Songs on themes

Songs of Atariya

With a tribute to Begum Akhtar in her Centenary Year

Romeo and Juliet on AtariyaI had thought songs of atariya are one of the things – like lori, bidaai songs, bhajan, piano songs etc. – that have been irredeemably lost from our films. Loosely translated as ‘balcony’, atariya was the place where the heroine would go stealthily from the prying eyes of her parents, to wait for her lover, who would come on tip-toe to serenade from below, or if he was more daring, climb up through the drain pipe or a rope or bed sheet, helpfully slung down by the lady. Modesty was a virtue for women not only in India, but also in the West – Romeo too met Juliet on her atariya.

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Multiple Version Songs (15): In the ‘Realm of Remakes’ – Hindi to Tamil

Guest article by N Venkataraman

(In my introduction to Venkataramanji’s last article, I had traced how he had originally planned to write three articles on Tamil-Hindi version songs, which he later decided to expand to five. This is his fourth, which looks at similar songs from Tamil films remade from Hindi films. Its converse, i.e. remakes from Tamil to Hindi, would be his last, but surely not the last of the mega series on Multiple Version Songs. For new visitors to Songs of Yore, this mega project is the brainchild of an SoY regular, Mr Ashok M Vaishnav. Without repeating what I have said earlier, the best way to understand how it came about is to browse through old articles in the series, which are all placed here.  – AK)

Woh Kaun Thi_Yaar NeeWinter has heralded its arrival and I am out of my ‘monsoon hibernation’. Hibernation is only a state of mind and it takes very little time and, of course, effort to wake up. Incessant monsoon rains can make one sleepy and at time depressed. Autumn followed by winter brings in clear sky and hope. With gentle breeze blowing and clear blue sky, it is time to set the sail once again.

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SD Burman’s Bengali songs and their Hindi versions

Multiple Version Songs (14)

SD BurmanWith this post my SD Burman journey is intersecting Ashok Vaishnavji’s mega-project on multiple version songs. My journey has taken many interesting turns. I started with the idea of doing a post on my top ten favourite songs of SD Burman, which would have included his film as well non-film Hindi and Bengali songs. Then I came across Harvey’s post, Sun mere bandhu re, on his film songs. I then decided to cover only his non-film songs, which would have included both Hindi and Bengali songs. In course of searching his songs, I found there were so many of them in each category, and many of them absolutely outstanding, that I decided to cover his non-film Hindi and Bengalis songs in separate posts. I have already done his non-film Hindi songs, which was very well received. The readers also mentioned many of his Bengali songs, which were adapted by SD Burman as Hindi film songs in the voices of Mohammad Rafi, Lata Mangeshkar, Kishore Kumar and Geeta Dutt. These songs are among all time great compositions of SD Burman, without most of us being aware that these are adapted from original Bengali songs sung by SD Burman.

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Multiple Version Songs (13): Hindi and Tamil film songs (3) – Dance (r) s of Deccan

Guest article by N Venkataraman

(Venkataramanji had planned his articles on Multiple Version Songs in Hindi and Tamil films in three parts.  After his first first two articles on ‘Inspired and adopted songs’ and ‘Songs from dubbed versions’, his final part was going to be on Remade films form one language to the other.  However, on the way he stumbled upon a large treasure trove of  South Indian dances and songs, remade from Tamil into Hindi, and decided to offer us this unexpected bonus. He would be now completing his series with two more articles on similar songs from remade films (Tamil to Hindi, and Hindi to Tamil).  Thank you Venkataramanji for your very generous bounties. – AK)

Deccan dancersAfter completion of the first two parts, namely the article on ‘Inspired and adopted Songs’ and the second part on ‘Songs from dubbed versions’, I am venturing into my next episode. Compared to the other two areas this is a vast sea and I thought that one should sail with the tide and try to find the moorings at the suitable time and situation. In course of my search for materials for this article I came across a fairly large number of traditional dance (and song) numbers from the films remade from Tamil to Hindi. This was a fascinating theme by itself.  Therefore, though not originally planned as a separate post, I decided to anchor and take refuge at this haven for now.  I would be completing my series with similar songs from remade films (probably in two parts).

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Multiple Version Songs (12): Similar songs in Hindi and Kannada

Guest article by Arunkumar Deshmukh

(When I mentioned that Arunji is a living encyclopaedia, I was thinking of Hindi, Marathi, and perhaps Telugu films because of his early association with Hyderabad. While I was still struggling if I knew anyone who could write about Kannada, out of the blue, Arunji made an offer to write on similar songs in Hindi and Kannada. Now I know whom to approach for Santhali, Chhatisgarhi, Dogri or Manipuri languages, but I am sure Arunji will never cease to surprise us! After his excellent piece on Hindi-Marathi, please enjoy another highly educative article on the history of Kannada films, and their linkages with Hindi and other languages. – AK)

Sati SulochanaThe First Talkie in 1931 was the beginning of a revolution in Filmdom. As expected even the first talking film was singing too! It had 7 songs. This stressed two points, one – India did not lag behind in technology, and two – music was an integral part of our lives, including entertainment.

From historical and even mythological times all kings – big or small had their “Court-Singers”. With love of common people and the royal patronage, it was not a wonder that ALL talkie films in ALL languages had songs in it.

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Multiple Version Songs (11): Similar songs in Hindi and Malayalam

Guest article by Anuradha Warrier

(There are some guests on whose arrival you exclaim, “Wo aye hamarey ghar khuda ki qudarat, kabhi hum unko kabhi apne ghar ko dekhate hain!”   Anu writes an outstanding blog spanning books, movies, music and whatever. She is also a writer and editor. With all that, and with the constraint of having grown up outside Kerala, it is indeed a very kind gesture on her part to agree to write on similar songs from Hindi and Malayalam movies. With such generous people I am confident we should be able to cover all the major languages in India in which such cross fertilisation with Hindi movies and songs have taken place. Thank you , Anu, for your excellent article. – AK)

Yesudas and MS BaburajI’d been following the mega-series of posts by Mr Ashok Vaishnav on the various combinations of multiple versions of songs on Songs of Yore with great interest. With AK hosting these posts, and Mr Arunkumar Deshmukh and Mr N Venkatraman writing on the links between Hindi-Marathi and Hindi-Tamil songs, it’s been a journey worth travelling.

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Multiple Versions Songs (10): Gujarati to, and fro, Hindi (film) songs (2)

Guest article by Ashok M Vaishnav

(In the tenth article in the series on Multiple Vesrsion Songs, which is the second part of Ashokji’s article on cross-pollination between Hindi and Gujarati songs, he looks at the influence of Gujarati light/folk sangeet on Hindi film music.  Some of the examples are very well-known songs without our being aware of Gujarati folk influence on them.  So, here is another voyage of discovery of the Hindi film songs influenced by Gujarati folk dance and songs. – AK)

Gujarati GarabaWe had had a peep into the versions Gujarati light (sugam) sangeet from Hindi film music in the first part of this article. In this second part we will take a reverse track and have a look at the influence of Gujarati light / folk sangeet on Hindi film music.

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Multiple Versions Songs (9) : Gujarati to, and fro, Hindi (film) songs (1)

Guest article by Ashok M Vaishnav

(Ashokji, who is the originator of the mega series on Multiple Version Songs, now takes us to the little known world of cross fertilisation between Hindi and Gujarati film and folk music.  He plans to do it in two parts, in the first part of which he presents an overview of the theme and impact of Hindi film music on Gujarati songs.  Needless to say, anything from his pen would show depth of research and eye for detail. – AK)

Gujarati sangeetI will begin this post with an humble and honest disclaimer: This preamble will provide an entrée background to our subject of the present post, and is in no way any statement of authority on the subject.

In order to make the posting of the article manageable, we will split the article in two parts, first part dealing with impact of Hindi film music on Gujarati songs, while the second part will present the reverse effect of Gujarati light sangeet on Hindi film music.

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Multiple Version Songs (8): Hindi-Tamil film songs (2) Songs from Dubbed Versions

Guest article by N. Venkataraman

(Mr Venkataraman’s first part of Hindi-Tamil similar songs was on ‘Inspired and adopted songs’.  He also mentioned in that article that he would be covering the subject in three parts.  In the second part he discusses songs from Hindi movies which were dubbed in Tamil.  Synchronizing the lyrics, meaning, meter and lip movement requires a great deal of talent.  It is a journey into a fascinating world, which, I presume, is unknown to most of us.  There is a warning though.  There is something infectious about these songs – you would soon forget that Madhubala ever sang ‘Mohabat ki jhoothi kahani pe roye’, because ‘Kanu kanda kaathal’ will grip you, or that Nargis sang ‘Raja ki ayegi baraat’, because after reading this article you would be humming, ‘Kalyana oorvalam varum’, and so on. – AK) 

Gul-e-bakawaliAt the outset, I feel like a traveller commencing the second part of my journey through a desert looking for the elusive oasis. I am afraid that the scope and variety found in the first part will be lacking to a great extent in this article. Except the lyrics and the singer(s), everything else will be almost similar in both the versions. Even the singer(s) in one or two instances can be the same. Hoping that the deserts too can provide enough charm on a calm and moonlit night.

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