It is customary to add ‘sweet’ before 16. That is how the hosts of the social game Tambola/Housie describe this number in their sing-song style. How sweet was SOY’s 16^th year, or did it simply clock another year? The judgement rests with the readers, for me it was a pleasant experience.

As the readers are now aware, the blog was born on 7^th June, therefore, its anniversary spans two calendar years. However, for some years, I have been dedicating the year to a music personality – generally from beginning of the calendar year to its end. 2025 happened to be celebrated as the year of RD Burman. I find there has been a dozen articles on him, some contributed by the guest authors, Ashok M Vaishnav and Dr Rajendra Deshpande. For SOY, which had a pronounced bias towards golden and vintage era music, this did seem to be an overkill. But there was also a revelation that RD Burman had a lot of fans, even among the lovers of old melody.

Concurrently, some Rafi fans could not have enough of him. Though his centenary ended in the year 2024, some spill-over articles continued in 2025 too. The year also saw another series of articles on OP Nayyar, helmed by the guest author Ravindra Kelkar, concluding on OP Nayyar’s centenary on 16 January 2026.

I must say doing three series of tributes gave me a great deal of satisfaction. I have to thank all the guest authors who embellished the blog by their articles, namely Subodh Agrawal, Ashok Vaishnav, Hans Jakhar, Dr Rajesh Deshpande and Ravindra Kelkar. I was especially pleased about my friend Subodh, whom I was able to pull out of hibernation. There was a time when he was a prolific writer.

I find I have also turned a book reviewer – I have been writing a couple of reviews every year. I started 2026 too with the review of Manek Premchand’s “Soulfully Yours: Ravi”

It is not possible that in a blog’s existence of 16 years, plagiarism and inspiration would not come in for discussion. The series on RD Burman brought this into intensive discussion again. That was when a reader included a link of 25 songs said to be inspired/adapted from some foreign tunes and also from our neighbouring country. The most striking instance of a note-by-note copy was Kabhi bekasi ne mara, kabhi bebasi ne mara (Alag Alag, 1985). ‘Bekasi’ and ‘Bebasi’ mean the same thing – ‘helplessness’. The absence of contrast created no end of confusion. Its original from Pakistani film Meharbani (1982) had no such problem – Kabhi khwahishon ne loota, kabhi bebasi ne mara.

I do get to hear many songs in the year off SOY which mesmerise me. One song which was doing the rounds on WhatsApp was by a girl, Supriya, from Samastipur. It seems she had sung it for the TV show Indian Idol. She was not selected there and was very sore about it. The song was Piya tose naina laage re from Guide. I find that video has been removed by the YT for “violating YouTube terms of service”. There are some busybodies who get pleasure in getting some video yanked off the YT.

I was able to give her a call and console her that this was not the end of the road for her. Music was much more than Indian Idol. I thought she understood it. She had enrolled in Masters in Music, and sent me her another recording of Itna na mujhse tu pyar badha. Coming from Bihar, I can say a lot about Samastipur, but suffice it to say that the current wonder-boy of Indian Cricket, Vaibhav Suryavanshi, is from Samastipur.

Itna na mujhse tu pyar badha by Supriya from Samastipur

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/HZAgSDKow0I

This reminded me of one Soumyadeep Sikdar Murshidabadi whose name I wanted to highlight similarly a few years ago. I had immensely liked his Chadariya jheeni re jheeni; in fact, I found it the best among all the versions I had heard so far. That is saying a lot. Alas, though I was able to establish contact with him, he went incommunicado, and that particular video was yanked off the YT. After hesitating for some years, I am posting another verse of Kabir, Hoshiyar rahna re nagar mein chor aavega, which is available on YT. I like it a lot.

Soumyadeep Murshidabadi sings Hoshiyar rahna re nagar mein chor aavega

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G4z8XX8H9Sw&list=RDG4z8XX8H9Sw&start_radio=1

Lo ji suno tumse kahte hain, ab tum bin chain nahn aaye by Mukesh and Surinder Kaur from Sunahre Din (1949), lyrics DN Madhok, music Gyan Dutt

We have so thoroughly dredged 1949 songs that we think we know all the songs. But when a friend introduced this song, I was amazed where this song was hidden.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aH_1B6yfvpM&list=RDaH_1B6yfvpM&start_radio=1

Wo aaye hain dil ko karar aa gaya hai by Sulochana Kadam from Malika Salomi (1953), lyrics Farooq Qaiser, music Krishna Dayal

But that was Vintage Era, you would say. How about 1950s when a hundred flowers bloomed and we know all the songs of Golden Era. But when the friend introduced me to this song I was floored. What kind of film must be Malika Saloni to carry a name like this? Sulochana Kadam, we have heard in several landmark songs, such as Chori chori aag si dil mein lagakar chal diye, hum tadapate rah gaye wo muskura ke chal diye. In Wo aaye hain, I can’t differentiate her voice with Lata Mangeshkar. Listen to this gorgeous song.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y_8QJuhhMDg&list=RDy_8QJuhhMDg&start_radio=1

Jaddanbai sings

We all know Jaddanbai (1892-1949) as the mother of Nargis, and one of the earliest lady music composers of our films, pre-dating Saraswati Devi. Some of us were also familiar with her songs. Now thanks to S Gopalakrishnan I get the additional information that she was a disciple of Shrimat Ganpat Rao, Ustad Moujuddin Khan, Ustad Chaddu Khan, Ustad Laab Khan and Ustad Barkat Ali Khan and sang this ‘Deva Deva Satsang‘ in Raag Shankara. Moujuddin was the most respected Thumri singer in his time. This description made me look at Jaddanbai with great respect.

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

AR Rahman in an unnecessary controversy again

High and lows in an artiste’s career is a normal phenomenon. One day AR Rahman was on the top of the world. It seems that for the last eight years or so he is not getting that many offers. He chose to relate it to his religion, that the powers that be have perhaps turned communal and Bollywood is discriminating against him. Within 24 hours he discovered that he was a proud Indian and the country has given him too much. This was strange, and totally uncalled for. We liked him for his music; if his career was facing a low, that was people’s choice. In my last Anniversary post, AR Rahman figured prominently for two plagiarism charges. One related to the song Veera veera veera veera from the film PS-2. Ustad Waseefuddin Dagar filed a case alleging that it was plagiarised from his family heirloom Shiv Stuti in Raag Adana. Delhi High Court agreed with Dagar and directed Rahman to make an interim payment of ₹2 crores to him. He had not yet overcome another charge by Kazi Nazrul Islam family that AR Rahman had mauled the Kazi’s tune of Karar oui lauho kapat for the film Pippa based on Bangladesh liberation. Many on SOY seemed to agree with both the plagiarism charges. Someone has rightly said, “Those living in glass-houses..”. But US gave him a lot of honour during the evening cultural programme for visiting Secretary of State, when the US Ambassador to India, announced with flourish, now a special artist would entertain the guests. And AR Rahman came out from behind the curtain like a rockstar, singing Jai ho etc

Acknowledgements and Disclaimer
The song links have been given from the YouTube only for the listening pleasure of music lovers. This blog has no commercial interest, and makes no claims or suggests, either directly, or indirectly, any copyright over these songs which vests with respective copyright holders.

The SOY Award for 1956 for the Best Solo of Lata Mangeshkar goes to?

SOY regulars are aware of the reasons why I am doing year-wise reviews of the best songs of a Vintage Era year going backwards, and a Golden Era year going forwards simultaneously. Vintage Years backwards, because of the joy of discovering the unknown, going back to when it all started in 1931. That was suggested by some SOY regulars who are no longer active now. And the Golden Era, because the new regulars suggested it and that, too, I found quite rewarding.

If you contrast with the last post on the Best Female Solos of 1939, there was no Lata Mangeshkar then; I often make my favourite quip, there was no Lata Mangeshkar before Lata Mangeshkar. In 1956 she was at the top of her vocal prowess. She defined how the leading lady is supposed to sing songs of joy and dancing, of sadness, of festivals. To be sure, the other female singers sang many more songs than her, and some of them did sing everlasting songs in the year. For statistical analysis, I depend upon our resident statistician/scholar N Venkataraman. Borrowing from him with thanks, Asha Bhosle sang 215 solos which is 1.40 times the number of songs by Lata Mangeshkar.  There were a total of 19 female voices (other than Lata Mangeshkar) who sang 371 solos in 1956. Top performers were Asha Bhosle, Geeta Dutt and Shamshad Begum, accounting for 86% of songs (of the other singers). The other ‘other singers’ accounting for a total of 14% included Mubarak Begum, Sabita Banerjee, Sudha Malhotra, Madhubala Jhaveri, Suraiya, Juthika Roy, Binota Chatterjeee etc. Thus, the other female singers sang many more songs than Lata Mangeshkar.

So for equity, I think I should have two posts in the year for female solos. This is about Lata Mangeshkar’s best songs in 1956. The MEMORABLE SONGS in the Overview Post has more than enough songs of Lata Mangeshkar to select the Best Ten. These are eternal songs remembered by everyone till today. Even after selecting the Best Ten, many almost equally good would remain, some I have to accommodate in the Special Songs. But first, let us look at the Readers’ Choices.

Readers’ comments

Anup chose two Lata Mangeshkar’s solo as his choice; Us paar saajan; Ja ja re ja baalamwa. Later, he added two more songs: Guzra hua zamana and Mere sapne mein aana re sajana. One understands, you cannot have enough of Lata Mangeshkar in 1956.  Mahesh Joshi has given other choices, but baulks at Lata Mangeshkar, the juggernaut had started and it was unstoppable.

Rahul Bhagwanrao Muli chose Guzra hua zamana as the Best Lata solo. Arunkumar Deshmukh chose Us paar saajan as the best Lata Mangeshkar solo. Raunak Joy has given a comprehensive list. He made me listen to Payal mori baaje from Paisa Hi Paisa (1956), composed by Anil Biswas. I agree with him, it is an excellent song. It just shows Anil Biswas maintained his magic touch in music, but the projects he did were not from big banner and must have bombed. I am including it at the top of Special Songs. Some more songs, added by him, are worth repeat earing. In the year of plenty of Lata Mangeshkar I cannot accommodate all. The most interesting is he has given a combined list, because he does not believe in separate lists; his combined list is more equitable – Lata Mangeshkar 6, and ‘others’ 4.

Ashok Kumar Tyagi has given a long analysis of Lata Mangeshkar songs. After going over the most famous ten (not in order), he chooses his best as Jaago mohan pyare (Jagte Raho). But he also adds that some lesser heard songs are very good, and mentions three songs which are very good, but which suffer at the altar of her most popular songs. These three songs overlap with Raunak Joy.

Our Master Statistician comes up with some more detailed statistics of Lata Mangeshkar including her NFS, and songs from other languages. Endorsing Raunak Joy, Venkataraman ji also mentions some songs that are not mentioned in my long list.

Special Songs

1. Payal mori baaje by Lata Mangeshkar from Paisa Hi Paisa (1956), lyrics Majrooh Sultanpuri, music Anil Biswas

This beautiful song was added by Raunak Joy, I heard it for the first time, and had not included it in my long list of MEMORABLE SONGS of the year. It just shows you do not cease to discover new songs even in the Golden Era.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CdqwFBS-XCU&list=RDCdqwFBS-XCU&start_radio=1

2. Aankh royi magar muskurana pada by Lata Mangeshkar from 26 January (1956), lyrics Rajendra Krishna, music C Ramchandra

This was another very good song brought to our notice by Raunak Joy. C Ramchndra-Lata Mangeshkar-Rajendra Krishna belted out super melodious song, one after another – some got eternal fame, some remained unknown. But if the lyrics are good you can be sure Lata Mangeshkar would add her magic touch.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kKxJE8AcQkA&list=RDkKxJE8AcQkA&start_radio=1

3. Ye chaand ye sitare ye saath tera mera by Lata Mangsehkar from Halaku (1956), lyrics Hasrat Jaipuri, music Shankar-Jaikishan

The high point of this film and Lata Mangeshkar’s songs are Meena Kumari’s joyous dance songs. It will always remain a puzzle for me why she chose a sacrificing, weepy sati-savitri image for herself later in her career. A good song added by Raunak Joy again. Thank you Raunak or giving us such pleasure. And don’t rub your eye,

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AX9qO-lCWgU&list=RDAX9qO-lCWgU&start_radio=1

4. Aaja aaja aaja nadiya kinare, taaron ki chhainya tumhein kabse pukare by Lata Mangeshkar & chorus from Rajhath (1956), lyrics Shailendra, music Shakar-Jaikishan

Among several absolutely outstanding Lata Mangeshkar songs in the year, I may not be able to fit all in the main list of Best Ten. But I greatly admire this joyous dace song in which only Lata Mangeshkar’s voice is conspicuous. I am happy to include it in Special Songs

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cSrwIlwTnss&list=RDcSrwIlwTnss&start_radio=1

5. Girdhari, man chaakar rakhoji by Lata Mangeshkar from Tofan Aur Diya (1956), lyrics Meerabai, music Vasant Desai

Many persons have chosen Piya te kahan from this film as Lata Mangeshkar’s best song in the year. But Raunak Joy says the tune of Girdhari is far ore complex. Since Piya te kahan would go in the Main List, and Raunak Joy’s preference is a familiar Meera Bhajan; I am including it as a Special Song. I checked up the Overview Post, I had not included it in the list of MEMORABLE SONGS, because of the surfeit of Lata Mangeshkar songs.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LDscTzQo9Xw&list=RDLDscTzQo9Xw&start_radio=1

6. Brij ke Nandlala Radha ke Sanwariya by Lata Mangeshkar from Taksal (1956), lyrics Prem Dhavan, music Roshan

Roshan’s many unknown films have beautiful melodies in the voice of Lata Mangeshkar. I was aware of this phenomena but I have been lazy in looking up songs in Taksal. I am thankful to Venkataraman ji for mentioning this song. Raunak Joy had mentioned another song from this film: Dil bhi tera, hum bhi tere. That song is also very good, but I can take only one from this film.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WnxHKz6O9uE&list=RDWnxHKz6O9uE&start_radio=1

7. Ankhiyon ko snan kara kar main darshan ko ayi by Lata Mangeshkar from Rangeen Raatein (1956), lyrics Kidar Sharma, music Roshan

Here is another unmentioned gem from another film Rangeen Raatein (1956), lyrics Kidar Sharma, music Roshan. Mentioned by several readers.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B00KFd5paqI&list=PLpZLHt6c4Ik8I9dJ1Voy24p5i7Nu6nezA&index=8

After the Special Songs I am ready with the

Best Ten Solos of Lata Mangeshkar for the year 1956.

1. Rasik balma dil kyun lagaya tose by Lata Mangeshkar from Chori Chori (1956), lyrics Hasrat Jaipuri, music Shankar-Jaikishan

1956 was the year of Shankar-Jaikishan. Whether it was soft, sad, classical raag-based song, or a fast-dance number on the beats of Arabic music – they displayed their competence in all genres.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d_3YWkxLI7s&list=RDd_3YWkxLI7s&start_radio=1

2. Ja ja re ja baalamwa sautan ke sang raat bitayi by Lata Mangeshkar from Basant Bahar (1956), lyrics Shailendra, music Shankar-Jaikishan

For female voice Shankar-Jaikishan were heavily dependent upon Lata Mangeshkar – much more than C Ramchandra and Naushad. This time the lyricist is Shailendra. A khandita nayika’s song. All markers in differentiating between Shailendra and Hasrat Jaipuri fail. I have also written about the phenomenon earlier.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TwBNRmvwAxA&list=RDTwBNRmvwAxA&start_radio=1

3. Main piya teri tu mane ya na mane by Lata Mangeshkar from Basant Bahar (1956), lyrics Hasrat Jaipuri, music Shankar-Jaikishan

Basant Bahar was SJ’s answer to Naushad’s Shabab (1954). I think it was more than adequate answer. Every song in the film was a gem. No wonder its songs are going to figure in all categories. Missing its great male solos by Manna Dey was a bad miss on my part. I think flute in this song was played by Panna Lal Ghosh.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dFgE9Z63wa8&list=RDdFgE9Z63wa8&start_radio=1

4. Kadar jaane na ho kadar jaane na beardi ji mora baalam by Lata Mangeshkar from Bhai Bhai (1956), lyrics Rajendra Krishna, music Madan Mohan

If you thinking of Lata Mangeshkar songs in 1956, you cannot forget Kadar jaane na. There is a trivia about this song. Madan Mohan and Begum Akhtar’s mutual respect and admiration for each other was quite well-known. It is said that when she was sick, she picked up the phone and requested Madan Mohan to sing (he was also a good singer) this song for her on phone itself, she found it so soothing.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aHhzbXAtwYg&list=RDaHhzbXAtwYg&start_radio=1

5. Kahan le chale ho bata do musafir by Lata Mangeshkar from Durgeshnandini (1956), lyrics Rajendra Krishna, music Hemant Kumar

Hemant Kumar was another music director who had a great run in 1956. He could produce sweetest melodies in the voice of Lata Mangeshkar. This one was among her best in the year.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yYk2b0jdtmQ&list=RDyYk2b0jdtmQ&start_radio=1

6. Guzra hua zamana aata nahin dobara by Lata Mangeshkar from Shirin Farhad (1956), lyrics Tanvir Naqvi, music S Mohinder

S Mohinder was not a mainstream music director. Once in a while a song comes about which one can say, such songs are not composed, but they happen. Guzra hua zamana is one such song one comes across in a lifetime. No wonder many readers have kept it at #1. This was the year of peaking of Lata Mangeshkar, how many top songs one can fit at #1.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I2RefAyeVRA&list=RDI2RefAyeVRA&start_radio=1

7. Piya te kahan aa gayo, Nehra lagay by Lata Mangeshkar & chorus from Toofan Aur Diya (1956), lyrics Meerabi, music Vasant Desai

An allegorical film, Toofan Aur Diya had three Meera Bhajans. There is a chorus too in the song, but there is only one distinct voice – of Lata Mangeshkar. So I am counting it as a solo.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B5cSmNDboOI&list=RDB5cSmNDboOI&start_radio=1

8. Muraliya baaje ri Jamuna ke teer by Lata Mangeshkar from Tofan Aur Diya (1956), lyrics Meerabai, music Vasant Desai

Another great melody from this film, written by Meerabai. The beat is like any romance number.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CK4LCeAjuwY&list=RDCK4LCeAjuwY&start_radio=1

9. Na jaane tum kaun mei aankhon mein sama gaye by Lata Mangeshkar from Patrani (1956), lyrics Shailendra, music Shankar-Jaikishan

This Pradeep Kumar-Vyjayanthimala-starer film, directed by Vijay Bhatt, gave ample opportunity to Vyjayanthimala to show her dancing skillas. This song is more of the same, But the flute prelude and interlude creates a magical impact.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bYYUrT5d38E&list=RDbYYUrT5d38E&start_radio=1

10. Mere sapne mein aana re sajna by Lata Mangeshkar from Rajhath (1956), lyrics Shailendra, Music Shankar-Jaikishan

Now I was coning to an end of the list of Best Ten, yet there were at least five equally good songs from Patrani and Nai Dilli and some others were left out. That was the kind of domination SJ had in the year, and Lata Mangeshkar generally during the era. I didn’t want to miss out my long-term favourite Mere sapne mein aana re. So, here it is completing the Best Ten.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MGuXHtEzrDE&list=RDMGuXHtEzrDE&start_radio=1

Acknowledgement and Disclaimer
The song links have been given from the YouTube only for the listening pleasure of music lovers. This blog has no commercial interest and it does not claim or suggest any copyright over these songs which vests with the respective owners.

And the SOY Award for the Best Female Solo of 1939 goes to?

One can make a general observation about the female solos of 1939. Following the long-term ratio, the female solos outnumber the male solos by a good margin in this year too. But in the era of dominance of KL Saigal and Pankaj Mullick, they are still familiar and top of the recall. But female solos in the vintage era suffer in comparison – there was no Saigal or Pankaj Mullick among them. I have earlier observed that there was no Lata Mangeshkar before Lata Mangeshkar. Among the 50/52 MEMORABLE SONGS in the year included in my overview post, the number of female solos is about 23 against 16 by male singers.

The female singing in Vintage Era was full of rich variety, but today it sounds very dated, though I like it a lot. The problem of the Vintage Era female singing is that a larger percentage is unknown. After my Overview Post, and Wrap Up 1 about male solos, now it is time for Wrap Up 2 about female solos

Readers’ comments

Let us look at the readers’ comments. Arunkumar Deshmukh always gives unambiguous preferences. His choice for the best female solo is Naseem Bano’s Zindagi ka saaz bhi kya saaz hai, baj raha hai aur beawaz hai from Minerva Movietone’s iconic film Pukar (1939), composed by Mir Sahib. N Venkataraman has given his list of best ten, which is topped by three Khursheed song of which two are my great favourites: Aaj mere ghar mehman aaye and Bhanwra rasiya re manbasiya from Aap Ki Marzi (1939), composed by Gyan Dutt. Raunak Joy has give his 10 best plus one special mention, i.e. 11 songs in all. Some are from outside my list. I have heard them all and included some of them in Special Songs, and some in the main list of Best Ten. He is a New Theatres man, so his choices are leaning heavily towards RC Boral-Kanan Devi.

On the basis of aforesaid discussion, now I am ready with my Special Songs and the Best Ten Female solos.

Special Songs

1. Zara naino se naina milao baanke sanwariya by Amirbai Karnataki from Baghi (1939), lyrics Gauri Shankar Lal ‘Akhtar’, music Shanti Kumar Desai

We all know Kanan Devi’s Zara naino se naina milaye jaao re mohe banke raseele sanwariya from Hospital (1943), composed by Kamal Dasgupta. Now thanks to N Venkataraman we know that in 1939 there is a song with similar mukhada in the voice of Amirbai Karnataki. It starts with a long recital prelude – Man samjhavat din gayo, maha kathin hai rain, ‘Akhtar’ ab main kya karun, bin dekhe nahin chain; Jaake naina .. bhar bhar aave nain… Zara nainon se naina milao baanke sanwariya. It takes time to get over the effect of Kanan Devi, but you start liking Amirbai Karnataki’s rendering too. I start my Special Songs with this song. Vemkataraman ji added one more song by Amirbai Karnataki from Baghi (1939) film, making the number of female solos 25.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kUJpqmuvy1Y&list=RDkUJpqmuvy1Y&start_radio=1

2. Chal dheere dheere dheere teri jeevan gathari bhaari re by Vasanti from Aap Ki Marzi (1939), lyrics PL Santoshi, music Gyan Dutt

An excellent song from Aap Ki Marzi (1939) from an unknown singer of Vintage Era. Since I have included two Kursheed songs in the main list of Best Ten, I am including it in Special Songs, not suggesting this song is lesser than those songs. It has deep philosophical message. In life, we gather along a lot of baggage; sometimes we are not able to shed the baggage. Therefore, the least we can do is to slow down the pace of life.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ESxpBmxh2Q&list=RD5ESxpBmxh2Q&start_radio=1

3. Kabhi neki bhi uske jee mein gar aa jaaye hai mujhse by Miss Kalyani (1939), lyrics Mirza Ghalib, music Khemchand Prakash

While the film’s lyricist is not credited in HFGK, Miss Kalyani sings this well-known ghazal of Mirza Ghalib in the characteristic style of ghazal singing by female singers of that era. A peculiar feature of this song is how she splits the word नेकी into the two letters far apart. ‘Ne’ gets attached to ‘Kabhine’. If you are not familiar with the wordings you would keep scratching your head what exactly is the lyrics.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mjSvMk7SLUU&list=RDmjSvMk7SLUU&start_radio=1

4. Bhaiya tore chhote nanadi kaahe karun singar by Shirin Bano from Bijlee (1939), lyrics Lallubhai Nayak, music Shankar Rao Vyas

There is a tradition of folk songs in which the married lady laments that her groom is a small child. She rues to her nanadi (sister-in-law), “for whom should I do the singaar; I am sixteen year old, but he is only twelve and asks for being taken to lap.” Please also note the age of 16 for the lady; in the olden days it was a mature age for women; in today’s jurisprudence, a 16-year old girl is still below the age of consent and she is regarded as a minor to be protected by the state by stringent law, such as POCSO.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rp4fhdFfRr8&list=RDrp4fhdFfRr8&start_radio=1

5. Rang rasiya aao ri by Vatsala Kumthekar from Madhu Bansuri (1939), lyrics unknown, music Damodar Sharma

I had not included this song in my Memorable Songs in the Overview post. Raunak Joy drew our attention to it. HFGK identifies the singer of only this song out of 14. She had a very pleasant voice. She sings in a pure classical style. Sounds to me like Bhimpalasi. Experts may please confirm.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w_V1mmXEMjA&list=RDw_V1mmXEMjA&start_radio=1

6. Sooni padi hai sitar Meera ke jeevan ki by Leela Chitnis from Kangan (1939), lyrics Pradeep, music Saraswati Devi

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZPBcyQg_OVA&list=RDZPBcyQg_OVA&start_radio=1

7. Mope daar gaye saari rang ki gagar by Waheedan Bai from Comrades (1939), lyrics Dr Safdar ‘Aah’, music Anil Biswas. 

Those were the heydays of Anil Biswas. Here is a song by a singer from his early team of singers

8. Achche Isa ho, mareezon ka khayal achcha hai by Waheedan Bai from Thokar (1939), lyrics PL Santoshi, music Gyan Dutt

Another song from this film is my favourite, which I have included in the main list; so let me fit it here.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=97NCl2VnFNk&list=RD97NCl2VnFNk&start_radio=1

9. Geet suno wo geet sainya by Miss Sheela (1939), lyrics Kamal Amrohi, music Mir Sahib

There are many good songs still left sung by Vintage Era singers. But only this song has a video, of good quality at that. I remembered this song up till now as ‘Geet sunao geet‘. But the caption and HFGK both mention the song as ‘Geet suno wo geet‘. Therefore, I am correcting myself. This song enters the list of songs I have misheard for many years.

10. Jogan bhatak rahi hai ban ban by Leela Chitnis from Kangan (1939), lyrics Narottam Vyas, music Saraswati Devi

After listening to the songs of Kangan, I am falling in love with them. This song I have heard for the first time, but it is worth including in the list of Special songs at least.

Best Female Solos

1. Bhanwra rasiya re manbasiya, tu jaye kahan by Khursheed from Aap Ki Marzi (1939), lyrics PL Santoshi, music Gyan Dutt

Khursheed was a big singer of our early films; remember her songs from the film Tansen (1943), in which she held her own against KL Saigal, both in acting and singing. Aap Ki Marzi must be her one of the first well-known films, in which this song is quite remarkable for her full-throated singing.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0cQ-fjJ6zJw&list=RD0cQ-fjJ6zJw&start_radio=1

2. Aaj mere ghar mehmaan aye by Khursheed from Aap Ki Marzi (1939), lyrics Pyarelal Santoshi, music Gyan Dutt.

Another song from this film I like a lot is Aaj mere ghar mehmaan aye. There is another lyricist, PS Kalla, in the film. But this song, too, is written by PL Santoshi who was a man of multifarious talents – lyricist, screenplay-writer, director and producer of films.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xMoG2F-s5OE&list=RDxMoG2F-s5OE&start_radio=1

3. Loot liyo man dheer by Kanan Devi from Jawani Ki Reet (1939), lyrics Arzoo Lakhnavi, music RC Boral

Kanan Devi was very sweet. It was very difficult to choose between Khursheed’s above two songs and this song. But they belong to different styles. For enjoying Kanan Devi, you close your eyes in the stillness of night, and let the music flow,

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ixui_Hrq0oU&list=RDIxui_Hrq0oU&start_radio=1

4. Hawa tum dheere baho mere aate honge chitchor by Leela Chitnis from Kangan (1939), lyrics Pradeep, music Saraswati Devi

Kangan with lead pair Ashok Kumar and Leela Chitnis was another superhit film form the Bombay Talkies. The film had three lyricists (including Kabir) and two music directors – Saraswati Devi and RC Pal, but the songs are individually credited. This song has led me to believe that Leela Chitnis was a very good singer. Fortunately, a reasonable quality video is available of this song.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AKcTzV11a4M&list=RDAKcTzV11a4M&start_radio=1

5. Hoga na vaida se ilaaj mori peer ka by Ramdulari from Dil Hi To Hai (1939), lyrics Kidar Sharma, music Acharya Bhishmdev Chatterjee

I was floored by this song on the first hearing. I was aware of two Ramdulari songs from the film Chitralekha (1941). This is an exquisite song from another unheard-of film. I believe Acharya Bhishmdev Chatterjee was a doyen of classical music in Bengal, having had training under Khalifa Badal Khan of Delhi gharana. He was an eminent concert performer and teacher of classical music. His famous disciples included Begum Akhtar, Kanan Devi, Juthika Roy, SD Burman and Pahadi Sanyal. Which style would you slot this song into? It is very obviously a folk song. It is structured as a ghazal, tuned and sung in thumri style. A beautiful song. Many years later, Sahir Ludhiyanavi wrote a qawwali Na to Karwan ki talsh hai, na to humsafar ki talash hai (Barsaat Ki Raat, 1960) with similar thoughts: Mere namuraad  junoon ka ab hai ilaaj koi to maut hai, jo dawa ke naam par zahar de us chaaragar ki talash hai. This song has been added by Raunak Joy.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GHHXZevZAX8

6. Zindagi ka saaz bhi kya saaz hai, baj raha hai aur beawaz hai by Naseem Bano from Pukar (1939), lyrics Kamal Amrohi, music Mir Sahib

I understand this Naseem Bano was the mother of Saira Bano. She is celebrated for her beauty, and it is said that she was infinitely more beautiful than her daughter. You can see the majestic Chandramohan in the role of Emperor Jahangir. Naseem Bano is his consort, in the role of Noorjehan, who was also famous for her innocence. Pukar is the first of Sohrab Modi’s great trilogy of historicals. Kamal Amrohi should be the person who later married Meena Kumari, and is regarded as the cause for her alcoholism and ultimate demise.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k5-9MWmqjSg&list=RDk5-9MWmqjSg&start_radio=1

7. Chali pawan harson, phool rahi sarson by Kanan Devi from Jawani Ki Reet (1939), lyrics Arzoo Lakhnavi, music RC Boral

Jawani Ki Reet had another great song by Kanan Devi.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GrIHdn88OAQ&list=RDGrIHdn88OAQ&start_radio=1

8. Tum bin hamri kaun khabar le Govardhan Giridhari by Miss Sheela from Pukar (1939), lyrics Kamal Amrohi, music Mir Sahib

If I include Zindagi ka saaz bhi kaya saaz hai by Naseem Bano, I have to include this beautiful bhajan by Miss Sheela. It is difficult to choose between the two which is better. This is sung by actor-singer Miss Sheela who had an important role in the film. The video is of good quality; you can see her singing in the song. This bhajan reminds me of Amirbai Karnataki’s bhajans, such as Ab tere siwa kaun mera Krishna Kanhaiya.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kx_zQ9ppYwQ&list=RDkx_zQ9ppYwQ&start_radio=1

9. Ab kisliye kal ki baat kate hansi khushi se raat by Shanta Hublikar (a multi-lingual song) from Aadmi (1939), lyrics several, music Master Krishna Rao

An entertainer Shanta Hublikar has patrons from many regional languages, therefore, she sings in many languages to entertain them. You see her joyous and free dancing; clearly the patrons eat out of her palm. There is a clamour by them to sing in their language; she playfully dons their cap on her head and starts singing in their language. A treat for the eyes.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JOQbhXJphCU&list=RDJOQbhXJphCU&start_radio=1

10. Aankhon aankhon mein pila di mere saki ne… Kaali jo ghata chhayi hai by Waheedan Bai from Thokar (1939), lyrics PL Santoshi, music Gyan Dutt

Waheedan Bai sings this full-throated song. She starts with a ghazal-style recital, typical of female ghazal singing of that era.  I had mentioned this song in the Overview Post that it was the last film of Waheedan Bai with Ranjit studios; thereafter, she had a further successful run with Surendra with Sagar Movietone, and its successor National Studios, with another doyen of music, Anil Biswas.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ikdaCqyrPqU&list=RDikdaCqyrPqU&start_radio=1

In conclusion,
The SOY Award for the Best Female Solo goes jointly to
Bhanwra rasiya re manbasiya; Aaj mere ghar mehmaan aaye; and Loot liyo man dheer, and the Best Female Singer goes jointly to 
Khursheed and Kanan Devi  

Acknowledgement and Disclaimer
The song links have been given or embedded from the YouTube only for the listening pleasure of music lovers. This blog has no commercial interest. It does not claim directly or indirectly any copyright over these songs, nor is it interested in challenging anyone’s copyright claims.

Old Bollywood was our nursery for Urdu. Where else could you get Tamaam gawaahon ke bayanat and memberaan-e-jury ki sifaarish ke maddenazar? There were always fasadat, khayalat in our films. In between there were some exceptions like Khayalon mein kisi ke is tarah aaya nahin karte. But soon it was back to Ye meri khwahish ye khayalat kise pesh karun.

Those days I got hooked to Urdu language. There was a local announcer who was known as Patna’s Ameen Sayani. With the difference that whereas Ameen Sayani started with Behno aur bhaaiyo, our local Ameen Sayani’s trademark was Khawateen-o-hazraat, Main Diwali ke muqaddas mauke par aap sabka khair maqdam karta hun. Sometimes, he became more flowery: Aaj ki mehfil ke sadr Janab.., Hazreen-e-mehfil, tamam khawateen-o-hazraat..

Then I started listening to news from AIR Urdu Service. Since I knew which country’s PM was visiting India, it was easy to understand the meaning of Donon mulkon ke wazeer-e-aazam ne mukhtalif muddon par tabaadala-khayal kiya. Then, listening to the Parliament news, we learnt that, mukhalfat karnewaali jammatein always did mazammat of intezamia. I hit a roadblock in learning Urdu/Arabic script. My Urdu remained limited to our old Bollywood. ‘Old’, because now our films have got rid of their fetish for ‘simplified language’ by switching to easy-to-understand words like geetkar rather than naghmanigar. Those were the days of Afsananigar in our films and it was easy to extrapolate the word to mean the person who had written the Afsana of the film.

Since SOY deals with legacy songs, very often we discuss songs like Afsana likh rahi hun dil-e-beqaraar ka. Or Aye bhi wo, gaye bhi wo, ek to fasana ban gaya. Sagai (1951) film had a song Dil ki kahani kahna to chaahe, haye ri kismet kah na sake, composed by C Ramchandra. I knew a friend’s wife was a creative writer. What was she doing now, my friend told me she was writing afsane. Ater checking some sources I could make out that in Urdu literature, it was a genre like our kahani (as distinct from another genre, larger in size, novel). Urdu adab has simply retained the word novel to mean the same thing.

But I was still not satisfied about it. I asked different people who I thought could know. It appears there has to be some element of a folk romantic legend in afsana. In that sense it is similar to Dastan or Kissa whereas kahani (or short story) has a touch of modernity about it. Afsana is a word of Persian origin which has a very ancient culture going back to several millennia, whereas Hindi kahani originated in the early 20^th century. In Europe it would have originated much earlier. A word’s synonym in another language may not mean the same thing, there may be difference in nuances. Afsana sounds sweet to me, and I would not use a bland substitute.

Dastangoi originated in the 17^th century. Later, it became extinct. The literal meaning is narrating a legend; it is a performing art on stage. It has been revived recently by some enthusiasts based in Lucknow.  On YouTube, if you search Dastangoi, you would find many videos. I have seen it performed generally by a pair of men. My impression is, it is to catch breath, and it just creates greater impact when one Dastango tapers off, and the other takes off instantly. I should alert you, some videos are classic legends, on the lines of Vijaydan Detha’s folk tales; but some are about everyday characters we see around us. Thus, my search to understand the difference between afsana, dastan, kahani remains inconclusive.

Fasana has no such ambiguity. It retains a consistent meaning; in my mind it creates an image of scandal or unwelcome publicity of a romantic affair.

Let us enjoy some songs which use these words and try to understand their nuances from the context.

1. Afsana likh rahin dil-e-beqarar ka by Uma Devi from Dard (1947), lyrics Shakeel Badayuni, music Naushad

Uma Devi had vowed that she would sing her first song only under the baton of Naushad. Naushad was blessed with some magic touch those days. Uma Devi’s vow was fulfilled and Naushad created an immortal song. The film had at least two more afsana songs: Hum dard ka afsana duniya ko suna denge; and Ye afsana nahin zalim mere dil ki haqeeqat hai. For Uma Devi this song must have remained a haseen afsana, because, after a couple of years of singing career, due to some hormonal problem she started gaining weight, and in our cruel Bollywood stereotype, she became the comedienne Tun Tun.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jfR5p0nefio&list=RDjfR5p0nefio&start_radio=1

2. Kahan tak jafa husnwalon ki sahte by Mukesh from Tohfa (1947), lyrics Saqib Lakhanvi, music Abdul Rauf

In the same year you get a beautiful dastan song. This is among the best songs of early Mukesh. My long-time favourite, there is a line in this song that says, Zamana bade shauq se sun raha tha, hameen so gaye dastan kahte kahte. This is beautiful poetry.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3jg7pvRElfY&list=RD3jg7pvRElfY&start_radio=1

3. Aao bachcho aaj tumein ek kahani sunaun..Ek raaje ka beta lekar udanewala ghoda by KL Saigal from President (1937), lyrics Pt. Sudarshan, music KL Saigal

This song forces me to rethink the nuanced difference explained to me by experts. In this song the Saigal-character in the film narrates a ‘kahani’ to a group of children. This kahani has a king’s son, a princess from a fairyland, a flying horse which flies off on a kick and goes across the world – in short it has all the elements of an afsana, or dastan. A beautiful song though. Depending on the context, kahani or afsana have identical meaning.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KIoHKGcPJaI&list=RDKIoHKGcPJaI&start_radio=1

4. Aye bhi wo gaye bhi wo, khatm fasana ho gaya by Parul Ghosh from Namaste (1943), lyrics DN Madhok, music Naushad

Talking of Naushad’s magic, this fasana song is a good example. Parul Ghosh’s best song which comes to top of my recall is not a composition by her brother Anil Biswas, but this Naushad composition. What a romantic backdrop! – He came and he went away, and that was the end of fasana.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2LNwI7Slgq0&list=RD2LNwI7Slgq0&start_radio=1

Let us have another set of songs with these quadruplet words.

5. Chalo ek baar phir se ajnabi ban janye hum dono by Mahendra Kapoor from Gumrah (1963), lyrics Sahir Ludhiyanvi, music Ravi

Sahir wrote a mother of all nazms. Its last stanza is Wo afsana jise anjam tak lana na ho mumkin, use ek khoobsurat mod dekar chhodna achchha.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nSC3SXmM0O4&list=RDnSC3SXmM0O4&start_radio=1

6. Pyar ki dastan tum suno to kahein by Lata Mangeshkar from Farar (1965), lyrics Kaifi Azmi, music Hemant Kumar

I think as the Urdu poetry matured, you would find more dastan songs in the 60s. Dastan lends itself to different poetic expressions; thus, it is more capable of expressing very complex emotions. Most of the dastan songs were absolutely gorgeous, and you can reel off many from your memory – Wo bhooli dastan phir yaad aa gayi; Ajeeb dastan hai ye, kanhan shuru kahan khatam; Jo humne dastan apni sunayi aap kyun roye. Each better than the other. Among a long list of outstanding dastan songs, I am very fond of Pyar ki dastan tum suno to kahein. This beautiful song figured in an obscure film with unknown actors (I believe Farar was produced by Hemant Kumar). This is picturised on a lady I do not recognize. Please notice the element of narration in dastan. But it is meant for one special person, she does not care if the entire world is listening to her dastan or not.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pTbSH-MVUfo&list=RDpTbSH-MVUfo&start_radio=1

7. Dil ki kahani kahna to chaahe haye ri kismat kah na sake by Lata Mangeshkar from Sagai (1951), lyrics Rajendra Krishna, music C Ramchandra

C Ramchandra was not the first music director to use recital prelude in songs, but in many songs, it helped set the mood of the song. My early Lata Mangeshkar favourite, this helps us think about the difference between afsana-dastan-kahani. This song starts with the recital prelude: ज़रा सी देर थी बाक़ी
बहार आने में, लगा दी आग मुक़द्दर ने आशियाने में.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jvdtSTIwpsg&list=RDjvdtSTIwpsg&start_radio=1

8. Ae mohabbat unse milne ka bahana ban gaya/ tumne dekha, humne dekha ek fasana ban gaya by Rafi & Lata Mangeshkar from Baazar (1949), lyrics Qamar Jalaabadi music Shyam Sundar

Among the quadruplet, I find fasana maintains a consistent meaning. I started with Aaye bhi wo, gaye bhi wo, and that was the end of the fasana. In this Rafi-Lata Mangeshkar duet too, you saw me, and I saw you, and that was enough to cause a fasana.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YhDhIeGkJus&list=RDYhDhIeGkJus&start_radio=1

With a little effort one can go on and on, but let me end with this set of songs on these four words.

9. Parwanon se preet seekh le, shama se seekhe jal jana, phir duniya ko yaad rahega tera mera afsana by Suraiya from Bilwamangal (1954), lyrics DN Madhok, music Bulo C Rani

Suraiya was blessed with sweetest of voices. Her personal unrequited love was the stuff of an afsana, which the world discusses till today.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A5Gvksd8Wpw&list=RDA5Gvksd8Wpw&start_radio=1

10. Bas ek chup si lagi hai, nahin udas nahin by Hemant Kumar from Sannata (1966), lyrics Gulzar, music Hemant Kumar

In the previous set you heard at #6 a Hemant Kumar composition in the voice of Lata Mangeshkar – Pyar ki dastan tum suno to kahein – from a small banner film Farar. Hemant Kumar was blessed with a divine voice. You might be wondering how a dastan song would sound in the voice of Hemant Kumar. There is indeed one, my long-time favourite. And it is my special favourite precisely because of dastan in the voice of Hemant Kumar, but you have to have patience till his last para (at 2.30) when he sings:

Wo dastan jo humne kahi bhi, humne likhi
Aaj wo khud se suni hai, nahin udas nahin.

In the process of creation, writing comes first, then the narration. But since narration is an important part of dastan, Hemant Kumar gives precedence to kahna. Many readers would be taken aback to see Soumitra Chatterjee on the screen, but the uploader clarifies that the visuals are from another film. I don’t think Soumitra acted in any worthwhile Hindi film. This is a twin song, the other version is by Lata Mangeshkar. This song is a strong proof of my theory of Twin songs – the male version is a front-runner, the female version is a laggard, and generally off the radar. This is a combined link.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5omcMCiaDBw&list=RD5omcMCiaDBw&start_radio=1

11. Meri kahani bhoolnewale tera jahan aabad rahe by Rafi from Deedar (1951), lyrics Shakeel Badayuni, music Naushad

The Golden Era of music had many gems on kahani – Nirbal se ladai bhagwan ki, ye kahani hai diye ki aur toofan ki; Suno chhoti si gudiya ki lambi kahani; Apni kahani bhool ja, kuchh to nishani bhool ja, mausam beeta jaye; Dil ki kahani rang layi hai. I choose Meri kahani bhoolnewale as it comes at an important moment in the story. Dilip Kumar was very convincing as a blind person with his open eyes. He must have observed such blind persons very intently. Nargis, his childhood friend, has forgotten everything about those days, whereas from the description he is able to make out that she is the same person. He blesses her, May her world flourish! This film is also an important landmark in the history of Hindi film music. This film marks the beginning of Naushad settling for Rafi as his main male playback singer; it also marks the first time Talat Mahmood started realising the threat to his status as the premier ghazal singer from this semi-literate rustic boy from Punjab.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gOMHgfrHq90&list=RDgOMHgfrHq90&start_radio=1

12. Jana tha humse door bahane bana liye by Lata Mangeshkar from Adalat (1958), lyrics Rajendra Krishna, music Madan Mohan

In our films, a courtesan could love a patron, but the respect of wedding, and love was beyond her hope. In this poignant song, in the second stanza she sings:

Rukhsat ke waqt tumne jo ansoo humein diye
Un ansounon se humne fasane bana liye

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C5E0lWNeNjk&list=RDC5E0lWNeNjk&start_radio=1

13. Unhein kissa-e-gham jo likhne ko baithe to dekhe kalam ki rawani mein ansoon by Rafi from Naya Kanoon (1965), lyrics Hasrat Jaipuri, music Madan Mohan

I have mentioned the word kissa, too, as a synonym for dastan or kahani. I have not tried to look for a kissa song in each set. But this recital kissa song makes up for all. Hasrat Jaipuri was not Madan Mohan’s regular lyricist. But this nazm is worth quoting in full.

Unhein kissa-e-gham jo likhne ko baithe
to dekhe kalam ki rawaani mein ansoo
ye anmol taare wo ulfat ke moti
unhein hum ne bheje nishani mein ansoo

Unhein hum kahani sunane na paye
unhein daag dil ke dikhane na paye
ye ansoo hamare bade kaam aye
zubaa’n ban gaye be-zubani mein ansoo

Na samjho ke ansoo hain gham ki kahani
ye ansoo hain ulfat ki pehli nishaani
muqaddar ke katib ka itna karam hai
ke likkhe hain meri kahani mein ansoo
unhen kissa-e-gham jo…

Zamane mein taqdeer sab ki juda hai
tujhe kuchh mila hai mujhe kuch mila hai
udhar hain teri zindagani mein khushiyan
idhar hain meri zindagani mein ansoo
unhen kissa-e-gham jo likhne ko baithe
to dekhe kalam ki rawaani mein ansoo

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tTIPAB0Wv64

Acknowledgement and Dislaimer
The YT links of songs have been given only for the listening pleasure of music lovers. This blog has no commercial interest and claims no copyright over these songs, either directly or indirectly, which vests with the respective owners.

In transliteration of Hindi words into Roman script you may find some inconsistencies. That is because, I do not like too many double vowels.

And the SOY Award for the best male solo of 1956 goes to ?

The 1950s are an era of plenty. This was the period when all the greats of the Golden Era were going great guns, creating their best music. Having said that, Naushad, one of the greatest, was absent in the year, but others were active. We are moving in tandem with review of 1939 songs. While in this year nothing was known about the singers of 61% songs, in 1956 that kind of unknown is less than 6%. All the great male playback singers – Rafi, Mukesh, Manna Dey, Hemant Kumar, Talat Mahmood and Kishore Kumar – were singing outstanding songs. Talat Mahmood is an interesting case. Among the great male playback singers, he faded the earliest. He shone like a meteor in the early 50s; and late 50s onwards, his best was over. In the year 1956, we find a number of his memorable duets, but his great solos are few and far between. Contrast this with his spectacular songs up to 1955. Mahendra Kapoor’s glorious period was yet to arrive.

Special Songs

1. Nabi ke chaahnewale nirali shaan rakhte hain by GM Durrani & chorus from Aawaara Shahzadi (1956), lyrics Bahaar Shayani, music Jimmy

GM Durrani was once easily the senior singer, and Rafi treated him like a mentor. But Rafi’s rise spelt the exit of GM Durrani, so much so that by the 1970s, in the film Lal Patthar (1971), he was on the sarangi, lip-synching Rafi’s song Unke khayal aaye to aate chale gaye. His exit was gradual, but it appeared abrupt, and if you want to understand the reasons this qawwali is a good example. Sung in a lower octave, where GM Durrani was confident, this qawwali in the praise of Nabi sounds to me without soul. He has sung another solo and a duet with Geeta Dutt in the film, but he does not cause much impact.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ag2jhrEHOlA&list=RDag2jhrEHOlA&start_radio=1

2. Aankhon mein tumhare jalwe hain hothon pe tumhare afsaane by Rafi and chorus from Shirin Farhad (1956), lyrics Saba Afghani, music S Mohinder

You can contrast GM Durrani’s listless qawwali with Rafi’s verve in this qawwali. He had a very nice solo in Shirin Farhad – Hazaron rang badlega zamana. Besides, he had several superb solos in the year. But I find this qawwali by Rafi and chorus absolutely charming, deserving to be included in special songs.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P9weuL3pr9E&list=RDP9weuL3pr9E&start_radio=1

3. Diya to jala sab raat re baalam by CH Atma from Dhake Ki Malmal (1956), lyrics Sarojini Mohan Nayyar, music OP Nayyar

This should be very high in the list of “OP Nayyar compositions unlike OP Nayyar”. His wife Sarojini Mohan Nayyar as the lyricist, and OP Nayyar as the composer created a spectacular hit Preetam aan milo (NFS) for CH Atma. That song is still now the identity of CH Atma. This song from the film Dhake Ki Malmal is another landmark song of CH Atma. It could have very well been in the main list of best ten, but in the face of several eternal male solos in the year by mainstream male singers, I keep this in Special Songs.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JWiUrCNPRdE&list=RDJWiUrCNPRdE&start_radio=1

4. Denewale jab bhi deta poora chhappad phaar ke deta by Kishore Kumar from Funtoosh (1956), lyrics Sahir Ludhiyanavi, music SD Burman

This was a big year for Kishore Kumar in which he got many eternal solos, and duets in the film Funtoosh, composed by SD Burman, and, surprisingly, Nai Dilli, composed by Shankar-Jaikishan. In the latter film, he was himself the hero of the film opposite Vyjayanthimala. In Funtoosh he gave playback for Dev Anand. The hero was completely Funtoosh in this film with Mehmood. Picturisation was equally superb.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RrRNGdIp9qM&list=RDRrRNGdIp9qM&start_radio=1

5. Ae meri topi palat ke aa by Kishore Kumar from Funtoosh (1956), lyrics Sahir Ludhiyanvi, music SD Burman

This is another song from the same film. Dev Anand acts a full Funtoosh, now with his topi, lip-synching Kishore Kumar. A fun-filled song. There is a well-known story behind this song which causes no end of controversy between Sachin Karta-camp and RD Burman’s camp. It is said that this tune was composed by the child-prodigy RD Burman, which was used by SD Burman in the film. I find this controversy very pointless and futile. Burmans were a musical family living under the same roof; it is quite likely Pancham might have shown sparks of musical talent as a child. One getting inspired by the other is not unusual. SD Burman is credited as the music director, and that is that.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FuuYt9OZFxM&list=RDRrRNGdIp9qM&index=3

6. Milte hi nazar aap mere dil mein aa gaye by Kishore Kumar from Nai Dilli (1956), lyrics Shailendra, music Shankar-Jaikishan

Kishore Kumar acted opposite top heroines of the films in his heydays. In this film Vyjayanthimala is the leading lady opposite him. He does the best he does against ladies – crazily following her, and teasing her no end. He didn’t take ‘No’ for an answer. The ladies were exasperated but in the end love bloomed between them.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S-eRBXPB4Dc&list=RDS-eRBXPB4Dc&start_radio=1

Best Male Solos

As we go down the list of MEMORABLE SONGS, it is easy to make a shortlist of ten best male solos, most people would choose among these, with variations in rankings which shows every music lover’s subjective choice. Clearly, the best has to be from:

1. Mukesh: Koi dil mein hai aur koi hai nazar mein (Film Anurag, music Mukesh), Zindagi khwab hai khwab mein jhhoth kya aur bhala sach hai kya (Film Jaagte Raho, music Salil Chowdhury)
2. Rafi: Maine chaand sur sitaaron ki tamanna ki thi (Film Chandrakanta, music N Datta), Garib jaan ke humko na tum mita dena, (Film Choo Mantar, music OP Nayyar), Le ja uski duaayein ho jo tera ho na saka (Film Heer, music Anil Biswas), Parwardigar-e-alam tera hi hai sahara (Film Hatimtai, music SN Tripathi), Aaye bahar ban ke lubha ke chale gaye (Film Rajhath, music Shankar-Jaikishan)
3. Manna Dey: Sur na saje, kya gaaun main, Bhaye bhanjana vandana sun hamari; (Film Basant Bahar; music SJ); Nirbal se ladai bhagwan ki, ye kahani hai diye ki aur toofan ki (Film Toofan Aur Diya, music Vasant Desai)
4. Pradeep: Doosron ka dukhada door karnewaale tere dukh door karenge Ram, (Film Dashehra, music N Datta)
5. Hemant Kumar: Chali gori pi ke milan ko chali (Film Ek Hi Rasta, music Hemant Kumar), Dil chhed koi aisa naghma (Film Inspector, music Hemant Kumar)
6. Kishore Kumar: Dukhi man mere sun mera kahna (Film Funtoosh, music SD Burman), Dil dil se milakar dekho (Film Mem Sahib, music Madan Mohan), Arey bhai nikal ke aa ghar se (Film Nai Dilli, music Shankar-Jaikishan)

If you look at the above list, each of the 15 you would like to include in the best ten. There were some more which I have shifted to Special Songs. You would face the similar dilemma of plenty in several years of 50s and 60s. OP Nayyar did reduce our difficulty by giving many more duets to Rafi than solos. Anyhow, let us get down to the task of some pruning even from the top shortlist. Here are the Best Ten Male Solos of 1956.

Best Ten Male Solos

1-2. Koi dil mein hai aur koi hai nazar mein by Mukesh from Anurag (1956), lyrics Kaif Irfani, music Mukesh

Mukesh’s foray into acting and production turned out to be a misadventure. He soon realized he had to focus on his playback singing. But in this film in which he was the actor-singer opposite Nalini Jaiwant, he showed his singing ability. In this film he was also the music director. My top favourite of the year

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zh4M_MGmnmY&list=RDZh4M_MGmnmY&start_radio=1

2-1. Maine chaand aur sitaaron ki tamanna ki thi by Rafi from Chandrakanta (1956), lyrics Sahir Ludhiyanvi, music N Datta

There was very little to choose between Koi dil mein hai and Maine chaand aur sitaaron ki tamanna ki thi. I put it at the top jointly with the first song. I suspect that the video in the film is not real. In the whole video of about 4 minutes you don’t see the leading man and the lady.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lcFM-dP5OEI&list=RDlcFM-dP5OEI&start_radio=1

3. Chali gori pi ke milan ko chali by Hemant Kumar from Ek Hi Rasta (1956), lyrics Majrooh Sultanpuri, music Hemant Kumar

One heard that among the heroines of the era, Meena Kumari could not dance! In this video of family bliss, the leading lady-cum wife of Sunil Dutt and the mother of small kid(s) dances a perfect Kathak at home. Her Guruji has come and is on the tabla.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5FBNqSlLi90&list=RD5FBNqSlLi90&start_radio=1

4. Dil chhed koi aisa naghma by Hemant Kumar from Inspector (1956), lyrics SH Bihari, music Hemant Kumar

This is a Twin/Tandem song, having another version by Lata Mangeshkar, and this song also proves my theory of the male version being a front-runner and the female version, a laggard.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ncKCqngNClA&list=RDncKCqngNClA&start_radio=1

5. Dukhi man mere sun mere kahna by Kishore Kumar from Funtoosh (1956), lyrics Sahir Ludhiyanvi, music SD Burman

Kishore Kumar had the best of years. He showed remarkable talent in singing a pathos-filled song, lip—synched by the Funtoosh Dev Anand.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YIJPe8TAtxU&list=RDYIJPe8TAtxU&start_radio=1

6. Le ja uski duaayein ho jo tera ho na saka by Rafi from Heer (1956), lyrics Majrooh Sultanpuri, music Anil Biswas

In this film based on the popular Heer-Ranjha story, Rafi sings one of his best under the baton of the Bhishm Pitamah Anil Biswas. He sang at least three songs on the same tune; let me jog your memory of the other two – Kah ke bhi na aaye tum, ab chhupne lage tare (film Safar, 1946, music C Ramchandra) and Dil de ke dua denge (Film Naya Daur, 1957, OP Nayyar)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9VdqviZds98&list=RD9VdqviZds98&start_radio=1

7. Aaye bahar ban ke lubha kar chale gaye by Rafi from Rajhath (1956), lyrics Hasrat Jaipuri, music Shankar-Jaikishan

Rafi again. Before Shankar-Jaikishan fell to the temptation of composing loud musc for Shammi Kapoor, they composed absolutely soulful songs for Rafi. This is one of the best of SJ-Rafi from the 50s.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2fnROcmrj9I&list=RD2fnROcmrj9I&start_radio=1

8. Parwardigar-e-alam terai hai hai sahara by Rafi from Hatimtai (1956), lyrics Akhtar Romani, music SN Tripathi

Rafi was a very devout person. He sang for all the faiths with similar devotion.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rad2gbRFY8w&list=RDRad2gbRFY8w&start_radio=1

9. Zindagi khwab hai, khwab mein jhooth kya aur bhala sach hai kya by Mukesh from Jaagte Raho (1956), lyrics Shailendra, music Salil Chowdhury

This is an RK film, Raj Kapoor is in the cast, this song is sung by Mukesh. With so many credentials, this song is not picturized on Raj Kapoor, but Motilal. I love Motilal in this film, he is on return from a kotha, drunk, and not happy about coming to his sedate wife. The poor villager Raj Kapoor, is dazed at the scene, and is trying to process this information in his mind about the ways of decadent urban society.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hOTbHMJ0Ivs&list=RDhOTbHMJ0Ivs&start_radio=1

10. Dil dil se milakar dekho, nazron mein samakar dekho by Kishore Kumar from Mem Sahib (1956), lyrics Rajendra Krishna, music Madan Mohan

The leading man is on a drive with his sweetheart Meena Kumari. He sings this romantic delightful song with whistling of joy.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rt7z-U3wGyM&list=RDrt7z-U3wGyM&start_radio=1

In conclusion, SOY Award for the Best Male Solo of 1956 goes jointly to:

Koi dil mein hai aur koi hain azar mein mohabat ke sapne main kispe lutaaun – Mukesh
Maine chaand aur sitaaron ki tamanna ki thi – Rafi

Acknowledgement and Disclaimer
The song links have been given from the YouTube only for the listening pleasure of music lovers. This blog has no commercial interest and does not claim, either directly or indirectly, any copyright over these songs, which vests with the respective copyright owners.

In the Vintage Era review of songs, we have reached the end of the 30s. In a stark reminder of our poor record of preserving our legacy, our Resident Scholar, N Venkataraman, gives a stark figure that only 4 Hindi films – Pukar, Aadmi, Dushman, Durga – are available in public domain for viewing. These are from famous production houses: Minerva; Prabhat; New Theatres and Bombay Talkies. Talking of Venkataraman ji, he is a great asset to SOY. In addition to songs, he was very prompt in correcting any inaccuracy in historical (general history) details.

It appears some good quality video links of songs beyond the above four films are available on the YouTube. In my Overview Post, I had given a broad statistics that of the total number of songs in which song titles are known in the year, in less than 40% of the songs singers are known. It is not surprising that so much of our music is just not available. That is no reason for the mental barrier some music lovers feel in accessing the Vintage Era music. But they all have a sense of discovering never heard before gems.

The comments veered over great deal of history of that period, sometimes with a generous dollop of opinions. Overall, a very satisfying discussion. I thank all the participants for their active participation.

Coming back to the Wrap Up 1 about Best Male Solos, this was the era of KL Saigal (Dushman) and Pankaj Mullick (Kapalkundala) and they did sing everlasting songs which are remembered till date. I find Jagmohan’s Mujhe na sapnon se bahlaao is also from this year. This has to be one of his earliest non-film songs, and it is among his most recognizable songs.

In the Overview Post, I had given 9 Special Songs, some of these are clearly solos. Most of these were immensely liked by the readers. I have to explain “clearly solos”. This is a definitional problem. If a song has one distinct voice and rest chorus, or has some brief interjections, for convenience I count it as a solo.

Barjori kar ke sainya ne bainya marodi meri: I had mentioned it as a 12-year Ram Marathe giving playback to Shanta Hublikar. This was purely based on my memory of this meta film, in which Shahu Modak and Shanta Hublkar on the run bump into a live filming scene, and become casts in the film. Venkataraman ji corrects me that Ram Marathe gave playback to Narmada Shankar and not Shanta Hublikar. I have no means of disputing his assertion.

It appears Brandy Ki Bottle was a significant film of the era with message on ill effects of alcohol in a funny manner. We can also say, though in the initial years of the talkies era, silent films continued to be made with talkies, silent films were long dead by 1939. Besides, Venkataraman ji, all the readers made valuable comments. I would especially like to mention the name of Raunak Joy, who by dissertation-level comments introduces us to unheard gems, and enhances our understanding of the Vintage Era music.

Special songs

1. Sawan aye ya na aye jiya ghar aye sawan hai by Harish from Sadhana (1939), lyrics Kanhaiyalal Chaturvedi, music Anupam Ghatak

This song ticks several boxes to figure at the top of the Special Songs. The lyricist is our familiar slimy Lala in several films. The singer Harish is unknown but the song is extremely melodious. Lastly, it has to be traditional lyrics as we know this song very well from the film Dil Diya Dard Liya (1966), sung as a duet by Lata Mangeshkar and Asha Bhosle, and composed by Naushad. The lyricist of the latter song is Shakeel Badayuni. There are many such traditional bandishes whose writers are unknown. Therefore, our films have, without any qualms, followed the practice of crediting such traditional songs to the lyricist of the film. Except the mukhada, they change some words in the antara. Thus, the same traditional song with another set of changes in the mukhada becomes the creation of another lyricist. Our fellow blogger Anita first mentioned this song.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=COVJ16mGvlQ&list=RDCOVJ16mGvlQ&start_radio=1

2. Premnagar mein prem pujari prem sandesha laye hain by Mirza Musharraf from Gharib Ke Lal (1939), music Sagir Asif

This film had a superb duet Tujhe Bibbo kahun ki Sulochana, Uma Shashi kahun ya ki Jamna which had been discussed on this forum earlier as the referential song which mentions the greatest number of famous actors of the era. I have included this song among Special Songs in the Overview Post. This film has another outstanding solo, Premnagar mein prem pujari prem sandesha laye hain. The credit for discovering this song goes to N Venkataraman.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EGD2Y_vZUfY&list=RDEGD2Y_vZUfY&start_radio=1

3. Tu dekh zara dil ka darpan by Anil Biswas from Ek Hi Rasta (1939), lyrics Pt. Indra, music Anil Biswas

Anil Biswas did not miss a chance to sing in films for which he composed music. In this film in the cast, we find the names of Arun (should be Arun Ahuja, Govinda’s father) and Harish, who was no mean singer himself, but Anil Biswas is the sole male singer. The song is quite melodious though.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vRHrwYyCr60

4. Humein hua hai desh nikala by Surendra from Comrades (1939), lyrics Zia Sarhadi, music Anil Biswas

Bombay’s Saigal Surendra under the baton of Anil Biswas routinely sang songs of a good quality. You can notice Saigalesque voice inflection in Surendra’s singing.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0QA-Dr4snWo&list=RD0QA-Dr4snWo&start_radio=1

5. Maran re tu hi mero Shyam samaan by Kantlal from Kangan (1939), lyrics Pt Narottam Vyas, music RC Pal

The film had a dozen songs which included several songs by its lead actors Ashok Kumar and Leela Chitnis, some by Arun and some by Pradeep. In this cornucopia of songs, there is a solo song by Kantilal which I liked immensely. It is said to be based on a Bangla song by Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ziCYVzI2uI&list=RD5ziCYVzI2uI&start_radio=1

6. Jawani sab ko dhokha de by Najmal Hussain from Jawani Ki Reet (1939), lyrics Arzoo Lakhnavi, music RC Boral

Youth did played havoc in the life of the singer Najmal Hussain. I understand he was the one who was the hero opposite Devika Rani in Bombay Talkies inaugural film Jawani Ki Hawa (1935). During this period Devika Rani fell in love with Najmal Hussain. During the shooting of their second film Jeevan Naiya (1936), she eloped with him to Calcutta. In the current times Najmal Hussain would have been prosecuted for ‘love jihad’. This was a major social scandal in the elite Bengali society. Sashadhar Mukherjee, then still with Bombay Talkies, was despatched to Calcutta to persuade and fetch Devika Rani back. Bombay Talkies doors were shut for Najmal Hussain. The portion already shot with the pair was scrapped, and the film was reshot with a new actor. That led to the fortuitous entry of Ashok Kumar, who was content to work as a lab technician, as an actor. This gawky tall person with square cheek-bones went on to become the most successful superstar of Bombay Talkies and the country. Jawani Ki Reet was made by New Theatres, which shows not all Bengalis were furious at the misdemeanour of Najmal Hussain.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s5bSaznEleM&list=RDs5bSaznEleM&start_radio=1

7. O mrignayani O chandramukhi by Master Nissar from Taqdeer Ki Topi (1939), lyrics Pt. Bhushan, music Brijlal Sharma

We have heard a wonderful song about middle-aged romance from the film Rang Birangi (1983) sunng by Pt. Vasantrao Deshpande and Kumari Faiyaz. I had not included the above song in my Master List. The credit for discovering it goes to N Venkataraman. Since the tunes are different, I would not call it the inspiration for the later song, but the audio is very good and I am happy to include it in the list of Special Songs.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tSQJCzYnlHU&list=RDtSQJCzYnlHU&start_radio=1

Best male solos of 1939

1 Karun kya aas niraas bhayi, diya bujhe phir se jal jaye by KL Saigal from Dushman (1939), lyrics Arzoo Lakhnavi, music Pankaj Mullick

The song starts with Awaz ki duniyo ke doston. Obviously, it is shot in a radio station. Saigal also addresses his radio listeners about the reason for his sadness and sings this beautiful song.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mTDtfzljb3U&list=RDmTDtfzljb3U&start_radio=1

2. Preet mein hai jivan jokhon ki jaise kolhu mein sarson by KL Saigal from Dushman (1939), lyrics Arzoo Lakhnavi, music Pankaj Mullick

This song too starts with Awaz ki duniya ke dosto. Now KL Saigal’s lungs are in bad shape, and in the midst of this he completes this sad song. Pankaj Mullick was a great singer in his own right, and a wonderful music director. Dushman amply shows his selfless role in promoting KL Saigal as the iconic actor-singer of our films.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4vI3AFWPUz4&list=RD4vI3AFWPUz4&start_radio=1

3. Piya milan ko jana, jag ki laaj man ki mauz donon ko nibhana from Kapalkundala (1939), music Pankaj Mullick

Now we get a song sung by the great doyen himself. This song became his signature song, and most of us recognise Pankaj Mullick by this song. I should also mention, you would find the film mentioned as two different words, but my recollection is I had read the Hindi translation of Bankim Chandra’s novel titled as one word ‘Kapalkundala’. I request our Bengali Bhadralok N Venkataraman to throw light on this.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L7hB1lnUbiU&list=RDL7hB1lnUbiU&start_radio=1

3B. Piya milan ko jana by unidentified female voice and unidentified chorus from My Sister (1944), music Pankaj Mullick

YouTube is a wonderful place. Who could imagine this song has been referenced in My Sister (1944) which came five years later. By that time, KL Saigal had shifted to Bombay. This film was already on the floor in Calcutta made by New Theatres. Saigal promised that he would come back to complete this film. The uploader says he came back for his friend Pankaj Mullick. Pankaj Mullick in turn composed some of the most unforgettable songs for KL Saigal, including Ae qatib-e-tadeer mujhe itna bata de, Chhupo na chhupo na and Do naina matware tihare hum par zulum karein, in My Sister. But Pankaj Babu could not resist the temptation of referencing his own iconic song Piya milan ko jana. The scene starts with KL Saigal exclaiming to the lady (Sumitra Devi?), Gazab ho gaya, tumhare pitaji ko sab pata chal gaya hai. She coolly replies, Pata hai, we tumse milna chahte hain. Then she pulls him into another room full of people, and he is surprised Itne log? “”Haan, aaj mera janmadin hai”, and you can guess what her Saheli and friends sing.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fiCx_z-q6eA&list=RDfiCx_z-q6eA&start_radio=1

3C. Notun phagune jabe by SD Burman (a classic song composed by Himangshu Dutt, written by Ajay Bhattacharya/ Binoy Mukhopadhyay?)

While on a discovery trip, I tried to look up the original Bengali classic song composed by Himangshu Dutt (information courtesy Raunak Joy), I could find much later versions sung by different singers; therefore, I settled for this SD Burman rendering of 1936. Enjoy the original Bangla song which is clearly the inspiration for Piya milan ko jana.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WZ1PAr3t3KY

4. Mujhe na sapnon se bahlaao by Jagmohan Sursagar (NFS 1939), lyrics Faiyyaz Hashmi, music Kamal Dasgupta

Jagmohan debuted as Bengali singer about the same year when he sang under his real name Jaganmoy Mitra. His melodious voice instantly created an all-India sensation, and soon he started singing Hindi geets and bhajans as Jagmohan Sursagar. If this song is listed in the year it is impossible not to include it in the top ten of the year.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=myqmVeR2SdU&list=RDmyqmVeR2SdU&start_radio=1

5. Yun dard bhare dil ki aawaz sunayenge hum by Pankaj Mullick from Kapalkundala (1939), lyrics Arzoo Lakhnavi, music Pankaj Mullick

Next we come to another unforgettable song from Kapalkundala in the baritone voice of Pankaj Mullick

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OHP_Avuvhkw&list=RDOHP_Avuvhkw&start_radio=1

6. Pyari pyari surato, moh bhari murato by KL Saigal from Dushman (1939), lyrics Arzoo Lakhnavi, music Pankaj Mullick

This song also starts with Aawaz ki duniya ke dosto, like the other songs of KL Saigal. He is a radio singer, and his voice reaches the person to whom it is intended. Now he is cured of his lung ailment, and there is a cheer in his voice. The video is of poor quality; therefore, I am giving an audio link.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sz7UJ3B_m4s&list=RDSz7UJ3B_m4s&start_radio=1

7. Ban chale Ram Raghurai, aur sang Janki maai by Vishnudutt Phagnis from Sant Tulsidas (1939), lyric Pt. Indra, music Gyan Dutt

Sant Tulsidas was a significant bilingual (Marathi and Hindi) saint film. Vishnudutt Phagnis literally lived the role of Sant Tulsidas. This is a memorable song from the film deserving to be among the best ten male solos of the

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qC8dKyxXRnQ&list=RDqC8dKyxXRnQ&start_radio=1

8. Bahati Ganga Kashi teerath aya by Sureshbabu Mane from Sach Hai (1939), lyrics Pt. Niranjan Sharma, music Suresh Babu Mane

Suresh Babu Mane was trained in Kirana gharana by the doyen of Kirana and his father, Ustad Abdul Karim Khan himself. Note the stress on ‘ha’ in the first word. The normal pronunciation of the first word is bahti. Sureshbabu Mane earned fame as a great musicologist of his time, but not so much as a concert performer. It was rare to find his name as a music director, and even rarer to find his name listed as a singer. I am happy to include this song in the main list of the best male solos. The erudite readers can comment whether they see any signs in his singing of his great pedigree.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E6-FFmSs10U&list=RDE6-FFmSs10U&start_radio=1

9. Bhai hum pardesi log humein kaun jaane by Anil Biswas from Ek Hi Rasta (1939), lyrics Pt. Indra

I have included a song sung by Anil Biswas from this film in Special Songs. I find Anil Biswas’s this solo from the film good enough for inclusion in the best ten of the year. My view is now changing. Singing for Anil Biswas not only a fad, he was quite melodious.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T0bUcAp_FqU&list=RDT0bUcAp_FqU&start_radio=1

10. Yaad teri aayi hai kali ghata chhayi hai, mere sajan aa ja by Gyan Dutt from Nad Kinare (1939), music Gyan Dutt

For the last song to make up the Best Ten, my choice was between two songs of Nadi Kinare, composed y Gyan Dutt – one sung by Gyan Dutt himself, and the other by Kantilal, whom I have started admiring. Finally, I have selected this song, sung ang composed by Gyan Dutt. That showcases his talent; it is sad that they faded away with the arrival of the Golden Era greats.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lTKMJcZ2-X4&list=RDlTKMJcZ2-X4&start_radio=1

In conclusion,

The SOY Award for the Best Male singer of 1939 goes jointly to KL Saigal and Pankaj Mullick

Acknowledgements and Disclaimer
1. Hindi Film Geet Kosh
2. YouTube
3. Atul Song A Day
4. Arunkumar Deshmukh’s notes
5. The song links have been given only for the listening pleasure of music lovers. This blog has no commercial interest and it does not claim directly or by implication, any copyright over these songs which vests with the respective right owners.

What happens if a parent has a petulant, confused child, who is given to throwing tantrums before guests. The parents would be embarrassed, but the guests may comfort them: what a lovely child! But if the child displays aggressive behaviour – unless you give him his chocolate or allow him to watch YouTube videos, he would not eat, and starts breaking things, you might refer to books on parenting, and come across technical terms like ADHD. But what if the child is 79 plus, Commander-in-Chief of the most powerful army in the world, and has the power to destroy the world many times over? You start worrying. Because the doctors do not use the term ADHD for a 79-year old, going to be 80.

The readers of this blog are very kind-hearted. Mahesh Joshi says, “As far as the current world situation is concerned – Jaane do yaar, apna kuchh chalega nahin. Let us just take solace in our world of beautiful music and, at least for a little while, forget that the world is ruled by idiots – no offence intended to idiots.” I have been doing this precisely so far, but the war is now into the fifth week.

We all thought that the war has ended, and the parties have started talking to each other. It is never so simple with the confused, petulant, 80-year old child. For the last few days, he has been going through paroxysm of flip-flops. The Parties to the conflict destroyed the global economic assets. When it started to hit the US too, he was looking for any escape route. He had started declaring he had won big and now there were no targets left to hit. But, soon he said he had invited many countries to send their warships, and they were on their way. When they started denying one by one, he started raving and ranting incoherently: In any case I don’t need them, I had already won big. It would be very bad future for Europe. I knew they are all cowards; without us they are nothing.

The 80-year old child had enough sense that there was something called mid-term elections and he was looking for any exit route. But his favourite ally was doing its own things, prompting the experts to say that the tail (T) was wagging the dog (D). The adversary was in no mood to give any face-saving. A wisecrack said, if you stir up hornets’ nest, it is the hornets which decide when to stop. Nevertheless, he gave an ultimatum of 48 hrs, you do this and this, else. The Hornets (H) started saying the bully had already backed off. Meanwhile the H kept on stinging the tail (T). It was getting quite embarrassing, but the D kept ignoring the H’s sting on the Tail (T), and anyway announced a 5-days’ unilateral ceasefire.

Now we are into the 5th week; is the war on or off? No one knows. T is unhappy that D may abandon it and cut its own deal with the H. Instead, it wants the D to squash the H to pulp with its 100-1 superiority. There are furious talks of mediation and diplomacy. High profile people are flying into different countries and making statements. Dr Shetty and Dr Rajesh Deshpande have started celebrating too soon with their peace-time activities like quizzing.

Despite the unilateral ceasefire, the D has started talking about mounting ground operation. The H has started drooling our Army has been waiting for this moment for 40 years. The D got frightened; he sent a 15-point demands for ceasefire. The H rejected it, and said now the war will end when it wants, and sent its own 5-point demands.

H has also spawned several proxies; incidentally, they go by names starting with the letter H; the experts say they range from non-state to semi-state to state actors. But they all have a common quality, these can never be squashed. If they find the Queen Mother under attack, they come to life in more ferocious forms like Raktabeej. They have started showing the severity of their stings.

The current situation has created panic in many countries and in India. Rumours have their own dynamics. The more you try to scotch them, the more they spread like wildfire. An SOY regular says that they have been forced indoors and into working from home. How I wish the D could somehow declare victory and rush to Oslo to claim his Nobel Peace Prize! Those Commie idiots in Oslo would now understand the meaning of war and peace. But trust me, till that time I have been enjoying Bollywood songs. I can’t help if the songs sound like they are a reflection of the current times – any similarity is purely coincidental.

1. Kya se kya ho gaya bewafa tere pyar mein by Rafi from Guide (1965), lyrics Shailendra, music SD Burman

Did Dev Anand have a right to blame Waheeda Rehman entirely, or was he also responsible for his fall?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=33g6dZS882Y&list=RD33g6dZS882Y&start_radio=1

2. Main aisa kyon hun, main jaisa hun main waisa kyon hun by Shaan from Lakshya (2004), lyrics Javed Akhtar, music Shankar-Ehsan-Loy

It is not unusual for a teenager to be unclear about his goal. But once spurred by his girlfriend into having a “lakshya” in life, the drifter joins the Army and becomes a Kargil-hero.

3. Idhar chala, main udhar chala by Udit Narayan and Alka Yagnik from Koi Mil Gaya (2003), lyrics Ibrahim Ashq, music Rajesh Roshan

Hrithik Roshan again; he excelled in such roles. In this film he was a mentally retarded child, but a visiting alien gives him extraordinary powers. You can make out his gait and gestures are of a demented child.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iQPg7ht5aHU&list=RDiQPg7ht5aHU&start_radio=1

4. Main idhar jaaun ya udhar jaaun by Rafi, Asha Bhosle, Manna Dey & Aziz Naazan from Palki (1967), lyrics Shakeel Badayuni

The man is not demented, but in deep reflection and quite morose. In this state of mind, one would be conflicted about his choices. I have included Aziz Naazan’s name; it is mentioned in HFGK as one of the singers.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ys7DuVThytA&list=RDys7DuVThytA&start_radio=1

5. Main aashiq hun bahaaron ka, nazaaron ka, fizaaon ka, ishaaron ka; Main mastana musafir hun jawan dharti ke anjaane kinaaron ka by Mukesh from Aashiq (1962), lyrics Shailendra, music Shankar-Jaikishan

I have started suspecting our hero’s intentions. Next, he may start coveting Greenland, Gaza, Canada – they are so beautiful, they are mine!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-1BgL-7Vh1A&list=RD-1BgL-7Vh1A&start_radio=1

6. Hu, Hu, Mast bahaaron ka main aashiq main jo chaahe yaar karun by Rafi from Farz (1967), lyrics Anand Bakhshi, music Laxikant-Pyarelal

The original James Bond had the girls swoon over him. He didn’t take much time in bedding them, but he was always on the alert for the enemy’s moll. The first Indian James Bond, Jeetendra sings Chaahe gulon ke saaye se khelun, chaahe kali se pyar karun; it sounds suspiciously like he does not care if his name figures in the Epstein Files.

7. Meri duniya lut rahi thi aur main khamosh tha by Rafi & others from Mr and Mrs 55 (1955), lyrics Majrooh Sultanpuri, music OP Nayyar

Guru Dutt must have realized he is responsible for his downfall. Therefore, he is downcast; a person incapable of looking at himself, would have started raving and ranting against the world.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XJBCp5tjhOk&list=RDXJBCp5tjhOk&start_radio=1

8. Sochta hun ye kya kiya maine by Mukesh and Lata Mangeshkar from Hamari Yaad Ayegi (1961), lyrics Kidar Sharma, music Snehal Bhatnagar

You might say, Ab pachhtaaye hote kya, jab chidiya chug gayi khet; you should have thought about it earlier, Dude!

9. Akela hun is duniya mein by Rafi from Baat Ek Raat Ki (1962), lyrics Majrooh Sultanpuri, music SD Burman

Dev Anand is not the only one – many in the world are happy and chirpy in their loneliness. They are so smart that only their shadow can be their companion.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3wjZTdONxqc&list=RD3wjZTdONxqc&start_radio=1

10. Kabhi khud pe kabhi haalat pe rona aya by Rafi from Hum Dono (1961), lyrics Sahir Ludhiyanvi, music Jaidev

I see the same man in Army unform, now lamenting his plight.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BUgSsrQOTRs&list=RDBUgSsrQOTRs&start_radio=1

11. Main samjhun jag hai deewana, deewana mujhko log kahe by Mukesh from Deewana (1967), lyrics Hasrat Jaipuri, music Shankar-Jaikishan

Raj Kapoor is quite a dunce, but it is quite normal for a crazy person to think the world is crazy.

12. Ghazab kiya tere waade pe aitbaar kiya by Rafi (Ghazal by Dagh), music Khayyam

Often, the man has betrayed the other person, he had no right to ask that person for any promises, but he sings Dagh’s ghazal, Ghazab kiya tere wade pe aitbaar kiya.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T76YNawxqMU&list=RDT76YNawxqMU&start_radio=1

13. Dost dost na raha pyar pyar na raha by Mukesh from Sangam (1964), lyrics Shailendra, music Shankar-Jaikishan

What right Raj Kapoor had to blame his dost? He was so full of himself, he had no time to understand his friend’s feelings.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0DUAfX71dsw&list=RD0DUAfX71dsw&start_radio=1

14. Tum agar mujhko na chaaho to koi baat nahi, tum kisi aur ko chahogi to mushkil hogi by Mukesh from Dil Hi To Hai (1963), lyrics Sahir Ludhiyanvi, music Roshan

In this case I don’t blame Raj Kapoor. If his girl is with the charlton, Pran, he had every right to forewarn her.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RdK-EaVMrXY&list=RDRdK-EaVMrXY&start_radio=1

15. Mere dushman tu meri dosti ko tarse by Rafi from Aye Din Bahar Ke (1966), lyrics Anand Bakhshi, music Laxmikant-Pyarelal

Dharmendra starts with a slow recital – Mere dil se sitamgar tune achchhi dillagi ki hai; Ke ban ke dost apne doston se dushmani ki hai. Then he fills up his nostrils and works himself up into uncontrollable anger, and heaps vilest curses – Tu phool bane patjhad ka, tujhpe bahaar na aye kabhi; Jiye tu is tarah ke tu zindagi ko tarse. I thought that the metaphor was Jiye tu is tarah ki tu maut ko tarse, but never mind it, it is enough to send terror down your spine. But if the man had a record of crying ‘wolf’ in fun, it loses its credibility.

Acknowledgement and Disclaimer
1. The song links have been embedded or given from the YouTube only for the listening pleasure of the music lovers. This blog has no commercial interest; and it does not suggest or claim any copyright over these songs which vests with the respective copyright holders.

2. Any similarity to current events or any living person is purely coincidental.

I have been forced into temporary inactivity. During such periods I can do nothing but contemplate on some issues. I find thinking about Iran-US-Israel War, the Middle East crisis quite mind boggling, so I reflect on simple things like the Hindi film songs. Of late, my mind has been reflecting on the pairs, Aaiye & Chale aaiye; Jaaiye & Chale jaaiye. Is there a difference or are they the same? It seems there is indeed a difference in the connotation of Aaiye and Chale aaiye and Jaaiye and Chale jaiye. It appears to me that the addition of the adverb adds an extra degree of pleading. Look at these pairs:

1A. Aaiye meherban by Asha Bhosle from Howrah Bridge (1958), lyrics of Qamar Jalalabadi, music OP Nayyar

Asha Bhosle by her voice, and Madhubala by her emoting do seem to be sincerely inviting the patrons.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=go4ixEgnecg&list=RDgo4ixEgnecg&start_radio=1

1B. Dil ki mehfil saji hai chale aaiye by Rafi from Saaz Aur Aawaz (1966), lyrics Khumar Barabanqvi, music Naushad

But to my mind, the effort stands nowhere in comparison to this Rafi gem. It could be my weakness for Naushad, but the addition of Chale makes the song extra melodious.

2A. Aana hai to aa raah mein kuchh pher nahin hai, Bhagwan ke ghar der hai andher nahin hai by Rafi from Naya Daur (1957), lyrics Sahir Luhiyanavi, music OP Nayyar

Rafi sings a very serious bhajan, but look at the impact of the plain word, Aana hai to aa, as if you do not care.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e2_mUvDpk-Y&list=RDe2_mUvDpk-Y&start_radio=1

2B. Akele hain chale aao jahan ho, kahan aawaz dein tum ko jahan ho by Rafi from Raaz (1967), lyrics Shamim Jaipuri, music Kalyanji-Anandji

Rafi again, now singing for Rajesh Khanna in one of his earliest films, when he had not yet become the Phenomenon. But now the lyricist has added the words, Chale aao and see its impact.

Jaaiye/ Chale jaaiye

The same phenomenon happens with the other pair, Jaaiye/Chale jaaiye.

3A. Jana hai to jaao manayenge nahin, nakhre kisi ke uthayenge nahin; aana hai to aao by Mahendra Kapoor  & Asha Bhosle from Bandhan (1969). lyrics Indivar, music Kalyanji-Anandji

Rajesh Khanna had had enough of Mumtaz’s tantrums; now he is not concerned whether she leaves him; he is not going to mollify her.

3B. Chale jana zara thehro kisi ka dam nikalta hai by Mukesh and Sharda from Around the World (1967), lyrics Hasrat Jaipuri, music Shankar-Jaikishan

Add ‘Chale’ to ‘Jana’ and there is an automatic pleading in the voice.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UM13G1YFdnA&list=RDUM13G1YFdnA&start_radio=1

4A. Jana tha humse door bahaane bana liye by Lata Mangeshkar from Adalat (1958), lyrics Rajendra Krishna, music Madan Mohan

This is a beautiful composition, sung equally poignantly by Lata Mangeshkar. But in the plain “Jana tha humse door”, there is a resigned acceptance.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pvwC9c81esY&list=RDpvwC9c81esY&start_radio=1

4B. Chale jana nahin nain mila ke sainya bedardi by Lata Mangeshkar from Badi Bahan (1949), lyrics Rajendra Krishna, music Husnlal-Bhagatram

Lata Mangeshkar again. She sings a great song. But now there is Chale jana (nahin), the lyricist, too, is the same.  There is an impish Geeta Bali pleading to the man: Don’t go away after falling in love with me. I can see Pran on the screen, his expression seems to be that he is up to his familiar tricks of seducing a girl for ulterior purposes.

Aaiye-Jaaiye in the same song

We just saw jana hai to jaao-aana hai to aao in the same song #3. I have come across at least a couple of more songs which has both aana and jaana in the same song, in a more conspicuous manner. Both are my great favourites: one from the 50s, when SJ were the tops. The other from the 60s, composed by SJ-successor Laxmikant-Pyarelal.

5. Aate jaate pehlu mein aaya koi, mere dil batla na chhupa, aaj se tujhe dil kahun ya dilruba by Lata Mangeshkar from Yahudi (1958), lyrics Shailendra, music Shankar-Jaikishan

The bonus of this song is a happy Meena Kumari, dancing with gay abandon. SJ have composed some beautiful dance songs in the voice of Lata Mangeshkar. I like the eye-candy, chirpy Meena Kumari, dancing and laughing with joy. I find it sad that she transformed herself into a weepy, suffering sati savitri.

6. Aane se uske aaye bahar jaane se uske jaaye bahaar, badi mastani hai meri mehbooba by Rafi from Jeene Ki Raah (1969), lyrics Anand Bakshi, music Laxmikant-Pyarelal

During the late 60s and early 70s, LP were belting out such superhit songs in the voice of Rafi (and Lata Mangeshkar) routinely. Their rhythm was infectious. They were on way to breaking all records and displacing SJ from their pedestal. This song also uses the pair of words aana-jaana. Not my as great a favourite as their early 60s composition, but they had by now mastered the art of winning Filmfare Awards.

But I have not yet come across songs which uses both words with the emphasis added, chale aana-chale jaana. Since I am not able to locate songs with the tandem pairs, the best I can do is to give you my Vintage Era favourites with chale aana, and chale janaa.

7. Kabhi yaad kar ke gali paar kar ke chali aana hamare angana by Chitalkar and Binapani Mukherjee from Safar (1946), lyrics Gopal Singh Nepali, Music C Ramchandra

C Ramchandra was quite a genius. Whatever he sang became a superhit. This is one of his earliest hits. Note how the emphasis Chali aana hamaare angana embellishes the meaning.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k4Z0nhfho8o&list=RDk4Z0nhfho8o&start_radio=1

8. Chale aana more raja wada yaad kar ke, chala aaun mori maina wada yaad kar ke by Paro Devi and GM Durrani from Heera (1947), lyrics Qamar Jalalabadi, music Husnlal-Bhagatram

Several elements make this song remarkable. First, the best of Vintage Era singing. Paro Devi starts at a high pitch, typical of Vintage Era female singing. The Rafi-predecessor GM Durrani remains in his comfort zone – middle range, but the contrasting pair pull the song to great heights. These varieties have disappeared with the Lata Mangeshkar becoming the Female playback singer, post-1949. Then note the emphasis word Chale aana. Another noticeable point is that GM Durrani does not respond to raja with rani as you commonly expect, but with extra-endearing Mori maina. Husnlal-Bhagatram, the first famous duo of music directors created a recognisable instrumentation.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ueeJkx2jrQ&list=RD6ueeJkx2jrQ&start_radio=1

9. Phir chaahe to na aana O aan baan wale….Chale jaiho bedarda main roye marungi  by Rajkumari from Beqasoor (1950), lyrics Arzoo Lakhnavi, music Anil Biswas

For two chale aana songs, I have to end with two equally great Chale jana songs. The old master Anil Biswas was now overtaken by Naushad and C Ramchandra in popularity stakes. The latter had a magic touch of combining super-quality music with superhit, spectacular films. But the old master had not yet lost his creative genius. He composes a superb mujra in the voice of Rajkumari with the emphasis words Chale jaiho bedada main roye marungi.

10. Thahariye hosh mein aa lun to chale jaiyega by Rafi & Suman Kalynapur from Mohabbat Isko Kahte Hain (1965), lyrics Majrooh Sultanpuri, music Khayyam

Khayyam always maintained his top quality. This film from the mid-60s had many great songs. My special favourite is a fast-paced Mukesh-Asha Bhosle duet, Humse hoti mohabbat jo tumko, tum ye apna chalan chhod dete. It is rare for a film to have an equally superb Rafi-Suman Kalyanpur duet, Thahariye hosh mein aa lun to chale jaiyega. The combo word Chale jaiyega creates an ethereal impact.

Acknowledgement and Disclaimer
The song links have been given/embedded from the YouTube only for the listening pleasure of music lovers. This blog has no commercial interest; nor does it suggest or claim any copyright over these materials which vests with the original copyright holders.

Some links may not display properly on some devices. Please do tell me of such issues.

Wishing all the readers and their families a very Happy Holi, and the greetings for the ongoing month of the Ramdan. May the Almighty shower all His blessings on everyone

DP Rangan has set romance in the air with his “Love is Bliss”. This is the season when the dullest person starts feeling desirous. I remember a folk proverb, “Phagun mein budhwa devar laage”. In the context of Hindi films, it generally refers to the romance for a person. I have explored romances for various types: Romancing the pardesi balma; Romancing the stranger, Romancing the beimaan balma, Romancing the anaadi balma. and so on. But the romance can be for inanimate objects also. The news and social media are full of pictures of hordes of tourists descending upon Japan to watch its cherry blossoms. Northern Lights are eternal favourites. There are people crazy for Stonehenge and Machu Picchu. Apart from resources and time, one has to have a wanderlust. Some may feel, it is quite discordant to talk about romance in the midst of the raging Epic Fury in the Middle East, और भी ग़म हैं ज़माने में मोहब्बत के सिवा, but the life has to move on.

1. Is paar priye madhu hai tum ho us paar na jaane kya hoga (Harivansh Rai ‘Bachchan’), recited by Amitabh Bachchan.

Long ago, Harivansh Rai Bachchan’s “Is paar priye madhu hai tum ho, us paar na jaane kya hoga” cast a spell on me. I thought the poet meant it as the romance for a Faraway Land. I was disappointed somewhat when I later learnt that the poet was extolling the certainty of the present – the known, and expressing apprehension about what lies in the faraway land. My fellow blogger Anita Rupavataram is my go-to person for any literary doubts. She too confirmed the latter meaning. She added another interesting trivia that in the movie Lal Patthar (1971), when Raj Kumar is drowned in alcohol, he recites, “Is paar priye madhu hai, tum ho, us paar na jaane kya hoga”. I have not checked it out. You may, but if you prefer my meaning, go by what another eminent poet has said about poetry: It is to be enjoyed, not understood. Don’t worry too much about what the poet might have meant; every reader has his own meaning. Among several renderings available on YouTube, I find the one by Amitabh Bachchan most melodious. You can make out he has understood the poetry.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8irON4xTq3M

2. O re maanjhi mere saajan hain us paar, main man maar hun is paar, abki baar le chal paar by SD Burman from Bandini (1962), lyrics Shailendra, music SD Burman

But there is no ambiguity in SD Burman’s plaintive cry to the boatman to take him to the other side as his saajan is there. Shailendra does not waste his words. In the last stanza he uses two different expressions: Main bandini piya ki, main sangini hun saajan ki. The protagonist, Kalyani (played by Nutan) is pulled by two sides. One, the train that will take her to her ‘piya’ Dharmendra and a bright future – in her ‘Bandini’ phase, she came in contact with the handsome jail doctor, Dharmendra. The other, the boat ready to depart with her saajan Ashok Kumar, afflicted with an incurable disease. At that moment the surrogate boatman song is sung by an unknown person at Good Luck Tea House, and finally Nutan makes a choice which was not rational, but there is a higher calling – Main wahin ja rahi hun jahan mujhe jana chahiye. I have not seen a more poignant ending than this: the last 5 minutes of the film purge all misunderstandings she has been carrying on so far. Such scene is not likely to be repeated:  a train station on one side, and a steamer ghat on the other used to be a common sight in Bihar and West Bengal. In high floods, the steamer service was suspended creating  two worlds, ‘is paar’ and ‘us paar’. With rivers being bridged at several places, that romance is gone.

3. Sun mere bandhu re, sun mere mitwa, sun mere sathi re by SD Burman from Sujata (1959), lyrics Majrooh Sultanpuri, music SD Burman

There was something ethereal about SD Burman’s boatman songs. The two protagonists have realised the feelings for each other, but are too shy to express it. At that moment this boatman song comes as a surrogate conveying a beloved’s desire to be eternally with her lover.

4. Awara hun, ya gardish mein hun aasman ka tara hun by Mukseh from Awara (1951), lyrics Shailendra, music Shankar-Jaikishan

The previous song written by Majrooh Sultanpuri did not use the words ‘us par’ explicitly. Going back to Shailendra again we see this beautiful vagabond song; the awara is homeless, but he is an eternal romantic like the original Tramp Charlie Chaplin. Our awara has no one waiting for him ‘us paar’, but that does not come in the way of his happiness.

Ghar baar nahin, sansar nahin, mujhse kisi ko pyar nahin
‘Us paar’ kisi se milne ka iqrar nahin, mujhse kisi ko pyar nahin
Anjan nagar sunsan dagar ka pyara hun, awara hun

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ECqKJO0uR7Y&list=RDECqKJO0uR7Y&start_radio=1

5. Wahan kaun hai tera, musafir jayega kahan by SD Burman from Guide (1965), lyrics Shailendra, music SD Burman

It seems Shailendra and SD Burman were eternal romantics of the Faraway Land. In this song that rolls with credit titles, the poet and the singer acknowledge, Koi bhi teri raah na dekhe, nain bichhaye na koi, so what is the point of going “wahan”. Coming to a fork, Dev Anand realises the futility of going there, so he chooses a new path.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=haO0ucjvxeo&list=RDhaO0ucjvxeo&start_radio=1

6. Tu pyar ka sagar hai, teri ek boond ke pyase hum by Manna Dey from Seema (1955), lyrics Shailendra, music Shankar-Jaikishan

You see a rebellious Nutan locked in as a punishment for her wild behaviour in the orphanage. The Manager Balraj Sahni is an inveterate optimist and a believer in reformation. He believes he can reform Nutan, too, though she has been bruised badly by her unsympathetic and cruel relatives. She is desperate to break free as Balraj Sahni sings this bhajan:

Ghayal mann ka paagal panchhi udane ko beqaraar
Pankh hain komal aankh hai dhundhli, jana hai saagar paar

Another manifestation of romance for the Faraway Land.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e2D-kjOMNF0&list=RDe2D-kjOMNF0&start_radio=1

7. Us paar saajan is paar dhaare, le chal maanjhi kinaare by Lata Mangeshkar & chorus from Chori Chori (1956), lyrics Hasrat Jaipuri, music Shankar-Jaikishan

We are discussing the songs of 1956 in our year-wise reviews and this film is one of the best composed by Shankar-Jaikishan. In a cornucopia of absolutely melodious songs, I am not too enamoured of this song. But this was a year when whatever SJ touched turned gold. ‘Us paar saajan’ compelled me to listen to it carefully. This time the lyricist is Hasrat Jaipuri, a romantic at heart if ever there was one. The song is quite melodious to the ears. Nargis is swimming furiously to escape from her pursuers, to reach her saajan who is ‘us paar’. This side is a dangerous stream.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GhZdivn9yjg&list=RDGhZdivn9yjg&start_radio=1

8. Kahan le chale ho bata do musafir sitaaron ke aage ye kaisa jahan hai by Lata Mangeshkar from Durgeshnandini (1956), lyrics Rajendra Krishna, Music Hemant Kumar

Hemant Kumar was riding a wave of popularity in 1956. One of his best scores in 1956 was Durgeshnandini which had this beautiful song of romance for a Faraway Land.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DZXB7ZVqoX8&list=RDDZXB7ZVqoX8&start_radio=1

9. Tum kahan le chale ho, ye kaun sa jahan hai zara sang mere tum aao to tum aao to by Lata Mangeshkar and Mukesh from from Poonam Ki Raat (1965), lyrics Shailendra, music Salil Chowdhury

There are countless songs of romance for a magical land. My big favourite is this song composed by Salil Chowdhury, picturised on Manoj Kumar and Kumud Chhugani.

10. Aa chal ke tujhe main le ke chalun ek aise gagan ke taley,  jahan gham bhi na ho, aansoon bhi na ho, bas pyar hi pyar paley by Kishore Kumar from Door Gagan Ki Chaanv Mein (1964), lyrics Kishore Kuar, music Kishore Kumar

I just said there are countless songs on this theme. Let me end this post with this Kishore Kumar bonanza; he is the singer, lyricist and music director of this song. He was also the lead actor, director and producer of the movie. In his dreamland, there is no sorrow, no tears, Bas pyar hi pyar paley. Quite a fertile imagination, but that is what dreams are made of.

Acknowledgements and Disclaimer

The song links have been added/embedded only for the listening pleasure of music lovers. This blog has no commercial interest, and does not claim indirectly or directly, nor suggest any copyright over these songs.

And the winners are

Readers would be surprised to see this post, and I must say, some very pleasantly. Because for the last few years there has been a growing clamour that I should go forwards from 1956 onwards. The reasons given are: (i) It is difficult to relate to Vintage Era music, most people have a mental barrier the moment we go to music of the 1930s and 1940s, (ii) A large number of films and music of the Vintage Era are no longer in the public domain. All valid points, and I have decided to relent and here is the discussion on the Best Songs of 1956.

Why 1956? And I have to recapitulate the years when I started the year-wise review of songs. Some active members – no longer active on the SOY – suggested that I do year-wise review of years before the Filmfare Awards were instituted going back to when the talkies started. The idea was perhaps that Filmfare Awards were not a true measure of quality of the music and Filmfare Awards started from 1952 with Baiju Bawra. Later, I discovered there were gap years in 1953 and 1955. Hence the detailed coverage started for the years 1955, 1953 and 1951 backwards. The readers may read to appreciate the first post in the series, i.e. Best songs of 1955. Now that the beginning of the talkies 1931, when it all started, is in sight, I have pleasure in discussing the Best songs of 1956. So every year you would have two reviews – a Vintage Year, and a year from 1956 onwards.

It would be a good idea to compare it with the Best songs of 1939. The first thing that strikes you is the number of songs whose singers are unknown or not credited. In 1939 it was about 61%, it comes down drastically in 1956 to about 6%. There would be some unknowns always, because not all the films and songs were worth listening again, naturally some must have sunk without a trace, and their songs booklets must be unavailable.

The second thing that you can’t fail to notice is Lata Mangeshkar factor. She was such a dominant presence in the 50s and 60s, that you might end up choosing her 10 songs as the best female solos. Therefore, I had to introduce a quota system in the 50s – one for best songs of Lata Mangeshkar, and the other for best songs of “other female singers”. This may sound pejorative to some, but at least ensures an equal representation to the Mighty Monarch and other female singers. Does this prove Lata Mangeshkar was undercutting other singers? I do not know how to answer this. I don’t believe that arguments about music can be proved by data. But for whatever the data is worth, it does not prove the conjecture of undercutting. For one thing, the other female singers got about 2.57 times the songs of Lata Mangeshkar; my hunch is that her younger sister Asha Bhosle too got more songs than her. So much for her being under the pressure of ‘Sister Tax’. Let me again repat my quip, there was no Lata Mangeshkar before Lata Mangeshkar. If she used any of her market power against newcomers, it was unnecessary and quite stupid of her. What she had achieved was awesome.

Now let us have a look at broad statistics:

Broad Statistics of 1956

General observations on the music scene of 1956

The important thing you notice is the absence of the Great Mughal of Fillm Music Naushad. He was perhaps resting between Udankhatola (1955) and yet to come Mother India (1957). But the music scene was not poorer for that. Shankar-Jaikishan (Chori Chori, Basant Bahar, Raajhath, Patrani, Yahudi, Halaaku, Nai Dilli etc.) were not only riding a wave of popularity, but were creating top quality music of diverse varieties. Raj Kapoor-Nargis-starrer Chori Chori was not an RK-film, but as we have seen they composed great music for non-RK films too. This has wonderful duets by Manna Dey and Lata Mangeshkar. Yahudi and Halaaku had predominant Arabic music. Kishore Kumar—starrer Nai Dilli had funky tunes in Are bhai nikal ke aa ghar se; Nakhrewali. They later composed an excellent Ai bhai zara dekh ke chalo in Mera Naam Joker, but the film bombed big time. OP Nayyar (CID; and several) and Hemant Kumar (Ek Hi Raasta; and several) were the other two who composed for several films and many of their songs are timeless.

But in the Golden Era several composers were active. The great SD Burman gave outstanding music in Dev Anand-starrer Funtoosh in the voice of Kishore Kumar and Asha Bhosle. The old horse Anil Biswas did not get any big project, but gave some outstanding songs in Heer in the voice of Rafi. Chitragupta moved quietly composing for several films. Other notables were Salil Chowdhury who gave some beautiful music in Jaagte Raho and Parivar; and Madan Mohan in Bhaai Bhaai; Pocketmaar; Mem Sahib etc. There were several others who composed excellent music. Let us look at some MEMORABLE SONGS of the year later. I compiled the list only on the basis of memory of the songs. Some Special Songs I especially looked up because I saw something unique in them at the first glance.

Trivia and Fact file

Among the old-timers, you see the names of GM Durrani and Rajkumari. I looked up a qawwali by GM Durrani, hoping that the beat would be infectious, but I was disappointed. Talking of qawwalis, the traditional qawwals like Yusuf Azad, Ismail Azad, and Shankar-Shambhu did not disappoint me. Even though the songs and the films were completely unknown, the qawwalis were worth a second listening. Some music directors like Snehal Bhatkar and Shivram also sang songs.

MEMORBLE SONGS

Aawaaz: Lyrics several; Music Salil Chowdhury
1. Dil deewana dil mastana jane na – Talat Mahmood & Lata Mangeshkar (Zia Sarhadi)
Anjan: Lyrics Rajendra Krishna; Music Hemant Kumar
2. Aa chhua chhu chhu, ek main ek tu – Lata Mangeshkar
Anuraag: Lyrics Indivar, Kaif rfani; Music Mukesh
3. Koi dil mein hai aur koi hai nazar mein – Mukesh
4. Pal bhar hi ki pahchan mein pardesi balam se – Mukesh
Arab Ka Saudagar: Lyrics SH Bihari; Ravi Shankar; Music Hemant Kumar
5. Ye mehfil sitaaron ki raat ye baharon ki – Hemant Kmar and Asha Bhosle (Ravi)
Basant Bahar: Lyrics Shailendra, Shankar-Jaikishan
6. Kar gaya re kar gaya re kar gaya mujh par jadu sanwariya – Lata Mangeshkar Asha Bhosle
7. Main piya teri tu maane ya na maane – Lata Mangeshkar
8. Nain mile nain kahan dil hai wahin tu hai jahan – Lata Mangeshkar and Manna Dey
9. Sur na saje kya gaaun main – Manna Dey
10. Badi der bhai, kab loge khabar more Ram – Rafi
11. Bhaye bhanjana vandana sun hamari, daras tera maange ye tera pujari – Manna Dey
12. Ja ja re ja balamwa sautan ke sang rain bitayi – Lata Mangeshkar
13. Ketaki gulab juhi champak ban phoole – Manna Dey & Bhimsen Joshi
Bhai Bhai: Lyrics Rajendra Krishna; Music Madan Mohan
14. Mera chhota sa deho ye sansar hai – Lata Mangeshkar
15. Ae dil mujhe bata de tu kispe aa gaya hai – Geeta Dutt
16. Mera naam Abdul Rahman, pistawala main hun pathan – Kishore Kumar and Lata Mangeshkar
17. Kadar jaane na mera baalam bedardi ji mera balam – Lata Mangsehkar
CID: Lyricist Majrooh Sultanpuri; Music OP Nayyar
18. Boojh mera kya naam re – Shamshad Begum
19. Ai dil hai mushkil jeena yahan – Rafi and Geeta Dutt
20. O leke pahla pahla pyar bhar ke aankhon mein khumar – Rafi and Shamshad Begum
21. Aankon hi aankhon mein ishara ho gaya baithe baithe jeene ka sahara ho gaya – Rafi & Geeta Dutt
22. Jata kahan hain deewane – Geeta Dutt
23. Kahin pe nigahein kahin pe nishana – Shamshad Begum
Chandrakanta: Lyrics Sahir Ludhiyanvi; Music N Datta
24. Maine chaand aur sitaaron ki tamanna ki thi – Rafi
25. Mujhko laga hai saal solvan haaye nahin chhedna – Shamshad Begum
Chhoo Mantar: Lyrics Jan Nisar Akhtar, Music OP Nayyar
26. Garib jaan ke humko na tum mita dena – Rafi/ Rafi and Geeta Dutt
27. Humne jab dil tha diya, koi wada tha kiya huzoor aapse – Rafi & Shamshad Begum
Chori Chori: Lyrics ; Music Shankar-Jaikishan
28. Us paar saajan is paar dhare – Lata Mangeshkar
29. Tum arbon ka her pher karnewaale Ram ji – Rafi & Lata Mangeshkar
30. Panchhi banun udti phirun mast pawan mein – Lata Mangeshkar & Manna Dey
31. Ye raat bheegi bheegi ye mast fizayein – Manna Dey & Lata Mangeshkar
32. Jahan main jaati hun wohin chale aate ho – Lata Mangeshkar & Manna Dey
33. Aaja sanam madhur chaandni mein hum – Manna Dey & Lata Mangeshkar
34. Rasik balma, dil kyon lagaya jaise rog lagaya – Lata Mangeshkar
35. Manbhavan ke ghar jaaye gori ghunghat mein sharmaaye gori – Lata Mangeshkar
Dashehra: Lyrica: Kavi Pradeep, Saraswati Kumar ‘Deepak’; Music N Datta
36. Doosron ka dukhada door karnewale tere dukh door karenge Ram – Pradeep
Devta: Lyrics Rajendra Krishna; Music C Ramchandra
37. Kaise jaaun Jamuna ke teer – Lata Mangeshkar
Dhake Ki Malmal: Lyrics Jan Nisar Akhtar, Sarojini Mohan Nayyar, DN Madhok; Music OP Nayyar, Robin Chatterji
38. Ton tana dere na dere na..Kadar mori jaane na – Shamshad Begum & Asha Bhosle
39. Diya to jala sab raat re baalam – CH Atma
Durgeshnandini: Lyrics Rajesndra Krishna; Music Hemant Kumar
40. Chandan ki naiya pe hoke sawar – Lata Mangeshkar & others
41. Kahan le chale ho bata do musafir, sitaaron se aage ye kaisa jahan hai – Lata Mangeshkar
42. Mat maaro Shyam pichkari – Lata Mangeshkar
Ek Hi Rasta: Lyrics Majrooh Sultanpuri; Music Hemant Kumar
43. Chali gori pi ke milan ko chali – Hemant Kumar
44. Saanwle salone aaye din bahaar ke – Lata Mangeshkar & Hemant Kumar
45. Bade bhaiya laaye hain London se choori – Asha Bhosle
Fifty-Fifty: Lyrics Rajendra Krishna; Music Madan Mohan
46. Aadhi tum kha lo, aadhi hum kha lein, mil-jul ke zamane mein guzara kar lein – Rafi, Kishore Kumar & Madan Mohan
Funtoosh: Lyrics Sahir Ludhiyanvi; Music SD Burman
47. Ae meri topi palat ke aa – Kishore Kumar
48. Dukhi man mere sun mera kahna – Kishore Kumar
49. Denewala jab bhi deta poora chhappar phaad ke – Kishore Kumar & others
50. Wo dekhein to unki inayat na dekhein to rona kya – Kishore Kumar & Asha Bhosle
51. Phool gendwa na maaro dar jaaungi – Asha Bhosle
52. O ji O humein aaj koi na chhediyo, humne kisi pe dore daalne hain – Kishore Kumar & Asha Bhosle
Haatimtai: Lyrics Raja Mehdi Ali Khan & two others; Music SN Tripathi
53. Jhoomti hai nazar jhoomta hai pyar – Rafi & Asha Bhosle
54. Parwardigar-e-alam tera hi hai sahara – Rafi
Halaaku: Lyrics Shailendra, Hasrat Jaipuri, Music Shankar-Jaikishan
55. Aaja ke intezar mein – Rafi and Lata Mangeshkar
56. Aji chale aao tumhein aankhon se dil mein bulaya – Lata Mangeshkar & Asha Bhosle
57. Dil ka na karna aitbar koi – Lata Mangeshkar, Mohammad Rafi
Heer: Lyrics Majrooh Sultanpuri, Rajendra Krishna; Music Anil Biswas
58. O khamosh zamana hai..Aa jaao tumhein dil ka – Rafi & Asha Bhosle
59. Le ja uski duaayein ho jo tera ho na saka – Rafi
Hum Sab Chor Hain: Lyrics Majrooh Sultanpur; Music OP Nayyar
60. Humko hanste dekh zamana hansta hai – Rafi & GM Durrani
61. O Mr Banjo, ishara to samjho – Asha Bhosle & Rafi
Insaaf: Lyrics (Three); Music Chitragupa
62. Do dil dhadak rahe hain aur aawaz ek hai – Talat Mahmood & Asha Bhosle
Inspector: Lyrics SH Bihari; Music Hemant Kumar
63. Dil chhed koi aisa naghma – Hemant Kumar/ Lata Mangeshkar
64. Phoolon ke haar le lo, roop ka shringaar le lo – Hemant Kumar
Jaagte Raho: Lyrics Shailendra, Prem Dhawan; Music Salil Chowdhury
65. Zindagi khwab hai, khwab mein jhooth kya aur bhala sach hai kya – Mukesh
66. Thandhi thandhi saawan ki phuhaar re, piya aaj khidki khuli mat chhodo – Asha Bhosle
67. Maine jo li angadaai – Sandhya Mukherji & another
68. Jaago Mohan pyare jaago – Lata Mangeshkar
69.  Ai wain duniya deve duhaai – Rafi, S Balbir & others
Jaldeep: Lyrics Kidar Sharma, two others; Music Snehal Bhatkar
70. Dekhi dekhi panchhi dekhi teri phulwari – Snehal Bhatkar, Two unidentified female voices & others
Jallad: Lyrics (Four); Music Nashad
71. Dil ke phaphole jal uthe seen eke daag se…fariyaad khudaya – Rafi & Asha Bholse
Makhichoos; Lyrics (Three); Music Vinod
72. O Arabpati ki chhori, gori, gori, Dilli door nahin – Geeta Dutt & Talat Mahmood (Pt. Indra)
Mem Sahib: Lyrics Rajendra Krishna; Music Madan Mohan
73. Hamari gali aana achha ji, humein na bulana achha ji – Talat Mahmood & Asha Bhosle
74. Kahta hai dil tum ho mere liye – Talat Mahmood & Asha Bhosle
75. Dil dil se mila kar dekho, nazron se laga kar dekho – Kishore Kumar/ Asha Bhosle
Nai Dilli: Lyrics Shailendra, Hasrat Jaipuri; Music Shankar-Jaikishan
76.  Are bhai nikal ke aa ghar se – Kishore Kumar (Shailendra)
77. Milte hi nazar aap mere dil mein aa gaye – Kishore Kumar (Shailendra)
78. Murli bairan bhai, Kanhaiya teri murli bairan bhai – Lata Mangeshkar (Hasrat Jaipuri)
79. Nakhrewali, dekhne mein dekh lo kaisi hai bholi bhaali – Kishore Kumar & chorus
80. Tum sang preet lagaai rasiya – Lata Mangeshkar & chorus (Shailendra)
Naya Aadmi: Lyrics Rajendra Krishna; Music Vishwanath-Rammoorti , Madan Mohan
81. Laut gaya gham ka zamana aayi khushi lahrati – Lata Mangeshkar & Hemant Kumar
Naya Andaaz: Lyrics Jan Nisar Akhtar; Music OP Nayyar
82. Meri neendon mein tum mere khwabon mein tum – Kishore Kumar & Shamshad Begum
83. Chanazor babu main laya majedar chanazor garam – Kishore Kumar & Shamshad Begum
Noor-e-Yaman: Lyrics (several); Music Bulo C Rani
84. Milti nahin jahan mein kahin aisi nematein – Yusuf Azad & others
Parivar: Lyrics Shailendra; Music Salil Chowdhury
85. Ta thai thai tat…Ja main tose naahin bolun Kanhaiya – Lata Mangeshkar & Manna Dey
86. Jhir jhir jhir jhir baadarwa barse O kaare kaare – Hemant Kumar & Lata Mangeshkar
Patrani: Lyrics Shailendra, Hasrat Jaipuri; Music Shankar-Jaikishan
87. Na jane tum kaun meri aankhon mein sama gaye – Lata Mangeshkar & others (Shailendra)
88. Kabhi to aa, kabhi to aa,, O sapnon mein aa ke chale jaanewaale – Lata Mangeshkar (Shailendra)
89. Ari koi jaao ri, piya ko bulaao re, gori ki payal baaje chhun chhana chhum chhum – Lata Mangeshkar, Usha Mangeshkar & Meena Mangeshkar (Shailendra)
Pocketmar: Lyrics Rajendra Krishna; Music Madan Mohan
90. Ye nayi nayi preet hai – Talat Mahmood & Lata Mangeshkar
Rajhath: Lyrics Shalendra; Music Shankar-Jaikishan
91. Sun sakhi more man ki baat – Nadiya kinaare phirun pyasi – Lata Mangeshkar (Hasrat Jaipuri)
92. Aaye bahar ban ke lubha ke chale gaye – Rafi (Hasrat Jaipuri)
93. Ye wada karo chaand ke saamne, bhula to na doge tum is pyar ko – Mukesh & Lata Mangeshkar (Hasrat Jaipuri)
94. Mere sapne mein aana re sajna – Lata Mangeshkar (Shailendra)
95. Aaja aaja aaja nadiya pukaare taaron ki chhaiyan tohe kabse pukaare – Lata Mangeshkar & others (Shailendra)
Rangeen Raatein: Lyrics Kidar Sharma; Music Roshan
96. Bahut aasan hai chilman se lagkar muskurana – Rafi & Lata Mangeshkar
Roop Kumari: Lyrics BD Mishra; Music SN Tripathi
97. O dekho udhar chaand nikla gagan mein..Idhar aa gayi chaandni muskurati – Manna Dey & Geeta Dutt
Samundari Daaku: Lyricd Vishwanath Aadil; Music Jaidev
98. Dil jawan hai aarzoo jawan – Talat Mahmood & Asha Bhosle
Shatranj: Lyrics Rajendra Krishna; Music C Ramchandra
99. Badli mein chhupe chaand ne kuchh mujhse kaha hai, humne bhi suna hai – Hemant Kumar & Lata Mangeshkar
Shrin Farhad: Lyrics Tanveer Naqvi, Saba Afghani; Music S Mohinder
10o. Ai dilruba, jaane wafa – Hemant Kumar & Asha Bhosle (Naqvi)
101. Guzra hua zamana aata nahin dubara, hafiz Khuda tumhara – Lata Mangeshkar (Naqvi)
102. Aankhon mein tumhare jalwe hain, hothon pe tumhare afsana – Rafi & others (Afghani)
103. Hazaaron rang badlega zamana – Rafi (Naqvi)
Taaj: Lyrics Rajendra Krishna: Music Hemant Kumar
104. Baansuriya phir se baja O Kanha – Lata Mangeshkar
Taaj Aur Talwar: Lyrics several; Music Sudipt
105. Aa ja aa ja ki hum hain akele – Ismail Aazad & chorus (chorus)
Toofan Aur Diya: Lyrics several; Music Vasant Desai
106. Nirbal se ladai bhalwan ki, ye kahani hai diye ki aur toofan ki – Manna Dey & others (Bharat Vyas)
107. Muraliya baaje ri Jamuna ke teer – Meerabai
108. Piya te kahan gayo nehara lagay ke – Meerabai
109. Meri chhoti si bahan dekho gahne pahan sasural chali re ban than ke – Lata Mangeshkar & Geeta Dutt (Bharat Vyas)
110. Meri aan Bhagwan, kan kan se ladi hai – Geeta Dutt (Bharat Vyas)

Special Songs

1. Aa chhua chhu chhu ek main ek tu, chowki baitha bamhana, khel kabaddi angana by Lata Mangeshkar & chorus from Anjana (1956), lyrics Rajendra Krishna, music Hemant Kumar

In 1956, I find Ravi was Hemant Kumar’s assistant in several films, even though he had debuted as an independent music director a year earlier. Was it because of Ravi’s respect for his mentor or because his debut films Albeli and Vachan (195) had not yet established him among the top-notch composers? Hemant Kumar had arrived in a big way with his first film Naagin (1954), and he continued to compose absolutely melodious songs in the voice of Lata Mangeshkar and himself. Here he has composed a strange song in the voice of Lata Mangeshkar & others. Its nice-quality video shows it is a rural game – something like kabaddi – the girls used to play. Vyjayanthimala leads her team, and Pradeep Kumar watches her furtively.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eqfCaE4zknQ&list=PLA_A9T_Uj7IyR6W6PL3wDgyUKfVtgh-P9&index=3

2. Dil deewana dil mastana mane na by Talat Mahmood and Lata Mangeshkar from Aawaaz (1956), Zia Sarhadi, music Salil Chowdhury

There was a much later song with similar mukhada, Dll deewaana bin sajna ke mane na by SP Balasubramanyam from Maine Pyar Kiya (1989), composed by Ram Laxman.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CsS3UP4Nebk&list=PLA_A9T_Uj7Iy472QaOd5XjW98IDgQ678d&index=3

3. Aadhi tum kha lo aadhi hum kha lein by Rafi, Kishore Kumar and Madan Mohan from Fifty-Fifty (1956), lyrics Rajendra Krishna, music Madan Mohan

HFGK lists only two singers, Rafi and Kishore Kumar, but in this clip you hear a third distinct voice. The Music director was Madan Mohan, he was a good singer, and his voice is credited in another song, Mere jaisa nahi milega ulfat ka parwana. Therefore, in Aadhi tum kha lo too it is quite likely that the third voice was his.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ppc3okxjWsw

4. Mere jaisa nahi milega ulfat ka parwana by Rafi, Kishore Kumar and Madan Mohan from Fifty-Fifty (1956), lyrics Rajendra Krishna, music Madan Mohan

Now the said song with Madan Mohan’s voice in it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AQcjXWtCZ6A&list=RDAQcjXWtCZ6A&start_radio=1

5. Ton tana dere na dere na…Kadar mori jaane na by Shamshad Begum & Asha Bhosle from Dhaake Ki Malmal (1956), lyrics Jan Nisar Akhtar, music OP Nayyar

This film had one more music director (Robin Chatterjee) and two more lyricists which I have mentioned in the MEMORABLE SONGS, but it seems they did not compose as a duo; each song is credited separately. The lyricist of this wonderful song is an OP Nayyar-regular Jan Nisar Akhtar (for trivia lovers and those who do not know, Javed Akhtar’s father). In this over 8 minutes video format the song only starts at about 5 minutes; so if you are in a hurry to hear the song, you can start there. But I would suggest do hear from the beginning. The initial over three minutes are compilations of his background score. One of them is the famous tune of Vidyapati’s Maithili song, Piya more baalak main taruni re. This was mentioned by Ravindra Kelkar in his Centenary series on OP Nayyar. For a detailed discussion on this connection and connections of more songs with this tune please see SOY’s 14^th Anniversary post and N Venkataraman’s comment #45 in that post.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vtO4j2Kguf4&list=PLpZLHt6c4Ik8pWE1ORvJHYrg2j8nh8qtT

6. Laut gaya gham ka zamana aayi khushi lahraati by Lata Mangeshkar & Hemant Kumar from Naya Aadmi (1956), lyrics Rajendra Krishna, music Vishwanath-Rammoorty

This film was NT Rama Rao and Anjali Devi-starrer. He would go on to become Andhra Pradesh chief minister on the plank of Telugu pride.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G2Skf5iA9DU&list=RDG2Skf5iA9DU&start_radio=1

7. Aa ja aa ja ki hum hain akele by Ismail Aazad & Party from Taaj Aur Talwar (1956), lyrics Ismail Aazad, Music Sudipt

Who is this music director Sudipt? A completely unknown name, but the singer is known because of his evergreen qawwali Humein to loot liya mil ke husnwaalon ne. Therefore, I looked up this qawwali, his voice is recognizable. Not a bad qawwali.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0eaZN6LEG-A&list=RD0eaZN6LEG-A&start_radio=1

Now I invite readers for their views on the best of 1956:

Best Male Solo
Best Lata Mangeshkar Solo
Best Solo by Other Female Singers
Best Duets
Best Music Director

Acknowledgements and Disclaimer
The song links have been given from the YouTube only for the music lovers’ pleasure. This blog has no commercial interest, nor does it suggest or claim any copyright over these songs.

Note
I am aware that the Table may not show properly on some devices. I have no answer to that. The readers are advised to use commonsense.