Pankh Hote To
Thanks to Priyangini, I have been united with another song that I had nearly given a slip. As a kid, this used to be a big hit with me. But I will talk about it a bit later, let’s first see the lyrics:
Pankh hote to udd aatee re, rasiyaa o zalimaa
tujhe dil kaa daag dikhalaatee re
Yaadon mein khoyee pahuchee gagan me, Panchhee ban ke sachchee lagan mein
Door se dekhaa Mausam hasee thaa, Aanewaale too hee naheen thaa
Rasiyaa, o zalimaa, tujhe dil kaa daag dikhalaatee re
Kirane ban ke baahe failaayee, Aas ke baadal pe jaa ke lahaaraayee
Jhool chookee main waade kaa zoolaa, Too to apanaa waadaa bhee bhoolaa
Rasiyaa, o zalimaa, tujhe dil kaa daag dikhalaatee re
The thing that used to fascinate me even when I was in my knickers was the way the song starts; the alaap starts from an absolute base and ends on a breathtaking spiralling skyscraper. Even now, I get mesmerized the elasticity in her voice, and always rewind at least a few times before moving ahead with the song. My absolute favorite style of Lataji (apart from the prelude) is the way she says the word ‘pankh‘ in the mukhda.
In those good olden days of Chitrahaar on the only channel available (Doordarshan), a couple of V. Shantaram films songs used to be regulars. One of them was ‘Tu chhupi hai kahan’ from Navrang and the second one was this one. At that time, the picturisations always had us in guffaws: after all, it was quite funny to see a garishly made up heroine balancing a row of matkas on her head; or like in this one, a heroine wearing caps and tight pyjamas (at least thats what they look), standing on one feet and trying to pretend to be a bird. (If I am not mistaken, the then superstar of future, Mumtaz was a side-heroine in this film and is shown as an extra in the background in this song).
But as an audio, the song is marvellous. Composed by a lesser known name , Ram Lal, the song has the same flight and vastness and flap as of a bird flying in the sky. The music, especially the use of the jal-tarang, is tickling. Plus, Ram Lal has given Lataji lots of alaaps in between the song as well. The rhythm is graceful. Another observation is that even those who cannot understand the language can gauge the feel of the song by its music and singing itself. That is what sends the song into the measureless skies of immortality and classic-genre.
The lyrics are by the famed lyricist Hasrat Jaipuri. Although a large body of work of Hasrat saab is with the duo Shankar-Jaikishan, he wrote some lovely words for other music directors also, like SD Burman. Not many know this fact, but he is the mama (uncle) of Anu Mallik and has written songs for him in Mallik’s initial phase of career.
More on Hasrat Jaipuri is available here. Do read it.
The music composer Ramlal Choudhry never really got his due despite some hits like Sehra, Navrang and Geet Gaya Pathron Ne. History has been very cruel to him to the extent that at the age of 81, he did not know where his next meal would come from. Although this blog is on Lataji, I would like to share this information with the readers. After all, Ram Lal was part of Lataji’s career, however small it might be ( He did not work with her to a large extent, most of his songs went to Asha Bhonsle).
I found this heart-wrenching article on the web, I am not sure of the year of its publication, but it gives insight to what happens in an industry where fame eludes you:
Poverty has even forced his 65-year-old British-born wife to find work.
“I am not asking for much. If the Government cannot provide me two meals a day, I request it to provide at least one meal,” says a bitter Choudhary sitting in an old cot in a tiny room which is his house in Khetwadi area on the grant road.
Choudhary is angry that he is forgotten in the land to which he gave the best of his life. “They distribute awards every year and give financial help to artisans. Is my contribution to music any lesser than theirs or are they deaf that my music is not reaching their ears?” asks choudhary clad in a faded T-shirt and lungi.
He and his wife Rita lives on the Rs 700 he receives from the Maharashtra Government. Sometimes, royalty comes from overseas, but this happens only occassionaly and it is not sufficient to live comfortably. Rita was forced to work part-time in a charity organisation. But the amount she earns is meagre.
In his golden days, Chouhary used to smoke three packets of cigarettes. But, today, he has to think twice before even smoking a beedi. He lived in the posh Colaba in South Mumbai in his hey days … He came to Mumbai in 1944 and got a job in Prithviraj Kapoor’s Prithivi Theatre Group as an assistant to music director Ram Ganguly. With Ganguly, he played the flute in ‘Dekh Chaand Ki Aor’ Sung by Shamshaad Begam and Shailesh ‘Jindaa Hoon is Tarah Ki Ghame Zindagi’ sung by Mukesh ‘Raat Ko Jo Chamake Taare’ sung by Shamshaad Begam and Mukesh and ‘Kaahe Koyaliyaa Shor Machaae Re’, sung by Shamshaad Begam.
As a full-fledged music director, he first landed with producer P L Santoshi’s Raj Kapoor-Vaijayantimala starrer ‘Tangaawalla’ in 1950. He recorded six songs for this film. Unfortunately, the movie was never released. In between, he played continued to play the flute and shehani in various films.
In 1952, he got a second chance as music director for the baal hardeep produced film, ‘Husnbaano’.It was a hit film and established Choudhary as a music director.
‘Yaa Nabeeb Salaam Lai Jaa’ and ‘Pyaar Karane Ka Ayaa Jamaana’ became hit songs. Then came producer-director V Shantaram’s ‘Sehara‘ ….One more feather was added to his cap with V Shantaram’s ‘Geet Gaaya Pattharon Ne’ released in 1965. Mr Choudhary recorded ‘Tere Khayalo Mein Hum’ sung by Asha Bhosale, ‘Saanson Ke Taar Par’ and ‘Dhadakan Ki Taal Par’ sung by Asha Bhosale and Mahendra Kapoor were all popular numbers of those days.
Thereafter, the singer of yesteryears says, he found himself out of the industry due to the machinations of some powerful music directors and renowned producers.
He, then, decided to produce his own film. With a partner, Charles, he started the film, ‘Tyagi’ under the banner, ‘Panna pictures.’ but after some time, the partner left him stranded. Choudhary lost about Rs 60,000 in the project and a whisper campaign started in the industry that as producer, Choudhary could not do justice to his films. He got no more films.
Choudhary has to his credit, playing Shehnai in ‘Aag’, ‘Mughal- e-Aajam’ and ‘Navrang‘. In ‘Sehara‘, Sandoor exponent Pandit Shivkumar Sharma and in ‘Geet Gaaya Pattharon Ne’- flute maestro Pandit Hariprasad Chourasiya worked under him. Laxmikant Pyarelal have worked with him as assistants in ‘Maaya Macchinder’. Kalyanji Ananadji also worked with him in ‘Naaglok‘ under his direction
.
One of his other hits was Mohd Rafi sung “Taqdeer ka fasana jaakar kise sunaye“; it sums up his life, I guess.
But he has left behind a delightful legacy behind him. No one can snatch this away from his credit ever. Let us listen to his creation, sung to perfection by Lata Mangeshkar; once again, do let me know your views.
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