Multiple Version Songs (16): Rabindra Sangeet and Pankaj Mullick

Hridaya Pankaje Rabi Viraje

A tribute to Gurudev Rabindranath Thakur (7 May 1861 – 7 August 1941) and Pankaj Mullick (10 May 1905 – 19 February 1978) by guest author N Venkataraman

(The appeal of Rabindranath Thakur’s poetry and songs of love, nature and worship transcends the boundaries of language and culture. Pankaj Mullick, one of the titans of music and films, has a historical place in bringing Rabindra Sangeet mass popularity through his singing, and using it in films for the first time. I was looking for a knowledgeable Bengali to write on Rabindra Sangeet-Pankaj Mullick-films songs, as a part of the series on Multiple Version Songs. SoY readers are familiar with Venkataramanji’s breadth and depth of knowledge, and he is as pucca a Bengali as anyone could be. I am grateful that he accepted my request to write this double tribute to the two great souls of India on the occasion of Gurudev’s 153rd and Pankaj Mullick’s 109th birth anniversaries. – AK)

Sometime during May last year, AKji had wished to bring out two articles, under the Multiple-Version-Songs series. The first one, on ‘SD Burman’s Bengali songs and their Hindi versions’, was done by AKji in October 2013. The post on ‘Rabindra Sangeet tunes used in Hindi films’ was generously offered to me, but with a rider – I must accommodate a tribute to Pankaj Mullick, whose birthday follows a couple of days after Gurudev’s. The topic, Rabindra Sangeet tunes used in Hindi films, has been covered earlier on some other sites, and I believe most of our knowledgeable readers and our Bengali friends must be aware of these songs and related facts. But that did not prove to be a deterrent. On the contrary, it gave me an opportunity to explore uncharted areas and approach the subject a bit differently. The experience was not futile. Although I could use only a fraction of my acquisition in this post, it helped me to enhance my knowledge and listen to many wonderful songs.

From ages, towering personalities with unmatched talent have made their appearance in our country. When it comes to art and literature the length of the list is astounding. There are those who outshine the others with their creations and reach a height of success that others find unreachable. One such universal personality, who looms larger than life, is Gurudev Rabindranath Thakur. He was born at Jorasanko on Monday, the 25th Baisakh 1268 (night 2:28:37) as per Bengali calendar, i.e. Tuesday, the 7th May 1861 as per the English calendar. Rabindranath was the fourteenth child (out of 15), born to Sarada Devi and Debendranath Thakur. Rabindranath Thakur requires no further introduction. His birthday is celebrated, as per the Bengali almanac, on the 25th Baisakh every year. Usually the corresponding date as per the English calendar varies between the 8th and 9th May. This year it falls on the 9th May.

Pankaj Mullick was one of earliest and popular proponents of Rabindra Sangeet. He learnt Rabindra Sangeet from Dinendranath Thakur, a grandson of the eldest brother of Rabindranath Thakur. His first commercial recording of Rabindra Sangeet was in the year 1926 and he had many more to his credit. He was associated with AIR, which was then known as Indian Broadcasting Corporation, from the year 1927. In the year 1929, AIR started a program on imparting music lessons. Pankaj Mullick was assigned this job, where he also taught Rabindra Sangeet along with other Bengali songs. It was a very popular program and he continued doing it till 1975. He also utilised the film medium in popularising this genre of music. He may perhaps not be very popular among the connoisseurs but nobody can deny his contribution in bringing this genre of music from the interiors of elites into the realms of the masses. He was born on the 27th Baisakh 1312 as per the Bengali calendar i.e. Wednesday the 10th May 1905 as per the English calendar at Chaltabagan near Manicktalla in North Calcutta.

Although this post is part of the multiple-version-songs series, this is not exactly a post on Rabindra Sangeet melodies used in Hindi films. I would do a post on this topic later, hopefully in August this year. In fact, AKji could have done the post as well, but he was magnanimous to send me the materials he had painstakingly collected. Thank you, AKji.

As the heading suggests, this is a tribute to Rabindranath Thakur and Pankaj Mullick on their 153rd and 109th birth anniversary respectively. However I have included a few Hindi film version songs, whose original versions (Rabindra Sangeet) were rendered by Pankaj Mullick.

Let me start with a prayer. Most probably this is the first song that Rabindranth composed on the occasion of his birthday. It is believed that this song was initially penned by him in 1899, as a poem, on the completion of his 38th birthday, when he was staying at Shilaidaha (now part of Kushtia district in Bangaldesh). This poem can be found in the book of poems named ‘Kalpana’ under the caption ‘Janmadiner Gaan’. Later, Gurudev incorporated a few changes in the lyrics and composed the song in Raag Bihag. I have tried to translate this poem to my best of ability. Let us listen to this Brahma Sangeet set to the beat of twelve matras.

1B. Bhay hote taba abhaya majhe by Pankaj Mullick

From my fear to your domain of fearlessness, give me a new life, O lord!
From poverty to eternal wealth, from vacillation to the realm of truth,
From passivity to life anew, transcend me, O lord!
Lead me from my wishes, O lord, to the heart of thy will, from my self-interest to your divine service,
Lead me from diversity to oneness, from transitory emotions into permanent bliss
Merge myself into thee! Give me a new life, O lord!

This song was also recorded in the voice of Pankaj  Mullick and the same was uploaded in YT. Unfortunately, YT has since removed the link.  Hence, let us pay our tributes to Gurudeb by way of this song rendered by Subinoy Roy, one of my favourites and a great exponent of Rabindra Sangeet.

 

Next I present the landmark song Diner Seshe ghumer deshe, which marks the first ever use of Rabindra Sangeet in films, though, as AKji points out, ‘the YT link mentions that the first film to use Rabindra Sangeet was Talkie of Talkies released about a month before Mukti, and the song was Tomar Mohan rupe by Raibala. While many YT links are available of this song in different voices, I could not find the one claimed to be the original.’

Actually, this was a poem penned by Kaviguru in the year 1907 under the caption ‘Shesh Kheya’ (The Last Boat). Pankaj Mullick set this poem to music at the age of 17, in the year 1922 and he used to sing this song in many programmes. One day he was summoned by Rabindranth Thakur’s son Rathindranath to sing the song before his father. Pankaj Mullick was apprehensive of getting admonished by the Kaviguru. As soon as he managed to complete his rendition, he fled through the nearest door, without even waiting to know the opinion of Kaviguru. Later in the year 1935 when Pramatesh Baruah was launching the film Mukti under the New Theatres’ banner, Pankaj Mullick decided to use this song. He approached Kaviguru once again to get his permission. Rabindranath was staying at PC Mahalanobis’s house at Baranagar (now housing the Indian Statistical Institute). Rabindranath recollected the incident that happened 13 years ago with amusement and asked Pankaj Mullick to render the song again. The rest is history. Rabindranath not only gave permission to Pankaj Mullick to use this song, he also made a few changes in the lyric, which was duly noted down by Pankaj Mullick. He also obtained the approval of Gurudev to use two more songs composed by Rabindranath himself. Thus, Pankaj Mullick was the first person to use Rabindra Sangeet in a film which was not based on Gurudev’s story. It is also believed that the name of the film (Mukti) was also suggested by Rabindranath.

2B. Diner sheshe ghumer deshe by Pankaj Mullick from Mukti (1937)

Following is the translation sent to me by AKji which echoes the sentiment of the original poem. (Note: This translation is not mine. This version on YT gives the translation, but does not mention its author. It is much slower than the ‘Mukti’ version, and the link says it was recorded later. – AK)

At the end of the day in the land of dream I see an obscure shadow
It makes me oblivious of this mortal life.
Silhouette on the other side of the sparkling river cast an unfamiliar spell on my mind,
Beckons me to join them
In the melody of idle euphoric existence
At the end of the day….

I see people with their heads down, composed as ever crossing over to the other side,
Not once they look back.
I wish I could join them in the downstream of the river, they urge me to leave my home.
My day is coming to an end very fast; come, someone take me with you
In the last boat of the day
At the end of the day …..

Under the fiery red evening sky, along the darkening bank of river, in the shade of thick woods
I see them walking silently like some shadowy figure.
Who among them will stop for a moment to take me with them?
Where is my boatman?
Come, someone take me with you
In the last boat of the day
At the end of the day….

All those who wanted to go home are homebound already, rest have reached the other side.
I have no home, I have nowhere to reach, I belong nowhere and no boat is waiting for me
In this dusk why no one is calling me yet?
I lost the elixir of youth, my heart is barren now and even my tears seem like farce
My day has ended long back, but no one has lit a lamp for me.
That’s me sitting quietly at the bank of the river; come, someone take me with you
In the last boat of the day.
At the end of the day…

Let us listen to this song from the Film Arzoo (1937), the Hindi variation of the song Diner seshe ghumer deshe from Mukti. Even though this is not a version song, the Hindi song penned by Arzoo Lucknawi and the beautiful melody captures the spirit of the original song.

3H. Kaun desh hai jana by Pankaj Mullick, film Arzoo (1937), lyrics Arzoo Lucknawi, music Pankaj Mullick

Gurudev had returned after his eight months’ Europe tour in December 1926. He spent a major part of the next three months at Shantiniketan. Before he left for Bharatpur, on an invitation from Maharaja Kishan Singh to preside over the Hindi Sahitya Sammelan, Rabindranath composed the song, Mone robe kina robe amare, in March 1927 at Shantiniketan.

Here is the link to the song Mone robe kina robe amare and its Hindi translation Yaad aaye ki na aaye rendered by Pankaj Mullick. Pankaj Mullick is at his best in this rendition.

4BH. Mone robe kina robe amare and Yaad aaye ki na aaye tumhari by Pankaj Mullick

There is another version of this song which AKji too had cited in his list. But he names Faiyyaz Hashmi as the translator. But as per the website Pankaj Mullick.com Pandit Bhushan was the translator. Pankaj Mullick also, in his memoir, states that Pandit Bhusan was the translator of this song. But we have found in the past that the information originating from the horse’s mouth too can be wrong. Faiyyaz Hashmi was appointed by the Gramophone Company as its resident lyricist in the year 1940. He was born in Calcutta in the year 1920, and was a resident of this city till he shifted to Lahore in 1947. There is a possibility that Faiyyaz Hashmi did the translation. But I could not find any information or clue to substantiate this. So I decided to go with Pandit Bhushan. Let us listen to this version.

5H. Yaad aye ki na aye tumhari by Pankaj Mullick (1940-41), lyrics Pandit Bhushan, Orchestration Francisco Casanova

It is said that the song Bachpan ke din bhula na dena was based on the tune Mone robe kina robe amare. If one listens carefully, one may find similarities. But I wonder why Naushad would use a Rabindra Sangeet tune! Even a tune from Baiju Bawra was attributed as an inspired version of a Rabindra Sangeet! If we accept that Bachpan ke din bhula na dena was based on Rabindra Sangeet, then Naushad should be considered as the first non-Bengali music director to employ Rabindra Sangeet in Hindi films. I leave it to the judgement of our knowledgeable listeners. As I have already mentioned, I am presenting this song because of its contextual relevance. A separate post on Rabindra Sangeet in Hindi films will appear later.

6H. Bachpan ke din bhula na dena by Lata Mangeshkar and Shamshad Begum, film Deedar (1951), lyrics Majrooh Sultanpuri, music Naushad

Pankaj Mullick in his memoirs recalls his association with Francisco Casanova. Sometime during the early forties, EMI wanted to record a few songs of Rabindranath to the accompaniment of western orchestra. They roped in Francisco Casanova for this venture. Pankaj Mullick, who was associated with EMI then, expressed his doubt on getting permission from Vishwa Bharati Board. Most likely, this must be after the demise of Rabindranth Thakur. Then it was planned that the songs will be translated in Hindi and the Hindi version songs would be recorded in the voice of Pankaj Mullick to the accompaniment of Francisco Casanova’s orchestra. Thus Casanova got associated with both Rabindra Rangeet and Pankaj Mullick. The first two songs that were translated and recorded were Pran chay chakshu na chay and Mone rabe kina robe amare. Both the songs were translated by Pandit Bhusan. Pankaj Mullick recalls a very interesting incident during the recording of the song Pran chay chakshu na chay. In spite of Pankaj Mullick’s best efforts Casanova was not getting the essence of the song right. Later Pankaj Mullick and Francesco Casanova were travelling in a tram when a beautiful European lady got in. As much as he tried, Francesco couldn’t turn his eyes away from the lady and that is when Pankaj Mullick, in a lighter vein, told him “Saheb, now you know what Kaviguru wanted to convey in this song,”

While this song (Bengali original) is available in different voices, I could not find any link to this song in the voice of Pankaj Mullick. Let us listen to the song composed in the year 1914 by Kaviguru in the voice of another great vintage singer, who was closely associated with Pankaj Mullick.

7B. Pran chay chakshu na chay by Kanan Devi

…and the Hindi version

8H. Pran chahe nain na chahe by Pankaj Mullick, orchestration Francisco Casanova

Before I present my next offering, let me write a few words about Francisco Casanova. He needs a better introduction and recognition than the one provided by the uploader of the song, Yaad aye ki na aaye tumhari by Pankaj Mullick (5H), where he mentions Casanova as the person who played a band at the Grand Hotel in Calcutta.

Francisco Casanova was a Spanish musician, conductor and composer. He could play the saxophone, flute and clarinet with equal deftness. He was a well-known performer, and on the occasion of the Olympic Games in 1924, he performed with his orchestra at the Champs-Elysées Theatre in Paris. In 1930 he came to India with his orchestra and performed in many cities. He chose to stay at Calcutta and was appointed the Principal of the Calcutta School of Music. He stayed in India till 1956. He was closely associated with Mehli Mehta, father of Zubin Mehta. In 1952, Casonova and Mehta assisted Yehudi Menuhin, when he came to India to perform. He was also a leading conductor of Calcutta Symphony Orchestra and the conductor of a Spanish band at one of Calcutta’s foremost hotels. Manohari Singh learnt the nuances of playing the key flute from him. It is also said that the orchestration to our National Anthem was by him!

My next offering is a patriotic song composed by Rabindranath Thakur in the year 1927 in Penang, while travelling through Malaysia. Pankaj Mullick used this song in the Hindi film Zalzala (1952) directed by Paul Zils. Satya Kumar’s lyric retains the essence of the original song.

On receipt of this article AKji sought a pertinent clarification.  I quote:

“…..you have described Khara bayu boy bege as a patriotic song.  Are you sure this can be classified as ‘patriotic’?  This is how Prof Sugata Basu introduces it – ‘In Penang on October 18, 1927, two days before his voyage back to India, Tagore composed this beautiful song as he witnessed another tropical storm gathering on the horizon’.  The English translation is about a fierce gust of wind, ocean, unless Gurudev meant his words of cheering and courage to the boatman as a call to the countrymen not to be daunted by adversities.”

The tropical storm gathering in the horizon could be the immediate and apparent reason that prompted the poet to pour out his feelings in torrent of words and rhythm. But I have always associated this song with inspiration, and hence patriotism, for two reasons. In my earlier days, I have often heard this song rendered on patriotic occasions. The second and the important reason is that the song was included as the curtain raiser in ‘Tasher Desh’ (Land of Cards). Tasher Desh touched upon the subject of regimentation and freedom from bondage. This play is usually staged as a ballet and it is enacted as a satire on our own conventionalized attitude in life.

The story of this play is centred on a prince and a merchant who were stranded on a strange island after a shipwreck. The island is inhabited by pack of cards whose lives are constrained on all sides by system; every motion is prearranged by convention. Their watchword is rule, law and propriety. The obedience of rule is virtue and their infringement is sin. This play exemplifies Gurudev’s humanism and his dislike for totalitarianism. It also reflects Gurudev’s resentment against imperialism and the imposition of state apparatus on the individual’s life.

Tagore in the winter of 1938/39 dedicated the play to Subhas Chandra Bose. I quote verbatim in Bengali:

“Kalyaaniya Shreemaan Subhaschandra, Swadesher chitte nutan pran sanchaar karbaar punnyabrata tumi grahan karecha, sei katha smaran kare tomaar naame  ‘Tasher Desh’  naatikaa uthsarga karloom.”

Translation

“Kalyaaniya Shreemaan Subhaschandra, You have taken up the holy mission of instilling new life into this nation, keeping this in mind I dedicate the play ‘Tasher Desh’ in your name.”

After this ‘Uthsarga’, the play starts with the song Khara bayu boy bege.

Who knows, at the moment of creation, the patriotic aspect, urging his countrymen not to lose courage and the call to overcome adversities might too have played upon the poet’s mind!

Let us listen to the Bengali song first

9B. Khara bayu boy bege by Pankaj Mullick

Here is another sweet version. By the way the cute little girl, who is the ‘Madhyamani’ of this performance was Oindrila (Tinku) Thakur, sister of Sharmila (Rinku) Tagore. Later, as Oindrilla Kundu, she went on to become one of India’s expert contract bridge players, winning several trophies. She left for her heavenly abode very early in life. Let us listen to this song, which provides both aural and visual delight.

10B. Khara bayu boy bege sung in chorus, Kabuliwala (1956), Rabindra Sangeet training by Suchitra Mitra & Dwijen Choudhury, background music by Pt. Ravi Shankar, singers Debyani Sen, Banashree Mukherjee, Shukla Sen, Malabika Choudhury, dance troupe Sishu Tirtha Shilpi Brinda, dance direction by Madhabi Chatterjee

 

…And the Hindi version by Pankaj Mullick and others

11H. Hai ho, pawan chale zor lahar machaaye shor by Pankaj Mullick from Zalzala (1952), lyrics Satya Ray, music Pankaj Mullick

The next song which I am presenting was composed on the 26th August 1909 at Shantiniketan. Let me narrate an interesting anecdote associated with this song. On the 28th September 1909, a meeting to honour Ustad Enayat Khan was organized at the University Institute Hall, Calcutta. After his address Rabindranth Thakur was requested to sing a song. Citing health problems and fatigue, Rabindranath was reluctant to sing. After repeated requests and a comment from Gurudas Bandhopadhyay, the member of the University Commission, Rabindranath had to give in to their wishes. His rendition of the song without any instrumental support mesmerized one and all. The wordings of the song made everybody think that Rabindranath had composed the song then and there in honour of Ustad Enayat Khan. Till the 1920s, Rabindranth Thakur possessed a beautiful voice and confirmation to this effect can be found in the writings of many of his associates. The recordings of his voice that we hear today was done when he had lost his voice and when he was not in the best of health. Let me present the song in the voice of Pankaj Mullick.

12B. Tumi kemon kore gaan koro by Pankaj Mullick, Hindi translation by Uday Khanna

Pankaj Mullick had rendered a number of songs of Rabindranath, translated in Hindi. He closely interacted with Hindi poets like Hanskumar Tiwari, Pandit Bhushan, Bharat Bhushan Agarwal, Uday Khanna, Satya Ray and others. The song Tumi kemon kore gaan koro he guni was translated by Uday Khanna as Tum kaisi dhun par gaya karte ho. Here is the combined version in Bengali and Hindi rendered by Pankaj Mullick.

The tune of the song composed in 1909 was used in a Hindi film in 1998. Till now we were listening to songs from 1899 to 1950s. Even though it is beyond the boundaries of the period set by SoY, I find this version quite impressive. Rajesh Roshan was the music director and he too had Bengali connections. His mother was Ira Moitra. Roshan’s family was under the strong influence of his wife. Incidentally, fresh water fish too became a part of the daily food of the Roshans. So it is not surprising that Rajesh Roshan had an inclination for Rabindra Sangeet . There are some more songs composed by Rajesh Roshan where we can notice the influence of Rabindra Sangeet. But that will be dealt later in another post. Now let us listen to this song.

13H. Koi jaise mere dil ka by Asha Bhosle, film Yugpurush (1998), lyrics Majrooh Sultanpuri, music Rajesh Roshan

I started with a song which was probably the first song that Rabindranth composed on the occasion of his birthday, when he was thirty-eight years. I end this article by presenting the song which he composed on his last birthday in 1941. And this was his last composition too. Actually this verse was written on his 62nd birthday in the year 1922. On being requested by Shantideb Ghosh to compose a song on his 80th birthday, Kaviguru requested to bring all the verses he had penned on the occasion of his previous birthdays. From them he selected the poem ‘25e Baisakh’ and made a few changes and he composed the music. That was on the 23rd Baisakh, and nobody could even dream that this song would be his last composition. Strangely he had based all the songs, (except one) that he composed that year, in Raag Bhairavi.

(Translation not mine)

In the novelty of a new dawn, let the auspicious moment of birth reveal itself once again.
In the novelty of a new dawn, promulgate your presence, displacing the hazy mist of the morning.
Like the glowing sun promulgate your presence, displacing the hazy mist of the morning.
Shattering the infirmity and paucity, manifest yourself in all your magnificence,
Spreading the message of the triumph of life, rejuvenate us with the elixir of life.
Let the eternal wondrous spell of yours be upon us.
Sound of the cornet from the horizon, calls upon the eternal spirit from the core of my heart.
In the novelty of a new dawn, let the auspicious moment of birth reveal itself once again.

14B. Hey nutan dekha dik aar baar, chorus singing

 

Note :

As I have stated at the start, the idea for this post was conveyed sometime in last May. It was finalized sometime in August and the actual process started in October when AKji sent me the materials collected by him, and I too started my search for more materials and songs. But the effort did not get the desired impetus due to several recurring problems which continued to hound me.  Although I had the inclination, I could not find enough time to conjure up and give it a decent shape. Finally in the second half of March this year I could produce a semblance of an article, and managed to send the post on the 3rd April and could gain AKji’s approval. After an exchange of few mails,  AKji made some basic changes and sought a clarification on song #9B, which resulted in the expansion of the narration to the said song. And finally, when I believed that the post was sealed and was ready to be delivered on the chosen day, to our dismay, AKji informed me on the 17th April that YT has removed the  link to the songs #1B and 9B.  We could not locate another version for both the songs sung by Pankaj Mullick. In the meanwhile, the link to the song 7B by Kanan Devi too got removed. But thank god, after some effort I could locate links to song #7B and #9B. In fact I was sure that I had heard Pankaj Mullick’s version of the song 7B, Pran chay chakshu na chay, earlier. Later, that also disappeared and I decided to use Kanan Devi’s version. Since the post was on Pankaj Mullick (and Rabindranath), I wanted to use his songs as far as possible. The readers would now understand the reason for deviations.  I pray that there are no further deletions by YT, I am keeping my fingers crossed.

This note is essentially to convey my gratitude to AKji, for putting in the extra effort by way offering suggestion, making necessary corrections through constant interactions. Thank you AKji.

N Venkataraman

Acknowledgements/ References

1.  Rabijibani by Prashanta Kumar Pal, Ananda Publishers
2.  Aamar Yug Aamar Gaan by Pankaj Kumar Muliick, Firma KLM Pvt. Ltd.
3.  Gaaner Pichane Rabindranath by Samir Sengupta, Papyrus
4. Rabindra Jiban Katha by Prabhat Kumar Mukhopadhyay, Ananda Publishers
5.  Gitabitan, Kaalanukramik Suchi by Prabhat Kumar Mukhopadhyay, Tagore Research Institute
6.  Rabindra Sangeet – Rabindra Parichay Granthamala by Shantideb Ghosh, Vishwabharati
7. Tahser Desh, Swarabitan 12, Rabindranath Thakur, Vishwabharati Granthbibhag
8.  The Essential Tagore, ed. Fakrul Alam and Radha Chakravarty, Harvard University Press
9.  Indian Ballet Dancing by Projesh Banerji, Abhinav Paublications
10. To my wife, Subhasree Venkataraman for helping me with information on Tasher Desh
11. To AKji for sharing the materials he had painstakingly collected from different sources
12. YouTube and all the uploaders of the songs, Wikipedia and other sources which I might have missed out.

I would be extremely grateful if the readers would point out any inadvertent error(s) or omission(s), that I might have committed due to my ignorance.

 

 

 

 

Tagged as: Rabindra Sangeet, Rabindrasangeet and their Hindi versions