If a new visitor looks up Songs Of Yore, she would notice some names conspicuously missing in the right-hand scroll of music directors. There is no design in it, it has just happened. Yet I have to thank our regular reader Shachindra Prasad for drawing my attention to the omission of Vasant Desai so far on the blog. We know him primarily as the music director of V Shantaram’s famous films like Jhanak Jhanak Payal Baaje (1955); Toofan Aur Diya (1956); Do Aankhein Barah Hath (1957); Mausi (1958); and outside films like Ardhangini, School Master, Goonj Uthi Shehnai (1959); and Guddi (1971). But during review of songs of the Vintage Era, we came across Vasant Desai as a singer too, besides being a music director. That was not a casual dalliance. Some of the songs sung by him may be a new discovery for most of us, but they are absolutely mellifluous.
That is not all. He was an important hand in Prabhat Studios, one of the three most respected studios of the earliest era along with New Theatres and Bombay Talkies. Born to Krishna Desai and Mukta Bai on 9th June 1912 in the village Sonawade in the coastal Konkan region in Sindhugarh district of Maharashtra, Vasant Desai got attracted to music in Marathi folk theatre, such as Lavani and Powada. Vasant Desai’s father lived separately from his wife Mukta Bai and did not support his family. She was supported by her father, the famous kirtankar, Baba Bhaskar Parulekar. Vasant Desai developed his musical sensibilities from his mother. He had very little interest in studies. At a very young age, he joined a Marathi folk theatre group, playing small roles in folk stage plays. He later shifted to Kolhapur, which was an important centre for artists, and learnt classical music from various gurus.
One of his cousins, Ghanshyam Desai, seeing Vasant Desai’s keen interest in acting and music, introduced him to V Shantaram in 1929. Prabhat Studios was being set up and they were looking for artists. As acting was considered more glamorous, Vasant Desai requested V Shantaram for some role. The conversation between the two in that first meeting was narrated by Vasant Desai many years later to Ameen Sayani. This has been reproduced verbatim by Manek Premchand in his book Yesterday’s Melodies Today’s Memories:
“One day I stood before him. ‘Humein actor banna hai’. I had grown long hair, jinko dialogue bolte samay jhatak kar aankhon par laya ja sake. But I was small-built whereas those were the days of stunt films and big-built toughies. There was no role for a thin person of small height. Shantaramji asked, ‘What kind of work do you want?’ I shook my neck, showed off my hair and said, ‘Actor’. He looked at me from head to foot, and thought, ‘The boy is crazy’. Then he felt pity on me and said, ‘I am keeping you, but you will have to do any kind of work assigned to you.’ Thus I got entry into Prabhat.” (Some parts translated form Hindi – AK)
He got a small role in Prabhat’s silent film Khooni Khanjar (1930). When talkies came in 1931, Vasant Desai became an actor-singer in Prabhat’s Marathi film, Ayodhyache Raja (1932) in which he sang, Jai jai rajadhiraje. He also played minor roles in several films of Prabhat in which he sang solos and duets with Shanta Apte, such as in Amrit Manthan (1934), Amar Jyoti (1936), Sant Gyaneshwar (1940). In Prabhat’s celebrated film Aadmi (1939), V Shantaram indicated to Vasant Desai that he might be taken as the hero in the film, but he had to yield to the pressure from other partners and Shahu Modak finally played the lead role in the film. Vasant Desai realised his limitation that he was not destined to become a hero. He decided to focus on music which was his principal interest.
Prabhat was very strong in music department with legendary musicians like Govindrao Tembe, Master Krishnarao and Keshavrao Bhole on its roll. Vasant Desai assisted them in several films which was a valuable lesson. He also got formal training in classical music from Ustad Alam Khan, Ustad Inayat Khan and Dagar Brothers.
Vasant Desai got his first independent assignment as a music director for Wadia Movietone’s film Shobha (1942). He also gave music for Wadia’s Aankh Ki Sharam (1943). That was the time when Prabhat was breaking apart from internal conflicts between its partners. When V Shantaram set up his own production house, Rajkamal Kalamandir, Vasant Desai became the music director of its first production, Shakuntala (1943) and shifted to Bombay. The tremendous success of the film was the beginning of a long partnership between the two: Parbat Pe Apna Dera (1944); Dr Kotnis Ki Amar Kahani, Jeevan Yatra (1946); Andhon Ki Duniya, Matwala Shayar Ram Joshi (1947); and Dahej (1950). This partnership continued in the 50s producing some landmark films which we know very well. Mausi (1958) was the last film of Rajkamal for which Vasant Desai gave music. The break up with V Shantaram did not mean the end of his music. From the film Subhadra (1946) onwards, he had been exploring opportunities outside Rajkamal, and giving some excellent music. His last film as music director was Shaque (1976). (Note: There are a number of inconsistencies between different sources with regard to Vasant Desai’s life-history. Please see R Venkataraman’s comments at #21, 23. 25 and 30 which give more authentic information based on his acclaimed biographies. – AK)
Vasant Desai had a macabre death on 22 December 1975 in a freak accident in a lift. As a tribute to him, I am presenting some songs of Vasant Desai as a singer and music director from the Vintage Era.
1. Sakhi ri Shyam bado dhithiyayo barbas phori gaagri by Vasant Desai from Amrit Manthan (1934), lyrics Unknown, music Keshavrao Bhole
This must be one of the earliest songs sung by Vasant Desai available on the net. His singing shows his mastery over classical music. HFGK mentions one Desai in the star cast. If it is Vasant Desai, the song must have been picturised on him. Before he put on weight and muscles through exercises, he might have looked like the man singing the song on the screen. I am mesmerised by the voice of Vasant Desai for classical singing. KL Pandey identifies raags Des+Khamaj+Tilak Kamod in the song.
2. Kaaraj ki jyot sada hi jale by Vasant Desai from Amar Jyoti (1936), lyrics Narottam Vyas, music Master Krishnarao
Vasant Desai continues his journey of melody in this classical-based song.
3. Bhai bhaj le shri Bhagwan by Pandeji (Vasant Desai) from Aankh Ki Sharam (1943), lyrics Pt. Indra, music Vasant Desai
This is another incredibly sweet song by Vasant Desai singing under the pseudonym Pandeji. It makes me think, had he pursued classical music he would have earned fame as one of the doyens among singers.
4. Is umra mein mushkil nahin kuchh dil ka lagaana by Shahu Modak from Shobha (1942), lyrics Pt. Indra, music Vasant Desai
Here is a song from the first movie for which Vasant Desai gave music independently. As per the practice those days, the heroes were also ask to sing whether they were a competent singer or not. Shahu Modak is not too bad. There are a couple of more songs from the film available on the YT.
5. Bijli chamkan lagi, ho Rama Bijli chamkan lagi by Amirbai Karnataki (record version) from Aankh Ki Sharam (1943), lyrics Pt. Indra, music director Vasant Desai
In HFGK Meenakshi is mentioned as the singer, but Amirbai Karnataki’s voice is clearly identifiable in this song. I guess Meenakshi might have sung it in the movie, but record version was sung by Amirbai. The song is very good as you expect from her. From this film I have already taken another song (#3) sung by Vasant Desai. He must have impressed the film music world in the very next year of his debut.
6. Chaand sa nanha aaye, phoolon sa khil khil jaye by Zohrabai Ambalewali and Jayshree from Shakuntala (1943), lyrics Ratan Piya, music Vasant Desai
This F-F duet is quite catchy and melodious. Zohrabai Ambalewali sounds different from her usual style, and I strongly suspect it is not sung by her. I seek confirmation from our experts.
7. Humse kar le preet ri jogan humse kar le preet by Vasant Desai and Naseem Akhtar from Parbat Pe Apna Dera (1944), lyrics Dewan Sharar, music Vasant Desai
Vasant Desai continues his association with Rajkamal Kalamandir in the next year in Parbat Pe Apna dera. Multifaceted talent that he was, in this duet, Vasant Desai sings under his own baton.
8. Chit doley nit doley by Jayshree from Dr. Kotnis Ki Amar Kahani (1944), lyrics Dewan Sharar, music Vasant Desai
Dr Dwarkanath Chitnis is a real figure who was sent as a part of a 5-member doctors’ delegation in the second Sino-Japanese war (1938) to help the victims of the Japanese aggression. The other four doctors soon came back. But Dr Kotnis stayed on and did his job with selfless devotion. The stress took its toll on his health and he passed away on 9 December 1942 in China. He is a revered figure in China who is commemorated with a great statue in his honour at Schijiazhuang, Hebei province. Chit doley, niit doley sung by Jayshree is very melodious.
9. Main khili khili phulwari by Shanta Apte and Lata Mangeshkar from Subhadra (1946), lyrics Moti B.A., music Vasant Desai
Subhadra is a significant film in the history of film music. It marked the first time Vasant Desai associated with Lata Mangeshkar in this duet with Shanta Apte. Though Lata Mangeshkar had two solos too, this duet is my favoutite. She had a minor role in the film, whereas Shanta Apte was the heroine and the lead singer in the film. In this duet too you can see Shanta Apte in command and Lata Mangeshkar tentatively trying to follow her senior.
10. Baat mori nihari hai sainya, main to jaaungi Jamuna paar by Kumar and others from Jeevan Yatra (1946), lyrics Diwan Sharar, music Vasant Desai
Jeevan Yatra too had Lata Mangeshkar in a small acting-singing role. She had a solo too in the film, but this folk-based fast-paced song is too good.
11. Zindagi ek safar hai, safar kijiye by Zohrabai Ambalewali from Jeevan Yatra (1946), lyrics Diwan Sharar, music Vasant Desai
This song by Zohrabai Ambalewali will sweep you off your feet.
12. Is ishq ke kaanton mein hai phoolon ka khazana by Shailesh Mukherjee and Zohrabai Ambalewali from Andhon Ki Duniya (1947), lyrics Behzad Lakhanavi, music Vasant Desai
Vasant Desai was now becoming a constant fixture in Rajkamal Kalamandir films. This is quite a catchy song.
13. Son bhanwar ud jaayega by Manmohan Krishna from Matwala Shayar Ram Joshi (1947), lyrics Pt. Narendra Sharma, music Vasant Desai
But the landmark film in the year was the bilingual ‘Matwala Shayar Ram Joshi’. The film achieved great success in both Marathi and Hindi versions. It was a biopic on a real poet, kirtankar and performer of Lavani, Powada and Sawal-jawab in Marathi folk theatre during the Peshwa period. Being a Brahmin, his association with low-cast performers brought him censure in the society. He became an alcoholic and got redemption through his poetry. This film is said to have given a big boost to Marathi Tamasha musical. Here is a song from the Hindi version. It has been sung by Manmohan Krishna who was the lead actor-singer in the film.
14. Sawal-jawab Lavani by Jayram Shiledar and Lalita Parulekar from Lokshayar Ram Joshi (Marathi, 1947), music Vasant Desai
YouTube has several songs from the film’s Marathi version too. Jayram Shiledar played the lead role in the film and sang its songs. Hansa Wadkar was the female lead. Its story was written by GD Magdulkar who is regarded as a legend in Marathi literature. Songs of the film were written by him and Ram Joshi. This is a very lively sawal-jawab form of Lavani.
15. Hari ko bisaaro na, Hari na bisaarenge by Lata Mangeshkar from Narsimha Avtar (1949), lyrics Pt. Narendra Sharma, music Vasant Desai
We have seen a tentative Lata Mangeshkar in Subhadra (1946), now we see her in full flow in this song. She had caused a Tsunami in the year, sweeping the competition aside.
16. Raat ja rahi hai, neend aa rahi hai by Lata Mangeshkar from Uddhar (1949), lyrics Pt. Narendra Sharma
By now Lata Mangeshkar had become lead female singer for Vasant Desai, as she was becoming everyone’s. All her songs in this film are worth listening. In this one, she shows her mastery over slow recital, followed by the fast antara. She had truly arrived.
Acknowledgements and Disclaimer:
1. I had refereed to various sources for this post, but the information in various sources was inconsistent. I have tried to take what should be generally incontrovertible. I would mainly mention the following which had been quite helpful:
i. Sharad Dutt’s article in Millenium Post.
ii. Pankaj Raag’s Dhunon Ki Yatra.
iii. Discussion with Arunkumar Deshmukh.
iv. Listeners Bulletin.
2. The song links have been embedded from the YouTube only for the listening pleasure of the music lovers. This blog does not claim any copyright over them, which rests with the respective owners of the rights.
{ 42 comments… read them below or add one }
AK ji,
Thanks for writing on Vasant Desai, one of the greats in Hindi film music..
Vasant Desai was one of those,who,in spite of Talent never got his dues. Though Lata Mangeshkar didn’t acknowledge any of Desai’s creations in her top 20 personal favourites nor praises his vast repertoire, it is a fact that some of her finest renditions were under Desai. Allegedly, Lata had a grudge against him for promoting other singers, especially Vani Jairam, and hence ignored his contribution in her career even when most of her songs under Desai’s baton have been unsurpassed till this day. Go down the memory lane and you can’t ignore sublime creations like “Jo Tum Todo Piya” (“Jhanak Jhanak Payal Baaje”), “Tere Sur aur Mere Geet” (“Goonj Uthi Shehnai”), “Main Gaon Tu Chup Hoja” (“Do Aankhen Barah Haath”), “Piya Te Kahan” (“Toofan aur Diya”) or “Ik Tha Bachpan” (“Aashirwad”). Even though Desai made her “Ae Malik Tere Bande Hum” (“Do Aankhen Barah Haath”) into a memorable secular prayer, Lata hardly ever commended the composition. May be she was unhappy that Desai created an equally powerful bhajan “Humko Man Ki Shakti Dena” into a nationwide school prayer through Vani’s vocals.
Devoted to V. Shantaram from his Prabhat days, Desai went along with the maestro when he broke away from Prabhat to form his own Rajkamal Studios. Scoring music for a majority of Shantaram’s films, Vasant’s career suffered a major blow when their relations soured in the late 1950s. Yet it is to his credit that even though they split after recording of “Aadha Hai Chandrama” (later re-done by C. Ramchandra), he never ever spoke ill about “Anna” till his dying day.Film director Vikas Desai says, “even family members never came to know the reasons for leaving Shantaram though he went back to score the background music of ‘Geet Gaya Patharon Ne’ on Anna’s request”.
His proficiency was the reason why he was greatly admired by maestros like Bismillah Khan (who made the shehnai famous with his recitals in “Goonj Uthi Shehnai”, Amir Khan, Bhimsen Joshi, and M. S. Subbulakshmi even got a song composed from Desai for her recital at the UNO headquarters. It was Desai’s virtuosity that made Dada Muni (Ashok Kumar) render an all-time favourite children’s song “Rail Gadi” (“Aashirwad”) with minimal instrumentals. Nowadays when Cannes Film Festival is a place of photo opportunity rather than exploration of artistry, it is overwhelming to know that decades ago Desai’s versatility made “Amar Bhoopali ” the only Indian film to win a Grand Prix award for original musical score at Cannes! Obviously, lyricist Gulzar isn’t wrong to hail Desai as a “music composer extraordinaire” especially when he catapulted his “Bole Re Papiha” to Himalayan heights of popularity.
My favourite song by Vasant Desai is by Rajkumari in the film, Parbat pe apna dera-1944-” Pareshan hoon ke kyun meri pareshani”….https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4B_OpWPs0Rs
-AD
Arunji,
Thanks for your detailed comments on Vasant Desai. I agree he was an extremely talented composer. In the Golden Era of the 1950s, his main singer by far was Lata Mangeshkar (among male-female combined). In acknowledging the MDs who contributed to her success, she displayed tactically selective memory. I enormously like ‘Piya te kahan’ and ‘Sainya jhoothon ka bada sardar nikla’.
Pareshan hun ki kyun meri pareshani nahin jati: It seems Amirbai Karnataki is the singer. Her voice is very clear.
AYODHYECHA RAJA, 1932, is available on YouTube in a surprisingly good condition. G Tembe, besides scoring the music, played the title role of Raja Haris Harischandra. The movie opens with Vasanth Desai ‘s song.
Undoubtedly, a great composer, singer who contributed to film music for 5 decades!
AK ji,
Yes, I wrote wrong name. The singer of my favourite song is indeed Amirbai Karnataki. I don’t know how could I do this silly mistake ? Thanks for pointing out.
Regret the error.
-AD
AK Ji,
I was so happy to see this article, though I am yet to listen to the songs. I am new to the vintage era as compared to many of the veterans here but gradually I am getting hooked into the likes of Ameerbhai Karnataki, Zohrabhai, G M Durrani, KL Saigal etc, thanks to SOY. My journey into the HFM started with the lates 40’s/early 50’s .
I had also observed the absence of Vasant Desai’s name in the panel of this portal among Music Directors list. Thanks for including one of my favourite music composers. His mastery in using many indian classsical instruments like santoor, shehnai was exceptional . Also the very catchy percussion arrangement in songs like Nirbhal se ladhai bhalwan ki, Ae maalik tere bandhe hum . I am not very sure about this , but I think the other version of Ae Malik Tere Bandhe hum with only chorus and no lead singer was a unique song that Vasant Desai had composed. The only other song I could think of that had only chorus was Nacho gao nacho, jhoom machao nacho aaya mangal tyohaar from Amrapali by S-J .
One more music director missing in the list is Usha Khanna-the only major female music composer in HFM ( of course there were Jaddhan bhai and Saraswati Devi in vintage era).
Arunkumar Deshmukh Ji has rightly mentioned about the non recognition of Vasant Desai by the nightingale. As mentioned by him all those songs are fabulous. Very sad that she ignored this genius.
AK Ji, I hope there will be part 2 where you may write about the later period songs of Vasant Desai. Looking forward eagerly…
Happy to see this article on Vasant Desai one of the old timers . He scored for several movies in the fifties and the sixties with select singers. Of these , Goonj uthi shehnai , Pyar ki Pyas, Do Ankhen Barah Haath and Ardhangini were well known. I remember a lovely duet from Ardhangini (1959) Pyar mein milna sanam with Subir Sain and Lata. Similarly , his songs from Pyar ki Pyas (title song) and duet from Do Ankhen..are well remembered. But somehow sad that like Jaidev he could not get the recognition that was required to propel him to the top!
AKji,
A great post!
I heard most of the vintage era songs for the first time. Thank you so much. And a number of songs by Amirbai Karnataki and Zohrabai Ambalewali.
Dil khush ho gaya.
Waiting for the second part.
Anup
🙂
Dr Shetty @3,
I am language-challenged. Ayodhyecha Raja does not have subtitles. but I did see the opening credits and Vasant Desai’s song ‘Jai jai rajadhiraj‘. Thanks a lot.
Mr Sivanandam @5,
When I decided to write on him, by that time I was aware of his multi-faceted talent in the vintage era. It was important to cover that. But we are familiar with him as a class composer in the 50s and later. Thus, there has to be a Part 2, perhaps comprising more than one post.
Ae malik tere bande hum has two versions. One in the beginning when V Shantaram leads the prayer, and then the pure chorus follows without any lead singer. Later, when V Shantaraam is lying seriously injured in fighting with the bull, a small girl is asked to sing the same prayer to the almighty to cure Shantaram. A trivia – it is said that in this incident he lost the vision in one of his eyes. Nacho gaao nacho is a wonderful pure chorus.
Usha Khanna occupies a very important place as a rare female music director to break the glass ceiling. I have made a mental note of her omission. Thanks for mentioning her.
KB @6,
Vasant Desai gave some immortal music for V Shantaram films, and also outside in the 50s and 60s. He is known most for his these movies as a music director. But the vintage era opens other aspects of his talent.
Anup @7,
Thanks a lot. I am happy you enjoyed it. Part 2 has to come, without that Vasant Desai is not complete.
Vasant Desai indeed occupies very special place in the Hindi film music world.
With some details known while journeying through vintage era years of the Best Song of the Year series, the present article has presented Vasant Desai I just did not know.
Akji , thank you so much.
I believe that Vasant Desai certainly deserves, and has more than enough songs, to span out this sereis in several more parts.
Ashokji,
Thanks a lot for you appreciation. This post is as much a discovery for me as for others.
A K ji,
I know you have stopped at 1949 to take it forward in the second part. Readers are mentioning the later songs.
I am also tempted to mention a special thing.
Came across this Vani Jairam song on YouTube where VD is both the Lyricist and Composer. Shelved / unreleased movie?
Bikre taal mile man ke..
GRAHAN, 1973.
Dr Shetty,
The song is available on YT, the uploader has not said anything about shelved or unreleased.
https://youtu.be/mEwPGXd9saY
AK ji ,
Better late than never …
U hv given full justice to Vasant Desai’s career ( till 1949) in this first part .
Some of the songs were new to me but njoyed .. a special thnx for those songs .
I wud like 2 add a marathi song sung nd acted on screen by Vasant Desai .
संत ज्ञानेश्वर (1940)
” आम्ही दैवाचे दैवाचे शेतकरी रे
करु काम स्मरु नाम मुखे राम हरि रे ”
https://youtu.be/FQiM5TwI9hI
Well , looking forward for the next part.
Thnx for this post .
– Pramod Godbole.
Dr Shetty,
It is indeed special. One more talent added to Vasant Desai’s portfolio.
Pramodji,
‘Ami daivache’ is a wonderful song. I am becoming more and more appreciative of Vasant Desai’s singing.
Post #14-Dr Shetty–thanks a million for mentioning the song from Grahan (1973) movie…I just heard it twice and has been swept off my feet–what a great composition and masterly rendition by Vani Jayarm.
If Bole re papeehara was a starter, this song is a seven course meal!!
It is a pity that such songs remain unkonwn to the popular media.
Also my pranaam and thanks to AK Ji for this wonderful form SOY. I am discovering so many pearls in the ocean of Hindi film music.
AK JI- As I said earlier, I am not familiar with the 30’s & 40’s songs but I listened to all the 16 songs in this article-never knew Vasant Desai had sung so many songs. Thanks once again…!!!
I really wish I had discovered SOY few years back…but as the cliche goes-better late than never.
Saint Thyagaraja -one of the Trinity of Carnatic classical music had composed the kriti: Endaro mahanu bhavulu
Anthareeki Vandanamulu
A simple translation is: Salutations to all those great men in this world..
I take this opportunity to thank all those who keep writing about so many songs and also mention in their comments.
Mr Sivanandam,
Thanks a lot for your very generous words. We would not have known Vasant Desai’s other talents without exploring the 1930s and 40s. I was familiar with 30s and 40s music that was played on the radio, but somehow the music from Marathi School remained hidden which I discovered much later. I find Vasant Desai’s singing very polished, must be a result of solid training in classical music.
Thanks Akji for the bringing out this post on highly talented vintage veteran Vasant Desai. It fills another long standing gap. And thanks to Shachindra Prasadji too.
Enjoyed listening to the wonderful bouquet of songs. I find, out of the 16 songs presented by you, 3 were rendered by Vasant Desai for other composers and one (duet) for himself, rest of the 12 were composed by Vasant Desai for others. Almost all the songs presented here are lesser known songs of the vintage era. And the first two songs Sakhi ri Shyam bado dhithiyaro barbas phori gaagri’ & ‘Kaaraj ki jyot sada hi jale’ and the fourth song ‘Is umra mein mushkil nahin kuchh dil ka lagaana’ were new to me. The songs of 1943 and 1944 are fresh in my mind, since they were presented recently in SoY. ‘Humse kar le preet ri jogan humse kar le preet’ was among the special songs of 1944.
The song you have mentioned ‘Jai jai rajadhiraje’ from the Marathi version Ayodhyacha Raja (1932) must have been the one of the earliest Marathi film songs. Pradipji too has mentioned about the film. But I believe that the song ‘Sakal jagat mein Chhatrapati’ from the Hindi Version too was sung by Vasant Desai. It is also believed that Govindrao Tembe took under his wings Vasant Desai and Master Vinayak as his assistants for this film. That was only for this film. Later Govindrao Tembe placed Vasant Desai in charge of musical instruments at Prabhat. Only when Prabhat moved to Poona/ Pune, he was promoted as Assistant Music Director for a salary of Rs.55/- per month.
You must be aware that his first film as a music director was Chhaya (1936). As he was under the contract of Prabhat films, his name was not acknowledged in the credit titles. It seems he composed two songs for the film Sant Gyaneshwar (1940), but songs were credited to the official MD Keshavrav Bhole. Of course, the information stated above cannot be substantiated due to lack of authentic proof.
Posting a song sung by Vasant Desai from the film Sant Gyaneshwar (1940), lyrics Mukhram Sharma
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ec-e9ltQJgM
Thanks once for this wonderful post.
Venkataramanji,
Thanks a lot for your very generous words and loads of information about Vasant Desai’s early career. The songs sung by him I mentioned on SOY are the best examples of Marathi Natya Sangeet tradition which popularised classical raags among the masses.
Ayodhyache Raja is available on YT and Jai jai rajadhiraje comes right after the credit titles. Neither the Hindi version of the film nor any of its songs are available on YT. But I can guess Sakal jagat mein Chhatrapati must be very good. HFGK lists the songs, including this one, but singers have not been identified.
Chhaya: I have not seen it being mentioned anywhere. If it is credited to someone else, we have no way to lift the veil. An important point is the gap of six years when Shobha (1942) was credited as Vasant Desai’s first film as an independent music director. Same with Sant Gyaneshwar or any such claims by any artiste. Only in Anil Biswas’s case such claims gained wide acceptance (Basant etc.).
Sabse pyare hain duniya mein khet hamaare is an excellent song. But I find the mukhada quite at odds with the rest of the song which is devotional.
AKji,
1. I wrote @ 21,
“….out of the 16 songs presented by you, 3 were rendered by Vasant
Desai for other composers and one (duet) for himself, rest of the 12
were composed by Vasant Desai for others.”
It should be “2 were rendered by Vasant Desai for other composers
and one solo and one duet composed by him, rest…….”
Sorry for the mistake.
2. You wrote @ 22,
“An important point is the gap of six years when Shobha (1942) as
Vasant Desai’s first film as an independent music director. Same with
Sant Gyaneshwar or any such claims by any artiste. Only in Anil
Biswas’s case such claims gained wide acceptance (Basant etc.).”
I reproduce from the book “Vasant Desai – Composer par excellence”
by Vishwas Nerurkar and Bishwanath Chatterjee:
“…….he had composed for Master Vinayak’s Chhaya (1936), but was
not credited for it. The same thing happened when he was assisting
music director Keshavrao Bhole for Prabhat’s Sant Dnyaneshwar
(1940). Keshavrao Bhole permitted him to compose two songs –
‘Aanand Aanand Avaghaa’ and ‘Aamhee Daivaache, Daivaache’
for this movie. However he did not get the credit for it and those songs
were credited to Keshavrao Bhole who was the official music director
of the movie. Later on, in his musical biography in Marathi, titled
‘Maajhe Sangeet’, Keshavrao gracefully gave credit to Vasant Desai for
composing these songs.”
Thus in Sant Dnyaneshwar’s case the authors have cited Keshavrao
Bhole’s biography, while in the case of Chhaya they have not cited any
source.
While posting the Hindi version song ‘Sabse pyaare hain duniya mein
khet hamaare’ in Atul Song A Day, Arunkumar Deshmukhji makes
reference to Keshavrao Bhosle’s memoirs “Maazzhe Sangeet” in a
different context, but is silent about Keshavrao Bhole’s
acknowledgement.
I quote:
“Veteran Marathi film music director and Desai’s creative mentor
Keshavrao Bhosle in his memoirs “Maazzhe Sangeet” (माझे संगीत )
applauds Desai for many such firsts as well as introduction of echo in
sound recording in India….”
That leads to an element of doubt. Only Arunji or any of our Marathi
friends (if they have read the book) can confirm.
3. You wrote,
“Sabse pyare hain duniya mein khet hamaare is an excellent song. But
I find the mukhada quite at odds with the rest of the song which is
devotional.”
From the context of the song, it appears more philosophical, rather
than devotional.
Here is the situation preceding the song from the Marathi version
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cl3f6do14LI
The Hindi clip I poster earlier was an audio version. Here is the link to
the video version of the Marathi song, Vasant Desai (the bullock cart
driver) lip-synchs to his own singing.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gbjsbUTlR0g&t=2s
Vekataramanji,
I guessed you were quoting from Vishwas Nerurkar’s book. I don’t have it, but I have heard about it. Thanks a lot again for the additional information.
AKji,
As per the books “The Desai Trio and the movie Industry of India” by Nilu N Gavankar and “Vasant Desai – Composer par excellence” by Vishwas Nerurkar and Bishwanath Chatterjee, Vasant Desai was born at Sonawade, located in the coastal Konkan region in the Sindhudurg district of Maharashtra.
The place Sawantwadi is also in Maharashtra, roughly 30Kms south west of Sonawade, near Goa border.
I have mentioned this just to set the record right and would like add some more information to highlight the struggle Vasant Desai and his mother had to undergo during his childhood. (Information gathered from Nilu N Gavankar’s book. Vasant Desai was Nilu N Gavankar’s mother’s uncle, i.e. the authors’s great uncle)
Vasant Desai’s birth name was Atmaram, but in keeping with his refreshing demeanour, his paternal uncle Vishnu Desai changed his name to Vasant. Vasant Desai’s father lived separately from his wife Mukta Bai and did not support his family. Mukta Bai’s father Bhaskar Parulekar had been sending money until he died. Vishnu Desai established a rented residence for Mukta Bai and Vasant Desai at Kudal (10 to 12 KMs from Sonawade). It appears that Vasant Desai’s grand uncle Raghunath Desai too was living at Kudal.
Vasant Desai had two brothers. Achyut was 14 years elder to him. After his marriage he shifted to Droog town near Nagpur, where his very well- to-do in laws stayed. He was not much of financial support to his mother. The middle child, Vasudev was a smart young man and had passed his matriculation exam. Unfortunately he contracted tuberculosis and passed away. Mukta Bai and Vasant Desai were in dire state. Kudal’s school system then offered education up to fourth grade. Nobody could afford to send Vasant to Bombay for further studies. He dropped out after the fourth standard and as you have stated, plunged into the folk theatre of the region. He was brought to Kohlapur by his paternal uncle Vishnu Desai, when Vasant Desai was 16 years old. Although he studied only up to 4th grade, he was an avid reader of literature. He found shelter in his cousins loving family at Kolhapur.
Venkataramanji,
I was quite uncomfortable in finding inconsistencies in various sources I referred. Therefore, in Acknowledgement 1, I mentioned this problem, expecting that some reader would correct it. Since you have referred to Vasant Desai’s acclaimed biographies, we should take it as the last word. Thanks a lot. I have added a Note in my write up to refer to your comments #21, 23 and 25 for more authentic information about his life.)
AKji, your post has been very enlightening. It also goes to show how death is inevitable and can come in the most bizarre ways.
My knowledge of vintage era music is rather limited. I did try to listen to each of the songs you listed. I loved the one at # 7
Humse kar le preet ri jogan humse kar le preet .
The banter is so enjoyable.
I also wanted to know if Vasant Desai had any connection with Akola in Maharashtra, as a stadium is named after him there. Perhaps some knowledgeable reader would know.
Anita,
Thanks a lot. Vasant Desai’s work in Vintage Era would be unknown to most people. For me too, it has been a discovery.
Vasant Desai and Akola: I hope Arunji and Venkataramanji can throw some light on this.
AK,
I am very late. Vasant Desai and SN Tripathi were the two great MDs who mostly performed outside the mainstream cinema and both of them are my favourites. I was always sure they will appear on SOY, when is just a matter of convenience and opportune time.
I had known him as a good singer ever since I listened to his song ‘kaaraj ki jot sada hi jale’ when I saw Amar Jyoti, but this post has established him as a quality singer in my mind. Particularly the Marathi song posted by Pramod Godbole has shown his true class in that language too. I think he was principally interested in music composition and due to that he did not seek too many songs as singer. Initially I thought you should have covered him upto 1950, but since you have plans for 3 parts it is OK.
The songs presented have shown his early repertoire except that the best song of Parbat Pe Apna Dera ‘pareshan hoon’ was missing. Arunji has already posted that song. You have posted a song from his first film Shobha. There is this song ‘wo dil men humko yaad karen’ by the accomplished singer Kalyani from the same film. Here it is.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=16uiDHRg0kI
You posted the song from Ankh Ki Sharm and said that it appears to be sung by Ameerbai Karnataki. My view is also same. But if you look at video of the other song attributed to Meenakshi viz. ‘ankh milte hi muhabbat ho gayi’, it would become clear that the voice is even more close to Ameerbai in that song. Viewing this the probable theory may be that Ameerbai sang the film version and Menaakshi the record version. HFGK mostly follow the names on records or in the film booklet and they mentioned Meenakshi. Perhaps no video was available at the time they prepared the list.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VEhO317gaXQ
In the Listeners Bulletin article on Vasant Desai somebody mentioned that ghazal was not his strong point. I think he never explored his music compositions seriously. The above song will negate his theory wholly. But here I post another ghazal from Parbat Pe Apna Dera, ‘jo dard banke zamane pe chhaye jate hain’ sung by Zohrabai. The lyrics by Deewan Sharar are just great.
Sample.
‘jo dard banke zamane pe chhaye jaate hain,
wo geet toote hue dil se gaye jaate hain.’
1st antara
‘bala se dil ki lagi men tamaam jal jaayen,
is aag se kahin daaman bachaye jaate hain.’
2nd antara
‘fareb e ishq pe hanste hain jo wo kya jaanen,
ye dhokhe soch samajhkar hi khaye jaate hain.’
AKji,
I was expecting the second part on Vasant Desai, but you surprised with the 1st wrap-up of 1943.
I would simply agree with Hansji’s comment,
“This post has established him as a quality singer in my mind”
While Vasant Desai’s acting career did not last beyond 1939, it appears his singing career did not go beyond 1944. During this brief stint as a singer Vasant Desai sang 16 songs in 10 Hindi films and 21 songs in 12 Marathi films.
Hindi films:
1. Ayodhya Ke Raja (1932), one solo, GovindraoTembe
2. Amrit Manthan (1934), one solo, Keshavrao Bhole
3. Dharmatma (1935), one solo Master Krishnarao
4. Amar Jyoti (1936), two solos, Master Krishnarao
5. Wahan (1937), one solo, Master Krishnarao
6. Sant Gyaneshwar (1940) one solo, Vasant Desai
7. Sant Sakhu (1941) one solo, one duet, one triad, Keshavrao Bhole
8. Aankh Ki Sharam (1943), two solos, Vasant Desai
9. Shakuntala (1943), one solo, one duet, Vasant Desai
10. Parbat Pe Apna Dera (1944), two duets, Vasant Desai
In all,
11 solos, 4 duets and 1 triad
His own compositions 7, 4 each for Keshavrao Bhole and Master Krishnarao and 1 for Govindrao Tembe
Marathi films:
1. Ayodhyache Raja (1932), one sole, Govindrao Tembe
2. Agnikankan (1932), 2 solos, Govindrao Tembe
3. Maya Machindra (1932), one sole, Govindrao Tembe
4. Sinhgadh (1933), one solo, Govindrao Tembe
5. Amrit Manthan (1934), one solo, Keshavrao Bhole
6. Dharmatma (1935), one solo, Master Krishnarao
7. Sant Tukaram (1936), one triad, Keshavrao Bhole
8. Kunku (1937), one solo, Keshavrao Bhole
9. Swarajyachyaa Seemevar (1937), three solos, Dada Chandekar
10. Sant Dnyaneshwar (1941), one solo, Vasant Desai
11. Sant Sakhu (1941), one solo, one duet, one triad, Keshavrao Bhole
12. Shejaari (1941), 2 solos, 2 duets 1 quartet, Master Krishnarao
In all,
15 solos, 3 duets and 2 triad 1 quartet
His own composition 1, 6 each for Keshavrao Bhole and 6 for Master Krishnarao and 5 for Govindrao Tembe, Dada Chandekar 3
I feel, he should have continued as a singer as well.
Out of the 16 songs Vasant Desai rendered for Hindi films, four have been posted by you in your selection.
Posting another song rendered by Vasant Desai
Hai duniya mein paap gulami jis mein jeevan hai, Wahan (1937), lyrics NarottamVyas, music Master Krishnarao
https://archive.org/details/vintagesense_0022/0112b_hai_duniya_mein_paap_ghulami_shanta_apte_vasant_desai_film_wahan_1937_krishnarao_vintagesense_com.mp4
Hans,
It is never too late. Thanks for your detailed comments.
If we look at the character of the songs and the singers of ‘Dahej’ (1950), I agree with you that it fits more with the vintage era. That is surprising because he had already given excellent songs to Lata Mangeshkar. But I went by chronological division.
Some ghazals he composed were too good. But since we are accustomed to more of his classical based songs, someone may carry the impression about his ghazal.
AKji,
Amar Jyoti had two songs by Vasant Desai. You have posted Kaaraj ki jyot sada hi jale, a wonderful song, also mentioned by Hansji.
Posting the other song from this film.
Bhool Ja Bhool Ja Bhulau Kaise Bhulna Muhaal, lyrics Narottam Vyas, music Master Krishna Rao
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xxv1RUPXvCs&feature=emb_title
Vankataramanji,
Thanks a lot for posting ‘Bhool ja bhool ja’. I had heard this song too, but found ‘Kaaraj ki jyot: exceptional.
AKji,
Yes , Kaaraj ka Jyot is no doubt exceptional.
What about the song from Wahan?
Probably you missed my comment @ 30.
And @ 31
Venkataramanji,
I listened to ‘Hai duniya mein paap ghulami’ more carefully. Very good song. I have to compliment you for locating it in archive.org. I use this site for downloading books. They have everything.
Venkataramanji,
Thanks a lot for this detailed information. That means various sources are off. I would correct the details tomorrow Sunday evening.
Great post throwing light on the early days of Vasant Desai’s remarkable career. Most of the songs listed here may not quite possess the grandeur of Desai’s later work, but they give ample inkling of his fantastic talent nonetheless. Kudos to you. And looking forward to the 2nd part of this series.
@DrPradeepKumarShetty & AKji
Grahan was very much released, AFAIK, in the year 1972 (or 73). It definitely wasn’t shelved as the film is available for viewing even on YouTube!
An artistic film, it was made in Black and White and hence unsurprisingly flopped.
The film is a good watch though. If you are one of those who are game for slow pictures provided they are decently made, this one is worth is a dekko. Based on a complicated but nice storyline by legendary Bangla novelist Bimal Kar, it starred Nutan, Vasant Choudhury, Suhasini Mulay and Subhash Ghai (yes that famous later day director of Hindi commercial cinema!). Everyone acted well except Ghaisaab, which again is unsurprising!
The film in all probability was directed by the legendary director Prabhat Mukherjee ( who made films in 4 languages I. E. Bangla, Assamese, Odia and Hindi!!) under the pseudonym of M. Prabhat, even though the internet has wrongly attributed its direction to the film’s cinematographer and producer Arvind Kumar Sinha!
@ArunkumarDeshmukhji
Your analysis of Vasant Desai is top- notch as always, except for one small mistake. The Grand Prix at Cannes isn’t given for music. Also, the best music award at Cannes 1952 was won by Sven Sköld for The Swedish film ‘ One Summer of Happiness ‘, and not by Vasant Desai for V. Shantaram’s Amar Bhoopali.
Raunak Joy,
Welcome back again after a long gap. Thanks a lot for your generous words of praise. As a singer I find Vasant Desai superb, I don’t think he sang in the 1950s and later.
I looked up YT for Grahan. To be sure, it was there. Despite its proclamation that it was Full HD, the video and audio quality was poor. I gave up. My loss.
Thank you for sharing these songs. “Chit Doley Nit Doley” in particular is so lovely.
Although I have heard some songs from “Lokshayar Ram Joshi” before, I had not seen any part of the film(s). It was a delight to watch that lavani scene! I found myself enjoying and smiling at the entire clip, despite understanding not a word of Marathi ( ;
Shelomit,
I am happy that you enjoyed the post and the songs. Same with me, I too don’t Marathi, but the Laavani is too enjoyable.