A tribute to the great Master Hansraj Behl (19 November 1916 – 20 May 1984) on his 105th birth anniversary
A fellow-blogger and SOY regular, Anup (Mehfil Mein Meri), has written an exhaustive series on Lata Mangeshkar’s songs for relatively unknown composers. He did a very sincere job, but some of us were taken aback by inclusion of music directors like Khemchand Prakash, Ghulam Mohammad and Hansraj Behl in the list of ‘unknown’ composers. Khemchand Prakash is among the undisputed greats of the vintage era, and was instrumental in catapulting Lata Mangeshkar to great fame with his Chanda re ja re ja re and Ayega aanewala. Ghulam Mohammad has been well-recognised as an unlucky genius. I have written on both of them. Hansraj Behl has been an equally talented composer whose Chanda gaye pardes chakori aaj ro ro mare (Chakori, 1949) was among the songs that caused Lata Mangeshkar Tsunami in 1949. That was not a flash in the pan, he went on to compose several all-time great songs for her and other major playback singers throughout the Golden Era. Therefore, finding his name among ‘unknown’ composers struck me as odd and I have been intending to write on him since. Yet, I must make it clear that it is not to rebut Anup’s labelling because he explained that for many in the new generation, their awareness does not go beyond the most famous names.
Wishing the readers a very Happy Chhath festival
My fellow bloggers Madhu and Anu are apt to say, no sooner do you put two women together in our films than they start singing. There must be something about women and singing – female solos outnumber male solos by more than three times, and female duets outnumber male duets likewise. Therefore, if there are several women together that should instantly lit a spark for singing. And that is what happens in our culture, which has sanskars and rituals from birth till the end of life, all accompanied by women’s songs.
And the Award for the Best Music Director goes to?
When you think of the year 1944, you think of Naushad. That was the beginning of Naushad phenomenon with his Jewel in the crown, Rattan. This was his 13th movie, having debuted in 1940 as an independent music director, he already had five Silver Jubilees under his belt. But the songs of Rattan are remembered even today. That film became a Diamond Jubilee, first of his three Diamond Jubilees. In the year he gave music to three more films; the list of 80/81 Memorable Songs in the Overview Post includes his songs from all the films. His Pahle Aap, too, in the year had some everlasting songs, rightly making the film a Silver Jubilee hit.
Guest article by Hans Jakhar on Rajendra Krishna’s combination with Madan Mohan
(Hans Jakhar is among the regular readers of SOY who believe that the lyricists deserve greater recognition than what is generally given to them. It is true that even the serious followers of old film music give prominence to the singer and the music director of a song, almost to the point of lack of any recognition to the lyricist. I myself belong to this camp, resulting in a conspicuous gap in the coverage of lyricists on this blog. Hans Jakhar has offered to fill up this gap. He wrote a nice article on Shakeel Badayuni’s combo with Ravi about two years ago. Recently, he decided to write a series of articles on Rajendra Krishna’s combination with some of his principal music directors. The first article in the series was on his combination with C Ramchandra. This second article in the series is on Rajendra Krishna’s most popular and lasting combination with the music director Madan Mohan.
Readers familiar with Hans Jakhar’s style know that he is very meticulous in his data and presentation of facts. Besides, his love for the lyrics flows out of his articles. This is another treat for those looking for substantive articles on the lyricists. Thanks a lot Hans for your efforts. – AK)
This is the second post in the series on Rajendra Krishna. This was already scheduled to be the second in the series, being the most important and long lasting pair Rajendra Krishna made with a composer. This came second in the series because C Ramchandra (CR)-Rajendra Krishna combo had become enormously famous before this one. Avinash Kumar and Mahesh pointed this out and I immediately agreed. The fact that Rajendra Krishna wrote lyrics for 36 of Madan Mohan’s films and 268 songs out of his total output of 614 (name of the lyricist of two songs from film Beti (1957) is not known, so I am not counting them) is hardly the only recommending feature of their enduring relationship which went on for 25 years.
Window opens the outside world to those inside. If a person from outside tries to look into a window, his view is very restricted. Because of this asymmetry, window creates many interesting possibilities. Since one can see on the sly, this is the best place for voyeurs. In Rear Window (1954), James Stewart, confined to a wheelchair in plaster-cast due to a broken leg, indulges himself looking out onto a courtyard and other apartments from his rear window. There is a constant smile on his lips as he watches myriad characters: a pretty dancer, a pianist, a lonely woman, a middle-aged couple and so on. As it is a Hitchcock film, you are sure his smile will soon disappear as he sees some very unusual happenings in a flat. In Witness to Murder (1954), the lady has no voyeuristic instincts; she just happens to look out of her bedroom window and sees a woman being strangulated by a man in a flat. Being a conscientious lady, she reports the matter to the police. But the man is too clever for her and with great difficulty she finally comes out of her nightmarish experience, with the killer meeting retribution in the last scene.
A tribute to the lyricist Rajendra Krishna (6 June 1919 – 23 September 1987) on his 34th Remembrance Day by guest author Hans Jakhar
(The lovers of old film music regard Rajendra Krishna with a lot of respect for a large number of immortal songs he wrote. His most prominent association was with C Ramchandra, the unique craftsman. C Ramchandra was not only reckoned as the tallest composer for a number of years, rivalled by only Naushad, he was also known for breaking new grounds with his unconventional songs, and his very fast output. Rajendra Krishna was his regular lyricist for many of these superhits.
Many readers have mentioned that the lyricists deserve more coverage on SOY. Fortunately, there are some among our guest authors who are ever willing to fill up the gap. Hans Jakhar has been interacting with me about some prominent lyricists he would like to write on. He got busy in some personal matters which affected his participation on the blog. But he has been able to send me his article on Rajendra Krishna on his most famous association with a composer, as his tribute on his 34th Remembrance Day. The readers may please note that many sources, including film credit titles write his name as Rajinder Krishan/Krishen. But being conditioned by Akashvani, I prefer to write it as Rajendra Krishna. (And the readers must have, of course, noticed that ‘Albela’ and ‘Karigar’ both are names of films which had Rajendra Krishna-CR songs.)
Hans needs no introduction to the regular readers of SOY. His writing is backed by data, it is functional and precise and he is very knowledgeable. He is a retired government official. As the readers can make out, this article is the start of a series; Hans would cover Rajendra Krishna’s association with a few other important composers in due course. Thanks a lot Hans for this excellent guest article.- AK)
Rajendra Krishna penned more than 1500 songs in 232 films with 34 composers, but his fame is not commensurate with the quality and quantity of work that he produced. As the focus has always been on composers, only those lyricists who were inalienably linked with some prominent composers were discussed more. There were exceptions like Sahir Ludhiyanavi who kept themselves in the news in some way or other. But Rajendra Krishna, like Ravi in the composers, was a low-key, simple person who did not believe in self-propaganda. His most commonly known story is his winning the jackpot in horse races and even in that people are not sure about the time of the occurrence.
And the Award for the Best Duet goes to?
In my list of 81 MEMORABLE SONGS in the Overview Post on the best songs of 1944, I counted 17 duets. This is quite a small number, but as we have seen in the reviews of other years, duets always punch above their weight. There is something special about combination of different voices, generally a male and a female, and some very unlikely combinations. The eight ‘Special Songs’ in the overview post included six duets, only two of which were in the list of Memorable Songs. Remaining four were discoveries made between compilation of the Memorable Songs and writing the post. In the vintage years, we never cease to make new discoveries, and every time some beautiful song turns up, it gives immense joy and makes this exercise worthwhile. After the Wrap Up 1 on the best male solos and the Wrap Up 2 on the best female solos, let us discuss the best duets of 1944.
We used to learn in our schools that literature is the mirror of society. As I grew, I realised this is more true of our film songs which mirror every aspect of the society and our lives. No wonder there are a large number of ‘I ask, you answer’ songs. Questioning and seeking answers is fundamental to our existence from ancient days. Our Upanishads asked, What is the Ultimate Reality, What is the Human Soul? Most Upanishads – and not only the Prashnopanishad – had Q&A between a seeker and a teacher. Puaranas talk about creation, Ye kya hua, kaise hua? The blind king Dhritrashtra asked Sanjay, who had been blessed with divine vision, to tell him exactly what was happening on the battlefield, Mujhe sach sach bata, and that became Bhagvad Geeta. As soon as someone arrives after a journey, before he gets a chance to freshen up, we crowd around him to ask where all he had been and what he saw. This is how the epic Mahabharat starts. The great sage Ugrashrava, son of Lomharshan, lands in Naimisharanya in the course of his wanderings where the assembled rishis ask him in unison, Kahan kahan gaye, kya kya dekha. Ugrashrava said, he had been to Janmejay’s snake-sacrifice where Vaishampayan narrated the wonderful tale of Mahabharat, which had been written by Vedvyas. The epic is full of Q&A, for example, Yaksha-Prashna is a very well-known episode in it.
A tribute to Mukesh on his 45th Remembrance Day (b. July 22, 1923 – d. August 27, 1976) by guest author Ashok M Vaishnav
(Mukesh is among the mainstream playback singers who sang some truly outstanding non-film songs (NFS). Therefore, for any lover of Mukesh, a post on his famous geets and gazals would be most welcome.
Ashok M Vaishnav is a well-known name for SOY regulars. He has written over 20 guest articles for SOY. We know him as a thorough researcher which comes from his engineering and management background. He has written a comprehensive article on Mukesh’s non-film songs as a tribute on his 45th Remembrance Day. We lost him this day in 1976 of heart attack in Detroit, USA where he had gone for a public performance. Thank you Ashokji for this timely article. – AK)
The saga of performed songs in India is an age-old tradition. The knowledge transfer in the ancient times used to happen by word of mouth. Many lessons were encapsulated into the form of songs, which were rendered in the singing form to make them more interesting and easier to remember.
Ancient saint poets created devotional songs that were easily moulded into singing pattern. On the other hand, social events like festivals or births, deaths, marriages also provided ideal platforms for songs as means to share joy or sorrow. The advent of theatre created another genre of songs – songs that were essential part of the story of the play. These used to be romantic songs or dance songs or songs of national spirit and such varieties. It was not uncommon for a song to be played for the whole night as it would keep getting incessant ‘once more’s.
Who does not remember the songs Baithe hain rahguzar par dil ka diya jalaaye, Naseeb hoga mera meherbaan kabhi na kabhi, Zulfon ki ghata lekar saawan ki pari ayi, Ye phoolon ka gazra ye solah singaar ho, and Humein haal-e-dil tumse kahna hai kahiye? And do we know who composed the music of these songs. And if you know they are composed by Babul or Bipin-Babul duo, hats off to you, but do you know who they are, how they looked like, or anything about them. I don’t, but these songs have been my eternal favourites. These are not vintage songs, but of 1950s and 60s, the period about which the passionate lovers of the golden era of film music presume that they know everything.
A fellow-blogger and SOY regular, Anup (Mehfil Mein Meri), has written an exhaustive series on Lata Mangeshkar’s songs for relatively unknown composers. He did a very sincere job, but some of us were taken aback by inclusion of music directors like Khemchand Prakash, Ghulam Mohammad and Hansraj Behl in the list of ‘unknown’ composers. Khemchand Prakash is among the undisputed greats of the vintage era, and was instrumental in catapulting Lata Mangeshkar to great fame with his Chanda re ja re ja re and Ayega aanewala. Ghulam Mohammad has been well-recognised as an unlucky genius. I have written on both of them. Hansraj Behl has been an equally talented composer whose Chanda gaye pardes chakori aaj ro ro mare (Chakori, 1949) was among the songs that caused Lata Mangeshkar Tsunami in 1949. That was not a flash in the pan, he went on to compose several all-time great songs for her and other major playback singers throughout the Golden Era. Therefore, finding his name among ‘unknown’ composers struck me as odd and I have been intending to write on him since. Yet, I must make it clear that it is not to rebut Anup’s labelling because he explained that for many in the new generation, their awareness does not go beyond the most famous names.
