A tribute to Talat Mahmood on his 95th birth anniversary (24 February 1924 – 9 May 1998)
Never before could a reader foretell what I would write on nine months in advance. But like anything in old film music, nothing can be said in absolute terms about SoY. In May last year, a new reader Harpreet, commenting on DP Rangan’s guest article, Talat Mahmood: A Mesmeriser, requested to do a post on Talat Mahmood’s non-film songs. I gave a courteous reply that I have noted his request. N Venkataraman, with his sharp analytical mind and observation, read it up as, there will be a post on Talat Mahmood on 24 February 2019, and that it would be on his non-film songs. Thus the date and the theme got written in stone, and it was futile for me to make any efforts to read down the conversation and seek some latitude for myself.
Not that I grudge. In the Golden Era of playback singers, Talat Mahmood was the only one whose fame as a non-film singer preceded his recognition as a playback singer. Though he started singing for films in 1945 (Raj Laxmi, Calcutta), and sang for films made in Bombay, too, in 1949 (Rakhi; Swayamsidhdha), the watershed year which made Talat Mahmood a sensation was 1950, with Ae dil mujhe aisi jagah le chal jahan koi na ho (Arzoo; Anil Biswas). This song has become etched as his debut film song in Bombay (which is probably wrong), and some even mention it – quite erroneously – as his first film song. But he had been a rage much before that for his non-film song Tasveer teri dil mera bahla na sakegi (1944). As we all know by now, he started his singing career, in 1941, with Sab din ek samaan nahi tha. He went on to sing several ghazals, geets, naats not only in Hindi, but other languages too. He maintained his identity and continued singing ‘private’ songs parallel to his playback career. His several mega hit private songs were re-recorded many years later in his voice. Therefore, in many cases what you hear is not the first version which he recorded, but re-recorded version.
I have used the term ‘private’ songs, which may perplex readers who are not familiar with it. This is quite a misnomer, because these were as ‘public’ and commercial as film songs, and were recorded by the recording companies and marketed through the same channels as the film songs. But ‘private’ became a commonly accepted term to describe light ghazals, geets and bhajans which were not part of any film. This also became a convenient term to distinguish singers whose fame rested primarily, or almost entirely, on non-film songs, such as Jagmohan and Juthika Roy. AIR coined a term ‘सुगम संगीत’ with a separate time slot, which acted as a force-multiplier for the popularity of these songs. Rafi, Lata Mangehskar, Mukesh and Manna Dey, too, have sung private songs, but these are dwarfed by their film songs in numbers or recognition. On the other hand, about 40% of all the songs of Talat Mahmood are ‘private songs’ and, more importantly, they are no less mesmerising than his film songs. There are some singers, such as KL Saigal, Pankaj Mullick and SD Burman, whose my list of best songs is dominated by their private songs, and I have written posts on all of them.
I would have written this post anyway, Venkataramanji only locked the date. With thanks to him and Harpreet, I pay my tribute to the real mesmeriser Talat Mahmood on his 95th birth anniversary with his best non-film songs.
1. Hothon se gulfishan hain wo, lyrics Faiyyaz Hashmi, music Talat Mahmood
This song has been my perennial Talat-favourite, as it is very different from his general style of flat singing, which at times made him sound monotonous. This one has peaks and troughs, and voice modulation which one associates more with Rafi. When Atul Song A Day requested me to write a guest article for their 10K celebrations, this was my choice.
होठों से गुल्फिशां हैं वो आंखों से अश्क़बार हम
सावन से हैं वो बेखबर बेगाना-ए-बहार हम
अर्श की ये बुलंदियाँ फर्श की पश्तियों से है
उनका गुरूर देखकर बन गये खाकसार हम
परवाना आ के जब गिरा शोला तो कांप कांप उठा
उसपे न कुछ असर हुआ जिसपे हुए निसार हम
पी है किसी की बज़्म में इतनी कि फिर न उठ सके
होशो हवास कुछ नहीं ऐसे थे होशियार हम
Her lips smile like petals of flowers, while my eyes shed tears
She is not bothered by the rains, while even the spring does not delight me
The sky soars high because the floor is rooted to the ground
Seeing her swollen ego I felt even more worthless
When the moth plunged into the lamp, even the flame trembled
But the one for whom I surrendered everything remained unmoved
I have drunk so much in someone’s tavern that I cannot get up
I am not in my senses, see how wise I am!
2. Soye huye hain chaand aur tare (Geet, 1950), lyrics Faiyyaz Hashmi, music Kamal Dasgupta
Now Faiyyaz Hashmi writes a ‘geet’ for Talat. Being not a ghazal, it is not bound by rules of radeef and kaafiya, but more importantly, the words are of different types. For example, Ab to itana kah do pyari main hun tumhaari main hun tumhari belongs to geet which you find more in Jagmohan. Just listen to the lyrics carefully, and see how the entire mood changes from a ghazal presented earlier. You might remember Hemant Kumar has sung a ‘private’ song Kitna dukh bhulaya tumne pyari.
सोये हुये हैं चांद और तारे आज की रात अंधियारी
तुम बैठी हो पास हमारे सोयी है फुलवारी
जिन आंखों में लाज भरी थी वो भी हैं मतवारी
अब तो इतना कह दो प्यारी मैं हूँ तुम्हारी मैं हूँ तुम्हारी
एक दूजे को पा के हम तुम बहुत मिले शरमा के हम तुम
यूं ही रहे तो रह जायेंगी मन की बातें मन में सारी
अब तो इतना कह दो प्यारी मैं हूँ तुम्हारी मैं हूँ तुम्हारी
देख ये तुमको तड़पायेगी फिए ये रात नहीं आयेगी
प्रेम मिलन की इन घड़ियों पर लाख बहारें वारी
अब तो इतना कह दो प्यारी मैं हूँ तुम्हारी मैं हूँ तुम्हारी
3. Ghoomero chhaya chaander chokhe ai madhu raat naahi baaki (Bengali gaan)
I had discovered the above song’s Bengali version even before I started this blog. And I have ever since been mesmerised by it. I am surprised Talat Mahmood’s ‘official site’ maintained by his son does not mention this song. I am sure the readers who would be listening this song for the first time, regardless of the language barrier, would be as charmed by it as I was when I first heard it. For those who can read Bengali script, here are the lyrics I have copied from the YT link, posted by one Gulzar Hossain.
ঘুমের ছায়া চাঁদের চোখে এ মধু রাত নাহি বাকি এ মধু রাত নাহি বাকি
মুখপানে মোর রয়েছে জাগি মুদীর তব আঁখি মুদীর তব আঁখি।।
যে আঁখিতে লাজ ছিল গো সেথা প্রেমের ভাষা
যে আঁখিতে লাজ ছিল গো সেথা প্রেমের ভাষা
হিয়া যে চাহে এ মধু রাতে পরাতে তোমায় মিলন রাখি।।
আধো জোছনায় আবেশ লাগে অধর নিরব শুধু নয়ন জাগে
আধো জোছনায় আবেশ লাগে অধর নিরব শুধু নয়ন জাগে।।
হৃদয় কহে আমি তোমারি নিরব ভাষায় সাথিরে ডাকি
হিয়া যে চাহে এ মধু রাতে পরাতে তোমায় মিলন রাখি।।
হয়ত এ নিশী সারা জীবনে আসিবে না ফিরে কোনো ক্ষণে
হয়ত এ নিশী সারা জীবনে আসিবে না ফিরে কোনো ক্ষণে।।
ক্ষণিক মিলনে মিলেছি দুজনে রাত জাগা দুটি পাখি রাত জাগা দুটি পাখি।।
হিয়া যে চাহে এ মধু রাতে পরাতে তোমায় মিলন রাখি।।
4. Adho rate jodi ghoom bhenge jaye (Bengali geet, 1948), lyrics Anil Bhattacharya, music Nirmal Bhattacharya
Another mesmerising song of midnight, love, and Amavasya bela when sleep eludes you. When the song is so good, you don’t care whether you understand the language.
5. Gham-e-ashiqi se kah do rah-e-aam tak na pahunche (Ghazal), lyrics Shakeel Badayuni, music Naseer Kadri
Back to ghazal which was supposed to be his forte.
6. Raatein guzaar di hai taaron ki roshni mein (Ghazal), lyrics IA Minai, music Girin Chakravorty
I get the feeling Talat felt more unrestrained in non-film ghazals. The night and stars create a superbly romantic mood. Talat is in his elements with his voice modulation. The harmonium interludes add to the beauty of the ghazal. This is also special, because it is sung in ‘Geet’ style, reminding you of Jagmohan. A nice crossover ghazal.
रातें गुज़ार दी हैं तारों की रोशनी में
अफसाने सुन चुका हूं अपनी ही खामोशी में
लरज़िश सी हो रही है आलम की कुल फिज़ा में
रोता है कोई बेकस शायद के बेकसी में
मैं महव-ए-बंदगी हूं वे मायल-ए-तग़ाफुल
कुछ लुत्फ आ रहा है इस तर्ज़-ए-दिलबरी में
उकता गया है आलम अफसाना सुनते सुनते
आंखें झपक रही हैं तारे भी हामोशी में
(The third couplet uses some difficult words. It can be roughly translated as:
I am engrossed in venerating her, and she is unconcerned about me
This is how I am enjoying my love affair)
7. Chup chaap akele chhup chhup ke main geet kisi ke gata hun (Geet), lyrics Sajjan, music V Balsara
Was Talat King of Ghazals or King of Geets? Switching to geet again, Talat is equally supreme.
8. Bigade huye naseeb ka afsana hi to hun (Ghazal), lyrics Baqar Ali Khan, music Murli Manohar
9. Ude ude kaare kaare kaare badra amrit dharti par laye (Varsha Geet, light classical), lyrics and music Murli Manohar
In this song Talat displays his formal training in classical music. This beautiful song of Varsha gives a feeling of different ragas from Desh to some Malhar (experts requested to throw light). Its lyrics paint a lively picture of the season with imagery like:
साथी की अभिलाषा में सीप नयन खोले
चातक घन की बाट तके बावरा सा डोले..
मेघ बिना कौन दुख निवारे
उमड़े घुमड़े श्याम घटा दामिनी सी दमके
गरज गरज के घन छाये शीतल पवन चले
जिया में उल्लास भरी धरती की तपन बुझी
सुधा कलश शीश लिये आये.
उदे उदे कारे कारे कारे बदरा अमृत धरती पर लाये
10. Jahan mein koi nahin hai apna (Ghazal, c. 1948), lyrics Mumtaz Ali Kidwai, music Durga Sen
A superb ghazal which Talat could sing effortlessly. It has a nice beat.
11. Do kafir ankhon ne mara (Ghazal), lyrics Fiayyaz Hashmi, music Talat Mahmood
It seems some of his best non-film ghazals/geets were composed by Talat himself. Another outstanding ghazal with a unique composition – the first part of each misra is set to a slow tempo, and the second part is very fast, giving it a delightful effect.
12. Ek baar mujhe preetam kahkar tum apne paas bula lo (Geet), lyrics and music Vinod Chattrerjee
13. Kho ke mehfil mein teri sabr-o-qaraar aya hun, Chand lamhe teri mehfil mein guzaar aya hun (Ghazal), lyrics Shakeel Badayuni, music Talat Mahmood
Beautiful composition and sung so sweetly. I guess Talat himself would have played the harmonium in this ghazal.
14. Chupke se kabhi jab yaad meri (Geet), lyrics Madhukar Rajasthani, music Khayyam
15. Sab din ek saman nahi tha (Geet, 1941) lyrics Faiyyaz Hashmi, music Subal Dasgupta
And how did the silken-voiced Talat sound when he debuted with his first HMV record of Sab din ek samaan nahi tha in 1941? He was as velvet-smooth at the age of 17 as he was at the peak of his career. Faiyyaz Hashmi and Kamal Dasgupta combination were the monarchs of ‘private’ songs. (Talat Mahmood’s ‘official site’ mentions Kamal Dasgupta as the music director of this song. But our encyclopaedia, Arunkumar Deshmukh, says after discussions with several experts that it was composed by Subal Dasgupta, but erroneously credited to his more famous brother Kamal Dasgupta.)
16. Mera dukh ambar mein chhaya (Geet), lyrics Sajjan, music Madan Prakash
17. Bhale tum rooth jaao bhool jaao ae mere humdum…Sitaro tum gawah rahna (Geet), lyrics Sajjan, music Anil Biswas
Now the maestro, who gave a meteoric rise to Talat as a playback singer with Ae dil muhe aisi jagah le chal jahan koi na ho, composes a beautiful geet written by Sajjan. I understand this Sajjan is the same person as the actor by that name. What lyrical thought, O stars, you stand witness that I never forgot her.
18. Zindagi ki udas raahon mein dil mein khushiyon ke geet gaaye hain (Geet), lyrics Shameem Shahbadi, music CK Chauhan
This sad song is surprisingly set to a very fast tempo. This ‘private’ song is closer to a film song in composition and orchestration.
19. Le ja meri taqdeer mujhe jahan beete dinon ki yaad na ho (Geet), lyrics Raj Kanwar, music S Chakravarty
This is quintessential Talat in a blue mood, similar to Ae dil mujhe aisi jagah le chal. In both the songs the protagonist has lost his agency to go on his own – in one case he calls his heart, and in the other his fate, to take him where no person or memory of the gone days was there.
20. Vida ki bela tumne kaha tha bhool na jana likhna paati (Geet), lyrics Madhukar Rajasthani, music Talat Mahmood
Madhukar Rajasthani was another strong name, besides Faiyyaz Hashmi, very popular for ‘private’ songs. Talat’s composition is as beautiful as the lyrics, and his voice is always matchless for such songs. In this song the hero reminisces the parting when the lady asked him not to forget her, and to write letters. There is also a lovely detail, when the lady came from behind, and covering his eyes asked him ‘Who am I?’, and the man replied, ‘You are the music of my life’, just like the lamp and the wick.
विदा की बेला तुमने कहा था भूल न जाना लिखना पाती
गूंज सुरों में गीत छुपाती भेज रहा हूं तुझको साथी
लिए मेरी आवाज़ है आती भूल न जाना लिखना पाती
याद है मुझको एक दिन तुमने नयन मूंद मेरे पूछा था
कौन हूं बोलो कौन हूं बोलो कौन हूं बोलो
मैंने कहा था तुम हो मेरी जीवन वीणा ज्यूं दीपक संग बाती
भूल न जाना लिखना पाती
जीवन भर भी अगर लिखूं तो शेष न होगी फिर भी पाती
गीत अधूरे छंद अधूरे आज रागिनी नीर बहाती
अब तो आ जा साथी भूल न जाना लिखना पाती
21. In bheegi bheegi raaton mein yaad koi jab ata hai (Geet), lyrics Kamaal, music Durga Sen
I started this post with a superb ghazal, I end it with an equally great geet. I have not made any conscious effort to balance ghazals and geets. My Talat Mahmood’s non-film favourites happen to be an even mix of the two forms. I am still leaving out a number of my favourites. That shows Talat Mahmood’s dominant position in the space of ‘Private Songs’ or ‘Sugam Sangeet’. SoY readers have often complained that I have not given due importance to (film) lyricists. In the non-film songs, lyrics have to reign supreme, because these do not have the vehicle of a big-banner film, or a famous music director. Ghazals attract because of their structure in which the two lines of the first couplet have to be humradeef and humkafiya (end common words, and rhyme), and in the other couplets, the first line has to merely follow the same meter (and not kafiya, radeef), and the second line has to have the same kafiya/radeef. This unexpected twist gives an element of enjoyment. Geet on the other hand has no such prop, and it has to be absolutely lyrical to stand on its own. From the above ghazals and geets, you would also notice that the hero in virah, in ghazal, at times tends to be bitter and sarcastic, but in geet, he is at peace with himself in solitude, he does not blame anyone, he might shed a silent tear in lonely nights. This superb geet, set to equally great music by Durga Sen, and sung so beautifully by Talat Mahmood is a fitting finale to the real mesmerizer Talat Mahmood.
In these moist nights when I am filled with the memories of a dear one
My broken heart is overcome with emotion
I lighten myself by crying and crying
In these lonely nights of separation
इन भीगी भीगी रातों में याद कोई जब आता है
घायल दिल भर जाता है
रो रो जी बहलाता हूं बिरहा की बरसातों में
इन भीगी रातों में..
प्रेमी सब मिल जाते हैं और मल्हारें गाते हैं
दूर कहीं एक बिछड़ा साथी थामे है दिल को हाथों में
इन भीगी रातों में..
कैए बिताऊं ये दिन रैन पल पल रहता हूं बेचैन
खो बैठा हूं जैसे सब कुछ प्रेम की मीठी गांठों में
इन भीगी भीगी रातों में..
Disclaimer:
The song links have been embedded from the YouTube only for the listening pleasure for the music lovers. The copyright of these songs rests with the original owners, such as Sa Re Ga Ma India Limited and others.
{ 124 comments… read them below or add one }
A nice post AKji.
I should also thank, Venkataramanji and Harpreet ji, who sort of forced you for the post.
I completely agree that when it comes to non film songs, the lyrics carry the main responsibility of conveying the feelings.
I wonder why most of the non film songs by Talat are in sad mood.
Congratulations and thanks for the post.
Anup
Anup,
Thanks a lot for your appreciation. Whether film or non-film songs, Talat Mahmood’s natural forte was sad songs. At least the best ones would be all of blue mood.
One more gem in the long collection ! It is indeed pathos which makes a song memorable and that touches the soul. Percy Shelley wrote in his ‘Ode to a Skylark’, “Our sweetest songs are those that tell of saddest thoughts”. A very apt observation reflected in the song written by Shailendra and rendered by Talat himself: ” Hain sabse madhur woh geet jinhe, hum dard ke sur mein gaate hain”. (Patita. 1953. Shankar Jaikishan). One can easily get lost listening to the soulful melodies that Talat left for us. Of course, the most famous of Talat’s ghair filmi geet is the one he sang on AIR and with which he got a break: “Taswir teri dil mera behla na sakegi”. That was also contemporaneous with “Sab din ek saman nahin tha” ( which you have included here). A great singer with such a soothing, silky voice that you can listen to all day. ( I often do). Thanks for a wonderful effort.
Mr Rajan,
Thanks a lot for your appreciation.
Sharing
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BX6bAO2NvHc
( bekaif hai dil aur jiye ja raha hoon main/jigar moradabadi/MD:Iqbal)
Master of pathos. A gem.
I was intoxicated while listening this ghazal and songs.
Arvind,
Thanks a lot for sharing ‘Bekaif ha dil’.
Mayur,
I am happy you enjoyed the songs.
Akji,
Since 2012, for the next 5 years SoY was paying rich tributes to Talat Mehmood on his birth anniversary. The absence in 2018 was compensated by Ranganji’s wonderful post on his death anniversary. The year 2017 was an exception. On pointing out you replied “Task noted for future years”. And you also made a courteous reply to Harpreetji that you have noted his request. So my subsequent comment was an inference, rather an expectation, and in no way I would claim that it was a prediction. Rather I would say this post was the result of ICHHA SHAKTI of Harpreetji and your KRIYA SHAKTI. And BTW Jignesh and Mumbaikarji too expressed their eagerness and refrained from posting any NFS of Talat songs, although there was no restraint from your side. Thanks a lot Akji for responding to our request and for this wonderful effort. I will listen to the songs at leisure. Thanks once again.
Venkataramanji,
You are welcome. Hope you like the songs.
Brilliant narrative. My compliments.
Just pointing out a small correction :
Third stanza of song #6 is wrong. The correct couplet is as follows :
“main mehv-e-BANDAGI hoon, wo maail-e-taghaful :
kuchh lutf aa raha hai, is tarz-e-dilbari mein”
Thanks & Regards,
Ashwani Sharma
Ashwani Sharmaji,
Thanks a lot for your appreciation. I am extremely grateful for making the correction in song #6. I don’t know how I misheard the song. Accordingly, I corrected the translation too. I hope I have got it right.
AKji
I enjoyed this article very much quietly at leisure today as I had nowhere to go today sunday afternoon. Very well picked songs of Ghazal King. Among these 20 I was familiar with only ”2″ songs. . 1. Chand lamhen teri mehfil men guzaar aaya hun.. and.. 2. Sitaaron tum gawaah rehna main unko kya kabhi bhula..this Anilda masterpiece is one of my top favourites. Listening Talat is “kitna sukoon kitna aaram hai” like feel.. I have no more words to explain this feel.
I liked very much his first recorded song of 1941..sab din ek samaan nahi tha.. really mesmerised !! very matured voice at just 17 !! Enjoyed and loved his bengali song “Adho raate jodi ghum” very well sung ang too good orchestration.
soye hue hain chand aur taare…, In bheegi bheegi raaton men…, Vida ki bela tumne kaha tha.. each song is a gem..
ude ude kaare kaare badra is a great discovery for me.
Jignesh,
I am happy you enjoyed the post and discovered many new songs. You would agree Talat Mahmood’s NFS are no less than his film songs.
Thanks a ton AK ji for acting on my humble request, it s absolutely wonderful post on Talat whom i consider singer of singers
I m his hardcore fan nd madly in luv with his silken voice
I always keep trying to find his rare nd unheard non film songs
Possibly these posts are meant to bring out not so well known songs. Here are two which I first heard in 1964 and have been listening to them since. There were some traumatic years when I could not find them and used to make my friend Amit Roy sing whenever I met him. The first one is ‘ Birhan baithi ..’ https://youtu.be/3Rx0ze4aDPc
and the second ‘ ro ro beeta ‘ https://youtu.be/26d8-fc8iZM
I knew one more from school days but did not know the singer’s name until then.
https://youtu.be/rjEyzHVm-pQ
A very rare nd unheard ghazal nd totally mesmerising
A very rare nd mesmerising ghazal if the maestro
https://youtu.be/TlrlFL7nCU0
A ghalib ghazal
https://youtu.be/yWAEt8C9748
https://youtu.be/oEmZ5owIGjM
https://youtu.be/haqoHxflaTI
Harpreet,
Thanks a lot for your appreciation, you made the post a certainty. And thanks a lot for adding his five non-film songs, I was familiar with only one – Mera pyar mujhe lauta do.
Gaddeswarupji,
Nice additions. I had heard Ro ro beeta jeewan sara earlier. The other song was new to me.
Dear AK,
May I take the liberty of adding the following two:
1. Gham e zindagi ka yaa rab na mila koi kinaara – Lyrics Idris Ahmad ‘Khalid’ Minai and Composer Chitta Roy
2. Chupke se kabhi jab yaad meri sapnon se tujhe chaunka de – Lyrics Madhukar Rajasthani, Composer Khayyam
The truth is no matter how hard one may try, it is nearly impossible to pick the best 10 songs of Talat, be these be from movies or non filmy. I marvel at his ability to get to sing such exceptional compositions and great lyrics.
AKji,
Spent a wonderful Sunday evening, listening to the 21 captivating songs (not 20, #6 repeated) posted by you. Among the 19 Hindi/Urdu Geet/Ghazals, about a dozen were new or lesser known songs. I was familiar with many of the Faiyyaz/ Kamal Dasgupta/ Talat Songs. The names of two other lyricists Shakeel Badayuni & Madhukar Rajastahani were familaiar to me, but I have heard only one song penned by each of them and rendered by Talat- Kho ke mehfil mein teri sabr-o-qaraar aya hun Vida ki bela tumne kaha tha bhool na jana likhna paati. I have listened to the song Bhale tum rooth jaao bhool jaao ae mere humdum earlier, one of my favourites, but I was not aware that the actor Sajjan also wrote lyrics.
Among the thirteen composers 6 Names were new, Naseer Kadri, Murli Manohar, Vinod Chatterjee, Madan Prakash, C K Chauhan & S Chakravarty. If the last mentioned MD was Sudhirlal Chakravarty, then I have heard his Bengali compositions. He rendered/recorded two Urdu songs (music Durga Sen, Hundustan Record H 1296). And Durga Sen was well known composer of the 40s and 50s. He composed music for Bengali films and dramas, besides several basic songs.
I loved both the Bengali songs presented here. Talat was also fluent in Bengali, and sang a number of popular Bengali songs with clarity and precision. Andho raate jodi ghum bhenge jai mone pore more priyo, (1948) is another favourite of mine. I never bothered to know about the writer and composer of this song earlier. Thanks for mentioning their names. Both are lesser known names in Bengal too (at least within my Known circle).
The other fabulous song composed by Kamal Dasgupta Ghumer Chhaya Chander Chokhe (1945) was penned by Pranab Roy. Pranab Roy, who had written about 3,500 songs, started as a singer and was trained under Kazi Nazrul Islam. He was jailed for singing a patriotic song and the British rulers did everything to harass him further. Nazrul advised him to stick to his passion and natural strength. A bit confused, the aspiring singer did as advised but couldn’t ask the poet about the quality of his writing. Nazrul went to his house after four months and handed over a disc of songs based on his lyrics. Pranab Roy never had to look back. In a span of around 50 years, he wrote basic lyrics and also songs for films.
I have added some extra information which may not be very relevant to the post.
Time for a song.
Phir pyar kiya phir roya, lyrics Sajjan, music Anil Biswas
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T_xST0h7YRI
Ravindra Sharmaji,
Glam-e-zindagi ka ya rab and Chupke se kabhi jab yaad teri – both are my favourite songs, but I had to limit it somewhere. As it is, my list became 21 songs. Talat Mahmood did get to sing some outstanding poetry in both films and non-films.
N Venkataramanji,
Thanks a lot for your detailed comments. All the additional information is relevant to the post. Is Ghumer chhaya exact translation of Soye huye hain chaand aur taare? To me it looks it is.
Phir pyar kiya phir roya was new to me. Do you also feel Talat Mahmood has difficulty in holding very low notes?
AKji,
You did overlook the song Chupke se kabhi jab yaad meri sapnon se tujhe chaunka de but not while presenting your bouquet of 21. It is very much there (#13).
And Ravinder ji,
The link to the song Gham e zindagi ka yaa rab na mila koi kinaara was posted by Harpreetji @21. Some post the songs without the links and some post the link without mentioning the song.
Venkataramanji,
Thanks for upgrading my marks.
AKji @28
You are right; Ghumer chhaya maintains the essence and spirit of the song Soye huye hain chaand aur taare.
“Do you also feel Talat Mahmood has difficulty in holding very low notes?”
Well I do not like to address this question off hand. The songs that I have heard last two day are still lingering and most of them traverse between the middle octave and just the upper octave. I don’t think they touch the VERY low notes. At times I felt that he had difficulty in shifting easily between low pitch and high pitch notes. May be that was in later stages. But come what may, Talat was unique.
Before the dawn, today Kolkata experienced heavy rain accompanied by thunder and lightning. It was cloudy and drizzling all through the late morning. I listened to this Bengali song composed by Sudhin Dasgupta, another brilliant song writer & composer of the golden period of Bengali films and music.
Ei Rim Jhim Jhim Barasha lyrics and music Sudhin Dasgupta
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J0lkMWidYGY
AKji:
You have made my day. I cannot get enough of Talat. Every song posted by you, Harpeet ji, Venkatraman ji, Gaddeswarup ji, and Arvind ji is a treasure. You have mentioned ‘Tasveer teri dil mera behla na sakegi’ without a link. So, here is one:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D5P2iJh-Lqk
It contains two versions of the song, the original (1944) has the words ‘In honthon ko Faiyaaz main kuchh KEH na sakoonga’ in the last antaraa, and the other has the words ‘In honthon ko Faiyaaz main kuchh DE na sakoonga’, something that Talat had promised the poet after the initial recording!
Venkataramanji,
My query about low notes was related to Phir pyar kiya phir roya. Ei rim jhim jhim jhim borosha is a nice song.
Canasya,
I am happy you enjoyed the post. Tasveer teri dil mera bahla na sakegi – the later version with Kuchh de na sakunga was more in circulation. Thanks for posting the combined link of the two versions.
Canasyaji @ 32
That was an interesting piece of information, these small details enhances the listening pleasure. Thanks for sharing.
AKji @ 33
Sorry I got you wrong I listened to the song again and his rendition seemed ok. Even if there were problems in lower notes it was not very perceptible to my ears.
AKji,
It is believed that Talat Mahmood’s first NFS was at a function when he sang a ghazal of Mirza Ghalib, Nuktacheen hai gham-e-dil. Then he got an offer to sing on All India Radio Lucknow in 1939, where he rendered Chhani jo khaak hamne …………. Apne ko Kho ke Baithe, Paya ye umr bhar me….. Between 1939 & 1941, he used to travel to various cities in pre-independence India for live broadcasts, as (I suppose) there were no recording facilities in radio stations at that time. I do not think he recorded the songs later. So they are not available for listening.
As told by Talat, after listening to his voice, HMV sent agents looking for him to Lucknow and offered him a one-year contract. Talat left for Calcutta and recorded his first song in 1941, Sab din ek saman nahi tha (#15). I think Tasweer teri dil mera behla na sakhey gee was recorded in 1944, when Talat came back to Calcutta after finishing his course in music at Morris college. Talat Mahmood was 20 years then and Faiyyaz Hashmi was almost 4 years elder to him. Talat rendered several songs penned by Faiyyaz. In 1948, Faiyyaz was posted as recording Manager at Dhaka Center of the Gramophone Company and thereafter in 1951 at Lahore. Already 5 of their (Talat-Faiyyaz) songs have been posted by you (4) and Canasyaji (1). Here are few more.
Tum loklaak se dart thi music Kamal Dasgupta
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L94MH0XEo30
Choudhvin manzil pe zaalim aagaya music Kamal Dasgupta
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B4rSGR3ngyA
Main teri chabi banaoonga music Kamal Dasgupta
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5UorHpRR5tg
This a post to add to one’s permanent collection. I have always been familiar with, and fond of, ‘Tasveer teri dil mera behla na sakegi’ – which you have mentioned in the intro; but most of the other songs came as a pleasant discoveries. Thanks a lot.
Interesting to hear Talat’s version of ‘Gham-e ashiqi se keh do’ and compare it with the better known version of Begum Akhtar. I first heard this ghazal in Begum Akhtar’s voice when I was trying to learn Urdu and had an Urdu-Hindi dictionary in my bookshelf. I checked the dictionary for the meaning of ‘baam’ in the couplet:
Jo naqaab-e rukh utha di, to yeh qaid bhi laga di;
Uthe har nigah lekin, koi baam tak na pahunche.
Interestingly, the dictionary used this very couplet to illustrate the meaning!
N Venkataramanji @35,
I think this is a matter of personal taste.
@36,
I was aware that Talat Mahmood started singing for AIR even before his first record Sab din ek saman Navin tha, but thanks a lot for the detailed information and filling in the gaps of information.
And thanks for adding the songs. I liked Tum lok laaj se darti thi immensely.
Subodh,
Thanks a lot for your appreciation. So ‘baam’ is roof/balcony?
First ‘bahana’ then Madhubala and now Talat non-film. AK what you are upto. All such exciting topics. We music lovers are mostly suffering from film song fever and only occasionally go for non-films songs. But, from 24th, whenever I find time I am listening to non-film songs. These non-film songs are on a different pedestal, they have minimum orchestration and mostly traditional Indian and when there is a right combination of instruments and the tune with a star singer, they transport you to another world.
I want to say something about the title. Real mesmeriser seems to be from your personal point of view, because I like to use this word for the song rather than the singer. Even a lesser known singer can mesmerise you in some song and the best of the singer can disappoint you for some song. Also the songs to me do not appear to be the best of Talat, they may be your favourites though. The songs posted by Harpreet and others are far better to me than many from your list. Some of the songs in your list seem to have been recorded when his voice was not in the best condition. I have from time to time listened to his non-film songs and the total may be more than 50, but I would keep out many from your list if I have to make a list.
But, this post I liked very much because this has focussed on an aspect of Talat which sustained him after he was unceremoniously discarded by the film industry. Many of the songs where he is the composer seem to be recorded by him privately after calling for services of some musicians and were perhaps released by his son. These songs show his love for music.
I have not made a list of all songs posted here so I will post some songs later. But for now I would post a song which was sung by both Rafi and Talat.
Bas ke dushwar hai har kaam ka – Ghalib
1. Talat – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k2zw5Kc-8Zo
2. Rafi – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iyejL8wwrGY
There was also another Ghalib ghazal ‘zikra us parivash ka’ which has been sung by both, but I am not getting the link for Talat song.
One more thing about this word ‘baam’ mentioned by Subodh. This was used in the 3rd antara of this beautiful composition by Chitragupta sung by Rafi.
Mujhe dard-e-dil ka pata na tha
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SqyyEuoZ3pc
Hans ji
No doubt some of the non film songs were recorded when his voice quality has deteriorated but we still love Talat because of the wealth of non film songs he has given to us music lovers
Here s a song recordehttps://youtu.be/dzLlO64xWXod in 1986, from his last album
Hans,
Thanks a lot for your appreciation. As I have said in response to N Venkataramanji selection of songs is a matter of personal choice. The 20 I have selected are my choices of the best from about 50 I looked at carefully. I have also mentioned in my write-up that several of his famous songs were re-recorded in his voice later.
Bas ke dushwar hai is a very nice song. And if I an not accused of anti-Rafi bias, Talat’s version sounds better to me.
Here s beutiful geet by him
I think when he was at his peak, he distilled a lifetime of pain in his songshttps://youtu.be/riD__MVeG5c
I think the word used in the title
Mesmeriser s apt becausee after listeng to talat u r spellbound nd in a trance like state
Here s a geet by himhttps://youtu.be/riD__MVeG5c
Subodhji@37,
You have mentioned the Urdu word “Baam”, but did not explicitly give the meaning of the word. It appears to me that in the couplet mentioned by you, “Baam” was used as a metaphor, something very far off, not attainable. Just an assumption. Please do not brush me off. If I am wrong please correct me.
Akji (@39) posed the question “So ‘baam’ is roof/balcony?”, and left it there.
When I found this word mentioned again by Hansji (@41), I thought he would give the meaning, but (lo!) he gave a link to a song Mujhe dard-e-dil ka pata na tha (no doubt a nice song), composed by Chitragupt (penned by Majrooh Sultanpuri) and said the word can found in the 3rd antara.
Na main chaand hun kisi shaam ka
Na chiraag hun kisi baam ka
Was the poet referring to the stars here? Probably most of you who are very familiar with the language know about the meaning and usage of the word and my nosiness may appear to be childish.
Today I was listening to two Ghazals penned by Faiz Ahmed Faiz and trying to get the translation of those Ghazals. I will come to those Ghazals later. I could visualize your eyebrows going up, but believe me even if do not understand much of Urdu, I try to get the overall meaning and sentiment, while I listen to Ghazals. Believe me again I do listen to Ghazals at times. Coming back to the subject….
In my search I came across the lyrics and translation of another Ghazal by Faiz Ahmed Faiz, “Aayey kuch abr kuch sharab aayey, Uske baad aayey jo azaab aayey”, where I found the second couplet, “Baam-e-meena sey mahtab utrey, dast-e-saqi sey aftaab aayey”.
From the roof of the wine decanter, the moon appears,
From the hands of the wine-server the sun comes.
From the above translation it appears to me that “Baam” in the literal sense means roof or roof-top.
Sajjano please calrify.
There are several links to this Ghazal available, rendered by Mehdi Hazan, Begum Akhtar, Jagjit Singh and others.
AKji,
Kareeb 20/22 din pehle aap kisi ‘Bahane’ pe mujhe ‘Chhat’ par chada diya tha. Abhi bhi Chhat ka booth sawaar hai. Ab Baam bana Bahaana!
Silsila Jaari Rahega
Harpreet ji
When I mentioned quality of his voice that was in the context of the best songs. Best songs are always those that have everything best. Lata is nearing 90 but every music lover would want to listen to her depleted voice, but that would not make her song the best.
Everybody knows here that my favourite singer is Rafi, but I am not about to be mesmerized only at the announcement that a Rafi song is coming. I can only say that. You are free to get mesmerised by a singer though the song is not upto the mark. I only get mesmerised by the song that was what I meant.
As your links are not working kindly give the mukhdas of the three songs mentioned in 42,44 and 45. For future also kindly mention the mukhda whenever you post a link so that others know whether they have listened the song already or not.
AK
I only mentioned about the title which mentioned the best of Talat’s non-film songs. They may be the best for you which means they are your favourites. But according to me they are not his best and I absolutely love his singing qualities.
Regarding your comments about ‘bas ke dushwar hai’, I am not at all surprised at your reply. In your dictionary, any singer – even KK – would sing the same song better as compared to Rafi. So much so that in the matter of twin songs, after giving a firm opinion that females look inferior to males in the matter of twin songs, you stated that Suraiya sang ‘tune mera yaar na milaya’ better than Rafi.
Regarding non-film songs, I may tell you that Rafi sang more non-film songs than Talat and he being a true professional put in more hard work in the matter of non-film songs too, result being that his non-film songs were always of top quality and decidedly better than most of Talat non-film songs. Talat’s non-film songs are more talked about because these make quite a substantial part of his total output and once he was out of films he made it a point to talk about these songs only.
When Khayyam cut an album for Rafi with lyrics of Ghalib and other top urdu poets, Talat lamented the fact that Rafi was chosen to sing ghazals of urdu poet Ghalib over him. I dont know why he thought Lucknowis to be the experts of Urdu, because this language as well as ghazal originated in Punjab from where Rafi and Khayyam both came. And that is the reason why there are so many good ghazal singers in Pakistan though Lucknow does not inspire them.
Venkataramanji
I thought the meaning of ‘baam’ may be clear from the sher posted by Subodh and perhaps he also assumed that. I mentioned the song as just an example. As assumed by me and Subodh you have come to the right meaning. Subodh and I seem to have the same Urdu dictionary because the same sher is mentioned in the dictionary which I have.
So the meaning given there is chhat or attari. The song from akashdeep mentions ‘baam ka chirag’. I would try to explain the origin of this word. You must know that in olden days – particularly in North India – the rich people of the village or even town resided in havelis, while others had mostly kuchcha houses. These havelis were mostly constructed on an higher altitude to guard against floods. These havelis mostly had some chobara built on the first floor, if not many rooms. There was tradition to have shaded places called ‘aalas’ at various places to keep various things and also chirags or diyas. In those days people travelled by foot or other slow means of transport, so it was likely that they would not be able to reach their destination before dark. The roads were not defined so there was also likelihood of people losing there way. So for the purpose of guiding or attracting such people, the masters of these havelis kept a chirag burning at the highest place possible which was shaded also. They used to provide boarding and lodging to such people free of cost if they came guided by this light. So such lights served the purpose of lighthouse. The akashdeep song is talking about this. The hero says that I am neither an evening moon nor the chirag or baam to look at which one has to lift his head, I am only a diya put on the path to see which one has to look downwards. In other words he tells that he is very ordinary lowly person and not one who is high and haughty.
I hope I have satisfied you.
I give here a link of a beautiful Panjabi song sung by Shamshad and picturised on Nishi who was heroine there and also in some Dara Singh films. In other films she got small roles. Mukhda of the song is
Batti baal ke banere utte rakhni aan
gali bhul na jaye chann mera
Meaning is that ‘I keep the light on the muder of my house so that my moon (lover) does not forget the street’
This mukhda conforms to the ‘chiraag of baam’ kept by the haveli people.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZPdFEuU9fU4
I tried to post following songs
Kahin sher o naghma ban ke
Ye sapne hain anmol
I ll try to post the links agaian
https://youtu.be/dzLlO64xWXo
https://youtu.be/riD__MVeG5c
Ye sapne hain anmol
Venkataramanji @46,
I was aware your fondness for ghazal. It would have been surprising if a romantic like you were not. Thanks for your detailed exposition. You know more Urdu than most of us.
Aaj raat nahi koyee saath
https://youtu.be/__ZZnp1f4hM
Hans @48, 49,
On Rafi, my situation is like बद से बदनाम बुरा. 🙂
I have been using the term ‘best’ in my posts. That is my choice of the best. Some bloggers use ‘my favourite..’ which is more accurate, but I don’t want to make a switch now.
Your exposition on बाम and the Punjabi song are excellent.
Talat, a thorough bred Gentleman among the rogue culture that is India cinema!
That is the title I would like to give to anything I write about this gentle mannered man with gentle musical notes.
The lyricist like Hashmi and others offered lyrics that presented a culture that had mostly the aspects of tender love scenes occurred between the teenage boys and girls who grew up not transgressing the boundaries of male and female ambience.
And Talat offered a”Mahol” of halfway blossoming faintly colouring culture of lyrical notes that was just suited like a silken glove to his vibrato voice.
Even those so called private songs he would have sang and disappeared behind that eternal blue screen still he would have been remembered for those nectar dipped tender tunes!
This has come out in the gentle efforts of AK to grasp in English words in a trans-cultural translation of the first song होठों से गुल्फिशां हैं… by Faiyyaz Hashmi, music Talat Mahmood.
I delightfully welcome it.
Shalan Lal
Hansji@49,
Thank you for illuminating me on the origin and significance of Baam ka Chiraag and also for the illustrative song in Punjabi.
@40
Thanks for posting the two version of Ghazal penned by Ghalib, “Bas ki dushwaar hai har kaam ka aasaan hona” and for mentioning the ghazal “Zikr us pareewash kaa, aur phir bayaan apnaa”. Enjoyed listening to both the versions of both the songs rendered by Talat and Rafi. I read the translation available in the net so that I could enjoy the Ghazals better.
Out of the four couplets they rendered, Talat & Rafi chose three common couplets in each of the Ghazals, One couplet was different in each of the Ghazals.
In the Ghazal, Zikr us pareewash kaa, aur phir bayaan apnaa,
While rendering the couplet
Manzar ik bulandee par aur ham banaa sakte
arsh se idhar hotaa kaash ke makaan apnaa
Talat uses the word “Udhar” instead of “Idhar”
Some minor observations, may not be that important.
Here is the link to the Ghalib ghazal ‘zikr us parivash kaa’ rendered by Talat Mahmood. Click on the arrow to listen to the Ghazal.
http://red-mp3.me/album/1599644/zikr-us-parivash.html
Rafi’s Version
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=km0sfouDZ2M
Shalan Lal,
Thanks a lot for your appreciation.
Harpreetji @50, @51, @52 & @54
Thanks for the additions. Loved listening to the songs.
AKji @53,
Thanks for the response.
AKji & Harpreetji,
You have posted a song each penned and composed by Vinod Chatterjee, Ek baar muhe preetam kahkar tum apne paas bula lo & Aaj raat koi nahin saath. Vinod Chatterje was a discovery to me. Both of you and other knowledgeable members of SoY might have knowledge about him. Since nothing was mentioned about him in the narrative preceding the song and also by Harpreetji, I startedlooking for information on him. I was curious that a Bengali penned Geet and Ghazals. Then I found some information about him in AIR/ Prasar Bharti blog.
Actually it was an obituary on Guru Vinod Chatterjee Dada. Vinod Chatterjee joined the Air in 1940s. When he passed away on 17th July 2014 it was stated that his age was around 90. Thus he must have been a contemporary of Talat Mehmood, and both of them should have worked together at the AIR Lucknow station for some time. That explained his association with Talat Mahmood.
“Sri Vinod Chatterjee was one of Begum Akhtar’s favourite composers in All India Radio, Lucknow when she used to visit the AIR Studio for recording her ghazals in the 40s. Although Begum Akhtar composed ghazals and thumris herself, she would often request Vinod Chatterjee to recompose many of her ghazals. Madan Mohan was one of his colleagues in those days in AIR.” (Prasar Bharti credits the source to Atul Song a Day and on further search I found that the article was written by Sadanand Kamathji while posting a NFS rendered by Md.Rafi, penned by Madhukar Rajasthani and composed by Vinod Chatterjee).
From the write up I further gathered that in his early days he had composed songs for K L Saigal & Lata Mangeshkar and they are safely stored of AIR Archives. (Source Prafulla Kumat Tripathi, song writer for AIR).
Yesterday I got information on two records (Colombia 33ESX 4258- NFS rendered by CH Atma), (EMI ECLP 2878- NFS rendered by Talat Mahmood) cut by The Gramaphone Company of India. In both the records I found his name among the lyricist mentioned there.
Here are two more songs penned and composed by Vinod Chatterjee and rendred by Talat Mahmood.
Kismat ka maara panchi akela roe
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bR5kNfE2-IU
Sapna ban aa jata hai koi
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N4IziTvrfdk
Please read
“safely stored at Archives of AIR.
just uploaded a Talat non filmy..enjoy it until YT makes it a deleted video 🙂
´´Aaj kisi ne baaton baaton men jab unka naam liya””
https://youtu.be/59ovwAsS2HM
Thanks venkatraman ji for detailed information abt vinod chatterji
I m posting an assmese song by talat nd bhupen hazarika, though a film song but a rare onehttps://youtu.be/c8Z68nvbc7g
Venkataramanji,
Your capacity to gain and add knowledge is awesome. Thanks for the great information on Vinod Chatterjee.
AK @55
My opinion about you on Rafi is not made on one or two instances. I admit that you have not only given due praise but also lot of space to him and this kind of balanced approach is the reason I love this blog. But you should occasionally praise Rafi vis-a-vis the other singer on the same song. 😉
Shalanji
Well said. Silken words for the silken voice.
Subodhji@37; AKji@39; Hansji@41; Venkatramanji@46:
Qismat ki khoobi dekhiye, tooti kahaan kamand,
Do chaar haath jab lab-e-baam rah gaya.
– Sheikh Qayamuddin ‘Qaem’ (Chandpuri)
The unlucky Romeo? Here is ‘Mori bhakti mein sham samaye’, a Talat bhajan to provide solace at times like these:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nycJke3dzko
Venkataramanji
I knew you know the meaning, still I shared an information I acquired in Childhood. We lived in a town which had many old havelis. We lived in one such haveli on rent then. An uncle of mine was one day telling my father about a haveli which was called ‘chirag wali haveli’. That haveli was owned by a Muslim in that a chirag burnt throughout night and the durban had the orders to let in anybody who came in night. The durban had also to refill oil in the large chirag. During partition there was a lot of bloodshed in that town and the master of haveli left for Pakistan.
About ‘zikra us pariwash ka’, I had fortunately downloaded both versions before the one by Talat was removed. Regarding the couplet you mentioned, if you reflect closely again, you will find that Talat has done ‘kabada’ to the meaning by doing idhar ka udhar. Another example of why the two people from Panjab Rafi and Khayyam understood Ghalib and Urdu better. In the second line of the couplet the word is idhar in all the three books I have on Ghalib. If you read that line it is clear that Ghalib is talking about the final abode which is above(udhar) the ‘arsh’. The whole meaning is that I could have reached more heights but alas my final abode is not on this side of the ‘arsh’. If you put udhar in place of idhar you are left with no meaning.
Canasya
Nice couplet. But you are asking the unlucky and toota-foota Romeo to listen to a Bhajan. By the way Talat was averse to singing Bhakti songs during his filmi career and sang only negligible number of such songs. Even on the website dedicated to him his son has listed all songs and in the non-film section there are only two including this one. Perhaps Talat knew that he cannot put such emotions in the song. The Bhajan posted by you has been sung well but emotions are missing.
Hans ji 49 , 67;
Namaskar ! Sorry for my late entry , but I am enjoying everyone’s contribution on this great topic.
You have beautifully given the example of punjabi film song and further linking it to Light house . For me Light house is like a god that safeguard as well as give direction to mankind . I have a great respect for the Light House operators. Their dedication for so long a period is really a service to the mankind…..and because of lighthouse we stand tall. The fact remains…..everyone is a lighthouse with source of light coming from their hearts.
I have seen a few of lighthouses in my life . Stepping all the way to the sky by beautiful winding wooden spiral staircase is itself a welcome sign. At that height one can see the sea , as an ocean , as a shore , as a beach , as a coast …..and so on. Docks and Harbours are the one who are benefited by Light House services for safe docking of ships.
Hans ji , your child days were almost same as mines in some ways. During summer of 1955 I had a chance to spend holidays in one one of the very old house in old city of Alwar . The house belong to my brother in laws’ father and it looked like a mini haveli with many archetectural elements….like ….recesses in walls for diyes [light ], shelves for keeping books ….a small engraved place in wall for keeping god’s fotos and prayers. The haveli had central open courtyard with rooms all around . Very small staircase leads to upper floor and it was a trend to utilise space under stairs for toilet . The floor was brick layered and was fit for playing cricket with small bat and ball. As brought out by yourself it was a ritual to burn Diyas in the night. …..Old days die hard .
Hans ji, I know Talat has sung Punjabi film songs , but no private song ?. If you are aware of his such songs …..please post the same.
Jignesh @ 61
Thanks for bringing up the NFS Aaj kisine baaton baaton mein (lyrics Ghulam Rabbani, music Nasir Kadri). But your upload lasted just 3 views. As feared it was blocked. An auido version of the song is available.
Here is the link. Hope it works.
https://gaana.com/song/aaj-kisi-ne-baton-baton
Canasyaji @66
Nice Couplet. I am learning. Thanks for the Bhajan too.
Hansji@67,
I am very fond of “ADDA”. Hence I enjoy reading all the information, anecdotes, childhood and teenage memories etc.etc. shared by fellow members. Thanks for sharing the information on Chirag wali Haveli and your interpretation of the couplet Manzar ik bulandee par aur ham banaa sakte,arsh se idhar hotaa kaash ke makaan apnaa.
BTW, Bengalis use the word ‘ADDA” as exchange among members or conversation of a group of people. Many Bengalis claim that the city of Calcutta / Kolkata being the birthplace of “ADDA culture”, Satyajit Ray (in his film Agantuk) trace back the origin of the tradition to regular intellectual dialogues prevalent in Ancient Greece.
Thanks once again.
PS- Can the word “Arsh’ be used as Chhat too?
Bhatiaji @ 69
Thanks for joining the “ADDA”.
AK ji;
I am stuck at song #7 Chup chaap akele chhup chhup ke main geet kisi ke gata hun composed by V Balsara. Such a melody could come only from a rich composer with vast experience . I found that he was assistant to major music directors of the 40s like Khemchand Prakash , Gulam Hayder , Naushad and later with Shankar jaikishan . This private song I think stands good listening .
V Balsara very quickly moved from Mumbai to Kolkata and made a mark there composing Rabindra Tagore songs. Writing music notes for old songs was his passion .
KS Bhatiaji,
Chup chaap akele is woderful lyrics too Thanks a lot for the detailed information on V Balasara. I understand he also recorded some albums of film tunes on musical instruments.
AK ji @73;
Yes; Chup chap akele….is a wonderful song in its content.
V Balasara was really a hidden gem of a person who had a midas touch with various instruments he played effortlessly . Handsome and smart himself he appeared in some scenes playing Piano Accordeon on screen. Though Sebestian was arranger for Shankar Jaikishan in most of the films but it was Balsara who did wonderful job in Awara , Patita , Daag…etc. He effortlessly played harmonium in Awara hoon song making it feel us as if he used accordeon! In another song ….Ek bewafa se pyar kiya…..he was seen playing accordeon on screen in the long prelude shots.
In Patita ….Yaad kiya dil ne kahan ho tum….had a long beautiful prelude on Harmonium played by Balasara.
As said earlier he shifted to calcutta and made remark there also . Here is one more of Talat Bengali song composed by Balasara . Again a gifted song from a gem of a composer. Deep listening will reveal many secrets .
TUMI SUNDAR JODI NAHI HAO (1959) Talat Mahmood Katha Shyamal Gupta …..V Balsara
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A0vN-IlK5SQ
After repeat listening of this song I have a strange feeling that this tune appeared earlier also in one of the 1952 movie ….Badnam ….and the song is …..Sajan tumse pyar karon mein… by Lata ji . The music of this film was by Basant Prakash [ brother of Khemchand Prakash] . When i listened to this song three years back I brought a point that this song has a shade of SJ style . Connection goes from Khemchand Prakash ….Balsara…SJ….Basant Prakash….Balsara ….Talat ….and so on.
So how a casscade of songs travels…. starting from hilltop to foot hill …..each fall of small streams carrying the sound of hills making them live thru music.!!
AK ji ;
Now I am stuck again with a composition of V Balsara . I bet if any one can hold emotions listening to this radio time ….time gap filler between the programs . The Painting along the melody are too good ….I am still lost in melody . I think this is going to please many of my friends of this group.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8bf8ZMOqPlo
Bhatiaji @ 72 & 74
Thanks for providing details about V Balsara. I had the good fortune of listening to him on several occasions. Thanks for the song too. The uploader of this song P K Nag (must be around 80 years of age) is a store house of old songs especially the Bengali songs. Mr. Nag along with Saroj Sanyal and few others have a repertoire of Bengali songs which they post in YT. Here another NFS which I heard a few years ago, also posted by P K Nag.
Hamne kisi ki aankh mein ye jahan lyrics Bharta Vyas, music V Balsara
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9FPCKZz-sJc
KS Bhatiaji,
Thanks for adding the beautiful composition by V Balsara.
Bhatiaji @ 75
As I started listening to the melody posted by you, my wife, getting ready for our Sunday evening outing, at once recognized the tune as Balsara’s composition and said she had heard it during her schooldays when she used to listen to the radio. I too loved listening to the familiar melody after a long time. But that was not the end of the story. Actually we went to attend a “Shruti Natak” festival at the Raja Ram Mohan Roy Library Hall. During the Opening ceremony, the speaker Subhas Chakravarty, a reputed folk singer from Bankura , also made a reference to V Balsara (a sheer coincidence), how he met V Balsara when he first came to Calcutta and the encouragement he received from the great musician. And such was the popularity of V Balsara here, even today people remember him.
More NFS rendered by Talat Mahmood
Main dukh ki raat hoon asi, lyrics Sajjan, music V Balsara
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VTA64SOvAAY
Raat andheri door kinara, lyrics Bharat Vyas, music V Balsara
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eNshd3p209I
Another beautiful Bengali composition
Jetha Ramdhonu Uthe Heshe , lyrics Shyamal Gupta, music V Balsara
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vLcrwUkdXrE
N Venkatraman ji @ 78;
Oh ! God ..this is sheer bliss and blessings ! How in a day the memory lane gave way to walk down there…..to find a person that made all of us so happy. It is good to know your wife recognised the old charming composition. It is strange that the melody was used as a time gap filler for few minutes during radio days….and now we want this tune to play in our heart for ever. A great feeling really.
The Balsara Talat equation going strong with shower of inputs from your side . For Talat …easy listening is best listening.
Bhatiaji
We moved to town when I was in 10th class. The adjacent house to that in which we lived was also a haveli belonging to a muslim and was set on fire, so when we went there in 1967 it was total khandhar and a lot of monkeys lived. The stairs were covered and kept two three sticks near the gate for the
monkeys. There was only one big room on the first floor which could accomodate 5-6 cots for sudden rains because we slept on the roof in summers. Electricity was there but irregular and without any time table. So lanterns and kerosene lamps were in use.
As per downmelodylane.com Talat sang 5 songs in 4 panjabi films and no non-film songs. Three songs are available on youtube two from the film Mutiar(1951) and one from Koday Shah(1953).
One from Mutiar ‘aa chann ve’ is a duet with Surinder Kaur. In this song Talat’s panjabi is raw.
https://youtu.be/aw66ojaSrls
The other one from this film is actually a hindi song ‘ae gham mujhe jane de’
https://youtu.be/cNGXL7Blamw
The third song is a real gem sung by the two legends Talat and Raj Kumari both of whom are in real elements. The song is ‘zulfan ne khul gaiyan’. This is a sad LDDS picturised on Shyama and Daljeet. A similar tune was used by Kalyanji Anandji in ‘ankhiyon ka noor hai tu’ in 1965 film Johar Mehmood in Goa. Koday Shah was produced by Sardul Kwatra and music was also given by him.
https://youtu.be/KOBXs0k0KE0
Bhatiaji
You and Venkatramanji have given excellent info on Balsara. I have some info which I would share. In hindi films Balsara has given music in 8 films. His first film was in 1943 in which he gave music with another MD Vasant Kumar. In 1944 he gave music independently in O Pari. No details of the 17 songs from these films are available. In 1948 he gave music in the Suraiyya, Suresh starrer Rang Mahal along with K. Dutta. In 1951 he gave music in Talash but details are not available. In 1953 he gave music in Madmast. There were 10 songs out of which 8 are available on YT. Mahendra Kapoor sang his first two duets in this film. Then he composed 2 songs in the Children Society film Chaar Dost in 1956. He also gave music to Qurbani which was not released, but records of songs by Manna Dey were issued which were recorded in 1952. Then after a gap of 11 years he gave music in Wohi Ladki in 1967 and again in Pyar in 1969. Some of the 13 songs in these films are available on YT. In the last film Chandrani Mukherjee sang her debut song. So he is responsible for giving debut songs to two singers. Here are links for some songs as sample
1. Rootho na tum bahar men – Rang Mahal – Suraiyya, Rafi
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dXE2sgDcgVg
2. Kab beet gayi jeevan ki subah – Madmast – Lata
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=weD8iMqKS_w
3. Sulag rahi hai husn ki sigdi – Madmast – Rafi
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uRSpXSEqgbU
4. Rahoge kab tak humse door – Wohi Ladki – Rafi
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BppLUFEs9Cc
5. Akad ke kahan chale – Pyar – Rafi
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0jpyAXtkCxs
Venkataramanji
Adda culture is present at almost all the places perhaps. In Haryana at least it was there. Now it is going in different directions. But in Kolkata it took different proportions. One of my Bengali friend told me that literary people used to organise addas. Later when I purchased the Sarat Samagra, I found mention of his going to such addas in a biography of Sarat included in that Samagra.
Yes the word ‘arsh’ also has one of the many meanings as roof.
Another punjabi gem
https://youtu.be/RE5N_LBKngU
Hansji @80
When you and Bhatiaji share your childhood memories I also go through a “Manas Vraman” with you.
Mutiar was probably Talat Mahmood’s first Pujabi film. I think Mutiar was made in 1951(released in1952). Surinder Kaur was on the verge of shifting to Delhi, when Vinod got her to sing the duet ‘aa chann ve’.
Thanks for posting “Ai gham mujhe jaane de, jis raah pe jaata hoon”, a wonderful song, I loved Talat’s rendition of the song. I believe a Punjabi version was also to be recorded. The possible wording was “Ai gham mainoo jawan de, jis raah te janda haan”. But the Punjabi version did not see the light of the day. You have posted the link to the song ‘Ae gham mujhe jane de’ twice and missed to post link for ‘Aa chann ve’
I am posting the link to the Surinder Kaur – Talat Mahmood duet
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VNRFxssge5A
I understand that Sardul Kwatra taught Talat the basics of Punjabi language during the recording of music for the film “Koday Shah”. However, for mastering the language, Sardul told Talat Mahmood to reside for sometime either in Lahore or in Amritsar.
Thanks for the detail information on V Balsara’s film music.
Harpreet @ 83
Hope you will be able to dig out Talat’s song from the film ‘Junj’ too.
Akji, Bhatiaji, Hansji & Harpreetji,
Now it is time for some more NFS of Talat
A few days earlier I was listening to a couple songs penned by Faiz Ahmed Faiz, sung by Talat Mahmood. When Talat Mahmood went to Karachi on a private visit in the early 1960s he recorded two Faiz numbers for the Gramophone Company, on one side was Khuda wo waqt na laae and on the other side was Donon jahan teri muhabbat mein haar ke. I understand that the second number one was one of the of the best non-film numbers of Talat Mahmood. Faiz Ahmed Faiz’s Urdu was difficult for me, but with the help of the available translation in the net I managed to get the feel.
Khudaa wo Waqt na laae ki sogvaar ho tuu
sukuun ki niind tujhe bhii haraam ho jaae
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Byf12JM2bNs
Donon jahan teri muhabbat mein haar ke
Wo jaa rahaa hai koii shab-e-ġham guzaar ke
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v2EKTa5TyM4
Sir there s one non film song of Talat which i hv on cd but i m not able to find on u tube
Meri dunia main aa kar kya karogi
Ghamo se dil laga kar ky karogi
Avery gud geet by Talat
https://youtu.be/m3yLLZZUXqY
A ghazal now
Rang lasyi ab meri ye aablspayi toh kya
https://youtu.be/DVRhGI5KJzE
Another rare ghazal
Wo khushi jo raaz e hyaat haihttps://youtu.be/wUeMEeey3UY
Harpreetji @ 86
Perhaps you were trying to find the link to this song before February this year. The song was uploaded very recently on 3rd February 2019.
Meri duniya mein aakar kya karogi, lyrics Naqsh Layalpuri, music Santram Rajan
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SKR7ADv_gH8
@89
Your link was not working , providing a fresh link
Woh khushi jo raaz e hayaat hai, lyrics Hasrat Trimji, music Amar singh Jasal
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wUeMEeey3UY&feature=youtu.be
Thanks for the nice additions (@87 & @89).
Hans @ 48,
You wrote
“When Khayyam cut an album for Rafi with lyrics of Ghalib and other top urdu poets, Talat lamented the fact that Rafi was chosen to sing ghazals of urdu poet Ghalib over him.”
But I find Talat Mahmood has no reason to lament, unless Rafi’s songs were recorded and released before that of Talat’s. Talat rendered in all 22 NFS composed by Khayyam and two of them were penned by Ghalib.
Koi din gar zindagani aur hai
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_hrdpvYjQ6U
Naksh fariyadi hai Kiski
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WQ6iM6LvA_I
Thanks Venkatraman ji
Shamim jaipuri s ghazal kabe see butkadee sehttps://youtu.be/-4BFMh5vO2w
A ghazal by Talat nd mukesh
Kisi ko de ke dil koyihttps://youtu.be/NVKRZMmVT_Q
kya bataoon ki mujhe tumse mohabbt kyoon
hai….
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sSXZz4kOcv0&list=RDsSXZz4kOcv0&index=1
2) could not locate a talat mehmood link on u tube for the shakeel badayuni ghazal …tumne ye kya sitam kiya…zabt se kaam le liya..
I m posting a version sung by Shobha Gurtu:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wPLuBKqVCoI
To all Soy Talat lovers
So far nobody has mentioned a superfine book on Talat Mahmood.
It is called “Talat Geet Kosh” published in 1992 edited by Dr Rakesh
Pratap Sinh”
It is in Hindi and there are very rare photographs and comprehensive information about Talat and his family.
Book has all filmy and non filmy songs in Hindi and also his songs he sang in other Indian languages.
According to the first edition the book is available from
Mr A P Singh,
1/296 Nawab Ganj, Kanpur.
The price was in 1992 for ordinary edition was Rs. 500 -/-.
It might have changed now and I do not know if there were new editions came out.
Shalan Lal
Arvindji @ 94
Enjoyed listening to your post ‘Kya bataoon ki mujhe tumse mohabbt kyoon hai’ (L-Anjum Lucknavi, M-Yunus Mallick). The melody sounds very familiar, cannot place it.
Here is link to a audio version of the song you were referring to
Tumne ye kya sitam kiya…zabt se kaam le liya
https://www.jiosaavn.com/song/tumne-yeh-kya-sitam-kiya/IAAtYEUCdHU
Shalanji @ 95
I was not aware of this book by by Dr Rakesh Pratap Sinh. Thanks for the mention. My reference point is Khalid Mahmood’s blog.
Shukriya Harpreetji for the postings @92 & @93.
Kabe se, butkade se, kabhi bazm-e-yar se,
Awaz de raha hun tujhe har muqam se
Is a wonderful Ghazal. The Begum AKhtar’s version still lingers in my ears. Another thing I learnt in my course of listening to the Ghazals is that the singers by and large select any four couplets out of the entire Ghazal, the first and the last couplet being common. Begum Akhtar’s version had the following couplet,
Peene mein lutf hai, ya maza tashnagi mein hai,
saqi yeh raaz pooch kisi tashnakaam se.
while Talat chose the following couplet
Na-aashna hai aaj wohi mere naam se,
duniya pukarati thi jinhein mere naam se.
To listen to the song posted by you one has to copy and paste the link. I wonder how many would put the effort.
Kaabe Se Butkadey Se Kabhi Bazm-e-Jaam Se
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-4BFMh5vO2w&feature=youtu.be
Listened and liked the Ghazal “Kisi ko de ke dil koyi” too. I need to go out now. Would be back at night.
Another book abt Talat s by Manek premchand which has complete details of all his songs
@96
Venkataramanji,
thanks a lot for providing the link to the Talat Mehmood version.
A geet
Pyar ki mehfil teri sahihttps://youtu.be/0DA_2k3BTK4
With the posting of the Ghazal “Kisi ko de ke dil koyi” Harpreetji has opened the NFS duets of Talat. I found this type of Ghazal very novel. I will come to that later. I will like to post some interesting duets, not Ghazals, of Talat.
First an Oriya NFS duet, a nice melody.
Nirola E Raate..Gaae Ke Madhure with Meena Kapoor, lyrics Narasingha Mahapatra, music C V Krishnamurthy
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Zzo6aGcP5c
Next a Rajasthani/ Marwari Bhajan (duet)
Sun lo sun lo Bhawani with Sudha Malhotra, lyrics Traditional (?), music Jamal Sen
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EfkI0iuIC_g
This Bengali number is not exactly a duet in the real sense. Rakhee chips in with dialogues while Talt Mahmood renders the song.
Aye Jodi Aakash Hoi with Rakhee Gulzar, lyrics Mukul Dutta, music Hemant Kumar
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z5vbgZqc–8
And a Naat
Hum sunate hain Mohammad Mustafa ki with Mubarak Begum, music Dhoomi Khan
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OrQgsVsdM2g
Harpreetji,
Getting back to the Ghazal “Kisi ko de ke dil koyi” , I came across this interesting Ghazal or rather combination of Ghazals last year, at ‘Atul Song a day’, posted by Bharat Upadhyayji, just before I went out of circulation. Sudhirji had provided an excellent translation and word meaning. Repeated listening and reading helped me understand and enjoy the ghazals. The knowledgeable members of SoY may be aware of such combination of Ghazals, for meit was new and interesting. In this duet, each artist selects a thematically related classic poem by two renowned poets and take turns in singing. The one posted by you consists of Ghazal penned by Mirza Ghalib (Kisi ko de ke dil koyi rendered by Talat Mahmood) and Daag Dehalvi (Jo Dil kaboo me ho to rendered by Mukesh). Each artist sings one verse at a time, and they alternate. Murali Manohar Swaroop was the composer.
I am providing the link to Bharatji’s post at “Atul songs a day”
Kisi ko de ke dil koi nawah-sanj-e-fughaan kyun ho
na ho jab dil hi seene mein to phir munh mein zubaan kyun ho (Mirza Ghalib)
Jo dil qaaboo mein ho to koi ruswaa e jahaan kyun ho
khalish kyun ho, tapish kyun ho, qalaq kyun ho, fughaan kyun ho (Daag Dahelvi]
https://atulsongaday.me/2018/07/18/kisi-ko-deke-dil-koi-jo-dil-kaabu-mein-ho-to/
On the other side of the record (HMV 7EPE 1208) was another duet rendered by Talat Mahmood & C H Atma. Here C. H. Atma sings verses from a Ghalib’s poem and Talat Mahmood sings verses from one of Daag’s.
Dil hii to hai na sang-o-khisht dard se bhar na aae kyuun
roenge ham hazaar baar koii hamen sataae kyuun
dil hii to hai na aae kyuun dam hii to hai na jaae kyuun
ham ko ḳhudaa jo sabr de tujh saa haiin banaae kyuun
nhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZPk_b_8pwgI
It seems there are 4 more of such ghazals. Sadanand Kamathji had posted one such NFS (combination of two Ghazals) at “Atul song a day” almost 6 years back. It is a combination two ghazals penned by Mirza Ghalib and Jigar Moradabadi. Mukesh renders Jigar Moradabadi’s Ghazal and Talat Mahmood renders Mirza Ghalib’s Ghazal.
Wo jo roothen to manaanaa chaahiye ae ae
zindagi se rooth jaanaa chaahiye ae ae (Jigar Moradabadi)
chaahiye achchhon ko jitnaa chaahiye
ye agar chaahen to phir kyaa chaahiye (Mirza Ghalib)
Here is the link to the post by Sadanand Kamathji at ASAD. The link provided at the Atul song a day has been made unavailable due to copyright infringement.
https://atulsongaday.me/2013/04/25/wo-jo-roothhen-to-manaana-chaahiye/
Here is another link to the Ghazals
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9-F2gDUFyFQ
Venkataramanji @91
First you have put half of my comment in inverted commas and replied. Lamented in English can be used in many ways. My comment did not mean that Khayyam never gave Talat NFS or a Ghalib ghazal. In fact Talat had no problem with Khayyam composing a Ghalib ghazal though he was as much a panjabi as Rafi, because he had used Talat for his NFS. Talat had only problem in Rafi singing Ghalib. He said how a panjabi can sing a Ghalib ghazal. My comment was in response to that. I think Khayyam can be said to be the undisputed king in composing NFS. His use of native orchestra in such songs was unique besides his innovative tunes. Talat knew it. And Khayyam had a lot of respect for Talat, though his number one singer was Rafi, even for NFS. Film Shagoon is an example. This film was Rafi, Suman show but Khayyam contrived to insert a duet for Talat.
You have said Talat had no reason to lament. I think I do not have to show to such an intelligent and literary person like you that reason is hardly necessary for most of the actions of mankind. I will mention two instances from the music world. SDB was the MD for Navketan from the start, but when Dev Anand wanted to take RDB as composer for Hare Rama Hare Krishna – although Dev had said that both of them would compose separate songs – SDB got angry. This despite the fact that RDB was his own son, to establish whom in the industry he himself made a lot of efforts. And it is well known that not only RDB worked as assistant in Navketan films, but SDB even composed some songs for the films which were being done by RDB alone. The other example is of Lata. What reasons she had in thwarting other singers. I think mere mention of Lata is enough without going into details.
You have also posted two NFS Ghalib ghazals by Talat composed by Khayyam. I think they stand apart. And I objected to Talat’s best as title on account of such outstanding songs. A number of Talat gems have been posted by you and Harpreetji. Ghalib is my favourite urdu poet and I have listened to many Ghalib ghazals rendered by a host of famous singers Indian as well as Pakistani. These two also I had in my NFS playlist. It is because of these gems Talat wanted to sing more Ghalib ghazals composed by Khayyam and in his disappointment he made those remarks.
@85
You posted two ghazals by Faiz. Faiz was a unique poet. Yes sometimes these poets used hard urdu to make their presence felt, but that was not the case every time. The first ghazal
Khudaa wo Waqt na laae ki sogvaar ho tuu
sukuun ki niind tujhe bhii haraam ho jaae
I had listened once or twice earlier but forgotten. This is very interesting ghazal. The poet in the first line starts with kind of blessing the lover but then he says everything which could be said against her. Listening to this I remembered a Rafi song from Night in London composed by LP and lyrics by Anand Bakshi ‘ba hosho hawas main deewana’
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dmKO6HnARf0
In this song the hero in the name of wasiyat is pretending to give her something but in reality he is fulfilling his own wish.
There have been some songs like ‘wo tere pyar ka gham’ or ‘tere pyar ne mujhe gham diya’ where the hero has made abject surrender despite the heroine deserting him. But there are other songs where the hero has said in retaliation things like what Faiz has said in this ghazal. ‘Guzre hain aaj ishk men’ and ‘mere dushman tu meri dosti ko rarse’ are well known, but there is this lesser known song ‘tera bhi kisi pe dil aaye’ from Ek Sapera Ek Lutera, though both the film and the song did quite well when the film was released.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NogspccsW0o
A ghazal
Chehre pe surkhi haya ki chhayihttps://youtu.be/Ci6YJPK279c
Ak ji
Surprisingly no one has posted any naat by Talat,here s the onehttps://youtu.be/3giPWUjkcdg
Hansji @ 105,
Probably my language did not convey what I wanted to say. And I sorry for that. I understand your point of view. Thanks for the detailed clarification.
Thanks too for the explaining Faiz’s Ghazal ‘Khudaa wo Waqt na laae ki sogvaar ho tuu’ and the additional inputs.
Harpreetji @106 &107
Nice additions. Thanks.
Perhaps you missed my postings @102. I posted a Naat sung by Talat and Mubarak Begum (#4)
I posted few duets where thematically similar Ghazals penned by two different poets were rendered. Here is one more. Most likely the Ghazals were penned by Mirza Ghalib and Daagh Dehlvi.
Josh-e-Giriya se ye Aankhen Abr-e-Naisan ho gayee
Ab meri betabiyan Mashhoor-e-dauran ho gayee (Daagh Dehalvi)
Sab kahan kuch lal-o-gul me numayan ho gayee
Khaak me kya surate hogee ki pinha ho gayee (Mirza Ghalib)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zkrrlAkw-c4
AK,
I believe my relation with literature is open to all, even I cannot resist myself from quoting Shakespere “A rose by any other name would smell as sweet” Talat Mahmood with any title would sound as sweet.
AK and all the SOYkars thanks for filling the atmosphere with sweetness.
All of you have taken conversation so far it reminds me of a mediocre lyric of khilona song,
के मै चल भी नहीं सकता और तुम दौड़ जाते हों.
Javed Akhtar had said in one of his interviews that Sahir had shared a secret of writing lyrics for songs, Sahir had said that if one verse is simple the lay person will somehow comprehend the intricacy of the other verse , I cannot talk about others but its fits perfectly for me. I cannot sit with dictionary to understand song it loses all its emotions.
Many exceptional ghazals have been posted luckily my favorite Ghalib ghazal is waiting for me
https://youtu.be/X7nCMp0kgW8
A ghazal
Dil pe jab teri insyat ki kamihttps://youtu.be/pcpvJzrKAG8
Ti don t remember if someone has posted this ghazal or not
Mai nahi jiske mukadder mainhttps://youtu.be/1Vgg-zELXU4
Harpreet,
No, the above two ghazal has not ben added. Sice you have not given the links, here is the song:
Mai nahin jske muqaddar mein wo maikhana hun main by Talat Mahbmmod, lyrics CK Chauhan, music Shamim Shahbadi
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Vgg-zELXU4
Jis ne dil ko ansu bakhshe dol jis ka nazrana hai
https://youtu.be/KL4V-J5C06s
Koi arzoo nahin hai:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E12S5MsrpO4
(Shakeel Badayuni)
Thanks for the nice article on Non-film songs of Talat Mahmood. However I would like to add few more sweet non-film songs on that list: 1. Aye andaleeb E Zaar; 2. Bekaif Dil Hay Aur Jiye; 3. Main Dukh Ki Raat Hoon; 4. Sagar Kyun Hai aaj Adheer; 5.Gham E Zindagi Ka Yaarab. Best regards,
Gazi Muursheed,
Welcome to SoY and thanks a lot for your appreciation. From the songs you have added I was familiar with only #5. Here are the YT links of all the songs you have posted.
1. Ae andaleeb-e-zaar
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q7aPlYCwyes
2. Bekaif dil haye aur jiye
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BX6bAO2NvHc
3. Main dukh ki raat hun
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ne795u3aKjE
4. Sagar kyun hain aaj adheer
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K_jQ-7httz0
5. Gham-e-zindagi ka ya rab
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oEmZ5owIGjM
Song # 6, second line, correctl word is “ APNE” and not “APNI”. It changes the meaning quite a lot.
Jamil Chunawala,
Welcome to SOY. The song does sound like ‘apne’. I wrote it as ‘apni’ to be grammatically correct. I would be grateful how the meaning changes. I took it mean ‘my silence’.
No words to express my pleasure on reading (just a few so far) the contents/comments from music buffs.
Surprised (or have I overlooked ?) not to see the following hits figure or find any mentionbof :
मेरा प्यार मुझे लौटा दो …
तुमने ये क्या सितम किया …
I admit, I am justa toddler in the field. Please ignore my comments, If they are unworthy of finding a place among those of connonsieurs on the subject.
Melodious regards.
Yetin Sheth,
Welcome to SoY. This song must have been mentioned earlier. Don’t worry you have mentioned it now. Here in this vast ocean we are searching our own sea-shells, and enjoy learning from others.
What an amazing collection of ghazals by the Maestro Talat Mahmood. Mujhe Talat Mahmood ki ek Ghazal ki sirf radeef yaad hai ‘Aaj bhi hai’. Kya aap bata sakte hain ki woh kaun si Ghazal hai.
SS Mohsin,
Thanks a lot for your appreciation. Best is to go to Talat Mahmood’s official website maintained by his son and look for the ghazal you are searching.
S S Mohsin
I came across your radeef ‘aaj bhi hai’ query as I was browsing through the historical threads, since I’m new to this forum myself. In case you haven’t found it yet, the Ghazal you were looking for is:
saaGar o sehba mutrib o naGma kaif e baharaan aaj bhi hai
kis ki kami hai kaun nahin hai dil kyun veeraan aaj bhi hai
I think the poet is Shamim Jaipuri from his taKhallus in the last stanza.