Naushad- The Classical Genius

Naushad (25 December 1919 – 5 May 2006 ) started as an independent music director from the 1940 film Prem Nagar. He made the Hindi songs popular by mixing UP and Bihar folk music with Indian classical music. It was in 1946 he got the superstar status with the two immortal songs from the film Anmol Ghadi.
The simple melody in Raag Pahari in the voice of Noorjehan " Jawan Hai Mohabbat" and the duet of Noorjehan and Surendra"Awaz Do Kahan Ho" mesmerized the music lovers. In the same year, K L Saigal gave one of his immortal songs "Jab Dil Hi Toot Gaya" under his composition in Shahjehan (1946) in Raag Bhairavi.

His classical genius was the 1952 film Baiju Bawra in which he used the voices if the great Ustad Amir Khan and D V Palusjar. The climactic contest between Tansen and Baiju Bawra in the royal court of Mughal emperor Akbar demanded music of the highest finesse to exemplify the capabilities of these historical legends. Naushad introduced classical music with deft handling, making it melodious for mass appeal and yet retaining enough artistry as the situation demanded. 
There could not have been a better composer than Naushad Ali to make this film an unforgettable feature of Indian cinema. The music in “Baiju Bawra” is divine! It is, in fact, the soul of the film.
There are many moments in “Baiju Bawra” when the contribution of Naushad emerges the strongest point of the movie. Mohammad Rafi, lyricist Shakeel Badayuni and Naushad leave you in a trance with the all-time great number “Man tarpat hari darshan ko aaj”. Rafi had reportedly confessed to this being one of the toughest songs of his career as a demanding Naushad sought perfection from the legendary singer.

Raag Pahari, Raag Darbari, Raag Yaman, and Bhairvi were few of his favorite ragas. Many immortal songs in this raga were composed by him. Right from composing Rimjhim barse badarwa in raga Pahadi in film Rattan effortlessly rendered by Zohrabai Amabalewali, Naushad emphasized the durable value of classical mores.
His most durable composition Suhani raat dhal chuki was shaped in Pahadi and was from film Dulari made in 1949 that became legendary and is still considered an integral part of any singer’s repertoire in any musical gathering. 
His other popular number in Pahadi was Tod diya dil mera composed for film Andaz in 1949 and rendered by Lata Mangeshkar. Naushad also utilised Pahadi to create an amazingly profound tune Marna teri gali mein for film Shabab in 1954 sung by Lata 
Naushad was very mich fascinated with Bhairavi He tuned his very fine number Jab dil hee toot gaya in raga Bhairavi in a manner that this raga became his signature tune as Naushadian Bhairavi.
The quality of Naushadian Bhairvi is that it is immediately recognizable. It is amply reflected in his beautiful compositions such as Tu Ganga ki mauj mein for film Baiju Bawrarendered by Rafi that became the standard-bearer for flowing rendition based on classical ragas. Another of his hit songs was Toote na dil toote na picturised on Dilip Kumar in Andaz in 1949 and sung by Mukesh,
In Raag Yaman he composed Jaane wale se mulaqat na hone payee sung by Lata and composed for Mehboob Khan’s powerful drama Amar released in 1954 and later in Mughal-e-Azam, the song once again sung by Lata Mangeshkar "Humein kash tum se mohabbat na woti, "

A Great Trio. of Naushad, Rafi, and Shakeel Badayuni

Two immortal songs in Raag Darbari were created "Beech bhanwar mein aan phasaa hai dil ka safeena, Shah-e-Madina, for film Dard in 1947 for Surraya to render it and another by Mohammad Rafi "O dunya ke rakhwale" for 1952 film Baiju Bawra .
Naushad composed two sequentially modulating numbers in rather unconventional raga Jaijaiwanti This song"Hum aaj kahin dil kho bethe poignantly sung by Mukesh for the 1949 film Andaz and the other great song Mohabbat ki rahon mein chalna sambhal ke composed in 1955 for film Uran Khatol a that was playfully performed by Rafi.
One of the exceptionally brilliant compositions of Naushad, Madhuban mein radhika naache re, famous for an excellent Sitar sequence, for film Kohinoor in 1960 was laid out in raga Hameer, which is very rarely used for light music.
These are a few Raag based songs that made Naushad the Classical Genius but in the end, I must mention the song that made Mohammad Rafi a great "Man tarpat hari darshan ko aaj, a complicated semi-classical composition based on raga Malkauns for film Baiju Bawra released in 1952. 

Song of Rattan 1944

Song of Anmol Ghadi 1946

Song of Anmol Ghadi 1946

Song of Shajehan 1946

Song of Shajehan 1946

Song of Dard 1947

Song of Dulari 1949

Song of Dulari 1949

Song of Andaz 1949

Song of Baiju Bawra 1952

Song of Baiju Bawra 1952

Song of Baiju Bawra 1952

Song of Uran Khatola 1955

Song of Mother India 1957

Song of Kohinoor 1960

Song of Mughal e Azam 1960

Kishori Amonkar- The Uncrowned Empress of Indian Classical Music

Kishori Tai, as people call her fondly was born on 10th April 1932. Her father died when she was 7 years old, raised and taught music primarily by her mother, the classical vocalist Mogubai Kurdikar.
Young Kishori began to receive vocal lessons in Hindustani classical music from Anjanibai Malpekar of the Bhendibazaar Gharana and later received training from tutors of several other Gharanas.
In addition to her career as a classical vocalist, she was known for her performances of lighter classical pieces, with a wide repertoire of Thumris and Bhajans, She became interested in film music and sang playback for the 1964 movie Geet Gaya Patharon Ne but after singing in this film she stayed away from the film music because she found it compromising on the Swaras over the lyrics.
Her mother was strictly against her singing in films is reported to have told Amonkar that she would be forbidden from touching her mother's Tanpura if she would continue to work in the film industry.,
At the age of 25 she almost lost her voice, she tried all type of treatment, It took two years for her to regain her voice. After that, she started to light classical music with a wide repertoire of Thumris and Bhajans, as well as some performances for film soundtracks.
Amonkar did return to playback singing 26 years later, for Govind Nihalani’s Drishti (1990). She agreed to sing for Drishti because she was allowed to compose the tunes. Amonkar sang Ek Hi Sang, written by Vasant Dev and composed in Raag Bhopali. It has notes similar to Jyoti Kalash Chalke (Bhabhi Ki Chudiyan, 1961), based on Raag Deshkar. Another song Meha Jhar Jhar Barsat Re is composed in the style of Raag Malhar,Drishti features a number of alaap tracks recorded in Amonkar’s voice and used in the background.
Many who studied her music says she has liked singing light classical music in the beginning and that style influenced later in all her classical singing as well. She applied her own interpretations and made striding changes to the Jaipur Gharana branch. Jaipur Gharana, which is known as a style that demanded strict following of its technical details was lacking a lot in its interpretation of the raga bhavas when Kishori started singing publically. Kishori brought emotions into the notes by staying strong with the basic techniques. She was an artist who used those notes to express many feelings and emotions that arose out of her ‘Manodharma’. 
She is credited for re-interpreting many ragas in her own ways. Her vocal quality was unmatched with not a single blemish in any of her performances we all heard so far. These aspects of her singing are considered as her biggest contribution to Hindustani music. She as a musician was very methodical in her riyaz and environment where she could sing.
 Kishori Amonkar never wanted to go abroad and she insisted that if anybody wants to listen to her they have to come to India. She was an introvert to the extent that she can’t even stand stage lights on her face while she performed; she says that her concerts are for her listeners to listen and not watch her singing.
She never played to the gallery. She used to say that she sings for herself. I want to get involved and focus on the abstract. I have to forget my body then. For that, I need my audience’s help, not their interruptions. People have to understand that music isn’t entertainment. 
There are many stories about her refusing to sing in a program due to the misbehavior of the audience. Once Amonkar refused to sing further. When an industrialist’s wife once ordered a paan during her performance, Amonkar screamed, “Am I a kothewali to you?” From editors and politicians to industrialists and famous artistes, many have faced Amonkar’s wrath during concerts.
Amonkar received several of India's national awards and civilian honors, including the Padma Bhushan, in 1987, and Padma Vibhushan in 2002. She was awarded the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award for 1985 and the Sangeet Natak Akademi Fellowship for 2009
She died on 3 April 2017 in her sleep, a week before her 85th birthday, at her residence in Mumbai.

Song of Geet Gaya Patharon Ne 1964

Song of Drishti 1990

Song of Drishti 1990

Sahela Re  Kishori Amonkar

Kishori Amonkar Meera Bhajan

Praveen Sultana - Humein Tum Se Pyar Kitna

Begum Parveen Sultana (born on 10th July 1950) is an Assamese Hindustani classical singer of the Patiala Gharana. She is among the foremost classical  vocalists in India and is known as Queen of Classical Vocal. Her father, late Ikramul Mazid was her first guru and he was very strict with her. She also received early training from her grandfather . She later went to Kolkata to learn to learn music under the guidance of late Pandit Chinmoy Lahiri and from 1973, she became a disciple of Ustad Dilshad Khan of the Patiala Gharana.

Sultana has sung for movies like Gadar, Kudrat, and Pakeezah. Recently, she sang the theme song of Vikram Bhatt’s latest opus 1920. She also sang Humein Tumse Pyaar Kitna - Kudrat .She was given the Filmfare Best Female Singer Award for this song.This song was also sung by Kishore Kumar in the same film.She is also the youngest recipient of Padma Shri Award by Govt of India.She was later awarded by Padma Bhushan in 2014.

Parween also lent her voice to several songs in films throughout the years.

• Pakeezah- Kaun gali gayo Shyam, Ban ban bole Koyaliya
• Do Boond Paani- Pital ki meri Gaagri
• Parwana- Piya ki gali
• Mukti Asm (Assamese)- Sakhiyoti Jhilmil Paakhi
• Sonma (Assamese)- Notun Tomaar Chorandhani
• Khoj- Ram kare mora Saiyaa ho aise
• Razia Sultan- Shubh Ghadi aayi re
• Ashray(the Shelter) - Shab-e-Intezaar mein kyu hai Gumsum Tamannaaye, Ae Mohabbat yu hi to tu Badnaam nahi, Dev puji puji Hindu muye
• Tohfa Mohabbat ka- Prem ka Granth Padhaau
• Shaadi kar lo- Na tum hato...na tum hate (Qawwali)
• Vijeta- Bichhurat mose Kanha
• Kalankini Kankabati (Bengali)- Bedechhi Beena gaan Shonaabo
• Sharda- Yeh Bahut Khushi ki Nishaani hai
• Kudrat- Humein tum se Pyaar Kitna
• Anmol- Koi ishq ka rog
• Gadar: Ek Prem Katha- Aan milo Sajna
• 1920- Vaada tum se hai Vaada

Song of Do Boond Pani 1971

Song of Pakeezah 1972

Song of Kudart 1981

Song of Razia Sultan 1983

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Manna Dey-The Great Versatile Singer of Bollywood

Manna Dey was a very versatile singer and there was no playback singer who could imitate Manna Dey's versatility. The great Mohammed Rafi once commented that though people listen to his songs, he himself hears only Manna Dey's songs. He established his versatility between 1948 to 1954 by singing not only the classical-based film songs but also singing such film songs which were the fusion of Indian classical music and pop music.
 His experimentation with western music too produced many unforgettable melodies resulting in an increase in singing offers in films from 1955. It was an irony that he was typed for classical songs, background songs and sons for comedians specially Mehmood. His deep classical training could have been the reason for this anomaly.
Born on 1st May 1929 was highly inspired and influenced by his Uncle K C Dey the legendary Singer of the late 30s and 40s. He began taking music lessons from Krishna Chandra Dey and Ustad Dabir Khan. During this period, he stood first for three consecutive years in three different categories of inter-collegiate singing competitions.
At the age of 22 years, he started working as an assistant music director first under Krishna Chandra Dey, and then under Sachin Dev Burman. Later, he assisted other music composers and then started to work independently. Dey started his career in playback singing with the movie Tamanna, in 1942. The musical score was by Krishna Chandra Dey and Manna De sang a duet named "Jago Aayee Usha Ponchi Boley Jago" with Suraiya which was an instant hit.
It was only in 1943 that he got his first solo break with Ram Rajya. Incidentally, the producer of the film Vijay Bhatt and its composer Shankar Rao Vyas had approached K C Dey with an offer for playback in the film. When K C Dey refused the offer on the grounds that he would not lend his voice to other actors, they spotted Manna Dey sitting in the corner of the room and offered him the opportunity..
After that Manna Dey gave many hit songs.His songs like "O Prem Diwani Sambhal Ke Chalna" from 1944 film Kadambari composed by Anil Biswas, "Dil Churaney Ki Liye from Dur Chaley" (1946) composed by Jafar Khurshid, his duets with Amira Bahee like "E Diniya Jara Suney" from Kamala (1946) and duet song "Aaj Bor Aayee" with Meena Kapoor from 1947 film Chaltey Chaltey became chartbusters in respective years. Between 1945-47 many Manna Dey-Rajkumari duets like "Hay Gagan Me Badal Tharey" in 1945 for the film Vikaramaditya, "Aowji Morey" from Insaaf (1946), all 4 duets from the film Geet Govind composed by Pandit Indra - "Kit Ho Nando Kumar", "Chorr Sakhi Aaj Laj", "Apney Hi Rang", "Lalit Labang Lata" from Geet Govind became popular.
His first duet with the then-upcoming singer Lata Mangeshkar was "Lapat Ke Pot Pahaney Bikral" composed by Vasant Desai for Narsingh Avtar (1949), With Lata Mangeshkar, Manna recorded around 103 Hindi duets of which songs like "Tere Bina Aag Yeh Chandni" from Awara, "Yeh Raat Bhigi Bhigi" and "Aaja Sanam Madhur Chandni Mein" from Chori Chori, "Pyar hua iqrar hua" from Shree 420, "Woh Chand Muskaye" from Akhri Dao (1958), "Ritu aye", "Dil Ki Girah Khol Do" from Raat Aur Din (1966), "Aya Abdulla Aya" from Juaari (1968), "Soch Ke Ye Gagan Jhume" from the flop film Jyoti (1969) and "Mein Buddho Lambo Lambo" of Buddha Mil Gaya (1971) are still extremely popular. 
Manna Dey recorded popular duets with Mohd. Rafi, Dey sang 101 Hindi songs along-with Rafi which include "Ishq Ishq" (Barsaat Ki Raat) "Tu Hai Mera Prem Devta" (Kalpana), "Mama o mama" (Parvarish), Duniyaan key Liye from Maan Gaye Ustaad (1981), "Main Hoon Tera Prem Aur Tu Ho Meri Pran" from Rahu Ketu (1979), the song "Hindustan Ki Kasam" from Hindustan Ki Kasam (1973), "Hum To Tere Hai Deewane" from Johar Mehmood in Hong Kong, "Badey Miya Diwane" from Shagird, "Ye Do Diwane Dil Ke" from Johar Mehmood in Goa, "Agar Dil Dil Se" from Shola Aur Shabnam(1961).
With Kishore Kumar, it was "Subah Ki Paheli Kiran" from 1951 film Anadolan composed by Pannalal Ghosh. They sang together 6 songs till 1968 but the demand increased after 1972. Their popular songs were "Mere Pyale Mein" from Aamir Garib (1974), "Is Ishq Mein Har" from Mr. Romeo (1974), "Yeh Dosti" from Sholay (1975), "Duniya Me Jeeney" from Naukri, "Kamal Hain" from Karz, "Phool Chaahiye Na" from Pyas (1982) and their last duet was in 1986 film Maqqar .
The trio of Rafi-Kishore-Manna Dey sang together hits like "Tujhme Ishwar, Allah Tujhme" from Nanha Farishta (1969) and "Band Muthee" from Chalti Ka Naam Zindagi (1981).
Some of his greatest songs are non-filmi. He recorded selections from Harivanshrai Bachchan’s Madhushala and his songs such as Nathni se toota moti re and Yeh awaara se din has loyal fans. He sang in many languages like in Bhojpuri, Magadhi, Maithili, Punjabi, Assamese, Odia, Konkani, Sindhi, Gujarati, Marathi, Kannada, Malayalam, and Nepali.
He died of a cardiac arrest at 3:45 pm on 24 October at Narayana Hrudayalaya hospital in Bengaluru, aged 94.

Some of the Most Popular Songs of Manna Dey

Song of  Mashal (1950)

Song of  Shree 420 (1954)

Song of   Chori Chori, (1956)

Song of Dekh Kabira Roya (1957)

Song of Navrang 1959

Song of  Dil Hi To Hai 1963

Song of Meri Surat Teri Aankhen 1963

Song of Bhoot Bangla 1965

Song of Upkar 1967

Song of Padosan 1968

Song of  Mere Huzoor (1968)

Song of  Mera Naam Joker (1970)

Song of Zanjeer (1973)

Song of Sholay 1975

The Great Thumris of Bollywood

Thumri is a com­mon style of light classical music.  The text is romantic and devotional in nature, and us­ually revolves around a girl's love for Krishna.  The language is a dialect of Hindi called Brij bhasha. It arose in pop­ular­ity du­ring the 19th cen­tury. It was made popular among the common people by Hindi films.
Thumris have been used in films right from the very early days of talkies. Rajkumari had sung a number of Thumris in the 30s. K L Saigal had sung a popular thumri, piya bina nahi aawat, way back in 1935, in Devdas. And who can forget, Saigal’s Baabul Mora Naihar, in 1938 movie Street Singer. 
Thumri is basically sung in a slow tempo, later a fast version of Thumri emerged called Lucknowi Thumri and another form Punjabi Thumri also emerged in Hindi films. There were many songs and singers in the 40s and 50s where Thumri became popular.
One name that truly epitomizes the Hindustani classical music of the 20thcentury is that of Ustad Bade Ghulam Ali Khan. Often touted as Tansen of the 20thcentury, this musical genius blended the best of classical music and created a unique style of his own. Some of the famous Thumri are ‘Yaad Piya Ki Aaye’, ‘Aaye Na Balam’ and ‘Prem Ke Phande Men’.
Begum Akhtar was another great singer who was known as the Queen of Ghazal but was also a great Thumri performer.
Here I am giving a few of the Thumris from the Hindi films:

Song of Street Singer 1934

Song of Devdas 1935

Song of Bharthari 1944

Nirmala Devi

Song of Shabab 1954

Song of Naubahar 1954

Song of Musafir 1957

Song of Kala Pani 1958

Song of Rani Roopmati 1959

Song of Mughal e Azam 1960

Song of Mughal e Azam 1960

Song of Dil Hi To Hai 1963

Song of Dooj Ka Chand 1964

Song of Pakeezah 1971

Song of Amar Prem 1972

Song of Swami 1977

Song of Mein Tulsi Tere Aangan Ki 1978

Song of Kudrat 1981

The Raga based Bollywood Songs- Raga Pahadi Part-1

I must appreciate the Musicologist and bureaucrat KL Pande who compiled 14000 Raga based Hindi film songs in a book in 7 volumes. The most interesting thing he noticed that The use of ragas in Indian cinema kept changing with films and composers. “In the ’30s and ’40s, there was extensive use of Raag Kafi and Khamaj as these correspond to serious moods of mythological films. You won’t see a lot of sweet-sounding ragas such as Bhairavi and Pahadi. They appeared in the ’50s and ’60s with the advent of composers like Shankar-Jaikishan and Lakshmikant-Pyarelal,

In this blog I have selected a few songs based on Raga Pahari. This Raga is the most popular Raga used in Hindi film songs.

Song of Anmol Ghadi 1946

Song of Dulari 1949

Song of Baazi 1950

Song of   Albela 1951

Song of  Udan Khatola 1955

Song of Chaudavin Ka Chand 1960

Song of Aarti 1962

Song of Shola Aur Shabnam 1961

Song of TajMahal1963

Song of Dosti 1964

Song of  Kashmir Ki Kali 1964

Song of Waqt 1965

Song of Mamta 1966

Song of Aradhana 1969