Yeh Jeevan Hai: Songs on Life and Its Myriad Hues

An abstract representation of the journey of life (Pic created via Bing Co-pilot)

Can anyone actually define ‘life’?

A story goes that a Russian, not completely at home with his English, getting off a train in London accosts a senior gentleman passing by on the platform and asks him, “What is time?” The venerable man looks seriously at the Russian, and says, “My friend. You have posed an imponderable question,” and walks on.

Life too is like that; undefinable but imbued with countless hues and with as many varied descriptions of it as those narrating the course it takes. Somewhat like the parable of the six blind men and an elephant. Or like the Akira Kurosawa film Rashomon, where various characters provide subjective, alternative and contradictory versions of the same incident.  Everyone experiences it but few can come to grips with it and express it for what it truly is.

Is life, then, merely a fleeting and unfathomable, not to say perplexing, panorama of our own individual emotions, experiences and expressions? Lyricist Anand Bakshi wrote: “Aadmi theek se dekh paata nahin.  Aur parde pe manzar badal jaata hai” (Aap ki Kasam/ RD Burman/ Kishore).  Life is a constant flow, and one needs to keep running just to stand still at one place.

Our brilliant wordsmiths of the Hindi film industry, endowed with a  rich and diverse array of shaayari and kavita, going under the title of ‘Lyricists’, have compiled thousands of songs to suit every conceivable situation in films and in ‘Life’.   From moments as diverse as heart breaking tragedy to hilarious comedy, with varying emotional situations between, our song writers have written on every aspect of  ‘Life’  with elan and flair. Often, these songs appeal to us more than their tunes and the music, or even the action on screen. One can make several compilations of songs from our films on themes covering every facet in our jeevan and how we choose to live it with equanimity, or just keep lamenting and despair at it.

In the songs that follow, an attempt has been made to study how diversely our film lyricists have treated the subject of jeevan in all its moods and expressions.

Savour the words in these songs. Such mellifluent poetry and lyrics that mesmerised us ended with the golden era of Hindi film music, and is now history. Fortunately for lovers of that music, there is a huge army of followers of such songs and the cult remains alive.

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Yeh jeevan hai
is jeevan ka
yahi hai, yahi hai, yahi hai rang roop

Piya ka Ghar (1972) Laxmikant/ Pyarelal / Anand Bakshi / Kishore Kumar

This typical Anand Bakshi song worships life and is positive about life despite its highs and lows. A simple treatment in words (a speciality of Anand Bakshi’s song writing) of the complexities that life and living can throw up and how maintaining composure under all conditions can help overcome such upheavals. Basu Chatterji used the song to encapsulate the trials and tribulations of a newly married couple (Anil Dhawan and Jaya Bhaduri) trying in vain to find some private moments in a sizeable joint family in a cramped one-room tenement in a Bombay chawl. But the song, with its sweet and simple takes on life, transcends the situation and becomes a treatise on life itself.

Sung in a soft, crooning style by Kishore Kumar, the song is a virtual lesson in living and in treating equably the contrasts that one has to encounter during the passage of one’s life. The song has such an appeal that 50 years after the release of Piya ka Ghar, the song was used as a background song frequently in the movie Unchai (2022), featuring Amitabh Bachchan, Anupam Kher, Danny Denzongpa and Boman Irani with Sarika to heighten the impact of the situation on screen.

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Jeevan hai madhuban
Tu is mein phool khila

Jasoos (1957) Anil Biswas / Indeevar / Talat Mahmood

Written by the poet Indeevar (Shamlal Babu Rai), this beautiful song suggests how to live life by avoiding its pitfalls:

Kaanton se na bhar daaman
Ab maan bhi ja
Thokar se sambhal khud bhi
Auron ko bhi raah dikha

Be positive and help yourself and others too while you are at it.  An Anil Biswas special with his favourite singer Talat.

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Jeevan ke safar mein rahi
milte hain bichad jaane ko

Munimji (1955) SD Burman / Sahir Ludhianvi / Kishore Kumar

Sahir Ludhianvi here bemoans the frustrations of falling in love with a heartless “Roop ki daulatwali“.  The song, with Dev Anand on a teasing and leg-pulling mood, enjoying a long drive with a ‘roothi hui’ Nalini Jaywant, is somewhat off the ‘Sahir Ludhianvi genre’. But in this lighthearted song, Sahir still manages to introduce a shade of the disappointments in his own life – “Milte hain bichad jaane ko”. The tinge of cynicism, lamenting the frailties and foibles of women loved is unmissable but the song creates a mischievous, happy mood, strung in a lively tune supposedly inspired from The Mexican Hat Dance.

Whatever may be the mood and setting of a song, Sahir had a penchant to always inject into his songs, a touch of his obsession with two themes closest to his heart – the social inequities of rich versus poor and the idea of the man frustrated by unrequited love, although apparently, it was he who had more to answer for, as far as the latter issue was concerned.

Whether it was his repugnance for a world for which he had no use (Jala do ise phoonk dalo yeh duniya; yeh duniya agar mil bhi jaaye toh kya hai) or his pledging his fidelity to a stony, unresponsive lady love (Kisi patthar ki moorat se, mohabbat ka irada hai), he was prone to ventilate these personal frustrations in his songs, although his genius enabled him to mask the ‘personal’ element very cleverly in the song.  The picturisation of the song Jeevan ke safar mein rahi, shows a  smiling and fun-loving Dev Anand, whose mien and words are only half serious but could also be interpreted as a diatribe against unreliable life companions.

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Jeevan ke din, chhote sahi
Hum bhi bade dil wale

Bade Dil Wala (1983) RD Burman / Majrooh Sultanpuri / Kishore Kumar.

Written only as Majrooh could, this robust song, set to a waltzing tune with Rishi Kapoor beginning on the piano and later swaying with an unsure Tina Munim and Kishore Kumar singing with gusto advocates the basic philosophy of ‘living life in the now’, not worrying about the unknown future and letting the chips fall where they may. An “eat, drink and be merry” philosophy. Life has its own mysterious ways to mend what it breaks and contemplating on what may happen is a wasteful exercise – Kal ki hamein, fursat kahan, sochein jo hum matwale.

Interestingly, there are three versions of this song in the film: a Kishore solo, a Lata and Udit Narayan duet and Udit Narayan with Baby Preeti. The film is supposed to be a remake of Kati Patang with the roles reversed. Majrooh Sultanpuri very successfully created a mantra for living life as it should be lived and not clutter one’s head with something over which no one has control. Elsewhere, for the film Pukar (2000), Majrooh (with Javed Akhtar) drew upon this theme with the song, Que Sera Sera. Jo bhi ho so ho. Humein pyar ka hua asra. Phir chahe jo ho.

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Jeevan se bhari, teri aankhen
Majboor karen jeene ke liye

Safar (1970) Kalyanji-Anandji / Indeevar / Kishore

A song filled with pathos rendered on screen by Rajesh Khanna, suffering from terminal cancer, is dedicated to Sharmila Tagore as an ode to her lively eyes and her pristine beauty which he, an artist, has captured vividly on canvas. Indeevar has painted in words the ultimate tribute to a woman’s inner and external beauty and serenity. The song brings out how her persona is the sole raison d’etre of Rajesh Khanna’s life force, despite the foreknowledge of his imminent end.  The film won the Filmfare Best Director ward for Asit Sen. All the songs of Safar are outstanding for their music as well as their lyrics by Indeevar.

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Jeevan ke har mod pe
Mil jaayenge humsafar

Jhootha Kahin Ka (1979) RD Burman / Gulshan Bawra / Asha Bhosle and  Kishore Kumar

A typical party song, with Rishi Kapoor swaying on the floor with Neetu Singh (who, he was to marry shortly later). This is a lively, fast paced song, an Indian pop as it were, with Asha going Pa  ra pa, pa ra pa, pa ra pa and bringing it off with elan, as only she can.

The essence of the song is summed up as

Jeevan ke har mod pe.
Mil jaayenge humsafar.
Jo dur tak saath de.
Dhoonde usiko nazar,

It strikes a positive note on life and on finding a steadfast permanence in one’s life partner, keeping villains with roving eyes at bay. Pankaj Udhas similarly cautions in, Aaiye baarishon ka mausam hai;  a ghazal of his:

Waqt bewaqt, ghar se mat niklo, ghar se mat niklo 
Har gali aashikon ka mausam hai

Gulshan Bawra (Gulshan Kumar Mehta) wrote about 240 songs for leading composers in films like Satte pe Satta, Khel Khel Mein, Kasme Wade, Upkaar, Zanjeer, to name a few. He also acted in a few films. During the making of Satta Bazaar, the distributor of the film took one look at his wild hair and dress and burst out: “Yeh to bawra dikhta hai“, and promptly named him ‘Gulshan Bawra’. The name stuck. But his songs were a beautiful reflection of life in all its colours – remember the deeply philosophical Kasme wade pyar wafa sab. Baatein hain, baaton ka kya?

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Mera  jeevan kora kagaz
kora hi reh gaya

Kora Kagaz (1974) Kalyanji-Anandji / M G Hashmat / Kishore Kumar

Mera jeevan kora kagaz, the theme song of Kora Kagaz and expresses the void in the life of its protagonist, Archana (Jaya Bhaduri), who is caught between a dominating mother (Achala Sachdev) and her egotistical husband Sukesh (Vijay ‘Goldie’ Anand).

Kishore Kumar’s deeply emotive rendition makes one empathise with Archana as the background song laments the past and her own role in it. Hashmat’s lyrics aptly project Archana’s plight of being rudderless and without a purpose in life – Na dagar hai na khabar hai. Jana hai mujhko kahan and sums up with the question Kiski hai yeh bhool.  Such is the song’s impact that anyone who listens to it begins to find parallels in his or her own life.

Kora Kagaz had only three songs, all written by a relatively unknown lyricist M G Hashmat. Hashmat has written 202 songs for 51 films but he may well be remembered only for this song; such was the impact of the timeless song.

Kora Kagaz is based on a Bengali story Saat Paake Bandha by Ashutosh Mukhopadhyay. The story was earlier made into a Bengali film with the same title, which fetched Suchitra Sen the Best Actress Award at the Moscow International Film Festival. Jaya Bhaduri’s understated portrayal of Archana won her the Best Actress Filmfare Award.

Lata Mangeshkar won the National Award for Roothe roothe piya, while Kalyanji-Anandji won the Filmfare Award for Best Music. One of the remarkable women-centric films, Kora Kagaz looked at life from the woman’s point of view.

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Jeevan ki bagiya mehkegi,
lehkegi, chehkegi

Tere Mere Sapne (1971) SD Burman / Kavi Neeraj / Kishore and Lata

Tere Mere Sapne is a Goldie Anand film with its story based on A J Cronin’s The Citadel. Goldie also plays a supporting character in the film. This song, picturised on the lead actors Dev Anand and Mumtaz and sung as a duet by Lata and Kishore, reflects the happy and contented, earlier part of their life together with Dev as a doctor in a small mining town in rural India where medical amenities and facilities were almost primitive. They are expecting a child and the song is a finely woven web of words that expresses their joy and expectations of how their life will take a turn with parenthood, bringing them even closer together and happier. SD Burman composed a simple and appealing tune for this song that is hummable and reaches out to every filmgoer.

Kavi Neeraj’s lyrics strike a chord with every family expecting a child, visualising a glorious future for the expected one and for themselves, watching him grow and bringing him up. The song represents the acme of familial happiness and contentment.

As Henry David Thoreau, famously said, “Happiness is like a butterfly; the more you chase it, the more it will elude you, but if you turn your attention to other things, it will come and sit softly on your shoulder.”

In an interview, Neeraj said: “Once, Dada (SD Burman) asked me to write a song to convey the happy sentiments of a pregnant woman expecting her first child. I gave him Jeevan ki bagiya mehkegi. He was so elated that he began jumping with excitement. The happiness that shone in his eyes was the greatest award I got in my life”.¹

“For Jeevan ki bagiya mehkegi, Burman Dada did not have a structured plan. He invited Shiv ji (santoor maestro Shiv Kumar Sharma) and flute exponent Pt Hariprasad Chaurasia to play as they liked and backed them up with just a tabla.”²

It is not often that we are so blessed as to receive a simple but melodious tune, embellished with maestros playing the accompanying instruments santoor and flute, voices of singers such as Lata and Kishore, and the words of Kavi Neeraj in a song as in Jeevan ki bagiya.

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Tujhe jeevan ki dor se baandh liya hai

Asli Naqli.(1962). Shankar-Jaikishan / Hasrat Jaipuri / Lata and Rafi

Directed by Hrishikesh Mukherjee who always gave prominence to songs and music in his films, this song is picturised on Dev Anand and Sadhana with each complimenting the other for having brought sweetness and sunshine into their lives. Dev regards her as bound to him by his love for her being his life’s anchor. She in turn expresses her love for him as being equally beholden to him Teri khushiyaan aur gham, sar aankhon par.

Interestingly, this very song was used later by Hrishikesh Mukherjee in the film Guddi (1971) in a dream song sequence featuring Dharmendra. He often did this kind of switching in some of his other films as well. Of the seven songs in Asli Naqli, five were written by Hasrat Jaipuri and two by Shailendra.

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Tum bin jeevan kaise beeta

Anita (1967) Laxmikant Pyarelal / Raja Mehdi Ali Khan / Mukesh        .

Directed by Raj Khosla and meant to be the last of a ‘suspense’ trilogy that began with Woh Kaun Thi, and progressed with Mera Saya, both featuring Sadhana in the female lead, Anita brought back the Woh Kaun Thi lead pair – Manoj Kumar and Sadhana.

But, such consistency was absent here as far as music is concerned. Laxmikant-Pyarelal replaced Madan Mohan, who did the honours in the earlier two films, and the result shows. Both Mera Saya and Woh Kaun Thi were widely lauded for their musical content and also proved to be runaway hits at the box office. Anita failed badly.

The songs of Anita are pedestrian, with the exception of this song written by Raja Mehdi Ali Khan. It has a lilting (although sad) tune, sung beautifully by Mukesh when his voice was still sweet, especially for songs of this genre. Manoj Kumar reminisces over the past when he and Sadhana were together.

Raja Mehdi Ali Khan, who had a long association with Madan Mohan, has penned some pensive lines for this song:

Gham ke bhanwar mein, kya kya dooba. 
Poochho mere dil se

Shot in picturesque Nainital with the beautiful Hanuman Garhi ashram and temple giving a sylvan backdrop, the song is a highpoint in this lacklustre film.

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Jeevan chalne ka naam
chalte hain subaho shaam

Shor (1972) Laxmikant-Pyarelal / Inderjeet Singh Tulsi / Manna Dey, Mahendra Kapoor, Shyama Chittar

An inspirational song about the journey of life where one must keep surging ahead day and night, this was written by ‘Rajkavi’ Inderjeet Singh Tulsi.

Tulsi was a very distinguished poet and was awarded the title ‘Rajkavi’ by the Government of India in 1962 and the Padma Shri in 1966. He was working in the Railways at Ferozepur, Punjab and was a regular at Kavi Sammelans. His recital was noticed by Shri Jagjivan Ram, then Minister for Railways, who got him to Delhi on transfer. Tulsi prospered there in his pursuit of the Arts, earning many laurels.

Manoj Kumar once happened to hear his poetry and got him to write two songs for Shor.  In the film, Manoj Kumar is supposed to cycle nonstop around a circle for eight days. Jeevan chalne ka naam sung by Mahendra Kapoor (for Manoj Kumar), Manna Dey (for Prem Nath) and Shyama Chittar (for Jaya Bhaduri) provides the inspiration for this cycling feat.  (Shyama Chittar  is the sister of Suman Kalyanpur).

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Jeevan dor tumhi sang baandhi 
Kya todenge is bandhan ko

Sati Savitri (1964) Laxmikant-Pyarelal /  Bharat Vyas / Lata.

Cast in a classical mould (Yaman Kalyan) this Lata song has sublime lyrics written by Bharat Vyas in his typically chaste Hindi, going on a beautiful tune and remains one of Lata’s evergreen songs. It elevates the expression of permanence in a bond to a panegyric and leaves the listener with a feeling of serenity.  This song was chosen by Lata herself as one of her top favourites from her 25 years of singing for films.

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Jeevan se na haar, jeene wale

Door ka Rahi (1971) Kishore Kumar / Irshad Jaleeli Mehlon /  Kishore Kumar

This film is another ‘one man army’ enterprise of Kishore Kumar where he wore several hats: Story and screenplay writer, producer, director, music composer, actor and singer. This was one amazing man. The story is of a man committed to welfare of the society he lived in and in seeking the mystery behind ‘life’ and how it has to be lived. The film could well have been a reflection of Kishore’s own outlook and mission in life that he may have wanted to live out but could not. As director of this film, a sequel to his own Door gagan ki chaon mein, Kishore has tried to convey a philosophical take on life, its purpose and loneliness; the dilemmas that one faces and the choices that one needs to make in the long passage of life.

The ‘Kishore Kumar Ganguly’ that we see in this film is very far removed from the personality of Kishore that all filmgoers are familiar with and is a serious, sober and sensitive person, whose mission is to improve the lot of his fellow human beings. The film has, besides Kishore himself, his brother Ashok Kumar and son Amit Kumar.

Jeevan se na haar, jeene wale is an inspiring exhortation to everyone to face life and not be intimidated by the inevitable adversities that are bound to occur. Considered together with another famous song from this film, both written by Irshad:

Panthi hoon main, us path ka,
ant nahin jiska. 
Aas meri hai jiski disha,
aadhaar mere man ka,

One is left wondering if the songs sum up Kishore’s angst and contrition about what he desired from his life but was denied to him by destiny.  According to some accounts³ Kishore was very depressed during the making of this film which also prolonged the production time. It is a paradox that someone like Kishore Kumar, who seemingly was the epitome of fun, artistic creativity of a high order with a remarkable instinct with a keen sense of comedy, totally dedicated to provide jest and laughter to filmgoers, was in his personal life, a disillusioned and a very sad person. C’est la vie.

In fact, the title song of Door ka Rahi also reflects a similar disenchantment with life. Written by Shailendra, it has these beautiful lines that speak about the lonesome wayfarer :

Mud ke na dekhe, kuchh bhi na bole
bhed apne dil ka, raahi na khole
Aaya kahan se, kis desh ka hai
koi na jane, kya dhoondhta hai
Manzil ki usey, kuchh bhi na khabar
phir bhi chala jaye, door ka raahi

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Jeevan se lambe hain bandhu
Yeh jeevan ke raste

Aashirwaad (1968) Vasant Desai / Gulzar / Manna Dey.

This song, an emotional journey in the night, is picturised on Ashok Kumar (Jogi Thakur, a simple man with high principles, loved by his villagers) and Ashim Kumar, the bullock-cart driver who is taking Jogi Thakur back to his village. The bullock-cart driver sings the song which reflects on life, its ups and downs and how one must not stop even when faced with the crossroads.

Raahon se raahi ka rishta kitne janam purana
Ek ko chalte jaana aagey, ek ko peechhe aana
Mod pe mat ruk jaana bandhu
Do raahon men fanske
Ye jiwan ke raste  

Jogi Thakur is a man who stood staunchly by his principles all through his life and making the last journey of his life to meet his beloved daughter.  The song, beautifully picturised in subdued light by director Hrishikesh Mukherjee, is an almost philosophical discourse on how relationships and living should be negotiated. With composer Vasant Desai and Gulzar coming together with Manna Dey, the song is memorable for the way it comes as a climax to the award-winning role enacted by the thespian Ashok Kumar.

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Jeevan hai ik sapna,
madhur suhana sapna

Honeymoon (1973) Usha Khanna / Yogesh / Asha and Kishore

Honeymoon is a lighthearted comedy, directed by Hiren Nag who was associated with many successful films of Rajshri productions.  This lively song, purportedly shot in a running train, is a study in contrasts about what one dreams of and expects from ‘Life’ and what one may actually receive, but must learn to take it on the chin:

Sukh me jo hai woh ye soche,  
dukh na koi aaye. 
Dukh se hara jo bechara,  

dhoondhe sukh ke saaye.
Hamko kya ghum hamne  jab,

hardam sikha hai hansna. 
Jiwan hai ek sapna.   
Madhur suhana sapna

With music composed by Usha Khanna, this song was written by Yogesh who always wrote his songs in chaste Hindi and this song is no different.

I have reserved the ‘Best’ for the last.

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Duniya rang rangeeli Baba.
Duniya rang rangeeli

Dharti Mata (1938) Pankaj Mullick  / Pandit Sudarshan / Pankaj Mullick, Uma Shashi and KL Saigal

No compilation of songs on any theme can be complete without this triad song (the first ever experiment with triad in Hindi film music) composed by the doyen Pankaj Mullick. When we are contemplating on what jeevan means to us and how we negotiate our lives through all its thorny paths and floral vistas, this song from Dharti Mata is a veritable manual on life and living, with everything that is positive about them. The song talks about life as an exhilarating painting holding out hope, assurance, and strength every step of the way. We feel thrilled listening to the first two antaras sung by KC Dey and Uma Shashi when KL Saigal pitches in with the third antara which describes life as a boat in the river of sorrow where hope serves as the oars:

Dukh ki nadiya, 
Jeevan naiyya. 
Aasha ke patvaar lage. 
O naiyya ke khene wale.
Naiyya teri paar lage. 
Paar basat hai desh sunehra 
Kismat chhail chhabili Baba   
Duniya rang rangili  

It is a very melodious tune and is also unique for the times in which it was created (1938) considering that even until the 1980s, when some of the earlier era composers were still around, there were not many songs that had the mukhda, and all their three antaras in different ragas sung by three different singers. Pankaj Mullick innovatively created this beautiful song that not only inspires and motivates but also falls soothingly and euphoniously on our ears. It is also a song that lifts one’s spirits when one is in the blues. I heard this song first in 1939 and still listen to it as often as I can; preferably the first thing in the morning.

“While the film had KC Dey singing for himself in one of the antaras – Ye duniya ek sundar bagiya – the record version has Pankaj Mullick’s voice. This was not a very rare thing. The KL Saigal’s songs in My Sister were also recorded in Pankaj Mullick’s voice.”⁴

Lyricist Pandit Sudarshan (born Badrinath Sharma in 1896 in Sialkot, now in Pakistan) wrote 40 songs for Hindi films in the late 1930s and early 1940s. He began his career in Calcutta in 1932 (where else? Calcutta is certainly the fount of film music, even ‘Hindi’ film music!) and was known as a story, screenplay and dialogue writer, director, and lyricist for films.  These included many popular films such as Dhoop Chaon (1935) which was the first film in India to use playback singing; V Shantaram’s Padosi, Sohrab Modi’s Prithvi Vallabh and Sikandar and many other successful films. He wrote many books, plays and stories. His story ‘Haar ki Jeet’ about Baba Bharti, his horse Sultan and Daku Khadak Singh became iconic. He was once specially invited by Mahatma Gandhi to Wardha and exhorted to write books in Hindi to popularise the language.

Life and its myriad hues have been explored with such love and finesse by our poets and lyricists that these songs continue to be a reservoir of inspiration, reflection, introspection, philosophy and above all,  a celebration of being alive. Let me conclude with these timeless lines by Irshad Jailili in Door Ka Rahi, that can inspire even the most despondent heart to look at life with hope and purpose.

Behti nadiya tujhko yaad dilaaye
Samay jo jaaye kabhi laut na aaye

Deep to woh jo hawa mein jalta jaaye
Khud ko jalaakar jag ko raah dikhaae

Tu badhata chal
Tu lehara kar
Duniya ke sukh dukh ko bisara kar

Jeevan se na haar jine wale
Baat meri tu maan mere matwale

REFERENCES:

1. Remembering poet and lyricist Neeraj, who gave us some great lyrics and enduring ideas
2.  Incomparable Sachin Dev Burman and Yesterday’s Melodies Today’s Memories Launched in Mumbai and Delhi: A Report
3. Kishore Kumar: The Definitive Biography by Kishore Valicha
4. Bengal’s Music and Its Influence in Hindi Film Music

Watch this space for the second part of this series by NS Rajan – an exploration of songs on Zindagi

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Pankaj Mullick: The Doyen of Film and Non-Film Music

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Musical Rhythms of the Running Train

SN Tripathi – His Music Still Lives On