Rarely Heard Melodies

Introduction

“Heard melodies are sweet, but those unheard are sweeter” are famous lines from the poem Ode on a Grecian Urn by John Keats (1796-1821). At one level, these lines seem to suggest that less-known songs may be more melodious than the hits. But what Keats meant to convey was something different. He was deeply impressed by the engravings on the urn depicting a scene of merry-making with musicians playing on their instruments. Of course, their music can never be heard, only imagined. Keats felt that the ‘unheard’ music of the urn was superior to any ‘heard’ music of the real world.

These nuances are better conveyed in Hindi by the three-fold classification of Sune-Kamsune-Ansune. Between the heard and the unheard, a third category of less frequently heard music is introduced. Radio Ceylon of the Sri Lanka Broadcasting Corporation (SLBC) is doing yeoman service to Hindi film music by airing innovative programs through the day and releasing YouTube audios of the same within a few hours. A popular daily program is Purani Filmon ka Sangeet (PFS). On Wednesdays, a special version of PFS with the self-explanatory title ‘KamSune AnSune Gaane’ is aired. This blog is based on a few KamSune Gaane – Rarely Heard Melodies – that I chanced to listen last week from various SLBC programs.

Badal Jaye Duniya Na Badlenge Hum – Talat Mahmood – Tanvir Naqvi – Chitragupta – Captain Kishore (1957)

I had only a faint recollection of the tune of this song but was sure that I had not come across a film with the title “Captain Kishore”. I now find that there was even an earlier film with the same title that was released in 1940. The song is rendered effortlessly by Talat. Chitragupta’s tune and instrumental score is comparable to the best that has been provided to Talat by music directors like Anil Biswas and Khayyam.

Mujhko Sanam Teri Pyarne – Manna Dey & Asha – Nazmi Kanpuri -B N Bali – Flying Rani (1957)

Till I heard this song, the only Bali I had associated with Hindi films was the husband of Vyjayanthimala. I had not come across a music director named B N Bali. The lyricist was equally KamSune – Nazmi Kanpuri. Like Capt. Kishore, the title of the film Flying Rani was also new to me. But what a beautiful song! Manna Dey is as romantic as he was in Shree 420 or Chori Chori. Asha is at her coquettish best and they combine so well to produce this lovely duet.

Aankh Milane Ke Liye – Geeta Dutt – Rajendra Krishan – Madan Mohan – Chandan (1958)

Madan Mohan and Rajendra Krishan pick up from where they left off with Geeta Dutt in Bhai Bhai (1956) and “Aye Dil Mujhe Bata De”. In the next few years, Madan Mohan had established himself as a ghazal specialist with memorable scores in films like Dekh Kabira Roya (1957) and Adalat (1958). Yet he surprises you here with the versatility of this foot-tapping number by Geeta Dutt which O P Nayyar may have been proud to count among his creations. The dexterity with which he handles the guitar and the catchy beat in this song made me wonder if R D Burman’s “Pyar Hua Hai Jab Se” from Abhilasha (1968) was not inspired by this song.

Mori Atariya Pe Kaga Bhole – Meena Kapoor – Bharat Vyas – Madan Mohan – Aankhen (1950)

This is an earlier creation of Madan Mohan that reminds you of the Noor Jahan hit “Jawan Hai Mohabbat” from Anmol Gadi (1948). Madan Mohan handles the orchestration very well. I have included the song here to show how Meena Kapoor’s voice resembles that of Geeta Dutt. Meena Kapoor went on to marry legendary music director Anil Biswas in 1959.

O Haay Koi Dekh Lega – Lata & Talat – Shailendra – Salil Chowdhury – Ek Gaon Ki Kahani (1957)

The film had a good music score of which two Talat solos – “Raat Ne Kya Kya Khwab Dikhaye” and “Jhoome Re” – were big hits. This melodious duet is in the KamSune category. The folksy tune Salil Da comes up with is a throw forward to his “Zulmi Sangh Aankh Ladi Re” from Madhumati (1958). Talat is the hero in the movie and the duet is picturised on him and Mala Sinha.

Tum Aur Hum – Geeta Dutt & Hemant Kumar – Bharat Vyas – Hemant Kumar – Fashion (1957)

Geeta Dutt and Hemant Kumar have sung many unforgettable duets, quite a few of which have been composed by Hemant Da himself. This lilting piece is among their few KamSune songs. Most of us associate Bharat Vyas with mythological films. It comes as a surprise that he has penned this song for a society drama. In the second stanza, he comes up with the words “Koyaliya Kuhu Kuhu Bole, Kaliyon Ne Ghunghat Kole”. Hemant Da rises to the occasion by making Geeta Dutt go into a high pitch to sing the words Kuhu Kuhu followed by instrumental sounds of the koel. Simple technique, but very effective.

Jadugar Balma – Shamshad Begum – J Nakshab – Nashad – Naghma (1953)

When I listened to Talat’s “Tasveer Banatha Hoon Tasveer Nahin Banthi” from the film Baradari” (1955) years ago, I was under the impression that the music director was Naushad. It was only later that I realised that the composer was Shaukat Nashad, a different person altogether. It was a pleasant surprise to listen to another great song from him in the voice of Shamshad Begum. The song has been tuned very well and Nashad seems to have been inspired by Husnlal-Bhagatram’s “Chale Jaana Nahin” from Badi Behan (1949). Shamshad is melodious and you realise how it took an artist of the calibre of Lata to eclipse her.

Kah Ke Bee Na Aaye Tum – Rafi – G S Nepali – C Ramachandra – Safar (1946)

Rafi and C Ramachandra may not have done too many films together but I understand that Safar was their first. In this song, the musician and the singer make you regret why they did not collaborate more often. For a relative fresher, Rafi is very self-assured and brings out the meaning of the lyrics easily. Ramachandra’s wizardry is evident right from the instrumental prelude at the start. You can go from there to “Suhani Raat Dal Chukhi” that Naushad was to tune years later for Dulari (1949). Some feel that the underlying folk tune of this song is the inspiration for O P Nayyar’s “Dil Leke Daga Denge” in Naya Daur (1957). Surely a masterly piece that deserves to be heard more often.

Conclusion

In the three-way classification, KamSune songs will obviously outnumber the hits and duds. So, it will not be possible to list all of them even for a defined time period. As it happens, the songs I have chosen fall in the twelve-year span from 1946 to 1958. Though many songs from the list are by well-known singers, lyricists and musicians, I am happy that I have been able to re-discover ‘KamSune’ singers Meena Kapoor and Shamshad Begum, lyricists J Nakshab and G S Nepali and composers Bali and Nashad. Theirs are not the unheard melodies of Keats’ imagination but songs that we can seek out and listen to. Radio Ceylon is always at hand.

I leave you to enjoy the songs by clicking on the first line of the song that has been highlighted for your convenience and discover more KamSune Gaane for yourself. Happy listening!

S. Krishna Kumar
31st May 2022,
Bengaluru.
Blog # 40

Presence, Absence

Introduction

It is a little over two months since my brother Viji passed away. In this period, my thoughts have turned frequently to matters connected with life and death. What’s life? Is it merely the span of years, months and days given to you from birth to the last breath? Does life have a qualitative dimension? What is death? Is it merely your exit as a mortal from this world? Don’t we continue to live in the hearts and minds of our family and friends? Wrapping my mind around some of these issues helped clarify my own thinking to some extent and hence this blog.

Life

“Everything that can be counted does not necessarily count; everything that counts cannot necessarily be counted” said Albert Einstein. One’s life may certainly be measured in terms of the number of days from birth to death. But what is immeasurable is the impact of that life on others. Hence one’s life gets a contextual meaning only in terms of the lives of others, be they family, friends or acquaintances.

Secondly, we often equate life with a person’s career. This is inadequate. All of us are much more than engineers, doctors, bankers, teachers, artists or political leaders. We are also more than fathers, mothers, brothers and sisters for the whole is often more than the sum of its parts. At death, it is the personal qualities that are recalled, not merely one’s profession and the relationships.

All this make us realise that the ‘Life’ of a deceased person cannot be objectively measured but only subjectively felt by each one who was touched by that ‘Life’ itself. Going by the outpouring of grief at his passing and subsequent phone calls and messages, I have come to realise that Viji had a ‘Life’ that was larger than his life. Some of his attributes and acts of kindness came as a revelation even to me who was a sibling very close to him.

Death

If your ‘Life’ does not belong to you, can you at least call death your own? I am afraid not. As your life belongs to others, they ‘claim’ it at your death. The immediate family ‘claims’ it to perform the last rites and rituals. The extended family and others ‘claim’ it later for recollection and grieving for a longer period.

The impact of one’s ‘Life’ on others may be broadly similar depending on the personal qualities of the deceased person. But the impact of death is individualistic. The spouse, children and grandchildren feel the maximum and most direct impact, particularly if they had all been staying together. A part of the extended family and friends attend the last rites and rituals but the impact is less as the circle widens to cover others. As the months roll by, everyone carries on with their own lives.

Life and Death

By our upbringing and values, most of us understand of life and death in terms of arrival and departure, entry and exit or similar imagery. While these have some validity, they provide inadequate insight about the impact of death. To begin with, most persons grieving at the death would not have been there at the birth. Moreover, the theatrical image of exit fails to capture the final and irrevocable nature of death. In fact, for a few days after Viji’s death, Seetha and Ranjini carried the impression that he was still around and Vilasini even felt that she had heard his voice. How then does one come to terms with the suddenness of death and its finality?

Presence and Absence

It seems to me that one can make sense of life and death in terms of a ‘presence-absence’ framework. When someone is alive, he is present in your life and when he is no more, he is no longer part of your life. Presence here is more than the physical form. It is defined in terms of relationships. Thus, Viji was ‘present’ on the morning of 12^th March as a husband, father, grandfather, brother and cousin. By noon that day, he was no more. He would be ‘absent’ from all our lives from then on.

How does this construct help, you may well ask. I feel that the life-death format is too stark and mutually excluding in the sense that a person may either be living or dead. It does not allow for ‘life’ after ‘death’ as it were. In the following paras, I explore this thought a little further.

Absence in Presence

In real life, one cannot always expect to be with one’s family. At some point, your career postings and moves have to factor in the education of your children and the career of your spouse. In 1992, Viji was transferred to Namakkal and after his initial stint there, he worked at rural and semi-urban branches in nearby districts. During this period, Seetha and Ranjini stayed on at Namakkal. The husband and father may have been nominally absent but the head of the family and companion was ever present.  Viji was home at weekends and for festivals and family occasions. So, the ‘absence’ was not continuous and hence could be coped with.         

Presence in Absence

Viji’s absence now is not of the earlier ‘temporary’ kind. It is painfully too permanent. But is it? What about the memories he has left behind? What of everyday life where his tastes, preferences and routines continue to remind Seetha, Ranjini and the family of his ‘presence’ – the side of the bed he slept on, his seat at the dining table, his favourite TV channels or restaurants? Would they not remember him and recall his memory at every function or outing from now on? Would Viji not be living vicariously through the family at these events?

Sorrow and Regret

These are two emotions that will continue to haunt everyone about Viji’s death, triggered naturally by his obvious physical ‘absence’. But what of his continued ‘presence’ in spirit? Sorrow is ever present at death, as no person is ‘old enough’ to die as far as the family is concerned. The regret can pertain either to the circumstances of the death or to the good times that could have been enjoyed with Viji had we not lost him. The regret that Viji did not live to enjoy healthy and happy times with the family after all the lockdowns and repeated hospitalisations of 2021 is unanimous. But, as Soren Kierkegaard observed, life may be understood in retrospect but it has to be lived only prospectively.  

Lessons for Us

Viji’s unexpected death was a reminder that many of us who are in the ‘departure lounge’ may also get the boarding announcement any time or even ‘board’ without formalities. It was a reminder of our vulnerabilities, of our own mortality. Every day I listen to music, watch a YouTube programme in Tamil or read the newspaper, I am reminded of Viji and some precious memory of our lives together.

I am also slowly re-setting my priorities and relationships with people on the basis of how Viji did it all his life – being gentle and considerate to all, helping anyone he had the opportunity to, going beyond his means, if need be, never talking about himself or about what he had done but listening to what the others were telling him, and so on. These are not prescriptions from motivational books but Viji’s own ‘lived’ experience.

When Viji is thus ‘living’ for me by example, how can I believe that he is dead? For me Viji will live for ever. He will always be a ‘presence’ even in his ‘absence’! Even today, I, along with the rest of the family are thinking that he would have turned 74 today! Happy Birthday, dearest brother!   

S. Krishna Kumar

18^th May 2022,

Bengaluru

Blog # 39