LIFE LESSONS WITH MANNA DEY

Whenever a voice was needed to show sincerity, pathos, emotions and intensity, Prabodh Chandra Dey, who we all know as Manna Dey, was the one most music directors would turn to. Having to leave a career as wrestler because of weak eyesight, Manna Dey became the wrestling world’s loss and the musical world’s tremendous gain. A career that began in pre-independence India and spanned the years to the start of the 21^st century, Manna Dey is a precious jewel of Hindi film music.

Although Manna Dey is mostly referred to for his brilliant classical songs, here is a look at his songs which teach us about life. Here we go with Life lessons with Manna Dey.

1.    Nirbal se ladaai balwan ki                Toofan aur diya    1956

Fighting for survival against all odds can be exhausting, particularly if one has to do it without hope. This song relates an arduous struggle of a young boy against the most harrowing circumstances, and yet manages to be one of the most redeeming examples of hope. It uses the metaphor of an earthen clay lamp struggling to stay alight in the face of a relentless storm. I remember writing down these lines as a child and thinking that these could well fit into a treasured book of poetry. Sung by Manna Dey and chorus, and composed by Vasant Desai, this song defines everything that is special about Bharat Vyas, an exceptionally talented poet. To read more about Kavi Bharat Vyas on this blog, click HERE . 

Kahin door thaa toofan

Diye se thaa balavaan

Saare jag ko masalane machal rahaa

Jhaad ho yaa pahaad, de vo pal me ukhaad

Soch-soch ke zameen pe thaa uchhal rahaa

Ek nanhaa-saa diyaa, usane hamalaa kiyaa …

Ab dekho leelaa vidhi ke vidhaan ki

Ye kahaani hai diye ki aur toofan ki

2.    Kasme wade pyar wafa                     Upkaar          1967

A cynical look at life which expresses a lot of hard-hitting life truths. Composed by Kalyanji Anandji and written by Indeevar, Manna Dey infuses the deepest of emotions into this song, a song which is believed to have reduced Lata Mangeshkar to tears the first time she heard it.

Sukh mein tere saath chalenge
Dukh mein sab mukh modenge
Duniyaa wale tere bankar
Tera hi dil todenge
Dete hain bhagwaan ko dhokha
Insaan ko kyaa chhodenge

3.    Ae bhai zara dekh ke chalo               Mera Naam Joker 1970

Some of the most painful life truths are woven into this song from Mera Naam Joker by Kavi Neeraj. Manna Dey’s voice gives this song the sincerity it needs to drive the truth home even stronger. The occasional alt voice for Raj Kapoor, Manna Dey songs in RK films are usually the strong light of learning and life lessons. Dil ka haal sune dilwala from Shree 420 is another song that comes to mind. Ae bhai zara dekh ke chalo is seemingly sung for a circus artiste who bumps into Raj Kapoor at the start of the song. The song uses that metaphor all through to tell us to tread carefully in life as it is a precarious place which can be cruel and unsympathetic to people who are struggling. There is a pause after the first two lines when the same circus artiste shoots out of a cannon onto the trapeze net and the line ‘Tu jahan aaya hai’ continues the song. This song is one of Manna Dey’s most wonderful renditions.

Girne se darta hai kyon
Marne se darta hai kyon
Thokar tu jab na khayega
Paas kisi gham ko na jab tak bulayega
Zindagi hai cheez kya nahin jaan paayegaa
Rotaa huaa aaya hai
Rotaa chalaa jaaegaa
Aye bhai ….

4.    Phir kahin koi phool khila     Anubhav       1971

Sometimes we come across songs that do not have a clear-cut single meaning, they are open to interpretation. Phir kahin koi phool khila is among those songs which have many layers. Every time I hear it, depending on where I am in life, it offers me answers. The picturisation of this song is my favourite among all Sanjeev Kumar songs as this goes closest to what one would imagine him to be like in real life. In fact, the entire film shows Sanjeev Kumar as someone we would know in real life. The song shows slice of life shots on a day where Sanjeev has stayed home from work because of a mild fever. The day-to-day routine in a household when the husband is home and the wife’s housework has a certain happy spark of his unexpected company at home. Tanuja chopping vegetables in the room, Sanjeev removing specs and falling asleep, a certain closeness and indulgence of an unexpected break from routine… all of these are beautifully shown on screen by Basu Bhattacharya. Composed by Kanu Roy and written by Kapil Kumar, Manna Dey renders this song in a very calming and introspective manner.  

Mann kaa samundar pyasa hua
Kyun kisi se mange duva
Leharon kaa laga jo mela
Toofaan naa kaho usko
Phir kahi koi phool khila
Chaahat naa kaho usko
Phir kahi….

5.    Dekhiye to kya ajeeb haal hai                     Kal Aaj Aur Kal        1971

To my great surprise, I have seen that this song is relatively unknown to many Manna Dey fans. That’s grave injustice. This song is an ignored masterpiece and deserves to be right in front whenever any discussion on Manna Dey songs comes up. Filmed in the background on Raj Kapoor, this is one of the only two songs on Raj Kapoor in the film, the other song being Tik tik tik tik which is sung by Mukesh.

Dekhiye to kya ajeeb haal hai
sochiye to kya ajeeb baat hai
ek paav chal raha alag alag dusra kisi ke sath sath hai

Neeraj uses interesting analogies to describe Raj Kapoor’s state of mind as he is torn between his father and his son, as he tries to keep peace between them. Such an unusual pace for the tune. Perfectly reflects the turmoil in RK's mind as he is exhausted balancing the demands of his father and his son. Sometimes, life brings up situations where we realise that trying to agree with everyone just to keep peace does not bring the desired results and we end up being the target of their anger instead.

ek hawa chali ke khil utha chaman
ek hawa chali ke sab ujad gaya
ek kadam uthake raah mil gayi
ek kadam uthake path bichad gaya…

Shankar Jaikishan wielded the musical baton for the last time for RK banner in this film. A swan song for what turned out to be the end of a long partnership, with the sad demise of Jaikishan.

6.    Zindagi kaisi hai paheli                      Anand           1971

The starting notes of the song as Rajesh Khanna releases the balloons and watches them as they rise in the air creates an iconic moment in cinema. Written by Yogesh and composed by Salil Choudhary, the magic of Manna Dey’s voice further transcends this song to sheer magic. The balloons sway upwards into near oblivion and the camera shifts to Rajesh Khanna whose eyes express wonder, curiosity, sadness and awe at the thought of his impending end and what lies beyond. We do not know why a person leaves this world abruptly nor do we know where he goes after that. Deep questions treated with a classic light sensitive touch by Hrishikesh Mukherjee.

Jinhone sajaaye yahaan mele
sukh-dukh sang-sang jhele
wahi chunkar khaamoshi
yoon chale jaaye akele kahaan…

7.    Tum besahara ho to               Anurodh        1977

This song has two versions, labelled happy and sad in the album but I find both of them equally inspiring. Ashok Kumar sings this to school children as an anthem. The sad version begins with Vinod Mehra thinking of ending his life and halting as he hears the beginning refrain of this song. He turns out to be the poet of these lyrics and his own creation pulls him back from the brink of giving up on life.

Jeevan toh ek jaisa hotaa hai

Koi hasta koi rotaa hai

Sabr se jeena aasan hotaa hai

Fikr se jeena mushkil hotaa hai.

Simple truth of life stated in a very clear manner.

Having limited myself to listing only seven songs, I have not managed to include my favourite Raat gayee phir din aata hai from Boot Polish (You can read about it on my blog post Musical Journey with Boot Polish )

Hope you enjoyed reading about life lessons with Manna Dey. Do comment with any additions that you can think of to this list!

Magical Melodies of Glorious Geeta Dutt

 

Selecting just seven songs of Geeta Dutt is not easy so I looked for a hook by which I could narrow this down to a lesser-known array of her songs. The hook was easy to find and I decided to focus on seven different music directors who she has sung for. The difficult part was the decision to not add S D Burman, O P Nayyar or Hemant Kumar to the list of MDs. It may feel like sacrilege to most as she has sung so many beautiful songs for them. Any reference of Geeta Dutt and our mind moves to ‘Waqt ne kiya kya haseen sitam’ or ‘Babuji Dheere chalna’ or ‘Piya aiso jiya mein samaye gayo re’. However, today we will take a look at her somewhat lesser talked about gems for other famous music directors. 

1. Music Director: Bulo C Rani

Ghoonghat ke pat khol re Jogan 1950

The film Jogan had 15 songs, out of which 12 songs were sung by Geeta Dutt. Jogan is a beautiful showcase of true gems in Geeta Dutt’s voice. Ten out of the twelve songs are her solos. The film is based on a complex love story where an atheist falls in love with a jogan, and most of these songs are bhajans by Kabir and Meerabai. The music was so popular that it was said that Jogan had three major stars: Dilip Kumar, Nargis and the songs of the film. Ghoonghat ke pat khol is the one most likely to be known to all as is Mat ja mat ja jogi. Nargis has listed this film as among her best, similarly Geeta Dutt counts Mat ja jogi from this film as one of her ten best songs.  Bulo C Rani’s (Bulo C Rani’s real name was Bulochand Chandiramani) association with Geeta Dutt lasted over 10 years from late forties to late fifties and it gave us nearly 70 beautiful songs with their combination. 

Trivia: Jogan was actor Rajendra Kumar’s debut film where he plays the role of Dilip Kumar’s friend. 

2. Music director: Roshan

Khayalon mein kisike 1950 Bawre Nain

Sung by Geeta Dutt and Mukesh, this song was a part of this successful film which was the second Kedar Sharma film that Roshan composed for. This film established Roshan as a thriving music director. All the songs for the heroine of this film were sung by Rajkumari Dubey but this one song for the second lead Vijayalakshmi was given to Geeta Dutt. This song now has pride of place in every Geeta Dutt compilation CD.

3. Music director: Chitragupt  

Naachti jhoomti muskurati aa gayee pyar ki raat  Miss Mala 1954

Unknown to most, Geeta Dutt has sung close to 100 songs for Chitragupt. This duet with Kishore Kumar is a rare occasion where Geeta Dutt provides playback for Vyjayantimala who stars with Kishore Kumar in this film. This film also has a very sweet lullaby sung by Geeta Dutt ‘Nanhe so ja re’. 

Trivia: From all her duets, Geeta Dutt has sung maximum songs with Mohd. Rafi. Out of around 155 duets of Geeta Dutt and Rafi, Chitragupt has composed around 30 of them!

4. Music director: Vasant Desai

Meri aan Bhagwan Toofan aur diya 1956

V Shantaram's Toofan aur Diya had three songs of Geeta Dutt. She gave the playback to Nanda’s kid brother played by Satish Vyas. "Meri aan bhagwan kan kan se ladi hain to tum se bhi aaj ladegi, meri baat tumhein rakhni padegi” is a song with some of the most powerful lyrics by Bharat Vyas and has been sung by Geeta Dutt with such elan and emotion. 

5. Madan mohan

“Aye dil mujhe bata de tu kis pe aa gaya hain" Bhai Bhai 1956 

This is a delightful solo picturised on Shyama. The lyrics written by Rajinder Kishen are playful and laced with mischief, “Ae dil mujhe bata de tu kis pe aa gaya hai, Woh kaun hai jo aakar khwabon pe chaa gaya hai”. Madan Mohan composed this delightful tune which Geeta Dutt sang in her distinct style.

6. Salil Choudhury   

Aankhon mein tum Half Ticket 1962

Geeta Dutt has sung only seven songs for Salil Choudhury in his 19 year career in Hindi films. These were three solos and four duets, where the duets were one each with Mohd. Rafi, Hemant Kumar, Manna Dey and Kishore Kumar. Aankhon mein tum is a chirpy duet filmed on Madhubala and Kishore Kumar, written by Shailendra in his classic style.

7. Kanu Roy

Koi chupke se aake Anubhav 1971

Many are mistaken that Kanu Roy was her brother. (Her brother was actually Mukul Roy who was a music composer and producer, her famous ‘Do chamakti aankhon mein’ was sung for his film Detective.) Geeta Dutt has sung just four songs in total for Kanu Roy but these songs are always part of everybody’s list while thinking of their favourite top ten songs of this singer. Anubhav was the quintessential swan song of this erstwhile singer as she passed away in 1972. The velvety smooth tones of her dulcet voice in the songs of Anubhav show us how much she still had to offer even at the fag end of her days.

Born as Geeta Ghosh Roy Chowdhuri in a zamindar’s family in Faridpur, East Bengal in 1930, and going on to be known as Geeta Roy, then Geeta Dutt, her voice and music has remained timeless for all of us to treasure forever. 

I hope you enjoyed this glimpse at Geeta Dutt’s songs with seven composers over the years. Do write in the comments below with your favourite Geeta Dutt song!

Seven songs with poetic imagery of Bharat Vyas

 

Bharat Vyas began writing in 1943 and we know most of his famous lines from songs composed by Vasant Desai, Khemchand Prakash and S N Tripathi. He tried his hand in film direction in 1949 where he directed a film called Rangila Rajasthan. He reverted to writing lyrics after that. His greatest hits were in the 50s. He combined the world of Hindi film lyrics and literary poetry which blended together blissfully in his songs.  Although the beginning phase of his career had him writing in a mix of Hindi and Urdu, Bharat Vyas went on to write in chaste Hindi for his later songs in his career.

1.    Nirbal se ladaai balwan ki                Toofan aur diya    1956

Fighting for survival against all odds can be exhausting, particularly if one has to do it without hope. This song relates an arduous struggle of a young boy against the most harrowing circumstances and yet manages to be one of the most redeeming examples of hope. It uses the metaphor of an earthen clay lamp struggling to stay alight in the face of a relentless storm. I remember writing down these lines as a child and thinking that these could well fit into a treasured book of poetry. Sung by Manna Dey and chorus, and composed by Vasant Desai, this song defines everything that is special about this exceptionally talented poet.

Kahin door thaa toofan

Diye se thaa balavaan

Saare jag ko masalane machal rahaa

Jhaad ho yaa pahaad, de vo pal me ukhaad

Soch-soch ke zameen pe thaa uchhal rahaa

Ek nanhaa-saa diyaa, usane hamalaa kiyaa …

Ab dekho leelaa vidhi ke vidhaan ki

Ye kahaani hai diye ki aur toofan ki

 

 

2.    Ae maalik tere bande hum                           Do Aankhen barah haath  1957

The sublime feel of this song in this V Shantaram film has elevated it to a prayer over the years. Talking to a higher being and appealing to that power to help us become better versions of ourselves, there is perhaps no better boon that one could ask for from the almighty. Lata Mangeshkar has sung it in a way that has added to the divine feel of this prayer composed by Vasant Desai. An interesting trivia for this song: Bharat Vyas’ brother Brij Mohan Vyas has played an important character in this film. Another interesting trivia related to this film is that noted painter G. Kamble was hired by V Shantaram to paint the movie posters for this film. Kamble produced a 350-ft banner at Opera house theatre in Mumbai in 1957.

Bada kamzor hai aadmi
Ab bhi lakhon hain ismein kami
Par tu jo khada hai dayaalu bada

Teri kirpa se dharti thami
Diya tune hamein jab janam
Tu hi jhelega hum sab ke gham
Neki par chalein aur badi se talein
Taaki hanste huye nikle dam
Aye malik tere bande hum…

 

It was difficult to choose just one song from this film for this list. Umad ghumad kar aayi re ghata was a close contender as I love the choice of words used to depict gushing rain and thunder in an open field. The lyrics have the most beautiful use of literary devices like similes, metaphors and onomatopoeia ever used in a song. (Kare kare badarava ki jhanan jhanan jhan jhanjhari bajati aayi hai dekho bhaai barkha dulhaniya)

 

3.    Kavi Raja Kavita Ke Ab na kaan marodo              Song | Navrang(1959) 

 

Bharat Vyas was known for writing about social issues and life philosophy in simple words, in a way that would connect to the masses. Composed by C Ramchandra and sung by Bharat Vyas himself for this V Shantaram film, this song ranks among poetry of the highest order. A fact of life is that following one’s passion is fine, but one needs to finally earn money in life to remain alive. This point is put across in a hilarious and yet hard-hitting manner by the poet himself as he tells the character, who is also a poet, that he needs to make a living now. 

Kaviraja kavita ke mat ab kaan marodo
dhande ki kuchh baat karo kuchh paise jodo
sher shairi kaviraja na kaam aayegi
kavita ki pothi ko deemak khaa jaayegi
bhaav chad rahe anaaj ho raha mehngaa din din
bhookhe maroge raat kategi taare gin gin
is liye kehtaa hoon bhaiyyaa ye sab chhodo
dhande ki kuchh baat karo kuchh paise jodo…

 

4.    Aa laut ke aaja mere meet   Rani Roopmati  1959

Sung by Mukesh, and composed by S N Tripathi, this song is basically the first thing most people remember about this film. This song is picturised on Bharat Bhushan who had an excellent run in 1950s with most of his films having the most melodious music. This song has also been sung by Lata Mangeshkar.

Ek pal hai hasna ek pal hai rona kaisa hai jeevan ka khela
Ek pal hai milna ek pal bichhadna duniya hai do din ka mela
Ye ghadi na jaye beet

Tujhe mere geet bulaate hai

Aa laut ke aaja mere meet

 

5.    Saranga teri yaad mein         Saranga   1961

Sung by Mukesh and music composed by Sardar Malik, this song is one of the most popular romantic solos written by Bharat Vyas. As he is mostly remembered as the poet for serious issues, this song absolutely needed to be in this list to show his range. The pathos of a broken heart has been so effectively captured that hearing this song always adds a sombre note to one’s day. There is no bitterness in this song, it is just filled with sweet memories of his beloved and the days they spent together.

sang tumhare do ghadi, beet gaye jo pal
jal bhar ke mere nain me, aaj huye ojhal
sukh leke dukh de gayi do akhiya chanchal,
saaranga teri yaad mein nain huye bechain
madhur tumhare milan bina, din katate nahi rain,

saaranga teri yaad mein…

6.    Yeh kaun chitrakar hai                       Boond jo ban gayee moti  1967

Sometimes, one feels speechless while looking at the glory of a sunset or a deep valley enveloped in low lying clouds. The only words to describe the spiritual feeling at such moments of being surrounded by the beauty of nature can be found in the lyrics of this song. Sung by Mukesh and composed by Satish Bhatia, this song is a wonderful ode to the creator of this universe. This V Shantaram film explored the theme of education in a very thought-provoking manner.

The scene preceding this song has remained etched in my memory. SatyaPrakash, the schoolteacher, played by Jeetendra, opens a textbook to start reading this poem to a classroom full of students.  As he reads the first two lines, the pauses are filled with the creaking of the overhead fans. He realises this is the wrong way to introduce such a beautiful poem to the class.  He stops reading and decides to take the children to the beautiful outdoors to really know the essence of this poem.

Kudrat kee iss pavitrata ko tum nihar lo

Iss ke guno ko apne mann me tum utaar lo

Chamakalo aaj lalima, apne lalat kee

Kan kan se jhankatee tumhe chhabee virat kee

Apnee toh aankh ek hai uss kee hajar hai

Yeh kaun chitrakar hai.........

 

7.    Jyot se jyot jalaate chalo                 Sant Gyaneshwar   1981

This song played at number three in Binaca Geetmala and it is astonishing that this was the only song written by Bharat Vyas that got the Filmfare award nomination for him. This song has two versions, one by Mukesh and the other by Lata Mangeshkar. Composed by Laxmikant Pyarelal, this was among the last few films he wrote for as he passed away in 1982.

aashaa tooti mamtaa roothi chhoot gayaa hai kinaaraa
band karo mat dwaar dayaa kaa de do kuchh to sahaaraa
deep dayaa kaa jalaate chalo, prem ki gangaa bahaate chalo
prem ki gangaa bahaate chalo….

 

Hope you enjoyed this journey with Bharat Vyas’ songs! Do write in with your favourite Bharat Vyas song in the comments below, in case I have missed out mentioning any of your favourite songs from his treasure chest!