Raaten thhin chaandni joban pe thhi bahaar
Posted on: March 22, 2016
This article is written by Sadanand Kamath, a fellow enthusiast of Hindi movie music and a contributor to this blog. This article is meant to be posted in atulsongaday.me. If this article appears in sites like lyricstrans.com and ibollywoodsongs.com etc then it is piracy of the copyright content of atulsongaday.me and is a punishable offence under the existing laws.
Forgotten Melodies of the 1940s – 22
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Music and songs are integral parts of films made in the Indian sub-continent. Even before talkies came into being, musicians used to play musical instruments sitting close to the screen. Sometime recorded songs were played as film’s images got projected on the screen in the silent film era. The main reason as to why music and songs contents in films of Indian sub-continent are comparatively high as compared with those of films of other countries is that we are musically inclined people in our day to day life. Joy, sorrow, romance, seasons, activities, festivals etc are occasions for music and songs for us. Our folk music and songs are testimony to the importance of music in our life.
Songs are good substitutes for breaking the monotony of dialogues in films. In fact, songs in most of the early Hindi films were in continuum with the story in them. Sometimes, a song in the film would appear to be a better medium of expression than a mere one line dialogue. For example, the famous dialogue ‘mere paas maa hai’ in the film ‘Deewaar’ (1975) is an all time hit dialogue with the audience at large because the dialogue conveys the importance of mother vis-a-vis the materialistic assets. But for the front benchers, it requires more elaboration. Hence, the verse ‘ae maa teri soorat se alag bhagwan ki soorat kya hogi’ in the song usko nahin dekha hamne kabhi in ‘Daadi Maa’ (1966) is a better punchline for such audience for a given situation in the film than ‘mere paas maa hai’.
Sometime, there are situations in story of films where the lover is too shy to express his love for his beloved. In such situations, a song of storytelling using metaphors serves the purpose. One of the most popular song in this genre is ek thha gul aur ek thhi bulbul – the ‘gul’ (rose) and ‘bulbul’ (nightingale) being the metaphors for the lover and beloved, respectively. As they say, ‘samajhdaar ko ishaara kaafi hai’ (for wise person, a hint is enough). But in the film ‘Jab Jab Phool Khile’ (1965), Nanda did not get the hint of Shashi Kapoor.
I am presenting a somewhat similar song from an obscure film MERE SAAJAN (1941). The song is ‘raaten thhi chaandni joban par thhi bahaar’. The song is sung by Rafique Ghaznavi and Ameerbai Karnataki on the words of Waheed Qureshi. The song uses the metaphors of ‘phool’ (flower) with ‘Bhanwra’ (bumble bee) probably for wife and husband respectively. Just like a bumble bee can not remain committed to one flower, probably in the film, husband might have deserted the wife for another woman. My guess is based on the title of the film.
The film was produced under the banner of Empire Pictures and was directed by A H Essa. The star cast included Jayant, Rajkumari, Urmila, Wazir Mohammed Khan, Putlibai, Shayani, Shankar Mirajkar, Miss Gulab, Agha etc. The film had 7 songs composed by two music directors – Vasant Kumar Naidu and Khan Mastana. But I am not able to get the distribution of individual songs among them.
As it often happens with obscure films, this beautiful song got burried in the debris of obscure songs until someone posted it on YT. Incidentally, the same song with an additional stanza was used with the same tune in a Pakistani film ‘Baazi’ (1970) which was sung by Habib Wali Muhammed. This song seems to have become very popular if one goes by the number of hits it got on YT.
With this, MERE SAAJAN (1941) makes its debut in the Blog.
Song-Raaten thhin chaandni joban pe thhi bahaar (Mere Saajan)(1941) Singers-Rafique Ghaznavi, Ameerbai Karnataki, Lyrics-Waheed Qureshi
Both
Lyrics
raaten thhin chaandni
joban pe thhi bahaar
raaten thhin chaandni
joban pe thhi bahaar
baagon mein phool jhoom rahe thhe khushi ke saath
hansta thha baag baag (?)
itne mein ek bhanwre ki pyaasi nigaah ne
dekha jo door se
itne mein ek bhanwre ki pyaasi nigaah ne
dekha jo door se
ek phool jhoom jhoom ke hansta thha baar baar
joban pe thhi bahaar
raaten thhin chaandni
joban pe thhi bahaar
udtaa huaa machaltaa huaa
aa gaya wahaan
phoolon ke aas paas
udtaa huaa machaltaa huaa
aa gaya wahaan
phoolon ke aas paas
kuchh geet gungunaa ke sunaane laga usey
ulfat se pyaar se
dekha jo chaand ne ye tamaasha
tadap gaya
baadal mein chhip gaya
dekha jo chaand ne ye tamaasha
tadap gaya
baadal mein chhip gaya
bhanwre ka pyaar dekh ke
sharma gaya gulaab
sar ko (?)
phoolon ki iss adaa pe usse pyaar aa gaya aa
phoolon ki iss adaa pe usse pyaar aa gaya
bhanwre ne badh ke phool ko dil se laga liya
bhanwre ne badh ke phool ko dil se laga liya
joban pe thhi bahaar
raaten thhi chaandni
joban pe thhi bahaar
ik roz kyaa huaa
khaamosh thhi hawa
ik roz kyaa huaa
khaamosh thhi hawa
aakaash par na chaand na taare na chaandni
yaani ki dopahar
bhanwre ki narm god mein
soya hua thha phool
duniya se bekhabar
bhanwre ki narm god mein
soya hua thha phool
duniya se bekhabar
bhanwra churaa ke aankh (?) safaai se
haule se uthh gaya
bhanwra churaa ke aankh (?) safaai se
haule se uthh gaya
phoolon mein jitna ras thha
wo chori se pee gaya
chupke se ud gaya
angdaayi le ke phir mere saajan hawa chali
angdaayi le ke phir mere saajan hawa chali
dekha to uski mast jawaani thhi lut chuki
joban pe thhi bahaar
raaten thhin chaandni
joban pe thhi bahaar
7 Responses to "Raaten thhin chaandni joban pe thhi bahaar"
March 22, 2016 at 3:08 pm
Waheed Qureshi also penned for
Bambaiwali (1941)
Black Out (1942)
Hanso Hanso Ae Duniya Walo (1942)
Rai Saheb (1942)
Saheli (1942)
Tamasha (1942)
Khazanchi Ka Beta (1943)
Mr. Jhatpat (1943)
Lehri Cameraman (1944)
Dasi Ya Maa (1946)
Nek Parveen (1946)
Bhool Na Jana (1947)
Pati Seva (1947)
Rangeen Kahani (1947)
White Face (1948)
Duniyadari (1948)
Grahasthi (1948)
Meri Kahani (1948)
Dil Ki Basti (1949)
Gumashta (1951)
Aabshar (1953)
Pyase Nain (1954)
Toofan (1954)
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March 22, 2016 at 6:10 pm
Nitin ji,
Wahid Qureshi started as a Lyricist in film Daulat-1937 and till his last film Toofan-1954, he wrote for 32 films and 180 songs.
Your list is far off with just about 70 % films, without any mention of total films or total songs.
He also wrote story and screenplay as well as dialogues for about 6 films.He directed film Dil ki Basti-1949.
-AD
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March 23, 2016 at 10:57 am
The rendition by Ustad Habib Wali Mohammad has been one of my favourites for a long long time. But I was not aware that this was first recorded by Rafiq Gaznavi as a duet with Amirbai Karnataki, whose voice has added a new charm to the piece.
Thanks a lot Kamath saheb for a rare recording.
regards,
Avadh Lal
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March 23, 2016 at 7:07 pm
Rafiq Ghaznavi also sang in
Society (1942)
Bolti Bulbul (1942)
Duhai (1943)
Najma 1943)
Prithvi Vallabh (1943)
Chal Chal Re Naujawan (1944)
Saathi (1946)
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Atul’s Song A Day- A choice collection of Hindi Film & Non-Film Songs 
March 22, 2016 at 11:07 am
The song flows sweetly to its tragic ending-
First ? – could be ‘hansta tha baaghbaan’, though not clear.
second ? – ‘sar ko chhupa liya’
third and fourth ? – ‘bhanwara chura ke aankh nihayat safai se’.
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