A Genius Par Excellence
Salil Chowdhury
I had talked of Sajjad's genius- now, I talk of Salil Chowdhury in the same breath. Salil da's compositions fall into their own class - which is why Salil da's compositions form their own class of music in Bengal called Salil sangeet. Salil Chowdhury's music carries essentially the flavour of the Bengali soil with a mix of Western symphonies. The identity I carry in my mind of Salil da are those numbers which form a delicious mix of Indian and Western classicism, folk and the modern. Not just the tune of the song - everything about the song,its interludes, orchestrization-just about everything has a special flavour all its own.
Salil da born to a Bengali physician, had an inborn love for music and with his father being a major conneisseur of Western Classical music, it was an early love that Salil imbibed for the symphonies of the west. Later, his stay in Calcutta introduced him to nuances of Indian classicism, the Rabindra sangeet and the other popular Bengali musicals. He had a talent for music and by the time he was in college, he had started writing Bengali poems and setting them to tune himself. He was a fine player of a number of musical instrumnets. Then came the Bengal famine of 1943 occured which changed his outlook. He was one of the active protestants against this famine and he was a Wanted man by the Police. He fled Calcutta and took refuge in rural Bengal where his compositions began to attain audience. His songs of protest created a wave across Bengal. Calmer times returned and Salil da now decided to become a full fledged music director. In Bengal, there is a seperate brand of music - Adhunik sangeet (Modern songs),which allowed the musicians to develop and show themselves in true colours. It was here that Salil made his oft-discussed and very interesting partnership with Hemant Kumar.
Salil and Hemant
They were the two titans of Bengali music. One, the greatest composer from the land and the other the voice widely associated with Bengali songs. Hemant was already a well established musical figure in Bengal when they met the mid-1940s. During the late 1940s, the two produced a string of phenomenolly successful songs like "Kono ek ghayer badhu", "Runner", "Bidroha gaan", "Palki chaley" (pardon me for any Bengali errors. I dont know Bengali, but love listening to the Bengali compositions of Salil and Hemant). Its ver interesting to note that there was no Salil when the songs were recorded - he was in hiding !! Then in the 1951, Hemant da came to Bombay and within an year he was a much sought after composer and singer in Bombay. Meanwhile, Salil was beginning to strike gold in the Bengali films. The two however got together every year during the Durga pooja festival of Bengal to create something magical. Some of my very favourite songs of this combination are
Dhitang dhitang bole
Paudh haravo bole ebar pothe nimechi
Ami jhoder kache rekhe
Moner janala dhore
Shono kaino ek din
Thikana amar sheisho
The last named is one of my great favourites, though Hemant da's voice had aged a little. Still, it was amagical composition. Returning to their story, their relationship got strained during the late 50s and it was almost 5 yrs before they got back together to create magic again. Hemant da however held a complaint that Salil had ignored him in Bombay. He sung the Bengali song "Amar proshno kore", which Salil da created in Hindi as "Kahin door jab din dhal jaye" in "Anand".
"Why couldnt I sing the song when I had sung the Bengali version ? Am I so bad at Hindi ?",queried a not-very-happy Hemant da. Again, the two patched the tiffs and recorded a few more melodies before Hemant da passed away. At his death, Salil da commented,"When God sings, it will be in the voice of Hemant."
Salil in Bombay
Not being very familiar with Bengali, it is the Bombay innings of Salil da that I shall concentrate on. He entered the Bombay filmdom with Bimal Roy's path-breaking "Do Bheega Zameen". Salil da was also the scriptwriter for the film. The songs,"Hariyala savan dhol bajata aaya", "Dhartyi kahe pukar ke", "Ajab tori duniya" and "Aaja ri aa" all became big hits and Salil hadmade a successful debut in Bombay. "Biraj Bahu" had a host of beautiful Hemant melodies - my personal favourite being "Mera man bhoola bhoola sa hai". Lovely songs. Next, I move to "Ek gaon ki kahani". I consider the Talat-rendered "Raat ne kya kya khwab dikhaye" to be amongst his finest composiitions. A brilliant song - of course, Talat's perfect rendition helped but the whole song, the interlude and everything creates an aura of magic around the listener. "Jhoome re, neela ambar jhoome" was another popular Talat solo from the film. There is another lovely number in the film - "Haye koi dekh lega mere sang piya"- a lovely Talat-Lata duet which typifies Salil da's musical style. The high notes of the song have been rendered wonderfully well by Talat. In contrast, I felt Lata had a little trouble reaching the high pitch of "O pardesi sajna"..thats another story altogether !!
Came 1958,came Madhumati ! And Salil had made it to the pinnacle. To this day, "Madhumati" is considered amongst the half-dozen finest musicals ever. I do not consider it to be Salil's best though. But all songs were beautifully crafted, and the orchestrization esp in the folk numbers was brilliant. The everpopular Lata solo "Aaja re pardesi", Mukesh's comeback "Suhana safar", Rafis's magnificent rendition of "Toote hue khwabon ne", the Mukesh-Lata duet "Dil tadap tadap ke" and Mubarak Begum's less-heard-but-great "Hum haale dil sunaywenge", all share honours with the magnificent and more popular folk numbers- the mind-boggling renditions by Lata and Manna Dey for "Dhaya re jungle papi bichua", Lata's personal favourite "Julmi sang ankh ladui" and "Ghadi ghadi mora dil dhadke". A host of brilliant compositions that have ensured Salil's eternal presence in the Bollywood Hall of Fame.
Salil and Lata
O sajna barkha bahar aayi : Perhaps, the most celebrated song of all time. Any small kid who sings in a competition ventures with this song. No song has moved successive generations as this song has. Its one of Salil da's personal favourites and has consistently appeard in Lata's 10 favourite songs. It has an equally beautiful Bengali predecessor "Na jaiyo na", which is (in my opinion) just a shade superior to the Hindi version in the sense that there is more Voice in the song. But for orchestral brilliance,the Hindi version scores. I happily love both equally.
Yeh bansi kyon baaje : Another magnificent conmposition. Breathtakingly rendered by Lata. You just cant hel;ploving such songs by Salil da. These songs which are usually the less-considered ones by other composers are the life and blood of Salil's songs.Those song picturizations on street singers, comedians - there lie the truly magnificent Salil compositions. This is one of the combinations' best. At times, I prefer it to even 'O sajna".
Machalti arzoo khade bahen pasa re:I am a bathroom singer - but even then, I cannot but admire the complexity of the composition. What a composition it is! And Lata is outastanding - simply brilliant. No one but Lata could have carried the song with half as aplomb as Lata did. This is Lata at her best - and I personally would prefer not be amongst the musicials for the song.Its complex even by Salil standards.
Ja re ud ja re panchi : Another popular song - but here its the brilliant orchestrization,the brilliant interlude music that scores over Lata's rendition. Outstanding. This song more or less show cases the brilliance of Salil.
Na jiya lage na : Another Lata beauty. The late 60s had not seen much of Salil. The only notable song from the period was in "Poonam ki raat"- "Saathi re tere bina". Thus we step into the 1970s.By this time, Salil da had started severing links with Bombay and his occasional forays to Bombay were mostly for old friends like Hrishikesh Mukherji. "Anand" had other fine numbers but for the Salil music droolers, this was the best of the lot - a throwback to the Golden Age. A beautiful composition,beautifully rendered by Lata. All in all,a treat.
Other beautiful compositions for Lata in the 1970s :
Rajnigandha phool tumhare
Na jane kyon hota hai yeh zindagi ke saath
Nishdin nishdin mere julmi sajan
Raaton ke saye ghane... Salil with others
Of course, its not that Salil composed only for Lata. A host of haunting melodies for the other singing legends like Mukesh, Manna Dey, Rafi and Talat.
Mukesh : After Madhumati, the two teamed up frequently to produce some glittering gems. His duets with Lata are well remembered- "Dil se dil ki dor bandhe", "Door kahin in rahon se,ishq ki", "Main janti hoon tum jhooth bolte ho", "Sapnon me mere tum" and above all, my very faviourite number from 'Prem Patra'- "Do akhiyan jhuki jhuki si",a wonderful song. I cant recall too many of his solos though - "Main karoon kya" from "Chand aur suraj", "Kaise manaoon piyava" from "Memdidi" and the two magnificent numbers from the 70s- "Kai baar yun bhi dekha hai"(from "Rajnigandha",which fetched Mukesh a National Award) and the superior "Yeh din kya aaye, lage phool hansne" from "Choti si baat". Salilda was a self-confessed admirer of Mukesh's vocals. He also used Mukesh's voice to render a couple of beauties in Bengali - "Mon maataar"and "Jhun jhun moyna nache na".
Manna Dey : Salil da used Manna Dey's voice extensively for the folk numbers he composed. The "Bichua" number in Madhumati,the two great compositions of "Do Bheega Zameen" - Dharti kahe pukar ke and Hariyala savan dhol etc. Not that he was an ignored element otherwise. But,I cant recall any romantic or sad numbers of Manna da for Salil. The odd classical number like "Ek samay par do barsatein" in "Jhoola" were there- but little more. The two combined more frequently in Bengal, though again for the mass or folk songs chiefly. But, in 1965, when Salil da ventured into Malayalam cinema with "Chemeen", it was Manna da who rendered the phenomenol "Mana samaynee varu" - one of Salil's breathtaking songs.
Talat Mahmood : Talat has not rendered too many Salil songs - but almost eevry song that he sung became hugely successful and are well-remembered till today. Their earliest combiation to my knowledge was "Dil deewana dil mastana mane na", a lovely duet with Lata. Then the "Ek gaon ki kahani" songs I had mentioned previously. The ever-cheering duet with Lata "Aha rhimjhim ke yeh pyare pyare geet liye", and the host of melodies in "Chaaya" - the very popular duet "Itna na mujhse tu pyar badha" and its solo version by Talat, the tipsy "Aankhon me masti sharab ki" and the haunting "Aansoo samajh ke kyon mujhe". All the most bewitching of melodies. And to round up, two of the finest Salil compositions you will ever get to hear- "Yeh mere andhere ujale na hote" and "Saavan ki raaton me aisa bhi hota hai", from "Prem Patra" both cherished Lata-Talat duets.
Salil da was the first composer to establish himself as a truly national composer. His compositions achieved success in every language that Salil da composed in. He established himself as one of the top composers in Kerala, his music held up till today as the finest in Malayalam cinema. Tamil, Kannada, Oriya and many more- Salil has composed in all these langages and achieved wide acceptance where he went. His music had an universality about it, which was beyond languages and region bias. Such talents come but rarely into the world. He rounded off his film career with "Swami Vivekananda" - it was Salil sangeet all over. The lilting Antara song "Jana hai jana hai us paar re" set the seal on Salil's musical career. The most talented composer ever- and one whose music has generated joy and pleasure through successive generations. Hail King Salil!!
My 10 All-Time Favorite Salilda Songs
| 1. O sajna barkha bahar(Lata) | 2. Dharti kahe pukar ke(Manna Dey & Lata) |
| 3. Mere man ke diye(Lata) | 4. Raat ne kya kya(Talat) |
| 5. Bichua..(Lata & Manna Dey) | 6. Ansoo samajh ke kyon(Talat) |
| 7. Yeh bansi kyon gaye(Lata) | 8. Janewale sipahi se poocho(Manna Dey) |
| 9. Yeh din kya aaye(Mukesh) | 10. Ja re ja re ud ja re(Lata) |
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