AMRUTACHA GHANU.. The Blissful Cloud!
By
Apoorv Moghe
There are a few people who are made for a specific thing in life and there is no one better than them at it. If the entire Indian music is a song, then the Mangeshkar family is the Prima Donna of it. And if the Mangeshkars are the prime reason of the existence of rich music, then this gentleman is the substance in the existence!
A man who in a way changed the norm to 'there is a man behind a woman's success' by being the genius behind the masterpieces rendered by the stellar sisters…a man who inadvertently became the musical thread that joined generations through their cultures…a man whose stature is so calm and composed that his complicated and 'oh-so-difficult' tunes exude the same soothing quality to the ears…a man who crafted music defying the boundaries of creativity and excellence. Though the youngest of the Panchratna, nowhere less in the shine and shimmer, BHAVGANDHARVA PANDIT HRIDAYNATH MANGESHKAR is the epitome of timeless fascinating music that lilts in the air for eternity!
Being the only son of Master Dinanath Mangeshkar and following up sisters of the eminence of Lata Mangeshkar, Meena Khadikar, Asha Bhosle and Usha Mangeshkar, ever since his birth on October, 26th 1937, baaLaasaheb (बाळासाहेब - as he is fondly called) certainly had a fighter's life to live, with not just the Everest of expectations on him but also due to physical disabilities which made me confined to the four walls of the house in his childhood. But that is what masters are made of…this inability to walk and play in a way opened doors to the world of literature for this wonder boy. For someone who has read a vast majority of all the books ever written in Marathi and a similar lot in other respected languages, this was indeed a boon as baaLaasaheb went on to compose some of the greatest works of legendary literary geniuses of the likes of MeeraBai, Ghalib, Sant Dnyaaneshwar, Sant Kabir, Surdas, Samarth Ramdas, and many more over the years.
And it is these very years that chiseled out a stoic yet sensitive singer-composer out of Hridaynath Mangeshkar! Unfortunately, his illustrious father died when he was hardly four so his musical journey was started by inheriting his father's compositions from his elder sisters, which later solidified when he began his formal training from Indore-gharaana maestro, Ustaad Amir Khan. This was the time when the musician in him gave a headway to compose his first two delightful songs viz. Surdas's 'nisdin barsat nain hamaare..' and MeeraBai's 'barse bundiyaaN saawan ki..', both sung by LataDi in 1954, which ably and aptly showcased what musical magnificence was on its way later.
In the meanwhile he also sang a few songs in his silken soft voice in Vasant Desai's 'Shyaamchi Aai' (Marathi), S.D.Burman's 'Babla', Naushad's 'Baiju Baawra' and 'Deewana' and Roshan's 'Sanskaar' around 1952-1953…but he found his foothold when he started composing more often from the second half of the fifties for films and more importantly and significantly for his non-film singles and albums. With every film--- from his Marathi output as Akash Ganga (1958), Antaricha Diva (1960), Pawanakathcha Dhondi (1966), Dharmakanya (1968), Ha Khel Sawalyancha (1976), Chaani (1977), Jait Re Jait (1977), Sinhasan (1979), Sansar (1980), Umbartha (1981), Mahananda (1984), Sarja (1987), Nivdung (1989), He Geet Jeevanache (1995), Sail (2010) to his Hindi output as Prarthana (1969), Harishchandra Taramati (1970), Chakra (1977), Dhanwaan (1981), Subah (1982), Mashaal (1984), Pyaari Bhabhi (1986), Lekin (1991), Maya Memsaab (1993), Laal Salaam (2003)----baaLaasaheb has shown that albeit limited, but his film compositions are of the highest rung in terms of melody and technical richness…an example of which is Lekin where he fused traditional bandish’s with an ode to his gurus Ustaad Amir Khan and his father (‘jaa jaa re paThikwa..’ is the Gujri ToDi that reminisces of his association with Khansaheb.)
His non-film output is probably even better…better in terms of the free use of all his prowess and expertise and even in terms of the difficulty in structure..his oddity with the taal in 'saaNwar re, saaNwar re..' or his minimalistic instrumentation in 'jeevalagaa rahile re..' or his simplicity in 'mogaraa phulalaa..', the essence of his music has always been timeless and special. This essence had another special fragrance to it when he composed in Bengali…being an ardent follower of Salil Chaudhary, he followed the footsteps of his self-confessed guru in using the tunes of his Marathi hits and translating them into Bengali, coincidentally most of which had lyrics by SalilDa himself and mostly sung by LataDi and AshaTai (interestingly singing the other's original Marathi song in Bengali at times). And how can we at all forget the Lata-Hridaynath collaboration to come up with albums like Chaala Vahi Desh, Meera Bhajans and Meera Sur Kabeera (probably making him the only composer to compose 3 separate albums on the writings of MeeraBai). If his music created the serenity and sanctity with these albums, it was the Ghalib Ghazals that made us restless and pensive…this album is probably one of the finest soundtracks ever, which just goes to show how eclectic baaLaasaaheb is. Such was the brilliance of this man that no genre has been left untouched…his koLigeets (कोळीगीते - the fishermen songs), his patriotic songs (works of Sawarkar and ShivkalyaaN raaja), his devotional songs (the works of the various saints), his impeccable use of folk music in Jait Re Jait, classical form in Lekin, the lavaNi's, abhang's, romantic duets, sad ditties…Hridaynath Mangeshkar enlivens every emotion known to the human heart through his soulful music.
If his music transports you down melody lane where his 'sur' floats around and the 'taal' dances to its glee with the 'laay', its the effervescence of his voice that makes you linger back and relish the atmosphere when he is behind the microphone…be it the delectable, knee-weaking romance of 'laajun haasNe..' or the valor of 'shoor amhi sardaar amhaala..', be it the smirking poignancy of 'yeh duniya kaisi haiN bhagwaan..' or the childlike innocence in 'chhaDi laage chham chham..', be it the philosophy of 'maanasicha chitrakaar to..' or the sad wail of 'ti geli tevha rimjhim..', Pandit Ji is the ultimate altruistic Santa Claus who gifts each of his music lovers with moments worth a lifetime!
No wonder singers like LataDi, AshaTai, UshaTai, KishoreDa, Mahendra Kapoor, KishoriTai, HemantDa, Ravindra Sathe, Satyasheel Deshpande and composers like Lata Mangeshkar, Naushad, S.D.Burman, Vasant Desai, Vasant Prabhu, Roshan, Shrinivas Khale, Yashwant Deo, Datta Dawjekar as also lyricists like Pt. Narendra Sharma, Sahir Ludhiyanvi, Javed Akhtar, Gulzar, B.R.Tambe, Aarti Prabhu, G.D.Madgulkar, Grace, Suresh Bhatt, Mangesh Padgaonkar, Shanta Shelke, N.D.Mahanor, Sudhir Moghe and many others have had a distinguished association with baaLaasaheb on musical levels that became standards!
Pandit Hridaynath Mangeshkar is undoubtedly the Midas of music and his place in film/non film music is not just irreplaceable but is ethereally and eternally cemented in the deepest crevices of all the hearts of all the music lovers. His impeccable memory, his wonderful orations of his experiences, his relentless energy to create something new and different over the years, his command over the language, his eloquence in recreating the humongous reading he has done, his grace and dignity that is seen not only in his presence but also is present in his compositions…compositions which resemble like a free spirited bird which sways through the clouds spreading happiness, compositions which represent the clouds themselves who get a silver lining because of him, which shower on us bliss, joy and pure, unadulterated feeling of being alive every time we pass under it.
At times, I feel he truly exemplifies this feeling (a part of his song from a Marathi film)..
बंधनी आहे तरी ही मुक्त झालो आज मी
पंख झालो या स्वरांचे विहरलो मेघांतरी
(Even if I am shackled, I feel free today,
Donning the wings of the 'sur', I flutter gleefully through the clouds.. )
Pandit Ji's life has been symbolic of struggle with determination, creativity with passion, encompassing of feelings with grace, knowledge with wit, massive leap with firm groundedness.. he is truly the shadow of Master Dinanath Mangeshkar, whose hands have been strongly held on one side by LataDi and on the other by AshaTai but yet has a strong existence of his inner soul, inner self..
आनंद-दुःख यांचे नाते मुळी जुळेना
ओठावरील माझ्या गाणे तरी ठरेना
सुखदायी गीत होते सार्याच भावनांचे
स्वर शब्दरूप होती आनंदल्या मनाचे
(The relation of happiness and sadness is bemusing,
but the song on my lips is relentlessly continuing,
every emotion transforms into a blissful song,
with the sur taking the place of the words in my happy heart, to sing along..)
May this song never get off-key and keep keying into the lives and hearts of all his followers…Pandit Hridaynath Mangeshkar is indeed the 'Hriday-Nath'!
