My Favourites: Songs Of Waiting

I am sitting here waiting for a family friend to show up. His flight landed at a quarter to eight and here we are at a quarter to 11 and he has still not exited. Of course, I am at home, while my husband is waiting at the airport but I have finished feeding my son, and clearing up and have done a whole bunch of chores (I went looking for them) because I always am restless when I am waiting for someone, and I have still not got a call saying they are on their way.  I wasn't intending to write this post today, but what better post can there be than my favourite intezaar songs while I am waiting?

And Hindi films were replete with them - when one is in love, yearning, heartbreak, separation, and waiting go hand in hand with the joy of meeting and glancing deep into each other's eyes.

These are my favourite intezaar songs from old Hindi films, coloured as they are with all the different shades of waiting...

10. Yearning: Aaja re pardesi (Vyjayanthimala / Madhumati / 1958)

She is a maiden on the cusp of womanhood. Seen through the mountain mists, she is a will-o'-the-wisp, a woodland sprite, now there, now invisible. Even she does not know who (or what) it is she is waiting for. But she is waiting - for her lover, someone she knows over many lifetimes, even if he hasn't appeared so far. He will surely come - her voice is haunting enough.

Tum sang janam janam ke phere

Bhool gaye kyon saajan mere

Tadpat hoon main saanjh savere

Aaja re pardesi, main to kab se khadi is paar

Ye akhiyaan thak gayi panth nihaar 

9. Restlessness: Sakhi re mera (Meena Kumari / Chitralekha / 1964)

There is so much pleasure in getting dressed for your beloved. In Kidar Sharma's film, Meena Kumari plays the eponymous heroine. She is the court dancer of Samrat Chandragupt and loves (and is loved by) the commander-in-chief (Samant Bijgupt / Pradeep Kumar) of the mighty Maurya empire. Bijgupt is back from yet another campaign on behalf of his emperor; he will surely come visit?

Sakhi re mera, man uljhe, tan dole

Ab chain pade, jab unse milan ho le

8. Hope: Jiya beqaraar hai (Nimmi / Barsaat / 1949) 

   

It's a long-distance love affair between Neela (Nimmi) and Gopal (Premnath); only, she does not know Gopal is too busy playing the field. And so she waits, this naive hill maiden, for the monsoons to arrive, for then, so will her love. There is eagerness, there is yearning, there is shyness. After all, he is on his way...

Tujhko nazre doondh rahi hai, mukhda to dikhlaaja ho

Raste par hoon aas lagaaye, aane wale aaja

7. Anticipation: Kahin ye woh to nahin (Priya Rajvansh / Haqeeqat / 1964)

A young Ladakhi maiden, Almo (Priya Rajvansh), falls in love with a dashing young Indian soldier, Captain Bahadur Singh (Dharmendra) during the Sino-Indian war of 1962. The waiting is even more worrisome since the platoon is outnumbered by the Chinese. Every rustle makes Almo's heart skip a beat - is it him? Is it really him? When will this waiting end?

Shakl phirti hai nigaahon mein vohi pyaari si
Meri nas-nas mein machalne lagi chingari si
Chhuu gai jism mera kisake daaman ki hawa
Kahin ye voh to nahin

6. Anxiety: Suhani raat dhal chuki (Suresh / Dulari / 1949)

 

Prem Shankar (Suresh) is the much-loved scion of a wealthy businessman. His father has great plans for his future, but Prem wants to marry for love. Much to his father's chagrin, he falls in love with a gypsy lass, Dulari (Madhubala). Not that her tribe are very happy about the relationship either. However, the two lovers do not let that sway them; they pledge to meet, and Prem is at the meeting place at the appointed time. The night is nearly over; the stars are bidding goodbye, and there is no sign of her yet... 

Nazaare apni mastiyaan dikha dikhaake so gaye

Sitaare apni roshni luta lutaake so gaye 

5. Persistence: Yeh mera deewanapan hai (Dilip Kumar / Yahudi / 1958)

 

I was half-tempted to write 'Self-righteousness'. Well, I know he is waiting and all, and hoping she will come but she may not, but there is a strong vein of 'See how mad I am for you; if you don't love me, it is all your fault' about the lyrics. Also, more than a hint of 'Serves you right if I die!'

Prince Marcus (Dilip Kumar) is a Roman prince, who, on one of his campaigns meets and falls in love with Hannah, a Jewish maiden. In order to placate her father, who has an implacable hatred toward the Romans, he pretends to be Jewish too. Only, the pretence does not last; and while the daughter's heart is tender, her father is cast from a different mould; and Hannah is not allowed to go meet her lover. Therefore, the waiting... will she, won't she, will she, won't she, will she come to meet Marcus?

Dil ko hai teri tamanna, dil ko hai tujhse hi pyaar

Chahe tu aaye na aaye, hum karenge intezaar 

4. Regret: Aa aa bhi jaa (Waheeda Rehman / Teesri Kasam / 1966)

Waheeda is Heerabai, a nautanki dancer. Raj Kapoor is Heeraman, a cart driver. For too brief a time, their paths intersect; there is affection, there is friendship, there is love - of sorts. She calls him 'Meeta'; he calls her Heera'devi'. Only, she is not really a devi; she is a woman, who is making the best deal out of the cards that life has dealt her. And she is unapologetic about it. Her only regret is that she cannot be what he has imagined her to be. And when she tells him the reality of her life, he stops coming to the nautanki because he cannot bear the catcalls and the comments from the audience. But it seems he will never be free of the sight of her dancing on stage, even if it is his fevered imagination. She hopes he will come, though she knows that the end is always 'goodbye'.

Sitaaron ne munh pherkar kaha alvidaa hamasafar
Chala kaarvaan ab chalaa, aa, aa bhi jaa 

3. Anguish: Yeh sham ki tanhaiyan (Nargis / Aah / 1953)

 

Neelu (Nargis) has been writing to Raj (Raj Kapoor) in her sister Chandra's (Vijayalaxmi) name. As the correspondence deepens, they fall in love. They even meet. The charade continues until Raj's father sends a proposal of marriage for Chandra, and the latter rejects him. When Raj realises that it was Neelu to whom he had been writing all along, he agrees to meeting her parents for a formal proposal. And Neelu is waiting... only, Raj doesn't show up. And there is no further news from him. What is a girl to do?

Jis raah se tum aane ko the

Uske nishaan bhi mitne lage

Aaye na tum, sau sau 

dafaa aaye gaye mausam 

2. Despair: Mera dil ye pukare aaja (Vyjayanthimala / Nagin / 1954) 

  

Mala (Vyjayanthimala) vows to kill Sanatan (Pradeep Kumar), the son of a rival chieftain; the motive is revenge, the background is the inter-tribal warfare between the two snake-worshipping clans. Only, she falls in love with him (actually, his been-playing) instead. Her father cannot brook what he sees as treachery, and imprisons her to stop her from meeting the enemy. There is also Prabir (Jeevan), who wants to marry her, to make things interesting. Mala is heartbroken; will her lover heed the call of her heart?

Munh chhupa ke meri zindagi ro rahi, ro rahi
Din dhala bhi nahin, shaam kyon ho rahi, ho rahi
Teri duniya se ham, le ke chale tera gham
Dam bhar ke liye to aa ja
Bhiga-bhiga hai sama aise main hoon tu kahaan
Mera dil ye pukaare aajaa...

1. Heartbreak: Chand phir nikla (Nutan / Paying Guest / 1957)

 

Ramesh (Dev Anand and Shanti (Nutan) meet as paying guest and landlord's daughter. Soon enough, they are in love. Only, Shanti's friend and neighbour, Chanchal, who married an old man for his money, soon starts casting eyes on Ramesh. She believes that money can buy anything, while Shanti is confident that love will overcome any difficulty. Chanchal is openly flirting with Ramesh, and it seems like Ramesh has no objections. And finally one day, he is too busy with Chanchal to come visit Shanti like he used to - is this the beginning of the end?

My favourite of the intezaar songs; also a perennial favourite for the lyrics, the music, the picturisation, and above all, for Nutan.

Yeh raat kehti hai ke woh din gaye tere

Yeh jaanta hai dil ke tum nahin mere

Khadi hoon main phir bhi nigaahein bichhaaye 

Main kya karoon haaye ke tum yaad aaye

I feel terrible that I couldn't find an intezaar song picturised on Madhubala - Aayega aayega aane waala  does not ever play as a full song in the movie. There was no sense in adding it to 'My Favourites'.  And so I make do with two Vyjayanthi numbers, sung by Lata Mangeshkar; but they are both beautiful melodies, and so there are little regrets, if any.