This is a tribute to our beloved singer Geeta ji from a veteran music lover Shri Vipin Mago. We are thankful to him for writing this excellent article on our special request.
Early last year , as I opened my email one morning I found a friend’s forward of the Geeta Dutt-led chorus in Lajwanti titled Aaja Chhaye Kaare Badraa. I had heard many GD songs until then but not this one. As I sipped my tea, I felt two paradoxical sensations: one, of thrill and joy and the other of extreme mellowness, the kind of feeling that one might get after a rich cocktail– a nasha really. On the one hand, one felt like getting up and dancing; on the other, it was as if one was being lulled into a realm of sweet dreams. The song came on a cloudy and chilly morning, but filled me with warmth all over and quickly replaced my scowl with a smile on my face. It was as if the song had heralded the bright sunshine of spring. The effect began as soon as GD uttered the thematic phrase “aaja chhaye.” I didn’t even have to wait for ” kaare badraa” to follow, but when that part did follow my joy was doubled instantly. Soon the delightful “yaaaa yaaaa” call followed in the song and I was drifting toward space .
My day had well begun; I felt as if I would have nothing but goodwill toward all mankind, at least that day.
I even repeated a cliche to myself: Have I died and gone to Heaven? As I reflected on this experience, I concluded that Geeta Dutt’s voice had such a blend of sweetness , intoxication and exotic flavor that just a couple of words from her lips were enough to put any music lover in her thrall.
Such thrill and joy-filled songs have long been considered Geeta Dutt’s musical signature or her trademark. Other illustrations of this style are abundant in her repertoire. For example , listen to Yeh Lo Mein Haari Piya, Babuji Dheere Chalna , Aa Sapne Tujhe Bulaayein, Baanki Adaaein Dekhnaji Dekhna, Jaata Kahaan Hai Diwaane, Rangeele Rangeele meri nazron ke do jaam pile, Majhi Albele, Haule Haule Hawaa Dole, More Saiyaan Gori Baiyaan, and you will see that each transports you into the same nasha-filled euphoria and you just don’t want to let it go!
Her signature-style though such songs may represent, they do not exhaust the range of her talents. We her devotees know very well that she could sing deeply spiritual hymns, semi-classical songs, minstrel songs, festive folk songs, joyful as well as melancholy romantic songs, mujra songs, lullabies , and ghazals with equal effect on us. The only genre in which she has not done many songs is Qawwali. There is one from the early film Hamari Manzil (1949) with Mohd Rafi and S D Batish. Then there is one from the film Awaara Abdullah released in the year 1963.
Let me turn my attention to a few of her songs in these other categories.
I consider myself a secularist in terms of not belonging to any organized religion. Yet when someone sings a bhajan with melodiousness, it resonates with some hidden spiritual core in me. Among the GD bhajans that I have long adored are Aeri Mein to Prem Diwani in Jogan and Darshan Pyaasi Aayi Daasi in Sangdil. Both are sung in kirtan style, a genre in which I consider GD next only to Juthika Roy and on a par with Lata Mangeshkar. Fellow bhajan lovers may recall Lata Mangeshkar’s hymn from Nau Bahar with the same initial words as GD’s in Jogan. Whereas LM’s song is saturated with sweetness and is aptly slow in tempo, GD’s hymn is both sweet and fervent and so is sung at a faster tempo. Honestly, I can’t choose between them. They are both beloved to me and have become spiritual bookends for me.
The Sangdil bhajan appeals to me for the way GD and Madhubala become one in the movie. It’s as if a total fusion took place between the two. It bespeaks a quality of all great playback singers and movie stars.They each study the context and the role thoroughly and throw themselves with their heart and soul into it. The Sangdil song is very precious to me on that score.
One song , a GD-led chorus, that seems to straddle the spiritual-secular boundary is Daaro Re Rang Daaro Re. Again, the moment GD starts with those initial words , she pulls me in irresistibly toward her own and her troupe’s invisible presence. One feels like playing holi, not only with Nargis and her troupe for whom the song is sung, but with GD herself and her co-singers. Such is the spell their voices cast on me. GD and Bulo C. Rani of course set the tone and the chorus follows most enchantingly. It’s a rapturous experience for me.
Just for a slight diversion from solos, I would like all of us to listen to two duets from the 1955 Devdas, sung by GD and Manna Dey. One is Aan Milo Aan Milo Shyam Saanware and the other is Gori Saajan Ki Ho Gayi. Two outstanding features make me overjoyed to listen to these duets. One is again the total identification between the on-screen singers and the GD-MD duo. The other is the authentic representation of the Bengali baul (minstrel) tradition in a Hindustani movie. That credit goes equally to both the director and composer as always ,but what a vocal rendition the two singers gave! They take us to the heart of the vanished world of Bengal’s itinerant singers.
Some simple songs would be nowhere today except for the magical touch that GD gave them through her voice. Consider Kabootar Aaja Aa Jaa Re sung for Bhanumati in Mangla. Don’t you feel like humming along with GD even though your mind says its lyrics are rather pedestrian and not worth much?
In the same movie, listen to Jhanan Jhanan Jhanwa and see GD in greater glory. In this sweet , playful romantic song, GD sings in two different tempos and glides through them like a vocal ballerina- or figure skater – without the slightest hint of faltering anywhere along the way.
Turning to pensive or melancholy songs of love, loss and longing, how about her Rut Phiri Par Din Hamaare from Pyaasa? Doesn’t she move you to the point of making your own eyes moist? Might this one not go on her ten-best list? As alternatives I would suggest the sad-sweet song Chand Hai Wohi that GD sang for Meena Kumari,Mera Sundar Sapna Beet Gaya, and Kaise Koyi Jiye in Baadbaan.
And speaking of Meena Kumari and GD, can anyone not love the visual-vocal fusion between them in the song Raat Mohe Meetha Meetha from Tamaasha ? There’s hardly a week when I am not drawn to this song at least once for the innocence of this love song, which Meena Kumari expressed so perfectly on the screen and GD sang with matching sweetness off the screen.
Though I don’t understand Bengali except in occasional words and phrases, I find GD’s love song Tumi Je Amar the epitome of pathos-filled sweetness among all the songs I have heard from her repertoire.
Transferred to a lori, her ability to project a different kind of love, that of a tender mother for a baby, is likewise movingly shown in the Bengali song Ghum Majhi Oi Haal Dorecche sung for the beloved Suchitra Sen.
Mujra song , anyone? Listen to GD’s Maane Na Maane Na from Savera and tell me if you don’t think it measures up to the best in the genre.
As if all this range was not enough, GD also held her own beautifully when it came to classical songs. Who can ever forget her classical song Baat Chalat Meri Chunari? This is another GD song I must listen to on a weekly basis to refresh and replenish the musical part of my spirit.
Finally, let me say a word about GD’s ability even as a 17-18 year old girl fresh out of Bengal to step into another language, Punjabi, and sing a song that would be called a spectacular home- run in baseball terminology. Punjabi listeners feel their jaws drop when they hear GD ( Geeta Roy then) sing Laal Rang Di. I have heard great non-Punjabis like Lata Mangeshkar, Asha Bhonsle, Raj Kumari Dubey, and Suman Kalyanpur give excellent Punjabi renditions, but in mastering the requisite accents, none can show a candle to GD. In fact, make Punjabi speakers listen to this song without revealing the singer’s identity, and I am certain they won’t be able to tell it’s a non-Punjabi singer. Being sensitive to the nuances of sounds, all great singers have the potential to cross linguistic boundaries very successfully, but no singer I know did it so beautifully and consummately that early in her career.
Trust me on this one, for I am a native speaker of Punjabi.
GD gave music lovers enormous joy in her very short but resplendent life. Her songs remain her precious legacy to all of us. As long as our music lives, her fond contributions will live too–that is to say, for ever!
Tags: Geeta Dutt, Geeta Roy
Dear Vipin Mago ji,
Excellent,Great, Really Great.
God bless you.
Thank you, Dr. Saini, for your warm appreciation.
Dear Sir,
One of the best in totality about Geetaji, hardly any point left. A beautiful tribute.
Fantastic writeup.
regards
Great job vipan ji and very informative, i watche couple of videos and they were beautiful.
regards
khalid
Dear Mago ji,
I wish I was there with you when you were writing this great article on a great lady called Geeta Dutt to observe the emotions on your face.
I don’t have words & capacity to match you in expression. I can only say that if you leave your job, any TV Channel or Filmi Magazine will hire you for your expression power & love for Hindi Film Music.
I am going to download all those songs mentioned by you & hear them/see them vis a vis your description.
Thank you very much for this treat. I too love Geetaji’s singing with the same degree of intensity.
Once I left one response somewhere on YT…It was something like this….There must be something Divine in these great film personalities that God took them away so early for something much higher…Geeta Dutt, Guru Dutt, Sanjeev Kumar, Smita Patil, Madhubala, Nutan, Mohd. Rafi, Mukesh, Shailendra, Madan Mohan, Jaikishan….
Best Wishes.
Bharat Desai
I am most grateful to Mr. Khalid Mohammed, Mr. Rawat, and Mr. Desai for their appreciative responses to my tribute to one of the finest singers ever to appear on the stage of Indian movie music.– VCM.
Sorry for the error above. I should have said Khalid Mahmood.-VCM.
Excellent blog of rare beautiful songs presented in the way only you Vipan ji can present. I am not familiar with most of the songs, but I listened to most of them. Lata ji in her shradhanjali tribute sang “Kaise Koi Jiye” I have heard before and the original is just as good. The song from movie Pyasa I had not heard before, but another song from the movie “Aaj sajan mohe” was not included. Was it not sung by Geeta Dutt?
Dear Mr. Vipin Mago:
Recently, I had the pleasure of reading this ‘A tribute from a Music lover’ . I was very impressed by your writing and your style of expression, especially because I am also a big fan of Geeta Dutt’s melodious voice.
I am the designer, editor and publisher, of an annual community magazine and I am writing to seek your permission to publish your writing in this annual publication, titled, “India Link”
India Link is a Grand Rapids, MICHIGAN based non-profit Indian community organization catering to the socio-cultural needs of the Indian community settled in Western Michigan. The basic concept of India Link organization is to identify and connect with a community where the Indo-American spirit comes alive. It is a tradition and fundamental theme of India Link to connect, communicate and celebrate. Practically, all people from South Asian countries, all NRIs and others who have established a connection with India because of their ancestry or relationship with India’s culture & heritage, education, business, travel, politics, religion & traditions, outsourcing links or merely an interest etc. may all be part of India Link. This may also include Americans and other nationals who have Indian spouses or have adopted children from India.
We are currently in the process of inviting, collecting, formatting article/news/information/poetry etc, for publication in the planned Holi/Baisakhi issue of India Link Magazine-Spring 2010. Any articles or writings, especially of interest to the Indian community always make a good addition to this traditional magazine of our community.
Your article about Geeta Dutt has been admired and we will be honored to publish it in the forthcoming issue of our community magazine. Kindly let me know if we can have your permission to publish it.
Thank you and regards,
Kuldip Bagga
Dear Sudhir ji
Many thanks for reading this lovely post by our dear friend Shri Vipin ji. We are glad that you enjoyed these songs, though not heard before. Most of the credit for this goes to our good old Vividh Bharati. VB always had a a great “Fascination for famous five” (Lata, Asha, Rafi, Kishore and Mukesh) and it always ignored other talented artists like Geeta, Hemant, Talat, Manna Dey, Rajkumari, Durrani, Rajkumari, Shamshad to name a few.
About the song “Kaise koi jiye”. In my honest personal opinion, the original is at least a thousand times better than the “Shraddhanjali” rendition, if not more. Those who appreciate the Bhaav Gayaki will understand what I mean.
Please keep visiting our blog page and our main website http://www.geetadutt.com to explore many hidden gems of Geeta Dutt.
Warmest Regards
Parag
To Sudhirji : Many thanks for your kind appreciation.The songs I chose were really a sample. There are more than a hundred of GD songs that I have loved. I just wanted to give a flavor of the variety of her repertoire. On this site actually you may find many more of GD’s outstanding songs plus some very informative articles about her life and career. I also enjoy Aaj Sajan Mohe that you cited. Best wishes.–VCM.
To Baggaji: Thank you for your very nice response.Please contact Paragji for permission, for he is a member of the team that manages this site. As far as I am concerned, the more people come to know about Geeta Dutt’s music , the better– through whatever forum. Best.–VCM.
dear vipan da,
thank you for this beautiful article with the video songs on geeta dutt which was a real treat to read and to watch . you introduced me to a few songs i had never heard , a few i had forgotten and delighted to be reminded of , and a few which are just engraved in my heart and hearts of millions of her fans . your expressive writing is just a small glimpse of the passion you have for hindi film music .your writings are so clear and informative, showing your great interest and knowledge which you share exuberantly with your other viewers .
the first song ”aaja chhaye kaare badraa ” from lajwanti ,’aa sapne tujhe ” from hamdard , ”rangeele rangeele”, majhi albele ” from baaz . qawwaali, , ”kabootar aaja ”,jhananjhanan,were completely unfamiliar.
i was delighted to hear ”haule haule hawaaein dole ”after ages . thanks for reminding me of this beautiful song .
”aeri main to prem diwaani ”is as you said in kirtan style but divine .
i enjoyed ”darshan pyaasi ” from sangdil and was amazed to see madhubala dancing on this bhajan which i had never imagined and truly doing justice to this song with her beautiful enactment .
daaro re rang daaro re i was reminded again after a long time .
the two duets from devdas were always popular.
i am surprised that i never new about the song ”rut phiri par din hamare ” from pyaasa which is v sad and v beautiful .
”chand hai wohi” is excellent ,pathos filled and beautiful song from parineeta which i don’t remember.
watching a very young meenakumari in ”raat mohe meetha meetha ” from tamaasha was a pleasant surprise which i did not know about before.
tha bengali songs were sweet to listen although i don’t know bengali .
the classical and mujra song were nearly forgotten because they have not been heard often .
the punjabi song you selected was a pleasant surprise as i have never heard punjabi songs .
ye lo main hari piya , babuji dhire chalna, baanki adaayein dekhna ji dekhna, jaata kahan hai deewane have always been v popular and
the two duets from devdas were immensely popular,especially aan milo aan milo shyam saanware , and ”kaise koi jiye ” from badbaan has been engraved on my heart ever since i heard it more than twenty years ago .
thanks so much for sharing with me this beautiful ,informative and enjoyable video essay . you really have a way with words and seem like a music and film critic .
thanks for this very beautiful tribute to geeta dutt .
with warm regards
sincerely yours
aparna
plz may i know why my comment is awaiting moderation
Hi Aparna ji
It takes some time for us to review the comments and then approve them. We sincerely appreciate your detailed response and the appreciation of lesser heard songs of Geeta ji. We hope you will continue to visit our main website and this blog page on regular basis. Also let your friends know about the same.
Warmest Regards
Parag
Thank you, Dear Aparna, for such a detailed and appreciative commentary. I am delighted to know that the article gave a booster shot to your admiration for Geeta Dutt’s music .
Dear Sir,
Great tributes indeed from music lover in the form of an article. The article has an excellent support with 22 videos on Geeta Dutt songs portraying varied genre of music our beloved singer excelled.
I am always a fond lover of songs by Geeta Dutt. In fact I had subscribed to the channel from Parag ji (wwwgeetaduttcom) on YouTube. My love for her songs is indicated in my having selected 97 songs already. It has increased to 109 now after reading your article.
When I found your article it was a sheer delight.. I was continuing reading and viewing videos placed below under different genres. Listening to songs after reading your critical appreciation had special effect. I found it a great journey full of sweet memories. Her songs with star cast video presentation viewed simultaneously with article reading was a treat to the ears, eyes and mind alike.
I have great excitement and jubilation, be it Amaanat (1955) – Baanki Adaayein Dekhna Ji ; Haule Haule Hawayen Dole – Geeta Dutt – Non Film; Jogan – Ae Ri Main Toh Prem Deewani; Sangdil (1952) – Darshan Pyaasi Aayi Daasi (this has special effect thanks to Quartet combine as you rightly commented Sir); Devdas (1955) – Aan Milo Aan Milo (I remember the folklore sung in Bangla by S D Burman); Pyaasa – Rut Phiri Din Par Din Hamaare (mystery shrouds regarding its non inclusion in the movie!); Parineeta – Chaand Hai Wohi; Geeta Dutt – Kaise koi jiye – Baadbaan; Harano Sur (Bengali – 1957) – Tumi Je Amaar; Ladki (1953) – Baat Chalat Nayi Chunri Rang Daal; Geeta Roy .. Panjabi Song.
The language factor – lack of knowledge, does not come in the way of appreciation and enjoying the music – be it Bengali or Punjabi, credit goes to the excellent singer for this soothing effect. Punjabi song (from outside wwwgeetaduttcom channel and provided by Mr. Ilyas Mirza dedicated lover of music, on YouTube) is a culmination of her exhibition of talent. Being a native speaker of Punjabi you have adjudged it as outstanding.
Your article and song videos have made it an absorbing session with enthralling experience. The music lovers in general and Geeta Dutt fans like me in particular are benefited greatly.
With warm regards.
Sincerely yours
R U Mahale
Thank you, Mahaleji, for your very thoughtful, detailed feedback. Glad you enjoyed the cross-section of GD’s repertoire that I assembled with the help of Paragji.
Dear Ramchandra ji
The YT channel which is primarily created to promote our website and Geeta ji’s legacy is totally contribution of our dear friend Anu. I am a mere coordinator for the activities related to this channel. We are glad that music lovers like you are enjoying the songs posted on our channel. I join you in thanking Anu for all the hard work and efforts she has been doing for this channel.
The current article, its idea and the execution, all of it is done by Vipin ji. It is absolutely kind and generous of him to write this for our blog section in spite of his busy schedules. The Geeta Dutt fans team is very thankful to you sir. It is our honor that we were able to host this “Bhaav bheeni shraddhanjali” on our site.
Please let more and more of your friends know about our main website and this blog section. We will keep adding more and more content to both of them on a regular basis. We will always try to add some interesting features on the birth anniversary of Geeta ji.
We are grateful to all the friends who have helped in various ways to make this website a reality.
Best Regards
Geeta Dutt fans
This is a momentous blog and I fancy in reading it every morning depict consonant’s gratitude you
appropriate sharing it!
Shree Vipan ji.
I throughly enjoyed your article on our adorable legend singer Geete Dutt ji who sang in her unique voice which is husky and lilting.Like M.D. O.P. Nayyar ji’s music ,I find her songs very youthful and freash,even her sad songs.
You have written in your style with your trademark which I have never any where found. Your writting keeps me glued to your comments whenever I read below any video on Youtube . In fact any channel on Y.T. becomes very very impressive where you have commented.
Here, on Geeta ji’s songs, you have described them so beautifully with words like ”intoxication, exotic flavour,joyfilled,G.D. s musical signature, tradmark, that I first read your article and then listened to G.D.’s songs. I am really proud of your command over writing.I hope my fav. songs of Geeta ji were included like”Nind Pari.” ”Chale aao. koi durse aawaz de.” Do chamakti ankhomein.”Aye re geer geer paheli paheli badriya”Aye dil muje bata de.” the list is endless. But i am happy that with this article I am able to listen to her songs which I had never heard.
Congratulations for writing so beautifully.Can I share my meeting with this great singer? I was about 10 years old when at my brother’s college function I heard her live singing ”Nind Pari”. She was so tall and very charming. In audiance Meena ji was sitting next to me I can never forget this for a moment.With my best wishes and respect. Sarla.
Sarlaji, thank you for warmly appreciating my commentary and for sharing your personal memory of listening to Geetaji’s live concert. The other songs you mentioned are of course wonderful. My essay just chose a few varied examples to highlight the diversity of GD’s singing career.–VCM.
To “louis vuitton”: Glad the songs in the essay brighten your mornings everyday. Thank you for your appreciation.
Namastey Vipinji,
it was a great and wonderful experience sharing your profound and wonderful feelings about Geetaji’s performances…..a great singer…..thanks for sharing so many beautiful songs. I specially love her song from’Sahib, Bibi aur Ghulam’…..’koi door se aawaz de….’ and all the songs from the movie’Lajwanti’. Your knowledge is amazing……thanks for sharing…….
best wishes and regards,
Manisha
Thanks, Dear Manisha. Glad to have your appreciation and to know of your own admiration for GD’s songs.
Vipin ji,
thank you for your invitation.
sometimes truth hurts…but
it is the truth.
The song I remember as well I love so dearly,
Preetam Aan Milo.
with this song, GD took the risk to take over C. H. Atma.
original singer C.H. Atma for an HMV recording, non-filmi song.
Lyricist: Mrs. Sarojini Mohini Nayyar (wife of OPN)
Mrs. OPN wanted CH Atma for her song and she was happy about the out come of that song.
So when OPN wanted GD to sing his wife song Mrs. OPN was furious and upset.
But after listening GD singing Pretam Aan milo for Mr. & Mrs. 55.
Mrs. OPN has nothing but the praise for GD.
I hate comparison but this comes to my mind:
“Na jao saiya chhuda ke..” and ..”piya aiso jiya mein..”
A very parallel story of her life with choti bahu of “Sahib Bibi Aur Ghulam”
Both ladies suffered the infidelity of the husbands.
Both ladies found the solace in alcohol.
We should talk this too because it is the truth.
she died on July 20, 1972 of cirrhosis of the liver.
Thus you may say:
Mera sunder sapna beet gaya,
mein prem me sub kuchh haar gayi..
bedard zamana jeet gaya…
sad but the truth…
truth must be told.
~Derubala.
Thanks, Derubala, for your feedback. All that you mention is true and in fact is covered in other articles on the site. Do check them out. In my essay, I only wanted to focus on two things: to highlight some of the less remembered GD songs along with some eternal favs , only as a cross-section of her bigger and richer repertoire . The songs you mention are all good and I continue to enjoy them along with the ones I chose to feature here. Secondly, I only wanted to talk about her music because others have already written about her life here in other articles. Best.–VCM.
Vipin ji,
Thanks for your kind reply.
Yeah, I understand your points.
Your points are well made, and duly noted, but actually, by making my point I mean to say,
when we talk about professional achievements than we should talk about the personal dishearten as well; it’s two sides of one coin, also it gives human elements to the story.
that is all.
thanks.
take care.
~Derubala
This post is one of the most authentic, heart-warming and artistic posts written on Geeta ji and her lesser heard songs. We are extremely grateful to Shri Vipin ji who took time from his busy schedule to write this specially on my request. We only hope that more and more music lovers will begin appreciating these lesser heard gems of Geeta ji. Only then probably they will realize the spectrum, range and versatility of this fabulous and talented singer who never really got the due she deserved.
Here is the missing link to the first song/video from Lajwanti –
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zl1OKcBdFOs
If it may be of help, I shall send links to other missing songs. This blog is so precious, and, there is need to replace the missing songs.
Regards.
Good article! We will be linking to this great post on our site.
Keep up the good writing.