Duet of our life

Ever since I moved to Delhi, music baiThaks have become a regular fixture in my life. These have been dominated by solos, and there was a suggestion to add some duets. So “vintage duets" became the theme for the August edition.

Little did I realise then, that these duets would play a pivotal role in changing the course of my life. I had just started talking to Sushmita and routinely made her listen to selections from the baiThak playlist, among others. Here's an account of our romance woven around those melodies.

1) choTa sa fasana hai tere mere pyaar kaa

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dZZqjC10rJo

The charming duet opens with Husnlal Bhagatram's lilting music. The mukhda is in Lata's voice and Rafi joins with "Ye kisne chupke chupke mujhe bekarar kar diya". Sarsar Sailani's lyrics perfectly captured my restless mood. I could visualize fantasies and realities converging. 

2) hum tum ye bahaar, dekho rang laaya pyaar, barsaat ke mahine men

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8j3VO137uIQ

This Ghulam Mohammed stunner starts with a gentle prelude and then breaks into a foot tapping rhythm just like our nascent love trying to gain momentum.  And what a better backdrop than rainy season for it to flourish? We used to talk everyday on the phone, and our dialogue ranged from serious to silly and everything in between.

Me: "Have you read Alistair Maclean?"

Her:" No, but I remember Sharmila Tagore reading his novel during the song "mere sapnon ki rani".

We were keen on meeting one to one at the earliest. Sunday was round the corner and the August baiThak was scheduled for the same day.

We planned to meet at a restaurant in the morning and wrap up by noon. The plan turned upside down, as the furniture I ordered couldn’t be delivered on Saturday. So the D-day began with juggling between getting furniture delivered in time for the mehfil, and meeting "mere sapnon ki rani".

3) mujhe preet nagariya jaana hai, koii hai jo rasta batlaade

dil se dil kaise milta hai, koi hai jo itnaa sikhlaade

Koi hai ??

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lCOvNQZE9jk

As Sushmita was not comfortable coming to my house, I asked her to come to the nearest metro station. My idea was to hang around in case the furniture didn’t come on time. Luckily the delivery truck arrived just before I was going to leave. I got the furniture unloaded, and asked them to deliver me at the Metro Station!! Sushmita located "preet nagariya" (Golf Course) and I reached in time to respond to "koi hai ?" J That phrase happens to be the piece-de-resistance of the song for me.

With furniture out of the way, our restaurant rendezvous was on track. Within an hour into our conversation, we started planning for the wedding. I came back home in time for the baiThak and we all had a great time listening to "vintage duets". This time around, the impact of the songs wasn't restricted just to music appreciation. Every song found a place in life, and I could relate to every situation through a song.

4) yaad aane lagi dil dukhaane lagi

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MrXq6tpBod4

While the families, did not have any objection to our marriage, they had to meet for formal approval. September set in and as per customs on both sides, discussing weddings was taboo during this time. Like the proverbial lull before the storm, we couldn’t meet as well.

I used to turn often to the K.Datta masterpiece during these times. The line "chaandni raat ab sataane lage" just pierces the heart. The high point comes as Lata takes an aalaap during the first antara, and Rafi's notes magically glide in to close the aalaap and continue the progression with "chain dil ka najaane kahan kho gayaa....apani duniya men badli si chaane lagii".

5) dil men sama gaye sajan

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T8bW8z5Jlfs

The families met on Vijaya Dashmi and the wedding date was finalised. It also meant that we could “spill the beans” to the world.

mastii bharii havaa chalii , haNsane lagii kalii kalii, tumase mujhe milaa diyaa

Talat joins Lata in this mind-blowing Sajjad composition, which epitomizes the union of two lovers.

6) tere chehre se nazar nahiin haTti

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gejKrLu9N9c

Before the wedding, Sushmita embarked on a spiritual trip. I went to see her at the station. She was waiting for me with the luggage and the moment I saw her, started talking without observing the expression of the in-laws. I gathered my composure in time to realise that I was supposed to give her a hand with luggage and wriggled out with "tere chehare se nazar nahiin haTti, luggage ham kya dekhen "

7) tujhe jiivan ki Dor se baandh liya hai

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=amRMVEXb-xI

It was now time to take the vows and formalize our tuning. Our journey through melodies and symphonies, reached the Crescendo on Dec 24th.

mere jiivan kii anmiT kahaanii hai tuu

merii taqadiir aur zindagaanii hai tuu

After taking the 7 sacred steps, it was time to take blessings of the lord of 7 hills in Tirupati. Since interludes are a necessary part of a duet, we halted in Mysore en route our trip to Coorg.

8) parbaton ke peDon par shaam ka basera hai

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oj47vwoMJZQ

The stunning sun set over Western Ghats from Raja’s Seat was an unforgettable moment in the honeymoon. It just brought the Khayyam classic to life; tall trees, dusky hills, fading sun and blooming love.

9) dharti se duur gore baadalon ke paar aa jaa, aa jaa basaa le nayaa sansaar aa jaa

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c2kFUBoLVDs

Once I moved away from the hustle and bustle of Sec 15 to Sec 37, I fell in love; with the surroundings, with life, and with Sushmita. The Gulmohar and Amaltas trees gave a magical touch to the landscape. Sushmita was in agreement, and we chose our nest amidst greenery with great views.

Duniya Se Ho Apni Duniya Niraali, Jag Se Niraala Apna Pyaar …

While the practicality of adjusting to each other and the humdrum of life was not lost on us, there were enough sparks lighting up the days ensuring that the magic continues.

10) gun guna rahe hain bhanvare khil rahi hai kali kali

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yTktbXFZP6o

By now peak winter had set in. Sushmita would make "garam garam roti" after I come back from work. As I finish one roti, the other would come fresh from the “tawa”. And the icing on the cake was that she puts a music channel while I have dinner. On one occasion, I came home late as I went for a rehearsal of our SD Burman show. There was repair work going on at home, and Sushmita handled all that to ensure that I could participate in the program. I asked her not to wait for me but there she was making fresh Roti after I came home. She tuned on the music channel and Lata Mangeshkar special was on air. As soon as the prelude of the song started she exclaimed "An Asha song in a Lata Special!" and with the food plate in one hand, I give her a hi-five with the other.

Ritu aisi haaye kaisi ye pawan chali gali gali….

Event in the middle of winter, these moments ensured that the spring was very much in the air.

11) ham pyaar karenge…  ek baar karenge, do baar karenge, sau baar sau baar sau baar karenge

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vQODcwnsRuI

As we eased into our routine, we planned for a house warming party and baiThak. The theme was a no brainer as "vintage duets" kick started our romance. My long cherished dream of hosting an event with wholehearted support of spouse was also fulfilled.

ham “mehfil” karenge, ek baar karenge, do baar karenge, sau baar sau baar sau baar karenge

Music baiThaks and our romance are thus entwined forever.

Emperor of Melody - SD Burman

It was in early December that a few us met in Peninsula Studio's to discuss about the SD Burman project. I got connected thanks to Naveen Anand. 

Director's vision: While we were still debating on the format, Sita Raina was pretty clear on what we shouldn’t do. "I don't want it to sound like a biography" she said emphatically and opened it up for discussion.

Antara talked about Bengali folk and rabindra sangeet influences on his music; Naveen drawing from his vast experience from Ibadat gave a few tips on making the program captivating - the entry with a popular song in SD's voice. The light and shade effects soon fell into place. Bidisha and Meghna mentioned a few songs they were comfortable singing.

After a round table of ideas, we nailed some guidelines for the script

Music style highlighting usage of instruments

Associations with key banners / directors

Personality with anecdotes

Naveen had an interview of Kishore Kumar talking about Dada which we agreed to use. Subroto started going round table with a list of popular tracks and we collectively decided the first list of songs that had to be performed. Accommodating a meaty script along with a good representation of Burmanda's repertoire was no mean task. 

Although we didn't convene again till January, we were in constant touch via  email and WhatsApp. The program date was frozen to Feb 20 but the more difficult part task was to freeze the song list. It needed 2 more sessions of pruning and rehearsals; one at Bidisha's place and another at Subroto's before we could finalise the song list. The initial lists had too little of Lata

and we tweaked it a little to ensure she had a fair representation. Several parallel processes got into action; Naveen and Debu getting Karoke tracks and Video's ready; Atima, Ajay, Subroto and Sita working on the script. Bidisha, Meghna and Poonam got the rehearsals going and it all started taking shape. Atima wrote the script and shared with the team. I was able to give some inputs by email and by the time I joined for the next session on Feb 3, the script was ready to be rehearsed.

We got together at the Raina residence and polished the rough edges to make the story flow smoothly. We received a set back when Bidisha had to drop out of the event due to health reasons. Also Meghna had a family commitment which meant that she was allotted 1 song and Poonam stepped in to fill the void.

 On feb 15, we did a full rehearsal at the studio itself getting ourselves acclimatized to the ambience and the acoustics. We also dabbled with the script to make it politically correct. Finer details like the position of the chairs and mikes in which Ajay and Atima were going to sit to ensure eye contact with each other and with the audience were all worked out.

 The last rehearsal: We convened at 3 pm on the big day to give the last touches. From backup laptops to backup singers nothing was left to chance. In the event that Meghna tunes up late from her appointment, Poonam rehearsed "waqt ne kiya", Subroto seamlessly eased into a technician role as the desginated person could not turn up. There were a few anxious moments…

Subroto: But that is not part of the script. Where are you reading it from?

Ajay and Atima: We have that as fillers and will use if needed.

Chorus: It’s ok. This is not Royal Albert Hall.

Sita: This is my Royal Albert Hall

Naveen: That was not part of the original clip.

Subroto: That's fine. I don't want to make any last minute changes.

Finale: The show was almost perfect. Apart from 1 clip that played twice, there wasn't  any glitches. Atima and Ajay just lived the script and had enough fillers to ensure any hiccups were covered. As per Naveen's suggestion, we divided the songs into 3 sections

Session 1 - Older Classics

1: Chand phir nikla 

2: Hum Bekhudi Naveen

3: Ye Raat Ye chandni

4: Thandi Hawayein

Session 2 - Love ballads

5: Tere Mere Sapne

6: Chhod do aanchal

7: Dil Aaj shayar hai

8: Tu kahaan Ye bataa

9: Ye dil na hota bechaara

Session 3 - Modern

10: Rangeela re

11: Dil ka bhanwar

12: Palko ke peechhe se

13:Ab to hai tumse

14: Waqt ne kiya (this was the exception as Meghna was planning to come late)

 In addition to these "ye mehlon ye takhton" was included in a section by itself.

Every song performed, was accompanied by its video with voice muted. The penultimate song 

"waqt ne kiya" was accompanied with posters of films for which Sachinda scored music.

The script was weaved in a question answer format, with Atima taking the role of an inquisitive fan and Ajay answering as the expert. When there were different takes on a particular story, the tone of the narrative was made anecdotal as opposed to authoritative. 

Quizzes for the audience were built itno the script to make it interactive. Name 3 songs that were inspired by "thandi hawayen"; name 2 songs dung by drunken heroines in the vein of "rangeela re"; judge whether "ye mahlon ye takhton" owed its success to music or lyrics or both; were among the questions asked. On every occasion the audience responded correctly and I was planted right in the middle of the crowd to ensure that audience got everything correct :)

SD's rift with Lata, Sahir, Shailendra were all covered as were his mannerisms and love for Paan. His association with Navketan, Guru Dutt and Bimal Da was chronicled. Sachinda's minimalist style of music and usage of instruments like Taar Shehnai, Chinese Blocks, Flute, Accordion was illustrated. Instead of reading out the names of the songs in the script, Ajay would sing the mukhda and this format was very well received. In many instances, the audience just sang along.

While Naveen chose only Rafi songs (I wish we could accommodate a Talat number for him); Debu sang Hemant and Rafi in addition to his favorite Kishore. Ajay also went with Rafi. Poonam was at ease with both Asha and Lata and Meghna did turn up well in time to sing Geeta. The crescendo was "jeevan ke safar ke raahi" in which the audience joined along with the singers. It was a fitting end to the evening which will be cherished in days to come.

A big round of applause for the entire team for making alive the spirit of the "old monk". And thanks to the wonderfully receptive audience for making us feel that it was worth all the effort.

Journey through Lata Mangeshkar's Songs

 

It is hard to imagine a single day without listening to or humming or perhaps just reminiscing of a song by Lata Mangeshkar. The many moods and hues of her songs have been a constant companion for last 3 decades and here is an attempt at chronicling my discovery of her music while drawing parallels with events in my life.

(1) Mera salaam le jaa (Udan Khatola, 1955)

The opening bars of music that I first heard in the 80’s with the magical voice singing ‘Hawa mein udta jaaye’ still echo in my ears. My first introduction to Lata and for that matter old music was through my maternal uncle’s music collection. This was during school days when my primary exposure was to her songs from RK films composed by Shankar Jaikishan (SJ). Apart from these, I had a wonderful tape of assorted songs that included ‘Baansuriya bajaaye sakhi’, ‘Nain mile nain hue baanware’ and the defining song of my childhood ‘UDan khatole waale raahi’, a choral tapestry delicately crafted by Naushad.

I had got admission into Hyderabad Public School and it was considered a sure shot ticket to success (America) those days and Udan Khatola (1955) perfectly captured the vehicle of my dreams. ‘Mera salaam lejaa, ulfat ka jaam lejaa’ was literally an invitation across the seas and as I now look behind, I realize that although America was my “queen of dreams” at that point, it was the signature of my favorite singer that I have been carrying all along and it has outlived my “queen”.

(2) Thane kai kai bol sunava (Meera Bhajan)

Studying in HPS ensured that I continued to get exposure to vintage music. Our history teacher Mr. Imdad Ali used to ask us to sing Raj Kapoor songs during recess. Our principal, Mr. O.P Pathak had a wonderful selection of patriotic songs and bhajans for the morning prayer. Lata-Hridaynath combination was the most common among the bhajans and it set the tone for a serene and peaceful beginning to the day.

(3) Phaili hui hai sapnon ki baahein (House No. 44, 1955)

I started listening to Vividh Bharati and Radio Ceylon during college days, and soon formed a strong liking for composer SD Burman. I had interesting debates with my uncle over SD and SJ in general, and their usage of Lata in particular. My uncle had several childhood favorites which he praised, like ‘Tera jaana dil ke armaanon ka ruk jaana’ (Anari, 1959) and marvelled at how Lata managed to sing the high pitched ‘Aji ruuth kar ab kahaan jaaiyega’ (Arzoo, 1965). I preferred a more sublime ‘Chaand phir nikla’ (Paying Guest, 1957) or ‘Rulaake gaya sapna mera’ (Jewel Thief, 1967).

Not that there was anything wrong with either tastes, but it’s interesting to note that Lata was our favourite for different reasons. Another very important aspect was that I started gravitating towards the soothing songs of Lata since it helped me fall asleep quicker!

This was also the time when my dreams started taking the shape of reality; I was well on my way towards finishing engineering and America beckoned ‘Aaja chal de kahiin duur’. Right from the opening bars of music in the prelude, the song is a winner. The dreamy lyrics, the charming wave like motion of the composition give it an ethereal feeling. The voice of the diva takes it to the next level and makes it sound as irresistible as the “land of milk and honey”.

So I landed in the US with a stack of tapes among other more essential items. This stack was auto-recorded by my uncle from Vividh Bharati’s ‘Aap Ki Farmaish’ programme when I was busy attending college.

(4) Subah ka intezaar kaun kare (Joru Ka Bhai, 1955)

It was in the US that I first got access to the internet and soon became an active member of the news group RMIM (rec.music.indian.misc), a haven for old music buffs. I also started expanding my music collection and the first tape I purchased was “Lata in a blue mood” which had songs from late 60’s and 70’s. I found the tape so good, that every night I used to put it on before going to bed and gently ease into asleep. I called this “soothing song playlist” and it evolved with time and I slowly gravitated towards music of 50’s.

As I was relying on a small Walkman model run on rechargeable batteries, I had to make variants of the “soothing playlist”. New discoveries that I got hooked onto had to be recorded multiple times on tape to avoid repeated rewinds and conserve the battery. There were times when the listening started in the night and went till the battery died. I just couldn’t literally wait for the next morning to resist the temptation of exploring.

As Sahir says ‘Ye rut ye samaa mile na mile, aarzu ka chaman khile na khile, waqt ka aitbaar kaun kare… Subah ka intezaar kaun kare’”. The interlude music after the first occurrence of ‘subah ka intezaar kaun kare’ (at the 40 second mark) and Lata’s ‘haaye’ in the last antara just after ‘ruuh bechain hain nigaahon mein’ are the high points of the song apart from the lyrics.

(5) Tuu humko dekh aur hamari nazar se dekh (Zindagi Aut Hum, 1962)

I landed a job in Chicago and the mini walkman gave way to an mp3 player and equipment to digitize songs. I started with the auto-recorded stack of tapes I got from India and realized that all were duplicates and I was eventually left with one tape.

Nestled between the popular numbers was this stunner that I had never heard before, which made the effort worthwhile. The song opens with a subtle sarod prelude setting the tone for this ethereal composition. Lata begins softly with “Tuu humko dekh aur hamari nazar se dekh / miithi adaa se, pyaar se’ and suddenly the pitch and the emphasis increase with ‘Pyaari nazar se dekh’.

Every antara ends with ‘tuu humko dekh’ repeated twice, separated by a lovely sarod piece. If I have to describe the composition in one word I would say ‘mulayam’. Devoid of heavy orchestra, the music complements the singing voice very well. Veer Mohammad Puri hasn’t written many songs in Hindi film music, but this song is enough to showcase his ability to capture the delicate feelings with lines like ‘ai hoshdaar hosh ka pardaa uthaake mil’.

The movie has several other outstanding Lata songs like ‘dhiire se gagari utaar’ and ‘jaa re jaa re meri chhod chunariya’. The last two became huge favorites at RMIM meets prompting a few of us to call Roshan as “Zindagi Aur Hum Roshan”.

I did my part by exploring Chicago with ‘miithi adaa’ and ‘pyaari nazar’ and discovered India Video in Wheeling and Bombay Video in Devon. Both had lots of old Black & White VHS tapes which became a big source of my song collection. Moving to a big city also meant proximity to airport and I could fly frequently to RMIM meets in East and West Coast and also visit RMIMers

I started acquiring the commemorative tapes from RMIM meets and the 1999 edition on Lata became a favourite. One of the songs in the compilation was Sudhir Phadke’s duet with Lata ‘kismat ka nahiin dosh baanvare’. Vish Krishnan, in his commentary mentioned the list of albums in which they partnered ‘Murliwala, Malti Madhav, Gokul Ka Chor, Pehli Tarikh, Ratnaghar, Sajni and Bhabhi Ki Chudiyan’. I started exploring Sudhir Phadke’s work and my fellow RMIMer Dr. Arunabha Roy promised to give me a rare compilation of their work that he got from Dr. Mandar Bichu. I instantly fell in love with it and added ‘Raat andhiyaari hai’ to the soothing song playlist.

(6) Raat andhiyaari hai (Sajni, 1956)

The opening line sets the tone for this melancholy nocturne. Lata emphasises “raat” and “andhiyaari” as if the night is very long and very dark. The line is followed by a lovely piano interlude followed by ‘raat andhiyari hai’ but it is more subtle second time around. Its like the first ‘raat andhiyari hai’ is typed in bigger font in the title page and that forms the backdrop of the song. The song oozes maternal love which is epitomized by the line ‘sukh se tuu so mere praaN, mere maan, mere rain ke vihaan’. Every time praan, maan or vihaan are rendered, the emotion is so perfectly captured that one can visualize the love showered by the mother on her child. The other recurring emotion in the song is sadness.

In the second antara the word “andhkaar” is repeated to cascading effect taking darkness to new depths. Pandit Narendra Sharma’s lyrics are a constant with Sudhir Phadke’s music and the following line takes the cake for me.

aaNsuuon ke motiyon kii tuu hai musakaan

The orchestration is soft, subtle and soothing. It complements the theme very well and elevates the song to a treasure that can be cherished for a lifetime.

Post 9/11 events and dot-com crash meant that I had to go back to the university and the quest began for a more stable place. And as I found out, it was right across the border.

“You can come to my place and stay. I will charge you one rare Lata song per night” Anant Rege said when I was planning to visit Canada to get my visa stamped. Although Toronto was closer, Anant’s offer was irresistible.

I landed at Anant’s place in Ottawa and after a round of introductions and refreshments, Anant took me upstairs into a room filled with neat wooden closets. He opened one and stocked in it were dozens of tapes. He removed them one by one and his expressive eyes lit up when he saw the label ‘Gul Sanobar’ on one of them.

He then picked the following song for my listening pleasure.

‘Ise na aur luutiye, ye dil bahut gariib hai nasiib se main khya kahuun, nasiib to nasiib hai’

(7) Ise na aur luutiye (Gul Sanobar, 1953)

The song starts with a fast paced prelude with the piano being the prominent instrument. As the prelude ends, the rhythm slows down slight pauses between notes creating a “suspense” filled ambience. Lata then starts with almost a hush ‘ise na aur luuTiye’ and by the time it comes to ‘kya kahuun’ her voice is elevated to a high pitch only to come down with ‘nasiib to nasiib hai’. These pitch and pace undulations made the song an instant favorite. Kaif Irfani’s lyrics deserve a special mention here for fitting snugly with the ebb and flow of Bulo C. Rani’s tune. The trip to Canada greatly influenced me and I decided to immigrate there.

tum chaand ke saath chale aao..

The “chaand” of my life was my music collection and once I found a job in Toronto I moved there along with it among other essential things.

(8) Tum chaand ke saath chale aao (Ashiana, 1952)

The favorite Madan Mohan composition is notable for its use of matka. The composer was an emotional person and he even used to cry when a note struck a deep chord. In ‘tum chaand ke saath’ one gets the impression that these emotions are locked in between matka beats and are trying to break free. As the song progresses with ‘leharon men ravaani ho jaayen’ it imparts a crescendo effect uncorking the emptiness.

‘Kaamosh kinaare soye hain’

Also the emphasis on ‘aa~ ~ in “tum chaand ke s*aa*th’ creates an impression that the protagonist wants her beloved to get the “moon” along. Rajinder Krishan’s lyrics capture the subtle feelings so well.

Kaamosh kinaare soye hain, chup-chaap hain nadiyaa kii leharen

ithalaate hue tum aa jaao, laharon men ravaanii ho jaaye

My favorite pass time in Toronto was to walk on the banks of Lake Ontario marveling at the waves and I had a wonderful time there.

(9) Sapne hue saanche (Shri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, 1954)

Back in the university days, I befriended a gentleman named Dr. Khawar Sohail Siddiqui. It was the pre-YouTube era and rare songs were hard to get by and he was extremely gracious. Almost every morning I used to get up, login and find a mail from him with a collector’s item as an attachment. 

Khawar Sahab had several favorite composers but he was crazy for the man whom connoisseurs revere as the father of Hindi film music; Rai Chand Boral. RC Boral’s body of work with Lata is limited to just 2 movies and a huge chunk of that is from Shri Chaintanya Mahaprabhu. Khawar Saheb was desperately looking for songs of this movie. He had heard those songs on Radio Ceylon and exclaimed “Lata ke saare gaane ek taraf aur Shri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu ke gaane ek taraf”. I never heard about the movie at that time but Khawar Saheb’s taste was like a gold standard for me. I used to call Khawar Saheb every other week and he used to inevitably say “Shri Chaintanya mahaprabhu ke gaane talash karo yaar”.

So the search began, went on for a few years, and finally Shri SN Chari based in Chennai kindly sent us the tape. Given this huge buildup, I had very high expectations about the music. RC Boral, Lata and Bharat Vyas didn’t dissapoint.

The opening aalaap ‘baaje muraliya baaje’ followed by a wonderful interlude and the use of khol in the background shows the influence of Bangla Keertan.

It was literally ‘sapne hue saanche’ for me, as I finally landed upon a goldmine at the end of a long journey, musically or otherwise as I became a Canadian citizen. That phase abroad of 15 years abruptly came to a halt as I had to move back to India due to family reasons. The first days and months were tough as those memories haunted me.

(10) Beeta hua ek saawan (Shokhiyan, 1951)

In the mukhda, there is an interlude just after the second instance of ‘beeta hua’. I identify with this a lot as I feel like a lot of water has flown down the drain but you got to move on. It was a passing phase in my life and with time things became better.

Coming back to India also gave me an opportunity to meet several record collectors thanks to Ajay Deshpande. Most notable among them is Shri Vijay Nafde whose efforts in making ‘beeta hua ek swaan’ available is noteworthy. The song was recorded for Kedar Sharma’s Shokiyan but was never used in the film. In the 80’s it was included in his TV documentary ‘pehla qadam’.

Life became very busy and active and the number of hours I listen to recorded music in general and Lata in particular drastically came down. I no longer needed music to help me fall asleep. This gave an opportunity to revisit songs of all moods without any preference or bias to a particular genre. And the fast paced SJ songs that my uncle loved so much started appealing to me like never before.

(11) Humko chhedta hai dil kaun jaane kya hua (Aas, 1953)

A recent discovery, thanks to Ajay Deshpande, captures my mood perfectly. The lilting “accordion prelude” makes one literally dance along.

It’s almost like life has come a full circle to the point where I am back to ‘mera salaam lejaa’ days. The only constant in this turbulent journey has been the voice of Lata, a voice for all seasons. Here’s wishing a Happy Birthday to the Melody Queen.

 

Barkha Ritu

Dark clouds hovering over, gulmohar branches stooping down, chirping sounds seeping in and gentle breeze blowing through. All we had to do was to open the doors and windows, to let nature peep into the living room. Monsoon songs didn't need a figment of imagination to paint a picture. A glance into the balcony was enough.

 Arnab, Sundeep ji and Anand were the first arrivals and we started with some early 50's Asha Bhonsle suggestions from Anand. "Kai din se sawan barasta hai rim jhim", a rare duet with Shailesh Mukhrejee and composed by Arun Kumar Mukherjee was well appreciated. This was followed by Vinod's composition from Anmol Ratan "kaale kaale badalon men paani". We also enjoyed "Barkha ki raaton men dil jalta jalta jalta hai" from Shreematiji.

Bakshish ji, R.K Agarwal Saab and Rupesh joined us and we kicked of with the raaga that is associated with rain; Malhaar. Garjat barsaat bheejat aayilo and garjat barsat saawan aayo re made the audience demand for more of Roshan.  Arvinder ji arrived at the door and said that strains of "pade barkha puhaar" helped him navigate."ghir ghir ke aasmaan par" and "sharabi sharabi saawan ka mausam" concluded the Roshan selection. Meanwhile Pradeep Sharma joined us and we were thrilled that we could hear some live singing. Javed Bhai was next to arrive.

The two Garjat Barsat variants promted Agarwal saab to mention two "badarva barse" variants of Salil."The Hemant & Lata duet "jhir jhir badarva barse" was followed by the Lata solo "rim jhim jhim badrava barse". Salil compostions continued with "thandi thandi sawaan ki puhaar", "sawan ki raaton men" and "hariyala saawan".

It was time for food and chai. Arvinder ji got Samosas, Kachori and Masala Idli which along with my stock of Osmania Biscuits and lovely Chai prepared by Anand whetted our appetite. The only thing still missing were sweets and the person getting them; Sudhir Kapur !

Anand pointed out that Vasant desai's "umad ghumad" is equally good as "hariyala saawan" and poined a few Vasant desai compositions that covered the Malhar family; Megh Malhar; Gaud Malhar etc. "jhir jhir barse sawani akhiyan" was also enjoyed. We then turned our attention to some Non-filmy songs. Hridaynath's "giri ghataayen aasmaan par" and Anilda's"naach re mayura" followed. Arnab pointed out that most of these were part of Varsha Ritu compilation and several were composed by Murli Manohar Swaroop.

Arnab then requested for "ye neer kahaan se barse" which was followed by Anand's farmaish for another Jaidev compositon "mitwa..badra chaaye re". There was a farmaish for the Bandini number "ab ke baras"but I chose to play a Sudha Malhotra non-filmi number based on the same traditional tune "nimbuva tale". Finally Sudhir Kapur arrived and Arvinder Ji commented "We were all waiting for the sweets" :)This prompted another round of Chai.

As Anand and myself we busy in the Kitchen, Sudhir ji took over with some numbers from the 30's and 40's. "manbhavan lo sawan aaya re" by Leela Chitnis from Bandhan "sawan ke badalon" from Rattan and "sawan ke nazare hain" from Khazanchi among them. Continuing in that vein we enjoyed S. Rajeshwara Rao composition from Chandralekha "man bhaavan saawan aaya"  by Uma Devi and Jagmohan's "o varsha ke pehle baadal" under the baton of "Kamal Das Gupta".Jagmohan's rendition reminded me of his composition from Sardar "barkha ki raat men he ho ha" which we all enjoyed.

Satage was now set for Pradeep Sharma and he regaled us with "barkha raani zara jam ke barso". Bakshish ji then said "kuch mere zamane ke gaane ho jaaye" and i played " hum tum ye bahaar" and followed up with "rim jhim ke giit saawan aaye" as a representative of Sundeep ji's era.

As "kaise bhaaye sakhi rut sawaan ki" was being played Sundeep ji commented "These are the songs I expect from you" and I retorted " I can play these kinds of Lata songs day in and day out. Thanks to Anand we get to hear lot of Asha too". "boondaniyan barsan laagi re" prompted Anand to say that he was expecting "barse boondaniyan saawan ki" in the non-film section and then added; both are from 1958 ! Agarwal ji requested for the song from Shikast "kare badra na jaa na jaa".

"phir se aaiyo badra bidesi" was the next number followed by the Asha & Varha duet from Junoon "saawan ki aai baahaar re". We concluded with some evergreen duets "tara ri ara ri", "ghir ghir aaye badarva kaare" and the perennial "rim jhim ke taraane leke aayi barsaat".

We didn't have to play "zara thum jaa tuu ai saawan" to stop the rains for easy commute of the attendees. We had a respite from the incessant rains during the event. History repeated itself too as we had a similar experience on Aug 10, 2014 when we had a "monsoon raga" theme. Here's hoping that we continue to be blessed by the heavens.