Song Exposition: 'Aaj Koi Nahi Aapna, Kise Gham Ye Sunayein..'

Aaj Koi Nahi Aapna, Kise Gham Ye Sunayein..

Lata Mangeshkar (Agnipariksha - 1981) 
Yogesh, Salil Chaudhary

This prelude is probably one of the best to have been created in HFM...with that exceptional use of the Flute and the Santoor Salilda manages to created that ripply effect to perfection (even in the picturization there is a small shot with the water body)...the way the Piano base enters soothing the Flute ripples..and then the Santoor...and the Trumpet...back to the Flute...all ably describe the flickery state of mind of the lead character! She tries to soothe them but all that comes back to haunt her (I havent seen the film but this is what I could guess)...and then enter's that lady who has been at her outstanding best under this master!!

The mukhda has those complex jumping notes, which Lata easily sings to perfection. Again in these high jumps, just probably goes to show the instability of the character's mind.
If the prelude was something out-of-the-world, the interludes will blow you off literally from your feet. The Flute (which was Salilda's best and most used instrument, you can see the variety with which he used the Base Flute, the Piccolo Flute in all his songs and yet sounded different every other time), the racing Cello's is the best part IMO, it reaching a pinnacle and they give way to the Trumpets...soothing down our already raced heartbeats (also in the picture you can see by then Parikshit Sahani walks on a road which is quietened and wet 'after' the rains...even the nature comes to normal and soothes itself with this ensemble of instruments)..in all this not to forget the background support of the Guitars...they unknowingly kept the interlude pieces glued to each other!

The antra is BLISS...the emptiness, helplessness in Rameshwari's character is brought to life by Lata!! This has the Salil stamp all over it...top class! The Tabla play is a treat...the small lehra at the cross line is lovely! When Lata stomps on the 'sam' with 'AAJ koi Nahi..', that feeling is inexplicable!!

The second interlude(M2) is again an ensemble of instruments ably weaved! The Sitar (again a Salil favourite), the Cello (again Salil manages to get the restlessness in the character out with the amazing use of these instruments)...the way he fuses the Sitar with the Cello with that small Flute piece is brilliant!

What a song! How do you even find accurate words to elaborate this humdinger of a song...many may say the Lata strained her voice at one point in the song, for me, no one else could have sung this song with this conviction and this perfect amount of emotion she lent to it! Commendable how she creates that atmosphere in mere 5 minutes! Master Salil was at his rocking best...this is changing with times...who said he was a composer of the 50s...this is what he offered to you in the 80s and with a quality that not many can match! True genius! Way way ahead of his time!!

This song also has as a Bengali counterpart which actually came first, 'Aaj Tabey Eituku Thaak..' which has a quintessential Bengali touch to it..its more subtle and softer with a lot of Sitar in it and a different instrumentation entirely! Another treat for sure!
But this tune was originally made for a Malayalam film titles Pratiksha in 1975 where Yesudas sang it as 'Aathira Poovaniyum..' which had a fair amount of Tabla...but IMO the third counterpart stands tall amongst them in terms of orchestration and singing!!

Here is the Bengali version of this masterpiece ! Lata-Salil magic regales !
'Aaj tobe ei tuku thak '



The journey from MalayaLam to Bengali to Hindi really is an ascending excellence.. with Salilda bettering himself with each version.

Aathira poovaniyaan - Pratheeksha (1979)

Song Exposition: 'Jaaneman Jaaneman Tere Do Nayan..'

Jaaneman Jaaneman Tere Do Nayan..

Asha Bhosle, Yesudas (Chotisi Baat - 1975)
Yogesh, Salil Chaudhary

Be it folk-ish in Madhumati and Do Bigha Zameen, westernized in Half Ticket, semi-classical in Parivar, contemporary HFI in Chhaya, Maya, Parakh, philosophical in Anand...just about any genre / form / style / type of music and Salilda stood tall and came out with flying colours! His music always changed with times..or rather was ahead of it...and this song is a testimony of that!

Asha teams up with Yesudas for an absolutely brilliant song from Chhotisi Baat (1975). And this song was an entirely different and refreshing change from the two other mind-blowing songs from the film....'Na Jaane Kyun..' and 'Ye Din Kya Aaye..' having there own flavours and certainly need a separate detailed post on the brilliance in music, singing and writing in each of them!

'Jaaneman Jaaneman..' is a fresh lease of air...right from the very first Mandolin piece which gives way to the instrument that Salilda made his own...the flute! The piccolo flute sounds tailor-made for this song and when the racing Violins join hands with it, its a symphony you would listen to in a loop. The prelude itself sets the tempo, the mood adding a lovely zing to the entire atmosphere! With the entry of Dharmendra (onscreen 'literally' in the song) and thereby Yesudas (who has the distinction of singing in as many as 6 languages for Salilda)..personally for me till I learnt about this song, Yesudas was always a singer meant for serious, serene songs...he breaks the mould wonderfully in this song! Enter Hema and the exuberant Asha just takes you with a storm! (Both these voices fit perfectly if you ask me on Dharam-Hema making the song a pleasant viewing as well). In all this, what makes the song groovy is the brilliant use of the Bongo's and the Conga's...they just make you tap to the rhythm wonderfully!

When Asha adds her own element with the little touch of the sur in the higher chord on 'Nayan' and that 'Haan' at the end...the interludes make a resounding entry! The Trumpet, ascending Violins (aptly depicting Amol Palekar's character's increasing anxiety), Bongos, Mandolin and the confidence shown on Amol's face with the ending Sax piece is just too good! The antras are a treat...both Asha and Yesudas showing amazing breath control singing those long sentences with aplomb! Salilda shows his mastery when he changes the meter and the placement of the words slightly when the first line of the antra repeats. Class! And when Vidya Sinha and Amol Palekar actually enter the song, the playfulness and joy in the song increases exponentially.

Even though the background beats, the interludes tend to repeat themselves..its the sheer amazement in the singing of the singers that the song doesnt sound monotonous and Asha enlivens the song with her connecting 'Jaa', 'Aa', 'Haa', her cute giggle on 'Ghabrao Nahi'. And then what makes the song get a special place in all our hearts is the overlapping 'La-La-La' of Asha and Yesudas...special! Touche!

A song that certainly brings a smile on our faces...which once again makes us laud the genius of Salilda, Ashatai, Yesudasji and not to forget Yogesh sa'ab cute lyrics! Pleasant, happy, cute and certainly adorable!!!

(pic courtesy :salilda.com )