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I NDIA S INGAPORE MALAYSIA Notion Press

Old No. 38, New No. 6 McNichols Road, Chetpet Chennai - 600 031

First Published by Notion Press 2018 Copyright © Manek Premchand 2018 All Rights Reserved.

ISBN 978-1-64324-759-5

This book has been published with all efforts taken to make the material error-free after the consent of the author. However, the author and the publisher do not assume and hereby disclaim any liability to any party for any loss, damage, or disruption caused by errors or omissions, whether such errors or omissions result from negligence, accident, or any other cause.

No part of this book may be used, reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission from the author, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews. Contents

Foreword ������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������vii

1 Mirror Mirror on the Wall� �����������������������������������������������������������1 2. Praised to the Skies ����������������������������������������������������������������������6 3. The Minimalistic Rhythm Strategy ������������������������������������������12 4. What a Sad Birthday Gift! ��������������������������������������������������������17 5. Should Song Lyrics Be Censored? ����������������������������������������������21 6. Wind through Your Hair ����������������������������������������������������������28 7. Make Haste Slowly! ������������������������������������������������������������������33 8. Will the Real Song Stand up Please? ������������������������������������������37 9. Imitation Isn’t the Best Form of Flattery ������������������������������������44 10. The Flightless Bird of Hindi Playback ��������������������������������������50 11. No Confusion Here ������������������������������������������������������������������54 12. Odes to Nature �������������������������������������������������������������������������59 13. Bandits, Indian Style ����������������������������������������������������������������64 14. A Physics Lesson on Holi Day! ��������������������������������������������������69 15. The Chorus Effect ��������������������������������������������������������������������74 16. Question & Answer ������������������������������������������������������������������79 17. Before Sunrise and After Sunset ������������������������������������������������83 18. My Paperwork Took Forty-Six Years! ����������������������������������������87 19. Paniya Bharan Ko ����������������������������������������������������������������������92 20. Intimate Moments ��������������������������������������������������������������������97 21. There’s Lots in a Name ������������������������������������������������������������101 22. Smile for Selfie! ����������������������������������������������������������������������106 23. Life Begins at Forty ����������������������������������������������������������������111 24. Life Begins at Fifty ������������������������������������������������������������������116 Contents 25. The Charm of Pitch and Roll ��������������������������������������������������122 26. The Eighty Carats Asha! ����������������������������������������������������������127 27. Poets Coming Alive! ����������������������������������������������������������������132 28. Singing Lookalikes ������������������������������������������������������������������137 29. Doomed Romances ����������������������������������������������������������������142 30. Bakers’ Dozen ������������������������������������������������������������������������147 31. Wisdom in a Song ������������������������������������������������������������������151 32. The Secret Everyone Knows ����������������������������������������������������156 33. Telepathically Singing ��������������������������������������������������������������160 34. Allah Megh De, Paani De ��������������������������������������������������������165 35. Quite Rock n Roll ������������������������������������������������������������������169 36. ’s Connected-in-USA Dots ������������������������������������������174 37. Music without a Platform ��������������������������������������������������������179 38. The Last Musical Lord ������������������������������������������������������������184 39. A Real Devotee ������������������������������������������189 40. Opera Performance ����������������������������������������������������������������197 41. Trios, Triads or Triets? ��������������������������������������������������������������201 42. Where Softness is a P ��������������������������������������������������������������206 43. Sprinting to the Finish Line ����������������������������������������������������210 44. The Hasrat of ��������������������������������������������������215 45. May-December Romances ������������������������������������������������������220 46. Inspirations of a Different Kind ����������������������������������������������226 47. Ambassadors of Charm ����������������������������������������������������������234 48. The World Did Not End on 21st December 2012 ������������������239 49. The Raja’s Suicide ��������������������������������������������������������������������242 50. The Harmless Harmonium ����������������������������������������������������247 51. vs Archimedes ������������������������������������������������������252 52. From Hand to Mouth ������������������������������������������������������������257 53. The Vision Is More Important ������������������������������������������������262

iv Contents 54. There’s Something About Horses ��������������������������������������������267 55. A Special Mentor-Disciple Bond ��������������������������������������������272 56. The Oldest Hindi Film Musician Alive! ����������������������������������277 57. Mermaids of a Different Kind ������������������������������������������������282 58. Lyrical Collaborations ������������������������������������������������������������288 59. ’s Tryst with Red! ����������������������������������������������������293 60. Why Not See the Rainbow? ����������������������������������������������������298 61. Denied the Visual Outing ������������������������������������������������������303 62. Hindi-Chini Bhai Bhai! ����������������������������������������������������������308 63. From Gujarat with Love ����������������������������������������������������������312 64. De De Khuda Ke Naam Pe �����������������������������������������������������317 65. Cheers to the Second! ��������������������������������������������������������������321 66. Punjabi on a 50-Year Rope? ����������������������������������������������������326 67. Lion-Taming Heroines! ����������������������������������������������������������331 68. Living in the Moment ������������������������������������������������������������337 69. Overlapped for Goodness ��������������������������������������������������������342 70. The Beauty and Her Joy ����������������������������������������������������������346 71. Polyglot Poetry ������������������������������������������������������������������������351 72. Happy to Be Alone ������������������������������������������������������������������356 73. The Man Who Would Be a Musician ��������������������������������������361 74. The Real Kishore ��������������������������������������������������������������������366 75. Dancing to Their Tunes! ����������������������������������������������������������370 76. What’s Your Poison, Ma’am? ����������������������������������������������������374 77. Dafli Uttha, Awaaz Mila ����������������������������������������������������������378 78. Except Death and Taxes ����������������������������������������������������������382 79. Singing in the Same Voice­ ������������������������������������������������������386 80. Sir Winston, You Got It Wrong ����������������������������������������������391

Last Word ��������������������������������������������������������������������������������������395

v 1

Mirror Mirror on the Wall

Mirror, mirror on the wall, who is the fairest one of all? Asked the vain Evil Queen in Walt Disney’s Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. Since then, more than for anything else, mirrors have come to symbolize vanity.

Meena Kumari

That’s fine, but beware the revenge of Nemesis There have always been beautiful people on Earth, but before mirrors came about, people were not directly aware of their own beauty; they had to be told by others. Pools of still water were there of course, and these did give people a rough idea of their appearance. A Greek myth tells us the fatal story of a handsome young man called Narcissus. His beauty was admired by everyone, but he rejected all overtures. Over the years, he grew conceited in the knowledge, so much so that he didn’t consider anyone worth his time. The Hindi Music Jukebox This was seen as hubris—excessive pride or arrogance in one’s appearance or abilities—which was an insult to the gods. For such offenders the goddess Nemesis had a portfolio: deliver poetic justice. She lured Narcissus to a pool one day and left him there. The young man went about gazing at his reflection, falling in love with it. He was dying to possess the other. Finally, when he couldn’t obtain the object of his desire, he drowned in the pond. The gods had served him just desserts: no one would be able to admire him now. After he died, they placed a flower near the pond and named it after him: Narcissus Poeticus, the botanical name for Poet’s Daffodil. The Persians call this flower , from which has borrowed the same word for use on our subcontinent. Consistent with this punishment Dr Allama Iqbal wrote:

Hazaaron saal Nargis apni benoori pe roti hai Badi mushkil se hota hai chaman mein deedaawar paida

(Roughly “For eons the Narcissus bemoans her unnoticed situation. Very rarely is one born who appreciates her beauty”). Vanity and pride Vanity and, her junior partner, pride are often used interchangeably, and they do mean somewhat the same thing. But people generally agree that vanity is pride that travels with the excess baggage of arrogance. Pride is content with her accomplishments without making a Press Conference of it. She may respect others but has a fair degree of quiet self-respect. But vanity is contemptuous of others. Ironically, it thrives on applause and admiration intensely. Vain people fly high and are cocky about their highness. To cite an example from our films, there is a Lata Mangeshkar song in Samrat Chandragupta (1958), which goes thus: Mujhe dekh chaand sharmaaye, ghata tham jaaye, Main nikloon to kahe haaye—zamaana kahe haaye! (“The moon blushes when he sees me, the cloud misses a heartbeat, and the world goes wow when I step out”). Some vanity, that!

2 Mirror Mirror on the Wall No harm if we take a look at articulations of vanity through songs in Hindi cinema. The vain actor is listed, and the lyricist too. Relevant words are mentioned where found necessary:

➢➢ Maan mera ehsaan arre naadaan (Shakeel/Meri nazar ki roop na bharti dhoop to hota husn tera bekaar. in Aan, 1952) ➢➢ Main bahaaron ki natkhat raani (Hasrat Jaipuri/Saari duniya hai mujh pe deewaani. Chand Burque in Boot Polish, 1953) ➢➢ Main to chaloon pashchim, purab chale duniya (/Meri qismat pe jale saari duniya. Cuckoo in Mayur Pankh, 1953) ➢➢ Apni ada pe main hoon fida (PL Santoshi. Sandhya in Teen Batti Chaar Rasta, 1953) ➢➢ Main ghareebon ka dil hoon (Hasrat Jaipuri/Husn bhi dekh kar mujhko hairaan hai. Premnath in Aab-e-Hayaat, 1955) ➢➢ Thandi hawa kaali ghata aa hi gayi jhoom ke (Majrooh/Aaj to main apni chhabi dekh ke sharma gayi. Madhubala in Mr and Mrs 55, 1955) ➢➢ Mr John (Rajinder Krishan/Jo koi dekhe mera jalwa ho jaaye qurbaan. in Baarish, 1957) ➢➢ Aaye hain door se (Majrooh/Meri kya baat hai. in Tumsa Nahin Dekha, 1957) ➢➢ Main sitaaron ka taraana (Majrooh/Raag mere roop ke tu gaaye ja. Madhubala in Chalti Ka Naam Gaadi, 1958) ➢➢ Aiye meherbaan (Qamar Jalalabadi/Dekha machal ke jidhar, bijli gira di udhar. Madhubala in Howrah Bridge, 1958) ➢➢ Aa ra ra ra ra ra main to giri re (PL Santoshi/ Nasha gar chaahiye to humse naata jod do. Shakila in Post Box No 999, 1958) ➢➢ Zara sa muskura doon to rasta bhula doon (Indeewar/Nigaahen neechi kar loon to duniya bhula doon. Girija in Chandrasena, 1959) ➢➢ Andaaz mera mastaana (Shailendra. Meena Kumari in Dil Apna Aur Preet Parai, 1960) ➢➢ Uee, itni badi mehfil aur ik dil kisko doon (Hasrat Jaipuri/Phas gayi jaan meri beshumaar deewanon mein. Helen in Dil Apna Aur Preet Parai, 1960)

3 The Hindi Music Jukebox ➢➢ Hum jab chalen to ye jahaan jhoome (. in Hum Hindustani, 1960) ➢➢ Mujhe apna yaar bana lo (Hasrat Jaipuri/Jin raaston se nikloon ik dhoom si macha doon, Jin mehfilon mein jaoon wo mehfilen saja doon. Shammi Kapoor in Boy Friend, 1962) ➢➢ Nazar bacha kar chale gaye wo warna ghaayal kar deta (Hasrat Jaipuri. Shammi Kapoor in Dil Tera Deewana, 1962) ➢➢ Jab tak hum hain (Shakeel/Koi naheen duniya mein apne siwa. Shammi Kapoor in Pyaar Kiya To Darna Kya, 1963) ➢➢ Unki pehli nazar kya asar kar gayi (Hasrat Jaipuri/Din mein sau baar main aina dekh loon. Saira Banu in April Fool, 1964) ➢➢ Tum ho haseen kahaan ke (Rajinder Krishan/Hum chaand aasmaan ke. Madhubala in Sharabi, 1964) ➢➢ Dil ka diya jala ke gaya (Majrooh/Ek hi nazar mein nikhar gayi main to, aina jo dekha sanwar gayi main to. Nimmi in Aakash Deep, 1965) ➢➢ Dekhti hi raho aaj darpan na tum (Neeraj. Rajeev to Tanuja in Nayi Umar Ki Nayi Fasal, 1965) ➢➢ Maana mere haseen sanam (/Mera kahaan jawaab hai. Prashant in The Adventures of Robin Hood, 1965) ➢➢ In bahaaron mein akele na phiro (Majrooh/Mujhko ye kaali ghata rokegi kya, ye to khud hai meri zulfon ke tale. in Mamta, 1966) ➢➢ Bhai baddoor bhai baddoor (Rajinder Krishan/Aina dekhoon aur sochoon kya ho gayi main maghroor. Saira Banu in Padosan, 1968) ➢➢ Main albeli pyaar jata kar (Hasrat Jaipuri/Ek nazar main jis pe daaloon ho jaaye ghaafil. Helen in Shikaar, 1968) ➢➢ Muqaabla humse na karo (Hasrat Jaipuri/Hamaare saamne suraj bhi haath malta hai. Shammi Kapoor, Helen and in Prince, 1969) ➢➢ Bachke kahaan jaoge (Hasrat Jaipuri/In nigaahon se, in adaon se. Helen in Yakeen, 1969) ➢➢ Main jahaan chala jaoon bahaar chali aaye (. Jeetendra in Ban Phool, 1971)

4 Mirror Mirror on the Wall ➢➢ Duniya ka mela, mele mein ladki (Anand Bakshi/Gaal uske gulaabi, chaal uski . in Raja Jani, 1972) ➢➢ Bachna aye haseenon, lo main aa gaya (Majrooh. Rishi Kapoor in Hum Kisi Se Kum Naheen, 1977) ➢➢ In aankhon ki masti ke mastaane hazaaron hain (Shahryar. in Umrao Jaan, 1981) ➢➢ Bijli giraane main hoon aayi (. in Mr , 1987)

Do note that this is not praise from others. These are examples of people admiring themselves. As for that song mentioned above, Indeewar’s Mujhe dekh chaand sharmaaye, from Samrat Chandragupta, it was filmed on Kammo, who was not the female lead in the story. The main female lead was portrayed by Nirupa Roy. She was a Greek princess named Helen who marries the Indian King Chandragupta, and the Greeks know the story of Narcissus with his punishment. On a lighter note, Mrs Helen Chandragupta may have considered her own death by drowning a terrible idea. Meantime, wonder what’s up with Nemesis? She must be astonished to see so much vanity around these days. Nail art, hair streaking, silicone implants, botox for skin firming, beauty treatments that didn’t exist in her time. All these have helped vanity scale higher platforms. Could it be that she too is getting a makeover?

Originally published: 25 March 2018

5 2

Praised to the Skies

Last week, I was listening to a nazm rendered by Mehdi Hassan, Duniya kisi ke pyaar mein jannat se kum naheen, Ik dilruba hai dil mein jo hooron se kum naheen. I was hearing it for the umpteenth time, and marvelling at the extraordinary expression that Mehdi saab breathed into this song, set so well in raag Bhopali. It is a poem that from start to finish praises someone sky high (Waheed Murad praising Zeba in Pakistani film Jaag Uttha Insaan, 1966), and the poetry is wonderful. However, something in the words struck me as odd. One of the stanzas went thus:

Bhoole se muskurao to moti baras paden Palken uttha ke dekho to kaliyaan bhi hans paden Khushbu tumhaari zulf ki phoolon se kum naheen Praised to the Skies This was written by Dukhi Premnagri (real name Wahaj Mohd Khan). Now I am nobody to hold a candle to this writer, who had also penned the lyrics of a few other songs. is not my forte, much less my profession. But I wonder why he wrote Bhoole se muskurao to moti baras paden. Wasn’t this an unexpected jab in the middle of what was otherwise a song of out-and-out romantic praise? It was like telling the lady she smiled beautifully, but oh she smiled only when she condescended to. Would he perhaps have praised her better by writing instead, say, Jab jab bhi muskurao to moti baras paden? The words Jab jab mean whenever, perhaps consistent with the poet’s thought here, and they don’t add up as a left-handed compliment, a remark that says something nice about a person but can be seen as an insult as well. But if this was a case of missing the mot juste, a few songs of romantic praise have had writers offer over the top imageries. Consider Rajinder Krishan’s thoughts for singing to in Dharti (1970): Khuda bhi aasmaan se jab zameen par dekhta hoga, Mere mehboob ko kisne banaaya sochta hoga. The creator awed by his own creation! And Hasrat Jaipuri went further in Shammi Kapoor’s lofty praise for Sadhana in Rajkumar (1964):

Is rang badalti duniya mein insaan ki neeyat theek naheen… Nikla na karo tum saj-dhaj kar, imaan ki neeyat theek naheen…

Now look at this:

Main kaise khuda-hafiz keh doon mujhko to kisi ka yaqeen naheen Chhup jao hamaari aankhon mein, Bhagwaan ki neeyat theek naheen…

Haaye Rabba! Incidentally, we are talking about romantic praise here, and not any other kind. These other kinds exist too. For example, it’s a mother being praised high in Usko naheen dekha humne kabhi par is ki zaroorat kya hogi, Aye maa! teri surat se alag Bhagwan ki surat kya hogi (Majrooh in Dadi Maa, 1966). The Almighty sits in the skies in all religions, and they all sing praises to Him. Think of Parwardigar-e-aalam, tera hi

7 The Hindi Music Jukebox hai sahaara…har iltija ne teri rehmat ko hai ubhaara (Akhtar Romani/ Hatimtai, 1956). Songs of cosmic wonder also praise Him so often, for instance in Ye kaun chitrakaar hai (Bharat Vyas/Boond Jo Ban Gayi Moti, 1967). And while we are looking at romantic flattery, this is not about the normal kind. For example, we are not talking about praise that is found in songs like Chitra Singh’s Tu naheen to zindagi mein aur kya reh jaayega (Iftikhar Imam Siddiqui/Arth, 1983). Our story engages with very high praise. The kind that, were we the recipients, would probably make us blush. The sort of compliments that many of us would consider over the top. Who doesn’t like flattery? Everyone loves flattery, but such kind of eulogy can be dangerous, in that it can divorce the receiver from his connection with reality. Do think of the poetry offered by SH Bihari in Ek Musafir Ek Hasina (1962). Says Joy to Sadhana: Bahut shukriya, badi meherbaani meri zindagi mein huzoor aap aaye, Qadam choom loon ya, ke aankhen bichha doon, Karoon kya ye meri samajh mein na aaye. Aware of the perils here, she responds thus: Mujhe hai mujh mein ghuroor aa na jaaye, lagoon jhoomne main, suroor aa na jaaye, Kaheen dil na mera ye taareef sun kar tumhaara bane aur mujhe bhool jaaye. But of course that’s what he wants, to hypnotize her! Joy was in fact featured in many songs of praise. We saw take him skywards through Majrooh’s visual imagination in Phir Wohi Dil Laaya Hoon (1963): Aankhon se jo utri hai dil mein, tasweer hai ik anjaane ki, Khud dhoond rahi hai shamma jise, kya baat hai us parwaane ki! Easy catch, he didn’t have to worry about pitching at all, the lady was already a believer! The next year he was on Shakeel’s page and turning it on for Saira Banu in Door Ki Awaaz (1964): Husn se chaand bhi sharmaaya hai, teri surat ne ghazab dhaaya hai…Aadmi kya hai farishton ke behek jaayen qadam. O my, my! The visuals tell us Joy was succeeding here. They came together in the same year again, in Aao Pyaar Karen (1964), where we saw him praise her with Rajinder Krishan’s poetry: Jahaan tu

8 Praised to the Skies hai wahaan phir aadmi ko kaun poochhega (with its Kisi ko muskuraake khubsurat maut na dena). Saira and Joy paired again in Saaz Aur Awaaz in 1966, and here’s how he flattered her, with help from Khumar Barabankvi: Tum ishq ki mehfil ho, tum husn ka jalwa ho, Ya saaz-e- muhabbat par chheda hua naghma ho. Her hypnotized response? Ik baar phir kaho zara. Clearly, she was gone. In an attempt to identify the top songs of praise in Hindi cinema down the decades, earlier this week we did a poll among strong music lovers, both online and not so. They had to try and keep lyrics, more than other elements, at the center of songs. 50 people participated in the survey which let everyone add their own titles, and we all elected our multiple choices. Totally 90 songs were on the table. The ages of these strong music aficionados ranged between 35 and 77 years. Here is our popularity rating of the top 30 songs of high praise, beginning with the most popular:

➢➢ Aap ke haseen rukh pe aaj naya noor hai (Anjaan/Baharen Phir Bhi Ayengi, 1966) ➢➢ Ye chaand sa roshan chehra (SH Bihari/Kashmir Ki Kali, 1964) ➢➢ Aankhon se jo utri hai dil mein (Majrooh/Phir Wohi Dil Laaya Hoon, 1963) ➢➢ Ab kya misaal doon main (Majrooh/Aarti, 1963) ➢➢ Chaudhvin ka chaand ho (Shakeel/, 1960)

9 The Hindi Music Jukebox ➢➢ Jeevan se bhari teri aankhen (Indeewar/Safar, 1970) ➢➢ Jo baat tujh mein hai (Sahir/Taj Mahal, 1963) ➢➢ Roshan tumhi se duniya (Indeewar/Parasmani, 1963) ➢➢ Tumhi mere mandir, tumhi meri pooja (Rajinder Krishan/ Khandaan, 1965) ➢➢ Chandan sa badan (Mukesh) (Indeewar/Saraswatichandra, 1968) ➢➢ Bahut shukriya (SH Bihari/Ek Musafir Ek Haseena, 1962) ➢➢ Tumko dekha to ye khayaal aaya (Javed Akhtar/Saath Saath, 1981) ➢➢ Tere husn ki kya taareef karoon (Shakeel/Leader, 1964) ➢➢ Tum jo mil gaye ho (Kaifi Azmi/Haste Zakhm, 1973) ➢➢ Teri pyaari pyaari surat ko (Hasrat/Sasural, 1961) ➢➢ Jaan-e-bahaar husn tera (Shakeel/Pyaar Kiya To Darna Kya, 1963) ➢➢ Chaand aahen bharega (Anand Bakshi/Phool Bane Angaare, 1963) ➢➢ Deewaana hua baadal (SH Bihari/Kashmir Ki Kali, 1964) ➢➢ Ye mera prempatra padh kar (Hasrat/Sangam, 1964) ➢➢ Tum gagan ke chandrama (Bharat Vyas/Sati Savitri, 1964) ➢➢ Kitni haseen ho tum (Qamar Jalalabadi/Ye Dil Kisko Doon, 1963) ➢➢ Do naina matwaare (Pt Bhushan/My Sister, 1944) ➢➢ Teri aankhon ke siwa (Rafi) (Majrooh/Chirag, 1969) ➢➢ Ye aankhen uff yumma (Hasrat/Jab Pyaar Kisi Se Hota Hai, 1961) ➢➢ Mere jeevan mein kiran ban ke (Pradeep/Talaaq, 1958) ➢➢ Chehre pe khushi chha jaati hai (Sahir/Waqt, 1965) ➢➢ Paon chhoo lene do (Sahir/Taj Mahal, 1963) ➢➢ Hontthon pe hasi…kya baat hai is ki (SH Bihari/ Sawan Ki Ghata, 1966) ➢➢ Kaisa jaadu balam tune daara (Majrooh/12 O’Clock, 1958) ➢➢ Chaand sa mukhda kyoon sharmaaya (Shailendra/Insaan Jaag Uttha, 1959)

10 Praised to the Skies It’s interesting that not all songs were of one person praising another. In some of these, both the actors were singing paeans to each other, in a Mutual Admiration Society kind of way. Meantime, the results threw up a couple of interesting things: First, our top three songs were composed by OP Nayyar. Could this mean Nayyar loved the idea so much, he was himself telling filmmakers what songs he preferred? Second, much of the praise is offered by men. Wonder how that can be curated in cultural terms. These were the best songs of praise according to our study, which, even if not executed in the most scientific way, must surely be at least a fair barometer of music buffs’ choices. Perhaps you will know some more songs. Maybe you can even write good praise. Why, if you are wealthy and keen, you may even hire a professional research agency to find us the best results. I, for one, am surprised that Ishaaron ishaaron mein dil lene waale (SH Bihari/Kashmir Ki Kali, 1964), while in the list, didn’t find its way into the top 30 songs of high praise. Even with lines like these: Maana ke jaan-e-jahaan laakhon mein tum ek ho, hamaari nigaahon ki bhi kuchh to magar daad do, Bahaaron ko bhi naaz jis phool par tha, wohi phool humne chuna gulsitaan se. Uff yumma!

Originally published: 1 April 2018

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The Minimalistic Rhythm Strategy

Are you among those that are sometimes emotionally violated by the excessive use of rhythms in music coming out of neighbours’ homes, and from cars that pull up next to yours at traffic lights? ‘Pump up the Bass’ is a common mantra these days, meaning turn up the volume folks, because the song has lots of bass (low frequency that reverberates into your system). Why has melody—the essential tune and its decoration—taken a back seat, with the beat taking control of things? Is it because we are a heavily over communicative society now, and so we need to drum louder and harder to receive attention? Beating the drum for attention is of course an ancient and valid idea, the idiom finding its use in daily parlance too. But we are experiencing an overdose, aren’t we? When we keep beating the drum much of the time, exactly the reverse happens. The beat-centric song arrives and departs, the message getting lost, because its creator had no clue how to deliver it well. Clearly, the judicious use of rhythms is often a key to a great tune. Sometimes in fact, it is desirable to shut off all beats, especially in a slow song when we need to hear words that have loads of meaning. This is also valid for when we need to latch on to the expression in the singer’s voice. When there is a painful Heer to be rendered, or when it’s a kind of mushaira scene, or when dejection has to be impregnated into tune. The masters of the golden era appreciated this point only too The Minimalistic Rhythm Strategy well. They understood not only where they had to put fifty violins and a hundred chorus singers, but they also had their finger on the pulse of the situation where the idea was to go minimalistic. Western musicians use the words Senza Misura to describe songs that have no meter, and as such, no rhythm instruments. Back home, we use the expression Theka Bund. This form of dramatizing the song to travel without an audible taal or time cycle can be executed for part of the song (that has happened in hundreds of our melodies), or for the entire duration of the tune. But first let’s get a focus on what we mean by rhythm instruments here. There are two groups of percussion instruments, whose essential job it is to furnish the rhythm. One kind has a membrane (tabla, dholak, duff, conga, etc) and then we have the non-membrane variety (triangle, woodblock, manjira, khadtaal, chimta, etc). Of course, many essentially melodic instruments can offer rhythms too, for instance the rhythm guitar, where the player’s fretting hand provides the harmony with the other hand strumming the rhythm. A solo singing guitarist thus brings the two elements together in his work! The strings of a piano and santoor can be hammered to create rhythm, and the sitar, sarod, bulbul tarang, mandolin and many more can bring alive the idea of a repeated rhythm pattern. Why just these, even pumped instruments like the harmonium and accordion can give some semblance of a beat and timing cycle. But these are primarily not percussion instruments, so to simplify things we keep them out of here for rhythms. Surely you recall many of the songs listed below. These songs had a complete—or near-complete—absence of percussion. A couple of these songs have perhaps just a hint of rhythm, like of the percussion instrument vibraphone, the bars of which can be struck periodically in a low-profile way. Perhaps somewhere too the plucking of the strings of the huge Double Bass may be heard, but again, minimalistically. Song titles are followed by singers’ names, composers and their films:

➢➢ Dukh ke ab din beetat naahi (KL Saigal/RC Boral/Devdas, 1935) ➢➢ Soja meri laadli (Shamshad/Ghulam Haider/Chal Chal Re Naujawan, 1944)

13 The Hindi Music Jukebox ➢➢ Tu dil ka Khuda hai (Rafi/Khayyam/Parda, 1949) ➢➢ Sitamgar se leta hai tu inteqaam (Rafi/Khayyam/Parda, 1949) ➢➢ Aye baad-e-saba aahista chal (Hemant/C Ramchandra/Anarkali, 1953) ➢➢ Bharam teri wafaon ka mita dete to kya hota (Talat/SD Burman/ Arman, 1953) ➢➢ Humne maana ke taghaaful na karoge lekin (Suraiya/Ghulam Mohd/Mirza Ghalib, 1954) ➢➢ Chhota sa ghar hoga baadalon ki chhaon mein (The Hemant version/Salil Choudhury/, 1954) ➢➢ Kis ko khabar thi, kisko yaqeen tha (featured below) (Talat/SD Burman/Devdas, 1955)

➢➢ Mitwa, laagi ye kaisi anbujh aag (Talat/SD Burman/Devdas, 1955) ➢➢ Main lut gayi duniya waalo (Lata/Salil Choudhury/Tangewali, 1955) ➢➢ Jadon ishq de kam noon hath laiye (Rafi/Anil Biswas/Heer, 1956) ➢➢ Husn kehte hain mujhe (Asha, Talat/Hafeez Khan/Mera Salaam, 1957) ➢➢ Tang aa chuke hain kashmakash-e-zindagi se hum (Rafi/SD Burman/the mushaira in Pyaasa, 1957) ➢➢ Pyaar ki duniya lutegi (Lata//Mehndi, 1958)

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