The Poetry of Hindi film songs: 1

There are times when Hindi film (Bollywood) songs have made deep impressions on us: by their lyrics, by their catchy/folksy tunes and their music (not to mention the vibrant colors and the cavorting actors). I thought it would be worthwhile to capture the magic of some songs that strike my fancy. This is going to be a long drawn out project...and I hope I'll be able to chronicle some of the vital ingredients that mesmerise us and seem to speak to us when we listen to a particular song...

So here goes:

Tu Kahe Agar

Majrooh Sultanpuri | Mukesh | Naushad | Andaaz (1949)

The lyrics in Hindi:

Tu kahe agar jeewan bhar, main geet sunaataa jaaoon
man been bajaataa jaaoon

Aur aag main apane dil ki, har dil mein lagaataa jaaoon
dukh dard mitaataa jaaoo, too kahe agar…

O, main saaj hoon tu saragam hai, detee jaa sahaare mujh ko
mai raag hoon, too beena hai, jis dam tu pukaare mujh ko

Aawaaz mein teree haradam aawaaz milaataa jaaoon
aakaash pe chhaataa jaaoon, tu kahe agar

In bolon mein tu hee tu hai, main samajhoon yaa tu jaane
In mein hain kahaanee meree, in mein hain tere afasaane

Tu saaz uthhaa ulafat kaa, main dhun pe gaataa jaaoon
sapanon ko jagaataa jaaoon, tu kahe agar…

The rendition in English:

The lyrics to this song are quite simple,
being a straightforward expression of love and
everlasting devotion.

“If you say so, I’ll serenade you the entire life (with my songs)/
I’ll play the pipes to woo you

And I shall light every heart with the fire that leaps in my heart/
I’ll join everyone in sorrow and joy, if you say so…

I am the melody and you, the alphabet of the music,
keep giving me your support/
I am the raag, you the veena, and thus you summon and evoke me

I’ll keep mingling my voice with thine/and shall o’erspread the sky,
if you say so…

In these words, there is just you; I understand or you know
In them is my story, in them your tales

Begin the theme of love, I’ll sing along to the melody
And keep awakening the dreams, if you say so…”

The scene:

This song opens in what might be called a parlor-room setting, with
at least two interconnected rooms in view. Dilip Kumar sits at a
piano in the room farther of the two rooms.The room immediately
closest to the audience has a sprinkling of guests in view,
the ladies dressed in saris, some with even their heads covered,
whereas the men are smartly turned out in suits.

A lithe dancer in a white sari, the pallu of which is tied around
her waist, comes to the foreground swaying to the song, dancing in
from the room with the piano to the drawing room where the guests
are seated.

In the background, in the other room, we see a spiffy Dilip Kumar
singing the song in earnestly sweet manner to Nargis, who is
leaning on the piano while the lady-dancer sways with
considerable grace and even a Middle-Eastern sensuousness to
the melody. With brisk movements she twirls with outstretched arms,
then wiggles her waist ever so slightly and even leans backward
in distinctly belly-dancing fashion. At the same time, the way she
works her hands seem to hark unmistakably to Indian dance-traditions.

Dilip Kumar, looking slick and boyish with thick,
brilliantined hair and dressed in a white jacket and a bow-tie, soulfully
addresses the song to Nargis, who is dressed in a salwar-kameez.
Nargis occasionally looks towards the dancer girl with benign
interest and then smilingly,looks back at Dilip. The dancing girl
seems to portray the chief emotions of the song,at times assuming
a look of infinite hurt.

The music is sprightly; it’s pace quickening to the sound of castanets and the
manjira and then lapsing into some very traditional sections with what seems
like the use of ghatam, tabla and even the ektara.