Today is the birthday of one of our living legends – Manna Dey ji.

It is his 94th birthday – and although 94 is a ripe age, we wish him many more birthdays to come.

It also happens to be the 100th birth anniversary of another legend, Balraj Sahni, today. In fact, this morning when I realized it was the birthday of both these legends, the first songs that came to my mind were “Tu pyaar ka saagar hai” and “Aye meri zohra jabeen”. Both Manna Dey classics picturised on Balraj Sahni.

The rest of the day, in the time that I was free, I have been thinking of only Manna Dey songs. I am fairly active on the social media platform, Twitter, so I have been posting several of his songs there today. I wanted to get him to trend on Twitter – and even requested Harsha Bhogle and Shashi Tharoor (two persons who have a big Twitter following) to help this to happen. They obliged but, as of now, it has not happened. It does not matter – I got a lot of people replying back to me about Manna Dey, how much they love his songs, sending me videos. It made me feel good to see so much love for Manna da.

One of the persons even tweeted back to me “Manna Dey does not need to trend on Twitter, he will always remain in our hearts”. So true!

I suddenly got this urge late in the evening to write a tribute to Manna Dey for Atul’s blog. I should have started earlier but Atul is nice enough to accept this late submission. And Ava has offered to write up the lyrics, since I have a terribly slow connection and it would take ages for me to get the lyrics written down if I tried. Anyway, this is a hurried effort by me – I hope it is not too much of a mess.

Ok, now about Manna Dey ji. As usual, I will not dwell too much on what is already known about him. There is a lot on the internet. He was born as Prabodh Chandra Dey on 1st May 1919 and is the nephew of once-famous Bengali actor-composer K.C Dey. In fact, his uncle played a major role in inspiring Manna Dey early on in his career.

Coming to my own experiences, I have always had a soft corner for Manna Dey’s songs. I know I say this for all singers (and that’s true too) but with Manna Dey, I can listen to his songs anytime. And that’s for almost all his songs. They are so easy on the ears, they are so easy to listen to.

The very first Manna Dey song I actually remember listening to is “Kasme waade pyaar wafa” from Upkaar. I was very young when I saw this movie – it had already become a big hit and the song “Mere desh ki dharti sona ugle” by Mahendra Kapoor was on everybody’s lips. Yet, when I saw the movie, still a young boy, the song that was on my lips for a very long time thereafter, was “Kasme waade pyaar wafa”. At that time I didn’t understand the depth of the song all that much – I just liked the voice and the pathos in the voice.

The next Manna Dey song I remember very well was “Zindagi kaisi hai paheli haay” from Anand. Another song that was on my lips long after I saw the movie. Like I said, Manna Dey songs linger on and on in your mind.

There were a few more that I remember from the late 60s. Like “kaal ka pahiya ghoome bhaiya” from Chanda Aur Bijli. I used to like this song also a lot at that time. Especially the “Ram Krishna Hari” part.

It is difficult to find a bad Manna Dey song. One where he is out of tune, or which is jarring in any way.

Manna Dey is of course known best for songs with a classical bend to them – the likes of Laaga chunri me daag((Dil hi to hai)(1963), Sur na saje kyaa gaaun main(Basant Bahaar), Pooccho na kaise maine rain bitaayi(Meri Soorat Teri Ankhen), Jhanak jhanak tori baaje paayaliya(Mere Huzoor), Gori tori paijaniya(Mehbooba), Ketaki ghulab joohi champakban(Basant Bahaar) and many more. Even when I was very young, I would be told “if you want to listen to classical songs from Hindi movies, you should listen to Manna Dey”.

Unfortunately, especially as the years progressed, there were not always opportunities in Hindi movies to have classical songs. And Manna Dey somehow got tagged with singing songs for the comedy role / secondary role actor (often Mehmood) instead of for the main lead (that would usually be Rafi saab or Mukesh or anybody but Manna Dey). Even then, he never once compromised on his quality – and some of these songs too (like Phool gendwa na maaro(Dooj Ka Chaand)(1964)) have become classics in their own right.

Manna Dey, like some other artistes, did feel aggrieved that he never quite got the respect from the industry that he felt he deserved. I remember, when he finally got an award for “Ae bhai zara dekh ke chalo (Mera Naam Joker)”, he did not mince words, saying “All my life I’ve sung so many classical songs. I never got an award. And now, for THIS song, they give me an award?”. One could feel for him.

Continuing with my personal experiences, I have very fond memories of seeing Manna Dey perform live in a concert when I was about 14 years old. It was a very big deal for me when there was a Shankar Jaikishen night in our small town in Orissa. Jaikishen was dead by then, but Shankar used to conduct concerts still under the S-J banner. Manna Dey was there, Talat Mahmood was there (oh, he was SO good even at that age), Sharada and a few other singers were present. Nitin Mukesh sang his father’s songs. Somebody else sang (rather horribly, I’m sorry to say) Rafi saab songs.

Anyway, Manna Dey was amazing that evening. Like he always is. He started with Tu pyaar ka saagar hai(Seema)(1955) and went on to sing a whole lot of S-J numbers. Like Jhanak jhanak tori baaje paayaliya(Mere Huzoor) and Sur na saje kyaa gaaun main(Basant Bahaar)e. That was the first time in my life I heard Jhoomta mausam mast maheena(Ujaala). He also sang “Dil ka haal sune dilwaala(Shri 420)(1955)” – a song which I fondly remember today as one that I’ve sung umpteen times to my niece when she was 4 years old. She used to love this song.

My other personal experience of Manna Dey ji was at Dubai Airport. I was sitting in the departure lounge waiting for my flight. And there comes Manna Dey ji – and sits next to me. I could not believe it!!! First I wasn’t sure it was him – it looked like him, but I couldn’t ask him (it would be rude). Then he checked his passport – and I peeped (I know I shouldn’t have but I HAD to know!) and saw the name “Prabodh Chandra Dey”. O.K!!! I was too tongue-tied to talk to him. I really should have! Anyway, it was almost time for our flight announcement so it was only a few minutes.

I just thought I’d share a bit of my experiences today on his 94th birthday before going on to the song.

The song for today is “haath mera hai” from Aarop (1973). This is not a very well-known Manna Dey ji song (as far as I know). But I do like it – and I think it really deserves to be better known. So on this occasion, I’m posting this song on this blog. The lyrics have been noted down by Ava – my thanks to her.

I happened to see the movie Aarop just a couple of years ago. My main purpose was to see the song “Nainon me darpan hai”. It was a bonus to listen to this Manna Dey song – since then I’ve listened to it a few times. The music is by another maestro Bhupen Hazarika. And the lyrics are Maya Govind, who used to be well-known for her poetry too, if I’m not mistaken.

The film itself is about an idealistic Vinod Khanna, an equally idealistic Saira Banu – and an equally idealistic Vinod Mehra. It is about journalism and how they want to expose crime through their newspaper. And how the powers-that-be try to destroy them. It is an OK film, could have been better, I think. But the songs are lovely.

Please do listen to this Manna Dey song. Happy Birthday once again, Manna Dey ji.

Song-Haath mere hai madhu ka pyaala (Aarop)(1973) Singer- Manna Dey, Lyrics-Maya Govind, MD-Bhupendra Hazarika

Lyrics (provided by Ava):

haath mere hai madhu ka pyaala
haath mere hai madhu ka pyaala
tera roop bana madhushaala
haath mere hai madhu ka pyaala

boond boond main roz mita hoon
tab chhalki sapnon ki haala
jab poonam ki madira barse ae ae
jab poonam ki madira barse ae
tujhe chandani ne nehlaaye ae,
nehlaaye,
nehlaaye
tab ye gora badan tumhaara
Tajmahal bann jaaye
roop sudha ki ek boond ko
tarse ye tera matvaala
haath mere hai madhu ka pyaala
tera roop bana madhushaala
haath mere hai
madhu ka pyaala

If one does not compare between the two movies, then I would say that the qawwalis of this movie are wonderful on their own right. I have discussed as many as five songs from this movie, and they are all superb qawwalis.

Here is the title qawwali from this movie. Like most qawwalis, this song has lots and lots of singers singing for losts and lots of actors. The qawwali pits a lady qawwal (Mumtaz) against lots of male qawwals and shows her beating her male adversaries hands down. Bravo Mumtaz, and Bravo Asha Bhonsle. Asha Bhonsle and female chorus is pitted against the likes of Manna Dey, Rafi, Balbir and the male chorus and the over ten minutes long qawwali is a treat to the senses. Shewan Rizvi, who wrote the immortal qawwali Hamen to loot liya mil ke husn waalon ne (Al Hilaal) was the lyricist and he came up with superb lyrics which are the star attraction of this qawwali. Iqbal Qureshi is the music director.

Writing down the lyrics of such a long qawwali, and also indicating the singers against the lines is not easy. I thank Ava Suri for providing me the lyrics of this song. I would have loved her to provide the write up too, seeing that she had provided the subtitling for this qawwali for a compilation of Mumtaz songs done by Tom. Since Ava sent me only the lyrics, it gives me the opportunity to write about this song myself. And guess what ! This song is a special song for the blog ! It is the 5700 th song of the blog. Yes, we complete yet another century of songs in this blog with this qawwali.

I must say that this is a wonderful song to mark the 5700th song of the blog. Almost un noticeably, this blog now has lots of contributors joining the bandwagon, making this an almost realtime collaboration of likeminded music lovers. A few of the contributors in fact have notches their own centuries of contributions. So many regulars now adays provide me with lyrics, write ups, information, suggestions etc that I believe we are on to something special as a community of music lovers. We could well be creating a list of Hindi movie musical gems that may become a valuable source for people seeking reliable information on this topic. And I am happy that we have made good progress in the past three years and more. During this period, I have become acquainted with so many people online and I have even met a couple of them (namely Raja and Sudhir). I hope that this blog will help bring daily cheer in the lives of its followers and will continue to contribute its mite in the cause of music lovers. I take this opportunity to thank all the well wishers of this blog and I hope that this musical caravan will continue to move on and on.

Song-Kehne waale tu bhi keh le (Qawwali Ki Raat)(1964) Singers-Asha Bhonsle, Manna Dey, Rafi, Balbir, Lyrics-Shewan Rizvi, MD-Iqbal Qureshi
Female chorus, Male chorus

Lyrics(Provided by Ava Suri)

Nazar se karne chale hain,
ae ae
muqaabla dil ka
hamein bhi dekhna hai
aaj hausla dil ka
kehne waale tu bhi keh le,
kehne waale tu bhi keh le
jo dil ki baat hai
kehne waale tu bhi keh le
jo dil ki baat hai
qawwali ki raat hai,
qawwali ki raat
qawwali ki raat hai,
qawwali ki raat
kehne wale tu bhi keh le,
jo dil ki baat hai,
haay
kehne wale tu bhi keh le,
jo dil ki baat hai
qawwali ki raat hai,
qawwali ki raat

tera roop ek kali hai
mera dard bekali hai
tujhe rang-o-boo miley hain
mujhe arzoo mili hai,
mili hai
meri aarzoo ne lekin
jahaan jal ke aah ki hai
wahin shaam pad gayi hai,
wahin raat ho gayi hai
jahaan dil jala hai mera,
aa aa
wahin roshni hui hai
wahin roshni hui hai,
hui hai,
wahin roshni hui hai
magar ishq shola hai,
shabnam kahaan
magar Ishq shola hai,
shabnam kahaan
Jo mujhmein ada hai
wo tujhme kahaan
Jo mujhme ada hai
wo tujhme kahaan
jo mujhme ada hai
wo tujhme kahaan
kehne wale
aaaaaaaa
Kehne wale
aaaa aaaa aaaa
kehne wale tu bhi keh le,
jo dil ki baat hai
qawwali ki raat hai
qawwali ki raat
qawwali ki raat hai,
qawwali ki raat
kehne wale tu bhi keh le,
jo dil ki baat hai
kehne waale tub hi keh le,
jo dil ki baat hai
qawwali ki raat hai,
haay
qawwali ki raat
qawwali ki raat hai,
qawwali ki raat

aaa aaa
aaa aaa aaa
aaa aaa aaa aaa
na kuchh ehsaas hota hai,
na kuchh ehsaas karte hain
mohabbat mein jo rote hain
fakat baqwaas karte hain
aaaa
fakat baqwaas karte hain
aaaaaaa haan
zubaan se uff na niklegi,
mita kar dekh le hamko
Yakin tujhko na ho to
aazma kar dekh le hamko
aaa aaaa
hamaare zabt pe ye nuktachini
aur zubaan teri
zubaan par hum nahin
laaye hain ab tak daastaan teri

mere deedaar se pehle
kahaan ye aah na lete
mere deedaar se pehle
kahaan ye aah na lete
duaaen do ke tumko,
raunak-e-mehfil bana daala
raunak-e-mehfil bana daala
raunak-e-mehfil bana daala
raunak-e-mehfil bana daala
raunak-e-mehfil bana daala

bahut khoob hai tu,
ham sa kahaan,
bahut khoob hai tu,
ham sa kahaan
jo ham me ada hai
wo tujh me kahaan
jo ham me ada hai
wo tujh me kahaan
jo ham me ada hai
wo tujh me kahaan,
kehne wale tu bhi keh le,
kehne wale tub hi keh le,
jo dil ki baat hai,
qawwali ki raat hai,
qawwali ki raat
qawwali ki raat hai
qawwali ki raat

teri dushmani se badh kar,
teri dosti ne maara
teri dushmani se badh kar,
teri dosti ne maara
teri dosti jahaan mein,
mujhe phir bhi hai gawaara,
teri dushmani se badh kar,
teri dosti ne maara
teri bewafaaion ko
mere shauq ne nikhaara
Teri bewafaaion ko
mere shauq ne nikhaara
Meri shokhion ne lekin,
tere shauq ko kubhaara ,
kubhaara
meri shokhion ne lekin,
tere shauq ko kubhaara
kubhaara
tujhe aaina bana kar,
kiya apna hi nazaara
tujhe is khudi ne khoya,
tujhe bekhudi ne maara
tujhe bekhudi ne maara
tere naaz ko zamaana,
meri bekhudi se jaana
teri bekhudi ne phir bhi
mere raaz ko na jaana
teri bekhudi ne phir bhi
mere raaz ko na jaana
teri bekhudi ne
aaa aaa
teri bekhudi ne
aaa aaaa
Teri bekhudi ne
aaa aaaa aaaa
teri bekhudi ne phir bhi
mere raaz ko na jaana
teri haar se bana hai,
meri jeet ka fasaana
meri jeet ka fasaana, fasaana,
meri jeet ka fasaana
zamane mein hai koi mujhsa kahaan,
zamane mein hai koi mujhsa kahaan
jo mujh me ada hai
wo tujhme kahaan
jo mujh me ada hai
wo tujhme kahaan
Jo mujh me ada hai
wo tujhme kahaan
Kehne wale
aaaaa
Kehne wale
aaaaaaaaaaaa
Kehne wale
aaaa aaa aaaa
Kehne wale tu bhi keh le
de jo dil ki baat hai
qawwali ki raat hai, qawwali ki raat
qawwali ki raat hai, qawwali ki raat
ho
qawwali ki raat hai, qawwali ki raat