God's own voice

The legendary artist Salil Chowdhury once said - 'If God could sing, he would have a voice like Hemant Kumar'. Hemant Kumar needs no introduction. His is the voice of devotion and it touches those depths inside your heart that perhaps you were never even aware of.

Lovingly referred to as Hemant Da, he was not just an exceptional singer but also a highly gifted composer. While he was studying Engineering at Jadavpur University, he was always lost in music and quit midway to pursue his passion. He got his first break in 1940 with a Bangla song and in 1942 for a Hindi song. Musical success though continued to elude him until 1947 when his composition in Bengali film 'Purba Rang' got the attention of S.Mukherjee, owner of the very popular Filmistan Studios in Bombay (Mumbai). This association gave music lovers the gift of 'Anand Math' in 1952, the album that also has the rousing 'Vande Mataram'. 

The real fame came with the 1954 movie 'Nagin' and he along with Kalyanji and Ravi immortalized the music of the 'Been', the wind instrument played by snake catchers. Success followed him with several gems like 'Jaal', 'Anarkali', 'Shart' and many more. He later ventured into movie production giving us some fabulous movies like 'Khamoshi', 'Kohraa' and 'Bees saal baad'. 

I have held his voice in reverence ever since I heard him in 'chupa lo yun dil mein pyaar mera'. His voice, his compositions infuse my world with a radiance of their own. The fragrance of a 'ye nayan dare dare' or 'tum pukar lo', engulfs me every time I listen to his deep voice and on his birth anniversary, I am sharing some of my most treasured songs. Hope you also lose and yet find yourself in the mysteries of these emotions. 

Chupa lo yun dil mein pyaar mera - Mamta, 1966

Roshan has composed many masterpieces and this soulful duet by Hemant da-Lata didi is truly what Majrooh Sahab writes it as - 'mandir mein lau diye ki'. The luminescence of relentless devotion beautifully represented by this song stays forever within your being. It is the greatest expression of that untiring, all-consuming love.   

ये सच है जीना था पाप तुम बिन, ये पाप मैंने किया है अब तक

मगर है मन में छवि तुम्हारी, 

मगर है मन में छवि तुम्हारी, कि जैसे मंदिर में लौ दिए की. 

छुपा लो यूँ दिल में प्यार मेरा, कि जैसे मंदिर में लौ दिए की,

तुम अपने चरणों में रख लो मुझको, तुम्हारे चरणों का फूल हूँ मैं,

मैं सर झुकाए खड़ी हूँ प्रीतम, कि जैसे मंदिर में लौ दिए की... 

Na ye chaand hoga - Shart, 1954

Lyrics by S.H.Bihari, this song has two versions in the movie; one sung by Hemant da and other sung by Geeta Dutt. Just like, it is impossible to choose one gem over another, these two jewels composed by Hemant da continue to reign in my life. How does anyone measure the depths of love? 

बिछड़ कर चले जाएँ तुमसे कहीं,  

तो ये न समझना मोहब्बत नहीं,  

जहाँ भी रहे हम, तुम्हारे रहेँगे

ना ये चाँद होगा, ना तारे रहेँगे, मगर हम हमेशा तुम्हारे रहेँगे 

Tum pukar lo - Khamoshi, 1969

The never ending wait that the loved one will one day whisper your name softly...echoes of Hemant da's music and his voice to the magician Gulzar sahab's lyrics fills the agonising sleepless nights with unwavering hope...The humming in the beginning is to die for.

होंठ पे लिए हुए, दिल की बात हम 

जागते रहेँगे और कितनी रात हम 

मुख़्तसर सी बात है, तुमसे प्यार है, तुम्हारा इंतज़ार है 

तुम पुकार लो, तुम्हारा इंतज़ार है 

 

For some reason, youtube is restricting the video of this song to be played directly from the blog. I am also pasting the link to the song on gaana.com: https://gaana.com/song/tum-pukar-lo-tumhara-intezar-hai

Ye nayan dare dare- Kohraa, 1964

I have never appreciated the actor Biswajeet much however some of Hemant da's best songs are picturised on him. Beqarar karke hamein yun na jaaiye, zara nazaron se keh do ji are just some of such gems. Even if I wanted to keep his songs out :) , this gentle and romantic song is a masterpiece that stays in my forever favourites list. The sublime lyrics are by Kaifi sahab and the gentle composition is by Hemant da himself. And just like the gorgeous humming in Tum Pukar lo, the humming in this song is also haunting.

रात हसीं, ये चाँद हसीं, तू सबसे हसीं मेरे दिलबर 

और तुझसे हसीं तेरा प्यार, तू जाने ना 

ये नयन डरे डरे, ये जाम भरे भरे 

ज़रा पीने दो , कल की किसको खबर, 

इक रात होके निडर, मुझे जीने दो 

ये नयन डरे डरे.  

'Vande Mataram' - Anand Math, 1952

There are numerous versions of our national song, Bankim Chandra's immortal: 'Vande Mataram'. However the goosebumps rendering version sung by Lata didi and Hemant da is in a different league. 

I am sharing this  to invoke prayers for our soldiers who are protecting our motherland and our borders. Thank you to our jawans! May they and their families be eternally blessed for their sacrifices.

वन्दे मातरं 

सुजलाम सुफलाम, मलयज शीतलाम 

शस्य श्यामलां मातरं वन्दे..

I would have also loved to include the following:

Ya dil ki suno duniyawalon - Anupama

Zindagi ke dene wale - Nagin

Lehron pe lehar - Chabili

Beqarar karke hamein yun na jaaiye - Bees Saal Baad

Zara nazaron se keh do ji - Bees saal baad

Yaad kiya dil ne kahaan ho tum - Patita

Aye dil, ab kahin le jaa - Bluffmaster 

Na tum hamein jaano - Baat ek raat ki

Ye raat, ye chaandi phir kahaan - Jaal, also included here: https://intoxicatedbymusic.blogspot.com/2019/11/suno-more-bandhu-re.html

Nain so nain naahi milao - Jhanak Jhanak Payal Baaje

Jaag dard-e-ishq jaag - Anarkali

Aye baad-e-saba aahista chal - Anarkali

Hai apna dil to aawara - Solva Saal

Credits: Yesterday's Melodies Today's Memories by Manek Premchand