Whether it’s on Facebook or by playing their compact discs, it’s become a trend for fans to celebrate the birthdays of the late maestros. To commemorate the 97th birth anniversary of vocalist Pandit Bhimsen Joshi on Monday, February 4, I played his raag s. Starting from – Ahir Bhairav, Gaud Sarang, Bhimpalasi, Marwa, Multani, Puriya, Yaman Kalyan and Darbari Kanhada – to his abhang s ‘ Teerth Vitthal ’ and ‘ Majhe Maaher Pandhari ’. Leading onto his Kannada songs ‘ Bhagyada Lakshmi Baaramma ’ and ‘ Sada Enna Hridayadalli ’ and the Bhairavi masterpieces ‘ Jamuna Ke Teer ’ and ‘ Jo Bhaje Hari Ko Sada ’.
My next task now, is to create a 10-song playlist of ghazal maestro Jagjit Singh, whose 78th birth anniversary on February 8. On the surface, it would seem like an easy task – after all, the singer had numerous hits. I’d stay away from obvious choices like the Kafeel Aazer-penned ‘ Baat Niklegi Toh Phir Door Talak Jaayegi ’, Sudarshan Faakir’s ‘ Woh Kaagaz Ki Kashti ’ or the Arth song ‘ Tum Itna Jo Muskura Rahe Ho ’, written by Kaifi Azmi.
Devotional gems
Singh has rendered many gems – some popular, some rare, some admired but underplayed. And while he has been recognised for his ghazals, the truth is that he has also sung many great devotional numbers, mostly during the latter stage of his career. So while my list is not rated in terms of quality, I would like to begin with a devotional piece. The choice is ‘ Tum Karuna Ke Saagar Ho ’, written by Kavi Narayan Agarwal. A simple melody and lines like ‘ Tum karuna ke saagar ho prabhu , meri gaagar bhar do , thake paanv hain , door gaanv hai , ab toh kripa kar do ’ add to the magic.
Next, I would go for a ghazal. Nida Fazli’s ‘ Duniya Jisey Kehte Hain Jadoo Ka Khilona Hai ’, one of the early hits of Jagjit and Chitra Singh, would be an appropriate choice. At Number three comes another ghazal, ‘ Yeh Mojeeza Bhi Mohabbat ’, written by Qateel Shifai in the 1980 album A Milestone . Singh’s voice was at its peak here.
Melodious legacy
For number four, I move into film territory with one of my favourites ‘ Jaag Ke Kaati Saari Raina ’ from the 2002 film Leela . Gulzar’s lines ‘ Prem ki agni bujhti nahin hai , behti nadiya rukti nahin hai , saagar tak behte do naina , jaag ke kaati saari raina ’ are simply brilliant. Number five takes me back to devotional – ‘ Varde Varde ’ is amazing for its serene tune, temple ambience and marvellous chorus lines.
For number six: I return to film music with ‘Pyaar Mujhse Jo Kiya Tumne Toh Kya Paaoge’, written by Javed Akhtar in the 1982 movie Saath Saath. The seventh position would go to ‘Zindagi Jaisi Tamanna Thi’, written by Shahryar in the posthumously released album The Voice From Beyond.
One cannot skip Singh’s rendition of Mirza Ghalib. So at Number 8, we have ‘Aah Ko Chahiye Ek Umr Asar Hone Tak’. This will be followed by completely different sound – the light classical ‘Bajuband Khul Khul Jaaye’ in raag Bhairavi. And finally, we have that masterpiece ‘Allah Jaanta Hai’, a duet with Lata Mangeshkar on the 1991 album Sajda. As poet Akhtar Azad writes, “Jo bhi bhala bura hai, Allah jaanta hai, bande ke dil mein kya hai, Allah jaanta hai.”
Needless to say, the playlist may not end here. In fact, I won’t be surprised if I continue with ‘ Woh Kaagaz Ki Kashti ’ or ‘ Baat Niklegi ’ too. Or maybe ‘ Honton Se Choolon Tum ’. Whatever, the trip will be magical.
