Music In The Mountains: Megha Chhaye Aadhi Raat

The stories of many Hindi films have been woven around pairs of twins. "Sharmilee" (1971) is one of them. Raakhee excels in her portrayal of two twin sisters: one shy and gentle, while the other bold and outgoing. She was paired with Shashi Kapoor, and the two of them delivered a hit film. Music of course played a big role in the film's success.

Listen to this song! Poet Neeraj's craft shines in his eloquent Hindi. Keeping the nature of the two sisters in mind, S. D. Burman composed a unique track by juxtaposing Western and Indian pieces to create this melody. Interestingly, the lyrics and the music accompanying them evoke melancholy, and the instrumental interludes convey exuberance. Yet, the two together gel wonderfully well to make this beautiful solo.

Two other songs from the same film have appeared in this space earlier. They are Aaj madhosh hua jaaye re in another theme and O meri o meri o meri sharmilee in the ongoing theme.

Singer: Lata Mangeshkar
Lyrics: Neeraj
Music: S. D. Burman

Music In The Mountains: O Meri O Meri O Meri Sharmilee

Gopaldas Saxena 'Neeraj' passed away yesterday at the age of 93. He was a prominent poet who was equally adept at writing in Hindi and Urdu. He served as a professor of Hindi literature at a college in Aligarh for many years. He has also written lyrics of some very popular songs in Hindi films. His monumental verse Karwan guzar gaya gubar dekhte rahe was used in the 1965 film 'Nai Umar Ki Nai Fasal'. Its highly philosophical and deeply meaningful words have been interpreted in many different ways from being gently hurtful to introspective to inspirational.

Today's song is a tribute to him. I was looking for something which would fit into our ongoing theme, and settled on this light-hearted, frothy solo from "Sharmilee" (1971). It was a super-hit film at its time with a good story and wonderful music. Raakhee is the leading lady in a very memorable double role, and Shashi Kapoor is the male lead. While referring to Raakhee's beautiful eyes, Neeraj has inserted his name very aptly in one of the lines of the song. That makes this a little more special!

Another song Aaj madhosh hua jaye re from the same film has appeared in this space in an earlier theme.

Singer: Kishore Kumar
Lyrics: Neeraj
Music: S. D. Burman

Her Story: The Baby's Here!

Presenting a duet from "Sharmilee" (1971) today that shows the journey of a couple from the wedding to the arrival of their bundle of joy. With this, we come to the point at which we had started our story, that is, the birth of our heroine. The very same little girl is a mother today. And though I do not believe in celebrating any "Day", it is a coincidence that I am posting this song on the eve of the "Mother's Day". This also happens to the 50th post in this series.

This baby--it does not matter whether it is a girl or a boy--will grow with the love and care of its parents. There will be lullabies, birthday parties, going to school and everything that happens during growing up. But we will not chronicle all of that in this space. We will continue with our story. This will remain "Her Story" in which the child may sometimes make an appearance.

Singers: Lata Mangeshkar, Kishore Kumar
Lyrics: Neeraj
Music: S. D. Burman