Songs of Yore completes 15 years.

Fifteen has a nice ring to it. However, the beginning of the 15^th year gave me a little concern. With the introduction of a new law in place of the Indian Penal Code, Taazirat-e-Hind Dafa 302 in our court room movies would be a thing of the past. Because there would be no Taazirat-e-Hind on the statutes. And there would be no Dafa 302, or maqtool’s body being dragged in the court or tumbling out of a wardrobe door either. In those movies the hero, wrongly accused of Dafa 302, used to be acquitted on the basis of Tamaam gawaahon ke bayanat and Vakeele-e-safaai’s daleels, and Memberaan-e-Jury’s opinion. Also gone would be some cultural symbols and songs. However, our parliamentarians were not concerned with that. They were all concerned with protecting our Samvidhan – from the other side. We saw in the election campaign competitive ferocity to protect the Constitution. When the parliament convened, there was pandemonium to save the Constitution with everyone waving a copy of the Book. We saw the same ferocity to protect the Constitution by all the parties in some state elections. We must admire the voters that in this mayhem too they are able to elect a winner.

This takes me to a puzzling situation. Long ago Bhartrihari said सर्वे गुणाः कांचनमाश्रयन्ते (All the virtues reside in the wealthy). Tulsidas said the same thing in different words: समरथ को नहीं दोष गोसाईं (The powerful are faultless). I paraphrase these aphorisms in modern democracies as: People’s mandate purges a person of all crimes. We saw this in the most powerful as well as the most populous democracies – the two countries which pride themselves on the Rule of Law.

Shree 420, Bharatiya Nyay Sanhita and some idiomatic expressions of crimes and criminals

BNS is the new law replacing the Indian Penal Code, or Taazirat-e-Hind of our movies. Though BNS is bilingual as are all our laws, the title Bharatiya Nyay Samhita remains the same, there is no English nomenclature. Along with BNS, the two complementary criminal laws – The Criminal Procedure Code and The Indian Evidence Act – also went through similar transmutation. This was an overdue exercise because these laws/codes were a legacy of the British era, and some redundant crimes needed to be removed, and some new ones added.

I was curious what happens to our dear char sau bees. In the climax of Shree 420 (1955), Raj Kapoor exposes all the white-collar crooks and adds the honorific ‘Shree’ as a sarcasm. He also adds Dekh lijiye, ye poore char sau bees hain; nahin ye aath sau chalees hain. I had once speculated that the idiomatic use of 420 must have started after the RK film. But soon I realised that it had to be earlier because you find this expression in this song of 1950.

1. Humse nain milana BA pass kar ke by Shamshad Begum and Mukesh from Aankhein (1950), lyrics Raja Mehdi Ali Khan, music Madan Mohan

The woman has set the bar very high for her man – he has to be BA Pass, no less (those days BA Pass was a big thing). The man shows his BA degree, but the woman dismisses it as a jhoothi degree. The song is full of earthy and colloquial expressions – Apni ye chaar sau bees kisi aur pe chalao; Koode mein phenk aao; Bhaand mein jaaye aisa pyar; Gussa na dilana bakwas kar ke. Can you believe this is written by Raja Mehdi Ali Khan, who achieved fame as the writer of some superb songs and ghazals for the classes! – Aap ki nazron ne samjha pyar ke qaabil mujhe; Agar mujhse mohabbat hai; Lag ja galey ki phir ye haseen raat ho na ho. And contrast these with the funky lyrics of Humse nain milana:

M: Ye hai BA ki degree, gori gusse mein na aao
F: Apni ye char sau bees kisi aur pe chalaao
Jaao ye hai jhoothi degree isko koode mein phenk aao
Jaaye bhaand mein aisa pyar, tere ye nakhre hain bekaar
Humko gussa na dilana bakwas kar ke

It is interesting how characters from the world of crime enter popular folklore across cultures: Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid; Bonny And Clyde; the latter’s Indian inspiration Bunty Aur Babli. There is a most notorious gangster, currently in jail; his name sends terror down the spine of a famous Bollywood superstar. There are now social media posts glorifying him as a selfless protector of our environment, wild life and culture. Natwarlal, a fraudster and con-artist prided himself for his ‘art’ and inspired many persons. He also spawned a famous movie Mr Natwarlal. There are many songs on chor and dakait. Once I had written on Kleptomania in Bollywood in a lighter vein. But the crime-busters have also fascinated filmmakers. An interesting song is Bada hi CID hai wo neeli chhatriwala. Darogaji, Sipahiya have also inspired many songs. (Brand names and proper names, too, becoming products, adjectives, and idiomatic expressions is an interesting phenomenon. Isko xerox karna hai; Fedex kar do; Dalda is not good for health; Bada Gama pahalwan banta hai etc.)

Chaar sau bees as an idiomatic expression was in consonance with the IPC section 420 for cheating. I discussed with some friends when would the word have entered our language. A friend suggested that the earliest time should be 1860 when IPC came into existence. Another friend suggested that the usage might have been popular to mean a cheat, and the Britishers might have considered it expedient to use section 420 for this crime. The chicken and egg question has been rendered irrelevant, because in the BNS it is section 318. Try, Wo bada teen sau attharah hai; Ye teen sau attharah kahin aur dikhao – does not make any sense. There is no hope of restoring its number either, as the total number of sections in BNS is 358. Thus, while I celebrate the 15^th anniversary of SOY, there is a tinge of sadness that the popular slang 420 is gone for ever. Same is the fate of Dafa 302 which we all understood for murder. (The crime is there in the BNS under a different number).

But the year was not sadness all through. The world around us was seeing much worse than some MPs coming to fisticuffs – all for the noble cause of honouring the memory of Babasaheb Ambedkar. No one knew who was fighting whom in Syria; we do not know how the world would stabilise after the economic shocks delivered by the Master Disrupter, the current POTUS. Amidst all this D Gukesh gave us unalloyed joy, though it was marred soon after by our cricket superstars in the test series with Australia. They have redeemed themselves somewhat by winning the ICC ODI Championship Trophy 2025.

Kashmir after a long gap was turning into a paradise on earth. The terrorists and their handlers can’t tolerate normalcy in the valley. The Pahalgam massacre shows they are bent upon turning it into hell. This stokes fire in the fringe elements within our society who outdo themselves in senseless rantings. The retaliatory strike by India assuaged the victims to some extent, but can it bring back their lost dear ones? All-out war is not a joke, it was sensible of both the countries to return from the brink of precipice, but the social media heroes were braying for fight to the finish.

Ukraine-Russia was getting more horrifying. Ukraine has just delivered a Pearl Harbour punch on Russia. Now one fears a ferocious reaction from Russia.  I didn’t intend to clutter this post with current events. But how can one ignore the stampede at Bangalore a couple of days ago in which at least 11 people lost their lives? All for having a glimpse of their favourite cricket hero who had just won the IPL final as a team member of Royal Challengers Bangalore! My post on 16 May was about how Haar Jeet, Sukh Dukh, Kabhi Khushi Kabhi Gham – the two opposite feelings are an integral part of life, sometimes occurring simultaneously. In this case I am simultaneously sad and angry – angry at the collective frenzy and madness of the crowd! And angry at the cricket and state administration on the total mismanagement and complete absence of any crowd control. But why were you in such a tearing hurry to organise their road show and a public facilitation and let lakhs converge on a stadium of capacity 35000? Since the netas are all-powerful in our system, they are faultless, police officers are being suspended, and cricket managers getting arrested.

Rafi Centenary, Kalyanji-Anandji, Usha Khanna, RD Burman

The SOY year spans across two calendar years. Thus, Rafi’s centenary celebrations which started on 1 January 2024 also continued in the 15^th SOY year. I had intended to conclude it on 24 December 2024. But some well-known Rafians on SOY could not have enough of Rafi and I had to extend the celebrations in 2025. I thank all the guest authors who joined me in paying their tribute to the legendary singer in the centenary celebrations.

Some readers had once mentioned the omission of Kalyanji-Anandji on SOY. I covered them, too, in a series of articles. The year also saw a series of tributes to the prominent sole female music director of the Golden Era, Usha Khanna, and October 2024 was entirely devoted to her. In the year-wise review of the best songs, I covered 1941 which concluded in the calendar year 2024 year as usual. Besides, we had the usual miscellaneous fare.

What next in 2025? One part of the question is who comes after Kalyanji-Anandji and Usha Khanna? After some agonising, I settled on RD Burman and the year started with a review of his biography by Anirudha Bhattacharjee & Balaji Vittal, on 4^th January which was RD Burman’s 31^st Remembrance Day. In my mind he is a post-1970 phenomenon. Post-1970s is not my forte. Nevertheless, I hope to give him a befitting tribute with a series of articles on him with support from the readers. RD Burman was renowned for his unique experiments with sound, especially rhythm. Our prolific guest writer, Ashok Vaishnav, had last year concluded an excellent series on musical instruments which embellished our songs. Ashokji has joined the series of tributes to RD Burman with his first article on his improvisations in rhythm. I would continue with the year-wise review of the songs of 1940 in 2025. Thus, quite a busy year and the caravan goes on. I must thank all the readers and guest writers who have made this journey enriching and rewarding.

Heer songs: Waris Shah

During Rafi’s extended centenary celebrations Hans Jakhar had included in his article a song in the Punjabi Heer style rendered nicely by Rafi. That set me on a journey of Heer songs. I am not from that land so what I write is gleaned from the Internet. Heer songs relate to the folk love legend of Heer-Ranjha of Punjab. It seems the tragic ending of love stories has charmed different cultures for centuries spawning a host of folk love legends – Laila Majnu, Heer Ranjha, Shirin Farhad, Sohni Mahiwal, Mirza Sahiban, Sassi Pannun, and many others. Heer Ranjha stories have been written by many Punjabi poets, some going back 400 years, but Waris Shah’s work ‘Heer’, written about 260 years ago, is its most famous rendering and respected for its high literary merit. Now there is a tradition of singing this song at the bidaai of a daughter to her marital place after her wedding.

2. Lo rukh badal raha hai phir zindagi ka by Rafi from the film Banoo (1949), lyrics unknown, music Ram Prasad

This was the song included by Hans in his post. This is rendered by Rafi in perfect Punjabi Heer style. Being from that land, Rafi could master its spirit and style perfectly. Most of the SOY veterans know Ram Prasad as the father of Pyarelal of LP. A highly respected musician and teacher, Ram Prasad could not get much commercial success as a music director. But he gives an excellent song to Rafi.

3. Sadke Heer tujhpe, hum fakeer sadke by Rafi from Mera Naam Joker (1970), lyrics Prem Dhawan, music Sankar-Jaikishan

Rafi shows his prowess in Heer in this song from Mera Naam Joker, but sadly, I think, this song was excised in the final cut.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r804WmRRg9I

4. Doli le chadhte hi Heer ne bain kiye, mujhe le chale babul le chale by Lata Mangeshkar from Heer Ranjha (1970), lyrics Traditional/ Kaifi Azmi, music Madan Mohan

Now I post this bidaai song from Heer Ranjha (1970), composed by Madan Mohan in the traditional Punjabi Heer style, sung by Lata Mangeshkar. The uploader wrongly mentions Khayyam as the composer.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4rDCgJRyB_8

5. Doli charhdiyan marian by Asha Singh Mastana

But for getting the real feel of the soil of Punjab I post here the Heer song from the legendary folk singer Asha Singh Mastana. The label also mentions Surinder Kaur, but I could not hear her voice.

6. Ae baad-e-saba aahista chal yahan soyi hui hai Anarkali by Hemant Kumar from Anarkali (1953), lyrics Rajendra Krishna, music C Ramchandra

Who could have thought that a Maharashtrian music director would have a Bengali singer sing in Punjabi Heer style! There is no limit to creativity of our film makers and music directors. This Hemant Kumar song for another love legend Salim-Anarkali is my great favourite.

7. AR Rahman and plagiarism: Shiv Stuti by Dagars

For a famous celebrity in a creative field, any whiff of plagiarism is a serious charge. AR Rahman was recently in a highly embarrassing situation. Ustad Wasifuddin Dagar, the flag-bearer of the famed Dagar Gharana, has accused AR Rahman of lifting the tune of his family’s composition Shiv Stuti, for his song Veera Raja Veera in the Tamil film PS-2 made by Mani Ratnam. Wasifuddin Dagar says his late father Ustad Nasir Faiyazuddin Dagar and uncle Ustad Nasir Zahiruddin Dagar – known as junior Dagars – made this stuti in Raag Adana world famous, and Rahman’s song, except for changing the lyrics, lifts the same basic tune. This raises complex questions of traditional compositions in classical raags, ownership and copyrights. This has no easy answer and I would not have given much thought to it, but Delhi High Court seems to be convinced by Dagar’s accusation and has asked Rahman to pay ₹2 crores to the Dagar family, plus ₹2 lakhs as legal costs. We are going to see tough legal battle ahead. Please listen to the two compositions for yourself. Needless to say, both are out of this world.

Shiva Shiva Shiva in Raag Adana by Ustad Wasifuddin Dagar

Veera Raja Veera, a traditional Dagarvani sung by various Dhrupad singers from Ponniyin Selvan-2, composed by AR Rahman

8. AR Rahman and Kazi Nazrul Islam family controversy about the song Karar oi lauho kapaat from film Pippa (2023), music AR Rahman

Rahman had landed in a similar controversy over Kazi Nazrul Islam’s iconic song of protest Karar oi lauho kapaat in the film Pippa (2023), a film in the backdrop of liberation of Bangladesh. Kazi Nazrul Islam had written and composed this song protesting the arrest of CR Das in the Non Co-operation movement. In this case Rahman had taken permission from the family to ‘adapt’ the tune. The family was still aggrieved that ‘adaptation of tune’ did not mean ‘to murder the iconic song’ and wanted their name to be removed from acknowledgements. My Bengali friends are convinced Rahman has mauled the tune. हाथ कंगन को आरसी क्या? Let me present both the tunes for yourself. (I think the song means we would break the iron door of the prison.)

Karaar oi lauho kapaat by Kazi Nazul Islam

Karaar oi lauho kapaat by various singers from film Pippa (2023), lyrics by Kazi Nazrul Islam, music AR Rahman

9. S00lamangalam sisters sing Panchashatpeethroopini in Carnatic Devgandhari

I had mentioned once that I was privileged to be on the mailing list of one Mr S Gopalakrishnan. This list he has made only for sharing classical music pieces from both Hindustani and Carnatic music. Recently he sent a composition sung by Sulamangalam sisters in Raag Devgandhari. Both the singers and the raag names were new to me. But the music was absolutely melodious and enthralled me enough to share it with the readers of SOY. One site says it is a Dikshitar composition. Mr Gopalakrishnan says the sisters were one of the earliest duo singers in Carnatic music and were regular at Kerala temple festival circles in the 1960s and 70s. As a lay person, the piece sounds to me like Bhimpalasi, which is similar to Abheri in Carnatic music. Even if Devgandhari is a different raag, I don’t know why it is qualified as Carnatic Devgandhari. I don’t think there is a raag by this name in Hindustani classical system, though there is a Gandhari. There is also a Devgandhar which to my mind is like Asavari/Jaunpuri. I am leaving the finer discussion for the experts, but please enjoy the sublime music.

Acknowledgement and Disclaimer:
The song links have been embedded from the YouTube only for the listening pleasure of the music lovers. This blog has no commercial interest and neither the blog nor the writer claim any copyright over the songs.