A Shanker Jaikishan Devotee - Prof. Balasaheb Bhide

Prof. Balasaheb Bhide-The Shanker Jaikishan Devotee

Since he was 16 years old he was a devout Shanker Jaikishan fan. Already captivated by the melodies of the music director duo, little did this young man realize then, that his entire life was going to be centred around the work & lives of Shanker Jaikishan!Pune Life Style visits the musical world of Prof. Balasaheb Bhide ...
Half a century later, as Prof. Balasaheb Bhide looks back at this musical journey of life & he is content!

"When I look back, I increasingly realize that if Gods could descend to the earth and bless us what else could they do but what Shanker Jaikishan did? Forget that they were humans ... look at them for their work.Shanker was the form of Shiva with his damru from which emanated the finest rhythms and Jaikishan the Krishna whose flute enchanted us with the finest of melodies."
"I was into my teens when the music of Barsaat, Awara, Shree 420 and other SJ hits were everywhere in the air. Obviously, even I was no exception. We used to live on Tilak Road in the 50s and we had this huge Stuart Warner 8-valve radio. Every Wednesday, we waited for 8.00 p.m. sharp for the Binaca Geet Mala to begin. For one hour there used to be a crowd outside our house. Neighbours, friends even passers by, would stop and listen to those enchanting songs as Ameen Sayani took us through all the padaans.""

"1956 was one memorable year. With outstanding creations like Basant Bahar & Halaku, SJ were at their finest. And when Chori Chori burst into the Geetmala listings, it created a record of sorts when ALL its songs made it to the Geetmala that year. When Ameen Sayani would announce a song we would all cheer! And what melodies they were! Aaja Sanam, Jahan Main Jaati Hoon, Man Bhavan Ke Ghar, Panchhi Banoon, Sawa Lakh Ki Lottery, Us Paar Sajan, Yeh Raat Bheegi & of course the soul-stirring chart topper Rasik Balma!"

"As the years passed, my fervour for Shanker Jaikishan and their work increased to an unprecedented degree. I used to teach Chemistry at Modren College then. Just next to the college there are the Police Quarters and often a some radio in one of those houses would send a SJ tune wafting into the clasroom ... often I gave my students a free lecture!""My bicycle too had the words 'Shanker Jaikishan - Saat Suronka Saath' painted on it! I was saving some money every month so I could buy Shanker Jaikishan records. I visited most theatres in Pune and at other places in Maharashtra like Sangli, Kolhapur and collect the stills which are displayed in the windows!"
"Pankaj was the shop on Laxmi Road where I bought records. Often I would be short of money but I would pay a token advance and collect the record when I could muster enough cash! I was by now a total SJ fan and could not stand other music directors. In fact, I also liked the work of O.P.Nayyar but only after friends convinced me that I grudgingly would admit the existence of others!"
"In 1971, Mere Sapno Ki Rani from Aradhana was immensely popular. I recall listening to the Binaca Geet Mala one day when I was down with flu! In a morose state of mind, I heard Ameen Sayani taking us up the charts and when he announced that Zindagi Ek Safar Hain Suhana from Andaz was the numero uno song, my joy knew no bounds! I leapt out of bed and my mood had changed. I was upbeat and full of life."
"That was also the year when Jaikishan passed away and for me a landmark phase of life had ended! I heard the tribute of Radio Ceylon and I still have that on tape and listen to it on Jaikishan's anniversary!"
"For me, movies held no meaning after that! I have never visited a theatre after 1971! Gone were those times when people waited for the next song as they saw a Chori Chori!"
"In the mid 80s my young nephew was humming a tune 'Sun Sahiba Sun.' I overheard him and asked him which film was it from and who was the Music Director? He said the film was Ram Teri Ganga Maili - a Raj Kapoor film and was tuned by Ravindra Jain. I smiled and told him that cannot be - it has to be a Jaikishan tune, after listening to SJ for all these years how could I not recognize? The next morning I read Hasrat Jaipuri's interview in the papers which confirmed my intuitive guess. It was natural that I would know!"
"My nature is not very outgoing. I remain a shy person who gets daunted by the prospect of meeting someone. In later years, Shanker used to visit Pune and often I had this urge to meet him. Somehow I could never bring myself to go across and meet him. A fact that I will rue till my dying day! But, such as it is ... life goes on. I now live on a pension and my ambition is now to put up a little museum of SJ. That could be my little tribute to the maestroes and yes I repeat ... for me they will always be the Gods of our lifetime!"