Suman Kalyanpur outshines Lata Mangeshkar

Absolutely fascinating. I have been reading your blog, but this is the first time I am posting my comment. First, my compliments for your excellent blog and bringing alive the music of the golden era which gave us such an unforgettable joy.
Suman Kalyanpur’s Haale dil unko sunana tha sunaya na gaya and Lata’s Haale dil yun unhe sunaya gaya are both incredibly beautiful. Both are among my all time favourites, and I never thought in terms of ranking them. I would say both are brilliantly written by Kedar Sharma and Rajendra Krishna, brilliantly composed by Snehal Bhatkar and Madan Mohan and beautifully sung by Suman and Lata. Thanks a lot for giving the two songs together.
Having said that, I must say there is one major omission in your article. Your list does not include Sanwariya re apni Meera ko bhool na jana from the film Aanchal, music by C Ramchandra. This is easily Suman Kalyanpur’s one of the greatest songs.

Till now,I had a feeble idea about Suman Kalyanpur Ma’am!
Thanks for the incredible information Arvind Sir!
I am Lata didi’s fan but Suman Kalyanpur has outperformed her in this melodious song.
If its a coincidence that both songs are so strikingly similar, then its okay.
But if Lata didi had intentionally done this to sate her desire of being the queen of melody, then this time she would have understood that nobody is perfect.
Not even she!
Finally, there is one singer, who, if Lata didi had not been there in industry for some reasons, whatsoever,
would have delivered the pure melody to the golden period of songs.

AK Sir, I am so grateful to you!

Hi Sir!!!

There is something I want to share with you.
Once I came across an article about Suman Kalyanpur.
In it,this was disclosed that Suman Kalyanpur sang “AAJA AAYI BAHAR” song of Sadhna Shivdasani ji’s film “Rajkumar”.
The song being my soul favourite, persuaded me to search for Suman Kalyanpur Ma’am.
Though later,it turned that it was Lata didi’s song!
But yesterday I downloaded “Haal e dil” songs and found out that Suman ji and lata didi are both Great.
Have a lovely day Sir!

Dear AK. Thanks a lot for drawing attention to one of the most talented and most neglected singers. Personally I am a great fan of hers and my favourite in her repertoire is Sharabi Sharabi Yes Sawan Ka Mausam. In this song, particulary, her voice comes into its own and can’t be mistaken for Lata’s.

I recently read biography of Sumanji and as i discovered the beautiful songs she has sung(which i assumed to be sung by Lataji), I was shocked. Both have the divine touch, but luck has favoured Lataji on the fame and recognition front. Ofcourse, on the personal front, Sumanji has led a very satisfactory family life, is also a wonderful cook, can draw beautiful sketches , does lovely flower arrangements and has never ever complained on the bitter episodes of her singing career. Her Marathi songs also merit the likeness to Lataji. It is her bad luck that she is referred to as Prati-Lata. She shines in her own light and we ought to acknowledge this fact and give her due credit.

Sumanji’s biography has been written by Mrs Mangala Khadilkar in Marathi. The name is “Suman Sugandh”. She also conducts a stage show by the same name, where many songs are sung by well-known artists. The song you mention is included in this biography. The many other songs listed perhaps have not been heard by us even as they have seldom been broad-casted on AIR.

Superb article. Painstaking research. A few corrections, though:

– Pyase Panchhi had KJAJ’s music, not Hemant Kumar.
– Agar Teri Jalwa Numayi is from Beti Bete.

@Prabhu: The title song of Saanjh Aur Savera is sung by Rafi & Asha.

In 1980, a movie called Ramu To Deewana Hai was released. Surely it was post-dated as it has a few Mukesh numbers who, by that time, had left us. In this film, there are a couple of Suman Kalyanpur songs, viz.

– Ramu To Diwana Hai – Suman Kalyanpur
– Tu Sab Se Haseen Hai Dilruba – Mukesh, Suman Kalyanpur

I wonder what you guys think of these?

Hello AK,
That reminds me 2 soulful duets
• ” Saath ho tum aur raat jawaan” by Mukesh & Lata. Music composer’s name is given as: Surdikar.
• ” Pyar ka aalam” by Rafi and Usha Khanna yodels in Pyar kaa aalam in between.
Will you be able to throw some light.? Please do.
With Warm Regards & Season’s Greetings – KRV

I think,I found what I was in search regarding Maam Sumanji !!

anil ,to add to the list…………jo ham pe guzarti hai tanha,kise samjhayen………..from mohabbat isko kahte hain.
http://youtu.be/Un37gI54e0E

Agar Music Director chahte to suman ji bhi aaj lata ji or asha ji ke barabar ki singer ban sakti thi pata nahi M.D ku lakeer ke fakeer the.. ye baat samjh me nahi aati. verna aaj tasveer kuch or ho sakti thi

Salute to you sir.
I am a fan of Suman Kalyanpur and I was trying to collect her songs but here you have provided a treasure of her gems. Not only that but also the other related informations and perfact comments on it.
Also I fully agree with your comments that Suman Kalyanpur outshines Lata Mangeshkar with Haal-e-dil unko sunana tha sunaya na gaya.
It is the fact that Sumanji didn’t get the place what she deserve and that is the great loss of the music and Music lovers.

guys please dont mistake me, little bit of similarities are there between lataji and sumanji but at the same time a lot of difference found between their voices, whenever i hear the song of sumanji i can easily make out its her and not lataji, the difference is when she raises her voice and goes for a higher pitch, her voice gets shivering and u will feel some sought of discrepancy, and latajis voice its like a perfect tuning and pitch. Please listen carefully both voices and u can justify it.

Perhaps to the list of duets you may want to add “Tumjo aao to pyar aa jaaye” from Sakhi Robin with Music by Robin Chatterjee and “Na jaane kaha hum the” from Zindagi Aur Khwab with Music by Datta Ram.

thanks a lot for this invaluable info.i am an ardent fan of suman kalyanpur and feel that she was at the right place , but at the wrong time !!!, when lataji was ruling the music world., yet the music directors of that era could have done justice to this melodious singer. She did deserve even better.

suman kalyanur one of the great singer of indian cinema. un ke sath sab ne hi naainsafi ki chahe wo music directors ho ya media sab ne un ki undekhi ki pata nahi ku……….

Excellent! Sir, I’ll be obliged if you or any of your reader answers my following query.
During the 60s, there was a rift between Lata & Rafi during which they did not sing togather.What was this period ? ( exact or roughly ). Thanks!

Moiz ji and AK ji,
Due to a rift on the royalty issue,Lata and Rafi stopped singing together for a period of about 3 years,from 1963 to 1966.As AK ji says there were 3 duets of Lata Rafi even in 1964 (from Ayee milan ki bela and Leader),but they were recorded before their rift.
Their first duet after the rift was over was ” Tum bin sajan barse naina” from Gaban-1966 (MD-S/J).
-Arunkumar Deshmukh

Thanks AK ji for the info. But the list of her songs is too short. Mangala Khadilkar has written a book about Sumanji i.e. SUMAN SUGANDH, it means fragrance of flowers . The book contains the story of her life and at the end the lisr of all the songs in hindi, marathi & other languages, and also non filmy songs. The list is too long.

dear sir
i do not agree with u as they both have their own potential lata ji is lata ji and suman ji is suman ji.
both the songs u uploaded are different type of singing style and raag so this is not the right measuring.

two solo’s of her imeediately come to my mind :
1. chaand kanwal mere chaand kanwal, chup chaap so ja yun na machal

SAANJ AUR SAVERA- SHANKAR JAIKISHAN

2. nigaahen na phero chale jaayenge hum

BLACK PRINCE – DULAAL SEN

both have their own unique flavour and are my all-time favourites.

Very interesting feature on a great singer Suman Kalyanpur. I woud like to add few songs not mentioned in the article: Juhi Ki Kali Meri Ladli & Dil Ek Mandir Hai (Film Dil Ek Mandir), Chand Kanwal Mere Chand Kanwal (Film Sanj Aur Savera)

can anyone tell me where this book SUMAN SUGANDH on suman kalyanpur can be had ?
or at least the contact number of author who can tell us the publishers name / address ?
hopefully, the book is in hindi…

1. Zara Thaher Jaao – Khuda Kasam
2. Dil Ki Kitab Kori Hai – Yaar Mera
3. Narazagi yeh Aap Ki – Unees Bees
4. Hum Ne Mana hupe Sajan – Dada
6. Raat Suhaani Jaag Rahi Hay – Jigri Dost
7. Yoonhi Dil Ne Chaha Tha Rona Rulana – Dil Hi Toh Hai
8. Chura Le Na Tumko Yeh Mausam Suhana – Dil Hi Toh Hai
9. Mumkin Hay Naiyya Se Patwar Cheen Le Koi – Yadon Ki Zanjeer
10. Chale Ja Chale Ja Chale Ja – Jahan Pyar Mile
11. Itna Hai Tumse Pyar Mujjhe – Suraj
12. Mera Pyar Bhi Tu Hai – Saathi

Fantastic information/collection.

Howcome a song be sung better than Lata if it is measured with a yard-stick called Lata. We all tend to find the Lata’s flawlessness in the songs sung by every other Lata style female play-back singer of Indian sub-continent–great and not so great, old and new. And then term it “like Lata” and some times even “better than Lata” if it is practically flawless. But, only Lata remains the legend, prejudice excluded.

surprisingly no mention of her most famous duet
guess

aaj kal tere mere pyar ke charche

Dear Sir,
You all will excuse me for what I have to unveil, to do justice with this debate.

I keep side with M. D. Bhasin Saheb, and agree with him that “Lata Is Lata”, none is near her, whatever be her way to remain in limelight. i consider this to be my fortune that I find her singing still, may not be as melodious.

It was in 1960′ that Lata Dee had some serious differences with Rafi Saheb, overthe issue of sharing of Royalty conceded by the film producers to the music composers. Lata Dee wanted Rafi Saheb to support her to get her (the singers) one-half of the amount of the royalty. Rafi Saheb believed that a playback singer’s claim on the filmmaker ended with the payment of the agreed fee for the song. During the recording of “tasviir terii dil me.n” (Maya, 1961), Lata ji argued with Rafi Saheb over a certain passage of the song. Rafi Saheb felt belittled, as Music Director Salil Chowdhury ji sided with Lata ji. The situation worsened when Lata ji declared that she would no longer sing with Rafi Saheb. Rafi Saheb stated that he was only as keen to sing with Lata ji as she was with him. Later, at the insistence of S. D. Burman Da, the two decided to reconcile and started singing duets. Personal level differences still continued.

I may be excused to mention here that it was because of this incident that Suman ji was able to sing duets with Rafi Saheb, that you may say are memorable (or whatever qualification you attach). While I am satisfied with the melody of the songs, I wish to cry for what could have the beauty/melody of the songs had tese been sung by Lata Dee.

I beseech forgiveness for making this special remarks that this the strict musical restriction imposed by the music composers that make a song memorable. Singers are numerous, but the decision, who will sing and how, makes the whole difference. The same song when performed on stage by any singer (be it Lata Dee or Rafi Saheb) without the composer’s ‘Bandhish’ could not result in so powerful melody, even though the it accompanies similar music.

The music lovers can never estimate the loss that they have suffered for this controversy. To conclude, I feel highly indebted to all those composers (the list is too long) for taking Lata Dee for singing songs (Solo’s or duets with Rafi Saheb, Manna Daa especially) composed by them to let me submerge into the ocean of melody.

I NEVER EVR FORGET WHEN I LISTEN TO SONGS / MUSIC / OLD MELODIES THAT IS 1) ITNA HAI TUMSE PYAR MUJHE MERE RAJDAAR (SURAJ) DUET ALONG WITH “RAFI JI” 2) DIL NE PHIR YAAD KIYA DUET ALONG WITH RAFI JI, MUKESH JI. MY TEARS JST SOME OUT WHEN I HEAR TO SUCH MELODIES.

At the very outset I beseech apology for my expressions that follow.

With reference to the comments of subscribers, I really appreciate their inclination towards Suman Dee. I humbly feel that the opinions of people are in no way due to fear. It is in the same way that others are fondly attached to Suman Dee. If one thinks that there is some thing negative in Lata Dee, it may be his/her personal opinion.

Lata Dee is the pride of the nation for her excellent voice quality and singing capabilities (she may not be holding on to these, of late). For these reasons she remained the first choice of so many Music Composers, we must kindly consider.

I personally feel that every one has a role to play in the creation of the Almighty. And, every one is unique, in some way Suman Dee is different (if not better, for which she was preferred over Lata Dee, for singing so many melodious songs) from Lata Dee.

My humble submission, everyone is justified in falling under fan following of a Super-Star, but he/she should better not be so critical about other Stars and their fans, while expressing opinion publicly.

This all is without prejudice, and also not with a view to offending anyone, kindly note.

Congratulations for this great work. Suman Kalyanpur truly deserved much better professionally than what she received. But she had a very happy and fulfilling personal life and as it happens very often, at the highest professional level one has to make a choice and sacrifice the one or the other…!
On another note, I am truly surprised that no one seems to remember what was probably her first song in Hindi films and an absolute masterpiece: “Koi pukaré dheerésé tujhé” from the film “Mangu” (1954) music by Mohammed Shafi who was later replaced by O.P.Nayyar.
“Nanhisi gudiya aafat ki kudiya” was another beautiful lullaby she sang for Robin Banerjee in the film “Masoom” (1960).

Thanks for the article.
It is very interesting
I would like to add one more very good song to the list,
the song is “Yeh din din hai khoosi ke” a duet with Manna dey.
I am not 100% sure but most probably the film is Madhu.

Thanks for coming up with the right movie name…..

I wish I had enough time to go through all the blogs.
Will go through all of them one at a time.

Thanks once again, for the wonderful site

Very informative article but misses many Suman gems which have since been highlighted by others. Suman sang some wonderful duets with Rafi when they had the rift. Lata was so worried by these hits that she soon made up with Rafi saheb. If the rift had continued a bit longer there is little doubt than Suman Kalyanpur would have become as famous as Lata as she was as cersatile as Lata, if not more. Lata was also a political person who did not tolerate competition. The way she treated Vani Jairam is proof enough of her vindictive nature.

Please read: “I enjoy both without falling into controversy…” in my above comments.

The comments of Ashok M Vaishnav reminds us of a gem from the treasures of Suman Kalyanpur, and I vouch for her singing capabilities.
But, it fail to add anything to the forum caption is “Suman Kalyanpur outshines Lata Mangeshkar.” The forum is mot about how beatifully she sang. We do not need to remember all her songs, one by one, to compare her with Lata Dee, without bringing out a similar song by Lata Dee, and then coming out with the aspects of singing to discuss them to establish superiority of Suman Dee over Lata Dee.
Shri AK, the moderator, may please excuse me for this observation.

@Shri AKji,
Even as Thanks are due, every time, any time and all the the time, for providing invaluable insight to a the hidden gems of the Yesteryear Hindi film songs.
Obviously, different people like (or dislike) these songs and do have quite strong views.
Airing these divergent views on this platform certainly adds value to the original articles, it is also appreciated that each of the participant manifests restraint in respecting the point of view of the others.
However, You play a perfect moderator in terms of smoothing the rough edges in such ‘lively’ discussions.
@ Suresh Maloo
Apart form what I have stated in my views here before, I will only a small clarification form side: We are all expressing our views on the subjects that can best be classified as “history’, and, have our own views , more as those who love/ like the subject. By and large,none of us have any professional or commercial interest.
I avoid crossing the limits of the rough edges of my personal views, but have been increasingly tested the limits. This has been possible only because of the sagacity of all those who interact on this platform.

Wonderful topic!

I absolutely adore Suman’s voice and several of her songs would feature in my list of classics from the Golden Age of HFM. I was surprised the following duets were not included in the lists here:

Mujhe Yeh Phool Na De (Rafi) – Ghazal
Dil-e-Betaab Ko (Rafi) – Palki
Ke Jaan Chali Jaaye (Rafi) – Anjaana

I came across this facinating Lata Suman song and immediatly thought of this article.
The most surprising part of this song is that Lata is in the back seat which is very unusual.

Kabhi aaj kabhi kal kabhi parson from Chand, music Hemant Kumar

Its my pleasure to participate on this site

I invite you all music lovers to listen to this – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B1q-o2JIqWo

And appreciate how great a communicator was Dr. Bhupen Hazarika.
You guys might say I am biased – I am bisaed because Bhupenda stood for humanity.

Namaskaar everyone, I am Shashika from S.Africa and now settled in Mumbai for my singing. I ALWAYS LOVED SUMANJI and wondered what happened to her. There is a song Meri Puja Na Tukrana which is not to be found nowadays which I used to sing in my younger days. I am sad to learn that she has not been duly awarded for her singing and definitely I want to be part of the team that makes sure she gets her due credit. Oh I would love to meet her, she is for me the epitome of Mother Saraswathi.

I am an old timer with an uncommon taste of things. I saw movies till 1970 where after nothing was needed as I remain absorbed in this arena. Suman Kalyanpur, Roshan, Madhubala and Sahir are my favorite artists.
I am quite emotive about Suman. There is a lot of information on her rivalry with Lata. But the ladies have refrained from the popular belief. Suman’s voice is humane while I feel Lata sings like a machine without any mistake ! You will feel emotions working in Sumans voice.
I appreciate this wonderful blog where you will find almost all the under dogs who have fascinated you but otherwise they are not seen much.
I have to request this authoritative and knowledgable blogger to write sections on Bharat Bhushan and Shakila. His forceful writing may bless us with the informaion we have been longing for.

Sumanji is no doubt a good singer.But she cannot be compared with Lataji.Sumanji has at times vibrations in her voice. Lataji is 100% perfect.One cannot find any flaw in her voice.Once the Lata-Rafi conflict was resolved,music directors preferred Lata-Rafi duets in stead of the former jodi. So let us enjoy songs sung by Sumanji withour comparing her with Lataji.

SK singing NAZAR KA MIL KE JHUK JAANA for shakila in NEELI AANKHEN (1962).
http://youtu.be/9Sf0vyregP0

I like your blog….thanks a lot…

Recently i came across by this gem first time… Saahir’s pen is supreme as alwayz…khayyam’s tune and sumanji’s voice made it a perfect piece.

”Zindagi zulm sahi, jabar sahi, gham hi sahi
Dil ki fariyaad sahi, rooh ka maatam hi sahi

Hum ne har haal mein jeene ki kasam khaai hai
Ab yahi haal muqaddar hai to shikwa kyon ho
Hum saleeqe se nibha denge jo din baaqi hai
Chaah ruswa na hui, dard bhi ruswa kyon ho”

Kya baat kya baat kya baat
Only the genius Saahir can do this magic. What majaz cud do in single song, Saahir has done in every song !! It’s obvious that lata’s voice and saahir’s words have lifted HFM to a sublime level. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fd0d52WW2mQ

‘Hum ko taqdeer se bewajaha shikayat kyun ho,
Isi taqdeer ne chaahat ki khushi bhi di thi,,
Aaj agar kaampti palkon ko diye hai aansoo,
Kal thirakate hue honton ko hansi bhi di thi..’

WahWahWahWah
Poetry to koi Saahir se sikhe

(stanza of ‘zindagi zulm sahi’ from SHAGOON, 1964)

having a sweet voice and having musical talent are 2 completely different things.
Those who are rooting for Suman Kalyanpur here do listen to the song aj hu na aye baalama sawan beeta jaye. in particular pay minute attention to the lines badara ko Chanda gale se lagaye aur bhi mera Mann lalachaye. listen how rafi sings Mann vs how suman sings Mann.
I rest my case.

I have not seen the movie. But the following video suggests that Suman is probably giving playback for the pupil and Rafi for the music teacher. SJ might have instructed Suman accordingly (remember ‘Sawan ka mahina’ from Milan). Language would also be part of Suman’s handicap.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bV2fid6gIj8

Just to illustrate how difficult it is to correctly pronounce words from a language other than mother tongue for even a legendary singer like Rafi listen to ‘Jahan daal daal pe’ from Sikandar-e-azam (MD: Hansraj Behl; Lyrics: Rajendra Krishan). He says ‘Bramha’ twice in the beginning in place of ‘Brahma’! (I like the song though).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-50qe9qrUDk

Ak,
Thanks for the reply.
I still hear two singers
but let us go by their verdict.

Canasya,
This is an interesting article about usage of Brahma and Bramha.
Rafi and Hansraj Behl were no Sankrit scholars so they should not be blamed for this mistake.
http://satyansharma.wordpress.com/2010/08/17/brahma-vs-bramha/

Dear AK,

Thanks for your reply. I think we have no differences what-so-ever and both of us love music with may be different perspectives.
As regards ‘pronunciations’ especially of Sanskrit words…I simply shudder and agree with you.
The North Indians pronounce it ‘under’ correctness while those from the south tend to over pronounce it – like in: LATHA instead of LATA…and so on.
Remember RISHI KAPOOR wooing the pony with Sanskrit to impress Nitu Singh??? chanting – ” OM TASAYA VITOOR VARENIUM…”
Hope, you do remember. Have a good time. Regards – KRV

AK ji,

Ref your comment No.136,para for canasya,

the correct name is SHUBHA KHOTE and NOT Shobha Khote. I find many people calling her Shobha,which is not right.

-AD

It was sheer phase of luck that while searching for more information on forgotten composer Jamal Sen, I came across your blog and fell in love, immediately. You have rightfully satiated appetite of music connoisseurs & fulfilled a long felt need of such useful information about old songs, singers & composers who have now faded out into oblivion. My sincere salute and kudos to you.
I went through few of your articles. I wish, I could read all but it would take time. I read your article on Suman Kalyanpur (SK) and comments thereon only yesterday and noted that this nice article was posted way back in Oct, 2010 with sporadic comments spread over till now. I thought all the loopholes, if there were any, must have been plugged-up by now during the span of last 40 months. But I feel that some room has been left for me to poke my nose into. Here are some songs which do not get there mention. …………… How about including these sweet melodies which would certainly delight you and readers equally?

1- Avinash Vyas
Chali jaye re jeevan ki gari (with Badrinath Pawar)-Royal Mail
2- Ajit Merchant
Raat ne gesu bikhraye (with Manna Dey)-Sapera
3- Babul
Aankhon mein shokhi (with Manna Dey)-Reshmi Roomal
4- Bipin Datta
Main is maasoom chehre ko (with Rafi)-Baghi Shahzada
5-Dattaram
i. Ye nasheeli hawa chha raha hai nasha (with Manna Dey)-Neeli Aankhen
ii. Kehti Hai kuchh jhuki jhuki nazar (Zindagi aur Khwab)
6- Ghulam Moahammed
i. Mere mehboob tujhe pyaar karoon ya na karoon -Shamaa
ii. Insaaf tera dekha ai saaqi-e-maikhana-Shamaa
iii. Yaas ke dar pe jhuka jaata hai sar (with Rafi)-Shamaa
7- Kalyanji Anandji
i. Kabhi honthon se-Geet
ii. Tu jangal ki morni to main bagana mor (with Rafi)-Raja Saab
iii. Man mera tujhko mange-Paras
8- Khaiyam
Mehfil mein aap aaye jaise ki chaand aaya (with Mubarak Begum, Jagjit Kaur)-Mohabbat isko kehte hain
9-Laxikant Pyarelal
i. Na jaane kaise pal menin badal jaate hain -Badalte Rishte
ii. Aa hum ahd-ewaf kar den (with Rafi)-Do Bhai
10- N Dutta
Mohe laa de chunariyaa lal (with Geeta Dutt)-Chaandi kee deewaar
11- Pandit Shivram
Chamke chaand poonam ka (with Mukesh)-Mahasati Behula
12- Ravi
Zara si baat pyar ki (with Rafi)-Salaam Memsaab
13- Robin Banerjee
Iradha na tha aapse pyaar ka (with Rafi)-Aandhi aur Toofan
14- Rajesh Roshan
i. Teri palkon mein (with Rafi)-Jay-Vejay
ii. Naaraazgi yeh aap ki (with Rafi)-Unnees-Bees
15- Roshan
i. Aaja rasiye more man basiya-Commercial Pilot Officer
ii. Chaand takta hai idhar (with Rafi)-Dooj ka chaand
iii. Maine ai jaan-e-wafaa tum se mohabaat ki hai (with Rafi)-Bedaag
16-Sardar Malik
i. Tere hun O sanam, tu jahan main wahan (with Rafi)-Bachpan
ii. Ab main jaaoon kahan, kahan jaaoon-Bachpan
iii. Baharaon se poocho-Mera Ghar Mere Bachhe
17- Salil Choudhary
Tumhe dil se chaha tumhe dil diya hai-Chaand aur Sooraj

18- S. Mohinder
i. Tum mard nikaaloge ghoonghat (with Rafi)-Reporter Raju
ii. Rain Jhoomti Dil ko choomti (with Rafi)-Reporter Raju
19. SD Burman
i. Khwab hai wohi ka wohi-Maiyan Bibi Razi
ii. Main shola hoon (with Rafi)-Benazir
20. SN Tripathi
Tum hi keh do tumse mujhko itna pyaar kyon (with Mahendra Kapoor)-Pareeksha
21- Sapan Jagmohan
Jeevan hai ek bhool-Chetna
22- Usha Khanna
i. Ai zindagi ke saathi jaana na zindagi se-Fareb
ii. Mera tumhara saath ho (with Rafi)-Ek Paheli

Thanks for posting my likes.You are right,Jay Vijaya song is sung by Lata.But Unnees Bees song is by Suman only as verified from Hindi Geetmala and YT.Here is the link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=21_Ze-ehY84

It is the era of internet that you get such a fast response to any query.
I was around 17 when I first heard this song played in Rajdhani Express (it was a very melodic cassette containing songs such as ‘Humse na poocho’, ‘Unse pyar ho gaya’ and ‘O naar albeli’-a very rare Geeta no.from ‘Nagpadmini’)
I had never heard any of these songs before.
I was so enamoured by the sweetness of these songs, that I acquired all but two (‘Meri preet’ and ‘O naar albeli’) over the years.
Years passed on but I never lost hope.
Thankfully, with the advent of HFGK, I was able to obtain these two songs only after around 35 years of wait.
And it is a matter of days now, sometimes only seconds, to listen to a rare no.
Such availability takes away that feeling of anxiety and excitement in waiting, something which belonged to the era we all are nostalgic about.
But then this era has its own benefits too, such as me having discovered you.

It gives me immense pleasure to unearth gems from my collection, songs which must have been popular with the music lovers in their hey days.
I would like to share a few of my favourite Suman Kalyanpur songs, all of which I find very breezy and lively, as under :
Jhoom ke piya ki gali, choom ke khushi me chali, aa rahi aa rahi hoon from ‘Jai Bhavani’, music S Mohinder,
Kateele kateele nasheele nasheele kaise ye din aaye, sakhi ri mera man udd udd jaye
from ‘Zindagi Ya Khwab’, music Dattaram,
Khadi thi baghiya me hairaan, ki aaye sainyaa beimaan, ki meethi meethi karejwa me peer hoye re from ‘Bekhabar’, music S Mohinder,
Chhalbaliya jaadu kar gayo, haye kya karun from ‘Rooplekha’, music Nashaad,
Mujhe kabhi kabhi sapna ye aaye, ki Shyam meri galiyon me bansuri bajaye from ‘Mera Qusoor Kya Hai’, music Chitragupta and
Aankh sharmane lagi, zulf lehrane lagi from ‘Captain Sheroo’, music S Mohinder.
(This song could have also sneaked into the ‘Zulf’ category).

AK Ji,
Thanks for your nice comments. Incidently, I always had the feeling that ‘Jhoom ke piya ki gali’ was composed by Roshan, another great exponent of melody, the tune somehow in my mind always related to the songs, ‘Mero sainya gulabiya ka phool’ from ‘Nayi Umar Ki Nayi Fasal’, ‘Sajan salona maang lo ri koi’ from ‘Dooj Ka Chand’ and ‘Na na na re na na’ from ‘Tajmahal’. Misconceptions sometimes get so rooted in your mindset.
Now I’ll mention yet another favourite duet of mine from Guest House, music by Chitragupta, sung by Suman Kalyanpur and Usha Mangeshkar,
Nikla hai gora gora chand re sajanwa, kar ke jatan koi aa ja.
I’ll have to sheepishly admit that I was searching this song in your article, Lata with Chitragupta, Suman sounds so much like Lata in the song.

Rakesh Srivastava Ji,
I am at loss of words after going through your post and can simply thank you for the same.I personally understand what goes through a fellow music lover’s mind when he is unable to trace a song when it is there in his mind and there is no means to catch up with it.
We can simply thank all those great gifted people who created these great melodies, which we are enjoying today.
And Rakesh Ji, we must thank AK Ji and his fellow contributions, who painstakingly create such knowledgeable articles for all of us to enjoy and contribute.
Regards,
Arvinder Sharma

AK Ji,
Thanks for your kind words of appreciation.
Indeed, Taaron ki thandi chhainyan and Badra ki chain taley have a striking similarly and both of them are lovely songs.
Replying to my last post, your remark regarding the Suman solo song ‘ Kateele kateele nasheele nasheele’ reminding you of a Salil Chaudhary song, made me think of a song set to a similar mood. ‘Jhuk jhuk jhuk jhoom ghata chayi re’ from ‘Chardiwari’, sung by lata, to my ears, quite resembles the song.
Rakesh Srivastava Ji,
Once again, thanks for your pat on the back.
I have really cherished your earlier remarks and once again, I am thanking you for your kind words.

Namaskaar, I am searching for the lyrics of a song Mere Puja na Tukrana sung by Sumanji from the movie Duniya kya Jaane. I even purchased the VCD of the movie and the song is removed from the movie. Please if any one can send me the lyrics to my email id will be ver grateful.

ksbhatiaji, AK,
Continuing with sweet Suman.
Roshan creating magic with her, as he has done so many times with Lata.
Song from Coffee House Ghir aaye re kare badra
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bCAxgFeiCp4

Ohh what a wonderful song this is KSBhatiaji !!!
Great Composition by Md. Shafi superbly sung by the teenager Sumanji ..a soothing melody.. aisa lagta hai sunta hi rahu !!

“Koi pukaare dheere se tujhe, aankhon ke taare dil ke sahaare”

an available very good audio quality works here. If an unheard song has a good audio on YT then it needs just a single click on it’s link.
btw i had visited my native Gondal last month in Diwali vacation and fortunately attended an ohfm mehfil with some persons of my dad’s age. one of them had sung a beautiful song of Sumanji, i liked it very much at once. It is from BLACK PRINCE.
Nigaahen na phero chale jaayenge hum
Magar yaad rakhna ke yaad aayenge hum

Later i searched it in this post and found it is mentioned in comments 55 and 56 by Mr. Bhagwan Thavrani and Akji.
who was DULAL SEN ?? bro of Jamal sen ?
any other film of him ?
Black Prince released or not ??
Akji, Arunji, Bhatiaji ?

Jignesh kotadia ji ;
Thanks for liking the Suman kalyanpur song …..Koi pukaare dheere se…..from Mangu . The same happened to me . I kept on listening this lovely song ….. god knows how many times . Its just a case of perfect Ten in each department of the composition . I am not sure even this movie was ever released . There is one movie of the same name as Mangu Dada . I don’t know wheather this one is the same movie [ mangu ] .

The other song ….Nigahen na phero……by Suman ji is another beautiful song which I have listened quite a number of times over radio during mid 60s or so . This composition is also by a less known MD . As this was quite a popular song during that period , it is my guess that the movie [Black Prince ] might have seen the day .

Here is the song…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kHN3mBw8ZvE

Bhatiaji
Kya baat hai.. Melody continues.. I liked the Vazir e azam song very much.
But the Mangu song is exceptional among these.

Dear Bhatia Ji and Jignesh,
I would like to add two beautiful songs by Suman Kalyanpur from a film, Bekhabar, music by S Mohinder.
These songs were added recently on YouTube.

Nahi pooch mujhse zaalim, mere dil ka haal kya hai
https://youtu.be/QweFxtxU1r8

Ki meethi meethi karejwa me peer hoe re.
https://youtu.be/22BU27dYBDU
I sincerely hope you will enjoy them.

Arvinder Sharma ;
Good to see you at this site after a long gap . In fact you have contributed the most of Suman ji’s songs and duets on this site . You had already covered the Mangu song ; may be it was not available on Y T at that moment of time .
The two songs posted by you are beautiful . The second song was very popular in the mid 60s….. specially in punjabi circle…that was played during Ladies sangeet , a day before wedding ceremony [ with dholak and chamach / spoon ] , dancing on its rhythm and beats .

Ravindra kelkar ji ;
Many thanks for the clarifications . Surely I agree with all the details you have furnished and I will now take Suman ji’s first song as that of Aar Paar and first solo as Mangu song .
Now as far as Suman ‘s voice is concerned in Aar Paar song ; even it is just one stanza ; it is amazing ! It surely is Lata ji’s reflective mirror voice .

Very interesting article and collection of Suman’s songs. I am her great fan. Apart from hindi songs I love her Marathi songs. I wish some one shares videos og her live program wherein she sang Marathi songs.
I just shared this article on my FB
https://www.facebook.com/prasad.shukla/posts/1240543592626469

Very nice article. It was very interesting to read. Suman Kalyanpur was a good singer no doubt, but she was a clone of Lata and will be known so in history. She managed to get good duet songs, mainly because of Lata’s fight with Rafi and others. Wouldn’t be wrong to call her the poor man’s Lata.

Allah karam karna from Dada (Usha Khanna Music) and Meri Kaali kaluti ke nakhare bade (Apne rang hazar) Laxmi pyare,s music.

Seriously, I always think when there is Rafi, there was no need for Kishores, Talats, Mukeshs and Manna Deys. Same goes for Lata.

Superb. Missing is “yeh parbaton ke dayare” from Vaasna (stupendous Rafi-Suman duet by Chitragupta (and Majrooh)?)

sharabi-sharabi ye sawan ka mausam
khuda ki qasam khubasurat na hota
agar isame rag-e-muhabbat na hota
sharabi-sharabi ye sawan ka mausam

Roshan ji’s composition and Sumanji’s rendition a perfect melody which still lingers on.

Arvinder Sharma Ji #164
While going down the Memory Lane, went through all rare songs of Suman Kalyanpur , posted by you, on this post got ecstatic again as Jai Bhawani song made us friends !!
One small correction. Roop Lekha song–‘Chand Hai Tare Bhi Hain’ had music by Nashad
Regards

Oh it’s interesting how one gets absorbed once you start thinking about it!!
few more songs coming to me and I must admit that I am not sure if these are already mentioned above.
Film ‘Kaise Kahoon’, song ‘ manmohan man me ho tumhi…by Md Rafi, Suman K and SD Batish
Film Johar Mehmood in Goa’ song “Ankhiyon ka noor hai tu by Suman K and Mukesh
Film ‘Saazish’ song ‘Wo bade khush naseeb hote hain..by Md Rafi and Suman K
Film Ji chahta hai’ song ‘Kya kehne masha allah by Md Rafi and Suman K
And one of my favorites, Film ‘Man Mandir’ song “munna jayega bazaar’
Film ‘Geet’ song ‘Bansuri banai ke’
Film Suhana Safar song” aha aha aa ye suhana safar
Film ‘Jahan Pyar mile song title track
film Nagin’ song ‘tera mera mera tera mil gaya dil dil se by Kishore kumar and Suman K
and a very famous song from film “Munimji’ paani me jale mera gora badan…
oh god I could go on and on….
but yeah I am not sure how many of these are already mentioned in this blog.

Hello, good day.

I live in Europe (Austria) and would need some help please identifying an Indian song.
Someone brought back a music cassette from a holliday in India. It is from the early 80‘s. The cover just said “Geet Gunjan“ (can you translate that to “Ecchoing Songs”?).
I searched for this song without speaking Indian languages and artificial translators don’t help at all.
But I found a song that I think is quite similar to the song I’m looking for. It is a song by Suman Kalyanpor entitled “Yunhi Dil Ne Chaha Tha Rona Rulaana” (from the 1963 film “Dil Hi To Hai”; composer: Roshan).
At first I thought this was actually the right song, but it’s a little different.

My question to you now would be, if you allow, could it be Suman Kalynpur’s song, as it is known that she always sang her film songs in many different (Indian) languages?
You can listen to the audio sample here (it’s only 30 seconds long):
https://voca.ro/1RCANROuAbKb
I would be very grateful if you could at least tell me what you think about it. Or just write me down the short chorus of the song please. I really don’t know who else I could have asked for help.

Thank you so much for your time and best regards, Friedrich R.

Thank you so much for replying to me. I’m really happy now because part of this song-searching hobby is meeting spirited people like yours. (I knew before Viswanathan Anand that people in your country are highly intellectual.) – What an answer! Thank you a lot for this. Only now can I really start my search. I will try to do the best I can with it and will be very happy to get back to you here if I may.
By the way, the cover said nothing about the singers. I came up with Suman Kalyanpur myself after listening to a lot of Indian music. (I started with Lata Mangeshkar, but was soon pretty sure it wasn’t her. A closer resemblance for me was the voice of Asha Bhosle, but I think her style is different).
And as I said, “AI” already has big problems with Hindi, not to mention other Indian languages. But even the correct written rendition of the chorus is worth its weight in gold! Thanks again for this!

You are a genius! Look what I found after a few minutes with your lyrics: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jmYhnTYC19Y
But of course this is only the beginning and the search will take longer. And it’s going to be very difficult to find the singer from back then, but above all to find proof of the real singer from the 80’s.

At first, just listening to the video, I thought it was a new recording by a different singer – but it’s without a doubt the singer I was looking for, the same Laishram Mema on the cassette tape from the 80’s. And I was able to find her with your help alone – thank you, thank you, thank you!!
You are, without exaggeration, really quite extraordinary!
And you already gave me the whole context of the song as if it were the easiest thing in the world. I am really impressed. –
Because the spoken word is a little different from the written word, I tried something like “Do Di Chaha Tha…” at the beginning of my search. That led me straight to Suman Kalyanpur. But I quickly noticed the inaccuracy and above all the helplessness of the “AI”, which is why I suspected a dialect.
I was surprised too – one wrong letter and you have a completely different meaning.
Laishram Mema was and is also harder to find because she has less internet presence. (But here is a very revealing interview with her. Incidentally, she also mentions cassette recordings: http://www.e-pao.net/epSubPageExtractor.asp?src=features.Interview_of_Manipuri_Personalities.Laishram_Mema-Interview).
I’ve also listened to Indian music before and I like Krishna Das too, but he’s not Indian by birth. Does he actually sing without an accent?
And in my search I also found the nice song by Asha Bhosle – “Malmali Tarunya Maaze”.
Great to meet new, wise people. And I would like to show my appreciation. I would also like to help you with a song search – but that wouldn’t make any sense, because you’re too good at it yourself.

Thank you for this translation. It is nice and interesting. But even more helpful. – It is clear that I don’t speak or understand Hindi at all. But there is always this underlying interest and fascination that became even stronger since I know for a fact that Sanskrit for example is the oldest spoken language on this earth. Jesus called it the language of the angels because it is quite similar to their tongue. (Angels are those who became such after laying down the earthly burden or were already so before one earth life.) This is not fantasy I imagine or poetry, it is sobern reality.
I also wanted to say about the song that the YT recording is of course musically a little different, one must not forget that the one from the cassette was made about 40 years earlier. More important for me is that you confirmed my opinion. Because I know from experience that it’s even easier to deceive yourself with songs in a foreign language. And then there’s the similarity of the voices (especially Suman’s, haha)!
Yes, and what harms people the most, even adults, is praise. (Because it makes the already vain person even more vain). But what is even more important for a normal person is to share the honest joy of just recognition. This will not hurt anyone very much.
I just came here from another part of the world and asked my questions. But that’s just not how it works nowadays, even though there is this possibility nowadays. Everyone distrusts everyone, no one gives anything for free. In the past, in the most evil times, people at least gave “one for a hundred”.
And now I’m glad that I was allowed to come here once – and not just because of the music.