Costume Drama: Haule Haule Ghoonghat Pat Khole

"Goonj Uthi Shehnai" (1959) was adorned with lovely songs like Tere sur aur mere geet, Akhiyan bhool gayi hain sona and Dil ka khilona hai toot gaya. Presenting a beautiful number from this film today. One more song, Jeevan mein piya tera saath rahe from the same film had appeared earlier in this space in a different theme.

Shehnai pieces played by Ustad Bismillah Khan regale the audiences throughout the film. A jugalbandi between him and Sitar player Abdul Halim Jaffar Khan is a treat too.

Singers: Lata Mangeshkar, Mohammad Rafi
Lyrics: Bharat Vyas
Music: Vasant Desai

Saawan Songs: Saawan Ke Jhoole Pade

A very sweet duet from "Pyaar Ki Pyaas" (1961) today. This was a drama about a couple and their adopted daughter. It featured Shreekant and Nishi in lead roles. The daughter was played by Honey Irani. It would have been nice to see the video, but I could not find it.

Singers: Lata Mangeshkar, Talat Mahmood
Lyrics: Bharat Vyas
Music: Vasant Desai

Adornments: Jhanak Jhanak Payal Baaje

This is one of the loveliest title songs ever made. The opening credits appear in beautiful rangoli designs while Ustad Amir Khan's powerful voice gives you a taste of what to expect as "Jhanak Jhanak Payal Baaje"(1955) is about to begin. V. Shantaram's films were almost always aesthetically appealing, and this is no exception. Set against the backdrop of dance, this film is a memorable musical that won several awards. It is a pleasure to present this audio-visual treat!

Singer: Ustad Amir Khan
Lyrics: Hasrat Jaipuri
Music: Vasant Desai
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While there are hundreds of songs that are just right for this theme but have not yet been featured here, it is now time to take a break; at least for the time being. Will return with a new theme after a while. May add some more songs to the ongoing one too. Hope you enjoyed listening to these songs as much I as did posting (and listening to) them.

Rain Songs: Ho Umad Ghumad Kar Aayi Re Ghata

An experimental concept of "open prison" was once tried in the princely state of Satara. V. Shantaram made a film based on that idea. It turned out to be a classic in Hindi cinema. It tells the story of an idealistic warden who takes it upon himself to reform six hardened criminals and turn them into normal, law-abiding citizens. Today's song is from that film-- "Do Aankhen Barah Haath" (1957).

Singers: Lata Mangeshkar, Manna Dey
Lyrics: Bharat Vyas
Music: Vasant Desai

Rain Songs: Na Na Na Baraso Baadal

"Samrat Prithviraj Chauhan"(1959) was a historical film based on the life of the ruler with the same name. He was the last independent Hindu king to have ruled Delhi. His kingdom spread over much of what is Rajasthan, Haryana and Delhi today, with Delhi and Ajmer as his twin capitals. A lovely solo from this film today.

Singer: Lata Mangeshkar
Lyrics: Bharat Vyas
Music: Vasant Desai

Rain Songs: Jhir Jhir Barase Saawani Ankhiyaan

"Aashirwaad" (1968) was an emotional story of a father and his daughter. A Hrishikesh Mukherjee offering, it appealed greatly to family audiences. A unique feature of this film were the two songs for children sung by Ashok Kumar in his inimitable style. Railgaadi railgaadi and Naav chali have appeared in this space in the previous series, Her Story. Today, another memorable number from the same film. Love the word saawani. A sweet derivative of saawan that probably did not exist before Gulzar coined it.

Singer: Lata Mangeshkar
Lyrics: Gulzar
Music: Vasant Desai

Rain Songs: Bole Re Papihara

This is a song people from my generation would associate with their growing-up years. It was hard to find anyone who had not been touched by "Guddi" (1971), a classic Hrishikesh Mukherjee fare. The simple tale of an adolescent who was infatuated with films and film stars struck a chord with teenagers and grown-ups alike. This film marked Vani Jairam's entry into the world of playback singing.

Singer: Vani Jairam
Lyrics: Gulzar
Music: Vasant Desai

Rain Songs: Dar Laage Garaje Badariya

A wonderful rain song from "Ram Rajya" (1967) with the sound of thunder in the background when the singer is longing for her beloved. I could not find a video from the film, so posting this song without the original video. The second video has Shreya Ghoshal performing this melody in one of the shows on the TV.

Singer: Lata Mangeshkar
Lyrics: Bharat Vyas
Music: Vasant Desai

Her Story: With You, Always! - 1

The two are now sure that they want to spend the rest of their lives with each other. They are expressing this emotion very beautifully in a duet from "Goonj Uthi Shehnai" (1959). With the strong bond and chemistry between them, their wedding (to each other!) is now somewhere on the horizon.

Trivia: This film tells the story of a shehnai player. The shehnai pieces featured in the film are played by none other than Ustad Bismillah Khan. It has the distinction of being the only Hindi film that was adorned with the maestro's divine music. It also features a jugalbandi between him and sitar player Abdul Halim Jaffar Khan, and some renderings in the voice of Ustad Amir Khan.

This was the first big hit starring Rajendra Kumar. He became very popular later. There were times when many of his films were running in their silver jubilee week at the same time. He earned the moniker of "Jubilee Kumar" because of this.

Singers: Lata Mangeshkar, Mohammad Rafi
Lyrics: Bharat Vyas
Music: Vasant Desai

Her Story: Fun And Games

Playing with friends in the neighbourhood is a part of growing up. This is the first step towards learning social skills. A kid who is used to having her way at home, learns to be accommodative while interacting with her friends. These activities, which may sometimes look silly and meaningless, help in the overall development of a child. Our girl has graduated from playing at home with family to playing in the local park with other children. Joining them in the fun is a not-so-young person. But he is young at heart for sure. Watch him becoming a child in the company of other kids in these delightful ditties from "Aashirwaad" (1968).

Trivia: The little girl asking questions is Sarika, who later starred in many Hindi and Marathi films with Sachin. She married and divorced Kamal Haasan, with whom she had two daughters, Shruti Haasan and Akshara Haasan. Lyricist Harindranath Chattopadhyay was the younger brother of Sarojini Naidu. And as far as Ashok Kumar's rendering of these songs is concerned, I wonder if Shankar Mahadevan was inspired by these for his "Breathless"!

Singer: Ashok Kumar
Lyrics: Harindranath Chattopadhyay
Music: Vasant Desai