hi! there,
I’m aware that u will be suprised reading this. still, i dont mind. coz i am right now floating in an unknown sea listening to one the most unique songs in the history of indian film music, the beauty of which I’d like to share with u folks.
it must be in 1987 or 88. film-maker-lyricist gulzar was making a film. IJAAZAT. with naseerudhin shah, rekha and some other actress.music by gulzar's and everybody's favourite, the boss, pancham...aka.. r.d.burman.
It is a sensitive film about relationships. A good one.
Situation--a woman singing a song to herself, remembering her man (who unfortunately marries another lady out of compulsion) and moments of love spent with him. The woman sings about some beautiful metaphors (like scent of wet mehendhi, drenching in rain under one umbrella), asking him to send them (those moments) back to her. For that song, gulzar wrote the lyrics as follows:

mera kuch saaman tumhaare paas pada hain. saawan ke bheege bheege din rakhe hain. aur mere ek khath mein lipti raat padi hain. woh raat bhujadho mera woh saaman lautadho.pathjadh hai kuch, hai na? pathjadh mein kuch paththon ki girne ki aahat kaanon mein ek baar pehnke lautaayee thi, pathjadh ki woh shaakh abhi tak kaamp rahi hain, woh shaakh gira do mera woh saaman lautadho. ek akeli chathri mein jab aadhe aadhe bheeg rahe the, aadhe sookhe aadhe geele sookha tho main le aayee thi, geela man shaayad bisthar ke paas pada ho, woh bhijwaadho, mera woh saaman lautadho. ek sau solah chaand ke raathein, ek tumhaare kaandhe ka thil, geeli mehendhi ki khushboo aur jooth mooth ke shikwe kuch, jhooth mooth ke waadhein bhi sab yaad karaadhoon. sab bhijwaadho, mera woh saaman lautadho.ek ijaazat dhedho bus jab isko dhuffnaaoongi.main bhi wohi sojaaoongi.

Exactly this was handed over to r.d. no anthara's or mukhudas. no stanzas.no rhymes. and upon everything, no meter to the lines. Its just like a letter. free verse poetry in a letter or a paragraph format. r.d.burman went wild," what nonsense is this. it doesn’t have any meter and all. Tomorrow u will bring me the editorial of the times of india news-paper and ask me to compose it into a song.". he had a point. Songs without meter are difficult to compose. its like a freehand to ur sensibilties..u have them, u can do it or else..u r done.. some meterless-less songs have rhyme from which a composer takes cues. but this song didn’t have that too…
but r.d took the challenge. And this is how r.d.burman composed it.

mera kuch saaman...tumhaare paas pada hain...
saawan ke kuch bheege bheege din, rakhe hain...
aur mere ek, khath mein lipti... raat padi hain...
woh raat bhujadho mera woh saaman lautadho...
woh raat bhujadho mera woh saaman lautadho... ( he choose this as key line and made it repeat all thru song)

pathjadh hai kuch, hai na?( i still dont know why he used this line, in between interlude music)

pathjadh mein kuch paththon ki...girne ki aahat...
kaanon mein ek baar pehnke lautaayee thi...
pathjadh ki woh shaakh abhi tak, kaamp rahi hain...
woh shaakh gira do, mera woh saaman lautadho...
woh shaakh gira do, mera woh saaman lautadho...

(the interlude music too is sweetly woven)

ek akeli chathri mein jab aadhe aadhe bheeg rahe the...
aadhe sookhe aadhe geele sookha tho main, le aayee thi...
geela mann shaayad, bisthar ke paas pada ho... (This line reflects the aesthetic imagination of the lyricist)
woh bhijwaadho mera woh saaman lautadho...

ek sau solah chaand ke raathein, ek tumhaare kaandhe ka thil...
geeli mehendhi ki khushboo aur jooth mooth ke shikwe kuch...
jhooth mooth ke waadhein bhi sab yaad karaadhoon...
sab bhijwaadho mera woh saaman lautadho...
sab bhijwaadho mera woh saaman lautadho...
ek ijaazat dhedho bus jab inko dhuffnaaoongi...
main bhi wohi sojaaoongi...main bhi wohi sojaaoongi...( these ending lines convey melancholy and love… and the lines are touch-some too, if u can appreciate beautiful poetry)

first of all, its an unusual poetry.secondly it didnt have a rhyme to give cues to the composer. still he could make it, that too bringing in variety by giving a different tune to each stanza. No two stanzas are of same tune... becoz the lyrics are of different lengths. he literally broke the lines suitably and made it into a song.only using the line "mera woh saaman lautadho", he gets back to main tune. and quite strangely, the song doesnt end with that. Instead it ends with a different tune and diff lyric too... also worth mentioning is asha bhonsle's flawless rendition by which she simply patented that song. putting in everything, r.d.burman still maintained the same feel throughout the song, i mean i still don’t know which raaga he choose to base this song on, but with the most imperfect structure, he could perfect the song. how did he do it? how did he know where to break? and still how did he maintian the flow? That truly reflects what you call as craftsmanship…
as far as i know, no composition has ever been made out of such a meterless, free verse poetry. the song fetched gulzar a national award for best lyricist. and asha bhonlse for best playback singing. unfortunately r.d.burman didnt win the award for best music, though it was he who worked hard on the song to put it in tune.
only r.d. could adorn the unusual poetry of gulzar with his music. and only honed-to-perfection-vocals of the enchantress asha bhonsle could do justice to r.d.b'.s gem.
i know some of u cant make sense out of this mail. But only if u hear the song, u will understand what kind of achievement it was. u should listen to it.

Today, if you watch any music channel, you will realize how many people are living on r.d. in the name of his music, but shamelessly remixing and ruining his songs. These bastards are making money out of his music. Infact people have this misconception that r.d.burman means only piya tu ab tu aaja, dum maro dum or churaliya hain tumne jo dil ko. In reality, he composed many more classical, experimental and modern gems, abt which pple hardly talk today. This song is just one of them, which evidences the fact that r.d.burman could compose anything…even an editorial from the times of India…

he could have created more, as his music was always ahead of his time(sad that the technological advancement happened just when he died...had he been alive today..i wonder what all he would have created)...but people didnt let him to...his last years were pathetic..he was ignored/cornered/humiliated..and neglected..and even underrated...and finally..he died..out of lonliness...its people who killed him...but before leaving..he shook everyone, with 1942-A love story, where he returned to his roots, rabindra sangeet.. and then, he left..
like they say, a lamp flickers wildly..before going off.and then, people again woke up..to his songs..but it was too late.

today is his death anniversary...and his own composition echoes.."zindagi ke safar mein guzar jaathe hai mahaan.... woh phir nahi aathe..woh phir nahi aathe"..

R.D. breathes thru....forever…

missing him...

RDently
aakarsh.

PS:.today countless people are chanting his name before having a morsel of rice..because he is their source of income..as they live on the remixes of his compositions..sad!!


Current Mood: Sad
Current Music: R.D.Burman ofcourse