Waheed Dehwar ji is a good friend of us and another fellow Geeta ji fan. He hails from Quetta, Pakistan and has a great collection of many rare songs of Geeta ji, especially from the early phase of her career. He has recently shared a short snippet of a lovely song ”Madhuban mein mohe na bulaao Shyaam” of young Geeta Roy. It seems like this was a non-film song recorded some time in the 40s.
We request music lovers to share full audio of this rare song.
Thanks in advance.
* This post was originally posted on December 20th, 2010. We lost some pages due to technical issue. Now we are in the process of re-publishing these articles.
It may have been nearly four decades since Geeta ji silently left for the heavenly abode but She has indeed never left our thoughts. Such was her mastery over her art that She can never disappear from our collective consciousness. Her voice had multiple facets and that rare ability to convey all merely by inflecting its pitch or tone. Her range is immense which can mesmerise anyone, totally capturing one’s attention and finally giving the listener an adrenaline rush like no other singer can. It is often that the nectar in her voice has had that effect on me.
Today was one such day,Yet Again.
I have a special fascination for the phase when She was still Geeta Roy, the singer who rose like a meteor and captured the imagination of a generation gone by.
And the song I listened to is by this very seductress.
The song stopped playing long ago but its strains still reverberate in my ears.
The honey of her voice will stay with us for ever.
After all, this was sheer magic. Hearing the song makes me miss her so much. And it is indeed ironic, that the song I heard is from a movie called “Kisi Ki Yaad”. The lyrics, composition and her singing have created a gem to cherish.
The mellifluous lyrics are by another genius long buried in the sands of time. He is the one who’s name means Pearl. Yes, it is Moti B.A. and his work complements another half-forgotten genius Hansraj Behl, who gave us many gems.
The song is “Tadapta Chhod Kar Mujhko Kahaan Tum Reh Gaye Pyaare”.
It was probably picturised on Sulochana Chatterjee’s character in the movie who is lost in the memories of her beloved. This kind of thoughts were to be Geeta’s life in the years to come. But Geeta didn’t need to go through that to lend her magic touch to the song. Come, lets see her glide through this tune.
The wonderful prelude doesn’t give half an inkling of what’s to come. The Young Geeta Roy takes charge of the situation from the word go, as She intones.
Tadapta Chhod Kar Mujhko Kahaan Tum Reh Gaye Pyaare, Kahaan Tum Reh Gaye Pyaare
Waah, Waah! Trust Geeta to give the right stress to each word and conveying the thoughts going on in the deep recesses of the heroine’s mind.
There is this discomforting ‘tadap’ in Tadapta and the feeling of separation in ‘chhod’. When She says Mujhko, it feels that all this is happening to me and when She inquires ‘Kahaan’, the mind wanders searching for where the beloved is. And the beautiful way in which She sings Pyaare. Oh, how in a word She manages to convey how deeply loved is he!
Chale Aao Bulaate hain Yeh Aansoo Dard Ke Maare, Yeh Aansoo Dard Ke Maare
With what elegance and sweetness She calls the beloved. Which beloved wouldn’t come if She called like this, with tears spawned by supreme sadness. The ‘pain’ in dard is unmistakable.
Oh Mujhko Bhoolne Waale O Mujhse Roothne Waale,
How elegantly She refers to the one who has forgotten her, probably angry over some small lovers’ tiff.
How innovatively,here, She conveys how the beloved is missed. Yes, indeed on listening, one can’t fail to realise how miserable are the poor moon and even the stars.
And again She goes in the same adorable tone,
Chale Aao Bulaate hain Yeh Aansoo Dard Ke Maare, Yeh Aansoo Dard Ke Maare
before She sings,
Mohabbat Karne Waalon Ko Nahin Kyon Chain Milta Hai
These kinds of lines would have been in so many songs but the effect She produces here has to be seen to be believed. One actually wonders, why the ways of love take away the peace.
Wahaan Tum Ho Yahaan Hum Hain Jeeyen Kaise Bata Jaa Re, Jeeyen Kaise Bata Jaa Re
Its absolutely heart rending, the manner in which She questions the separation, asking how can She live with this. It is even more amazing how She conveys how far apart the two are. ‘here’ and ‘there’ were never felt so “far” before.
No one will doubt on hearing this line that indeed life is not worth living in this state.
Tadapta Chhod Kar Mujhko Kahaan Tum Reh Gaye Pyaare, Kahaan Tum Reh gaye Pyaare
Dreamily, She calls him yet again. He mustn’t have heard else he would be here in a trance, I am sure.
Lagaaye Aas Baithi Hoon, Jalaaye Hoon Shamaa Dil Ki,
The heart burns as She narrates how the hope of return still burns in her mind and the fire burns. The way She stresses on Lagaaye, Jalaaye, Shaama, Dil all in the same breath is a sorceress at work!
O Mujhko Bhoolne waale Iddhar Bhoole Se Aaja Re, Iddhar Bhoole Se Aaja Re
Another awe-inspiring line. Nobody can show such a ‘bhool’ in two ways when She sings Bhoolne and Bhoole. Oh, won’t the beloved come by mistake just once?
Tadapta Chhod Kar Mujhko Kahaan Tum Reh Gaye Pyaare, Kahaan Tum Reh Gaye Pyaare
And suddenly comes this last line of the song filled with the same jamboree of emotions, one calling the beloved, another showing the pain and worry about where the beloved is.
Finally, I am left wondering thoughtfully, My life would have been incomplete without listening to this. This rainbow of talent alone could have produced this magic of a song. If only, She had sung this song to her real-life beloved and brought him back before it was too late. The film world would have been different perhaps.
By- Hildebrand
P.S. Thanks from the bottom of my heart to M.L. Kapur ji for taking the song out of his “vault” and Prof Surjit Singh ji for sharing it with us on his website. You both are one in a million.
Poet and Lyricist Indeevar didn’t get many opportunities to pen down quality songs. Though his career span is spread over four decades he did not get the recognition he and his talent deserved.
Born in Jhansi, Madhya Pradesh as Shyamalal he came to Mumbai with the clear intention of being a lyricist. He strugglesd for about 5 years or so he got his first big break inthe form of ‘ Malhaar’ (1951). He penned the song ‘Bade Armaan Se Rakha Hai Balam Teri Kasam’, a popular composition that retains a refreshing feel even today. But even this song couldn’t ensure instant success.
Indeevar paired with Roshan and later with Kalyanji-Anandji which gave him some commercial success in the sixties and seventies. His early work in the fifties did not get much recognition due to reasons beyond belief.
Here is a soulful lyric penned by Indivar, composed by the famous composer duo Timir Baran and S K Pal. The song featured in a film titled “Baadbaan” released in the year 1954. The song “Kaise koi jiye” from this film is relatively more popular. It was sung individually by Hemant Kumar and Geeta Dutt as a tandem song.
See these meaningful lines from Indeevar:
Aakash mein jaise chaand badhaa
badhati hi gayee man ki aashaa
saagar chhalkaa dhaara nikali
phir bhi yeh jeevan hain pyaasa
chhai bhee ghata, paani barasaa
barsaat naa poori ho paayi…
The “Queen of Bhaav Gayaki” Geeta sings this song to the perfection and the song lingers in the mind of the listeners. Truly, “har roz kahaa aise geet sunane milte hai”?
I would like to invite feedbacks on this topic from all those who like songs of Geeta ji. Here is my journey over last couple of decades or so :
When I was in the school, I started listening to Hindi film songs which were played on Radio, generally Vividhbharati. As is the case with any one who likes wordings more, I started enjoying the old songs from 50’s and 60’s. Vividhbharati used to play mostly very popular songs only those days, so the obvious favorite singers were Rafi, Lata, Kishore, Mukesh and Asha. Very rarely I used to haer songs sung by Hemant Kumar, Talat Mahmood, Manna Dey and Shamshad Beghum. Slowly I started liking these singers and then one day I heard a few songs sung by Geeta Dutt. ( I believe the songs were from Aarpar and CID.)
This was a voice different from the voice of Lata ji and Asha ji and had a unusual appeal. There was no tape recorder at home, so there was no scope of listening to her songs other than some song played on Vividhbharati. Then I discovered Radio Cylone (as it used to be called earlier, now the name is Sri Lanka Broadcasting Corporation (SLBC)). The reception was pathetic to say the least, but that was the place where I started listening to more songs of Geeta ji. Then I started listening to casettes of her songs in the tape recorder of a friend and then started liking the songs.
This liking slowly started turned into being a fan of this sweet, seductive voice. My friend had a 2-in-1 (Radio and Tape Recorder) and started recording songs of Geeta ji for me. Slowly we got a tape recorder at home and then I began to listen to more and more of her songs.
The transition in her voice from “Mera sundar sapna beet gaya ” to ” Apne pe bharosa hain toh yeh daav laga le” and from “Har juban ruki ruki” to “Merra naam chin chin choo” was simply amazing.
Then began hunt to get more and more songs of Geeta ji. Remember, there was no internet, no mp3, no CDs those times. Buying a LP disc player or 78 RPM record player was not feasible, hence all the efforts were into audio cassettes. There was a music shop nearby who had big catalogues of old Hindi film songs and used to record cassettes for Rs.30 per 90 minute cassette. I used to spend hours to find the songs sung by Geeta ji and make a list to record cassettes. Used to hunt many music shops in the city to get rare/unheard songs of Geeta ji (ex: Dekho ji dil na todo, nahin toh main ro doongi – Captain Kishore).
I had collected cuttings from many newspapers and magazines where some information was available on Geeta Dutt and Guru Dutt. Even these got lost in passage of time..
The joy of listening to her songs in black and white movies in the theaters was un-parallel. Saw Aarpar, Mr and Mrs 55, Pyasa, Shararat, Sadhana, Yahudi, Sahib Bibi aur Ghulam, Bhai Bhai and many more in theaters whenever they were released.
The joy of getting hands on a cassette “Duets to remember – Talat Mahmood and Geeta Dutt” was beyond any comparison. It took some time to groom into and love the peppy numbers like “Oh arabpati ki chhori” from Makhkhichoos.
By this time, I had over 40 different cassettes having many songs of Geeta ji spread over. The cassettes were not long lasting and it was too late by the time I realized it. Then job, marriage and moving from one place to another place happened. Still I was holding on to (and listening to) whatever songs of Geeta ji I had in the good cassettes.
I was working in a factory in a remote place and had a few Bengali colleagues. On my request one colleague bought 2 cassettes of Bengali songs of Geeta ji when he went to Kolkata for yearly vacation. That time I loved most of those songs, even when I wasnt knowing the language. The songs like “Nishi raat banka chand” were not less apeealing than “Kaise koi jiye” aur “Chand hain wohi”
I think the love for Geeta ji’s voice overpowered all the other factors..
I even had 2 cassettes of her Gujarathi songs (One was titled “Ateetna Sambharana” if I remember it correctly. This cassette had the song “Rakhada ramakada”, the original of “Tora manawa kyon ghabarayen”)
I moved into IT and then we moved abroad and came back after over 2 years. By this time, the cassettes had all gone bad.
Then there was PC and laptop and some songs in MP3 format with me. Then I bought this 5 CD set Legends which had about 100 songs of Geeta ji. Bought another CD with relatively rare numbers in London (Southall for those who know).
I was under the impression that Geeta ji had sung about 300 or 350 songs based on the limited knowledge I had.
Then I joined http://hamaraforums.com, an online forum dedicated to Hindi Film music . It was sort of turning point in my life. I got to download and listen to rarest of the rarest songs, and many songs which I had heard before on SLBC (Ex : Nazdeek na aana, Unse kehna ke woh pal bhar ke liye aa jaye, Kehne ko hain tayyar etc.)
Then I got about 80 songs from http://www.hamaracd.com in the form of 5 CDs which I ordered online. Now any compilation of her Hindi songs I see has more or less the same songs which I already have in my collection courtsey all the generous and kind souls at HF.
I still remember the efforts and pains I went through those early years to get to listen to songs of my favorite singer.
Finally we were able to launch the website http://www.geetadutt.com in her honor on 23rd November 2008.
Geeta Dutt is a unique female playback singer in a way that she was master at conveying the right mood and feel of the song. She is truly the queen of “Bhaav Gayaki” (the capability to convey the feelings that the song seeks to express). For any song that just requires a singer to put lots of heart in it, Geeta was the singer for it.
I was listening to a relatively rare number from Nirmal (1952) composed by Bulo C Rani.
“Thee aur woh mulaqaat woh…”
This is a simple sweet song where the girl is remembering her meeting with her lover. She sings
Hum tumhaare saath ho, tum hamaare saath ho
haathon mein haath ho, kuchh aankhon se baat ho..
ho re..
Wow what a sweet rendition! Without going overboard, Geeta and the composer Bulo C Rani convey the right mood of the song.
Here is another example of her Bhaav Gayaki, now a duet with singing star Surendra Nath
Kehne ko hai taiyar
magar kaise kahein hum
karate hain tumhein pyaar
magar kaise kahein hum
One must listen to this beauty to appreciate how she conveys the romantic feelings without expressing them! Those were the days when the love and its expression was so subtle.
The other day I was listening to this sweet song and realized some specials from the S D Burman – Geeta Roy team. The film Armaan was released in the year 1953, so this song was possibly recorded some time in the year 1952 when Geeta ji was still young Geeta Roy. She was singing:
Yeh Hansi, Yeh Khushi, Laakhon Baras Yoon Hi Aaye
Yeh Hansi, Yeh Khushi, Laakhon Baras Yoon Hi Aaye..
Naujawaani Teri Geet Gaati Rahe, Zindagi Naaz Se Muskuraati Rahe
Naujawaani Teri Geet Gaati Rahe, Zindagi Naaz Se Muskuraati Rahe
Dum-B-Dum Roop Ki Dhoop Chadti Rahe, Har Ada Teri Jaadu Jagaati Rahe
And after this line she sings “Yeh tera…baankpan..sab ke dilon mein samaaye”. The way she takes a lovely pause after the word “Yeh tera” and “Baankpan” is a treat to the ears.
Wish the lines she sung in this song would have become true in her life and brought the smiles and happiness for thousands of years for her!
And how about this unusual un-characteristic of a song from the pen of Kavi Pradeep ji.
Its a fun-filled duet of Rafi sahab and Geeta ji from the film School Master (1959) composed by Vasant Desai.
Listen to the way she sings:
Na na na na darr lage mohe dear..
koi dekh lega jee tallo tallo
Simply superb! It is sure that Kavi Pradeep had more range than he is given credit for.
For Geeta Dutt, it did not matter who the composer was or who she sang for. It did not matter if it was a big budget film or a low budget costume drama. Geeta Dutt sang every song with the passion and that special Geeta Dutt touch. Right from her early years, she was extremely good at conveying the right emotions of the song.
Another example of a lesser heard song. After Burmanda and Lata had some misunderstanding, Burmanda started giving most of the songs to Asha. For the film Laajwanti, all the songs filmed on Nargis were sung by Asha.
Geeta Dutt gets a chorus dance song :
Aaja chhaye kaare badara,
chham chham barase nain kajara re
The song is filmed on 2 dancers and Geeta sings for both of them.The way she conveys the feelings of this song is simply superb!
Those who know me know that I generally avoid talking about the songs Geeta has sung for Guru Dutt films. Not that I do not like them, but many times those are the only ones talked about. So I make it a point to focus the attention on her songs outside Guru Dutt films domain.
This time, for a change, I am referring to a melancholy from Guru Dutt’s superhit film Aarpaar (1954). Composed by O P Nayyar and penned by Majrooh sahab, this song is filmed on Shyaama.
Ja ja ja ja bewafaa
kaisa pyar kaisi preet re
tu naa kisi ka meet re
jhoothi tere pyaar ki kasam…
As most of us know, this song is a tandem of the more popular duet “Sun sun zaalima” sung by Mohd Rafi and Geeta Dutt. I have read somewhere that the tune of the duet is heavily influenced by some popular western song. But the same article mentions that the sad song “Ja ja ja ja bewafaa” is an original masterpiece from OPN.
The same singer who sang “Arre na na na na tauba tauba” for the same film Aarpaar was singing this sweet and melodious sad song. I get goose bumps when I listen to the way she sings the opening lines.
Generally the words in OPN’s songs have a heavier stress, but this song has like a few words lightly whispered..
A beauty of a song!
Another excellent example of Bhaav Gayaki is the songs Geeta Roy has sung for the film Jogan. Some one has said that if Saint Meerabai was to come back to life, she would have taken her “Avtaar” as young Geeta Roy. All the songs have been sung with such feel.
The bhajans are always talked about more. Here is a relatively light song :
Jaraa tham jaa tu
aye saawan
mere saajan ko
aane de
The sweetness in Geeta’s voice and the smile on Nargis’s face is like just made for each other! What a melody..thanks Bulo C Rani for giving these gems to us.
The magic of Bhaav Gayaki is not restricted to film songs alone. Here is an excellent example of a non-film song composed by V Balsara.
Gaayein gaayein hum, naye taraane gaayein
A must listen for music lovers. Just close your eyes and you can imagine Geeta Dutt literally swinging on this tune.
