Rain-inspired songs are aplenty. In Satyajit Ray’s Jalsaghar, the protagonist of the film, the zamindar, sees the thunder, lightning, and rain through the balcony. Perfect mood-setting. The song is set in Mian ki Malhar raga, the most popular raga identified with the monsoon
MUSICALLY YOURS/Ramesh Kumar
I am no fan of Satyajit Ray. I am familiar with his realistic films portraying India, which do not enthuse me. Depressive, so to speak. We go to cinema halls to escape from our grim lives. The world-renowned Indian film director does not offer escapism. Despite all the praise heaped on him, I have not seen a single film of his. Film lovers and Bengalis, in particular, may take offence at my declaration and claim it is my misfortune to miss out on Ray’s oeuvre. That’s fine with me.
Yet, Ustad Salamat Ali Khan pulled me to Ray’s Jalsaghar. Before you conclude that I saw the movie in full, hear me out: No, I did not see the full movie, but two songs composed by the master Hindustani musician. One thumri sang by Begum Akhtar, picturised on her in this 1958 film compared to The Leopard, directed by Luchino Visconti in 1963. Both films have the same storyline: the climax to the luxurious lifestyle of an aristocrat or zamindar due to societal transformation. Ray made his film five years before the Italian film hit the silver screens, featuring Burt Lancaster.
Back to Jalsaghar. Besides Begum Akhtar’s Bhore Bhore Ankhiya (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NyGW3-dqQE8), music maestro Ustad Vilayat Khan got Ustad Salamat Ali Khan to sing Bhar Bhar ayi Mori Ankhiyan, another thumri. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HsOApwYgzLo)
What is thumri? Good question. The thumri is another North Indian vocal form based on romantic-devotional literature inspired by the Bhakti movement. The text is usually derived from the Radha-Krishna theme and is of primary importance.
Both songs are classical Hindustani, and that’s how I landed up watching these YouTube clips of these thumris from Ray’s repertoire. The opening shehnai notes in Bhar Bhar Ayi Mori freeze you like a snake before the charmer’s been (flute). Bismillah Khan, it was, playing shehnai! Divine. Sublime.
Jalaras bundan barse
Piya milan ko jiyara tarase
Yun yun aawat ghor badariya
Mori ankhiyan barse. [1]
Translated:
Raindrops are falling
I would like to meet my beloved
Great big clouds are coming in
They are prohibiting me from going to see my beloved because of this, and I am crying with sadness.
Rain-inspired songs are aplenty. As Ustaad Salamat Ali Khan keeps his audience spellbound in Jalsaghar, the protagonist of the film, the zamindar, sees the thunder, lightning, and rain through the balcony. Perfect mood-setting. The song is set in Mian ki Malhar raga, the most popular raga identified with the monsoon.
In the malhar raga family, Megh Malhar and Mian Ki Malhar are popular. Mian Ki Malhar is a variation of the original malhar. “Its popularity has superseded its roots to the extent that when ‘Malhar’ is mentioned today, it refers to Mian ki Malhar,” writes C. Oberoi. [2]
Ram Tanu, a legendary musician in the court of 16th century Mughal emperor Akbar, was inspired by this raga. There is another variation to this raga: Desh Malhar.
There is a beautiful version of the same song from across the border. Pakistan, I mean. Here is the Coke Studio version. Fusion, it is, with several foreign musicians participating in this composition. Yes, it is longer than Ray’s Jalsaghar version. The female singers are top-notch. [3]
While on the subject of Pakistan, a 1959 film, Koel has this song picturised while the film title is screened. Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan sings under the baton of Khwaja Khurshid Anwar. [4]
(The views are personal, and The News Porter bears no responsibility for the same)
- Top/featured picture: A musical session in progress in the film Jalsaghar. All pictures arranged and provided by the writer, Ramesh Kumar
Also, by the same author: How my Mittoo mian remains so very quiet when the music plays – THE NEWS PORTER
References:
(1) https://hindilyrics123.com/garaj-garaj-ghir-aaye-badar-lyrics-in-hindi-18523.html
(2) https://eos.org/opinions/the-melodies-of-monsoons-weather-in-indian-classical-music
(3) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u7R4kdCi1zY
(4) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t-y-vUauTK4
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.
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