TRIBUTE TO SHANKAR JAIKISHAN (32nd Episode)

TRIBUTE TO SHANKAR JAIKISHAN–32–

HASRAT JAIPURI

COINCIDENCES GALORE…॥HERE SHANKAR’S WRRDS ARE THEIR IN SHAILENDRA’S NAME AND JAIKISHAN RESIDES IN HASRAT JAIPURI’S ”JAI”……THE FOUR MADE TWO TEAMS WITH THIS COINDENCE IN SPELLING THE WORDS…।ALL FOUR’S ARE THERE IN EACH OTHER’S NAME…॥HASRAT’S POINTING OUT FEELS GREAT THAT BOTH S-J NEVER TIRED OF THROWING ”PRAISE” ON LATA MANGESHKAR…।AND WHAT TUNES THEY MADE WENT TO LATA’S VOICE, MADE THE CINEGOERS’ INTEREST AS A GOLDEN RULE TO LISTEN LATA IN S-J TUNES…॥THE DUO TOO HAD IN MIND, THEY ARE CREATING WUD GO TO LATA’ S SINGLE VOICE। TO BE STILL MEMORABLE TU HUM BY THE YOUNG AND OLD ALIKE। S-J’S LOVE FOR LATA’S VOICE WAS SO CONSISTENT THAT WHEN THE DUO MADE THE TUNE OF ”BOOT POLISH”, ”MAIN BAJARON KI NATKHAT RANI”, LATA FELT THE WORD ”BAZAR” CHEAP AND INSISTED THEY IMMEDIATELY AGREED AND HASRAT MADE IT ”BAHARON’…AND THE SONG BECAME AS ”MAIN BAHARON KI NATKHAT RANI”AND SHE SANF THE SONG WITH HEART…AND THE SONG WAS A SUPERHIT. LATA TREATED HASRAT, AS ELDER BROTHER…AND HASRAT THOUGHT WHY LATA ON SO HIGH, CUD NOT CHANGS.

THOUGH LATA SANG SOLO,DUETS ETC WITH MANY MUSIC DIRECTORS, BUT SHE HAD A SOFT CORNER FOR JAIKISHAN AND IT IS EVIDENT WHEN FOR ”AARJU”, SHE WAS DOING REHEARSAL FOR THE HIGH PITCH NOTATION OF ”AJI ROOTH KAR AB KAHAN JAAIYEGA”…..AND AFTER INTERLUDE SINGING, WHEN SHE CAME TO ”AJI LAAKH PARDON MEIN CHHUP JAIAGA, NAZAR AAIYGA NAZAR AAIYEGA”’….SOMEBODY POINTED OUT THAT WHEN GOING TO ”TAR SAPTAK”, HER EARS BECAME ”RED” WITH VOICE’S PRESSURE, THEN LATA REACTED TO JAIKISHAN….”KYUN MERE KAAN LAL KAR RAHE HO”…..AND SHE SANG WITH ALL FRAGRANCE IN HER VOICE ECHOING IN THE ATMOSPHERE.

SOMETIMES THEY(INCLUDING SHANKAR) DIFFERED ON THE WORDINGS, THERE WILL BE SHORT HEAT AMONGST THEM, WHICH WAS COOLED DOWN BY ANY ONE OF THEM, SO THE SONG CUD REACH THE LISTENERS WITH FULL POPULARITY….HOWEVER SHANKAR AND LATA HAD TWO POLES APART….AND BOTH WILL BE INSISTENT ON THEIR OWN THINKING, NOT TO BOWED DOWN….SO MANY SONGS LATA WERE RECORDED BY JAIKISHAN
HASRAT ON LATA ”JAB JAB BHI TU GEET SUNAYE, JHOOME PATTHAR TAJMAHAL KE; SUN SUN KE AAWAZ SIRILI, KALI HO GAYI KOYAL JALKE””….

Orchestration of Shankar Jaikishan (Courtesy : Yahoo Group on shankarjaikishan)

These views (taken from the Archive of Yahoo group on SJ) were expressed by Late Satish Kalra ji in Yahoo Group on shankarjaikishan on Saturday March 15, 2003 under Post no.237 addressed to the group members. This is a tribute to him and his idol Shankar Jaikishan.

Orchestration of Shankar Jaikishan

Well, before the resident expert takes over, let me put in my 2 cents on this.

By itself, the vocals are a very strong and much more important part of the entire song to make it likeable. And if the good vocals get a support from nice orchestration and good visuals in the film, nothing can stop the song from becoming a hit. However, soemtimes even mediocre songs can get a boost because of good orchestration.

To give some examples re the above, take Aawaaraa songs; i) aawaaraa huun; ii) tere binaa aag ye chaananii/ghar aayaa ...; iii) ik bewafaa se pyaar kiyaa; and iv) ab raat guzarane waalii hai.

All the songs have excellent singing by the respective singers. The first three have heavy accordion-based-orchestration, and story-forwarding visuals - all the essential elements for a hit song. And although all the four songs were hits, ik bewafaa se pyaar kiyaa....was not in the same hit category as the others, despite the orchestration. On the other hand, ab raat guzarane waalii hai does not have heavy, but soft orchestration, poignant singing, and well supported by the visual part in the film. Round one to the vocals

Next example is from Anari. From this film, I'll pick the songs: i) sab kuchh siikhaa; ii) kisii kii muskuraahaton pe ho nisaar; iii) teraa jaanaa; iv) dil kii nazar se; and v) vo chaand khilaa vo taare hanse. Once again, song numbers i, ii, iv, and v have accordion based heavy orchestration, whereas iii has orchestration led by heavy use of violins. All have all the hit-elements. Why then sab kuchh siikhaa... was the best song from the film! It had the summing up of the entire story-line of the film in one song. But then, one has to have seen the film. [Persoanlly for me, dil kii nazar se... is the best song of the film, soft, melodic, and full of romance coming straight from the heart.] The other two songs of Anari, ban ke panchhii, and '1956, 1957...." were also hits, but nowhere near i and iii. Ropnd two even between vocals and orchestration.

Jumping over to Jis Desh Mein Ganga Behtii Hai, I'll concentrate on only one song - 'aa ab laut chalen', for the effect vocals have on the success of a song. This song, too, has all the elements of a hit ong, but it stands out for the vocal 'aalaaps' of Lata ionthe song, gving it a totally out of this world feel. Round three againgoes to the vocals.

In between, there are films like Yahudi, Shararat, Chori Chori, Shri 420, Boot Polish, Mayurpankh, Naya Ghar, Aah, Shikast, and many others. Songs from these and other films strongly support the vocals as a major factor for a song being liked. [Some songs did not have the supporting visuals at all, e.g., the Shararat song teraa tiir o be-piir...]

To give one round for the orchestration, I'll have to do it in reverse mode - by taking the example of, not S-J, but L-P. The song I pick is 'ruuk jaa ai hawaaaaaa..' from Shagird. Even though Lata gives it her full-throated vocals, the most positive factor about the song is its orchestration. Similarly, in one of their much later films, the song " sauidaagar, saudaa kar..." from Saudaagar has heavy orchestration led by cymbals, shehnaaii, violins, dholaks, pakhaavaj, and everything else. I am not saying that Kavita K. did not sing it well. But I can't imagine it to be where it reached just because of the vocals.

S-J usually gave all their compositions heavy duty orchestration - it is said that Jaikishan insisted on a minimum of a 65-piece orchestra, and that after his death, film producers cut down on that immediately, leading to Shanker further going down the ladder.

Now one for vocals ruining the song despite good orchestration, take "tumko sanam pukaar ke..." from Diwaanaa. S-J gave it excellent orchestration, but what could they (it should rather be just Shanker) do with Sharada's vocals!

For S-J's compositions in the 60's and later, practically every aspect of their music making suffered; The tunes, the lyrics, the orchestration - naturally leading to a diminished impact of good vocals. Exceptions were there, though, but few and far in between.

To sum up, good vocals can save a song, despite less than perfect orchestration. But the same cannot be said for good orchestration doing it to a vocally deficient song.

And I have not even touched is the lyrics.

All above IMHO.

TRIBUTE TO SHANKAR JAIKISHAN (Episode-31) by Srigopal Shroti

SMALL INCIDENT, BIG MUSIC

IT WAS PERHAPS IN 1959 WHEN THE MAKING OF ”JIS DESH MEIN GANGA BEHTI HAI” WAS THOUGHT OF WITH THE INSPIRATION OF ONE SCHOOL TEACHER WHO LIVED WITH A TRIBE OF DECOITS IN GUJRAT……THIS WAS A NEW IDEA OF MAKING A FILM ON DACOITS…….HOWEVER IT IS TO BE MENTIONED THAT THE DACOITY WAS A VOGUE IN CHAMBLE RAVINES AND IN 1958, FAMOUS DACOIT MANSINGH WAS SHOT DEAD IN THE ENCOUNTER AND THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE WERE GATHERED TO HAVE HIS GLIMPSE, BECAUSE HE NEVER TORTURED THE POOR PEOPLE OF THE AREA, SO THEY HAD SYMPATHY TOWARDS HIM.
AND TO MAKE A MUSIC ON THE FILM OF DACOITS WAS A REMOTE IDEA. BUT RAJ KAPOOR DECIDED TO MAKE A MUSICAL HIT FILM WITH THE FEARLESS DACOITS…….HOWEVER AFTER THE BREAKUP WITH NARGIS, HE WITH PADMINI GAVE THE FILM A NEW SHAPE……BUT WITHOUT MUSIC, HOW IT WAS POSSIBLE……RAJ’S ALL PREVIOUS FILMS HAD TREMENDOUSLY HIT MUSIC……AND WHEN THE SCRIPT WAS READY, IT WAS NARRATED TO SHANKAR JAIKISHAN…….THE SAME NIGHT, BOTH SHANKAR AND JAIKISHAN RANG UP RAJ AND SAID, ”WHAT IS THIS SUBJECT?…WITH ALL THESE HILLS, KHANDHARS, AND DAKUS, MUSIC KE LIYE KAHAN SCOPE HAI?….WHY DO U WANT TO TAKE US?”……SO, RAJ INVITED THEM ON DINNER THE FOLLOWING EVENING…..HE POURED OUT A DRINK FOR JAIKISHAN AND STARTED NARRATING THE SUBJECT…..HE ACTED IT, HE SANG THE SONGS WHICH HE ALREADY HAD IN MIND, HE DANCED, HE WEPT, HE HAD ALL THE GATHERING IN A TRANCE…..AT THE END OF IT SHANKARJI FELL AT HIS FEET AND SAID, ”MAAF KARO, WE DIDN’T KNOW, IT WILL BE LIKE THIS”….AND THE MUSIC OF ”JIS DESH MAIN………”WAS A FABULOUS AND EACH SONG MORE THAN EXHILLATING….—”HAM BHI HAIN, TU BHI HO..”, ”BEGAANI SHAADI MEIN ABDULLA DEEWANA”, ..”MERA NAAM RAJU”,…”HOTON PE SACHAI RAHATI HAI”,…”O BASANTI PAWAN PAAGAL”,…”HO MAINE PYAR KIYA”,…”KYA HUA YE MUJHE KYA HUA”,..AND THE GREAT ”AA AB LAUT CHALEN”—-ALL MASTERPIECES FROM SHANKAR JAIKISHAN AT THEIR PEAK……….to continue……gshroti@in.com…………..

Few incomplete movies with some songs recorded by Shanker Jaikishen

Few incomplete movies with some songs recorded by Shanker Jaikishen

CHALAK; Madhubala, Raj Kapoor.

Songs - 1 Mukesh - Bataa de meri jaan tere dil mein kya hai

NAGINA - Sanjay Khan/Leena Chandavarkar

Songs - 1 Pehle ghungta utha/Lata

2 Ek tera sahara/Lata

3 Dil kis kisko doongi mai/Asha

4 Tere mere pyar ka andaz/Kishore/Asha

5 Ae Firoz, get the hell out of here (!) - Ranu Mukherjee, Preeti Saagar

NAIN MILE CHAIN KAHAN.. Dharmendra-Rajeshree

1 Naino mein sapne machalte hai - Sharda

2 Dil ki har cheez machal uthee - Rafi, Manna Dey, Preeti Sagar

NASEEB KI BAAT - Vinod Mehra/Reena Roy

1 Angdaaee li jo tan ne - Asha

2 Hona tha jo wohi hua (happy+ sad) - Amit Kumar

3 Holi Hai - Asha with Suresh Wadkar

4 Aap hile aur mohe hilaaye - Sharda, Alka Yagnik, Dilraj Kaur &

Chandrani Mukherjee...

PANEE - Meena Kumari/Biswajeet

1 Sharab-e-naabh ko do - Begum Akhtar

2 Too sone na denaa - Asha

WAQT KA SIKANDER : Dharmendra, Rajendra Kumar, Mala Sinha, Anita Raaj

1 Come on girls, let's start - Sudha Madera

2 Sitare bhool gaye - Shabbir Kumar

3 Dhak dhak dhadke dil - Anuradha Paudwal, Mohammed Aziz

*Shanker had recorded these three songs before his sudden death. Sharda completed the score of the film by recording remaining two songs of this film.


WATAN - Sunil Dutt/Rekha

Zamana hai agar - Rafi

Ai Bhai Jara Dekh Ke Chalo

Aye Bhai Zara Dekhke Chalo ...this is an ajeeb song in Shanker Jaikishan's annals. It is unusual in many ways ... let me state some I know.If you know more about this song please do add to the thread.First the background which I state based on a newspaper interview ofTejnath Zar- producer of many films including Vachan and Garam Khoon which were scored by SJ. Durig the making of Mera Naam Joker, Raj Kappor once visited Shanker and told him that he has one dhun in mind and hummed it out. Shanker said he will think about it and get back in two days. He then wentoff to Matheran telling Zar that if anyone calls including RK theyshould be told he is out of station. This continued even after Shanker returned four more days all calls were being blocked. The next afternoon, Shanker called Raj Kapoor over to the music room. Many musicians were around. Shanker hit the piano keys and played out the entire song - again using gaalis as dummy words. There was absolute silence till Shanker completed the song ... Raj Kapoor instantly got up and fell at Shanker's feet saying the words ... "Genda Maharaj, tera jawaab nahi, issipe to hum tum pe marte hain ! "The song went on to become a raging hit ...Now keep this incidence at the back of your mind and ponder overthis ...I do not recall where I read this part but I am quite sure it is itis true. Manna Dey had not sung for an RK production for many years. And Shanker called him over. Manna Dey was extremely excited and in fact did riyaaz for two days as preparation ...When he reached the studio he was taken aback by the song and refused to sing. After much persuasion by Shanker, Raj Kapoor and everyone he agreed and the song was recorded. The song went on to become a raging hit ...There is more ...At the Filmfare awards function that year ... this song went on to win the award for best male playback. And Manna Dey was flabbergasted. Despite a lot of applause by the audience he refused to go up to the stage and sing the song. His arguement was that so many of his clasical based gems never got the award then why of all the songs should he get for this one? Finally, Raj Kapoor took the mike and sang the song on stage !I may be incorrect on this one but that is the only Filmfare award that Manna Dey won.(Someone please confirm or refute.)The words Aye Bhai Zara Dekh Ke Chalo were by Neeraj. And they were good too.(But still I wonder how Shailendra would have handled this one... sadly it appears he was not around anymore !) Even today the song is to date hailed by many as a rap number which was way ahead of its time in the early 70s !There is also one more point about this ...Often in many discussions, Filmfare awards as taken as some kind of abenchmark. More often than not these awards are absurd and I feel that is theway they should be taken... but that is another point which I would soon bring up ...For now, if you have this song on your comp savour it and also pleaseADD anything you know aboutAye Bhai Zara Dekh Ke Chalo ...SK

TRIBUTE TO S-J(episode-30) read about the Great HUSNLAL-BHAGATRAM by Srigopal Shroti

TRIBUTE TO SHANKAR JAIKISHAN–30

HUSNLAL BHAGATRAM

SOMETHINGS HAPPEN IN LIFE DIFFERENTLY……FOR EXAMPLE, AS SHANKAR WAS A GOOD DANCER, HE DANCED WITH ‘DHOLAK’, IN ”PYAR KI JEET”, FOR WHICH , STORY, SCREENPLAY, DIALOGUES AND FEW SONGS WERE WRITTEN BY SONG WRITER, RAJENDRA KRISHAN, UNDER THE BANNER OF FAMOUS PICTURES….. AND THE MUSIC DIRECTORS WERE THE THEN FIRST PAIR OF HINDI FILM MUSIC, HUSNLAL BHAGATRAM, AND INCIDENTALLY BOTH WERE BROTHERS TO JOIN THE FILM INDUSTRY……HUSNLAL WAS A GOOD VIOLINIST AND BHAGATRAM WAS A HARMONIUM MASTER……WHEN THEY WERE ASSIGNED THE FILM ”PYAR KI JEET”, SHANKAR WAS THEIR ASSISTANT AND PLAYED ON DHOLAK AND TABLA AND BEING A DANCER HIMSELF. DANCED IN THE FILM AS STATED ABOVE……
…SHANKAR BESIDES DANCING HAD A GOOD KNOWLEDGE OF MUSIC AND WAS INTERESTED TO PLAY DIFFERENT INSTRUMENTS…….AND LATER AS A MUSIC DIRECTOR WITH JAIKISHAN, HE WAS THE ONLY PERSON, MAKING TUNES ON SITAR AND PIANO & SHAILENDRA WAS MASTER WRITING SONGS ON HEARING BOTH THE INSTRUMENTS…..THIS WAS A GOD GIFT TO SHAILENDRA……
….IT IS THE DESTINY, THAT SHANKAR MADE PAIR WITH JAIKISHAN AND BOTH WITH A BRILLIANT MIND, WENT ON TO BECOME THE MOST SUCCESSFUL OF MUSIC DIRECTORS, AND HUSNAL BHAGATRAM, WENT INTO OBLIVION WITH THE PASSAGE OF TIME….
…HUSNLAL’S FATHER-IN-LAW WAS A WELL ESTABLISHED PERSON AND SUPPORTED HIS SON-IN-LAW, AFTER BEING FAILURE AS MUSIC DIRECTOR, WITH BHAGATRAM…..AND THEN HUSNLAL TOOK TO PLAY VIOLIN….AND BHAGATRAM…..SORRY TO SAY….BEING ALONE , STARTED TO PLAY HARMONIUM UNDER THE DIRECTION OF HIS DISCIPLE, NONE OTHER THAN SHANKAR, WHO ONCE PLAYED DHOLAK AND TABLA UNDER HIS DIRECTION………WHAT WUD U CALL IT….DESTINY?…………to continue…….gshroti@in.com……………

29th Episode of Tribute to Shankar Jaikishan

Srigopal Shroti's

TRIBUTES TO SHANKAR JAIKISHAN

VITTHAL BHAI PATEL.•

TUM MUJHE YOUN BHULA NA PAOGE…………..IT was certainly a bad for all music lovers in general and S-J fans in particular……on the demise of Shankarji, all the ‘’swaras” of SAPTAK have gone out of ‘’sur”……they are also reluctant to come out of throat to create a new ”MUKHADA”……..”ONCE UPON A TIME DURING 50s, the then musicians were called ”BAJA PETI MASTER”…… SHANKER JAIKISHAN WELL TRIED TO GIVE THE HINDI FILM ITS DUE RESPECT……BUT ON THEIR TALENT, THEY GOT THE TOP OF THE POPS AND AQUIRED DUE CREDIT TO THEIR MUSIC BUT ALSO THEY BECAME THE HIGHEST PAID MUSIC DIRECTORS…….IT WERE ONLY THEY WHO STARTED THE TREND OF USING 100 PIECE ORCHASTRATION WITH RHYTHM AND MELODY HAVING GOT THEIR BEAUTIFUL SYNCHRONISATION WITH EACH INSTRUMENT INDEPENDENTLY, AND THE SONGS BECAME HITS…….THEIR CREDIT HAD THE ESSENTIALITY OF FILM’S SUCCESS….AND THE FILMS CELEBRATED SILVER JUBILEES ON THE BASIS OF THEIR SONGS.

STARTING FROM PRITHVI THEATRE THE S-J’S MUSIC FLAG FLEW ALL OVER THE WORLD……THEY CREATED A PAIR OF THEMSELVES WHICH WAS LATER FOLLOWED THE OTHER MUSIC DIRECTORS e.g. KALYANJI ANANDJI, SAPAN JAGMOHAN, LAXMI-PYARE…….IT WAS NOT COINCIDENCE THAT THE TUNES MADE BY S-J FOR THEIR FILMS AND WHAT THEY STARTED AS S-J MUSIC, THE LATER COMPOSERS WERE VERY MUCH AFFECTED BY THE ORCHASTRATION AND TUNINGS SIMILAR TO THE S-J’s WHICH WAS EVIDENT IN THEIR FIRST FEW SONGS……BUT THEIR WAS NO RIVALRY, AND OTHER COMPOSERS SOON MADE THEIR OWN WAY.

JAIKISHAN WAS A CHARMING AND VERY FRIENDLY WITH OTHERS WHOM HE MET, BUT SHANKAR KEPT HIMSELF RESERVED, AND EGOIST FOR FEW…..BUT THAT DOES NOT SEEM FROM THE MUSIC HE RENDERED…..IT MAY BE PEOPLE’S MISCONCEPTION.

PATELJI WRITES THAT HE WAS A LITTLE BIT SCARED THE WITH SO FAMOUS,AND HIS FAVOURITS MUSIC DIRECTOR, HOW HE WILL DEAL WITH AND WRITE SONGS FOR HIM. BUT WHEN HE MET SHANKAR, HIS FEAR WENT AWAY AND FOR ”SANYASI” HE WROTE ”BALI UMARIA BHAJAB KARUN KAISE”……SHANKER ALSO PROMOTED SUMAN KALYANPUR, NEERAJ, VERMA MALIK, PT.VISHWESHWAR SHARMA AND PATELJI HIMSELF…..THE DUO IN THE BEGINNING ITSEF PROVED THAT ANY FILM CAN CELEBRATE SILVER JUBILEE ONLY ON THE BASIS OF THEIR COMPOSITIONS….HE ALSO RECORDED ONE SONG OF PATELJI FOR ‘DO JHOOTH”……HIS HUMBLE HOMAGE:

”KAL HAM JAHAN MEIN RAHENGE NANIN,
YAADEN HAMARI RAHENGI YAHIN.”’
……to continue………gshroti@in.com

'Shankar Jaikishan & Premnath' - srigopal shroti

TRIBUTE TO SHANKAR JAIKISHAN (28th eisode)–PREMNATH•

Srigopal Shroti

PREMNATH, RAJ KAPOOR’S B-IN-LAW WAS ALSO A PART OF THE PRITHVI THEATRE…..AND WAS PLAYING THE ROLES AS ASSIGNED BY PRITHVIRAJ KAPOOR…..HE WAS ALSO IN LEAD ROLE ALONGWITH RAJKAPOOR IN ”BARSAAT”. …IN HIS WORDS: ”’WHILE DOING PLAYS WITH PRITHVI I GOT TO PRACTISE MUSIC WITH THEIR MUSICIANS….RAM GANGULI WAS THE MUSIC DIRECTOR….WE HAD SHANKAR ON THE TABLA AND JAIKISHAN ON HARMONIUM EARNING Rs40/- and Rs.60/- A MONTH….AFTER REHEARSALS WE WILL SIT LATE INTO THE NIGHT FOR OUR SESSIONS. ….SHANKAR JAIKISHAN USED TO COMPOSE TUNES AND MADE ME LISTEN TO A FEW…..AROUND THAT TIME RAJ KAPOOR WAS ON THE LOOK OUT FOR A MUSIC DIRECTOR FOR BARSAAT. …I ASKED HIM TO LISTEN TO THESE…RAJ HEARD TWO TUNES AND THE REST IS HISTORY……
SHANKAR NEVER FORGOT MY GESTURE. WHEN MY FRIEND MAJOR AHLUWALIA WAS MAKING A FILM ON HIS HIMALAYAN EXPEDITION AND COULDN’T AFFORD A BIG MUSIC DIRECTOR, I APPROACHED SHANKAR….HE READILY AGREED TO PROVIDE THE MUSIC FREE. AND IT GOT THE DUO PADMASHRI…..SHANKAR WAS A NICE CHAP. GOD BLESS HIM.””…..SO WERE THE EMOTIONS OF THE PRODUCERS AND DIRECTORS WITH WHOM S-J WORKED. AND WITH THEIR MUSICIANS TOO, WHO PLAYED ON THEIR TUNES WHILE RECORDING A SONG. AND THE MUSICIANS WERE DEPENDENT FOR LIVING ON THE WORK OR FILMS MUSIC DIRECTORS SIGNED.
AND IT WAS SHANKAR WHO WILL HILLARIOUSLY COME TO THE MUSIC ROOM AFTER SIGNING FILMS AND ADDRESS THE WORKING MUSICIANS THAT HE HAD SIGNED SO MANY FILMS AND DON’T WORRY FOR MONEY…..”KHOOB BAJAO”…

SHAILENDRA–TU PYAR KA SAGAR HAI (27th episode of Tribute to Shankar Jaikishan by Srigopal Shroti)

SHAILENDRA–TU PYAR KA SAGAR HAI

THE ”SWAR LAHARIYAN” OF 50s and 60s ARE PASSING THROUGH MY MIND AND ECHOING THE SCENTED ATMOSPHERE ALL OVER….BRINGING THE NEW FRESHNESS OF ROSES…SHAILENDRA SO MAINTAINS THE WORDS IN A DECENT WAY THAT WHEN U HEAR THEM, ALL UR EXISTENCE IS MERGED WITH THOSE SONGS, MELODY AND RHYTHM…..THIS QUALITY TAKES THEM HIM……………
AWAY FROM THE COMMONER……”SEEMA”, YES THIS WAS THE FILM AND S-J, SHAILENDRA AND HASRAT WERE BUSY IN GIVING LAST TOUCHES TO THEIR IMMORTAL COMPOSITIONS…..AND HERE COMES STILL AFRESH THE SONG..”TU PYAR KA SAGAR HAI, TERI EK BOOND KE PYASE HAM, LAUTA JO DIYA TU NE, CHALE JAYENGE JAHAN SE HAM..”……AND IF UR INTEREST GOES FURTHER IN THE MELODY WITH WORDS….HERE ARE THE WORDS UNDER THE ”SHRINGAR” OF THEIR SOFT ORCHESTRA……NEXT HEAR ON TAPE OR CD…….
”GHAYAL MAN KA PAAGAL PANCHI, UDNE KO BEQRAR, PANKH HAIN KOMAL, AANKH HAI DHUNDALI, JAANA HAI SAGAR PAAR,…..AB TU HI ESE SAMJHA , RAAH BHOOLE THE KAHAN SE HAM…..TU PYAR KA SAGAR HAI…TERI EK BOOND KE PYASE HAM…….”’
”EDHAR JHOOM KE GAYE ZINDGI, UDHAR HAI MAUT KHADI, KOI KYA JAANE KAHAN HAI SEEMA, ULJHAN AAN PADI, ….KANON MEIN ZARA KAH DE KE AAYE KAUN DISHA SE HAM……TU PYAR KA SAAGAR HAI, TERI EK BOOND KE PYASE HAM.”……..(MANNADE & CHORUS)…..
MANNADA HAS GIVEN LIFE TO THIS SONG AND REASISED THE ORIGINALITY OF THE PURE WORDS, HIDINDG GREAT PHILOSOPHY OF LIFE….HIS VOICE TAKES US FROM THE DEEP OCEAN TO THE WORLD OF KNOWN AND UNKNOWN, WHICH IS BEYOND THE SKY…..
PL GIVE EAR TO ”’PANKH HAIN KOMAL AANKH HAI DHUNDHALI, JAANA HAI SAGAR PAAR.”……THE DETERMINATION TAKES THE ”PANCHHI” TO THE OTHER PART OF THE OCEAN TO FIND OUT THE SOLACE, PERHAPS HE MAY HAVE ”DARSHAN” OF ALMIGHTY…….BUT BECAUSE OF HIS ”KOMAL PANKH AND ”AANKH HAI DHUNDHALI”, , HE PRAYS GOD AGAIN ”IDHAR JHOOM KE GAAYE ZINDAGI, UDHAR HAI MAUT KHADI, KOI KYA JAANE KAHAN HAI SEEMA , ULJHAN AAN PADI”…….HERE THE ”PANCHHI” IS THE HUMAN HEART…..AND FOLLOWS THE STANZA IN WHICH THE DISTANCE BETWEEN LIFE AND DEATH HAS BEEN FELT SEVERELY……….HERE IS THE FEAR OF DEATH, NOBODY KNOWS THE END AND HUMAN HEART IS IN DILEMMA, FEELING THE HEAT OF THE DEAD BODIES BEING BURNT IN THE ”ESHMASAN”…..DESPITE THIS HE FEELS THE DEVOTION TO THE GOD THROUGH THE DEEP OCEAN AND HIS ULTIMATE DESIRE TO SURRENDER TO THE ALMIGHY……… SHANKAR JAIKISHAN WERE THOSE MUSIC DIRECTORS WHOSE ‘RELIGION’ WAS ”MUSIC” AND THEY TOUCHED THAT POINT HERE WHERE THE ART AND THE ARTIST GOES BEYOND IMMORTABILITY THROUGH THE ”SAAZ AUR AAWAZ”—-MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS AND SINGERS BOTH BOW TO THEIR CREATORS TO GO DOWN THE MEMORY LANE………..to continue……gshroti@in.com………

26th Episode of Tribute to Shankar Jaikishan

TRIBUTE TO SHANKAR JAIKISHAN–26

MALE & FEMALE SINGERS

Srigopal Shroti

IF the Music Directors did not give birth to the tunes, where were the singers to sing and win the lead….MDs were the originators….They took the singers to Mandra, Madhya and Tar SAPTAK VIZ. SA,RE,GA,MA,PA,DHA,NI…..QUESTION IS WHO DID MORE HARD WORK? MDs or SINGERS….the ORIGINATORS OR THE FOLLOWERS?….Nevertheless, the QUESTION WILL REMAIN A QUESTION–BOTH HAVE THEIR OWN OPTIONS….HERE MANY OF THE MUSIC DIRECTORS WENT INTO OBLIVION, BUT REMEMBERED THE SINGERS WHO SANG ON THEIR IMMORTAL TUNES.

HERE, I WILL TALK ON THE MUSICAL FILM ”MAYUR PANKH” BY KISHORE SAHU IN 1954. THE MUSIC DIRECTORS WERE THE S-J DUO….IT IS TO BE MENTIONED THAT AFTER SHRI 420, THE MALE SINGERS LEAD UNDER THE BATON OF S-J BECAME MORE AND MORE PROMINENT….HOWEVER IN THE BEGINNING AND MIDDLE OF 50s THERE WERE THE FEMALE SINGERS DOMINANT AND IN CASE OF ”POONAM” AND ”AURAT”…ALL SONGS WERE SUNG BY LATAJI….BUT IN MAYUR PANKH, THERE WAS A SONG SUNG BY LATAJI AND ASHAJI, WHICH WAS….”YE BARKHA BAHAR, SAUTANIA KE DWAR…..’ AND WAS PICTURISED ON HELEN & KUKKOO……WITH THIS EXCEPTION ALL 5 SONGS WERE RENDERED BY LATAJI……HOW THE THINKING OF S-J WORKED…..UNBELIEVANLE….

THERE CAME MANY SONGS ON THE LOVE STORY OF MUMTAJMAHAL AND SHAHJEHAN….AND THE EVER MEMORABLE SONG SUNG BY LATAJI …….”MUHABBAT KI DASTAN AAJ SUNO RE, MUHABBAT KI DASTAN SUNO…..” AND WAS FILMED ON THE BACKDROP OF TAJ MAHAL… STILL GOES SOUND. …NEXT THERE WERE THESE SONGS OF ”MAYUR PANKH”, WHICH WERE FAMOUS ALL AROUNFD IN THOSE DAYS BY LATAJI TUNED BY S-J…….”MAIN TO CHALI PASCHIM, PURAB CHALE DUNIYA….”, ”TANDAN TANDANA, MUSHKIL HAI PYAR CHHUPANA”…”TOO KYON MUJHKO PUKARE….”, ”MUBARAKBAD DENE HAWA BAGON MEIN AAYI, HAAN KHUSHIYON KE CHAND MUSKURAYE RE…”….LATER S-J CHANGED THE TREND TO DIVERSIFY THEIR CREATIVITY, WHICH WAS EVIDENT IN THE FILMS FOLLOWED AFTER MIDDLE OF 50s………to continue……gshroti@in.com………..

SRIGOPAL SHROTI'S TRIBUTE TO SHANKAR JAIKISHAN–25-

FLOATING CHANCES FOR NEW SINGERS

(TRIBUTE TO SHANKAR JAIKISHAN–25-)

Srigopal Shroti

IT looks that the time has just gone and we are atuned with the Rhythms of SHANKAR and MELODIES OF JAIKISHAN AND THE SONG ARE BEING PLAYED ON EPs, LATER ON CASSETTES AND NOW ON CD/DVDs…..AND THE TIME IS AS FRESH AS ON THAT DAY WHEN THE DUOs WERE COMPOSING THEIR BEST AND THAT SUN, STILL REMAINS THE SAME SUN.

I AM TALKING ABOUT USING THE VOICE OF SHRI KRISHNA CHONKAR IN VERMA FILMS’ POOJA IN THE YEAR 1954…..CHONKERJI WAS ALSO A CLASSICAL SINGER LIKE USTAD AMIR KHAN. BESIDES HE WAS A THEATRE ARTIST AND LATER WORKED IN MANY MARATHI FILMS. HE ALSO PRODUCED A FILM ”NANDADEEP” IN MARATHI, BUT HE DID NOT SING ANY SONG IN IT. SO HIS SUN WAS SET BY THE TIME…..BUT SHANKAR JAIKISHAN GAVE A NEW DIMENSION TO HIS SINGING IN ”POOJA”….THE SONG”’ RUM JHUM BAJAO BANSURI MURARI”’…….HE SANG WITH MOHD RAFI.

HOWEVER AFTER ”AWARA”, S-J’S MUSIC STARTED GAINING RECOGNITION FROM ”BADAL”…..AND IN VERMA FILMS ONWARDS S-J CREATED A TRADITION TO COMPOSE MELODIOUS SONGS…..AND IN ”POOJA” THERE WERE 8 SONGS PENNED BY SHAILENDRA AND HASRAT. NEXT IN ”POOJA” MOHD RAFI SANG ALONGWITH LATA & CHORUS….”DOLI AAYI PYARI BHAR PICHKARI…”….THEN THERE WERE THREE SOLOS BY MOHD RAFI SUCH AS: ”CHAL CHAL RE MUSAFIR CHAL…”…”JAHAN KAHIN DEEPAK JALTA HAI JO EK BAR KAH DO..” AND ”SOCH NA MANVA TERA TAQDEER BANANE WALS SOCHEGA..” BHARAT BHUSAN WAS THE HERO AND ALL RAFI SONGS WERE PICTURISED ON HIM…..THEN 3 SONGS WERE SUNG BY LATA…WERE…”MORI VIPADA AAN HARO PRABHU KAHE DER KARO”.. ”BATA DE AI DIL, DIL LAGNA RAAS AAYE TO KYA KAROORN”…AND ..”MAIN MURLIDHAR MURLI LAAI MURLI DHARNE..”’….THESE WERE FILMED ON POORNIMA, THE THEN HEROIN OF THE FILM….

HEMANTDA’S VOIVE WAS HEARD IN MANY OF S-J FILMS, BUT WITH EITHER RAFI, MUKESH OR TALAT MEHMOOD…..NOT SOLO……BUT AMIYA CHAKRAVARTHY’S ”BADSHAH” WAS AN EXCEPTION (1954). HEMANTDA’S VOICE WAS FIT ON PRADEEP KUMAR, WHO WAS IN LEAD ROLE IN THIS FILM……THEN S-J LEAVING OTHERS ASIDE, USED HEMANTDA’S VOICE FOR PRADEEP KUMAR……THERE WERE TWO SONGS BY HEMANTDA IN ”BADSHAH”…..ONE SOLO…”’RULA KAR CHAL DIYE EK DIN, HANSI BANKAR JO AAYE THE” AND WITH LATA ””AAA NEEL GAGAN TALE PAR HAM KAREN, TUM SAMNE BAITHE RAHO SINGAR HAM KAREN…”’

THERE WAS ANOTHER VOICE BESIDES HEMANTDA IN THIS FILM AND HE WAS NONE OTHER THAN THE FATHER OF ”BHAPPI LAHARI”……SHRI AYRESH LAHIRI…AND THE SONG HE SANG UNDER S-J’S BATON WAS.”.JAGE MERA DIL SOYE ZAMANA, MEHFIL DOOR NAHIN….”..HIS VOICE WAS CLOSE TO HEMANTDA AND IT GOT GLORIOUS FAME….BUT BECAUSE OF BENGALI MIXTURE, HIS VOICE CUDNOT GO FURTHER…….LATA’S VOICE WAS RENDERED WELL AND SUFFICIENTLY UTISLSED ON THE TWO HEROINS==USHA KIRAN AND MALA SINHA…..AND IT WAS DEBUT FILM OF MALA SINHA. AND THE SONGS WERE ”JAB PAL BHAR CHAIN NA PAUN RE BALAM”,…”JEE GHABRAYE DIL JAL JAYE, BEDARDI AB TO AA JA.” …”JANAN MARAN KE SAATH KO TUM AAKHEN CHURAO TO KYA..”…”LE GAYA DIL LE GAYA” AND ”GUL MUSKURA UTHA, BULBUL YE GAA UTA..”.. 5 SONG OF THIS FILM WERE RENDERED BY LATA………..to continue……..gshroti.in.com……..

Srigopal Shroti's Tribute to Shankar-Jaikishan and Shailendra

TRIBUTE TO SHANKAR JAIKISHAN–24–

SHAILENDRA

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Srigopal Shroti

”CHALTE CHALTE THAK GAYA MAIN, AUR SAANJH BHI DHALNE LAGI,TAB RAAH KHUD MUJHKO, APNI BAAHON MEIN LEKAR CHALNE LAGI.”…….SHAILENDRA WAS CLOSE TO LIFE ALL ALONG HIS POETIC CAREER…..THIS IS EVIDENT FROM THE ABOVE LINES…..HOWEVER IT IS UNKNOWN FOR WHICH FILM THIS STANZA WAS WRITTEN….
KNOWN WRITER BHISHM SAHANI’S WORDS RELATE……”AFTER ARRIVAL OF SHAILENDRA A NEW VOICE IS ECHOED IN THE LITERARY FIELD (IN MUMBAI 1947). THIS WAS THE VOICE TO ADDRESS THE RULERS OF THE THEN INDIA AFTER GETTING THE INDEPENDENCE…….AND IT WAS A CHALLENGING VOICE WITH STRONG EMOTIONS. IT WAS HAVING THE LOVE FOR HIS COUNTRYMEN BESIDES CHALLENGING THE LEADERS IN THE WORDS…..
”LEADERON NA GAO GEET RAMRAJ KA, IS SWARAJ KA/ KYA HUA KISSAN KAMGAAR RAJ KA.”

THIS SHAILENDRA WAS THE POET OF POOR AND LABOUR CLASS, ECHOING THEIR VOICE IN HIS POEMS………HIS POEMS ARE A PART OF HINDI LITERATURE AND IN 1949, HE WROTE A POEM:

"HAR ZOR-JULM KI TAKKAR MEIN HARTAL HAMARA NAARA HAI/ TUMNE MAANGEN THUKRAI HAIN, TUMNE TODA HAI HAR WADA/ CHHEENA HAMSE ANAJ SASTA, TUM CHHATNI PAR HO AAMADA/ TO APNI BHI TAIYARI HAI, TO HAMNE BHI LALKARA HAI.”

–HE ALSO WROTE IN 1948 AFFECTED BY THE THEN PREVAILING CONDITION OF THE COUNTRY::

””BHAGATSINGH IS BAAR NA LENA KAYA BHARATWASI KI, DESHBHAKTI KE LIYE AAJ BHI SAJA MILEGI PHHANSI KI,…YADI JANTA KI BAAT KAROGE, TUM GADDAR KAHAOGE,…..BAND-SAND KI CHHODO, BHASHAN DOGE, PAKDE JAOGE”’.

–HE AGAIN REITERATED HIS FIRMNESS IN FAVOUR OF THE LABOUR-CLASS……"LEADERJI PRANAM TUMHEN HAM MAJDOORON KA/ HO NYOTA SWEEKAR TUMHEN HAM MAZDOORON KA, EK BAAR IN GANDI GALIYON MEIN AA JAO/..GHOOME DILLI-SIMLA, GHOOM YEHAN BHI JAO"

—HOWEVER UNDER THE PRESSURE OF NEGATISM, HE WAS HOPEFUL:…””TU ZINDA HAI TO ZINDAGI KI JEET PAR YAKEEN KAR/…AGAR KAHIN HAI SWARG TO UTAR LAA ZAMIN PAR”’.

SHAILENDRA WROTE HIS OWN DESPONDENCY IN THE FILM LYRICS: FOR EXAMPLE TO REMEMBER HIS MOTHER (FILM:AB DILLI DOOR NAHIN”)….”’.MAATA O MAATA TU JO AAJ HOTI/YUN TADAPTA AGAR MUJHE DEKHATI, TERA DIL TOOT JATA”’………..AND IN ‘CHHOTE NAWAB’—-”’ILAHI TU SUN LE HAMARI DUA/…SALAMAT RAHE SAAYA MAA BAAP KA.”’……HE LOVED HIS MOTHER TOO MUCH.

–BUT HE DID NOT FORGET HIS RESPONSIBILITY TOWARDS HIS MUSIC DIRECTORS, TOWARDS FILM SITUATIONS, SUCH AS ”’BHAY BHANJANA VANDANA SUN HAMARI/…DARAS TERE MAANGE YE TERA PUJARI(BASANT BAHAR)……AND EVEN IN LIGHT SITUATIONS, THIS SERIOUS WRITER LEFT NO STONE UNTURNED AND WROTE ””AAIIYA KARUN MAIN KYA SUKU SUKU(JANGALI),..LAL CHHADI MAIDAN KHADI…(JANWAR),….NAKHREWALI…VOH TO KOI AUR THI JO AANKHON SE SAMA GAI DIL MEIN (NAI DILLI)…………..HE WAS STILL NOT AWAY FROM HIS PAINS OF THE DOWNTRODDEN, AND PENNED:

”’SURAJ ZARA AA PAAS AA, AAJ SAPNO KI ROTI PAKAYENGE HAM……/AI AASMAN TU BADA MEHRABAN, AAJ TUJHKO BHI DAAWAT KHILAYENGE HAM”’(UJALA)….NEXT HE COMES UP WITH ”’KYON NA ROTIYON KA PED HAM LAGAA LEN, ROTI TODEN, AAM TODEN,….ROTI-AAM KHA LEN.””

CUD U NOTICE THE SIMPLICITY OF LIFE, POETRY, LYRICS, HIS AFFECTION TO LABOUR CLASS, HIS CHALLENGE TO THE RULERS…..AND THEN ACCEPTING THE TERMS OF THE PRODUCERS AND DIRECTORS TO WRITE THE LIVE SITUATIONS IN THEIR FILM SONGS.

WAS HE A LYRICIST ONLY…NAY…FIRST HE WAS A POET THEN CIRCUMSTANCES MADE HIM A LYRICIST, BUT TO SAY, IT WAS DIFFICULT TO PART ”POET” SHAILENDRA FROM THE ”LYRICIST” SHAILENDRA……”AJEEB DASTAN HAI YE, KAHAN SHURU KAHAN KHATAM, YEH MANZILEN HAIN KAUN SI, NA VO SAMAJH SAKE NA HAM””’…”TU PYAR KA SAAGAR HAI….””ANDHE JAHAN KE ANDHE RAASTE, JANYE TO JAYEN KAHAN.””…”ASLI NAQLI CHEHRE DEKHE, DIL PE SAU SAU PEHRE DEKHE……”HAM SIMHASAN PAR JAA BAITHEN JAB JAB KAREN IRADE…”….”’BARSANE LAGE SHAB TO KYA NEEND AAYE, UDHAR KADKE BIJLI, IDHAR JAAN JAAYE…..”’KOI MATWARA, AAYA MERE DWARE….””’SAJANWA BAIRI HO GAYE HAMAR….” ”CHALAR MUSAFIR MOH LIYA RE PINJRE WALI MUNIA””’HAM TO JAATE APNE GAON, SABKO RAM RAM RAM, APNI RAM RAM RAM….”””DIL KI GIRAH KHOL DO….”LAAKHON TAARE AASMAN MEIN, EK MAGAR DHUNDHE NA MILA…”’ ”’O SHAMA MUJHE PHOONK DE”’……WE TALKED ABOUT THE POET SHAILENDRA AND LYRICIST SHAILENDRA……..AND HE WILL BE IMMORTAL, TILL FILM MUSIC SUSTAINS…………….TO CONTINUE ,…………gshroti@in.com……

Tribute to SJ & SHAILENDRA by Srigopal Shroti

TRIBUTE TO SHANKAR JAIKISHAN–23–

SHAILENDRA•December 20, 2008

MOSTLY Shailendra’s songs were written on the philosophy of life. and when he died on 14th Dec 1966 (birthday of Raj Kapoor), the radio was playing …..”KE MAR KE BHI KISI KO YAADE AAYENGE, KISI KE AANSUON MEIN MUSKURAYENGE, KAHEGA PHOOL HAR KALI SE BAAR BAAR, JEENA ISEE KA NAAM HAI”…….AND RAJ SAAB WAS SO NERVOUS AND SAID ”’MERE TO SHABD HI KHO GAYE” AND AGAIN IN DESPERATION HE ASKED SHAILENDRA?””’YAAR TU NE KHUDA KE PAAS JAANE KE LIYE MERA JANMDIN HI CHUNA”’.
HOWEVER AS HAPPENS SEVERAL THINGS IN EVERY MAN’S LIFE, SO SHAILENDRA WAS NO EXCEPTION…..HE WAS DRINKING TOO MUCH, BESIDES BEING CHAIN SMOKER……ONE DAY EVENING, WHEN HE WAS ENTERING HIS HOME FULLY DRUNK, HIS LEGS COULDN’D STAND AND HE TOOK SUPPORT OF THE DOOR, AND…….THERE WERE LAUGHTERS FROM THE NEIGHBOUR’S HOUSE, HE SAW THERE AND ENTERED…..THEN HE WROTE IN A FILM……”’JUNGLE MEIN EK MOR NAACHA, KISI NE NA DEKHA, HAM JO THODI SI PEEKE ZARA JHUME, HAY RE SABNE DEKHA”’……EVERY SITUATION WAS A SONG FOR HIM……BIRTH, DEATH, LIFE, GHARIBI, AMIRI, MAUSAM, LOVE, FEELINGS, HAPPINESS, SADNESS, SHRINGAR, BEAUTY, HUNGER, THIRST AND ….SIMPLICITY OF LIFE, CLASSICAL, WESTERN:
: PL COME WITH ME::
”DIL KA HAAL SUNE DIL WALA, SIDHI SI BAAT NA MIRCH MASALA, KEHKE RAHEGA KAHNEWALA””(SIMPLICITY)…….LOST LOVE ””GALE LAGI SAHAM SAHAM, BHARE GALE SE BOLTI, VO TUM NA THI TO KAUN THA TUMHIN TO THIN, SAFAR KE WAKT MEIN PALAK PE MOTIYON KO TOULTI, VOH TUM NA THI TO KAUN THA, TUMHIN TO THIN…..SAARE BHED KHUL GAYE, RAAZDAAR NA RAHA, ZINDGI HAMEN TERA AITBAR NA RAHA, AITBAR NA RAHA”” (IMAGINE THE TEARS ON EYELID—-AND THAT IS –SAFAR KE WAKT MEIN PALAL PE MOTIYON KO TOULTI, VO TUM NA THIN TO KAUN THA….TUMHIN TO THIN…..(Here is th Poet Shailendra)
AS A SON HE HAD GREAT FAITH IN HIS MOTHER AND WHEN SHE LEFT LEAVING A YOUNGER SHAILENDRA, THIS PAIN REMAINED IN HIS HEART THROUGH OUT HIS LIFE AND HE BECAME A DISBELIEVER OF FAITH IN GOD…….HOWEVER IN FILMS UR SENTIMENTS ARE NOT VALUED, BUT WHEN TIME CAME, DESPITE HIS DISBELIEF, HE WROTE: ”DUNIYA NA BHAYE MOHE AB TO BULA LE CHARNO MEIN CHARNO MEIN TERE CHARNO MEIN”’
DURING DIFFERENCE OF OPINION AND EVEN NOT ON TALKING TERM HE HINTED S-J: CHHOTI SE YE DUNUYA PEHCHANE RAASTE HAIH, KAHIN TO MILOGE KABHI TO MILOGE, TO POOCHENGE HALL–(-LATER TAKEN IN RANGOLI)…..AND CHALLENGED HIS RAJ SAAB ”HAM BHI HAIN TUM BHI HO, DONO HAIN AAMNE SAAMNE…(WENT TO JIS DESH MEIN GANGA…)……HE WAS A FIGHTER POET, BEING INDIAN FOLLOWING KALR MARX. STRANGE.FEW EXAMPLES MORE FOR THE OLDIES AND GOLDIES:;”CHAKKE PE CHAKKA, CHAKKE PE GADI””RAAT KE HASAFAR, THAK KE GHAR KO CHALE”,”TERI YAAD DI SE BHULANE CHALA HUN”..LLKHON TARE AASMAN ME, EK MAGAR THUNDHE NA MILA.”’TERA MERA PYAAR AMAR PHIR KYUN MUJHKO LAGTA HAI DAR”’MEHTAB TERA CHEHRA, EH KHWAB MEIN DEKHA THA””DIL KI GIRAH KHOL DO CHUP NA BAITHO, KOI GEET GAAO” ”SAVERE WALI GADI SE CHALE JAYENGE” ”TUMHARI BHI JAI JAI HAMARI BHI JAI JAI” ”TUM BIN SAJAN BARSE NAYAN” ”KOI MATWALA AAYA MERE DWARE”’JEENA YEHAN MARNA YAHA AND MANY SONG OF TEESRI KASAM…AND HUNDREDS MORE .
IN 1963 RANJIT MOVIETONE PRODUCED ”BEHRUPIYA” WITH RAJ AND VYJAYANTIMALA. MUSIC DIRECTORS WERE S-J. THEY RECORDED A SONG IN MANNADA’S VOICE BY SHAILENDRA WHICH WAS””HANS KAR HANSA, RO KAR RULA”..BUT FILM FAILED TO BE RELEASED…..HOWEVER, IN 1983, PRODUCER SHADAB MADE A FILM NAMED ”FILM HI FILM” WITH THE PIECES OF FILMS WHICH WERE NEVER RELEASED…..IN THIS ”FILM HI FILM”, HE INCLUDED THAT SONG OF BAHURUPIYA……..to continue…….gshroti@in.com………

TRIBUTE TO SHANKAR JAIKISHAN..22–

SHAILENDRA•December 14, 2008

Srigopal Shroti

ONE imp instance i am remembering on the ”punyatithi” Dec.14, of great poet/lyricist oF HINDI FILM MUSIC…….Previously i have mentioned that late Shailendra had the knowledge of customs of different regions….and this was well depicted in the SONG FROM ”SANGAM”—”HAR DIL JO PYAR KAREGA, VOH GAANA GAYEGA……..”……IN BETWEEN THE SONG, WHEN LATAJI’S TURN COMES TO SING AFTER THE BEAUTIFUL INTERLUDE OF VIOLINS……HERE SHAILENDRA WROTE……”AB KAH DOONGI, KARTE KARTE KITNE SAWAN BEET GAYE, JAANE KAB IN AAKHON KA SHARMANA JAYEGA”……DEEWANA SAIKADON MEIN PAHCHANA JAYEGA…….IN THE BEGINNING, I WAS CONFUSED, WHETHER IT WAS KAHTE KAHTE OR ”KARTE KARTE”, …..LATER WHEN DEEPER WE WENT, IT CAME TO KNOW THAT IN INDIA THE VIRGIN GIRLS KEEP FAST ON ”SAWAN” MONTH OF HINDI CALENDAR…..TO GET A GOOD HUSBAND….AND THIS WAS THE MICRO-SIGHT OF SHAILENDRAJI EXPRESSING THE THOUGHTS BEHIND ””JAANE KAB IN AAKHON KA SHARMANA JAYEGA””. GREAT………..HOW LIVELY IT FEELS.
SHAILENDRAJI WAS SO SIMPLE THAT HE DID NOT DIFFERENTIATE BETWEEN THE COMPOSERS FOR WHOM HE WAS WRITING AND AMONG THEM WERE: SD BURMAN, ROSHAN, SALIL CHAUDHARY AND PERHAPS KALYANJI ANANDJI…..AND DID JUSTICE TO THE SONGS COMPOSED BY THEM…..BUT FOR HIMSELF……HE THOUGHT ”BAHUT DIYA DENE WAALE NE TUJHKO, AANCHAL HI NA SAMAYE TO KYA KEEJAI”’…..
BECAUSE OF SHAILENDRA’S PRESENCE, THE WHOLE ATMOSPHERE WAS INFLUENCED BY HIS THINKING…..EVERYBODY WAS SERIOUS……”WHAT THE POET BRINGS OUT OF HIM”’…..RAJ SAAB HIMSELF CONFESSED THAT SHAILENDRA PLAYED A GREAT ROLE TO MAKE R.K. AN HISTORICAL CAMP………SHAILENDRA HAD REFLECTIONS IN HIS WORDINGS AND BY LISTENING THE SONG, WHOLE SCENE SPREAD OUT BEFORE UR EYES….e.g. ”’NEEL GAGAN KI CHHAON MEIN DIN RAIN GALE SE MILTE HAIN, MAN PANCHHI BAN UD JAATA HAI, HAM KHOYE KHOYE RAHTE HAIN”’……AMOMG THOUSAND PEARLS, A FEW ARE FOR U TO HUM:
”MAIN NADIYA PHIR BHI MAIN PYAASI, BHED YE GEHRA BAAT ZARA SEE”,…..”O JAANE WAALE HO SAKE TO LAUT KE AANA”’……”YAAD NA JAAYE BEETE DINO KI..”’…..”RUK JAA RAAT THAHR JAA RE CHANDA”…….”MAN RE TU HI BATA KYA GAUN”….”NAACHE MAN MORA MAGAN TIK DA DHIGI DHIGI”’….”BAHAR BANKE VO MUSKARAYE HAMARE GULSHAN MEIN”….”RAADHIKE TUNE BANSURI CHURAI”…..”AAJA AAI BAHAR, DIL HAI BEQRAR..””….”KAANTON SE KHEENCH KE YE AANCHAL”….”JAO RE JOGI TUM JAO RE”……..more to follow……gshroti@in.com…………

TRIBUTE TO SHANKAR JAIKISHAN–21–SHAILENDRA

MAARE GAYE GULFAAM…..AJI HAAN MARE GAYE GULFAAM…….

Srigopal Shroti

IN previous posts, i did not write much about SHAILENDRA, ONE OF THE FOUR PILLERS, THRILLING THE MUSIC LOVERS WITH HIS IMMORTAL LINES AND STANZAS IN HINDI FILM MUSIC WORLD.
SHAILENDRA WAS FIRST A POET AND THEN A LYRICIST…….BECAUSE HE HAD THE HEART OF A POET, WHICH IS EVIDENT FROM HIS POETIC CAREER BEFORE ENTERING INTO FILMS….AND TILL LAST HE REMAINED A POET.
I REMEMBER HRIKISHESH MUKHERJI’S COMMENTS THAT THESE LINES CUD BE PENNED DOWN BY SHAILENDRA AND SHAILENDRA ONLY….AND THESE TWO LINES ARE A GREAT PART OF THE SONG FROM ”ANARI” AND THEY ARE:”’DIL PE MARNE WALE MARENGE BHIKARI.”’….SACH HAI DUNIAWALON KE HAM HAIN ANARI”’…..AND…..”’TOOTA JIS TARE PE NAZAR THI HAMARI”’…..SACH HAI DUNIAWALON KE HAM HAIN ANARI.”…..FIND OUT THE PAINS OF A CHEATED LOVER IN THESE TWO LINES.
SHAILENDRA WROTE NEARLY 1000 SONGS IN 150 FILMS DURING HIS 18 YEARS CAREER IN FILM INDUSTRY . ……SHAILENDRA KNEW THE FEELINGS OF A COMMON MAN, BESIDES HAVING GOOD KNOWLEDGE OF INDIAN CUSTOMS OF MANY PARTS OF THE COUNTRY, BECAUSE OF THIS HIS SONGS WILL REMAIN A PART OF THE INDIAN CULTURE.
—-HE STARTED HIS DEVOTION TO LITERATURE FROM THE YEAR 1938 WHEN HE USED TO WRITE WITH THE PEN-NAME , ‘SHACHIPANI’. …..IT IS GENERALLY BELIEVED THAT THE WRITINGS OF A LITERATEUR ARE TOTALLY DEVOTED TO THE LITERATURE….BUT IN THE CASE OF SHAILENDRA, HIS POEMS CONSTITUTED A GREAT PART OF HIS FILM LYRICS.
HOWEVER IN PRIVATE LIFE, HE WAS MUCH INFLUNCED BY KARL MARX, MAHATMA GANDHI AND SANT KABIR…….HE WROTE ”SOU SALAAM US KARL MARX KO JISNE MUKTI MARG DIKHAYA”……WAS IT NOT IRONICAL THAT THE FOLLOWER OF KARL MARX WAS THE FOLLOWER OF THE PRINCIPLE OF NON-VIOLENCE OF GANDHIJI……HE WROTE ”AAZADI HO AISI KE KHOON BAHAYE BINA MILE, PATTHAR KA ANTAR CHHIL JAYE”……..ONLY AN INDIAN SOUL CAN ABSORB THESE TWO CONTRADICTIONS…….SEE THE KABIR’S INFLUENCE IN ”MAIN NADIYA PHIR BHI MAIN PYASI, BHED YE GAHARA BAAT ZARA SEE”…..FILM SONGS OWE THE DEEPER SENSE OF REALISM TO SHAILENDRA…….
HAVE SOME EXAMPLES HERE ”KAATH KA TUKDA BEH JAATA HAI, LOHA DOOB KE REH JAATA HAI, GYANI SOCH VICHAR, NAIYA TERI MAJHDHAR”’, …….”KAAM NAYE NIT GEET BANANA, KOI NA MILE TO AKELE MEIN GAANA, MEET AUR PREET KA GEET RAHE , LOOT SAKA NA KOI YE KHAJANA…..MERA NAAM RAJU, GHARANA ANAM”……”NA HAATHI HAI, NA GHODA HAI, WAHAN PAIDAL HI JAANA HAI…..SAJAN RE JHOOTH MAT BOLO, KHUDA KE PAS JAANA HAI”……”AB. KI BARAS BHEJ BHAIYA KO BABUL, SAWAN MEIN LEEJO BULAYE RE”……”’SAARE BHED KHUL GAYE, RAAJDAR NA RAHA, ZINDAGI HAME TERA AITBAR NA RAHA””…….”’JO JISSE MILA SEEKHA HAMNE, GAIRON KO BHI APNAYA HAMNE, MATLAB KE LIYE ANDHE HOKER ROTI KO NAHIN POOJA HAMNE…..AB HAM TO KYA SAARI DUNIA, SAARI DUNIA SE KAHTI HAI…….HAM US DESH KE WASI HAIN JIS DESH MEIN GANGA BEHTI HAI”’…………TO CONTINUE………gshroti@in.com……..

SHANKER JAIKISHEN DISTINGUISHED THIS VARIETY WHILE COMPOSING THEIR SONGS

TRIBUTE TO SHANKAR JAIKISHAN…20–S-J & MUKESH

(Courtesy - http://gopalshroti.wordpress.com/)

S-J DID NOT FAVOUR ANY SINGER FOR PARTICULAR ACTOR/ACTRESSES…..THEY FAVOURED THE SONG TO BE TUNED TO FIT OCCASION……otherwise there wud have been every song of Mukesh for Raj Kapoor, Talat Mehmood for Dilip Kumar, Mannadey for Shammi Kapoor…….THEY DISTINGUISHED THIS VARIETY WHILE COMPOSING THEIR SONGS…..AND STILL SONG WAS IMPORTANT NOT THE HERO….THIS SUPREMACY THEY MAINTAINED….AND THE HEROS AND HEROINS WERE UNDER THEIR MESMERISM.

AS I MENTIONED EARLIER IN OTHER POSTS, AS SOON AS THE FILM WAS SIGNED BY S-J, THE PRODUCER/DIRECTOR GOT THE HERO/HEROIN ALSO SIGNED FOR THE FILM, BECAUSE THEY KNEW THAT UNDER S-J’S BATON, THEY WILL BE BIG HITS.

THEREFORE, I TAKE U TO THE DIFFERENT PLATFORM WITH S-J AND MUKESH, WITH THE FEW SONGS THEY COMPOSED FOR HIM…..TRY TO IDENTIFY:

1. IN ‘AAH’ THERE IS ONE MEMORABLE NUMBER SUNG BY MUKESH AND ALSO FILMED ON HIM…..GUESS? HERE IT IS ”CHHOTI SE YEH ZINDAGANI RE, CHAR DIN KI JAWANI TERI”.

2. JAIKISHAN COMPOSED A TUNE FOR MUKESH. MUKESH SANG IT WITH SUCH STYLE THAT JAIKISHAN FELT THAT IT SHD BE FILMED ON HIMSELF ON THE SCREEN?………WHICH WAS THAT………IN ‘BEGUNAH’…..”AI PYASE DIL BEZUBAN, DARD HAI TERI DASTAN, AAG KO AAG MEIN DHAL KE, KAB TAK JEE BEHLAYEGA….AI PYASE…..”

3. THIS SONG WAS COMPOSED BY JAIKISHAN, AFTER THE RAJ-NARGIS BREAK UP. ….THERE WAS A TAUNTING TONE TO HASRAT’ S LYRIC, WRITTEN FOR A FILM IN WHICH MALA SINHA PLAYED AGAINST RAJ KAPOOR…..AND EVEN WHEN MUKESH SANG IT HE WAS UNAWARE OF THE SENTIMENTS EXPRESSED IN IT FOR RAJ-NARGIS BREAK-UP…BUT RAJ HAD TO SING IT ON SCREEN….. GUESS?………………………………………HERE IT IS ”’KISI NARGISI NAZAR KO DIL DENGE HAM, KALI ZULF KE SAAYE MEIN DUM LENGE HUM…….”’

4. MUKESH BELIEVED THAT MOST OF THE THEME SONG OF THE FILM WERE COMPOSED BY SHANKAR…….STILL THERE were THREE THEME SONGS FILMED ON RAJ KAPOOR AND SUNG BY MUKESH, WERE THE COMPOSITION BY JAIKISHAN……..REMEMBER?……DIFFICULT………..LET US SEE ”’AWARA HOON”(AWARA), MAIN AASHIQ HOON BAHARON KA..(AASHIQ)…& ”MERE MAN KI GANGA….”(SANGAM).

5. IN 1958, FILMFARE AWARD WAS ANNOUNCED FOR ONE PLAYBACK SINGER, EITHER MALE OR FEMALE….AND LATER IT WENT MALE AND FEMALE INDIVIDUALY…….IN 1958, IT WENT TO LATA FOR ”AAJA RE PARDESI….” IN MADHUMATI……BUT IN 1959 THE AWARD WENT TO MUKESH, WHO PUT ALL RIVAL VOICES, MALE AND FEMALE, IN THE SHADE WITH A RUNAWAY HIT SANG BY RAJ KAPOOR ON SCREEN………COULD U GUESS, YES IT IS EASY……”SAB KUCHH SEEKHA HAMNE NA SEEKHI HOSHIARI…SACH HAI DUNIAWALON KE HAM HAIN ANARI”.

6. IT HAPPENED, THAT LATA WILL NOT SING FOR SHANKAR (BOTH HAD DIFFERENT MOODS), BUT MUKESH PERSUADED LATA TO SING FOR SHANKAR IN ”SANYASI”……WHICH WAS THE DUET LATA SANG WITH MUKESH?……..GUESS…..NO……YES–”SUN BAL BRAHMACHARI, MAIN HOON KANYA KUNWARI….”’

7. A MUKESH NUMBER COMPOSED BY SHANKAR CAME TO BE RANKED AS AN ALL-TIME CLASSIC. IT WAS FILMED ON DILIP KUMAR……BUT DILIP KUMAR WANTED TALAT MEHMOOD TO SING IT…..WHILE SHANKAR WANTED MUKESH BECAUSE SHANKAR COMPOSED THIS KEEPING IN MIND THE VOICE OF MUKESH…….AS IT IS KNOWN, THAT MUKESH WAS GOING DOWN LOW AT THAT TIME AND AT THE TOSS OF A COIN THE SONG WENT INTO MUKESH’S POCKET………EASY TO GUESS…”.’.YE MERA DEEWANAPAN HAI, YA MUHABBAT KA SUROOR, TU NA PEHCHANE TO HAI YE TERI NAZRON KA QUSOOR..”’(YEHOODI)

…..AND IT IS SAID THAT THIS BECAME A LUCKY SONG FOR MUKESH FOR TIME TO COME.

THIS IS THE EXTRACT OF MY FIRST PARA…& THERE ARE MORE EXAMPLES OF THE DUO EXPLOITING THE SITUATION IN THEIR FAVOUR….AND MAKING THE FILM A GREAT HIT(MAY BE WITH A WEAK STORY) BY THEIR STRONG AND MELODIOUS SONGS, WHICH WENT TO THE HISTORY AS GOLD COINS………TO CONTINUE………gshroti@in.com……….

भारत रत्न पंडित भीमसेन जोशी जी को मनीष देसाई के श्रद्धा सुमन

SANGEET RATNA – BHIMSEN JOSHI

- Manish Desai

It was Diwali once again at Pune’s ‘Kalashree’ in Navipeth with ‘rangolis’ and floral decorations adorning the road leading to the house. The rangolis were drawn early in the morning by a civil society organization Vidhayak and had inscriptions ‘mile sur hamara tumhara’. This was the way the music lovers of Pune greeted living legend, Pandit Bhimsen Joshi, when an announcement was made by the Rashtrapati Bhavan, about him being conferred the ‘Bharat Ratna’ - the country’s highest civilian honour. Noted philosopher J Krishnamurthy had once said ‘love is like a river’. The music of Bhimsen Joshi is also like a river – ever flowing with beautiful bends. His music is also like a rain – robust during downpour and enchanting like rain drops. The legendary exponent of the Kirana Gharana is known for his mellifluous voice, dazzling 'taans' and an incredible breath-control. The doyen, through his amazing absorption of the soul of various gayaki styles has created a unique blend, adding his own introspective aesthetic sense. At 86, his body is not giving company to his voice. Unable to climb or walk, Bhimsen Joshi can still mesmerize audience with his vocal renditions.
Born in a conservative school master’s family in Gadag town of erstwhile Dharwad district in Karnataka on February 4, 1922, Bhimsen Joshi, showed inclination towards music, early in his childhood. The washerman of the house was in a way his first music guru. According to the family folklore, Bhimsen Joshi would often be seen standing in front of a music shop in the main street of Gadag, listening to ‘Fagwa Brij Dekhan Ko’ a Raag Basant composition rendered by Ustad Abdul Karim Khan, the founder father of the Kirana Gharana.
Dharwad was then part of the Bombay state and prevalent form of music was Hindustani. Bhimsen Joshi was fascinated by the khayal form of singing. In those days, khayal was principally taught in the Guru-Shishya parampara or the master – disciple tradition. In 1933, the eleven year old Bhimsen left home on his own in search of a guru. He spent three years in Gwalior, Lucknow and Rampur, all renowned centres of Hindustani music, searching for an ideal teacher. For a brief period, Bhimsen Joshi was the disciple of Ustad Hafiz Ali Khan, the most prized musician of Gwalior and father of Ustad Amjad Ali Khan, who taught him the rudiments of Raag Puriya and Raag Maarwa. Ultimately, his father Gururajacharya Joshi succeeded in tracking him down and brought young Bhimsen back home.
In 1936, Rambhau Kundgolkar, better known as Sawai Gandharva, agreed to take Bhimsen Joshi as his shishya and imparted rigorous music training for four years. The teacher taught him the nuances of khayal gayaki and Bhimsen Joshi perfected the patterns of Raag Multani and Raag Todi while performing the errands in the Guru’s house. After four years, he left his Guru and set out on his own.
At the age of 20, Bhimsen Joshi released his first album which was a collection of devotional songs in Hindi and Kannada. His first live performance was held in Pune in 1946 to mark the shashtabdipoorti (60 years) of his guru Sawai Gandharva. He has never looked back since then.
Kannada audience got the taste of Joshi’s talent, when he rendered D R Bendre’s poem, ‘Uttara Dhuva Dim.. Dakhana Dhruva Ku” for HMV. His rendition of Purandara Dasa’s “Bhagyada Lakshmi Baaramma” is still among the most favourite devotional songs in Kannada as are his Marathi abhangs in Maharashtra. The great success of these recordings made Bhimsen Joshi a popular singer. Soon, he began to get invitations to perform at various cities and towns of present day Karnataka and Maharashtra.
He bought a huge car to travel around. Bombay to Belgaum to Sholapur to Bangalore to Hyderabad to Nagpur to Raipur… the journeys continued unending and he became an expert driver. The spread of his fame and popularity beyond the boundaries of Karnataka and Maharashtra brought him invitations from far off places like Jalandhar, Jammu, Srinagar, Delhi, Calcutta and Gawahati. He soon realized the car had its limitations – it moved in a vilambit taal. Panditji switched to air travel – thus giving an opportunity for his friends to remark “the disciple of Sawai Gandharva has become a ‘Hawai’ Gandharva.”
In 1970, Pandit Bhimsen Joshi rendered Sant Vani – a synthesis of works of Kabir Das and Purandara Dasa, which brought laurels and critical acclaim. He also rendered ever green numbers “Piya to manata nahee,” a thumri, “ Jo bhaje Hari ko sada,” a bhajan, and the most enchanting thumri – “Piya ke milan ki aas.”

Bhimsen Joshi's rendition of 'Mile Sur Mera Tumhara' along with other doyens of music--Balamurali Krishna and Lata Mangeshkar virtually became an unofficial national anthem in in the late 80s, capturing hearts of millions of Indians even as the song was beamed on Doordarshan to countless homes. For over four decades Pandit Bhimsen Joshi has led the renaissance of Indian classical music with the passion and power of a one man chorus.His seemingly effortless performances hide hours of relentless riyaz. He has added his own distinctive style, adapting characteristics from other gharanas to create a unique vocal idiom.
Pandit ji had once remarked “an unsympathetic teacher and rigorous riyaz with a bit of luck thrown in makes a good singer.’ Fortunately or unfortunately, Bhimsen Joshi had all three of them. But his gratitude for his gurus remains rock solid. He has started an annual classical musical festival called Sawai Gandharva Music Festival in the memory of his guru. This festival is held in Pune every December.
Bharat Ratna has made Pandit ji happy and expectedly he has dedicated it as a tribute to the Kirana Gharana. He, however, said that the one person he remembered most when he received the news of Bharat Ratna was his disciple and wife Vatsala. “She played an important role in all my activities, including the Sawai Gandharva Music Festival. She loved music and took a lot of efforts to ensure that the festival reached the stature that it enjoys today.”Speaking about the future of classical music Bhimsen Joshi said "young people have lots of technique, little emotion. They learn khayal in the morning, ghazal in the afternoon, natyasangeet in the evening, want to perform at night," Pandit Joshi had observed. The statement reflects the lifetime experience of a dedicated and sincere artiste. It also explains why Panditji has survived others in life and in music, and weathered criticism and nightmares, to remain one of India's most admired artistes.

manishdesai.pib@gmail.com

ALWAYS A DIFFERENT S-J (Courtesy :http://gopalshroti.wordpress.com/)

Srigopal Shroti's TRIBUTE TO SHANKAR JAIKISHAN

MANY a times we take up many jobs, may be difficult, but our energy and mastermindedness, help us to prove our temperamental versality……..sorry, the line belongs to Shankar Jaikishan, (may i call them the duo of 1949), when they pulled the chain of HINDI FILM MUSIC IN THEIR FAVOUR……Yes, it is a matter of laughter for me to conceive that composing film music is so easy……Nay, it is a tricky business, if one wants to play longer by putting their soul in their compositions, that match with the contemporary era for full survival. GOD GIVEN GIFT, THE DUO WERE AT THEIR BEST FOR FULL TWO DECADES….AND HAD THE JAI SURVIVED, IT IS NOT A JOKE THAT THEY STRETCHED TWO DECADES FURTHER SETTING NEW TRENDS. for here one cannot indulge in the whims of one’s own temperament and inclination, which may be possible for a classical singer to spend several years mastering 30 to 40 RAAGS and making a career of them. for FILMS IS A COMMERCIAL WORLD AND IS NEVER POSSIBLE FOR A MUSIC COMPOSER TO STAND EASY (putting hands at back) after developing 40 different tunes, unable to portend how many will succeed. HERE THE S-J HAD MASTERY (in the opinion of one young music director of their times) IN DECLARING WHICH SONG OF THEIRS WILL BE MORE POPULAR THAN THE OTHER FROM THEIR OWN CREATIONS (THE SONGS HAD TO BE SET ACCORDING TO ACTORS AND ACTRESSES IN DIFFERENT FILMS)……….IT IS A THOROUGH FACT THAT WHEN S-J WERE GIVEN THE ASSIGNMENT, SOME OF THE SCEPTICS WONDERED AT THE COMPETENCE OF THE YOUNGSTERS TO HANDLE A THEME WHICH ACCORDING TO THEM CUD BE HANDLED ONLY BY NAUSHAD OR ANIL BISWAS………BUT THE DUO TOOK UP THE CHALLENGE WITH A BOISTEROUS ”BRAHMACHARI”, A WESTERNISED ”AN EVENING IN PARIS”, A FOLKISH ”TEESRI KASAM”. A BREEZY ”BARSAT”, A CLASSICAL ”BASANT BAHAR”, A SERIOUS ”DIL EK MANDIR”, A SOULFUL ”DIL APNA AUR PREET PARAI”, A DECOITY ”JIS DESH MEIN GANGA BEHTI HAI”, A PAUPER’S PARADISE ”UJALA”, A SIMPLETON’S ”SHRI 420”, SUFFERING WOMAN ”PATITA”, A SAD ”AAH”, A COMEDIAN ‘PROFESSOR”, A JUMPING JOCKY ‘JUNGLEE”, LOVE TRIAGLE ”SANGAM”, A DESPARATE LOVER ”JHUK GAYA AASMAN”, ”SASURAL”, ”HAMRAHI”, ”ASLI NAQLI”, ”JAB PYAR KISI SE HOTA HAI”, MULTI STARRER ”MERA NAAM JOKER”,…….. IN THEIR STRIDE AS A PART OF A DAY’S WORK AND WHETHER THEY COMPOSED FOR RAJKAPOOR, DILIP KUMAR, RAJENDRA KUMAR(A JUBILEE KUMAR BECOZ OF THEIR MUSIC), SHAMMI KAPOOR—-(CUD U IMAGINE NAUSHAD OR MADAN MOHAN COMPOSING FOR HIM?). ….THIS DIVERSITY AND VERSATILITY PROVIDED SHANKAR JAIKISHAN THRU SEVERAL YEARS OF CHANGING FASHIONS AND COMPETITION (which was evident in thier song in ”MUD MUD KE NA DEKH.(SHRI 420) AND IN ANARI ”NINETEEN FIFTY SIX, NINETEEN FIFTY SEVEN……..”follow the interlude wordings and AS IN ”TEEN KANISTER PEET PEET KAR GALA PHAD KAR CHILLANA, YAAR MERE MAT BURA MAAN, YEH GAANA HAI NA BAJANA HAI…….” IN LOVE MARRIAGE.’(several years trend till today)…………TO CONTINUE……..gshroti@in.com……….’.

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!"

CLASSICAL FOR LAYMAN AS WELL AS KNOWLEDGEABLE(Courtesy :http://gopalshroti.wordpress.com/)

TRIBUTE TO शंकर जयकिशन

”SUR” constitutes ”rag”…॥and ”rag” makes songs and in FILM MUSIC, these songs whether classical or light music based, have ‘’sur” in them, if honestly said। AND these songs are composed keeping in view the taste of laymen as well the knowledgeables. This is characterised in HINDI FILM MUSIC, AND IF I CLASSIFY, THIS GOES TO THE GOLDEN ERA OF FILM MUSIC DURING 50s and 60s. this is the ERA ruled by SHANKAR JAIKISHAN and few of their contemporaries.GOD BLESS THEM.

TO become genius in film music, 10 or 20 songs will not suffice, because this is the biggest arena and network spreading in the hearts of thousand, lakhs and crores of listners. this needs stability and this stability is marked by the composers churning out daily NEW TUNES, BEST OF ORCHESTRATION IN RHYTHM AND MELODIES.

S-J scored over the others in not taking up a crusade to educate the layman with the heavy CLASSISISM of the USTADS & PANDITS। They were among the first composers to find out that the film music was a different medium far kept away from the concert platform. HOWEVER their music tuned apparently classical in many of their songs e.g. ”MERI AAKHON MEIN BAS GAYA KOI RE” (BARSAT), ॥AAJA RE AB MERA DIL PUKARA (AAH)…O JANE WALE MUDKE ZARA DEKHATE JANA….(SHRI 420),……RASIK BALMA (CHORI CHORI), ……KETKI GULAB JUHI (BASANT BAHAR),…..LAPAK JHAPAK TU AA RE BADARWA(BOOT POLISH)…..MAN MOHANA BADE JHOOTE (SEEMA)….JHANAK JHANAK TORI BAAJE PAYALIA(MERE HUZOOR)…..CHHAM CHHAM BAJE RE PAYALIA…….AJAHUN NA AAYE BALMA, SAWAN BEETA JAYE……these are the few examples and they had the substance so essential for a song’s longevity. next I remember, legendary flute player, late shri Pannalal Ghosh played flute, with Lataji in ”MAIN PIYA TERI TU MAANE YA NA MAANE” (BASANT BAHAR). ….despite western orchestration, the touch of classical was present in many of their songs. BECAUSE ”SAAT SURON KE BINA JAANA KAHAN”…….MANDRA, MADHYA AND TAR SAPTAK, AND WITH THE MOVEMENTS OF THEIR FINGERS, IN SEVERAL SONGS LATAJI, MOHD RAFI, MANNADA, EXCELLED IN MANY WAYS…..WHETHER THEY WERE OF CHEERFUL, SAD, OR ROMANTIC IN NATURE…………

CAN u forget ”O BASANTI PAWAN PAAGAL”, (JIS DESH MEIN…..), TERA JAANA, DIL KE ARMANON KA LUT JAANA (ANARI), ”AB KAHAN JAAYEN HAM YE BATA AI ZAMIN, IS JAHAN MEIN TO KOI HAMARA NAHIN”..(UJALA), ..SUNO CHHOTI SI GUDIA KI LAMBI KAHANI(SEEMA), ..DIL APNA AUR PREET PARAI…RAAJA KI AAYEGI BARAAT(AAH), …MITTI SE KHELTE HO BAR BAR KISLIYE(PATITA),….EHSAAN TERA HOGA MUJH PAR, DIL CHAHATA HAI WOH KAHNE DO” (JUNGLEE),….AAWAJ DEKE HAMEN TUM BULAO, MOHABBAT MEIN ITNA NA HAMKO SATAO…(PROFESOR), O MERE SANAM, O MERE SANAM, DO JISM MAGAR EK JAAN HAIN HAM(SANGAM)….LORI — AAJ KAL MEIN DHAL GAYA, DIN HUA TAMAM, TU BHI SO JA SO GAI RANG BHARI SHAAM…(BETI BETE)….O KANHAIYA, O KANHAIYA..AAJ AANA KHWAB MEIN & DIL MEIN SAMA KE MILNE NA AAYE, KAISE TUM APNE KAISE PARAYE(KANHAIYA)…..AND HOW MANY TO COUNT WHICH TUNED AND COMPOSED WITH DIFFERENT ORCHESTRATION AS HIGH AND AS LOW AS IN ”TADAP YE DIN RAAT KI, KASAK YE BIN BAAT KI(AAMRAPALI)……….TO CONTINUE……

जीना यहाँ मरना यहाँ इसके सिवा जाना कहाँ (COURTES :http://www.downmelodylane.com/shailendra.html से साभार

"Ke mar ke bhi kisi ko yaad aaenge

Kisi ke aansuon mein muskuraenge

Kahega phool har kali se baar baar

Jeena isi ka naam hai"

Shailendra was born in Rawalpindi on 30th August 1923 as Shankardas Kesrilal Shailendra. He was the eldest of the four sons of Parvati Devi and Sri Kesrilal. During his childhood days his family moved to Mathura for good but the accidental death of his mother after the shift caused a deep pain for Shailendra, which almost turned him an atheist. Shailendra started his career with the orthodox method of joining the government organization and lead his secure life. His job in Indian Railways brought him to the city of Bombay in 1947, when the Indian freedom struggle was at its best. The stereotype and technical aspect of his job was totally out of line with is artistic nature. He spent more of his duty hours writing poetry than toiling in the workshop. His Incharge always used to complain about his working habits and was the cause of general resentment.

Shailendra considered his life as his real poetry. He used to derive inspiration from his walks along Juhu beach every morning. He wrote songs for almost all occasions of life, let alone ordinary situations. Those lyrics were vibrantly alive, in the sense they went far beyond the context of the film situation for which they were intended, and lived on long after the film itself had passed from memory. There is a Shailendra song for any emotion, any situation, from birth to death, such was his versatility.

Raj Kapoor with whom Shailendra gave his best, heard him in a 'Kavi Sammelan' when he was reciting one of his poem. Raj Kapoor saw an emerging star for Indian history and expressed his desire to buy his poems. Shailendra, the young patriot blood refused to do so. But due to some domestic reasons and responsibilities, Shailendra approached Raj Kapoor and agreed to his terms. His first project was 'Barsaat'. Shailendra wrote his first song 'Barsat Mein Tum Se Mile Hum Sajan..' for Raj Kapoor. Eventually, Barsat was also the first film for the emerging music director duo Shankar-Jaikishan. The film proved very successful and after the success of Barsaat Raj Kapoor, Shankar-Jaikishan and Shailendra always worked together.

No doubt, Shailendra gave his best with Shankar-Jaikishan, but he shared equally pleasant rapport with musical giants of those days, like Salil Chowdhary, S. N. Tripathi and S.D. Burman. He was an active member of Progressive Writers' association and one of the founder members of Indian Peoples' Theatre (IPTA). Shailendra won the Filmfare Award for Best Lyricist thrice. Out of the three two were won in consecutive years. The first came in 1958 for the song 'Ye Mera Deewanapan Hai..' from the film Yahudi, and the second in 1959 for 'Sab Kuch Seekha Ham Ne..' from Anari. In 1968 Shailendra won it again for the third time for 'Main Gaaoon Tum So Jao..', from the film Brahmachari.

It is quite ironical that for the man who loved life so much, the spectra of death always haunted him. He was obsessed by death. There was no fear involved, but a kind of helplessness drew him towards it. His producing Teesri Kasam caused him several heart aches and it was also the ultimate cause of his death. Shailendra was admitted to the hospital on December 13, 1966. Shailendra died on the following day, which also happened to be Raj Kapoor's birthday. Lyricist Shailendra is most remembered for his outstanding achievements with Raj Kapoor and Shankar-Jaikishan in almost all the R.K. films. His death on December 14, 1966 saw one of the leading lights of the film industry extinguished.