Mohammad Rafi Birth Centenary: Remembering Some Happy Solo Songs of ‘40s

That the potential of Mohammad Rafi’s voice was first noticed by none other than the most noticed, and popular, voice of Hindi cinema, K L Saigal, is now a folklore tale that does not any more repetition. Similarly, when we pick up Mohammad Rafi’s songs of ‘40s, it, too, is now not necessary to remind that it was Shyam Sundar who gave the first ever break to Mohammad Rafi in 1942 in a Punjabi film, Gul Baloch. Nor too is any more necessary to remind that his maiden song in a Hindi film – a chorus for Pehle Aap (1944) – recorded by Naushad was to be the seed that was to grow as great Banyan Tree of the future bond of Naushad – Mohammad Rafi.

Mohammad Rafi did sing for around 45-46 music directors during 1944 to 1950. However, when we scroll names of these music directors, we come across names of vintage era music directors like Hafeez Khan, Firoz Nizami, Pt. Govindram, Alla Rakha Queraishi, Bulo C Rani, Hanuman Prasad, Rashid Atre, Datta Devjekar, Khemchand Prakash, Shyam Sunder, Sajjad Hussain and the like more. In a way, that shows early acceptance of playback singing capabilities of Mohammad Rafi. Mohammad Rafi also seems to have developed good rapport with music directors like Hans Raj Behl and Husnlal Bhagatram who went on to contribute notably till well into mid-50s. Another music director, who himself was struggling to make his mark, C Ramchandra, seemed to have found Mohammad Rafi’s voice to suit his style of music compositions. The new stars like S D Burman, Shankar Jaikishan, Madan Mohan, who were to create the compositions styles that was to shape the Hindi film music of the Golden Era, seemed to have test-cased Mohammad rafi with a song or two. It was Mukesh who seemed to be their first-choice male playback singer, with Mohammad Rafi not being seen anywhere near being the automatic choice for the playback of lead actors.

Till 1950, Mohammad Rafi had just a few what can said to be universally popular songs, like YahaN Badla Wafa a Bewafai Ke Siva Kya Hai (Jugnu, 1947, with Noor Jehan – Music: Firoz Nizami), Ek Dil Ke Tukade Hazar Hue (Pyar Ki Jeet, 1948 – Music: Husnlal Bhagatram) and Suhani Raat Dhal Chuki Na Jaane Tum Kab Aaogi (Dulari, 1949 – Music: Naushad). Of course, two of the Hindi Cinema’s all-time great patriotic songs, Suno Suno Aye Duniyawalo Bapu Ki Ye Amar Kahani (NFS – Music: Husnlal Bhagatram) and Watan Ki Raah Mein Watan Ke NaujawaN Shaheed Ho (Shaheed, 1948 – Music: Ghulam Haider) do belong to this period.

There would be no doubt that recalling Mohammad Rafi’s happy, romantic, solo songs, for the years 1944 – 1950 should be a very unique experience.

Pyar Karana Padega Ek Din … Tum Ko Hansana Padega Ek Din – Sharabati Aankhein (1945) – Lyrics: Pt. Indra – Music: Firoz Nizami

The songs wherein one party takes offence and other tries to please has remained a very popular genre in Hindi films. It seems that when the song compositions were still under the shadow of traditional theatre-style music, Mohammad Rafi had already started carrving out his own style for this genre of songs.

Rahe To Kaise Rahe Dil Pe Ikhtyaar Mujhe …. Tum Is Nazar Se Na Dekho Baar Mujhe – Room No. 9 (1946) – Lyrics: Naqshab Zarachvi – Music: Rasheed Atre

The very big name of those years, Shyam, is singing the song on the screen. However, a relatively novice playback singer that Mohammad Rafi was does not seem to overawes by the occasion and seems to be laying the foundation of developing his unique modulation style to mime the acting style of actor enacting the song on the screen.

Ab Wo Hamaare Ho Gaye… Ikraar Karein Ya Na Kareien…. Humko Unhi Se Pyar Hai Wo Pyar Karein Ya Na Karein – Safar (1946) – Lyrics: Gopal Singh (G S) Nepali – Music: C Ramachandra

C Ramchandra belongs to that early class of music directors who arrived on the Hindi film music scene during the vintage era, but has different ideas about the way the would compose the music. His experimental streak did not whither away even after having undergone quite rough weather in the initial years of struggle,

As early as 1947, C Ramchandra seems all at ease creating western styled Aana Meri Jaan Meri Jaan Sunday Ke Sunday and Maari Katari Mar Jaana (Shehnai, 1947). Even in 1950, on one hand he could compose a light, foot-tapping western styled Gore Gore O Banke Chhore (Samadhi, 1950) while simultaneously composing a deeply emotional pathos melody, Mahefil Mein Jal Uthi Shama Parwane Ke Liye ( Nirala, 1950).

Even though C Ramachandra had started tasting success in films like Nadiya Ke Paar (1948, Dilip Kumar, Kamini Kaushal), Patanga, Saanwariya (1949), he can be said to have gained escape velocity only during his association with Master Bhagwan.

So, while C Ramachandra was trying to create a separate trail by experimenting with Mid-eastern, Arabic, Indian folk and Western styled compositions, Mohammad Rafi was also working on developing his own unique style. Songs like Humko Tumhara Hi Aasara (Saajan, 1947 – Lyrics: Moti), O Baabu Aji Baabu Gali Mein Teri Chand Chamka (Saajan, 1947 – Lyrics: Qamar Jalalabadi) or Kis Waade Ka Matlab Kya Karein (Duniya, 1949 – Lyrics: Arzoo Lakhanvi) easily validate this proposition.

Prem Ki Naiyya Dol Rahi Hai Bojh Hriday Ka Taul Rahi Hai – Utho Jago 1947 – Lyrics:? – Music: Azeez Khan

The lyrics of the song seem to deliver the message of changing winds to the traditional mind-set society, in satirical style.

prem mein aisi surat bigadi
sar par jute, paav mein pagdi
izzat ke pat khol rahi hai

aise dhanwalo ke laal
ud gaye jinke sar ke baal
sar ki taat bhi bol rahi hai

prem na aaya tumko raas
kahe ye tumse gappu daas
kya, niyat dawa dol rahi hai

Ham Apne Dil Ka Fasana Unhein Soona Na Sake, Lagi Hai Jo Aag Dil MeinWo Buza Na Sake – Acress (1948) – Lyrics: Naqshab Zarachvi – Music: Shyam Sundar

After a good four years, Shyam Sundar is able to call upon Mohammad Rafi for his compositions. Of course, he now has used Rafi as lead male playback singer,

We can see Rafi so deftly handling one and half octave singing in one line and easily sliding across high-low octaves in the song. Most of the actors found it so hard to match this singing style on the screen.

Nigahein Milane Ko Jee Chahta Hai – Pyar Ki Aag (1948) – Lyrics: Qamar Jalalabadi – Music:  Ghulam Mohammad

The dice of Hind film music so mysteriously choosing to reject a song and place the other (from Dil Hi To Hai, 1963 – Asha Bhosle – Lyrics: Sahir Ludhianvi – Music: Roshan) on peak of popularity even when the lyrics of the initial lines are (almost) same.

Asides:

In the very next year, a twin song composition also was created in Karwat (1949 – Lyrics: Saifuddin Saif – Music: Hans Raj Behl) in the voices of Paro Devi and K  L Saigal styled Satish Batra, to meet the fate of resounding failure.

Dil Lena Hai to Le Lo, Inkar Nahi Hai, KyuN Garm Sard Hote Ho Taqrar Nahi Hai – Chakori (1949) – Lyrics: Mukraj Bhakri – Music: Hans Raj Behl

Hans Raj Behl and Mohammad Rafi first teamed up in a successful failure-of-love solo Sab Kuchh Lutya Hamne Aa Kar Teri Gali Mein (Chunariya, 1948) to build up a very fruitful association.

As it happens, this film also marks another very successful combination of Mohammad Rafi and Bharat Bhushan.

Mehman Ban Ke Aaye The Armaan Ban Gaye – Shohrat (1949) – Lyrics: Khanwar Zamma – Music: Azeez Hindi

The variety and versatility of Mohammad Rafi’s voice can best be appreciated if the duet twin version, with Hamida Banu, of the song is also heard together.

Dil Jawani Ke Nashe Mein Choor Hai Kaun Kaheta Hai Ke Dilli Door Hai – Birha Ki Raat (1950 – Lyrics: Sarshar Shailani – Music: Husnlal Bhagatram

The association of Husnlal Bhagatram with Mohammad Rafi also was quite varied and fruitful, beginning with some best ever sad songs like, Ek Dil Ke Tukde Hazar Hue (Pyar Ki Jeet, 1948), Muhabbat Ke Dhokhe Mein Koi Na Aaye (Badi Behen, 1949).

Mohammad Rafi presents his innovatively embedded harkats style of singing the light mood song.

Akele Mein Wo Gabarate To Honge – Biwi (1950) – Lyrics: Wali Sahab – Music: Sharmaji (a.k.a. Khayyam)

Mohammad Rafi presents the lost-in-deep-thoughts-of-the-loved-one mood.

Asides:

Amin Sayani is reminding Mahendra Kapoor in some programme how the college functions of his time would not conclude till Mahendra Kapoor sings this song. Mahendra Kapoor, too, very fondly sings the opening lines, in his own way.

Recalling Mohammad Rafi;s sad romantic songs should also be such a rich experience. But that it is for some other time…..

Carnival of Quality Management Articles and Blogs – Volume XII – March 2024 Edition

Welcome to March 2024 edition of the XII^th volume of Carnival of Quality Management Articles and Blogs.

The theme for the XII^th volume of our Carnival of Quality Management Articles and Blogs is The Defining Trends of Quality Management – Raising The Bar.

For the present episode, we will take up managing the enterprise risks in the changing environment.

With the implementation of ISO 9001:2015, risks and opportunities have become the cornerstone of ISO standards. These standards define risk as “the effect of uncertainty on objectives, whether positive or negative.” This definition shifts the understanding of risk away from the possibility of a negative outcome and toward the uncertainty itself.

The world today is in the throes of permacrisis – a world in permanent crisis, grappling with profound, persistent, ongoing challenges.[1]

In the present-day world, the uncertainty comes not only from the changes but the rate at which these changes happen. The firms able to effectively deliver change will thrive and are more likely to emerge stronger from these changes. Effective change boils down to directing energy and aligning efforts toward three key elements:[2]

• The strategy and thinking (The Head)

• The people and behaviors (The Heart)

• The underlying infrastructure (The Guts)

The types of risks are normally classified as:

Of these risks, financial, economic and technological risks are the domains of specialists in the respective field. So, we will not include these in the discussions here. We ill take up the other three types – strategic, compliance and operational risks for brief discussion in the next episodes.

And, of course, the one related to climate change risks, too.

Further reading:

• • Risk management – Harvard Business Review
  • Managing risks in changing market landscape
  • Business Resilience – The world is experiencing a level of disruption and business risk not seen in generations. Some companies freeze and fail, while others innovate, advance, and even thrive. The difference is resilience. : Institutional Resilience | Financial Resilience | Operational Resilience | Technological Resilience | Organizational Resilience | Reputational Resilience | Business Model
  • The future of risk: New game, new rules
    • Resilience – When disruptions are ever present, organizations need the ability to respond to and recover from unforeseen challenges to get back to thriving. This resilience has become a key organizational attribute—and a skillset in its own right.
  • Risk management and compliance can do more than mitigate threats and safeguard a company’s operations and reputation—it can create value.
  • Future of Risk
  • Risk Management Forecast for 2024: Defining Trends and Ways to Prepare

We will now turn to our regular sections –

@ ASQ TV, we will listen to 2023 Most Viewed. The top one was Quality Culture.

More Material on the subject @ Culture

Finally, we take up the article Quality Headline: ISO now REQUIRES management to consider “climate change’ in your MSS By Roderick A Munro – Effective immediately, all MSS requirements have added two new statements to organization’s current registration.(These can be found across 35 standards with the notation of “Amd 1:2024 (amendment)” and are free to download..)

The additions are:

4.1 – Add the following sentence at the end of the subclause:

“The organization shall determine whether climate change is a relevant issue.”

4.2 – Add the following note at the end of the subclause:

“NOTE 2 Relevant interested parties can have requirements related to climate change.”

It appears that ISO has also released several free publications talking about how ISO is working with worldwide stakeholders to address climate change. Some of the free downloads include:

PUB100449 Climate change adaptation

PUB100271 Environment Climate Change mitigation

PUB100067 ISO and climate change

ISO Climate Action Toolkit

Climate action toolkit: case studies

I look forward to your views / comments / inputs to further enrich the theme of The Defining Trends of Quality Management – Raising The Bar.

Note: The images or video clips depicted here above are through courtesy of respective websites who have the copyrights for the respective images /videos.

[1] Enterprise Risk Management (ERM) Trends in 2024

[2] Managing change risk – Ramy Farha, Chris DeBrusk, and Antonio Tugores

Fading Memories…. Unforgettable Songs: Volume IX – March 2024 Edition

Ghulam Mohammad and His Singers: 1954

Ghulam Mohammad (1903 – 17 March 1968) was trained as dholak player, but the strength of his natural insight for rhythm ensured he was equally comfortable and proficient with folk percussion instruments like duff or matka.

At the premiere of Mirza Ghalib 1954

He was as plain and unsophisticated as his music apparently appeared. He was the one to have introduce Naushad to Ustad Jhandekhan during the initial struggling days of Naushad. And yet the irony is that he is known more as assistant to Naushad. Even during the twelve years when he was assisting Naushad for nearly 20 of Naushad’s films, Ghulam Mohammad, simultaneously, composed music independently for his 17 (out of 36 films he has scored music in his career) films.

It is to refresh our memories of multi-talented music director Ghulam Mohammad that we commenced the present series in the month of death of Ghulam Mohammad’s songs with special focus on the playback singers he chose to fructify his creations. Till now we have covered Ghulam Mohammad’s songs for the year

1943 to 1949 in 2021, and

1950-1952 in 2022.

1953 in 2023

Presently, we will listen to the relatively less heard songs of his films – Guzara and Mirza Ghalib – in 1954.

Rang Rangeele Pyaare Pyaare Laaye Hum Khilaune – Guzaara (1954) – Lata / Hridaynath Mangeshkar – Lyrics: Raja Mehdi Ali Khan,

The song belongs to promotion of the business by self-employed artisans.

In the second part of the song we get to hear girlish voice of adolescent Hridaynath Mangeshkar at the beginning of the two interludes.

Jhoothi Hai Kahani Teri Jhoothi Teri Shaan … Tu Kar Nahi Sakta Hai Muskil Kabhi Aasan – Asha Bhosle – Lyrics: Munir Lakhanavi

The song seems to be a background song.

Jhoom Jhoom Kar Bahar Nache Pavan Phul Barsaye – Guzara (1954) – Shamshad Begum, Mohammad Rafi – Lyrics: Phauq Jaami

The duet spells out the dreams of the couple’s future life. The orchestration sounds similar to what we are used to listen in Naushad compositions, but the rhythm and percussion arrangement bears Ghulam Mohammad stamp.

I could not find YT links for Rula Rula Ke Pehli Aayi Aur Mili Ye Pagar (Shamshad Begum , Mohammad Rafi) and Zamane Hai Re Zalim Zamane (Shyam Kumar).

Mirza Ghalib (1954) epitomizes the play of fate in Ghulam Mohammad’s career. Ghulam Mohammad not only created hugely successful songs like, Aah Ko Chahiye ek Umr Asar Hone Tak, Nukta Cheen Hai Gam-e-Dil, Rahiye Ab Aisi Jagah Ke JahaaN Koi Na Ho, Ye Na Thi Hamari Kismat (Suraiya solos), Dil-e-Naddan Tujhe Hua Kya Hai (Talat, Suraiya), Ishq Mujhko NahiN Vahsat Hi Sahi, Phir Mujhe Deeda-e-Tar Yaad Aaya (Talat Mahmood solos) and Hai Bas Ke Unke Isharre Pe NishaaN Aur (Mohammad Rafi solo), but also defined the ghazal singing as genre in Hindi films. The film also earned National award for best feature film. What more one needs to put the career on to the seventh heaven! But not the luck of Ghulam Mohammad. Eventhough the films was fourth film in among the Top Earners, the tag of unlucky music director remained stuck to Ghulam Mohammad.

Ganga Ki Reti Pe Bangla Chhawaai De Sainya Teri Khair Ho – Mirza Ghalib (1954)- Sudha Malhotra – Lyrics: Shakeel Badayuni

The song shows the dance peroramnce in Bahdur Shah Zafar’s court. The moment king turns away from the dance, Moti Begum (ChaudahviN) picks up Aah ko chaahiye ik umr asar hone tak  in an apparent effort to present to the king the plight of her (more on the platonic platform) affection for Mirza Ghalib to get his release from the royal goal.

Hamne maana ke tagaaful na karoge lekin, Khaaq Ho Jayege Hum Tumko Khabar Hone Tak – Mirza Ghalib (1954) – Suraiya – Lyrics:  Mirza Ghalib

The picturisation shows Moti Begum dying in the arms of Ghalib). This song, a recital by Suraiya, gets played in the background as Suraiya’s body is being carried for burial.

Asides:

These shers are part of the ghazal  Aah ko chaahiye ik umr asar hone tak. The shers included in the song are marked in italics in the original ghazal reproduced here:

aah ko chāhiye ik umr asar hote tak
kaun jiitā hai tirī zulf ke sar hote tak

dām-e-har-mauj meñ hai halqa-e-sad-kām-e-nahañg
dekheñ kyā guzre hai qatre pe guhar hote tak

āshiqī sabr-talab aur tamannā betāb
dil kā kyā rañg karūñ ḳhūn-e-jigar hote tak

tā-qayāmat shab-e-furqat meñ guzar jā.egī umr
saat din ham pe bhī bhārī haiñ sahar hote tak

ham ne maanā ki taġhāful na karoge lekin
ḳhaak ho jā.eñge ham tum ko ḳhabar hote tak

partav-e-ḳhur se hai shabnam ko fanā kī ta.alīm
maiñ bhī huuñ ek ināyat kī nazar hote tak

yak nazar besh nahīñ fursat-e-hastī ġhāfil
garmī-e-bazm hai ik raqs-e-sharar hote tak

ġham-e-hastī kā ‘asad’ kis se ho juz marg ilaaj
sham.a har rañg meñ jaltī hai sahar hote tak

Note:

The original text of the ghazal has ‘hote tak’ as’ radif[1] but the song versions use ‘hone tak’, possibly for better phonetic effect.

Nigaahen Pher LeeN Sab Ne Lutey HaiN AasKke dere … Deewaane Yahaan Tak Aa Pahunche – Mirza Ghalib (1954) – Banda Hasan, Rafi – Lyrics: Shakeel Badayuni

Here is a qawwali in its truer form and spirit as prayer to The Almighty. The metaphor Deewane YahaN Tak Aa Pahunche refers to Mirza Ghalib’s wife (Nigar Sultana) and his love, Moti Begum (Suraiya) who both have come to seek the relief of Mirza Ghalib from the goal.

Nahin Ishq Mein Is Ka To Ranj Hamen – Mirza Ghalib (1954) – Mohammed Rafi – Lyrics: Bahadur Shah Zafar

This is recital of three couplets from the full ghazal written by Bahdur Shah Zafar

Asides:

Many singers have presented the ghazal in their own styles. Here is one such version by Habib Wali Mohammad

Chali Pi Ke Nagar Ab Kaahe Ka Dar Ho More Baanke Balam Kotwaal – Mirza Ghalib (1954) – Shamshad Begam – Lyrics: Shakeel Badayuni

The song, being a wedding preparation song is also based on folk theme for such situations.

We continue or exploration of Ghulam Mohammad and his singers in the next (year) episode as well….

We will continue remembering Unforgettable Songs that seem to Fading away from our Memories every second Sunday of the month ……..

Disclaimer: All images are sourced from net and videos from You Tube. All copyrights of the respective image/ video clip remain with the original owner of the image.

[1] Each coupletpf a ghzal ends on the same word or phrase (the radif), and is preceded by the couplet’s rhyming word (the qafia, which appears twice in the first couplet).

1971 – 1973: My Years @ BITS, Pilani – Onwards To Pilani : Charting the Untrodden Path

Continued From:

1971 – 1973: My Years @ BITS, Pilani – Onwards To Pilani : The Turmoil and The Decision

I had only the call letter as any guide, if one could say so in my the then position, that pointed to the destination of my future course of journey. The postal address of the institute revealed that the mundane destination, Pilani, was situated in the State of Rajasthan. The call letter did further mention that Pilani can be reached by bus from nearest railway stations of Chirawa (from Jaipur) or from Loharu (from Delhi).

I knew that Rajasthan located on the west-northern side of Gujarat, on the basis my knowledge of geography from the school days. However, I had travelled only upto Surat before I came to Navsari that very year. As a result, I was totally blank about how to travel to Jaipur or Delhi. I was even quite new to Navsari too. So, I could not even think out of enquiring with someone or somewhere, there of the whereabouts of these places.

Fortunately, I was aware enough of All India Railway Time Table. So, I hoped that with the help of that time table I should at least be able to locate the two railway stations mentioned in the time table.

It took me around five minutes or so of thinking and some preliminary enquiries at my father’s office to arrive at the decision to head for Navsari railway station and purchase that All India Time Table. Once I reached the railway station I did make enquiries with ticket counter and with the station master to see if I can get any help about reaching Chirawa or Loharu. Their guidance, too, pointed out as time table as the (only) source of information at Navsari station. The other alternative was to go to Surat railway station to get the required information. I purchased the time table and headed straight to home to begin my work of charting out the possible routes.

Once I reached home, I did not lose any more time. and sat down with few papers and pen to chalk out various options available. If Google maps was available then the job of selecting the most optimum route would have been easier. But at that time, it simply was a job to wade through the timetable and arrive at the possible options.

A good few hours of search led me to arrive at two options to reach Chirawa:

• • Navsari – Ahmedabad – Jaipur – Sawai Madhopur – Chirawa route:

My rough calculations showed that the total journey would be close to 850 + 200 KMs and would take anything from 20 to 24 +  around 5 hours of travel, with two breaks at Ahmedabad and Jaipur. On this route going to Sawai Madhopur was not necessary as Sawai Madhopur – Chirawa train was to pass through Jaipur.  Sawai Madhopur to Chirawa distance was around 340 KMs, but if I choose this route, Sawai Madhopur – Jaipur distance of round 130 KMs could be avoided.

• • Navsari – Vadodara – Kota – Sawai Madhopur – Chirawa:

Navsari – Sawai Madhopur leg of journey was on Bombay – Delhi route. This was an over 700 KMs of journey with travel time of around 15 hours (if travelled by Bombay – New Delhi Paschim Express) to 20+ hours (if travelled by Bombay – Dehradun Dehradun Express), in addition to about 7 hours of travel from Sawai Madhopur to Chirawa.

The only logically feasible route to reach Loharu was travelling from Navsari to Delhi and then from Delhi to Loharu.

With this much information available, it did not require any computer (not that anyone was available then) to decide the most preferred route. So, before I went to sleep my next course of actions next day were decided in my mind to book the ticket, from Navsari and if that did not work out, then from Surat for Sawai Madhopur as the first choice.

I was at ticket-booking window of Navsari railway station, first thing next morning. After about a half an hour so wait in the queue, I was all smiles, with my all thirty-two teeth being visible, with a ticket for Paschim Express to Sawai Madhopur for the appointed day. I was also informed that ticket for Sawai Madhopur – Chirawa leg of the journey could be purchased from Sawai Madhopur only.

However, by now, out of knowledge that I had no choice or because of the latent expectation that if luck had favoured me till now I can still bank upon it, I was feeling more confident that I should be able sort out the nuts and bolts ticketing once I reached Sawai Madhopur.

To continue with ……..

The Maiden Journey to Pilani

The Sculptors of Film Songs – 12 – The “Lords”

Originally in Gujarati, by Piyush M Pandya

Translated by Ashok M Vaishnav

Even in the absence of authentic statistics, there is unanimity among Hindi film historians that, from 1947 to 1987, one or other member of the Lord family – father Cawas Lord, the elder son Kersi Lord and the younger son Bujorji Lord – has, on an average, played in every third song recorded in Bombay. Jazz and Latino music became integral to Bombay film music largely due to the Lords.

CAWAS LORD

Cawas Lord (1911 – 2007) was born to a very strict and traditional Parsi family from Pune. Young Cawas was so much interested in music that at the age of 12 he migrated to Mumbai. Here, his musical career at Bombay commenced by playing military drums and bagpipes under various military bandleaders. By ’30s Cawas Lord had started playing percussion instruments for earliest talky films. He is said to have arranged background score for India’s fist talky film Alamara (1931).

After the war, he returned to Mumbai and joined the band of the jazz trumpeter, Chic Chocolate, as a drummer. Cawas Lord soon became an integral part of bands at several clubs in the 1940s. It was at Taj (Mumbai) that C Ramchandra spotted Cawas Lord playing the drums and invited him to join his orchestra. That also was the period of prohibition in then then Bombay state. So, Cawas Lord, too, was on a look out for a steady source of income. Chic Chocolate and Cawas Lord were soon to become the backbone of C Ramchandra’s pioneering use of Western tunes and western instruments in Hindi films, with trailblazing songs like Gore gore o banke chhore (Samadhi, 1948), Bholi surat dil ke khote…– Albela (1951), Eena meena dika (Asha, 1957).

The famous story goes on to narrate that a Latin band, The Gagimbas, did a show at the Taj. Cawas bought all their instruments before they left and went on to pioneer the use of western percussion instruments like Bongo, Conga and many other small Latin American instruments, Of course, initially such radical experiments met with the resistance from the tradition bound film music world. the response to such radical experiments. Cawas Lord patiently persisted in his effort. Entry of other Goan arrangers and instrument players also helped. He went on to play these instruments in around 25,000 songs, for almost every music director, in his long active career.

Among many such instruments that he introduced, one that perhaps is more easily recognised as clopping, the sound beat of horse hoofs, played on an instrument called Duyuglar. In this video clip, an illustration of that instruments can be seen in O P Nayyar songs from Phir Wahi Dil Laya HuN (1963) song, Banda parwar thaam lo jigar and Naya Daur (1957) duet Mang ke saath tumhara and Tum Sa Nahin Dekha‘s (1957) path-breaking YuN to hamne laakk haseeN dekhe hai @2.10 to 2.57.

With Naushad, some of the now known experiments that Cawas Lord successfully deployed are: Gungaroo in O jaanewale balamwa (Ratan, 1944), Mohe panghatpe nadlal chhed gayo re (Mother India,1960), Madhuban mein radhika (Kohinoor, 1960), Bngo in Tara ri tara ara ri (Dastan, 1950), and clopping beat in Bachpan ke din bhula na dena (Deedar, 1951).

Kersi started accompanying his father from a young age and his association with films goes back to the time when he was 13. Once when he was accompanying Cawas Lord to a recording of Naushad’s song, he was fiddling with bongo. Naushad noticed and suggested that Cawas include Kersi too in the orchestra. That song was:

Lo pyar ki ho gayi jeet – Jadoo (1951) – Lata Mangeshkar – Lyrics: Shakeel Badayuni – Music: Naushad.

Some more songs that Naushad has deployed castanets, played by Cawas Lord are: Dhadke mera dil mujhko jawani haye na bhaye (Babul, 1950);  Jab nain mile naino se (Jadoo, 1951); Tu kaun hai mera kah de balam (Deedar, 1951). Kersi Lord went on to become a known name within the film music circuit over the years.

Cawas and his sons Kersi and Burjorji Lord also were quite close to father and son – SD and RD – Burmans. In one of the interviews, Kersi Lord recalls how the three played percussion in Aaye haye dilruba.. ..Pappa jamalo (Dr. Vidya, 1962). Incidentally Dr Vidya was the film when SD had passed on the baton to RD as his full-scale assistant. Cawas Lord played for RD from his very first film Chhote Nawab (1961) through till his last film 1942 A Love Story (1994):

Matwali aankhonwale – Chhote Naab (1961) – Lata Mangeshkar, Mohammad Rafi – Lyrics: Shailendra – Music: R D Burman

Cawas Lord plays bongo in a very innovatively distinctive style that helps put the motion of the song in a lilting mode, accentuated by a soft support of castanets (incidentally being played by Helen on the screen, and Kersi Lord off the screen).

Rooth na jana tumse kahuN to – 1942 A Love Story (1994) – Kumar Sanu – Lyrics: Javed Akhtar   – Music: R D Burman

Cawas’s bongo sounds a fresh as it was in 1961. As it happens, the musical arrangement for the song was done by Pyarelal (of Laxmikant-Pyarelal) duo.

Kersi Lord

Kersi Lord (B: 14 February 1935 – D: 16 October, 2016) was the eldest of three children of Cawas and Banubai Lord. Banubai and her brothers were also trained musicians.  His younger sister Hilla was a talented pianist, but she never took it up at the professional level. The younger brother, Burjorji, was an ace percussionist.

So much fascinated was Kersi with the music that he used to bunk school and attend music sessions with his father. It is said that after the recordings, Naushad would pack Kersi off to the local railway station to go to school, but that could not wean Kersi away from his love for music. He went on to master several percussion instruments and introduced these into the Hindi film songs as well. He also tried his hands with playing other instruments like vibraphone, xylophone and the glockenspiel. His playing glockenspiel, yielding the cigarette lighter sound in Main zindgai ka saath nibhata chala gaya (Hum Dono, 1961 – Mohammad Rafi – Lyrics: Sahir Ludhiyanvi – Music: Jaidev) is just one illustration of how innovative Kersi Lord was.

Kersi had played glockenspiel previously for Nanhi pari sone chali (Sujata, 1956- Geeta Dutt – Lyrics: Majrooh Sultanpuri – Music: S D Burman). The soft chiming that we hear in the song is glockenspiel effect. And it is no coincidence that Jaidev was the assistant to SDB in the film.

Cawas Lord also introduced Kersi to playing piano accordion. His training on piano under Roda Khodaiji came in as big help in Kersi Lord’s progress on piano accordion. His expertise on piano accordion is validated by S D Burman handing over to him how to play the instrument the way he felt it best so as to reflect the mood for Roop tera mastana (Aradhana, 1969 – Kishore Kumar – Lyrics: Anand Bakshi – Music: S D Burman).

Kersi Lord blended his imagination with tough training he had undergone to learn the Indian classical music to come up with this with brisk high-low spikes mixing with long smooth slurring of the piano accordion notes.

Of course, this was not the first time that Kersi was playing accordion for S D Burman. One such well-known experiment was Achhaji main haari chalo maan jao (Kalapani, 1958- Mohammad Rafi, Asha Bhosle – Lyrics: Majrooh Sultanpuri- Music: S D Burman)

Kersi has played piano accordion with many other music directors.

Rut jawaaN jawaaN raat meherbaaN – Aakhri Khat (1967) – Bhupinder – Lyrics: Kaifi Azmi – Music: Khayyam

Listening to accordion in counter music support of the song is a sheer pleasure!

Interestingly, the song has Bhupinder playing the guitar and Chic Chocolate playing trumpet (0.49 to 0.55, 2.56 to 2.59) on the screen.

Some other instruments that Kersi Lord has played in the Hindi film songs are, like,

Jaane kya tune kahi jaane kya maine suni – Pyaasa (1957) – Geeta Dutt – Lyrics: Sahir Ludhiyanvi – Music: S D Burman

Kersi Lord plays Chinese temple blocks in sync with bongo in very innovative style across the whole song.

https://youtu.be/pNk8BMxnGYI?si=nh6KoKipgeaIUL5K

Aayie meharban baithiye jaan-e-jaaN  (Howrah Bridge, 1958 – Lyrics: Qamar Jalalbadi- Music: O P Nayyar)

Kesri Lord has played Chinese temple blocks as percussion support from 0.53 to 1.31 and similarly whenever the mukhada comes up with every interlude, in sync with O P Nayyar’s style of mixing different percussion instruments seamlessly intermixing between mukhadas and interludes.

https://youtu.be/go4ixEgnecg?si=bvynhN-LbA-GMlw4

Kersi Lord is also credited with introduction of Moog Synthesizer. In an interview with Anirudha Bhattacharjee and Balaji Vittal (authors of RD Burman: The Man, The Music) he recalls having used Moog in the second interlude – 2.27 to 2.42- of Ye dosti na todegein – Sholay (1975) – Kishore Kumar, Mohammad Rafi – Lyrics:  And Bakshi – Music: R D Burman

How ironical it is that the innovative experiments of use of instruments like Moog or tools like programmed music that RD-Kersi brought in to add freshness to the music in the new genre action films went to toll the bell to end the days of live music in the music room with the rise of digitally created sounds in the music labs!

https://youtu.be/Bx5sqAE86e0?si=0_j9GxNH7pb1Gijr

One more facet of Kersi Lord’s musical personality was his orchestra arrangements.

Naushad invited him to arrange the songs for Saathi (1968) which Naushad wanted in totally different style since it was the beginning of his second innings. Kersi Lord’s imaginative creativity is reflected in the use of mridangam (played by Palghat Mani Iyer)  so unsually melodious manner in Mera pyar bhi tu hai (Mukesh, Suman Kalyanpur- Lyrics: Majrooh Sultanpuri).

https://youtu.be/AKHkNzEScsg?si=14r2mQ_kZeIlO3W2

Naushad also handed over background music arrangement baton to Kersi for Pakeeza (1972). Kersi Lord (and for that matter even his younger brother Burjorji) always asked for a separate credit line in the titles. Since that did not come through for even his score for Pakeeza, Kersi restricted his offerings to play the instruments only.

Some of the other arrangements that stands to the officially not acknowledged credit to Kersi Lord are:

Tum jo mil gaye ho to yeh lagata hai – Hanste Zakhm (1973) – Mohammad Rafi – Lyrics: Kaifi Azmi – Music: Madan Mohan

Kersi’s creativity is reflected in deft use of two rhythms in the song to reflect the different moods.

https://youtu.be/7cQaLY4sUDo?si=HVIu30J13AV_4G68

Instrumental theme music – Dharmatma (1975)

Intro theme music (Shalimar, 1978)

Burjorji Lord is on the drums, Hariprasad Chaurasia plays flute and accordion is played by Homi Mullan.

Burjorji Lord

Burjor Lord was also proficient in playing several percussion instruments. However, he felt that he should focus on one instrument and carve out his own space. That instrument was drum set.

So much he was confident on his drum play that he was said to be ready to forego an invitation by Enoch Daniel to a West Indies tour. He considered the fee offered to him too inadequate for a drum player of his calibre. Enoch Daniel explained to him that he may be well known in India, but no one knows him in West Indies. As the story goes, he ultimately did join that tour. On the very first performance of that tour, his photograph was on the first page of the local newspapers!

Cawas Lord, left is seen with both sons – Bujor, centre, and Kersi, right.

Of some 12,000 songs he has played drums and other percussion instruments, in a career spanning 30 years (1958 to 1988), Burjor Lord seemed to have had a special relationship with Mohammad Rafi. Just one glance at a very small sample of songs should suffice to validate this statement:

Lakhon hai nigahoN mein – Phir Wohi Dil Laya Hun, 1963 – Music:O P Nayyar – wood blocks

Ek haseen sham ko dil mera kho gaya – Dulhan Ek Raat Ki, 1967- Music: Madan Mohan – wood blocks

Pukaarta chala hooN main – Mere Sanam, 1965 – Music: O P Nayyar – vibraphone

Deewana mujh sa nahiN is ambar ke neeche – Teesri Manzil, 1967 – vibraphone

Ek tha gul aur ek tha bulbul – Jab Jab Phool Khile, 1965 – xylophone

Gulabi ankhein jo teri dekhi – The Train, 1970 – Music: R D Burman – drums

Kya hua tera wada – Hum Kissi Se Kam NahiN, 1977 – Music: R D Burman – drums

Burjor Lord – In conversation with Manek Premchand presents many other songs wherein Burjor Lord has played different instruments.

Burjor Lord decided to hang his drum sticks in 1988, because of being frustrated with the  politics of the film music world and not prepared to compromise art of instrument playing with the new age of digitally created sounds.

Rudrdeep Bhattacharjee, the director of documentary “The Human Factor” aptly sums the Lords saga as, “The story of the lords is not theirs alone. It represents thousands of other composers…….”

Credits and Disclaimers:

1. 1. The song links have been embedded from the YouTube only for the listening pleasure of music lovers. This blog claims no copyright over these songs, which vests with the respective copyright holders.
   2. The photograph is taken from the internet, duly recognising the full copyrights for the same to the either original creator or the site where they were originally displayed.

References:

The wizardry skills of Cawas Lord

The Lord’s Touch – Kersi Lord

The Lord’s Touch – Burjor Lord

Mohammad Rafi: Voice Of A Nation – Sujata Dev

Lord of the music room – Anirudh Bhattacharjee, Balaji Vittal

P.S. This is the re-posting of article originally published on Songs of Yore as The Sculptors of Film Songs (12): The “Lords”

Carnival of Blogs on Golden Era of Hindi Film Music – Volume XII – February 2024 Edition

Welcome to February 2024 edition of XII^th Volume of Carnival of Blogs on Golden Era of Hindi Film Music.

Recent celebrations to celebrate birth centenary of Mohammad Rafi (B: Dec 24, 1924 | D: Jul 31, 1980).

Rafi Legacy Continues

The Story of Main Pyaar Ka Raahi Hoon – Anyone who listens to lyrics of songs intently, will surely find something amiss here. The lyrics of the two antaras sung by Asha have been interchanged while singing. As a result of this, in the antaras, there is no link between Rafi’s lines and those of Asha. How the lines got mixed up and who was responsible for the slipup is not clear. Moreover, no one noticed this gaffe till the song was to be picturized. But by then it was too late as the film had to be released. Thus, the song could not make it to the film.

We also pay our respects to Ameen Sayani (21 Dec, 1932 – 20 Feb, 2024). Ameen Sayani was not a native speaker of Hindi, Urdu, or Hindustani. He grew up in a Gujarati-speaking Muslim household and attended an English-language boarding school….The fact that Sayani was not a native speaker of Hindi, however, seems to have ultimately worked in his favour. On the air, Sayani consciously adopted a simple manner of speech that non-native speakers of Hindi, including his own family members, could easily understand.

Ameen Sayani, for a change, is being interviewed by Neeti Jain for Hello DD program:

Presently we move on to our section on tributes and celebrations for the month –

Continuing the series, the year-wise review of Lata Mangeshkar’s career, on Lata Mangeshkar, Mehfil Mein Teri revisits 1961 – Lata Mangeshkar.

“Aa Ke Dard Jawan Hai, Sajna, Raat Ka Ishara Hai” – Ahmed Wasi – This song, composed by O P Nayyar for Pran Jaaye Par Vachan Na Jaye (1973), is the point of entry for Ahmed Wasi as the lyricist. (YT version of the article: Ahmed Wasi – The Only Lyricist Introduced By O.P.Nayyar – Rare Bollywood Trivia – Rare Nostalgia

February 2024 episode of VIII^th volume of Fading Memories, Unforgettable Songs takes up Talat Mahmood – Duets with Asha Bhosle – 1954| 1955. Till now, we have explored –

In 2017, an overview of Talat Mahmood’s duets receding from the memory.

In 2018, Talat Mahmood’s duets with rare co-singers,

In 2019, Talat Mahmood’s duets with Mubarak Begum and with Madhubala Jhaveri,

In 2020, Talat Mahmood’s duets with Geeta Dutt, essentially from 1950 to 1952,

In 2021, Talat Mahmood: Duets with Geeta Dutt, from  1954 to 1957, with one duet even in 1972

In 2022, Talat Mahmood: Duets with Shamshad Begum, and

In 2023, Talat Mahmood’s: Duets with Asha Bhosle: 1951 | 1952 | 1953

Celebrating cinema through pictures:

We now move on to posts on other subjects –

Forgotten Artists of Early Cinema and The Same Name Confusion (2) contains 20 sets of same name artists. The first part of the book contains similar pen portraits of some 34 artists from the early era.

Author: Arunkumar Deshmukh (Copyright) | Publisher: Professor Toofanii Publishers, Lansing, MI USA (2023) | Editor: Professor Surjit Singh | Price: ₹450 plus postage (Paperback) at pothi.com.

Hindi film qawwalis – Part I  presents the qawwalis from ’40s to ’50 and Part II those from’60s.

(Note: Cinema Qawwali Archive, curated by Yousuf Saeed, has so far archived over 800 songs dating from 1939 to 2022.

Street Dancers of Bollywood sing the songs that were key for taking the story forward. Often these songs became the high point of the film and achieved everlasting popularity

Songs with Homonyms – Homonym is a word that both sounds and is spelled the same as another word. One finds repetition of a single word to convey two different meanings in some songs. This play on words demonstrates the calibre and intelligence of the lyricist who can use homonyms to convey a multi-layered message succinctly. he homonym could be in any part of the song – prelude, mukhda or antara. E.g. Bhoole Se Kabhi Yaad Kar Ae Bhoolne Waale – Ek Roz (1947) – Naseem Akhtar – Lyrics: Sarshar Sailaani – Music: Shyam Sundar

Here are Bollywood Rewind articles of Samapda Sharma in Indian Express:

• • DevD vs Devdas: Anurag Kashyap’s adaptation respected Paro and Chandramukhi in a way that Sanjay Leela Bhansali completely missed – 15 years of Dev.D: Anurag Kashyap’s adaptation of Devdas puts Dev in his place and celebrates the women who happen to fall in love with him despite his bad attitude.

In continuation to our tradition of ending the post with a few songs of Mohammad Rafi, this year being the celebration of Mohammad Rafi birth centenary, we will take up what others have said about him:

Burjor Lord talks Rafi Sahab

I look forward to your inputs to enrich the contents of Carnival of Blogs on Golden Era of Hindi Film Music.

Disclaimer: This monthly series of posts is my best-effort-based compilation of posts on Hindi film songs that I normally visit regularly. As I record my sincere thanks to all the original creators of these posts, any other posts that I have nor covered herein shows my lack of awareness of existence of such posts and is by no means any disrespect to their work. The copyrights to the posts, images and video clips remain the properties of the original creators.

Carnival of Quality Management Articles and Blogs – Volume XII – February 2024 Edition

Welcome to February 2024 edition of the XII^th volume of Carnival of Quality Management Articles and Blogs.

The theme for the XII^th volume of our Carnival of Quality Management Articles and Blogs is The Defining Trends of Quality Management – Raising The Bar.

In 2023, we had taken up the quality perceptions relating to competitiveness, continuous improvement and business purpose. For the present episode, we will take up quality perceptions in terms customer expectations.

The most important change in the customer expectation is that it has moved away from product quality as the differentiator of customer satisfaction to an increase in value as well as right performance, service, design as the basis of meaningful experiences that resonate with their values and aspirations.  The customers expect an experience – fast delivery, impeccable service, and a seamless, personalised user journey from start to finish.

The customer expectations are no more static now; they are perpetually evolving, influenced by a host of factors including technological advancements, social dynamics, and increased access to real-time information.

Further reading:

• • Customer Expectations: 10 Key Expectations to remember to have happy and loyal customers.
  • Learn why customer expectations are important to understand as a game-changer – Päivi Meriläinen – key takeaways found in the original Part 1: Chapter 3 of Services marketing: integrating customer focus across the firm, 3rd European edition.
  • Understanding customer expectations: Types, management tips, and examples – According to the Zendesk Customer Experience Trends Report 2023, 73 percent of consumers will switch to a competitor if they have multiple bad experiences. Prevent your customers from running for the exit by positioning yourself as a customer-first company.
  • The Hacker’s Guide to Customer Experience – The handbook for detailed understanding of Customer Experience – What it really is, how to implement it and above all, how to increase it using tested and concrete methodologies.
  • How Customer Expectations Are Shaping the Future of the Supply Chain – The modern supply chain is no longer merely a behind-the-scenes operational necessity; it has become a critical strategic asset for companies.
  • The Future of Supply Chain Quality Management – Use Quality 4.0 to enhance your customer experience – for quality leaders to understand the connection between shifting customer expectations and Quality 4.0.
  • (Customer) Experience is everything – Speed. Convenience. Consistency. Friendliness. And human touch—that is, creating real connections by making technology feel more human and giving employees what they need to create better customer experiences.
  • The secret ingredients of great hospitality – Will Guidara|TED@BCG – Restaurateur Will Guidara’s life changed when he decided to serve a two-dollar hot dog in his fancy four-star restaurant, creating a personalized experience for some out-of-town customers craving authentic New York City street food. In this funny and heartwarming talk, he shares three steps to crafting truly memorable moments centered in human connection – no matter what business you’re in.

We will now turn to our regular sections –

• • @ ASQ TV, we will listen to Customer Expectations: Quality and Technology.

More Material on the subject @ Customer Experience

Finally, we take up the article ‘From the Editor’ (of Quality Magazine) – by Darryl Sealand:

• • By Hook or By Crook: We often hear phrases like “gaining a competitive advantage,” or even words like “leverage,” which, along with “by any means necessary” are often ambiguous. It can often be difficult to determine where the line is between a positive advantage and cheating.

Quality—whether described as the measurement and inspection of parts and products or as process control and continuous improvement in manufacturing—can help before, during, and after such events. It can even go as far as to protect reputation, particularly with the ambiguity around the term competitive advantage.

It reminds me of yet another popular proverb. We need to go back even further than 13^th century England to the Roman Empire.

“Caesar’s wife must be beyond reproach.” It was said of Caesar’s wife, Pompeia. In her case, it meant, “If one is romantically involved with a famous or prominent figure, one must avoid attracting negative attention or scrutiny.” It is also true of the people and processes close to, or part of, a well-known entity, like a manufacturing operation, and those people and processes should be beyond reproach, far beyond merely protecting the brand, but especially if the “unthinkable” were to occur.

In fact, quality can even help in clearing up the ambiguity of cheating versus gaining competitive advantage. Take, for instance, DeflateGate: “Unraveling the Tom Brady DeflateGate” .

I look forward to your views / comments / inputs to further enrich the theme of The Defining Trends of Quality Management – Raising The Bar.

Note: The images or video clips depicted here above are through courtesy of respective websites who have the copyrights for the respective images /videos.

Fading Memories…. Unforgettable Songs: Volume IX – February 2024 Edition

Talat Mahmood – Duets with Asha Bhosle – 1954| 1955

Talat Mahmood (24 February 1924 – 9 May 1998) as a singer had a magical spell over the listeners in the 50s. The career of this velvet-voiced singer ran parallel to his other cotemporary singers like Mohammad Rafi, Mukesh, Monna Dey and Kishore Kumar. Talat Mahmood sang 747 songs in 12 Indian languages and starred in 13 films.

Talat Mahmood’s duets with all major female singers of his times presents have a very special place in the annals of Hindi film music. Therefore, we have undertaken a series of his (rare) duets to commemorate the memory of Talat Mahmood in the month of his birth. Till now, we have explored –

In 2017, an overview of Talat Mahmood’s duets receding from the memory.

In 2018, Talat Mahmood’s duets with rare co-singers,

In 2019, Talat Mahmood’s duets with Mubarak Begum and with Madhubala Jhaveri,

In 2020, Talat Mahmood’s duets with Geeta Dutt, essentially from 1950 to 1952,

In 2021, Talat Mahmood: Duets with Geeta Dutt, from  1954 to 1957, with one duet even in 1972

In 2022, Talat Mahmood: Duets with Shamshad Begum, and

In 2023, Talat Mahmood’s: Duets with Asha Bhosle: 1951 | 1952 | 1953

Talat Mahmood and Asha Bhosle, apparently look like singers of different styles. Their career graphs also ran high in different slots of the time. However, as we had seen in the last episode in this series, their voices forge a very distinctive synthesis in the duets.

Presently, we will refresh the memory of Talat Mahmood and Asha Bhosle duets for the years 1954 and 1955.

Chali Kaunse Desh Gujariya Tu Saj Dhaj Ke – Boot Polish (1954) – Lyrics: Shailendra – Music: Shankar Jaikishan

Shankar Jaikishan have composed many songs of Shailendra with highly sensitive tunes.  In this song even though Asha Bhosle sings for a young girl, she retains the sensitivity of the song while retaining eagerness of a young one with that expectation of getting married to her ‘piya’ by getting ‘saj dhaj ke’for the occasion.

Dil Ki Duniya Jagmagayi …. Na Jane Aaj KyuN Aaj KyuN, Muskurayi Aaj KyuN Dil Ki Duniya – Dak Babu (1954) – Lyrics: Chand Pandit – Music: Dhaniram

Dhaniram has composed a very pleasing romantic duet.

Bura Hua Jo Inse Hamare Naina Lad Gaye Ji, Banke Musibat Ye To Hamare Pichche Pad Gaye Ji – Laadla (1954) – with Mohammad Rafi, Shamshad Begum – Lyrics: Raja Mehndi Ali Khan – Music: Vinod

Even when Talat Mahmood and Mohammad Rafi sing their lines together in this quartet, Talat Mahmood is quite at ease while creating the mood of teasing the village beauties.

Ye Khoi Khoi Si NajroN Mein Pyar Kiska Hai Ye Dhundhte Ho KiseIintzar Kiska Hai, Pyar Nahi Chhupta Chhupane Se ….  Dekh Liya Suna Tha – Laadla (1954) – Lyrics: Kaif Irfani – Music: Vinod

Here is one more pleasing Talat – Asha duet. As can be expected, the song remains quite popular.

Aside: Trivia:

 Two other films, in 1966 and 1994 werealso released with the title ‘Laadla’

Shama Par Jalke Bhi Parwaana Fana Hota Nahin – Meenar (1954)- Lyrics: Rajendra Krishna – Music: C Ramchandra

Probably the sakhi rendered by Talat Mahmood has not been included in the film. Hence the video clip of the song starts with sakhi rendering by Asha Bhosle.

Mere Jivan Mein Aaya Hai Kaun – Pyase Nain (1954) – Lyrics: Waheed Qureshi – Music: S K Pal

Asha Bhosle comes on as the counter music style alaap support.

Dil-e-Naadaan Zamaane Mein Muhobbat Ek Dhokha Hai, Ye Sab Kehne Ki Baatein Hai Kisi Ka Kaun Hota Hai – Mast Kalandar (1955) – Lyrics: Asad Bhopali – Music: Hansraj Behl

Talat Mahmood sings for the aggrieved partner to him Asha Bhosle tries to soothe.

The song remains one of the best duets ever.

Dil Ki Mahfil Sajane Roj Aao To Jaane, Mulqkat Ho Baat Ho Raat Ho Ji Hai – Mast Kalandar (1955) – Lyrics: Asad Bhopali – Music: Hansraj Behl

A lovely lilting composition, which remains hidden gem.

Abhi Tak Hai Ye Raaz Jeena Bas Jeena Mohabbat Mein Mushkil Hai Marna Ke Jeena, Mohababt Mein Jeena Hai, TufaN Mein Jeena, Machalte Hai ArmaaN, Dhadakta Hai Seena – Raftaar (1955) – Lyrics: Nakshab Zarachvi – Music: Shivram

The film was directed by Nakshab Zaracvi and had Talat Mahmood as hero.

YuN Hi Karke Bahana Chali Aaya Karo …… Mujhe Har Roz Mukhda Dikhaya Karo, Dard-e-dil Ki HasiN Na Udaya Karo . … Jao Jao Na Baatein Banaya Karo – Shah Behram (1955) – Lyrics: Asad Bhopali – Music: Hansraj Behl

Both singers so softly manifest the feelings of the lyrics in one more hidden gem.

Paththar Dil Ho Gaya Duniya Ka Na Koi Teri Sune Na Koi Meri Sune ….. Fariyad Mein Koi Asar Na Raha Na Koi Teri Sune Na Koi Meri Sune – Shah Behram (1955) – Lyrics: Asad Bhopali – Music: Hansraj Behl

Both the partners join in raising the complain that no one listens to either one,

Kafas Mein Dhala Mujhe Apne RaazdaroN Ne, Mere Chaman Ko Hai Luta
Meri BaharoN Ne, Khuda Gawah Hai Sanam Meri Begunahi Ka, Diya Fareb Taqdeer Ke SitaroN Ne – Tatar Ka Chor (1955) – Lyrics: Prem Dhawan – Music: Khayyam

We have a very combination of the three singers here.

The journey of Talat Mahmood’ duets with Asha Bhosle continues ……

We will continue remembering Unforgettable Songs that seem to Fading away from our Memories every second Sunday of the month ……..

Disclaimer: All images are sourced from net and videos from You Tube. All copyrights of the respective image/ video clip remain with the original owner of the image.

1971 – 1973: My Years @ BITS, Pilani – Onwards To Pilani : The Turmoil and The Decision

The result for the last semester of 5-year BE degree course was already declared. My performance, in terms of the overall marks secured, was quite encouraging. The first, and obvious, outcome was that I already had shaken out from my lazy, drifting, occupation of keeping myself “busy’ with library visits to ‘prepare’ myself for the entrance tests for the applications I had put in Jamanalal Bajaj Institute, Bombay and BITS, Pilani.

I was now, also, aware that my first priority was to search for possibilities of getting a job. But the stark fact was that I had no idea whatsoever as to what kind of job I should look for, where to find a job and how to approach the potential employer, how to prepare for the interview and such related issues.

My father was outing in the word with colleagues to see if they knew anyone who can provide me some opening. I, too, had heard the awakening from the slumber bell alright. But the inertia of lack of knowledge about ‘how to get the first job’ had not really put me to an active search-apply-interview’ motion.  My daily reading contents at the local library had expanded to looking out for the ‘wanted’ columns in the pan-Gujarat presence English and Gujarati dailies at the library. I had also started working on the possible draft of my application for the job. My discussions with our neighbour academic colleagues, who were all doctorates in their respective fields, of my father now included getting in their inputs for drafting of the format and content of the applications.

Those were still not the days of getting the testimonials photocopied. One had to get these testimonials typed and get them certified with nominated authorities. As such, I started off with getting such copies typed out, go my father’s college and get the already typed copies duly authorised by any professor who as free enough on the given day. I was advised that I should get my copies of the SSC Board examination and the ten semester examinations of the BE degree course marksheets certified only by the Principal of the college, since that would make the duly authenticated “True Copy’ look more authentic!

Just as this turmoil of mind was gaining the momentum, I received a registered letter from BITS, Pilani. It was the call letter for the entrance test for the 2-year MBA post-graduate program!!

As soon as I finished reading the letter, I started of the meet my father at his office. Without much discussion, the first decision immediately after he finished reading that letter was that I should take that test.

My experiences of the maiden trip to Pilani in the next episode

The Sculptors of Film Songs – 11 – Goody Seervai

Originally in Gujarati, by Piyush M Pandya

Translated by Ashok M Vaishnav

It was almost after 1943 that the new crop of music directors started using western musical instruments in the orchestration of the Hindi film songs. C Ramchandra, because of his association with trumpet player Chic Chocolate and jazz drummer Kawas Lord, went in almost overdrive by ecen experimenting with using western tunes in the songs. Music directors like Anil Biswas, Naushad, S D Burman etc. further expanded the range by combining Indian classical and folk music with the western music and the western musical instruments like violin, chello, guitar etc. It was this trend in orchestration of Hindi film music that led the search for the instrumentalists to hotels, clubs and functions of the communities at the big cities like Bombay, Calcutta, where the strong culture of bands consisting of Goanese and Parsi instrumentalists had had developed very well. It was at one of such bands that Chocolate and Lords met Goody Seervai and were immediately impressed with Seervai’s style of playing the accordion. They immediately introduced Seervai to C Ramchandra and Naushad.

Till that time, the changing pattern of orchestration was still lacking the presence of an accordion. So, C Ramchandra and Naushad lost no time in putting in Seervai’s accordion in their respective songs of Samadhi and Dastaan.

Gore gore o banke chhore kabhi meri gali aaya karo – Samadhi (1950) – Lata Mangeshkar, Amirbai Karanataki, chorus – Lyrics: Rajendra Krishna – Music: C Ramchandra

The accordion has melted with other instruments like trumpet, flute etc. in prelude, interlude and countermelody.

Ta ri ta ri aa ri…. Ye sawan rut tum aur hum – Dastan (1950) – Mohammad Rafi, Suraiya – Lyrics: Shakeel Badayuni – Music: Naushad

Arranged by Sebastain D’Souza, accordion gets its own distinct identity with which we are now so familiar in the later songs.

Even though Samadhi song is said to have been recorded earlier, since this song was seen earlier on the screen, it is now being credited as the first song ever to have used accordion in Hindi film songs.

Lo pyar ki ho gayi jeet balam hum tere ho gaye – Jaadu(1951) – Lata Mangeshkar – Lyrics: Shakeel Badayuni – Music: Naushad

This song can be considered to have further cemented the position of accordion in Hindi film song orchestration. The opening strokes of accordion so magically set the atmosphere for mesmerizing gaze of Nalin Jayawant. It then virtually sets to pace of the rhythm as it also adds to the seducing effect in the counter melody.

This was also the time when Shankar Jaikishan duo were also on the rise. They, along with their arranger Sebastian D’Souza, used the unconventional skills of Goody Seerwai’s for some of the most memorable songs of the Hindi film history:

Ek bewafa se pyar kiya – Awara (1951) – Lata Mangeshkar – Lyrics: Hasrat Jaipuri – Music: Shankar Jaikishan

The song opens with the notes of accordion bellow going wide open, in sync with the open doors of the hall. Accordion then plays the key role in the interludes.

If we track the video frames closely we can see Goody Seerwai, with his side to the camera @ 1,29 turning to face the camera by 1.31, fully enjoying his accordion play.

Sunate the naam jiska bahar se – Aah (1953) – Lata Mangeshkar – Lyrics: Hasrat Jaipuri – Music: Shankar Jaikishan

Here the song opens with tantalizing notes of accordion, coming in for brief counter melody support at 0.23 etc. and then again opening the interlude @ 1.21 to 1.26,

Andhe jahan ke andhe raste – Patita (1953) – Talat Mahmood – Lyrics: Shailendra – Music: Shankar Jaikishan

The open accordion notes fill in the prelude, move with rhythm notes during the interlude @ 0.55 to 1.04, creating its own mood while opening the interlude @ 1.42 such that the entire composition seems to go ethereal.

Naino se nain hue char – Aurat (1953) – Lata Mangeshkar – Lyrics: Hasrat Jaipuri – Music: Shankar Jaikishan

The prelude opens with notes of piano and ends with short notes of accordion. Accordion then keeps support through the counter melody with fleeting notes and then takes over interlude from 0.51 to 1.04, playing the supporting role during the second interlude from 1.24 to 1.37 etc.

Aa neele gagan tale pyar hum karein– Badshah (1954) – Hemant Kumar, Lata Mangeshkar – Lyrics: Hasrat Jaipuri – Music: Shankar Jaikishan

The accordion keeps support with soft counter melody play while moving with the rhythm during the interlude.

Manzil wohi hai pyar ki– Kathputli (1957) – Subir Sen – Lyrics: Shailendra – Music: Shankar Jaikishan

Our normal impression of the song would be a piano dominant orchestration. But here, too, accordion makes its presence felt during the prelude from 0.16 to 0.35 while piano supports the counter melody. Then, the accordion smoothly ends the interludes from 1.43 to 1.47, 2.46 to 2.49, and briefly takes up the centre stage from 3.38 till 3.51.

https://youtu.be/zSNA8WVIJqw?si=3IoO0YTEbYxThRzy

Tu roop ki raani main choroN ka raja – Roop Ki Raani ChoroN Ka Raja (1962) – Talat Mahmood, Lata Mangeshkar – Lyrics: Hasrat Jaipuri – Music: Shankar Jaikishan­­

In the prelude accordion sounds like strokes of guitar, but in the interlude, it becomes innovatively expansive.

We will end the saga of SJ- Seerwai combination by recalling some very well-known songs, wherein the impact of accordion has played a distinct role in shaping the character of the song:

Aa ja sanam Madhur chandani mein hum – Chori Chori (1956) – Lata Mangeshkar, Manna Dey – Lyrics: Hasrat Jaipuri – Music: Shankar Jaikishan

Dheere dheere chal chand gagan mein – Love Marriage (1959) – Mohammad Rafi, Lata Mangeshkar – Lyrics: Hasrat Jaipuri – Music: Shankar Jaikishan

Kahe zoom zoom raat ye suhani – Love Marriage (1959) – Mohammad Rafi, Lata Mangeshkar – Lyrics: Hasrat Jaipuri – Music: Shankar Jaikishan

Sab kuchh shikha hamne na shikha hoshiyari – Anadi (1959) – Mukesh – Lyrics; Shailendra – Music: Shankar Jaikishan

Dil ki nazar se nazaroN  ki dil se – Anadi (1959) – Lata Mangeshkar, Mukesh – Lyrics; Shailendra – Music: Shankar Jaikishan

Another music director who was known to experiment with the way instruments were played in his songs was O P Nayyar. As can be expected O P Nayyar has used Goody Seerwai’s accordion with striking results in many of the songs. Here are some such songs:

Babuji dheere chalna pyar mein zara sambhalana – Aar Paar (1954) Geeta Dutt – Lyrics: Majrooh sultanpuri – Music: O  P Nayyar

Right from the first stroke in the prelude, thru counter melody and interludes, accordion is enticing as Geeta Dutt is in rendering of the song. The deft and complicated pieces of accordion belong to the times when final recordings used to take place in one shot!

Woh baat jis pe dhadake jiya – Ham Sab Chor Hai (1956) – Asha Bhosle – Lyrics: Majrooh sultanpuri – Music: O  P Nayyar

Here too right from the prelude through counter melody strokes and interludes accordion comes in different, captivating, styles.

https://youtu.be/BECno1IhuXM?si=8tNUECr00Rs0hbHW

Dekh ke teri nazar – Howrah Bridge (1958) – Asha Bhosle, Mohammad Raf i– Lyrics: Majrooh sultanpuri – Music: O  P Nayyar

This is the song which remained under the shadow of massive popularity of other songs like Mera naam chnin chin chu or Aaiye meherban. But the intricate and yet melodious way the accordion is played in the song should provide the acid test for anyone aiming to reach professional excellence to test his /her proficiency.

In spite of so much of the popularity and respect that Goody Seerwai got in the film world, it seemed that his first love was arranging and playing for the bands. That caused him to frequently reach very late for the rehearsals, earning strong displeasures of almost all music directors. Once he was so late for a song rehearsal for Shankar Jaikishan that they chose to use the services of Seerwai’s own under study Sumit Mitra. The time and tide do not stop for anyone. In the case of Goody Seerwai too, his own inner circle friend and well-wisher Kawas Lord trained his son Kersi Lord for the accordion. Of course, Goody Seerwai perhaps never seemed to rue these developments. Ultimately, the loss was ours, the fans of Hindi film music.

We end remembrances of Goody Seerwai by listening to one song from a record he cut with another close friend and associate, Kersi Mistry.

Saathi re tujh bin jiya udas…..

Seerwai’s accordion skill can be judged by the way he recreates the vocal singing of such complex composition on his accordion.

Credits and Disclaimers:

1. 1. The song links have been embedded from the YouTube only for the listening pleasure of music lovers. This blog claims no copyright over these songs, which vests with the respective copyright holders.
   2. The photograph is taken from the internet, duly recognising the full copyrights for the same to the either original creator or the site where they were originally displayed.

P.S. This is the re-posting of article originally published on Songs of Yore as The Sculptors of Film Songs (11): Goody Seervai