally unappealing.  Frankly the romantic Dev Anand looks quite odd, more like a school masterly Abhi Bhattacharya, but I choose this song because of the beautiful Beena Rai and sweet C Ramchandra music.

A tribute to Rafi on his death anniversary, July 31

If you revisit my earlier post on Rafi’s songs (solos) composed by SD Burman, along with the readers’ comments, you realise the high regard in which the music lovers hold their combination. In spite of his known fondness for Kishore Kumar, SD Burman had something special for Rafi. Canasya finds Rafi’s songs by SD Burman even more mellifluous and romantic than by Naushad. That is some high compliment!

Out of about 90 Rafi songs composed by SD Burman, half are duets. Therefore, we cannot have a full picture of SD Burman-Rafi magic without looking at his duets. Tere bin soone nain hamaare is an ultimate Piloo, and has come in for a long discussions on SoY. Chaand sa mukhadaa kyun sharmaya is another of unparalleled beauty. While SD Burman’s own singing was very grave and profound, this sports and paan-loving composer had a light-hearted and jestful side to his personality. Rafi himself was the most versatile singer, which was a perfect match for SD Burman’s ability to use all the great female singers –Lata Mangeshkar, Asha Bhosle and Geeta Dutt – with equal felicity. Thus, they could move effortlessly from serious, romantic melody to frothy, fast and naughty – Achhaji main hari chalo maan jao na, Hum aapki ankhon mein is dil ko basa len to. The duets are not only equal in number, they more than match up to their great solos we have discussed in my earlier post.

We have seen that the first Rafi song by SDB dates back to 1947 in Do Bhai. But, as Hans pointed out in his detailed analysis, in the first phase till 1956, SDB does not care much for Rafi, but in the middle period 1957 to 1966, he goes for him in a big way. This is the period when he created some of the greatest duets for Rafi, without which the latter’s music is not complete. Even well after post-Aradhana when Kishore Kumar overtook everyone, SD Burman could create a most melodious Rafi-Lata Mangeshkar duet, Teri bindiya re in Abhimaan (1973).

When I had to resurrect SD Burman on the readers’ request to cover the remaining singers, it occurred to me that for his two most important singers, Rafi and Kishore Kumar, their duets too would have to be covered to give completeness. Interestingly, if you look at his songs for the major female singers – Lata Mangeshkar, Asha Bhosle and Geeta Dutt – the duets do not have the same importance, for example for Lata Mangeshkar, out of 182 songs, 132 are solos (source: Surjit Singh’s site).

Continuing my series on SD Burman, let me present his duets for Rafi on the latter’s death anniversary (b. 24 December 1924; d. 31 July 1980).

1. Panghat pe dekho aayi milan ki bela (with Geeta Dutt) from Naujawan (1951), lyrics Sahir Ludhiyanvi

Before I come to presenting the songs in the order of my liking, let me start with a bit of history, as I did in case of their solos. This unheard song should be their first duet.

2. Chand sa mukhada kyun sharmaya (with Asha Bhosle) from Insaan Jaag Utha (1959), lyrics Shailendra

The more I listen to this song the more unsure I become whether I should still rank Tere bin soone as my top favourite. The opening recital Natkhat taaro humein na nihaaro gives no indication of the tune to follow. Then the opening mukhada, Chand sa mukhadaa kyun sharmaya gives a delightful feeling. But SD Burman enhances it further with some heavenly musical interlude, and continues his great work with equally spectacular antara. The city-bred engineer on the project site, falling for a village belle is not my favourite scene, but the wonderful duet makes it lovely.

3. Deewana mastana hua dil jaane kahan ho ke bahaar ayi (with Asha Bhosle) from Bambai Ka Babu (1960), lyrics Majrooh Sultanpuri

My Asha Bhosle-fan friends would be mightily pleased that I am selecting one duet after another where she is crooning with Rafi. I have to say it is not only because Lata was missing from SDB-fold during the period, but that these songs are stunning both in absolute and relative terms. The song starts with Asha Bhosle’s haunting call with sargam notes, and after a full stanza by her, Rafi enters. In a unique innovation, both the singers use sargam taans before singing their lines, which creates an extremely pleasant effect. With the background of nature, the song is beautifully picturised too.

4. Manmohan man mein ho tumhi (with SD Batish and Suman Kalyanpur) from Kaise Kahun (1964), lyrics Shakeel Badayuni

This film also has a pure Rafi-Asha duet, Kisi ki mohabbat mein sab kuchh ganwa ke, but Manmohan man mein ho tumhi, based on Raga Adana, is on a different plane. In this triad song, Rafi is not the most dominant voice, but since this would be counted among his 90 songs, I am presenting it here, as it is one of my great favourites.

5. Achchaji main haari chalo maan jaaon na (with Asha Bhosle) from Kaala Pani (1958), lyrics Majrooh Sultanpuri

The Master of romantic poetry, the Dadasaheb Phalke Award-winner, Majrooh Sultanpuri, now creates a roothna-manaana song in reverse, where the lady (Madhubala) is trying to cheer up a sulking Dev Anand. In the end, both making playful faces shows everything is well.

6. Hum aapki ankhon mein is dil ko basa lein to (with Geeta Dutt) from Pyasa (1957), lyrics Sahir Ludhiyanvi

Pyasa was the film which consolidated Sahir’s reputation as the poet of hard-hitting, anti-establishment verses of cynicism and dejection. He wrote not only Ye kooche ye neelaamghar dilkashi ke and Ye mahlon ye takhton ye taajon ki duniya, but also the comic Sar jo tera chakraaye, and this romantic duet between the doomed lover-poet and his ex-flame, Mala Sinha, picturised as a dream sequence.

7. Aa ja panchhi akelaa hai (with Asha Bhosle) from Nau Do Gyarah (1957), lyrics Majrooh Sultanpuri

In a fine balancing act, SD Burman gives a solo and a duet to Kishore Kumar, and two duets to Rafi. Kali ke roop mein hali ho dhoop mein (Rafi-Asha) is equally good, but Aa ja panchhi akela hai picturised on Dev Anand and his lover-later-wife-in real life, Kalpana Kartik, is subtly erotic, when in this road movie the two take up a room in a motel, pretending to be husband and wife.

8. Rimjhim ke taraane le ke aayi barsaat (with Geeta Dutt) from Kaala Baazar (1960), lyrics Shailendra

In the middle period, SD Burman had started leaning towards Rafi over his favourite Kishore Kumar as the voice of Dev Anand. Besides some gorgeous solos in the movie, we have this very lilting romantic duet, set in the backdrop of rains, penned by the lyricist who was particularly fond of barsaat, which played an important role in his career.  It was the eponymous movie that launched his career in a big way, with his first song Barsaat mein humse mile tum sajan tumse mile hum.  He also had a great attraction for rimjhim, and named his bungalow as ‘Rimjhim’.

9. Dekho rootha na karo (with Lata Mangeshkar) from Tere Ghar Ke Saamne (1963), lyrics Hasrat Jaipuri

Now it is Rafi all the way for Dev Anand. We are aware of his gorgeous solos – Dil ka bhanwar are pukaar and Tu kahan ye bataa is nasheelee raat mein. Lata Mangeshkar is now back to SDB fold. They have another duet, the Title Song Ek ghar banaaungaa tere ghar ke saamne. But Dekho rootha na karo, with its unhurried pace, is more mellifluous.

10. Dil pukaare aa ja aa ja re (with Lata Mngeshkar) from Jewel Thief (1967), lyrics Majrooh Sultanpuri

Now we enter the third phase of SDB’s career, and as remarked by Hans, he is back to balancing between Rafi and his favourite Kishore Kumar, which would soon turn into a clear preference for the latter. But with this sole duet, Rafi manages to leave a mark. Among the lyricists, Majrooh Sultanpuri was as versatile as SD Burman was among composers.

11. Ye dil deewana hai dil to deewana hai (with Lata Mangeshkar) from Ishq Par Zor Nahi (1970), lyrics Anand Bakshi

I end with a song from an era when Kishore Kumar had overtaken Rafi as the No. 1 singer. But SD Burman still had something special for Rafi. We have seen how he adapted his marvellous original Bengali song, Gaaner koli surer durite, into a most melodious solo in the voice of, who else but, Rafi in the same movie – Mehbooba teri tasweer. In this romantic duet too, you see the same careful chiselling of each note, each word, along with some great orchestration, characteristic of SD Burman.

Continuing Anil Biswas Centenary series, his best songs for Lata Mangeshkar as birthday greetings to her

Anil Biswas occupies an important place among the music directors who played a major role in grooming and developing Lata Mangehskar. She was an artiste par excellence, but Anil Biswas taught her the craft of playback singing: the importance of words, as she came from a tradition which emphasized taans; breath control before mike to take breath without anyone noticing it, and maintaining the vocal quality at any pitch. Anil Biswas was to Lata Mangeshkar what GH Hardy was to Srinivas Ramanujam.

Anil Biswas, on his part, regarded Lata Mangehskar as one who had opened the door to limitless possibilities for music directors. Here was a singer with thorough training in classical music, and gifted with a divine voice, without any obvious angularities. If she had Noorjehan-effect in the beginning, it just needed to be ironed out. Once she came into her own, there was no looking back. Now there was no constraint in what music directors could create; she could reproduce it perfectly as they had imagined, or even better, in a voice unparalleled in the history of film music. She soon became synonymous with Female Playback Singing, and Anil Biswas had a big role in creating the legend.

Anil Biswas was the earliest composers to take Lata Mangehskar into his fold, once this ‘discovery’ by Ghulam Haider became the talk of the town. Now, the story must have been repeated a million times how Ghulam Haider took her to S Mukherjee of Filmistan Studios for Shaheed, who rejected her, as he found her voice too thin, upon which the former told him a day would come when producers would be lining up before her begging her to sing for their films. Ghulam Haider used her in Majboor (1948). Anil Biswas himself used her voice in Anokha Pyar and Gajre in 1948. Her earliest songs for the Bhishma Pitamah are among her all-time greats. Their association continued till the very last film of his career, Chhoti Chhoti Baatein (1965). Lata Mangehskar, with her over 120 songs in 30 films for the maestro, became his most favourite singer, outnumbering all others by a big margin.

Here some clarifications are in order. Ghulam Haider’s famed ‘discovery’ of Lata Mangeshkar has to be seen in the perspective that she started her ‘playback’ career a year earlier with Aap Ki Sewa Mein (1947), composed by Datta Davjekar. Her ‘singing’ career (singing for herself, as a bit actor in Marathi and, later, Hindi films) started even earlier in 1942. As for Lata’s debut with Anil Biswas, she mentioned in her interview with the Marathi newspaper, Lokmat (Hindi translation available on http://www.anilbiswas.com/), that he gave her a break in Girls School (1949). With direct evidence of her songs in 1948 with him, I am taking that either she got the dates mixed up, or the song might have been recorded first, but the release of the movie got delayed.

To be sure, there are at least ten composers, who have given more songs than Anil Biswas for Lata Mangeshkar, with Laxmikant Pyarelal and Shankar Jaikishan giving four or five times more. But the quality of the Maestro’s music for the Melody Queen is at a different pedestal. Their songs, while being supremely sweet, are soothing and transport you to a tranquil joy. Continuing Anil Biswas Centenary Year Celebration, I present his best songs for Lata Mangeshkar as birthday greetings on her 85^th birth anniversary (b. 28 September 1929).

1.  Yaad rakhna chaand taaro is suhaani raat ko from Anokha Pyar (1948), lyrics Zia Sarahadi

It would not be a great deal of exaggeration to call it the Mother of all romantic songs. Do dilon mein chupke chupke jo hui us baat ko – Zia wrote some superb lines. Another version of the song was in Meena Kapoor’s voice, who was the lead singer in the film. However, her songs were released on records in Lata’s voice – due to her illness, as per HFGK. (In a Lata-Meena Kapoor duet, the latter’s voice was replaced by Ira Nagarth). I always associated this song with Lata Mangeshkar, and remains my top favourite of the combo. Just to add, the film had some more Lata gems, like Mere liye wo gham-e-intezaar chhod gaye and Ek dil ka lagana baaki tha.

2.  Baras baras badli bhi bikhar gayi from Gajre (1948), lyrics Gopal Singh ‘Nepali’

Anil Biswas-Lata Mangeshkar magic continues in the very first year of their association with this supremely melodious song from Gajre, which also had Suraiya’s iconic song Door papiha bola raat aadhi rah gayi.

3.  Tumhare bulane ko jee chaahta hai from Laadli (1949), lyrics Behzad Lakhanavi

In 1949, Anil Biswas gave music for two more movies, Girls School and Jeet, and in all the three Lata Mangeshkar had songs. Thus, he was clearly shifting to her as his main singer. Incidentally, in Girls School, C Ramchandra too partnered him, but all the Lata Mangeshkar songs were composed by Anil Biswas. My proposition is that CR’s (musical) fascination for Lata was inspired by Anil Biswas. Ek dil ka lagana baaki tha seems to be the inspiration for the later ‘CR-Lata style’ of melody (I should add, CR had used her voice earlier in a chorus in Shehnai). Tumhare bulane ko is a towering song from 1949 – the year Lata Mangeshkar hit the music scene as a tsunami wave – and one of her all-time greats.

4.  Kahan tak hum uthayein gham from Arzoo (1950), lyrics Majrooh Sultanpuri

This was the film which had Talat Mahmood’s path-breaking song, Ae dil mujhe aesi jagah le chal, which propelled him as one of the topmost playback singers of the era. And you have this characteristic Anil Biswas-Lata melancholic melody. Anil Biswas, who was a master of folk, also composed a fast and chirpy, Mera naram karejawa dol gaya, in her voice in the film.

5.  Baalamawa naadan from Aaram (1951), lyrics Prem Dhavan

This was the film which had Muksh’s iconic Ae jaan-e-jigar dil mein samaane aa ja, and five solos by Lata Mangeshkar. While discussing the best songs of 1951, some readers made a special mention of Man mein kisi ki preet basa le. But I am presenting Baalamawa naadan as it has a terrific dance.

6.  Badli teri nazar to nazaare badal gaye from Badi Bahu (1951), lyrics Prem Dhavan

This film had one of the greatest Mukesh-Lata Mangeshkar duets, Kaahe naino mein kajra bharo, and one of the best Rajkumari songs, Ramaiya bin neend na aawe. But Anil Biswas is now firmly with Lata Mangeshkar. Badli teri nazar has his typical melancholic sweetness.

The year had Anil Biswas’s landmark score in Tarana, which had some stunning songs by Talat Mahmood and Lata Mangeshkar. But, since we are discussing that year’s songs in detail separately, let me move further.

7.  Ek pal ruk jana jaanewale raahi from Raahi (1953), lyrics Prem Dhavan

This is the kind of song which makes Anil Biswas special. This haunting song in two parts – happy and sad – forces you to halt in your tracks, and soon there is nothing between you and the song.

8.  Allah bhi hai mallah bhi hai kashti hai ki doobi jati hai from Maan (1954), lyrics Kaif Bhopali

Shikha Biswas Vohra ended her Inaugural post on the Anil Biswas Centenary Celebration with the first two lines of this song. The wonderful poetry – God is there, and the boatman too, but the boat is still sinking – required a Master like Anil Biswas to compose. Lata Mnangeshkar is obviously matchless.

9.  Rooth ke tum jo chal diye from Jalti Nishani (1957), lyrics Qamar Jalalabadi

You can now recognize Anil Biswas’s signature style from miles. Supreme melody.

10.  Na dir dim tana dere na, Na ja na ja balam, balam more na from Pardesi (1957), lyrics Prem Dhavan and Sardar Jaafari

In this joint Indo-Soviet production, you have an absolutely delightful classical dance by Padmini, and beautiful music by the Maestro, who had great command over classical music.

11.  Ja re ja baalma, ja main tose naahi bolun from Sautela Bhai (1962), lyrics Shailendra

The Maestro continues his display of mastery over classical.

12.  Mori baali re umariya ab kaise beete Ram from Chhoti Chhoti Baatein (1965), lyrics Shailendra

This last film of Anil Biswas is known for many iconic songs – Meena Kapoor’s Kuchh aur zamana kahta hai and Mukesh-Lata duet, Zindai ka ajab fasana hai. Mori baali re umariya gives a very different flavour of Anil Biswas-Lata Mangeshkar combo than I have presented so far. Folk has been one of his major strengths, and this folk-based song also has his touch of great melody.

A tribute on Kishore Kumar’s death anniversary October 13

It is befitting that I am completing my (renewed) series on SD Burman with the singer he was most fond of. With 115 songs, he gave Kishore Kumar more songs than any other (male) singer. Surjit Singh’s site indicates that out of this only 53 were solos, and 62 were duets and other songs. If you just start recalling their songs, duets are as likely to flood your memory as the solos. Can SD Burman-KK be complete without Kora kagaz tha ye man mera, Gata rahe mera dil, Aasman ke neeche hum aaj apne peeche or Chhod do aanchal zamana kya kahega? Therefore, when I resumed the SD Burman series with his different singers, it soon became clear that I have to do Kishore Kumar duets, too, to complement his solos I did last year.

KK duets by SDB are important not only because of their larger number, but also because in this combo, one plus one is more than two. One important reason, which music lovers are very well aware of, is the great variety of singers SDB could use with equal felicity. This distinguished him from his famous contemporaries. Kishore Kumar was himself one of the most versatile talents in the film world – he could be wild, he could be crazy, he could be funny and he could be very sombre. He brought all that to the duets he sang for SDB, and the two together with an eclectic mix of companion singers created some unforgettable gems of different moods and genres.

SDB’s birth and death anniversaries fall in October (b. 1 October 1906, d. 31 October 1975). I am presenting some of his best duets for Kishore Kumar as the final tribute to him in this long series, and as a tribute to Kishore Kumar on his death anniversary (b. 4 August 1929, d. 13 October 1987).

1.  Jalti hai duniya tera mera pyaar hai (with Shamshad Begum) from Pyaar (1950), lyrics Rajnedra Krishna

For historical importance let me start from where the combo began. KK’s debut with SDB was for Raj Kapoor in which he had a couple of solos and two duets with Geeta Dutt and one with Shamshad Begum. Jalti hai duniya tera mera pyaar hai is full of verve, with Shamshad Begum switching to Punjabi in a few lines.

2.  Gori ke nainon mein nindiyaa bhari (with Shamshad Begum) from Angaarey (1954), lyrics Sahir Ludhiyanavi

The dominant trait of both Kishore Kumar and Shamshad Begum was fun and joy, but they could be extremely soulful too. In this duet from one of the forgotten scores of SDB, they sing a very melodious lorie. Picturised on Jeevan and Vanmala (?), their gestures slide into comic with some funny lines. In spite of this discordance, the overall effect of this song is very pleasing.

3.  O ji O humein aaj koi na chhediyo (with Asha Bhosle) from Funtoosh (1956), lyrics Sahir Ludhiyanavi

Funtoosh was the first movie where SDB-KK came with a bang with eternal solo like Dukhi man mere, and two beautiful duets with Asha Bhosle. Wo dekhe to unki inaayat na dekhe to rona kya was picturised as a boat song with the lovers and a comic kabbab mein haddi. I think that song has been discussed earlier. In a complete change of setting, in O ji O humein aaj koi na chhediyo Dev Anand is pushing a thela carrying Sheela Ramani. But with his declared intention to entice the lady, who is thoroughly enjoying the experience, the song is pure joy.

4.  O nigaahein mastaana (with Asha Bhosle) from Paying Guest (1957), lyrics Majrooh Sultanpuri

SDB follows up with a bigger bang next year, which had an immortal KK solo Maana janaab ne pukara nahi, and two equally great KK-Asha Bhosle duets. It is a difficult choice between Chhod do aanchal zamaan kya kahega and O nigaahein mastaana. I find the latter a little more melodious, with Asha Bhosle’s humming joining as KK’s voice tapers off, and continuing to accompany the musical interlude. If you want to quibble, this ‘duet’ is really a solo – a special type of songs we had discussed in detail on SoY – but Asha Bhosle’s humming does enhance the song tremendously.

5.  Aankhon mein kya ji rupahala baadal (with Asha Bhosle) from Nau Do Gyarah (1957), lyrics Majrooh Sultanpuri

The year 1957 saw a landmark film Pyaasa which marks the beginning of the middle phase of SD Burman’s music when Rafi emerges as his top singer. In Nau Do Gyarah, he does a balancing act between the two, with just a little tilt towards KK. Here is one of his greatest duets to complement his iconic solo Hum hain raahi pyaar ke. Notice how after O O.., SDB switches to whistling and, soon after, a variety of percussion instruments. The three way dialogue between the male and female voices and musical instruments, with whistling, continues throughout the song.

6.  Hum the wo the aur samaan rangeen samajh gaye naa (with an unknown male voice) from Chalti Ka Naam Gaadi (1958), lyrics Majrooh Sultanpuri

Chalti Ka Naam Gaadi was the most famous film showcasing the wild, crazy and funny Kishore Kumar. This had an outstanding solo Ek ladki bheegi bhaagi si, and a number of duets. There are ‘pure’ duets with Asha Bhosle – Haal kaisa hai janaab ka and Main sitaaron ka taraana, and you have Hum the wo the aur samaan rangeen – another duet which in a way is really a solo, because the other male voice responds only with ‘Mannu tera hua, ab meraa kya hoga’, but that is enough to make the song, with KK and Anoop Kumar’s antics, a laugh riot. As for the unidentified male voice, my guess is it is SD Burman himself.

7.  Tum jahaan jahaan hum wahaan wahaan (with Asha Bhosle) from Apna Haath Jagannath (1960), lyrics Kaifi Azmi

The wild Kishore Kumar also had a great romantic side. I had included Asha Bhosle solo from this film, Tujhe mili eroshani mujhako andhera, as one of my special favourites. This duet is also one of my greatest favourites of Kishore Kumar duets by SD Burman.

8.  Are yaar meri tum bhi ho gazab (with Asha Bhosle) from Teen Deviyaan (1965), lyrics Majrooh Sultanpuri

With Lata back in SDB fold, Teen Deviyaan has him balancing between her and Asha Bhosle (as also between Rafi and Kishore Kumar) in the film. So, if you have Likha hai teri aankhon mein –a KK-Lata duet on one hand – you have Tum bhi ho gazab, KK’s duet with Asha Bhosle on the other. This one has more of unexpected bends, when Kishore Kumar responds with Tum kali to zaroor hai in an entirely different tune when Asha Bhosle ends her stanza.

9.  Gata rahe mera dil tu hi meri manzil (with Lata Mangehskar) from Guide (1965), lyrics Shailendra

SD Burman’s music was the high point in this landmark film from Navketan. When SDB suggested to Dev Anand to look for another music director as he was ill, Dev Anand was clear it had to be him and no one else, and he was willing to wait as long as he took to recover. The only duet in the film, Gata rahe mera dil, depicts the joy Waheeda Rehman feels on being with her lover, the Guide Raju, after breaking from her hapless marriage to an uncaring and adulterous archaeologist.

10. Aasman ke neeche hum aaj apne peechhe (with Lata Mangehskar) from Jewel thief (1967), lyrics Majrooh Sultanpuri

Jewel Thief marks the beginning of the third phase of SD Burman’s music when he resumes his tilt to Kishore Kumar. He had a Rafi-Lata duet, Dil pukare aa re aa re. This was overshadowed by the opening KK solo, Ye dil na hota bechara, and this wonderful duet.

11. Gham pe dhool daalo kahkahaa laga lo (with Bhupendra) from Prem Pujari (1970), lyrics Neeraj

Neeraj joins Navketan-SDB for the first time with some incredible songs, but the film had a tepid response. Shokhiyo mein ghola jaaye is a very popular pure duet with Lata Mangeshkar. Gham pe dhool daalo is a fun duet between Kishore Kumar (for Dev Anand) and Bhupendra (for Anoop Kumar on the wheel), targeted at the sulking Zaahida at the back of the jeep. The picturesque setting enhances the beauty of the song.

12. Jeevan ki bagiya mahkegi (with Lata Mangeshkar) from Tere Mere Sapne (1971), lyrics Neeraj

I end with this beautiful duet from a very sensitive film from Navketan. This too was not a great commercial success, but it must be one of the best directed by Vijay Anand, who also played a very powerful role in the film. The duet refers to the new entity that is to come into the life of Dev Anand-Mumtaz. The film had another great KK-Lata duet, Hey maine qasam li, and a beautiful Lata solo, Mera antar ek mandir hai tera. The film and the songs picturised on Mumtaz established her reputation as an actress par excellence.

Songs of Yore Award for the Best Female Playback Singer goes to Lata, Lata, Lata…Lata Mangeshkar, with Happy Diwali greetings to all

All superlatives fall short of describing Lata Mangehkar’s dominance in 1951, just as we saw in 1955 and 1953. Mahesh even said that the best female playback singer other than Lata Mangeshkar is Lata Mangeshkar herself. Many of us would give 1 to 10 slots to her, and still feel that many more everlasting songs are still left out. Since the year also had career landmarks of several ‘other’ singers, we decided to split the female singers in two parts. ‘Other’ singers have been covered in the Wrap Up 2. In this Wrap Up (3), devoted exclusively to Lata Mangeshkar, we can discuss her best without being constrained to look over our shoulders to include ‘others’ for equity.

Venkataramanji has been taking great pains to give category-wise statistics of songs as a percentage of total songs in the year. If we compare this with memorable songs in the year, as evidenced by the list in my Review Post, Lata Mangeshkar’s dominance is awesome:

Share in female solos in 1951

(Note: Venkataramanji computed the second column as 75%/25%, but he may check up again. However, that does not alter the broad picture)

If you recall from the Wrap Up1 regarding male playback singers, there was a phenomena of inversion of the pyramid, i.e. the singer, who had the most songs in all, had the least number of memorable songs. In the case of female playback singers, the pyramid gets flattened, i.e. Lata Mangeshkar’s domination in the total songs gets further accentuated in memorable songs.

And what about the musical merit of the songs? SD Burman alone had at least three all-time classics: Jhan jhan jhan jhan paayal baaje, Ye thandi hawaayein, Tum na jaane kis jahaan mein kho gaye. Madan Mohan gives a song in fast tempo – Saanwri surat man bhaayi re piya, and a very soulful Preetam mein meri duniya mein (Adaa). If you take Shankar Jaikishan alone in Aawara, Baadal, Kaali Ghata and Nageena, you have gems like Ghar aya mera pardesi, Jab se balam ghar aaye, Aaj maane na mora jiya, Unse pyar ho gaya, Do din ke liye mehmaan yahan, Humse na poochhe koi pyar kya hai, Tu ne haaye mere zakhm-e-jigar ko chhoo liya etc.

I have already overshot 10, each being an all-time great song, and we are nowhere close. Look at C Ramchandra. On the one hand he gives all the racy duets with himself in Albelaa, on the other he gives an immortal lorie, Dheere se aa ja ri ankhiyan mein, followed by another superb soulful melody, Balmaa bada naadan re. But he was on a roll with her in the early 50s. So you also have Ae chaand pyar mera (Khazana) and the radio-era landmark song Dil ki kahani kahna to chaahe (Sagaai). Roshan, like Madan Mohan, had debuted a couple of years earlier with other female singers, but went big with her soon. This was the first year he combines with her, and he comes out with eternal songs like Chhun chhun chhun baaje payal mori, Bahe ankhiyon se dhaar (Hum Log), Mohabbat ki qismat banaane se pahle and Garjat barsat bheejal ayi lo (Malhaar).

If you are keeping the count, I have crossed 20, and I am only half-way through. The maestro Anil Biswas is still left – Man mein kisi ki preet basa le, Baalamwa nadaan (Aaram), Beimaan tore nainwa nindiya na aaye and Wo din kahan gaye bata (Tarana). You have Jamal Sen’s superlative, Sapna ban saajan aaye (Shokhiyaan), widely regarded as one of the best songs in Yaman. The ‘only original’ composer, Sajjad Husain, gave one of his best Lata songs, Aaj mere naseeb ne mujhko rul rula diya (Hulchul), in the year. Baandhi preet phool dor (Maalati Madhav) by Sudhir Phadke is a great song by any yardstick.

Now we are about 30, and we have not yet mentioned the mighty Naushad’s songs in Deedaar and Jadoo. In the face of all these mesmerizing songs mentioned above, I am prepared to pass him up completely (KS Bhatiaji, you can trust me I am as big a fan of Naushad as you). But one composer I must mention is the first duo of film music, and mentors of SJ – Husnlal Bhagatram. Khushiyon ke din manaaye ja..abhi to main jawaan hun (Afsana) is a class by itself. This was the song which charmed a generation of listeners as the Signature Song of Bhoole Bisre Geet, presented by Manohar Mahajan. on Radio Ceylon at 10 every Thursday night. HB were still on a high in 1951, and had some more outstanding songs with Lata Mangeshkar in the year.

It would require a tough heart to bring down the above list to ten. Over 30 landmark songs in a year, which remain indelibly imprinted in our hearts after more than 60 years, is an unparalleled phenomenon in music. However, a good deal of commonality is there in the readers’ choices. So here is the Best Ten of The Best 30+ songs of Lata Mangeshkar in 1951.

1. Thandi hawaayein from Naujawan, lyrics Sahir Ludhiyanavi, music SD Burman

This song is said to be inspired from Charles Bayer’s C’est la vie in Algiers (1938), and there is a good deal of material on the net on the supposed source, and the long legacy downstream. To my ears, the similarity, if any, was very tenuous, but I leave that for the experts. For me, it is a great song nevertheless, and one of Lata Mangeshkar’s greatest ever.

2. Khushiyon ke din manaaye ja..abhi to main jawaan hun from Afsana, lyrics Gaafil Harnaalvi, music Husnlal Bhagatram

This song is a part of radio-era romance for many of us, when it would draw us inexorably towards the radio every Thursday night, and then would follow Manohar Mahajan’s mesmerisng voice, presenting Bhoole Bisre Geet. The song has many unique aspects. Firstly, its orchestration is different from Husnlal Bhagatram’s usual style, which at times makes him repetitive. Secondly, it is not a full-length song, and seems to start from antaraa (which, to my mind, adds to its charm). While these are its pluses, I was surprised that such a beautiful song is picturised on two adulterous lovers – Ashok Kumar’s ‘dear’ friend, Pran, and ‘loving’ wife Kuldeep Kaur – having some lovey-dovey cooing behind the gullible man’s back.

3. Beimaan tore nainwa nindiya na aawe from Taraana, lyrics DN Madhok, music Anil Biswas

Tarana was Anil Biswas’s one of the greatest scores in the 1950s and 60s. He composed many great songs for Lata Mangeshkar in the year, as I have mentioned earlier. If I have to pick up one, Beimaan tore nainwa is a clear favourite.

4. Bahe ankhiyon se dhaar from Hum Log, lyrics Udhav Kumar, music Roshan

Roshan can trace his musical lineage to Anil Biswas and C Ramchandra, having worked with them or mentored/influenced by them. But, it is a great tribute to his genius that he could create his distinct style of melody for Lata in the very first year of their collaboration. At least half a dozen songs of Hum Log and Malhar are among her most melodious, and carry a unique Roshan stamp.

5. Dheere se aa ja ri ankhiyan mein from Albela, lyrics Rajendra Krishna, music C Ramchandra

C Ramchandra might have been inspired by Anil Biswas, but in the early 50s he created his own school of Lata melody, which was imitated by several composers of the era. One of the most iconic lories in the films, Dheere se aa ja ri ankhiyan mein, is a leading example of this style. We have seen this magic in detail in my post on CR-Lata songs earlier, which evoked tremendous response from the readers, who added several unheard gems of this combination.

6. Ghar aya mera pardesi from Aawara, lyrics Shailendra, music Shankar Jaikishan

After their stupendous success in their debut with RK Films’ film on ‘love’ – Barsaat (1949) – Shankar Jaikishan come with another great score, now in a film with social message on poor versus rich, and nature versus nurture. Ghar aya mera pardesi is the second part of a two-in-one song picturised as a dream sequence, which is now regarded as a landmark in Hindi films. The two-part song taken together reflects Raj’s tormented soul, first struggling to break free from the life of vice he has been trapped into, then this beautiful, joyous melody follows, showing his yearning to unite with his beloved, Rita.

7. Aaj mere naseeb ne mujhko rula rula diya from Hulchul, lyrics Khumar Barabanqvi, music Sajjad Husain

A maverick and a highly temperamental genius, Sajjad Husain was hugely respected by his peers and by Lata Mangehskar. She is on record saying she found his compositions most complex to sing. But the film industry, or for that matter, the real world is not a very conducive place for Howard Roarks. Sajjad Husain was prone to take and give offence very easily, and his total career output is a mere 14 films. As far as he was concerned, after Allah had created Noorjehan and Lata Mangeshkar, he need not have wasted his time in creating other singers. Aaj mere naseeb ne is one of the best of by the ‘only original’ composer for the melody queen.

8. Sapna ban saajan aaye from Shokhiyan, lyrics Kedar Sharma, music Jamal Sen

Here is the exquisite Yaman, which many of us discovered in the Internet Era. Among forgotten composers, there is already a post on him on SoY. For Shokhiyan, he has risen in such high esteem that many music lovers would like to put him among the best composers of 1951.

After 8 great songs by 8 different composers, for the remaining two slots, I had a strong inclination to include Madan Mohan’s Preetam meri duniya mein do din to rahe hote. But there are a good number of landmark songs still left by SD Burman, Roshan, Shankar Jaikishan and C Ramchandra. With great reluctance I rule out Preetam meri duniya mein, treating it as belonging to CR-Lata style of composition. That means I have room for at most two of the four composers I just mentioned. I choose SJ and CR to reflect their large spread, and immensely popular songs.

9. Dil ki kahani kahna to chaahe haye ri qismat kah na sake from Sagaai, lyrics Rajendra Krishna, music C Ramchandra

C Ramchandra gave music for a series of mad-cap comedies in the late 40s to early 50s. In this Indian Laurel-Hardy – Yaqub and Gope–starrer, with breezy support from Rehana, CR still found scope for creating a superb Lata melody, which remains a perennial favourite from the radio era.

10. Unse pyar ho gaya from Baadal, lyrics Shailendra, music Shankar Jaikishan

Very early in their career, SJ started giving music outside RK fold. Good for them, because it was often said that Raj Kapoor had a great musical sense, and the composers only translated what was stored in his mind. SJ proved in Baadal, and other films in the year and later, that they could create different, but still great melodies outside RK fold too. Tough choice between this and Do din ke liye mehmaan yahaan. Unse pyar ho gaya has a very pleasant lilt and a soft dancing tune, which became a distinct SJ trademark.

To sum up:

SoY Award for the Best Female Playback Singer for 1951 goes to Lata Mangeshkar.

And the Best Song is – Thandi hawaayein.

That I am an inveterate fan of Lata Mangeshkar is nothing exceptional. She was ‘the’ female playback voice of the Golden Era. Now the readers are aware I am fascinated even more by Naushad. Therefore, I took it for granted that I have already written on Lata Mangeshkar’s best songs by Naushad, as I have done on her songs with other composers. When I tried to recall the songs I had included in that post, I realised, to my surprise, that I have not written it at all. Had I done that, ‘Tere sadke balam’ would have come in for some special mention. A fellow blogger has written he could listen to this song a hundred times continuously without getting tired of it. I have done that, and more, because it was more than a song for me; it was a binding element, an anthem with which are associated my memories of some most fascinating people at the Patna Secretariat tennis courts, where I was a regular for about eight years, until I shifted to Delhi.

Anjani provided nourishment to the group from his canteen on the complex, which was apparently unauthorised. He also happened to be an upper division clerk in Bihar government, which, acting on an anonymous complaint about his canteen, transferred him to a remote block, Udwantnagar, about 60km from Patna, which meant that he could now go to the office only once a month – to collect his pay cheque. We did not probe any further about his job or his business, because the masala lemon tea he provided was out of this world, and on pay-days he would bring from Udwantnagar a very delicious local delicacy, belgrami, a mithai made of chhena. Bihar, and I am sure many other states, abound in such small places which have become synonymous for centuries with some local speciality – Gaya ka tilkut, Silaao ka khaja, Maner ke laddoo, Barh ki laayee, Ghodmara ka peda and so on. If we craved for belgrami in between, Anjani would not mind paying a visit to his office even on days other than pay-days.

Jayant (Dasgupta), of Bengali origin, was a naturalised Patnahiya for about three generations. A well read man, he spoke elegant English, but could put Lalu Prasad to shame if he decided to display his Bihari dialect. He would enter the courts shouting greetings to everyone; he shouted when he played a good shot – Dekhiye tennis aise khelate hain; Seekhiye kuchh aap log bhi. He also shouted at (or down) his opponent’s good shot – Kya kar rahe hain, theek se kheliye, yahi sab karne aaye hain? His shouts became deadlier than his shots.

There was Professor Akhauri, the Guruji – a big shot in Indian tennis. He was a member of the Executive Committee of the All India Lawn Tennis Association (probably for life, as is the norm with our sports bodies). He would regale us with stories of Vijay Amritraj, Ramesh Krishnan, his father Ramnathan Krishnan, his travels to England, Australia or Brazil as the Manager of the Indian team to the Davis Cup or the Olympics. When some of us shifted to Delhi, Guruji would favour us with VIP passes for major tournaments which, besides giving a ringside view of Leander Paes and Sania Mirza, would also provide access to some five-star food in the lounge of DLTA. Guruji was never wanting in extending such courtesies, only we were at times lazy in availing it.

Sanjeev, the Medical Representative, was the most spectacular player on the court. His forehand crosscourt smashes would remind you of Federer. But more often than not, he was like an out-of-form Goran Ivanisevic, hitting wide or long or into the net, and swearing, tearing his hear and throwing the racket in disgust. It was tragic to see the ‘best’ player on the court often losing to some rank novices.

KK Prasadji, a retired Chief Engineer of Bihar Electricity Board, had a stately game. Once he took a spot, he became rooted to it like the feet of Angad, as if glued with fevicol – someone must have been inspired by him to create the song चिपका दे सैंया फेविकोल से . He would not approach the ball, the ball had to approach him when he would deign to play it, otherwise it was his partner’s duty to cover the court.

But there was also the legendary retired Post Master General, Colonel Shiv Kumar, whose chasing the ball to all corners of the court at the age of 76 was the envy of many youngsters.

There were some more. The venerable Tiwariji, whose efforts with the Finance Department and sundry officials made the development of the courts possible. There was honest to God, honest to his job, and simple-hearted engineer Saroj. There was Babu Rajiv Singh, from the commercial taxes department, who had the old zamindari in his regal demeanour. The ever smiling, long-named Hyderabadi, ELSN Bala Prasade, who was gradually becoming an incorrigible Bihar-romantic. The Jack-of-all-trades Sunil, one of the most talented persons on the court. And 50-something bachelor Kedar, who had not yet given up hopes of getting married. One major task of the tennis group was to find a bride for him. Then there was technically the most knowledgeable player, Uday Kumawat, because he had coached himself from Google.

But above all was Pathakji, also a retired Chief Engineer from Electricity Board, but what a contrast from KK Prasadji! He had undergone two heart bye-pass surgeries, but he always played to win. Therefore, he always partnered the best player on the court. If a better player arrived when half way into a game, he would declare the ‘practice game’ closed, and start the ‘real game’ with the new partner. He fought for every point. If any of his line shots was given out, he would rush to the other side, disputing the call vigorously; on his side, before the ball landed, he would flay his arms wildly and shout a loud ‘out’. Ultimately, whenever Pathakji played, a neutral linesman was needed to maintain order on the court.

What made this group more fascinating was that though coming from disparate backgrounds, we hit it off like a house on fire, socially too. We started meeting over dinner at each other’s houses with families, where the common bond was no longer tennis, but music.

The statue KK Prasadji would suddenly come to life when he sang Beqaraar kar ke hamein yun na jaaiye, and would shake his body more than he had ever done on the tennis court. The erratic Sanjeev would give a flawless rendering of the high-flown Urdu dialogues of Mughal-e-Azam, which he had spent his lifetime in memorizing to heart in its entirety. It was commonly agreed that had he made half this effort for the UPSC, he would have been into civil services like his brothers and cousins. Jayant the Shouter was not musical himself, but his wife Dr Arundhati Dasgupta, who became our family physician as a matter of right, sang Hum to yun apni zindagi se miley, ajanabi jaise ajanabi se miley with a rare empathy and feeling for the ghazal. I have heard Jagjit Singh’s rendering too, but Arundhati’s is indelibly etched in my memory. Professor Akhauri’s wife, Dr Manjula Akhauri, besides being an eminent doctor, was a wonderful host and a wonderful singer. Sunil would chip in with his instant poetry or tabla beats on the table to accompany the singers.

And above all again was The Pathakji – the star of the evening, as much as he was the star of the morning at the courts. His capacity to hold his drink was zero, but his desire and determination to drink was unlimited. His wife’s helpless pleadings or our admonitions to stop were of no avail, until the glass and bottle were physically taken away from him.

It is said that alcohol makes a man honest. After one drink he was forthright in expressing what he thought of me – a most useless fellow with no hopes in future, as I was not only a vegetarian, but also a teetotaler. After two drinks he would snatch the harmonium from his wife, Mrs Sarojini Pathak, who would be halfway into a most melodious rendering of Jo dil ko jalaye sataye dukhaye/ Aisi mohabbat se hum baaj aaye (Lata Mangeshkar, Nirala, 1951, C Ramchandra), ignoring our protests to let her complete. Pathakji never accepted that his wife was a much better singer than him.

A dead drunk Pathakji on the harmonium was a familiar sight we had seen any number of times – in this state he had only two songs in his repertoire. One was Kah raha hai samaan gaye ja gaye ja/ Pyar ko jeet le zindagi haar ja. He always started from the antaraa. He probably meant Talat Mahmood’s Dil ki dhakan pe ga from Lakeerein (1954), because I could not find these lines in any other song. Pathakji slowed the tempo of the song, but it was melodious all the same.

Then came the Grand Finale, Pathakji sweeping his fingers on the harmonium with a flourish, and the house would burst into uproarious applause. This would herald the end of the evening, because there could not be anything after Pathakji’s Tere sadke balam. While he was completely sozzled and his speech became incoherent, his fingers on the harmonium were steady. This was the time when Pathakji would be favourably disposed towards me, because while others were busy in their chatter, I would be attentive to this beautiful Naushad composition. And Pathakji would shout at others, “You useless fellows, look at him, only he appreciates music.”

All good things come to an end. But the Patna tennis courts had a deeply tragic end, the least of which was some members moving out of Patna. Governments have insatiable appetite for office space. On one of my visits to Patna I found to my horror that the lovely Secretariat courts had been dug up to make way for some concrete and steel monstrosity to provide committee rooms. The chess players in Shatranj Ke Khiladi were chased from place to place. The tennis players too could find some place to play, but nothing could match the ambience of the Secretariat courts.

Pathakji’s next heart attack proved very nasty. After prolonged treatment at Patna and Delhi, his US-based children took him there. He himself was a Green Card holder, but quite clearly his soul was in Patna, and he used to go to the US only once in six months to comply with the legal requirement of residency. Now it seems he is lost forever to tennis and Patna.

Tere sadke balam was not among my top favourites when my romance with Naushad started in my college days, many years before the Patna tennis courts. My first obsession was Aaj mere man mein sakhi (Aan), then came Marna teri gali mein jeena teri gali mein (Shabab), then Amar’s two other songs – Jaanewale se mulaqaat na hone paayi and Na milta gham to barbaadi ke afsaane kahaan jaate, then some songs of Udankhatola and Mughal-e-Azam. These songs still remain as dear to me as ever. But Pathakji created a special pedestal for Tere sadke balam at par with my greatest Naushad-Lata favourites. I present this lovely song as a tribute to Naushad, continuing my series on him in this special Naushad year. This is also wishing Pathakji a long life, and that for once he is able to come back to Patna, along with Mrs Sarojini Pathak, for a grand get-together of the tennis friends, who are among the most fascinating people you can meet anywhere.

Tere sadke balam by Lata Mangeshkar from Amar (1954), lyric Shakeel Badayuni

Epilogue:
I am back to Patna on some assignment, but off tennis because of injury concerns.  Pathakji is under the care of his family in New York.  Their reluctance to let him talk to us is understandable as he may get excited.  I was once able to say hello to him, but I was not sure if he could recognize me. Some old-timers are around, playing tennis too, but without Pathakji to sing the anthem ‘Tere sadke balam’ on his harmonium, it is impossible to recreate the good old days.

Wishing Lata Mangeshkar a very happy 86th birth anniversary (b. 28 September 1929) with her songs for Naushad

A blog would start losing its appeal if it became too predictable. Today is one such day when everyone is going to exclaim, ‘’I knew it!’ However, there is no way I can avoid it. There are many who are as enamoured of Naushad as I am. As for Lata Mangeshkar, I doubt if there is anyone who does not regard her as The Female Playback Singer, as a class by herself, far above her rivals. The Great Mughal of film music and the Empress of playback singing make an unparalleled combination.

Having lived and breathed their songs, I had taken it for granted that I have already written on her best songs by Naushad, as I have done for several other composers namely, Chitragupta, C Ramchandra, Roshan, SD Burman and Anil Biswas. It took me five years, and fortuitously when I decided to celebrate the current year as the Year of Naushad, to realise that I am yet to write an exclusive post on Lata Mangeshkar’s best songs by him (though I have written on songs of Mughal-e-Azam, and about a particular song Tere sadke balam).

There is hardly anything new one can write about them which has not been written earlier many times elsewhere. Lata Mangeshkar had an inconspicuous debut as a playback singer in 1947 (Aap Ki Sewa Mein). Come 1948, and some aura starts building around her. As per the popular folklore, she was ‘noticed’/’discovered’ by Ghulam Haider, in a local train, and amazed by her talent, he took her to Filmistan’s S Mukherjee for Shaheed, who rejected her on the ground that her voice was too thin, whereupon the Masterji is said to have remarked, “a day would come when producers and music directors would line up before her, begging her to sing for them”. Come 1949, Lata Mangeshkar hits the music scene like a Tsunami, sweeping everyone aside. Naushad is one among many who ride the Lata-wave.

Naushad being the Great Mughal, his taking her as the lead singer in Andaaz, jettisoning his hitherto favourite singer, Shamshad Begum, must have added to the Lata aura. It is said that Raj Kapoor taking her in Barsaat was because of the Andaaz influence. In the first few years, Naushad seemed to alternate between her and Shamshad Begum, but it didn’t take him long to clearly settle for Lata Mangeshkar, composing about 160 songs for her. His overwhelming preference for her is clear from the fact that his once preferred female singer, Shamshad Begum, is far behind with about 60 songs, in second position. Their partnership continued strong till the very end of Naushad’s reign at the top, i.e. the late 60s.

In this interview on rediff.com Lata Mangeshkar makes an interesting suggestion that she sang the songs of Andaaz in Noorjehan-style at the behest of Naushad. It is not clear whether it was an innocuous statement, or her intent was to absolve herself of any responsibility. But in that interview itself she has high praise for him, “Naushad Saheb was a perfectionist who strived relentlessly to make each and every song a hit.” In another signed article she said, “Naushad’s music is unparalleled in polish. Even if the melody is not extraordinary, it is fashioned and orchestrated in such perfect arrangement as to thrill and inspire. Naushad has not only an extensive knowledge of music, but of allied subjects as well. He studies the story, the situation, the editing, the sound recording, the music recording, and the re-recording. He is an accomplished piano player and he is familiar with Western notations. He knows every instrument in his orchestra and what instrument is best for a certain piece of music. He was the first person to present combination of the flute and the clarinet, of the sitar and the mandolin. He also introduced the accordion, the been, the brass instruments, the daf and the vibraphone.” (Quoted in Naushadnama)

Naushad on his part rated Lata Mangeshkar as the best thing that would have happened to the playback singing. A thoroughly trained singer, she needed some polish and grooming. Different composers contributed in her development. Naushad was among her important mentors, who emphasised the importance of correct diction and pronouncing each word clearly to bring out its emotion.

Everyone would have one’s own favourite top composer for Lata Mageshkar: Anil Biswas, C Ramchandra, Madan Mohan, SD Burman, Roshan etc. At a very young age Naushad’s songs cast a spell on me, that memory is still fresh in my mind. Here is reliving my memory of those songs as a tribute to two of the greatest talents on Lata Mangeshkar’s 86^th birth anniversary. These songs are not necessarily the “best”, but ones that are special to me.

1. Aaj mere man mein sakhi from Aan (1952), lyrics Shakeel Badayuni

This was the first song which left me completely entranced by Naushad magic. Lata Mangeshkar has mentioned Naushad’s unparalleled polish, and arrangement of orchestration which inspired and thrilled. This song is the best example of his talent in beautiful blending of vocal, orchestra and chorus.

2. Na milata gham to barbaadi ke afsaane kahaan jaate (Ho tamanna lut gayi..) from Amar (1954), lyrics Shakeel Badayuni

When you think of Yaman you think of Roshan, goes the saying. Here is a Yaman to touch your heartstrings. Nimmi is heartbroken as she discovers there is Madhubala in Dilip Kumar’s life. Those were the days of some sublime poetry. Shakeel Badayuni comes up with something incredibly beautiful. It is known Naushad used to spend long hours with him going over each word of the song again and again. He must have spent further long hours in composing the song, and thereafter rehearing with Lata Mangeshkar many times to get this perfect sad song of heartbreak.

हो तमन्ना लुट गई फिर भी तेरे दम से मुहब्बत है
मुबारक गैर को खुशियाँ मुझे ग़म से मुहब्बत है

न मिलता ग़म तो बरबादी के अफसाने कहाँ जाते
अगर दुनिया चमन होती तो वीराने कहाँ जाते

चलो अच्छा हुआ अपनों में कोई गैर तो निकला
अगर होते सभी अपने तो बेगाने कहाँ जाते

दुआयें दो मोहब्बत हमने मिट कर तुमको सिखला दी
न जलती शम्मा महफिल मैं तो परवाने कहाँ जाते

तुम्हीं ने ग़म की दौलत दी बड़ा एहसान फ़रमाया
ज़माने भर के आगे हाथ फैलाने कहाँ जाते

I have been often charged by Mumbaikar8 with not giving due importance to lyricists. But once in a while I am enamoured of some songs when I pay my tribute to the lyrics and the lyricist by attempting its translation.

Ah I have been robbed of all my desires, but your every breath I love.
Let others be blessed with all the happiness, I am now in love with my sadness.

Had sorrow not befallen my fate, where would the tales of my destruction have gone?
If the world was a blooming garden, where would the desolate deserts have gone?

It is good that there was a betrayer among my close ones.
Had everyone been my own, where would the strangers have gone?

Bless me that by destroying myself I have taught you the value of love.
Had the flame not burnt itself where would the moths have gone?

I am so grateful to you for giving me the riches of sadness.
Where else would I have gone with begging arms?

3. Jaanewale se mulaqaat na hone paayi from Amar (1954)

Readers may recall I have written a full post on one song of this movie, Tere sadake balam. And I have to mention that there are some readers who regard Asha Bhosle’s two songs from the movie, Umangon ko sakhi and Radha ke pyaare Krishna Kanhaayi even better than Lata Mangeshkar’s songs. So you have each song of the movie a masterpiece. It was not for nothing that Naushad crafted each song with great deliberation. Here is another poignant Yaman from the same film, and among my top favourites. Now it is Madhubala’s turn to discover something about Dilip Kumar and Nimmi.

4. Khuda nigahbaaan ho tumhara (Wo aayi subah ke parde se….) from Mughal-e-Aazam (1960), lyrics Shakeel Badayuni

While at Yaman, I can’t help mentioning this song. Madhubala has been made by Mughal-e-Aazam to betray Dilip Kumar to save the honour of the Mughals. As she is taken by the guards to the cell from where she would be allowed to go beyond the borders through the secret tunnel as a part of the deal, she is thoroughly drained out and lifeless. Her inner cry of helplessness comes out in this plaintive song. You can now try to compare Naushad’s Yaman with other music directors’.

5. Marana teri gali mein jeena teri gali mein from Shabaab (1954), lyrics Shakeel Badayuni

In every Raga Naushad composed songs that were out of this world. Here is one in Pahadi, a folk based Raga, which lends itself to both happy and pensive moods.  It can’t get more heart-rending than Marana teri gali mein. He has a long list of absolutely beautiful Pahadis to his credit from Rumjhum barse baadarwa to Aawaz de kahan hai to Jawaan hai mohabbat to Mere bachpan ke saathi mujhe bhool na jana to Suhani raat dha chuki to Tasweer banata hun teri khoon-e-jigar se to O door ke musafir humko bhi saath le le. Pahadi being the most popular Raga for film music, accounting for about 23% of all the songs based on classical music, every major music director has composed a large number of songs in this Raga.  However, the above list of all-time great songs shows Naushad added a unique stamp on whatever he touched.  I consider Shabaab to be the best musical of Naushad. Here is a song you can hear tirelessly.

6. Jo main jaanati bisarat hain sainya (Man saajan ne har leena…) from Shabaab (1954), lyrics Shakeel Badayuni

In his heydays, there were films in which Naushad would compose 10 songs or more, each a masterpiece. Shabaab is one such movie which had amazing 15 songs. He chooses Maand for this situation. A Rajasthani folk-based Raga, it has been used in later films where they have taken the traditional folk song, Kesariya baalma padharo mharo des. Shakeel Badayuni writes beautiful lyrics again, now folk style, and Naushad embellishes it with his characteristic class.

7. Tumhare sang main bhi chalungi piya jaise patang peechhe dor (Akele akele kahan ja rahe ho…) from Sohni Mahiwal (1958), lyrics Shakeel Badayuni

Here is a delightful Bhairvi composition from a small banner movie. Bhiravi is a favourite Raga of every composer. Naushad’s more celebrated Bhairavi Tu Ganga ki mauj main is well known to the readers.

8. Tere pyaar mein dildaar jo hai mera haal-e-zaar (Paas rahate hue bhi tujhse bahut door hain hum..) from Mere Mehboob (1963), lyrics Shakeel Badayuni

By now the readers must have noticed a unique speciality of Naushad-Shakeel Badayuni, creating a charming effect by preceding a song with a recital without tune. You remember Madhubala dares Shahenshah by a recital, Insaan kisi se duniya mein ek baar mohabbat karta hai/Is dard ko lekar jeeta hai is dard ko lekar marta hai, before she sings in his face Jab pyar kiya to darna kya.  Naushad fans can instantly recall some more great recital preludes:  Khushi ke saath duniya men hazaaron gham bhi hote hain….Mera jeevan saathi bichhad gaya; Akeli mat jaiyo Radhe Jamuna ke teer…Tu Ganga ki mauj main; Chale aaj tum jahan se… O door ke musafir; Sambhal kar khelna dariya…Na toofan se khelo; Asir-e-panja-e-ahad-e-shabab kar ke mujhe…Hue hum jinke liye barbaad; Laaga gori gujariya se…Nain lad jaihain; Aaj furkat ka khwab toot gaya…Tumse izahaar-e-haal kar baithe; Ye raat jaise ban gai chiraagon se…Aaj ki raat mere dil ki salaami le le etc.  The grandest recital as prelude must be in Ayega aanewala (Khamosh hai zamana..). Did Naushad take it from his mentor Khemchand Prakash, and use it in song after song to add to its beauty? I courted strong rebuttal when I put Naushad as the best in LDDS (Long Distance Duets of Separation).  I am again sticking my neck out, and dare make one more assertion – there is something very special about Naushad’s SWRP (Songs With Recital Preludes). I am sure readers would add many more of other MDs. CR, who is being discussed in tandem, also has some very beautiful SWRPs. Here is another delightful song which starts with a short recital.

9. Dil mein bajeen pyaar ki shenaiyan from Kohinoor (1960), lyrics Shakeel Badayuni

The Tragedy King and the Tragedienne change tack to star in this comedy film which had every song of outstanding quality, which you expect from Naushad at his top. A delightful song with Meena Kumari dancing in a happy mood, which is not very usual for her.

10. Ghunghat nahi kholungi sainya tore aage from Mother India (1957), lyrics Shakeel Badayuni

In 17 years after Aurat (1940), Mehboob was still around to remake his classic, but his erstwhile friend and a titan of that era, Anil Biswas, has now been replaced by Naushad. The new Mughal creates one landmark song after another. This song is also an example of his creative auto-inspiration. He composed Lagan more man ki balam nahi jaane in 1950 for Babul, he tweaked it a little to create another classic Jogan ban jaaungi sainya tore kaaran (Shabaab, 1954), and three years down the line he gives it a completely new effect in this peppy dance song on Kumkum who is exultant at the prospect of her love for Rajendra Kumar coming to fruition.

11. Phir teri kahani yaad aayi from Dil Diya Dard Liya (1966), lyrics Shakeel Badayuni

All good things come to an end. Naushad had a very high percentage of superhit songs. I have not touched his major Lata vehicle Dulari, or Udankhatola as it has been discussed in detail in yearwise review for 1955, or even the path breaking Andaaz. Before I part, let me present this bonus song from a movie, based on Wuthering Heights, which was a resounding flop, but its songs were nevertheless of very high quality.

(After the overview post on the Best songs of 1950, I have written Wrap Up 1 on the best male solos, and Wrap Up 2 on the best female solos by ‘other’ singers.  Continuing the series, here is the third Wrap Up on the best songs of Lata Mangeshkar. – AK)

Songs of Yore Award for the Best Female Playback Singer goes to Lata Mangeshkar (?)

In the three previous yearwise reviews for 1955, 1953 and 1951, the announcement of the Best Female Playback Singer of the Year was an exultant, “The Award goes to Lata..Lata…Lata..Lata Mangeshkar”. This year we had some very strong voices questioning her invincible superiority, though, by and large, she remained the overwhelming favourite for the best female playback singer. Most readers took the trouble of giving separate lists of her best and the best of “other” female singers, as well as a combined list, which had on the average about 4-5 of her songs, and the rest by the others, she, of course, being rated as the overall best. However, in a democracy, minority voices are equally important. The dissent is very categorical, and quite interesting. Therefore, this year’s announcement is suffixed with a question mark in parenthesis.

The most strident voice was of Arvind, whose best ten would include, at best, one song of Lata Mangeshkar, Koi kisi ka deewana na bane (Sargam), and this would not be at the top, because his best singer is Geeta Roy (Dutt), and the best song is Jogi mat ja (Jogan). Mumbaikar8’s singer of the year is Lata Mangeshkar, but the best female solo is Geeta Dutt’s Dagmag dagmag dole naiya (Jogan). Dinesh does not agree with the idea of dividing the female solos into Lata Mangeshkar and ‘others’. According to him there should be a combined winner; he goes to the extent of suggesting to have an overall Best Song of the Year. He has not given his own choice though. If I relate it to his other comments, his view is that the emphasis on a singer is overstated. It is the ‘song’ which matters, and everything that goes into it, including the lyrics, its tune, its picturisation and context.

In another context not related to the present yearwise review, Lata Mangeshkar’s ‘supremacy’ has come in for a good deal of questioning. Most of us consider Ae mere watan ke logo an iconic song, taken to great heights by her. SSW and Shalini question its musical merit, with the latter hammering her point by asserting that it would have sounded as good (or as bad?) in the voice of Sharda. Shalan Lal endorses her on another line of argument.

Aside from the above observations/reservations, the support for Lata Mangeshkar is unambiguous and as overwhelming as in the previous three reviews. Arunji is always clear about his choices; without any prevarication he just gives the best in each category. The best according to him is Koi kisi ka deewana na bane. Other readers have given a separate list of her best and others’ best as well as a combined list. A known LM-neutral person Ravindra Kelkar includes her six songs to four of others (Geeta Dutt, Shamshad Begum, Rajkumari and Suraiya).

Before I present the best song, let me present two pie charts, the first showing the share of different female singers in the total female solos in the year, and the second showing their inter se share in the Select List. The first is based on the data provided by N Venkataramanji, the second is based on what appears in the Select List made by me in the overview post. This chart was presented in the Wrap Up (2) as well, related to the best ‘other’ female playback singer.

Hans and Mumbaikar8 have strong reservations on the proportionately much larger share of Lata Mangeshkar in the Select List compared to her share in the total songs, and consequent low share of other singers. They suggest this distortion is due to my LM bias, Hans even suggesting the SoY awards too suffer from this bias. I can’t be a judge in my own cause. Therefore, I made the fairest offer possible – make the necessary deletions and additions of songs which may have been included or excluded because of the bias, and see what the share looks like. They did not take up the exercise, though it is not very cumbersome. Thus, it is not possible for me to say how different an ‘unbiased’ pie chart would look. But a point to ponder is that in the comments she accounts for far more additions compared to any other singer. As a rough cut we can agree that Lata Mangeshkar had relatively a much larger share of everlasting songs during the 50s and 60s than her peers.

Mumbaikar8 also said that I have included some ‘average’ songs of Lata Mangeshkar, and left some of her better songs. She added a good number of songs. Other readers, too, added a large number of songs which were not included in my list, though, in general, they agreed that, for all practical purposes, there is no need to go beyond the Select List, which with 152 songs was much larger than previous years. Yet some additions are noteworthy. Mahesh mentioned Sajjad Husain’s Bhool ja ae dil mohabbat ka fasana (Khel). This was an inadvertent omission. Sajjad Husain is such a huge talent, and his total number of films and songs comparatively so small, that his every worthwhile work must be remembered. SSW too endorsed this song, and added another Lata song from the same film, Jaate ho to jaao hum bhi yahan waadon ke sahare jee lenge. A known Sajjad Husain fan (and naturally!), SSW mentioned some more songs of his, and also gave a link to Gabriel Faure’s Sicillienne, which had some similarity to Sajjad Husain’s composition.

Vinod is to Jignesh what Sajjad Husain is to SSW, and he added a number of Lata-Vinod songs. But what we found most endearing was Hans hans ke mere chain pe bijali giraye ja by Bulo C Rani from an unreleased film Rasiya. I had included Wo humse chup hain hum unse chup hain from this film in my ‘Special Songs’. Songs of this film have impressed everyone. Mumbaikar added Phir chhedane ayi hai ye kaari badariya from Rasiya. Most readers have added one of the above songs in their list of top ten. This is very unique. It suddenly pushes Bulo C Rani in the top league of best composers of the year. We would come to that in the Final Wrap Up. But for the present, it underscores that, after all, the yearwise reviews are not a futile exercise. Discovering gems from an unheard of, and unreleased, film is well worth the exercise.

Now is the time to come to the best ten. One slot goes to Bhool ja ae dil. One for a song from Rasiya. Wo humse chup hain is the general favourite, but since I have included it in the ‘Special Songs’, let me take Hans hans ke mere chain pe. For the remaining eight songs, I go through my Select List, which has about two dozen of her songs. That means one out of three would make the cut. I would go by the songs which have remained highly popular till date and are easily at the top of recall of music lovers.

But before I proceed further, I must mention a unique exercise started by the well-known SoY regular Ashok M Vaishnav, who is famous for having laid the foundation of the series on Multiple Version Songs. From this year, Ashokji has expanded the yearwise review manifold. Taking off from my overview post, he has gone into his characteristic micro details on many dimensions, notching up about two dozen articles. You can go to his last article in the series here, where you would find links to his other articles too. He has added many songs which were not there in my Select List, and you may go through his exercise as a supplement to what I am doing on SoY. For Lata Mangeshkar he has written three posts on her songs with different music directors: (i) C Ramchandra, (ii) Husnlal Bhagatram and Ghulam Mohammad, and (iii) Anil Biswas and others.

Coming back to deciding the final ten (2+8), glancing down my Select List, in the first cut I include the following songs which have stood the test of time, and can be considered combining quality and popularity:

1.  Dil hi to hai tadap gaya dard se bhar na aye kyun – Aadhi Raat (Husnlal Bhagatram)
2.  Aankhon se door ja ke jana na dil se door – Arzoo (Anil Biswas)
3.  Kahaan tak hum uthayein gham
4.  Unhe hum jo dil se bhulane lage
5.  Lagan more man ki balam nahi jaane – Babul (Naushad)
6.  Matwale naino waale ki main waari waari jaaun – Beqasoor (Anil Biswas)
7.  Paas balam chori chori aa – Lajwaab (Anil Biswas)
8.  Aisi mohabbat se hum baaj aaye – Nirala (C Ramchandra)
9.  Mehfil mein jal uthi shama
10. Abhi shaam ayegi nikalege taare – Samadhi (C Ramchnadra)
11. Jo mujhe bhula kar chale gaye mujhe unki yaad sataaye kyun – Sangeeta (C Ramchandra)
12. Koi kisi ka deewana na bane – Sargam (C Ramchandra)

The above list is dominated by C Ramchandra and Anil Biswas, with five songs each. We have one each by HB and Naushad. Pruning it to eight is a manageable exercise. There is something tragic about HB. They were hugely talented, but their protégés, Shankar-Jaikishan, took the baton from them, and sprinted away, leaving them gasping for breath. Their peak was short-lived. Dil hi to hai tadap gaya is one of the best examples of their melodious tuning with Lata Mangeshkar. My ‘veneration’ for Naushad evokes strong reactions, but I believe readers would not mind if I include Lagan more man ki balam nahi jaane. I take four of C Ramchandra (leaving one with great reluctance) and two of Anil Biswas to make up the ten.

Putting the ten in order is largely a matter of personal choice. There is no right or wrong answer, and there is no universally agreed order. Therefore, I put the best ten of Lata Mangeshkar songs in order below which is a combination of readers’ and my own preferences.

1.  Matwaale naino waale ki main waari waari jaaun from Beqasoor, lyrics Arzoo Lakhanavi, music Anil Biswas

2.  Mehfil mein jal uthi shama from Nirala, lyrics PL Santoshi, music C Ramchandra

3.  Koi kisi ka deewana na bane from Sargam, lyrics PL Santoshi, music C Ramchanda

4.  Aisi mohabbat se hum baaj aaye from Nirala

5.  Hans hans ke mere chain par bijli giraye ja from Rasiya (unreleased), lyrics DN Madhok(?), music Bulo C Rani

6.  Lagan more man ki balam nahi jaane from Babul, lyrics Shakeel Badayuni, music Naushad

7.  Bhool ja ae dil mohabbat ka fasana from Khel, lyrics Shams Azimabadi, music Sajjad Husain

8.  Abhi shaam aayegi nikelenge taare from Samadhi, lyrics Rajendra Krishna, music C Ramchandra

9.  Unhe hum jo dil se bhulaane lage from Arzoo, lyrics Majrooh Sultanpuri, music Anil Biswas

10. Dil hi to hai tadap gaya from Aadhi Raat, lyrics Asad Bhopali, music Husnlal Bhagatram

Coming back to Dinesh’s point, I don’t think I am up to finding the combined best female solo of the year.  The best I can do is to present the two lists side by side in a table, and leave it for the readers to make their own combined best.

To conclude,

SoY Award for the Best Female Playback Singer goes to Lata Mangeshkar (?)

And the Best Female Solo of the year is: Take your pick.