Word Play: Shaam

Photo credit: imgkid.com

Many moons ago, I had begun a new category of themed lists. I titled it 'Word Play' and under that category, I began to list songs that began with a particular word. Going through my lists recently, I realised that that category has been woefully under-represented. In all these years, I've written just three posts - Raat, Piya and Chand, probably the most ubiquitous of 'words that occur frequently in Hindi films songs'.

The 'rules' for this category were frighteningly simple: the song had to begin with the chosen word. (At the most, the word could be the second one in the first line.) Preludes to songs didn't count. And two, it has to be the word itself, not its variations.

The advantage, of course, to doing so, was that the songs chosen under this rule were not restricted in terms of genre (they could be of love or heartbreak, meetings or separation, betrayal or helplessness...) or setting (urban, rural, or in-between). I didn't have to worry about the distinctions I make in my own mind, or about explaining those to my readers.

The words that I have picked before - raat, piya, chand - are all inextricably linked to one another. And so, while choosing a word for the post this time, I dithered between chandni (moonlight) and shaam (evening/twilight), and finally decided on the latter. Perhaps because in the north-east of the US, at this point, we do not have twilight. One minute the sun is shining brightly at us, making driving westwards difficult, the next, we need to put on our headlights. 

But I have fond memories of shaam in India. My earliest memories are of the temple bells ringing in the distance, my grandmother lighting the lamp in the puja room, and then bringing out the smaller lamp to place next to the tulsi plant. It's of tagging along with my mother or aunt to the nearby temple, watching the smoke of myriad oil and ghee lamps swirling away into the darkness beyond, and the idol of the Devi, bright and beautiful with her chandan-smeared face, and her red-silk clad figure glowing in that light. It's of walking home in that almost-darkness, the cows wending their way back home as well, the bells around their neck tinkling gently, as the cowherds stopped them from meandering off the grassy side paths. 

As I grew older, it was of all the times that I sat on the window sill, my fingers wrapped around a cup of coffee, weaving gossamer castles in the air. It's of sighing over the cute boy who smiled at me when I was walking home from college, of giggling with my cousin over a 'love' letter that someone had passed to us, of losing myself in a description in a book, and dreaming. Shaam was the perfect time for all this.

And so I decided it was time indeed to explore this word, and the different emotions that are contained within... I had spent some time looking for the songs that populate this list, and here, in no particular order, are my final selections. 

1. Ye shaam ki tanhaayiaan

Aah (1953)

Singer: Lata Mangeshkar

Music: Shankar-Jaikishen

Lyrics: Shailendra

I posted this song once before, in my post on Songs of Waiting. The context goes thusly: Raj (Raj Kapoor) and Chanda (Vijayalaxmi) are almost-betrothed to each other. Well, their fathers would like to see them wed. So begins a correspondence between the two. Only, little does Raj know that the 'Chanda' he has been writing to is her little sister, Neelu (Nargis). As their correspondence continues, Neelu and Raj begin to understand each other better; slowly, they become friends, and as night follows day, that friendship deepens into love. At this point, Neelu does not know how to draw the curtains on her charade, and one day, Raj's father sends a formal proposal of marriage - between Raj and Chanda. The latter, not having ever seen the man, and not knowing anything about him, vetoes the proposal. 

It is when Raj, taken aback at what he considers his love's duplicity, confronts his 'Chanda' through a letter that he realises that he has been writing to the wrong sister all this time. But the lovers get past this hurdle, and Raj agrees to present himself at Neelu's house with a formal proposal for Neelu's hand. And Neelu waits and waits. And waits. For a man who doesn't come. And as evening passes into twilight, Neelu's anguish knows no bounds.  

 Jis raah se tum aane ko the

Uske nishaan bhi mitne lage

Aaye na tum, sau sau dafaa

Aaye gaye mausam  

2. Woh shaam kuch ajeeb thi

Khamoshi (1969)

Singer: Kishore Kumar

Music: Hemant Kumar

Lyrics: Gulzar

 One of my favourite Kishore Kumar numbers for more than one reason, Khamoshi is a film I have never been able to revisit, despite a 'different' storyline (suspect medical procedures excepted), and excellent acting from a stellar cast. 

Arun (Rajesh Khanna) is in love with Radha (Waheeda Rehman), a love he thinks is reciprocated. Little does he know that Radha has walked the path of unrequited love - for Dev (Dharmendra), a patient in the mental hospital where she works, and whom she helped bring out of depression following some highly suspect medical advice from the doctor-in-charge. Little does he know that Radha's mental status is now beginning to slowly disintegrate as she withdraws deeper and deeper into the realisation that the man she loves has never loved her, nor even known that she loves him, and that she doesn't love the man who loves her. But right now, Arun lives in hope...

 Mera khayaal hai abhi jhuki huyi nigaah mein
Khili huyi hansi bhi hai, dabi huyi si chaah mein
Main jaanta hoon, mera naam gunguna rahi hai woh
Yahi khayaal hai mujhe, ke saath aa rahi hai woh 

3. Shaam-e-gham ki kasam

Footpath (1953)

Singer: Talat Mahmood

Music: Khayyam

Lyrics: Majrooh Sultanpuri and Ali Sardar Jaffrey

From a very under-rated film, where Dilip Kumar takes a breather from playing tragedy-struck lover to plumb the depths of despair as a man (Noshu Sharma) who is waging an ongoing battle against penury, and who takes to black marketing and extortion to triumph over his adversity. He succeeds, and very well too, until a pesky journalist threatens to expose the edifice built on deceit and chicanery. Will he take that ultimate step to protect himself or will he, finally, listen to his conscience?

Meena Kumari plays Mala, his lady love, and the scenes between them, even the serious ones, provide the lightness in a dark film. As Noshu waits for his Mala, he reaches the point where he feels the moonlight is cruel, and the separation, torture.

Chain kaisa jo pehloo me tu hi nahin
Maar daale na dard-e-judaai kahin
Rut haseen hai toh kya chaandni hai toh kya
Chandni zulm hai aur judaai sitam

4. Shaam-e-bahaar aayi

Shama Parwana (1954)

Singers: Suraiya, Mohammed Rafi

Music: Husnlal-Bhagatram

Lyrics: Majrooh Sultanpuri

Like many films of that period, the songs are excellent, and can make you fall into the trap of actually sitting down to watch the movie. And of course, it stars Shammi Kapoor in one of his early movies, so one hopes for the best. But as it turns out, it is one of those films that make you want to slit your throat (with a blunt knife), and wonder how you are ever going to get the 2.5 odd hours that you've expended on its watching. 

If you're still curious, the story is of star-crossed lovers - Aalam Meherbano and Gul Mirza, who meet and fall in love over a shared love of poetry. At least, Gul Mirza falls in love. Lady Meherbano doesn't really seem all that interested, until the news of Mirza's death reaches her. Then she promptly falls into a decline and is sent off to a more salubrious climate to heal. Whereupon she chances upon Mirza, wounded not dead, and decides that she does love him after all. All is well, and the Meherbano-Mirza romance is well on its way to fruition - which is when they sing this song; she, in her garden accompanied by her retinue, and he, with all his friends, in the courtyard of his house. One would think that the movie is en route to a happy ending, but with such a jellyfish for a heroine, one finds out otherwise. Also, love stories with happy endings do not become famous. One has to die for love.

5. Huyi shaam unka khayaal aa gaya

Mere Humdam Mere Dost (1968)

Singer: Mohammed Rafi

Music: Laxmikant-Pyarelal

Lyrics: Majrooh Sultanpuri

Perfect daru song. Heartbreak, a cup of wine, and Mohammed Rafi to sing for you. What more do you need? Strangely enough, for a drunken-heartbreak song, the hero is not singing of the heroine's bewafaai (infidelity). This is a more philosophical musing - he had prided himself on not being heartbroken. He had thought, hoped, that he had forgotten the woman he loved, that he had thrown off any thought of her... but, come evening, and he finds himself drowning in her memories...

Humein toh yahi tha guroor 

Gham-e-yaar hai humse door

Wohi gham jise humne kis kis jatan se

Nikla tha is dil se door

Woh chalakar qayaamat ki chaal aa gaya...

Huyi shaam unka khayaal aa gaya

Wohi zindagi ka sawaal aa gaya

6. Roz shaam aati thi

Imtihaan (1974)

Singer: Lata Mangeshkar

Music: Laxmikant-Pyarelal

Lyrics: Majrooh Sultanpuri

Another film that is better left unseen, Imtihaan was a pale version of To Sir With Love. Only, this being a Hindi film, the 'sir' (Vinod Khanna in glasses) needed a romance. He gets one in the headmaster's daughter (Tanuja), who until his arrival had been confined to a wheelchair. (Yup, miracles do work.) He is also being stalked by a student (Bindu), who is extremely jealous of his attentions towards the handicapped girl, and therefore plots his undoing. The lead pair tried valiantly, but even they can only rise just so much above a script that goes nowhere. But this is a pleasant song, all the same, and expresses all the difference that the hero's arrival has made in her life.

Roz shaam aati thi magar aisi na thi
Roz roz ghataa chhaati thi magar aisi na thi

Ye aaj meri zindagi mein kaun aa gaya...

7. Shaam gayi raat aayi

 Shree 420 (1955)

Singer: Lata Mangeshkar

Music: Shankar-Jaikishen

Lyrics: Shailendra
This fits in well in my 'Mystery of the Missing Songs' post (it was in fact, mentioned in the comments). A song that was recorded, even picturised, and then deleted from the film. I wonder whether Raj Kapoor deleted it because unlike the other songs, this would have slowed the narrative down? I'm not sure; ever since I realised this wasn't in the film, I've wondered where it would fit if it had been included. Truth to tell, I cannot think of any place in the film where it wouldn't have been superfluous. And even more strangely, this song was never used in any subsequent RK film either. 

Meechoon aankhen toh teri sooratiya

Cham cham chamke jaise bijuriya 

Pyaar bhare tere nainon ke rang mein
Bheege man ki chunariya chunariya

Jaise barsaat aayi ke balam aaja

O balam aa ja, ab toh sanam aaja

Shaam gayi raat aayi ke balam aaja'

Taaron ki baraat aayi ke balam aaja

8.  Shaam dekho dhal rahi hai 

Anjaan Hai Koi (1969)

Singers: Mohammed Rafi, Usha Khanna

Music: Usha Khanna

Lyrics: Manohar Lal Khanna

For a music director who broke into the male-dominated music industry with a bang in Dil Deke Dekho, Usha Khanna did not manage to capitalise much on her success. While she did have a few other films with excellent songs, she soon seemed to be composing for the second tier of films. Anjaan Hai Koyi  was supposedly a murder mystery, with Feroz Khan stepping in for the murdered man in order to bring his murderer to justice. Aruna Irani played his romantic interest, though here, he is romancing the murdered man's fiancée (Nalini Chatterjee). The song is a romantic one, with the lovers singing of the coming twilight, and what it means to them. The lyricist is Usha Khanna's father.

Haaye shaam ke aanchal mein masti hai bheegi bheegi

Aur de rahi hai dhadkan awaaz dheemi dheemi

Tu bhi chal mere sang, o mere jeevan saathi

Shaam dekho dhal rahi hai 

9. Shaam dhale khidki tale

Albela (1952)

Singers: Lata Mangeshkar, Chitalkar

Music: C Ramchandra

Lyrics: Rajinder Krishan

When Bhagwan decided to sink his earnings into making this film, he made the rounds of the top actresses of the time. No one was ready to act as his heroine. Until, as a last resort, he approached Geeta Bali, confessing to her that if she refused, he would have to scrap the idea. Geeta listened to him, and without even bothering to hear the script, agreed to play the role of a theatre actress who falls in love with a man who is considered good-for-nothing by his family. Chock-full of lovely songs by C Ramchandra, who also doubled as playback singer (as Chitalkar), Albela was a runaway hit.

Roz-roz tum meri gali mein chakkar kyon ho kaat-the

Sachchi-sachchi baat kahoon main aji tumhare waaste, 

Jaao, jaao, hosh mein aao yun aana-jaana chhod do
Shaam dhale, khidki tale tum seetee bajaana chhod do

 

10. Ye shaam mastani 

Kati Patang (1970)
Singer: Kishore Kumar

Music: RD Burman

Lyrics: Anand Bakshi

After a wonderful stint with Shammi Kapoor, Shakti Samanta shifted to the new superstar, Rajesh Khanna. Their outings together proved successful from their very first outing - Aradhana. This, their second outing, saw Khanna as Kamal, a man who falls in love with his friend's widow, Madhavi (Asha Parekh), not knowing that she is neither a widow, nor ever married to his friend at all. In fact, she is the woman who broke his heart, by leaving him stranded at the altar. This song, after Kamal finds himself attracted to Madhavi, sees him trying to woo her.

Ek roothi huyi taqdeer jaise koyi
Khaamosh aise hai tu, tasweer jaise koyi
Teri nazar, banke zubaan, lekin tere paighaam diye jaaye
Ye shaam mastaani, madhosh kiye jaaye
Mujhe dor koyi kheenche, teri ore liye jaaye

So, one word, ten songs. All songs that speak of that particular time of day when day meets night. What does that time mean to you? And what songs would you add to this list?