Devotional songs that were close to the heart of Mahatma Gandhi

With Independence Day round the corner, it’s time to recall Mahatma Gandhi’s favourite devotional songs

MUSICALLY YOURS/Ramesh Kumar

With Independence Day round the corner, I got sucked into a patriotic fervour. Indian Independence meant Mahatma Gandhi, the Father of the Nation.

We all know that Ram Dhun (Raghupati Raghava Rajaram) was his favourite.

Another equally strong devotional song close to his heart was Hari Tum Haro, sung by the 15th-century poet saint Mirabai.

Once Gandhi requested the Carnatic Music doyen M S Subbalakshmi to sing the Meera bhajan for him, which she had sung in the film ‘Meera’, wherein she had acted and sung this song.

Subbalakshmi told him that she did not have the lyrics and that perhaps someone who knew them could be asked to sing. Gandhi retorted that he would not listen to anyone singing that song except in the voice of MS.

Before his October 2, 1947 birthday – his first after the Independence – he approached MS again and wanted this song to be heard in her voice. This time, she could not refuse. Around midnight of October 1, 1947, she rushed to the All India Radio Station in the erstwhile Madras, to sing and record the song. The next morning, the tape was airlifted to Delhi to be played at the evening prayer on his last birthday celebration.

Significantly, AIR played Hari Tum Haro on January 30, 1948, immediately after announcing his assassination. What a touching finale!

The Lyrics

हरि तुम हरो जन की पीर ॥

द्रौपदी की लाज राखी, तुम बढ़ायो चिर ॥

भक्त कारण रूप नरहरि, धर्यो आप शरीर ॥

हरिणकश्यप मार लीन्हो, धर्यो नहिन धीर ॥

बूढ़ते गजराज राख्यो, कियो बाहर नीर ॥

दास मीरा लाल गिरधर, दु:ख जहाँ तहाँ पीर ॥

The Translation:

Hari, remove the sufferings of Your people,

You protected the honour of Draupadi, Lengthening the garment that covered her,

For the sake of Your devotee,

You assumed the form of Narasimhadeva,

You killed Hiranyakasipu with Your fierce form,

You rescued the drowning elephant Gajaraja, taking him out of the water,

Oh, Master Giridhara! I am only Your maidservant, Mira,

Here and there, there is only suffering and pain,

You can listen to the M S Subbalakshmi version from Meera here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w9v38feFMQc

By the way, Lata Mangeshkar, too, sang under the baton of her brother Hridaynath in Prarthana, a 1969 Hindi film. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UqJOTOxDL6c)

Equally mellifluous.

There were some murmurs over a few words being changed in Lata’s version. Such disputes are not uncommon in the world of music.

I love both the versions. But my vote is for Lataji. Why? MS’s version had the conventional south Indian bhakti ras, while Lata’s rendering had the lilting north Indian devotional touch. Over the years, filmi geet captured the imagination of listeners in the bhakti sphere too. Me, no exception.

Also by the same author: https://thenewsporter.com/folks-tell-us-whos-the-best-mohanlal-or-mohanbabu/

The writer, a hardcore business and economic journalist-cum-author, dives into the entertainment world to bust his emotional stresses regularly. He lives in Greater Noida, India, with his wife and a parrot. He is reachable at ramesh@konsultramesh.com. Views are personal.