This article is written by Sadanand Kamath, a fellow enthusiast of Hindi movie music and a contributor to this blog. This article is meant to be posted in atulsongaday.me. If this article appears in sites like lyricstrans.com and ibollywoodsongs.com etc then it is piracy of the copyright content of atulsongaday.me and is a punishable offence under the existing laws.
In July 2014, when the Blog was celebrating a milestone of 10,000 songs, I had written an article on Mallika Pukhraj and discussed her iconic nazm Abhi To Main Jawaan Hoon. At that time, I had heard almost all ghazals, nazms and thumris rendered by her and available on the websites. One of her ghazals which I liked for very unique style of rendition was “Dillagi Meri Koi Kya Jaane”. Surprisingly, a good quality video of her rendition of this ghazal was available on YT. I was under the impression that Mallika Pukhraj sang this ghazal in Wadia Movietone’s film ‘Kahaan Hai Manzil Teri’ (1939). I liked her rendition so much that I decided that I would attempt an article on this ghazal for the blog some time later. However, after a couple of months or so, I found to my dismay that the said video of the ghazal was deleted from YT.
In the recent times, I have been scouting for some rare songs of the 40s for posting in the blog. In this exercise, I came across MP3 clip of this ghazal on Dr Surjit Singh’s website. What surprised me was that this ghazal was attributed to the film ‘Azaadi-e-Watan’ (1940) which was produced under the banner of Anglo-American Film Corporation by EP Kanga. The question is whether the ghazal was used in two films or it was a mistaken identity of the film. Luckily, I found that the video of the ghazal was once again uploaded on YT.
In the video, a gentleman makes the announcement about Mallika Pukhraj that ‘for the first time in her life she will perform before the camera and microphone of Wadia Movietone which we present along with our super film ‘Kahaan Hai Teri Manzil’ (1939)’. One can assume from the announcement (as underlined) that this video clip was not a part of the film. Probably, the clip was shown before the start of the film as an additional incentive for the audience. I also got confirmation from Bharatbai that the ghazal is not listed under ‘Kahan Hai Teri Manzil’ (1939) in HFGK but is listed under ‘Azaadi-e-Watan’ (1940).
The duration of the video clip and the MP3 of the ghazal purported to be from ‘Azaad-e-Watan’ (1940) are more or less the same. But Mallika Pukhraj has given different ornamentations and repeated different verses while singing for the film. It is apparent that she recorded the ghazal afresh for the film.
The Encyclopaedia of Hindi Cinema mentions that the film ‘Azaadi-E-Watan’ (1940) was probably dubbed version of an American import. It appears to be true as the poster of the film, instead of mentioning star casts, mentions “dialogues spoken by D Billimoria, Ghulam Mohammed, Abdul Kadar, W M Khan, Ghulam Rasool, Miss Panna and Miss Abida”. The name of the director is also not mentioned in the poster. Instead it states ‘synchronisation directed by D Billimoria’.
The ghazal is attributed to Daagh Dehlvi which is apparent from his ‘nom de plume’ used in the maqta (last she’r) of the ghazal. However, as per Rekhta.org, the matla (first she’r) of the ghazal rendered by Mallika Pukhraj is not a part of the original ghazal. Interestingly, the same ghazal was also rendered by Miss Badro of Multan (probably earlier than Mallika Pukhraj) with the same matla she’r which is not a part of the original ghazal as per Rekhta.org. The name of the music director for this ghazal is not known. But one can assume that the ghazal was composed by Mallika Pukhraj. The tune of the ghazal seems to be a common one, probably used by poets while rendering their ghazals in tarannum (in tune) in a mushaira.
For the sake of propriety, I have created a video of mp3 clip of the ghazal attributed to the film even though the sound is not as good as that of the video clip of Wadio Movietone. Probably mp3 clip may have been made from the gramophone record if one goes by the hissing sound in the clip. However, I have also given the link of the video clip which is much better in sound quality as compared with that of mp3 clip.
Mallika Pukjraj has rendered this ghazal in a unique way – more like a classical rendition with ‘alankars’ (ornamentations) like change of pace, singing of words like ‘kya jaane’, ‘lutf-e-sharaab’ etc akin to murki and meend in classical singing terminology and the taans. For this reason, I have noted down the lyrics with ornamentations and given the she’rs in the ghazal format separately.
These ornamentations make her singing mesmerising for those who have liking for the ghazals rendered in the traditional style that was prevalent in the 30s.
[Audio]
[Video – from Wadia Movietone]
Song – Dillagi Meri Koi Kya Jaane (Azaadi e Watan) (1940) Singer – Malika Pukhraj, Lyrics – Daagh Dehlavi, MD – [Unattributed]
Lyrics
aaaa
dillagi meri koi kya aa
kya aaaa aa jaa..aane
dil
haan aan
dil
dil
dil hi jaane ya dilrubaa
dilrubaa…aaaaaaa
jaa….aane
dil hi jaane ya dilrubaa
saaz ye kee eeeeeeeee…aeaeae eenah
saaz ye keenah saaz kya….aaaaaa jaane
naaz
naaz waale niyaaz kya aa
niyaaz kya aaaaa jaa..aaane
naaz waale niyaaz kya
poochhiye maikashon se lutf-e-sharaab
ye maza paak baaz kya aa
paak baaz kya…aaaa jaa…..aaane.
ye maza paak baaz kya
jinko apaaaaaa..aaani
jinko apni ee khabar
jinko apni khabar nahin
khabar nahin ab tak
wo mere dil ka raaz kya
raaz kya aa jaane ae ae ae ae ae
wo mere dil ka raaz kya
jo guzaraten…eeeeeee…eeee…eee hain
jo gujaraten hain ‘Daagh’ par sadme
sadme ae
sadme ae
aap
aap
haan
aap bandaah-nawaaz kya kya jaane
aap bandaah-nawaaz kya aa jaane
aap bandaah-nawaaz kya aa jaane
aap bandaah-nawaaz kya aa
—————————————-
Ghazal Couplets
—————————————-
dillagi meri koi kya jaane
dil hi jaane ya dilruba jaane
saaz ye keenah-saaz kya jaane
naaz waale niyaaz kya jaane
poochhiye maikashon se lutf-e-sharaab
ye maza paak baaz kya jaane
jinko apni hi khabar nahin ab tak
wo mere dil ka raaz kya jaane
jo gujaraten hain ‘Daagh’ par sadme
aap bandaah-nawaaz kya jaane
NOTES:
dilruba = one who steals the heart (sweetheart)
keenah = malice, grudge, spite, animosity
keenah-saaz = mean minded, spiteful
naaz = pride
niyaaz = longing, desiring
mai = wine
maikash = drinkers of wine
lutf e sharaab = pleasure of wine
paak baaz = pure, chaste; in context – those who refrain from drinking wine
sadma = affliction, calamity, sorrow
sadme = series of calamities
bandaah nawaaz = patron, cherisher of poor; also a phrase for respectful addressal
