The magical start to a most memorable partnership…..

26th September is the day that reminds me of two legends, true geniuses in their own right. Each has contributed hugely to the industry. Both indisputably immortalised by their amazing oeuvre that has enriched the lives and emotional space for all of us far beyond the period they worked.  Both shared the uncommon talent of spotting the germ of a good movie in a great novel and then ensuring that story was told in a captivating fashion on-screen. The duo has contributed in this singular fashion more than any other person in the century long history of Bollywood.

One celebrates his birth centenary today, the other left his physical form on this day in 1989. To mark the two legends’ day, I opted to write about their precious partnership producing passionate paeans that the public prizes. 

Born Dharamdev Pishorimal Anand and Hemanta Mukhopadhyaya, they are better known by the names they used in their professional careers, Dev Anand and Hemant Kumar.

Dharamdev Pishorimal Anand and Hemanta Mukhopadhyaya

One came from Punjab to Mumbai just like his older brother Chetan Anand had, the third of four sons of a successful lawyer. His older brother practised law and took over from the father. The three younger brothers reached Mumbai to make their names in Bollywood. The other, an Engineering student who left that vocation much against his father’s wishes to pursue a lifetime in music. Hemantada actually started with literature and had a short story published in the magazine Desh, before switching over to music while he was still in the late teens.His contribution to Bangla Music, Rabindra Sangeet both in singing and then as a music composer par excellence was noted by many. We have to be indebted to Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose’s erstwhile secretary, Hemen Gupta who was instrumental in getting him to Mumbai as he wanted him to score the music for his first Hindi language movie he was making on a Bankim Chandra Chatterjee novel, Anandamath, as he was very impressed with Hemantada’s music making skills in Bangla Films Hemenda had done with Hemantada.

Dev Anand  started his acting career with Prabhat Films (based in Pune, that is now the FTII) in Hum Ek Hain. He enjoyed great success a couple of years later with Ziddi and became a huge star with the forerunner of the Bombay Noir Films, Baazi.

The two have had very interesting collaborations that have resulted in classics. Dev Anand and Hemant Kumar together created some of the most memorable songs of Hindi film music. As a lover of Bollywood music, I am torn between two thoughts: wouldn’t it have been better if the two had worked together more often, or is it that we treasure the few songs they made together because they were so good together.

The credit for bringing the two together must go to the genius, the man who could have been King, Sachin dev Burman.

Interestingly, throughout their careers Hemant Kumar sang only a handful (13) of songs as playback for Sachin dev Burmanda and all but one (12) of those were on Dev Anand and all of them were hits! That’s a truly unique, unbelievable record that is unparalleled in Bollywood music. The teaming up of Titans continues to mesmerise music aficionados nearly 7 decades after the three worked together.

The connection is much deeper than just the date.

Dev Anand and Hemant Kumar worked together much before Dev’s partnering with Rafisaab or later with Kishoreda as his  playback voices. The hit rate of Hemantada-Devsaab combo is much better than any such team in the history of Bollywood, a truly enviable consistency.

Hemantada once said: “A sort of romantic pairing of my voice with his (Dev Anand’s) screen image was created by Sachin Babu (SD Burman). People simply loved it. Those numbers were really popular. Dev Anand was a big name, a very prominent hero at the time. His songs had to be very carefully crafted with lots of effort and dedication.”

Hemantada yet again in an interview about the difference between his singing and other singers lending their voice for Devsaab, “…the real and most romantic ones belonged to me. Just like in Bengal my voice was the romantic voice of Uttam Kumar, in Bombay it was my voice when Dev Anand romanced.”

Amazingly despite both having Bangla roots,  Hemant Kumar sang only 13 songs as playback for Sachindev Burman and 12 of those were on Dev Anand and all of them were hits! (The 13th song was of course for Pyaasa, Guru Dutt sings Jaane woh kaise log thhe jinke pyar ko pyar mila )

Who can forget the start the duo had  with Aa Gup chhup gup chhup pyar karen and then the massive hit just the next year Yeh raat yeh chandani phir kahan, sun jaa dil ki dastan.

Hemantada described how the first song happened, “It was only and only, due to Sachin Babu. He always decided who will (sic) sing the song. He arranged the first test mostly on telephone and then I would go to his home or meet him at Filmistan in the early days. For my first song in Sazaa, I got a phone call from Manna (Dey) asking me to see him and subsequently, Sachin Babu in Filmistan studio for a song rehearsal. Sandhya Mukherji had also received a call from Manna for that Sazaa song. Manna was working with Sachin Babu at that time. He used to coordinate the practice rehearsals for all singers. But Sachin Babu used to take the call on who would record the song finally. Manna had made Sandhya Mukherjee and me rehearse the song, ‘Aa, gup chhup gup chhup pyar karein’.” (Sandhya Mukherjee was one of the top voices in Bangla films,  she and Hemantada were the voices in the extremely popular superhit Uttam-Suchitra movies as the playback voice for Suchitra Sen with Hemant Kumar himself singing for Uttam Kumar.)

Burmanda‘s  revolutionary idea of making Hemant Kumar sing a soft, romantic song for the leading romantic, flamboyant Dev Anand was in a way, breaking the mould. Burman Dada’s choice of singers was absolutely unquestionably the best in the industry. He intuitively had the uncanny knack of picking the right voice for the right situation and the actor better than anyone else. On many occasions he would hold firm and not budge from his choice once his mind was made up, opposition from the rest of the production team notwithstanding. And always come up trumps.

Look at the very first song Burmanda made Hemantada sing for the on-screen Devsaab. https://youtu.be/qoIXzCxzxAM?si=fdvRuE4_pzFP5zdY

Hemantada and the legendary Sandhya Mukherjee (unrelated to Hemantada despite the shared family name, she actually has trained with Ustad Bade Ghulam Ali Khan and his son) weave vocal magic with their wonderful vocal skills. A fabric of eternal charm and mesmerizing power. Imagine the melody staying fresh, oozing romance from every note, every word, every syllable, 70+ years after it was made.

Much has been written about the phenomenon, the eternally energetic Devsaab, the ultimate diehard romantic who truly treated age as a mere number. Much will undoubtedly be written today and later as well. Devsaab romanced many beautiful ladies of the time, most famously Suraiya and would surely have married her if not for a big spanner in the works thrown by her grandmother. As a result their romance never could reach fruition. Devsaab married Kalpana Kartik (born Mona Singha) , a cousin of Uma Chatterjee’s mother (she was married to Chetan Anand, who gave her the screen name on her debut in the landmark Baazi). They worked together in all her films, Aandhiyan, Humsafar, Taxi Driver, House No 44 and Nau Do Gyarah. The two married secretly during the lunch break while shooting for Taxi Driver.

She still carries fond memories of Devsaab from their 57 year old married life.

I have chosen the song to commemorate their partnership from Baazi, the movie was based on a story by Balraj Sahni and was Guru Dutt’s directorial debut. Again the music is by Sachindev Burmanda. https://youtu.be/i1rzBZCxJtA?si=dJjmqc7dHfvUrcfi

Stay happy where you are, Hemantada and Devsaab. Undoubtedly you made our lives the richer and the experience of growing up savouring your creativity so enjoyable, something my generation cherishes to this day.

Stay happy folks. I will write more blogs on drabchandorkar.wordpress.com

Make it a point to follow me there.

बस यूँही…..

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The unconditional love of a canine is something by itself.
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I pity those who pass through life without having experienced it.
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A happy interaction that was mutually beneficial between the ancient hunter gatherer man and wolves that led to each befriending the other gave man what is undoubtedly his best friend.
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That’s Choco waiting for someone to come home. It could be me, or Aruna or our children when they visit us… Human company is what he longs for and lives for. I was reminded of Neruda.
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*I Do Not Love You Except Because I Love You*
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by Pablo Neruda
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I do not love you except because I love you;
I go from loving to not loving you,
From waiting to not waiting for you
My heart moves from cold to fire.
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I love you only because it’s you the one I love;
I hate you deeply, and hating you
Bend to you, and the measure of my changing love for you
Is that I do not see you but love you blindly.
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Maybe January light will consume
My heart with its cruel
Ray, stealing my key to true calm.
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In this part of the story I am the one who
Dies, the only one, and I will die of love because I love you,
Because I love you, Love, in fire and blood.
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#Unconditional_Love
#Choco_The_Beagle
#Canine_Love
#The_Eternal_Wait

An unknown gem….

It is very rare that I have not heard gems from the man’s large body of work over the decades of my following him. I discovered a large number of ghazals and nazms from private mehfils and concerts from Kenya posted by S Soni ji, a true treasure trove from nearly half a century ago. Those are sublime and even if studio recordings of the same songs were released later, the freshness of the songs as well as the tonal quality of a young Jagjit Singh sahab is truly heart warming. I’ve heard so many wonderful songs on his channel. Would love to meet him in person some day for sure to thank him on behalf of millions of Jagjit Singh fans who he has obliged forever with his yeoman service.

Last evening as Aruna and I were resting, contemplating nothing in particular, with Mom asleep and Choco snuggled up close to me, the world was perfect. Just then a local radio station threw up this surprise. Neither of us had heard it, Choco included (his musical experience isn’t much more than either of us) so we looked at one other, a quizzical expression on the furrowed brow, and speechless communication happening rapidly. In about 30 seconds I discovered the word string that would qualify for the title. The www did the rest of the detective work.

Turned out to be a real, as yet undiscovered (by us, for sure) gem. Listen to it before I tell you more about the song. A real gem by Majrooh Sultanpuri. The poor guy had to spend 2 years in prison without trial just because he committed the heinous crime of criticizing the autocratic dictator whose enduring and overbearing achievement is the establishment of a dynasty in India. He had been rejected by his own party delegates by nearly 85- 15% vote share but stole the election and Bharat is still paying the price. https://youtu.be/zjQt40Wutrc?si=ud74WWt2Z3Xv4pry

The song, composed by the music director Basu Chakraborty, (of the Basu-Manohari duo with the legendary saxophonist, Manohari Singh) and soulfully rendered by Jagjit Singh. It was part of the soundtrack of the movie Nargis, which is completed but never released. It also features in Jagjit Singh’s album, Ada.

Movie produced and directed by Khalid Mohammed who was Zeba Bakhtiar‘s secretary and Farida Jalal’ s brother. Farida Jalal is the chubby cheeked actress who won the national talent search with Rajesh Khanna. They were paired in Aradhana. I loved her emoting and can’t really explain why she couldn’t make it big. Those were the days where leading ladies still wore their clothes. Her emoting was very good and face expressive. There was no dearth of chubby (even corpulent) leading ladies at the time. Unfortunately the cookie didn’t crumble right for her. C’est la vie.

This Khalid Mohammad is not the famous Film Critic – I loved his columns ( who is Zubeida’s son). He wrote the unbelievable life story on his mother’s life which was made into a wonderful eponymous film.

The secretary turned director/producer Khalid Mohammed made a film titled ” Nargis”. Starring Hema Malini, Naseeruddin Shah, Zeba Bakhtiar and Manzoor Ali (one of the comedian Mehmood’s sons). The film remains completed and remains unreleased. I don’t really know why.

Zeba Bakhtiar is the lady introduced by the greatest showman {who unfortunately later in his career became a voyeuristic show-woman ( ‘s bodies) filmmaker} Raj Kapoor in Henna. She enjoyed a brief spell in India, marrying Javed Jaffrey (who found this Takeshi’s castle too tough to conquer and was left out in the cold in a year or so). The lady’s father was a former Attorney General of the land of the most impure, and had already disposed of her first husband before coming to India. After Javed, she married the famed Keyboardist Adnan Sami (wonder if it were the lightning fingers which enamoured her) before ditching him. She is back in the failed state with a new notional husband.

शफ़क़ हो, फूल हो, शबनम हो, माहताब हो तुम
नहीं जवाब तुम्हारा, के लाजवाब हो तुम
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मैं कैसे कहूँ जानेमन
मैं कैसे कहूँ जानेमन, तेरा दिल सुने मेरी बात
ये आँखों की सियाही, ये होंठों का उजाला
ये आँखों की सियाही, ये होंठों का उजाला
यही हैं मेरे दिन-रात, मैं कैसे कहूँ जानेमन
.
मैं कैसे कहूँ जानेमन, तेरा दिल सुने मेरी बात
ये आँखों की सियाही, ये होंठों का उजाला
यही हैं मेरे दिन-रात, मैं कैसे कहूँ जानेमन
काश तुझको पता हो, तेरे रूख-ए-रौशन से
काश तुझको पता हो, तेरे रूख-ए-रौशन से
तारे खिले हैं, दीये जले हैं, दिल में मेरे कैसे कैसे
काश तुझको पता हो, तेरे रूख-ए-रौशन से
तारे खिले हैं, दीये जले हैं, दिल में मेरे कैसे कैसे
महकने लगी हैं वहीं से मेरी रातें
महकने लगी हैं वहीं से मेरी रातें
जहाँ से हुआ तेरा साथ, मैं कैसे कहूँ जानेमन
मैं कैसे कहूँ जानेमन, तेरा दिल सुने मेरी बात
ये आँखों की सियाही, ये होंठों का उजाला
यही हैं मेरे दिन-रात, मैं कैसे कहूँ जानेमन
.
पास तेरे आया था मैं तो काँटों पे चलके
पास तेरे आया था मैं तो काँटों पे चलके
लेकिन यहाँ तो कदमों के नीचे फर्श बिछ गये गुल के
पास तेरे आया था मैं तो काँटों पे चलके
लेकिन यहाँ तो कदमों के नीचे फर्श बिछ गये गुल के
के अब ज़िन्दगानी, है फसलें बहाराँ
के अब ज़िन्दगानी, है फसलें बहाराँ
जो हाथों में रहे तेरा हाथ, मैं कैसे कहूँ जानेमन
मैं कैसे कहूँ जानेमन, तेरा दिल सुने मेरी बात
ये आँखों की सियाही, ये होंठों का उजाला
ये आँखों की सियाही, ये होंठों का उजाला
यही हैं मेरे दिन-रात, यही हैं मेरे दिन-रात
मैं कैसे कहूँ जानेमन

An amazing discovery that was a pleasant surprise for both of us (To be honest Mom and Choco slept right through and weren’t woken up by Jagjit Singh last night) https://youtu.be/4TdX3AR5-gE?si=SJ42RJ6TGGoCXJxL

Hope you love the song/nazm too. Have a wonderful Sunday.

बस यूँही…..

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Of all the pictures I’ve taken with my mobile phones last night, I love this the most. I went fully manual, fiddling with the f stop, exposures and ISO till it came out right.
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The storm that raged through much of the day had abated and it was calm but breezy late into the night. The few lights in the scattered abodes in the sparse settlement around us twinkled, the only stars that pierced the thick envelope of the pitch dark night. The advantage of being in an area that has no light and/or sound pollution is indescribable.
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When was the last time you could hear a vehicle from more than a Kilometre away? That sums it up. I felt as if I was in a Noir film of the 40s and 50s.
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#Nightscapes
#Serenity
#The_lull_after_the_storm
#Abstractions
#Random_Musings

Forever in love….

I discovered this morning that I hadn’t written about one of my all time favourite songs. I checked and cross checked my blog with thousands of posts and discovered that it was indeed true.

The song is one of the most endearing – and enduring – romantic duets composed by Salil Chowdhury, by far my personal favourite of all composers in Bollywood in the nearly hundred years since movies got a voice (& in Bharat, Bollywood got the USP that differentiates it from other movie making centres in the West, that of always having musical scores specifically composed for the movie, and very rarely using standalone musical tracks).

Usne Kaha Tha was a wonderful film that I saw on DD Mumbai’s Sunday evening show in the 70s. You’d not immediately guess the theme of the movie by the name nor the frothy, treacly, honey soaked sweetness of this song, sung in a typical Made-For-Bollywood backdrop for a romantic song: a rain-drenched evening amidst the fields and copses in a village, love is very much in the air and the hormones are spiking giving a Dopamine high . It’s a typical and an easily identifiable Salilda creation: a wonderful melody, lilting and infectious, a cheery tune in praise of nature and love and all things bright and beautiful, and of young hearts in love (myself included- the eternal romantic in me is attracted to such melodies like bees to nectar), and shyly admitting to one other the helplessness of their state.

Check out the song first. https://youtu.be/Nfjw5JcalyU?si=LocZiVl6TZt0YZn_

I have written at length about the movie just about a year ago on Latadidi’s 93rd birthday and I won’t dwell on that today. If you’re keen, please follow this link. https://abchandorkar.wordpress.com/2022/09/28/the-dance-of-desire/

The dance of desire…

The lyrics by Shailendra are just superb. What can I say about the unquestionable genius of Salilda that has brought so much joy to billions of Indians over the last seventy years (& will undoubtedly continue to do so for all times to come) that I haven’t already said. He makes me fall in love and gasp with wonderment at his amazing oeuvre every single time I revisit his work.

तलत: आहा रिमझिम के ये प्यारे प्यारे गीत लिए
आई रात सुहानी देखो प्रीत लिए
मीत मेरे सुनो ज़रा हवा कहे क्या, आ ...
सुनो तो ज़रा, झींगर बोले चीकीमीकी चीकीमीकी
रिमझिम के ये प्यारे प्यारे गीत लिए 
Then Lata repeats it

त: (खोई सी भीगी भीगी रात झूमे
आँखों में सपनो की बारात झूमे ) - २
दिल की ये दुनिया आज बादलों के साथ झूमे
आहा रिमझिम के ये ...

ल: (आ जाओ दिल में बसा लूँ तुम्हें
आँखों का कजरा बना लूँ तुम्हें ) - २
जालिम ज़माने की निगाहों से छुपा लूँ तुम्हें
आहा रिमझिम के ये ...

त: (हाथों में तेरे मेरा हाथ रहे
दिल से जो निकली है वो बात रहे ) - २
मेरा तुम्हारा सारी ज़िन्दगी का साथ रहे
आहा रिमझिम के ये ...

One more iteration will get the romantic juices flowing in you, I am sure. https://youtu.be/ItF8Of3iVb0?si=JIJv0PqdVczEIdw9

Stay healthy and happy, folks. And forever in love…

Have a wonderful weekend

बस यूँही…..

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The dark, dreary and chilly night gave way to a glorious dawn.
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The doubts and worries of the night gave way to hope, inspiration and motivation, bringing renewed energy.
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I was reminded of Shelley. The original  poem is too long to be reproduced in full, but the first verse will suffice.
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The Triumph of Life
by Percy Bysshe Shelley
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Swift as a spirit hastening to his task
Of glory & of good, the Sun sprang forth
Rejoicing in his splendour, & the mask
Of darkness fell from the awakened Earth.
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#Sunrise_Photography
#Renewed_Hopes
#Indomitable_Spirit
#Inspiration

Intoxicated with pain….

Having to stay away from something you love isn’t a pleasant feeling. Rather, an extremely painful one.

“I fell in love with her when we were together, then fell deeper in love with her in the years we were apart.“
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Nicholas Sparks, Dear John 

Happens to all of us at varying phases in life, for varying periods. After posting the picture couplet today, this song popped up in my mind, almost in a knee jerk fashion. I am always indebted to Anjali who was more a family friend at the time for introducing me to a film maker and actor I would now consider unequivocally (as would millions of others as well) as one of the greatest actors and filmmakers of Bollywood. Unfortunately his own actions destroyed many lives, including his own. Guru Dutt the handsome genius came into Bollywood via an iconic, truly legendary film production house, and the one after whom the area I stay in is named, Prabhat. After making a number of landmark movies, most notably Pyaasa, he embarked on his most ambitious project on a scale never thought of at the time. Kagaz Ke Phool was a Magnum opus in every sense of the word. If you want to see some of the most well known sequences and still frames shot in monochrome format, they are in this movie. None more famous than this one.

Kaagaz Ke Phool is the first Indian film ever made in the large frame (& hugely expensive) CinemaScope format and is also the last film directed by Guru Dutt. It marked a technical revolution in Indian cinematography (thanks to the Genius of V K Murthy) and is widely considered to be decades ahead of its time. The film has clear overtones from Guru Dutt‘s personal life and is based around the relationship between the film director and his muse, the actress he created, Pygmalion like. Abrar Alvi wrote the script and Kaifi Azmi wrote a fabulous set of lyrics for all songs but one (Shailendra was drafted in for Hum Tum Jise Kehta Hai) . Sachindev Burmanda scored the sublime music (SDB had actually warned Guru Dutt not to make this movie based on his personal life and when Guru Dutt insisted, told him this would be the last movie he would score music for, with Guru Dutt). To me as a student of cinema and performing arts thanks to some very interesting people from the domain I was lucky to meet, I felt it was a wonderfully made, well crafted complete movie, that really had all the bases covered. Unfortunately due to the average cinegoer’s taste not being developed at the time in India after being force-fed on a diet of masala movies, it bombed, bankrupting Guru Dutt.

The movie was the proverbial albatross around Guru Dutt’s neck. He probably had this inkling but knowing his self destructive masochistic streak, he waded in and created his directorial swansong. Despite its box office failure at the time and financial ruin, the movie is considered a classic and saw a revival of sorts as a cult classic a quarter of a century later. It figures in many lists of the best films of all time, made by critics and film audiences, worldwide. Kaagaz Ke Phool, has been called “Guru Dutt’s most melancholic film ever, takes his deepening disillusionment with the world and its guardians to a new level of despair. The iconic actor-director plays a filmmaker on the skids. He is unable to get his point of view across to the people who matter and life is a constant struggle, both personally and professionally. The masses failed to connect with the film, but Kaagaz Ke Phool has lived longer than many money-spinners of the golden era of Hindi cinema“

I love this song in particular of all songs from the movie. Only Rafi saab could sing with so much soul and pain. The Choral composition is just fantastic. The cinematography sublime and eye popping. The lyrics cut through to the heart like a hot knife through butter. https://youtu.be/a4xWz6qa4rQ?si=WDXxjLQW9gnm-bN2

अरे देखी ज़माने की यारी
बिछड़े सभी, बिछड़े सभी बारी बारी
क्या ले के मिलें अब दुनिया से, आँसू के सिवा कुछ पास नहीं
या फूल ही फूल थे दामन में, या काँटों की भी आस नहीं
मतलब की दुनिया है सारी
बिछड़े सभी, बिछड़े सभी बारी बारी

वक़्त है महरबां, आरज़ू है जवां
फ़िक्र कल की करें, इतनी फ़ुर्सत कहाँ

दौर ये चलता रहे रंग उछलता रहे
रूप मचलता रहे, जाम बदलता रहे

रात भर महमाँ हैं बहारें यहाँ
रात गर ढल गयी फिर ये खुशियाँ कहाँ
पल भर की खुशियाँ हैं सारी
बढ़ने लगी बेक़रारी बढ़ने लगी बेक़रारी
अरे देखी ज़माने की यारी
बिछड़े सभी, बिछड़े सभी बारी बारी

उड़ जा उड़ जा प्यासे भँवरे, रस ना मिलेगा ख़ारों में
कागज़ के फूल जहाँ खिलते हैं, बैठ ना उन गुलज़ारो में
नादान तमन्ना रेती में, उम्मीद की कश्ती खेती है
इक हाथ से देती है दुनिया, सौ हाथों से लेती है
ये खेल है कब से जारी
बिछड़े सभी, बिछड़े सभी बारी बारी
      -- कैफ़ी आज़मी

An amazing, amazing soulful song from one of my all time favourite movies.

Just the one that I would stay lost in all day today

“Dusk is just an illusion because the sun is either above the horizon or below it. And that means that day and night are linked in a way that few things are there cannot be one without the other yet they cannot exist at the same time. How would it feel I remember wondering to be always together yet forever apart?“
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Nicholas Sparks, The Notebook

Stay healthy and happy, folks. Hope the wet spell lasts and is heavy enough to fill some water bodies and save crops.

बस यूँही…..

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Being unable to be in the environs I love is painful. It is like being separated from the love of my life. Circumstances get the better of one’s intentions at times. I was reminded of a wonderful short poem I read on the net some time ago.
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“Leaving“ by Shalini Dua.
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I drove, flew, ran
As far as I possibly could
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To the edges of the earth
So close to the brink that I almost fell off
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But I could never get far enough away from myself
To leave you behind
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#Separation
#Longing
#Pain_of_Distance
#Nightscapes
#Nightskies_in_the_mountains

I fear it will all change…

I am always amazed at the improvisation that the great singers introduce into their vocal renditions every time they get to expound on the same raag, cheez, or ghazal. They take the liberty -and at will dwell much longer on a few words, a line or even introduce lines/pieces of verse written by someone else. This happens frequently with the great ghazal singers, Ghulam Ali does it more often than Mehdi Hassan sahab or Jagjit Singh ji, to name a few exponents of the same genre. The great vocalists take liberty with the presentation depending on their mood at the moment and the same raag by the same vocalist creates a different level of satiation and impact at different times.

Let’s listen in to a ghazal by Ghulam Ali. I bumped into it early this morning while looking for something else and will use it to illustrate my point. The straightforward rendition in the studio version is so good, direct, short and sweet. https://youtu.be/lusxUXxSQJI?si=fFQJ1APqbSeFFafg

मैं नज़र से पी रहा हूँ ये समाँ बदल न जाए

अनवर मिर्जापुरी

मैं नज़र से पी रहा हूँ ये समाँ बदल न जाए

न झुकाओ तुम निगाहें कहीं रात ढल न जाए

मेरे अश्क भी हैं इस में ये शराब उबल न जाए

मेरा जाम छूने वाले तेरा हाथ जल न जाए

अभी रात कुछ है बाक़ी न उठा नक़ाब साक़ी

तेरा रिंद गिरते गिरते कहीं फिर सँभल न जाए

मेरी ज़िंदगी के मालिक मेरे दिल पे हाथ रखना

तेरे आने की ख़ुशी में मेरा दम निकल न जाए

मुझे फूँकने से पहले मेरा दिल निकाल लेना

ये किसी की है अमानत मेरे साथ जल न जाए

किसी खौफ़ से नशेमन मैं बना सका न ‘अनवर’,
ये निगाहें अहल-ए-गुलशन कहीं फिर बदल न जाये

A longer rendition from a live concert is more relaxed and sounds different with the flavour of Darbari raag. Ghulam Ali liberally introduces various ash’aar by others too. You’ll get the deja vu like feeling when you hear them. But he introduces the maqta which is missing in the studio recording. https://youtu.be/A3zq26FjXlQ?si=n0TBgxL5JvgVhh89

It isn’t at all fair to compare two greats, but Ghulam Ali and Mehdi Hassan have entirely different effects on my mind. I love Ghulam Ali in the first half (or two thirds) of his career when he did some more honest, straightforward singing than in the latter part, when gimmicky vocal moves took over his unquestioned singing abilities, very sadly.

Just to round it off, check out the same ghazal in Tilang by Mehdi Hassan sahab. It sounds so very different due to his vocal style and timbre. https://youtu.be/FBuUYTzW4ug?si=8BZVLGnUwe8Lff8X

It changes the tone and creates an entirely different mood from the first notes of the harmonium at the very introduction. An amazing one, too. So very different, especially because he intersperses the ash’aar with lines in Punjabi by other poets.

Have a great day ahead, and hope you enjoyed the variations by the two leading exponents from the neighbourhood (infested by serpents of a particularly venomous variety that actually seek to ban all musical forms).

Stay healthy and happy. A drought looms large in my state and I pray to the supreme being to mitigate the suffering…

बस यूँही….

The break of the dawn after a dark and dreary night is always inspiring. The trials and tribulations- & the seemingly impenetrable darkness- of the night is over and it is time to look forward to a brand new day.
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I was reminded of a short poem by Ella Wheeler Wilcox, titled very simply, ‘Dawn’.
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Day’s sweetest moments are at dawn;
Refreshed by his long sleep, the Light
Kisses the languid lips of Night,
Ere she can rise and hasten on …
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All glowing from his dreamless rest
He holds her closely to his breast,
Warm lip to lip and limb to limb,
Until she dies for love of him.
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An interesting metaphor of calling night and day lovers. A very positive outlook that helps hold one’s head high in hope and aspire for a better today
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#Motivation
#Inspiration
#Dawn

. Pic by Dr Aruna Chandorkar