The golden duo-Shankar-Jaikishan-Part 3

February 4, 2026 Sivanandam Palamadai Leave a comment

Shankar Singh Raghuvanshi (15^th October 1922 to 26^th Apr 1987)

Jaikishan Dayabhai Panchal (4^th Nov 1929 to 12^th Sep 1971)

When I started this blog in Dec 2021, I started writing about artists in no particular order or any theme etc. As and when I started writing about many artists, and when I looked at their year of birth, I realized many of the legends were born around 100 years ago. For Mohammad Rafi, I could remember and posted some articles commemorating his birth centenary year in 2024.

However I have not been able to do the same for many other artists. For example , Shankar Singh Raghuvanshi of the Shankar-Jaikishan duo ( SJ) had his birth centenary year in 2022 and it mostly went off without much publicity.

Most of the media , except very few of his ardent fans , must have forgotten this. Even I am guilty of this lapse. However in November 2024 I did post my blogs in two parts on the great Golden Duo music composers, and mentioned about Shankar’s centenary . In those two parts , I had covered their immortal songs composed till the year 1967. The year 2029 shall be the birth centenary of Jaikishan and so now we are somewhere in the middle of the birth centenaries of this great pair of music composers. I think it is apt to continue my series on the magical duo SJ and their great compositions later than the year 1967 , till the year I had covered in my Part 2.

In many books on the golden era of Hindi film music and in the Internet we find many articles, blogs in which SJ ‘s music in the later years , i.e mid 60’s , 70’s are described as relatively mediocre!. I personally believe in enjoying the music of all the great artists of the golden era of film music ( either Hindi or Tamil) and so do not like comparisons. But I would like to mention that most of these authors forget one very important fact. For many legendary music composers, their debut and few subsequent films were not so impressive and they had a late start . Those who keep harping about SJ’s so-called decline in music towards their end never talk about what a spectacular debut they had with Barsaat in 1949 that totally changed the Hindi film music template. Not only that , they could sustain that momentum for two decades continuously , with some of their films having all the songs as super hits. This is an achievement unparalleled , but most ignore this when they talk only about the deterioration in their music !. And it becomes more interesting to note that typically most of these films had 6-8 songs , or even more and rendering 100% hits in many films is no mean achievement. As noted lyricist and writer Javed Akhtar once said in a program, SJ made Hindi film music into a novel that was till their arrival a short story!

Most artists reach a creative peak and then there is a slump. But in the blogosphere and in books, SJ are singled out with remarks on their low point, some surprising and undeserving Filmfare awards , promoting a mediocre singer etc.

May be the extreme success of SJ triggered so much of envy and bitterness against them. Further they completely dismiss the music of Shankar that he independently composed after the sudden demise of Jaikishan in 1971 . Although if one compares these songs of Shankar with the ones he created along with Jaikishan at their peak, they may be not be perceived to be good, but one can find many good songs even during this period. In my selection , covered in Part 3 & 4 there will be many such songs and readers/listeners can make out for themselves what beautiful compositions Shankar composed independently also.

As such , Shankar was an introvert and after the death of Jaikishan, he had become even more reticent. Most of the producers, including Raj Kapoor, who totally depended on SJ’s music for his films , ditched Shankar and as a result he composed very few films that were mostly low budget and poorly made films. Hence even if some of the songs in those films were good , the film being a flop, its music also flopped. Fate had something even more cruel for Shankar. When he passed away on the 26^th April 1987, his family had not informed the film fraternity/media and so his funeral was attended by handful of close relatives, neighbors, and friends. The film world came to know about his death only on the next day! For a man who painted on a grand canvas , it was a sad , lonely final journey.

Normally I do not spend much time defending some artist or comparing one with another , but in case of SJ , after seeing so many adverse comments on them I had to deviate from my usual style.

Forget all these issues or controversies and let us immerse ourselves in their glorious music . For me they will always rank among the topmost music directors and somehow, like Rafi’s songs that have a great impact on me , I always felt SJ’s music has great passion, rhythm, energy, and a grandeur that is till now unmatched.

Statistically , SJ composed for approximately 180 films and of these two-thirds were before 1971, ie demise of Jaikishan. Rest one-third were composed between 1971 to 1987, mainly by Shankar. Not only post- 1971 , but even prior to that many songs were composed by Shankar. It is well-known that they used to compose independently all along but had never revealed who composed which song . Generally it is said that Shankar preferred to work with Shailendra and Jaikishan with Hasrat Jaipuri. That could give some clue and also the fact that most of the songs that either had a strong classical base or were based primarily dance numbers were composed by Shankar. The title songs of RK films were also composed by Shankar.

I realized once I listed their songs after 1967, that I may have to cover this blog in part 3 & 4. So the introduction will remain in Part 3 and I will cover the songs from 1967 to 1970 in Part 3 and 1971 till 1991 in Part 4.

Songs are in chronological order, with song , film, year, singer(s) and lyricist mentioned in that order.

Panchi Re O Panchi/ Hare Kanch Ki Choodiyan/1967/ Mohammad Rafi & Asha Bhosle/Shailendra

The prelude is trademark SJ , with those 50+ violins , the slightly fast paced waltz rhythm and that electronic organ/keyboard that features so prominently -all make this a delightful song. Rafi and Asha render this with their characteristic flair.

2. Aawara Ae Mere Dil/ Raat Aur Din /1967/ Lata Mangeshkar/ Shailendra

Raat Aur Din was a bonanza for SJ lovers-almost all the songs are superb. This was also the last film in which Nargis acted. I have selected three songs or rather I should say four as Aawara Ae Mere Dil has two versions-fast and a slower one. The reason why I consider SJ as great composers is apparent in this song. The basic tune is same in both the versions , but note the variation they have made in the orchestration . I have provided the links to both the versions( the uploaders have wrongly labelled the fast on as slow and vice versa!!)

The dance by Laxmi Chhaya in the fast version is simply out-of-the-world and in spite of the audio quality not being that good I have still posted the one that has her dance.

Once again the use of accordion, guitar, flute , trumpet , violins and not to forget the chorus in the slower version -all vintage SJ.

Fast version:

Slow version:

3. Dil Ki Girah Khol Do/ Raat Aur Din /1967/ Manna Dey & Lata Mangeshkar/ Shailendra

An eternal duet by Manna Dey and Lata-even after listening to this song a thousand times , one can never get bored of it. Like many SJ fans, I can identify an SJ song just by listening to few seconds of its prelude. They “ affix their signature” before their songs! Of course credit also goes to Sebastian D’Souza and Dattaram, SJ’s constant companions looking after the orchestration and percussion. And what to say about Shailendra-the great poet who was a rock solid support for SJ along with Hasrat.

4. Raat Aur Din/ Raat Aur Din /1967/Mukesh/ Hasrat Jaipuri

This is a tandem song, sung by both Mukesh and Lata. Both are excellent-I just selected Mukesh’s version at random. His voice always had a special touch whenever he sang for SJ! Contrary to one more myth , where people even used to credit Raj Kapoor for all the great songs , SJ composed excellent songs outside the RK banner proving the fact that all these myths somehow keep circulating!

5. Mein Gaaon Tum So Jao/ Brahmachari/1968/ Mohammad Rafi/ Shailendra

Remember songs like this one are from the late 60’s , whereas one more myth spread around was that SJ’s music lost its melody in later years! Sorry I keep emphasizing these points , but it is to highlight what sober songs they composed even in late 60’s. Note the subtle way in which SJ , keeping in mind this is a lullaby, create a soft-as-silk tone for the song but at the same time the orchestration still sounds so grand. This magic was created only by these golden duo.

6. Aajkal Tere Mere Pyaar Ke Charche/ Brahmachari/1968/ Mohammad Rafi & Suman Kalyanpur /Hasrat Jaipuri

Is there anything one has to write about this song?It is popular across the country even in those regions where Hindi is not the main language! Once again that absolutely mesmerizing prelude with guitar, violins and accordion is worth a ton of gold. Adding even more charm is that saxophone in interludes.

7. Sacha Hai Gar Pyaar / Jhuk Gaya Aasmaan/1968/ Mohammad Rafi/ Shailendra

Although the song Kaun Hai Jo Sapnon Mein aaya ( no doubt inspired from Elvis Prisley-but SJ elevated the song to a higher level despite being an inspired song) is more popular, I have listed a rarer song that is brilliant and sounds so melodious and grand; especially the interludes and antaras are simply superb. Rafi executes this in his inimitable style.

8. Likhe Jo Khat Tujhe/ Kanyadaan/1968/Mohammad Rafi/ Neeraj

I agree I might have repeated this song , now for the third time in my blogs but don’t you agree this is worth repeating even more? Popular among even today’s generation and I believe it will remain popular for centuries.

9. Janak Janak Tori Baaje Payaliya/ Mere Huzoor/ 1968/Manna Dey/Hasrat Jaipuri

When it comes to pure classical numbers , SJ relied mostly on Manna Dey and this remains one of the most memorable Darbari Kanada based song in Hindi films. Film music breaks away from the strict rules of classical music and that is why SJ knew the pulse of a common listener and could integrate superb orchestration in a classical based song. That , in my humble opinion , was one factor that made their music so popular.

10. Ruk Se Zara Naqaab/ Mere Huzoor/ 1968/Mohammad Rafi/ Hasrat Jaipuri

Romantic songs , generally were Jaikishan’s forte and this is one more gem from the romantic trio: Jiakishan-Hasrat -Rafi who have given us some of the most romantic songs in Hindi films. Do we see any reduction in melody even in 1968??

11. Parde Mein Rehne Do/ Shikar/1968/ Asha Bhosle/ Hasrat Jaipuri

It is said the producer-director were little hesitant to have this song as it was considered a bit bold for those times. But SJ always knew the pulse and stood firm and this song went on to become a super hit so much that the film Shikar is forgotten , but this song remains popular till today. Fetched Asha and award also!

12. Tumhe Mein Agar Apna Saathi/ Shatranj/1969/ Mohammad Rafi & Asha Bhosle /S.H. Bihari

After the sad demise of Shailendra , Shankar relied on many other lyricists and he always experimented with other singers and lyricists. Whereas Jaikishan firmly went with Rafi and Lata for most of his songs. We see S H Bihari ( normally paired with OP Nayyar for many fabulous songs) writing for SJ. Shankar’s theory was mostly to compose the tune first and then get the lyrics done , so that fresh tunes can come up as he felt if he has to compose to an already written lyric, that could restrict creativity. However there were many other composers who believed exactly the other way. Nothing is better or worse-it is because of this we get to hear so many great songs! Note how the piano follows through out the song. Vintage SJ!

13. Badan Pe Sitare Lapete Hue/ Prince/1969/Mohammad Rafi/ Hasrat Jaipuri

The freshness and youthfulness in a SJ tune is eternal. In today’s lingo this song still rocks , whenever it is played. If we observe the preludes and interludes of a SJ composition is worth to write about as a separate blog! Wait—this song as a fabulous postlude also with that trademark SJ’s electronic organ/keyboard.

14. Kal Ka Pahiya Ghoome Bhaiyya/ Chanda Aur Bijli/1970/ Mana Dey/Neeraj

Few months back when I wrote about the great poet-lyricist Neeraj , I had included this song. I have no hesitation to repeat this here. This is so under-rated that many do include it even in the top songs of Manna Dey. Once again I wish to emphasize how even in 1970 , there was no loss of melody in SJ’s compositions.

15. Aaya Na Humko Pyaar Jatana/Pehchan/1970/ Mukesh & Suman Kalyanpur /Indeevar

Piano, violins and shehnai-what a strange combination ! Mukesh and Suman Kalyanpur were a rare combination in duets and this song has one more rare association-Indeevar writing for SJ.

16. Tum Mujhe Yoon / Pagla Kahin Ka/1970/ Mohammad Rafi/ Hasrat Jaipuri

This song became sort of an anthem for Rafi , so prophetically written for him. The interludes have a mix of saxophone , piano and sitar , with the flute answering to every line of Rafi in the antaras.

17. Jane Kahan Gaye Who Din/Mera Naam Joker/1970/ Mukesh/Hasrat Jaipuri

The film flopped despite Raj Kapoor putting all his finance and energy into it. Irrationally people dismiss the music of Mera Naam Joker also just because the film flopped. For me , personally this was one the topmost album of SJ with many songs becoming immortal. Many songs were not included in the film and one of them by Rafi “ Sadque Heer Tujhpe” is one of the best “ heer” ever composed for films. However I have selected two Mukesh songs that can be said to be among his career best songs.

18. Jeena Yahan Marna Yahan/ Mera Naam Joker/1970/ Mukesh/Shailendra

Shailendra unfortunately passed away during the making of Mera Naam Joker in 1966 itself and his son Shaily Shailendra completed this song after Shailendra had written only the mukhda.

With this , I conclude Part 3, mainly for the sake of ease of reading and will continue with further songs of SJ in Part 4. We will look at those songs predominantly composed by Shankar alone, after the demise of Jaikishan in Part 4. That will include glimpses from a non-film album “ Raag Jaaz Style ” that had fusion of Indian classical presented in Jazz style through instrumental music and also a superb title instrumental music SJ composed for a Films Division of India ‘s documentary on mount Everest.

Acknowledgement & Disclaimer

I sincerely thank the publishers of following Internet sources for the information that I could gather for this article:

You Tube
Wikipedia

Acknowledgements and Disclaimer:
The songs mentioned are from the popular, public domain and have been mentioned and embedded here only for the listening pleasure of the music lovers. This blog does not claim any copyright over them, which rests with the respective owners of the rights.

Hindi film songs

Vengala Kural ” Isaimani” Dr Seerkazhi Govindarajan

January 31, 2026 Sivanandam Palamadai Leave a comment

19th January 1933-24^th March 1988

Among the different voices that rendered evergreen songs in Tamil film, if there was one unique voice that resonated like a temple bell, it was that of “ Isaimani” Dr Seerkazhi S Govindarajan ( I will abbreviate as SG for the sake of brevity henceforth in this article).

I can only think of one more voice that had a similar timbre-the legendary Shamshad Begum in Hindi film music. It is said that when SG once performed at the famous Shanmukhananda Hall in Mumbai, among the audience , Lata Mangehskar and Naushad were so impressed by his rendition of Devan Koil Maniosai song and at the end of the concert met SG and appreciated his rendition and also asked for the meaning of the song-at that time it is said that Naushad had commented his voice really sounded like Devan Koil Mani Osai!

SG was born on 19 January 1933 at Sirkazhi , a small town in present-day Mayiladuthurai district, Tamil Nadu to Siva Chidambaram and Avayambal Ammal. Sirkali is also the birthplace of Thirugnanasambandar, one of the Samaya Naalvar and the 63^rd Nayanmar of the Saiva faith. The child prodigy SG started performing at the young age of eight at the Tirupurasundari Temple .

Though he learnt acting in the Devi Nataka Sabha as a Child Actor and later in Modern Theatres, Salem, his passion was music and so he started learning classical music under many gurus like ‘Pandithar’ P.S. Chettiar , Sri Thiruppampuram Swaminatha Pillai. He graduated from the Tamil Isai College in Chennai (Madras) in 1949 with the degree ‘Isaimani’ & ‘Sangeetha Vidwan’. Under the guidance of these gurus , he gained knowledge of the nuances and intricacies of Classical Carnatic Music. During the years period 1951–52, he won many competitions, conducted by the Sangeetha Vidwat Sabha (Music Academy) and the Rasika Ranjani Sabha. He also got the gold medals in three categories : Apoorva Krithis of Sri Thyagaraja swamigal, Ragam-Thalam-Pallavi, and Tamil Classical Songs.

His entry into Tamil film music started with the 1954 film Ponvayal in which he sang his first song “ Siripputhaan Varuguthaiyaa” under the music direction of Thuraiyur Rajagopal Sarma and R. Rajagopal. I am providing a link to the song-just observe what a skilful rendition he has done at the age of 21! ( Film : Ponvayal-1954-Music: Thuraiyur Rajagopal Sarma and R. Rajagopal-Lyrics- Swami Suddhananda Bharathi)

SG was preferred for many devotional songs in films and also those with a classical base. One more interesting aspect was that he got to sing many philosophical songs that were picturized as background songs and also as title songs. Although he is generally famous for his superb devotional and classical songs, once in a while he got the chance to show his versatility by singing songs with a comic tone like Kadalikka Neramillai. If one listens to his rare song that had a terrific tempo , tuned by the veteran T K Ramamoorthy ( in his solo venture after having split from his partner MSV) : Saattai Kayil Kondu, one can understand he was capable of singing different genres. As the main actors had top singers like TMS , PBS , AM Rajah etc singing for them , SG was generally restricted to a narrow category of songs . But whatever he sang were of high quality.

Apart from film songs, he had rendered many non-film songs and had performed numerous classical concerts and performances abroad. His devotional non film songs and classical songs are beyond my scope and hence I am restricting myself to his film songs only.

SG also acted in few films and was more known for the role of Agastya rishi in these films. He was a humanitarian and did many concerts for noble causes .

Apart from Tamil, SG had also done playback singing in Telugu, Kannada and Malayalam films. Madras University conferred a honorary doctorate on him in 1983. SG was married to Sulochana from Omalur, Tamil Nadu. and their son Sirkazhi G. Sivachidambaram is a Medical doctor and in his own right a Carnatic singer . Seerkazhi Govindarajan died on 24 March 1988 in Madras (now Chennai) due to a massive heart attack, at the age of 55 years. It is said that his last words were “ULAGAM VAAZHGA”–i.e., Long Live The World.

In the year 1983, he was awarded the ‘Padmashri’ by the Government of India . Apart from this he has been accorded the Kalai Maamani award in 1975 and innumerable accolades by various music associations in India and across the world.

As always, my own knowledge about such legendary artists of Tamil films music is quite limited and I have tried my best to list few memorable songs rendered by Seerkazhi Govindarajan. They are sequenced chronologically with the song, film, year , music director , lyricist and co-singers mentioned in that order.

Non-Film Devotional Song:

Vinayakane Vinai Theerpavane-D B Ramachandran- Ulundurpettai Shanmugam

In our culture we always begin any good work invoking the name of Lord Ganesha . Whenever we think of a song on Lord Ganesha, this one rendered by SG is always at the top. I do not think there can be anyone from Tamil Nadu who has not heard this song , but it was a discovery for me to know the music composer and the lyricist.

2. Amuthum Thenum Yedarku- Thai piranthal vazi pirakkum-1959-K V Mahadevan-Suradha

Set in Mohana raagam , this is one of the very early hits of SG in Tamil films. Picturized on the veteran Malayalam star of yesteryears, Prem Nazir, SG renders an immortal classic .

3. Maattukara Vela-Vannakili-1959- K V Mahadevan- A Maruthakasi

Both K V Mahadevan and SG were masters in the classic and folk genres. The song listed in # 2 and this one immediately after are superb examples of this. This song is also picturized on Prem Nazir!

4. Sivasankari Sivananda Lahari-Jagadala Prataban-1960-Pendyala Nageshwara Rao-( Original lyrics Pingali Nagendra Rao.-I am not sure who wrote the Tamil version)

This film was dubbed into Tamil from the original Telegu film Jagadekaveeruni Katha and the original song was sung by veteran Ghantasala in an absolutely brilliant manner. Not in any way less , SG renders the same song in Tamil with equal finesse, that is set in Darbari Kanad raagam.

5. Engirintho Vanthaan-Padikkatah Methai-1960-K V Mahadevan- Mahakavi Subrahmanya Bharathiyar

It is very rare to observe singers with a heavy voice and more of classical leaning , coming out with so much of emotions in their songs. SG does a marvellous job of bringing out the pathos in this song . The part in which he takes the song to its pinnacle is the line” Panbile Deivamai” that will give you goosebumps.

6. Kallile Kalai Vannam-Kumudam-1961-K V Mahadevan-Kannadasan

In the early years, K V Mahadevan has composed some of the best songs for SG.

7. Nenjil Uramindri Nermai Thiram Indri-Kappalottiya Thamizhan-1961-G Ramanathan- Mahakavi Subrahmanya Bharatiyar

Kappolattiya Thamizhan had some of the excellent songs of Mahakavi Subrahmanya Bharatiyar set to music by the legend G Ramanathan. SG rendered this solo and an evergreen Vellipani Malayin Meedulavuvom with Tiruchi Loganathan.

8. Odam Nathiyinile-Kathiruntha Kangal-1962- Viswanthan & Ramamoorthy-Kannadasan

SG was not only a master in the devotional, patriotic and classical genres, he was equally skilful in conveying the sadness through a song. This beautiful tune set by the Mellisai Mannargal is a perennial favourite of music lovers. With absolutely minimum orchestration, V-R rely totally on SG’s crystal clear voice that resonates with the emotion needed for the situation.

9 . Manithan Ellam ThrinthuKondan-Azhagu Nila-1962-K V Mahadevan-A Maruthakasi

I always discover some hidden gems while working on my blogs. This is one such song that I heard for the first time ! Superb rendition by SG in his own inimitable style, and picturized on an unlikely actor-Muthuraman.

10. Devan Koil Maniosai-Maniosai-1963-Vishwanathan & Ramamoorthy-Kannadasan

This is the song I mentioned in my introduction-truly SG’s voice sounds like a temple bell!

11. Ullathil Nalla Ullam-Karnan-1964-Viswanthan & Ramamoorthy-Kannadasan

It is impossible to find anyone not aware of this song-the one that one can say absolutely defines SG’s style. On the whole the film Karnan was a magnum opus by Vishwanathan-Ramamoorthy, with this song being one that shall be remembered for eternity.

12. Kathilkka Neramillai- Kathilkka Neramillai-1964- Viswanthan & Ramamoorthy-Kannadasan

Note the contrast in SG’s singing -doing away with all the seriousness in most of his songs, he comes out with a breezy number , singing for a character that attempts romance at an advanced age, of course in disguise! One more memorable song of SG that people remember even now.

13. Aadi Adangum Vaazhkaiyada-Neerkumuzhi-1965-V Kumar-Suratha

Although I had listed this song in my blog on music composer V Kumar, this is one song that I cannot ignore when I talk about SG’s immortal songs.

14. Sange Muzhangu-Kalangarai Vilakkam-1965-M S Vishwanathan-Bharatidasan-With P Susheela

Very unique composition in which the actual song starts almost 2 minutes after the start, with excellent orchestration by MSV. SG ‘s voice delivers the line “ Sange Muzhangu” with an intense power, true to the words that signifies blowing of a conch.

15. Puthiyathor Ulagam Seivom-Chandrodayam-1966-M S Vishwanathan-Bharatidasan

SG’s voice was used for many songs that used at the starting credits of a film. The same song was used in one more film of MGR -Pallandu Vaazhga that was sung as a duet by TMS & Vani Jayaram, composed by K V Mahadevan.

16. Kannan Vanthaan Ange Kannan Vanthan-Ramu-1966-M S Vishwanathan-Kannadasan- With T M Soundararajan

Whenever the two legends TMS & SG sang together , it was a great song. The film Ramu was a remake of the Hindi film Door Gagan Ki Chhaon Mein-though the Hindi film flopped commercially, Ramu turned out to be a hit.

17. Arupadai Veedu Konda-Kandan Karunai-1967-K V Mahadevan-Kannadasan

When K V Mahadevan composes an epic devotional song with a raagamalika , then what else can we expect other than a masterpiece. One of SG’s most famous devotional songs this one has each holy abode of Lord Muruga described so beautifully in just four lines by the great Kannadasan-Palani , Thiruttani, Swami Malai, Pazhamudircholai, Thirupparamkundram & Tiruchendur. The genius of K V Mahadevan was to use different raagas for each of the stanza, describing the six abodes: starting off with Kambodhi , going on to Hindolam, Chakravakam, Kaanada, Hamsanandhi, Natakurinji and Kapi. When the Indian central government started recognizing music direction as a separate category for the National awards , K V Mahadevan was the first recipient for this film.

18. Vettri Venduma Pottu Parada-Ethir Neechal-1968- V Kumar-Vaali

As I mentioned earlier , music directors turned to SG for their title songs most of the time! SG modulates his voice to render a song that is full of positive vibes.

19. Aandukku aandu thethikki-Shuba Dinam-1969-K V Mahadevan-Vaali

Long before one more song became a regular feature on the New Year day ( Ilamai Idho Idho) , this was the song that used to be aired on radio on that day.

20. Madurai Arasalum Meenakshi-Thirumalai Thenkumari-1970-Kunnakudi Vaidyanathan-Ulundurpettai Shanmugam-With L. R. Eswari and M. R. Vijaya

SG must have sung on almost all the deities -this one on the various names by which Amman is know across the prominent temples in Tamil Nadu and other places. SG also renders the song on screen as a classical singer with the noted violinist and music composer Kunnakudi Vaidyanathan playing the violin on screen.

21. Saattai Kayil Kondu-Kathal Jothi-1970-T K Ramamoorthy-Vaali

Many decades ago, when I must have been around 8 years of age, I listened to this song waiting for a train in a remote corner of Tamil Nadu. Some memories stay with us even after decades. The song has a terrific tempo , composed by the veteran T K Ramamoorthy in his rare foray as an independent composer after the split from MSV. Kudos to him for giving SG a completely different type of song-those who had not heard this earlier might like to listen to this again and again. The actor Ravichandran has enacted on screen so nicely. I only wish this song had at least three stanzas-simply scintillating rendering by SG!

22. Thirupathi Malaivaazhum- Thirumalai Thenkumari-1970-Kunnakudi Vaidyanathan-Ulundurpettai Shanmugam

Ulundurpettai Shanmugam wrote some of the best devotional songs . Teaming with Kunnakudi Vaidyanatahn & SG , they gave many such divine songs for us to cherish.

23. Vendriduven Unnai Vendriduven-Agastiyar-1972-Kunnakudi Vaidyanathan-Ulundurpettai Shanmugam-With T M Soundararajan

Now I come to a song that I feel I am not at all qualified to write about. It is once in a lifetime that such songs are composed. I had tried to describe this song in my blog titled “ A musical journey through fifty years of Tamil Film Music” in which I had covered 25 music directors. Both TMS & SG take this song to a level that one can just bow down to their talent. The poet Ulundurpettai Shanmugam had brilliantly written this with each line containing the raagam in which it was composed by the legendary Kunnakudi Vaidyanathan. I would request readers to go to the blog I have mentioned and look for this song in # 17.

24. Nadanthai Vaazhi Kaveri- Agastiyar-1972-Kunnakudi Vaidyanathan-K D Santhanam

The role of Agastiya rishi was tailor-made for SG and in many films he had performed the role of this rishi. This song describes the sacred river Kaveri, once again composed by Kunnakudi.

25 . Thiruchendoorin Kadalorathil Senthilnaathan-Deivam-1972-Kunnakudi Vaidyanathan-Kannadasan-With T M Soundararajan

Now both the legends -TMS & SG once again sing together and not only that they also enact the song on screen. A sheer delight to listen to these two singers complementing each other.

I conclude my humble tribute to the great singer Seerkazhi Govindarajan ; I know I had just touched upon very few of his immortal songs-his vast repertoire consisting of many devotional and classical concerts are beyond my scope.

Acknowledgement & Disclaimer

I sincerely thank the publishers of following blogsites & Internet sources for the information that I could gather for this article:

You Tube
Wikipedia
www.sirkali.org-official website of Seerkazhi Govindarajan
YouTube Channel: Isaimani Seerkazhi Govindarajan Family

The songs mentioned are from the popular, public domain and have been embedded here only for the listening pleasure of the music lovers. The photograph is taken from the internet, duly recognizing the full copyrights for the same to the original creator or the site where they were originally displayed .This blog does not claim any copyright over them, which rests with the respective owners of the rights.

Hindi film songs

Datta Naik ( N Datta) – and his superb compositions

January 25, 2026 Sivanandam Palamadai Leave a comment

12^th December 1927 – 30^th December 1987

The rich music of the golden era of Hindi film music was the creation of many artists. Some of them achieved great fame , were honoured and are remembered even today by a majority of music lovers. But there are equally many unsung artists who , despite being equally talented , neither got the recognition during their times , nor are they remembered much now.

Datta Naik or N Datta , as he was known , belongs to the latter category. Born on 12^th December 1927 ( there is some discrepancy in his place of birth -few sources attribute to Aroba , near Colvale , a small village in Goa but it is also said in other sources that he was born in Bombay( Mumbai) and then moved to Goa) . Unfortunately his father died when he was young and so he was brought up by his maternal uncle. Right from childhood he had a fondness for music but his uncle was against the same and like many other music directors of that era , the young Datta ran away to Bombay (as Mumbai was known then) to pursue his passion.

After some struggle, he could get some work in the orchestra of Ghulam Haider and even in the noted music composer duo Shankar Jakishan’s orchestra through his friend Chandrakant Bhosle who was already working for S-J. When the veteran music composer S D Burman noticed Datta’s talents, he took him as his assistant and worked with him in many of the early films of S D Burman, like Bahar(1951) , Sazaa, Ek Nazar (1951), Jaal (1952), Jeewan Jyoti (1953) and Angarey (1954), Datta played a key role . The Goanese flavour in many songs of S D Burman’s early compositions could have been the contribution of N Datta.

N. Datta started off as an independent composer with his debut film Milaap in 1955. Jaate Ho To Jaao Par Jaaoge Kahaan sung by Geeta Dutt became a popular song in this film. Then followed the film Marine Drive in the same year in which Rafi’s “ Ab wo karam karen ke sitam main nashe mein hoon” was a superb song. For many upcoming music composers, Rafi had always given his best to their early compositions, helping them in getting their break . In 1956 , N Datta came out with an immortal song that remains one of his best ( and also one of Rafi’s) -the epic Maine Chand Aur Sitaron Ki Tamanna Ki Thi-penned by Sahir Ludhainvi . Sahir and N Datta stuck a great association and had given us some of the best songs of HFM.

When B R Chopra teamed up with N Datta for many of his films like Sadhana, Dhool Ka Phool , Dharmaputra , the latter got a big break with a famous banner to help him in his career. Most of the memorable songs of Datta were for this banner. In his early thirties Datta had a heart attack and that created a constant fear in him on his health and affected his career to some extent. Of course he continued to compose very good songs in his later years also , but BR Films started off later on with Ravi as their main composer. Datta is also one of those few composers for whom Asha Bhosle remained the main female singer as compared to Lata. However Lata has rendered some evergreen songs and one can say even some of her career best songs were under the baton of N Datta like Aurat Ne Janam Diya Mardon Ko. Rafi and Mahendra Kapoor were the main male singers for N Datta and in my selection we shall be looking at some of the great songs of these singers along with others.

If we observe the songs of N Datta, it is difficult to bracket him with any unique style -he could compose an intensely sad song, a quirky one, a qawwali, a ghazal , a romantic one all with different orchestration and rhythm patterns unlike many other composers , in whose songs we can detect a unique pattern. This is something that is very difficult to explain and one can comprehend the underlying pattern in Naushad/Shankar Jaikishan/O P Nayyar/ C Ramachandra/ Madan Mohan/Roshan/ Ravi ( just to name a few) compositions only after listening to their songs for years. It is my personal opinion that in case of N Datta it is relatively difficult to identify immediately that it is his composition.

Apart from Hindi films, N Datta scored music for some Marathi films also with the lullaby “Nimbonichya jhaadaamaage chandra jhopala” sung by Suman Kalyanpur being one of the most popular.

Despite being so talented, N Datta spent his last years, fighting for his health and success and passed away in 1987. This is my humble tribute to N Datta who would definitely be counted among the top music composers of HFM.

I am listing out few memorable songs of N Dutta mainly from the 50’s and 60’s and a few from 70’s ; songs are listed chronologically, with the song, film,year, singer(s) and lyricist mentioned in that order.

I have to admit that for the sake of brevity , I had to leave out many other songs of N Datta.

Maine Chand Aur Sitaron Ki Tamanna-Chandrakanta-1956- Mohammad Rafi-Sahir Ludhianvi

Let me begin with N Datta-Rafi-Sahir masterpiece that remains the most recognized song of the composer. As usual Rafi enters into the soul of the song and despite being a song that stretches into almost 6 minutes , one can never get tired of listening to this.

2. Sambhal Ae Dil -Sadhna-1958-Mohammad Rafi & Asha Bhosle-Sahir Ludhianvi

The long association of Asha Bhosle with N Datta resulted in many great songs for her similar to the ones Ravi had composed for her . However, she strangely did not acknowledge this much. It is only appreciated by the listeners!

3. Kaho Jee Tum Kya Kya Kharidoge – Sadhna-1958-Lata Mangeshkar-Sahir Ludhianvi

For N Datta , Asha was always the main female singer but he did create some of the best songs for Lata .

4. Aaj Kyon Humse Parda Hai- Sadhna-1958-Mohammad Rafi & S Balbir-Sahir Ludhianvi

Qawwali is a genre that was mastered by the legendary composer Roshan in Hindi films, but it is to the credit of N Datta that he had also created some excellent and memorable qawwalis-you would find few in my selection here.

5. Aurat Ne Janam Diya Mardon Ko- Sadhna-1958-Lata Mangeshkar-Sahir Ludhainvi

In songs like this, I feel Sahit did not use a pen to write but a whiplash to show the society a mirror to its face. What a powerful song that every man should listen to -N Datta brings out the power in the words by keeping the composition so simple and what to say about Lata-the great singer. Like many myths created about the singers/music composers by many with a narrow mindset, people generally used to comment there is not much emotion in Lata’s singing. Obviously they must be those who might not have listened to this song!

6. Tora Manva Kyun Ghabraye-Sadhna-1958-Geeta Dutt-Sahir Ludhainvi

Geeta Dutt was one singer who could put in so much of emotion in her songs. N Datta creates a superb bhajan for her.

7. Tere Pyar Ka Aasra Chahta Hoon-Dool Ka Phool-1959-Mahendra Kapoor & Lata Mangeshkar-Sahir Ludhianvi

Dhool Ka Phool was N Datta’s magnum opus. All the songs were excellent in this film. Tere Pyar Ka is an eternal favourite of good old Vividh Bharati and even if the song is quite long, one can never get bored of this , with Mahendra Kapoor and Lata rendering a brilliant duet. Not to forget Sahir’s superb poetry.

8. Dhadakne Lage Dil Ke Taaron Ki Duniya – Dool Ka Phool-1959-Mahendra Kapoor & Asha Bhosle-Sahir Ludhianvi

The brilliance of this song lies in its orchestration with guitar and accordion set in a lilting melody.

9. Jhukti Ghata Gaati Hawa – Dool Ka Phool-1959-Mahendra Kapoor & Asha Bhosle-Sahir Ludhianvi

Compare this with Dhadakne Lage song and one can appreciate the skill of N Datta to come out two completely different duets in the same film.

10. Tu Hindu Banega Na Musalmaan – Dool Ka Phool-1959-Mohammad Rafi-Sahir Ludhianvi

It is said that Rafi had some issues with B R Chopra and hence sang only few songs in his banner-but Rafi being the legend he was, whatever he sang became gold. This is one of the top songs that talks about harmony , brilliantly composed by N Datta and penned by none other than the great shayar-Sahir.

11. Kase Kahoon Man Ki Baat-Dhool Ka Phool -1959-Sudha Malhotra-Sahir Ludhainvi

Each of the five songs that I have listed here from the film Dhool Ka Phool , amply demonstrate the mastery of N Datta with a versatility in his tunes. This is also one of the most memorable songs of Sudha Malhotra-a singer who was immensely talented but got only few opportunities.

12. Tu meri pyaar ka phool hai- Dhool Ka Phool-1959-Lata Mangeshkar-Sahir Ludhainvi

It is quite strange that some songs are never popularised by radio/ other media. I could listen to this masterpiece only while searching for top songs of N Datta for this blog.

13. Pyar Ka Jahaan Ho -Jaal Saaz-1959-Kishore Kumar & Asha Bhosle-Majrooh Sultanpuri

A rare N Datta & Kishore combination -quite a popular song.

14. Beta Dar Mat Dar Mat -Bhai Bahan-1959-Mohammad Rafi-Sahir Ludhianvi

This is one of those peppy songs that seem to have been designed perfectly for Rafi. He can render such type of songs with the same effect that he could breathe into an intensely pathos-filled song. The most versatile singer. N Datta’s proves he could come out with a fun-filled song with equal prowess.

15. Main Tumhi Se Poochti Hoon -Black Cat-1959-Mohammad Rafi & Lata Mangeshkar-Jan Nissar Akhtar

One of the most popular N Datta compositions for Lata , that she renders with her typical style.

16. Aye Dil Zubaan Naa Khol -Naach Ghar-1959-Lata Mangehskar-Sahir Ludhianvi

It is said that N Datta used to offer soulful numbers to Asha and peppy ones to Lata , which was just a contra in the industry!

17. Tum Mujhe Bhool Bhi Jao -Didi-1959- Mukesh & Sudha Malhotra-Sahir Ludhianvi

Mukesh had that uncanny ability to make even those few songs that were offered to him by some composers , who , otherwise preferred him to a lesser extent. The combination of Mukesh and Sudha Malhotra is also a rare one-this is a superb tune by N Datta.

18. Main Jab Bhi Akeli Hoti Hoon –Dharmaputra -1961-Asha Bhosle- -Sahir Ludhiyanavi

Dharmaputra was also from the banner of B R Chopra with somewhat similar story line as that of Dhool Ka Phhol and the songs by N Datta for this film were also equally good. Asha renders this so nicely.

19. Aaj Ki Raat Nahin Shikwa Shikayat -Dharmaputra -1961-Mahendra Kapoor-Sahir Ludhianvi

It is a sheer delight to hear Mahendra Kapoor sing with such a soft voice at lower notes, who usually can go to the highest octave with so much of ease. N Datta truly did lot of innovations in his approach to composing music.

20. Meri tasveer lekar kya karoge-Kala Samundar-1962-Mohammad Rafi, S Balbir & Asha Bhosle-Anand Bakshi

No one would have thought Anand Bakshi could come out with such an impressive qawwali-It is a rare combination of N Datta working with Anand Bakshi!

21. Ashkon Ne Jo Paya Hai-Chandi Ki Deewar-1964-Talat Mehmood-Sahir Ludhainvi

Talat Mehmood had a great innings during the 50’s but after 60’s he sang infrequently. This rare combination of N Datta and Talat is a superb ghazal and there is no doubt why he was always the ghazal king. The texture of Talat’s voice fits so aptly for this song. There is one more sang that he sang for N Datta even later-Yadon Ka Sahara Na Hota that is also a good song-for the sake of brevity I could include only this song.

22. Ishwar Allah Tere Naam -Naya Raasta -1970- Mohammad Rafi-Sahir Ludhianvi

After a long gap , when N Datta was having his health issues and a decline in his career, the film Naya Raasta came like a whiff of fresh air. Three songs from this film are simply outstanding-all sung by the one and only Rafi sahab. Sahir’s words are eternal.

23. Maine Pee Sharab Tune Kya Piya-Naya Raasta -1970- Mohammad Rafi-Sahir Ludhianvi

It is an amazing feat by Rafi that whenever he had to sing like an inebriated character on screen, he could do it with so much of ease, despite being a teetotaller all his life. The modulation in his voice is unbeatable.

24. Poch Kar Ashq Apni Aankhon Se-Naya Raasta -1970- Mohammad Rafi-Sahir Ludhianvi

Out of the three songs from this movie I had listed out here, two are full of positivity and one a typical Sahir’s angst towards the society-Main Pee Sharab. Poch Kar Ashq is a rare song that was earlier played frequently in radio, but now almost forgotten. Once again , Sahir’s pen drips with philosophy in a language everyone can understand, brilliantly composed by N Datta.

25. Tere Iss Pyar Ka Shukriya -Aag Aur Daag-1971-Mohammad Rafi-S H Bihari

I do not know how I had missed out this song for so many years! I always keep thinking my decision to write about the great artists of the golden era of Hindi film music was a great one for me personally-else I would have not been able to listen and appreciate so many gems.

With this song , I conclude my small tribute to the great music director Datta Naik who passed away at the age of 60 in 1987 leaving behind a great number of songs and sadly remained an under-recognized artist.

Acknowledgements and Disclaimer:

I sincerely thank the publishers of following Internet sources for the information that I could gather for this article:

You Tube
Wikipedia

The songs mentioned are from the popular, public domain and have been embedded here only for the listening pleasure of the music lovers. This blog does not claim any copyright over them, which rests with the respective owners of the rights The photograph is taken from the internet, duly recognizing the full copyrights for the same to the original creator or the site where they were originally displayed .This blog does not claim any copyright over them, which rests with the respective owners of the rights.

Hindi film songs

Jikki- A voice that flowed like a river

January 10, 2026 Sivanandam Palamadai Leave a comment

3^rd Nov 1935-16^th August 2004

The golden era of Tamil film music had great singers , many of whom have slowly faded away from our memory. The sole idea of my blogs is to keep their memories alive by way of a small tribute to them . My own knowledge about many of the legendary artists, especially those who were more active in early 50’s and 60’s , is limited. I might have heard only a handful of their songs and I have to take a deep dive to check out their famous songs. But the effort is always so rewarding and satisfying as I find they were superbly talented .

One such singer that I have selected for this blog is Pillavalu Gajapathy Krishnaveni (3 November 1935 – 16 August 2004), more famously known as Jikki. She was also the wife of another legendary music composer and singer A.M Rajah on whom I have already written in this blogsite. Jikki might have sung around 1000 + songs in Telugu, Tamil, Kannada, Malayalam, Sinhalese, and Hindi languages. Like it happens with many such artists, the data available on their exact number of songs are sketchy .

Her voice was captivating and she could sing effortlessly any genre-romantic songs, peppy dance numbers, classical ones, sad songs with full of emotions, western jazz, or pop etc. That is why I have titled this “ a voice that flowed like a river” ! When Jikki sang, each and every note came to life -listen to her very famous Kannum Kalanthu with P Leela in which she makes a grand entry like a superstar with “ Jilu Jilu Jilu endru naane , jagattai mayakidivene” or the “ Jalilo Gymkhana” song or the sweet “ Mayakkum Maalai Pozhude Nee Po that she sang with her husband A M Rajah.

We will look at these plus many more in this compilation of 27 songs that I could make with the very limited knowledge that I have,

Jikki was born in Chennai on November 3rd, 1935 to her parents, Gajapathi Naidu and Rajakanthamma, a Telugu family, belonging to Chandragiri, near Tirupati in Andhra Pradesh. The family moved to Chennai for their livelihood. Her uncle, Devaraju Naidu, worked as a music composer with the celebrated Kannada theatre legend and movie pioneer Gubbi Veeranna and this introduced the young Jikki to the music and film world.

Like many artists of those years, Jikki also began her career as a child artist in 1943 and played some minor roles in Telugu movies Panthulamma, and Mangalasutram, Despite her lack of training in classical music at that time, she got attention for her musical prowess and her lilting mellifluous voice.

In the year 1948, she got a lucky chance to sing for the successful Tamil film Gnanasoundari in 1948 for which music was composed by the then doyen of film music, S. V. Venkatraman. The song was the super hit “Arul Thaarum Deva Maathaavey Aadhiyey Inba Jothi” (Picture: Gnanasoundari , Lyrics : Kambathasan, Music Composer: S. V. Venkataraman, Singera: Panruti A Periyanayaki , Jikki ). Jikki sang the initial part picturized on a child artist and the later part of the song for the heroine sung by the yesteryear legendary singer, P. A. Periyanayaki. This became a turning point for Jikki , and gradually she began her career as a playback singer not only for Tamil and Telugu films, but also for Kannada and Malayalam films.

Look at the matured way a 13-year-old Jikki singing that song.

In the year 1950 , she met her husband-to-be, A. M. Rajah, during the recording for the Tamil film Samsaram , produced by Gemini’s S. S. Vasan. The duet “ Kada Kada Loda Loda Vandi “ could have been their first duet. Interestingly in this film Jikki sang two solos and two duets, A M Rajah two solos and one duet. S S Vasan also introduced her to the Hindi film world by getting her to sing for his production Mr.Sampath in 1952. P. B. Srinivas also sang his first song in this film in a chorus. Many may not be aware that Jikki could have been the first female playback singer from the South to sing in a Hindi film! She also sang many Sinhalese songs since during those days the Sinhalese films were produced in Madras ( as Chennai was known earlier).

Jikki and P. Leela, were the leading singers in the South Indian film world in the early part of the 1950s, till another phenomenon called P. Susheela stormed into the industry with her equally great singing. Those days there were many singers of great calibre and though there was competition, many of them had great respect for each other and we can see many superb duets rendered by these singers.

A mother of six children, Jikki had some setback in her career as her husband’s mercurial temperament made him a grossly mis-understood man and as he stopped singing for films, she also followed suit. Though she did sing for few films in the late 60’s and 70’s, the couple had their own tourist car business that helped them during the lean period and they also did lot of live musical shows that kept them going.

Jikki lost her husband A.M Rajah in 1989, due to a freak accident at a railway station when he slipped and fell between the tracks while boarding a train. This shattered her and she stopped singing for some time. After many years she sang for Ilayaraja , Deva, and few other music directors in the 90’s and even a song she sang for a Telugu film Murari in the year 2002 could have been her last recorded song for a film.

During her last years she had been suffering from cancer and passed away on 16^th August 2004 in Chennai , leaving behind a great treasure of songs that ring with her mellifluous voice that mesmerize the listeners even today. She was honoured with “Ugadi Puraskaram” by Madras Telugu Academy and Government of Tamil Nadu awarded her “Kalai Mamani”.

To the best of my ability , I have selected few songs , listing them chronologically , with the song, film, year, music director, so-singers wherever applicable and lyricist mentioned in that order.

Vaarai Nee Vaarai-Manthirikumari-1950-With Tiruchi Loganathan-A Maruthakasi

I will be repeating two songs -this one and the next from my earlier blog on Tiruchi Loganathan. They are worth repeating many times as they are timeless classics for the music, lyrics, and the great singing by Tiruchi Loganathan and Jiikki.

2. Ulavum Thendral Katrinile- Manthirikumari-1950-With Tiruchi Loganathan-A Maruthakasi

3. Ekanthama Immalayil-Avan-1953-Shankar Jaikishan-Kambadasan

This could be a surprising selection for many. The Hindi film Aah , made by Raj Kapoor was dubbed into Tamil and the emperors of Hindi film music , Shankar-Jaikishan had selected AM Rajah and Jikki to render the songs in the Tamil version . This one is the equivalent of Yeh Sham Ki Tanhaiyan sung by Lata Mangeshkar. Superbly rendered by Jikki.

4. Oh devadas, Oh Parvati-Devadas-1953-C R Subbaraman-With Ghantasala-Udumalai Narayana Kavi

Devadas, was a popular film in many languages , made at different times, depicting a tragic love story . This was quite popular those days and remains so even today. The music director C R Subbaraman was the mentor for our Mellisai Mannargal-Vishwanathan -Ramamoorthy and this film had many memorable songs including the “ Ulage Mayam , Vazhve Mayam sung by Ghantasala.

5. Sirpi Chedukkatha Porchilaye- Ethirpaarathathu-1954-C N Panduranagan- K S Gopalakrsihnan

In my blog on AM Rajah , I had listed this song -this is a tandem song, popular in many films where there are two versions, mostly by a male and female singer. Jikki’s version is a happier one , whereas Rajah’s , picturized on Sivaji Ganesan is a sad one. The link that I am posting here wrongly attributes the composition to Chalapathi Rao , whereas the actual composer is C N Pandurangan.

6. Unakkum Enakkum- Illara Jyothi-1954-G. Ramanathan- Kannadasan

Many of the songs by Jikki are peppy, joyful numbers , but at the same time she had rendered some sad ones with so much of pathos and emotion. A true, versatile singer ! Note those subtle vibratos that she brings out in this song.

7. Kannaalae Pesum Pennale-Gul-E-Bakavali-1955-Vishwanathan Ramamoorthy- Thanjai N Ramaiaha Das

The story Gul-E-Bakavali means “ The Flower of Bakavali” , may have been derived from Arabian/Persian folklore and has been the inspiration for many films In Indian languages like Hindi, Punjabi, Tamil & Telugu over many years. In Tamil the film is written as Gulebakavali as a single word. Jikki renders a melodious Arabian style song composed by the Mellisai Mannargal-one of their early hits.

8. Mayakkum Maalai Pozhude- Gul-E-Bakavali-1955- K V Mahadevan- With A M Rajah-Kavignar Vinthan

The interesting story around this song must be known to many. This was originally composed by K V Mahadevan for the film Koondukili that was the only film to star both the legends-MGR & Sivaji Ganesan. However the producer-director T R Ramanna felt even while making that film that he made a mistake in bringing in the two leading superstars together and the film could be a flop( and his apprehension was true!). So instead of wasting this gem of a song in that movie, he used it for his next venture-Gul-E-Bakavali. However the music for all other songs in Gul-E-Bakavali was composed by V-R and so in many places this song is credited to them-those days the legends did not bother much about these issues! One of the most beautiful and melodious duets of Jikki with her husband A M Rajah, based on the Hindustani Bhageshree raagam.

( I thank Ms Subashree Thanikachalam for sharing this story in one of her QFR episodes)

9. Chokka Potta Navabu- Gul-E-Bakavali -1955-Viswanathan-Ramamoorthy-Thanjai .N.Ramiah das

That starting “ la la la” and a brief “ Urrrrrr” -wow what a gifted singer Jikki was. It is truly a pity that such legends are slowly fading away from our memory.

10. Rajasekhara En Mel-Anarkali-1955-With Ghantasala-P Adi Narayana Rao- Thanjai N Ramaiaha Das

Just like the story of Gul-E-Bakavali , the fable related to the dancer in Emperor Akbar’s court , Anarkali and her love with the Prince Jehangir inspired many films in our country. The Hindi version of Anarkali , with music by the legendary C Ramachandra has many famous songs and the Telugu-Tamil bi-lingual version had some songs inspired from that film. For example Jeevithame Sabalamo by Jikki is inspired from the very famous Yeh Zindagi Usiki Hai sung by Lata Mangeshkar. However some of the songs have been composed independently and I have listed two here. Rajasekara En Mel is quite famous and rendered beautifully by Ghantasala and Jikki.

11. Naanum Kudithhen Ena Ninaikuthu Intha Ulagamey- Anarkali-1955- P Adi Narayana Rao- Thanjai N Ramaiaha Das

This one is definitely not to be missed- I heard this for the first time-Jikki proves her versatility with those hiccups in between the singing.

12. Oru Murai Thaan Varum-Mangayar Thilakam-1955- S.Dakshina Murthy- Kannadasan

A brilliant Mandolin plays throughout the song, composed by veteran S Dakshinamurthy , with Jikki rendering one more joyful song.

13. Yeru Pootti Povaaye-Kaalam Maari Pochchu-1956-Master Venu-Mukavai Rajamanikam

One more interesting song that has a history starting from Telegu folk music , travelling to a Telugu film ( Yeruvaaka Saagaaro Ranno Chinnanna” from Rojulu Marayi) , its Tamil version -listed here, also inspiring the veteran G Ramanathan for his song Summa Irunthaa Sothukku Kashtam for the film Madurai Veeran. Around 5 years later this tune found its way all the way to Bollywood with the veteran S D Burman taking this as his inspiration for Dekhne Mein Bhola Hai Dil Ka Salona for the 1960 film Bambai Ka Babu!

The unique thing is that the Telugu and Tamil versions composed by Master Venu and the one by G Ramanathan for Madurai Veeran( listed under # 15 here) were all sung by Jikki!!

14. Poovaa Maramum-Naan Petraselvam- 1956-With T.M. Soundararajan-G. Ramanathan-Ka Mu Sheriff

A typical GR composition with his trademark Tabla “ nadai” , with TMS and Jikki coming out with fast-paced alaaps with ease.

15. Summa Irunthaa Sothukku Kashtam-Madurai Veeran-1956-G Ramanathan-With P Leela- Pattukkottai Kalyanasundaram

I have already mentioned about the story behind this tune under song #13.

16. Salaam Babu-Alibabavum 40 Thirudargalum-1956- S.Dakshina Murthy-A. Maruthakasi

In the 50’s many films were made that had the folklore of Arabian Nights as their base. This is one more story made in many languages, multiple times. When it comes to dance numbers , Jikki was a favourite singer for most of the composers of that era. She sings with absolute ease. A rare sight to see the song picturized on the actress who later made her name in Hindi films- Waheeda Rehman .

17. Jalilo Jimkana-Amara Deepam- 1956-T. Chalapathi Rao- Thanjai .N.Ramiahadas

Now-a-days there is a popular concept of a “ kuthu” song in Tamil films-sort of peppy, fast paced numbers. Those days even such songs were so melodious. This could be one of the early pioneering tunes in that genre. This one is famous till now that it has even inspired a song made in 2022!

18. Chinna Pennana Pothile-Aravalli-1957-G Ramanathan-With A M Rajah- Pattukkottai Kalyanasundaram

Our own version of Que Sera Sera, whatever will be , will be ( originally composed by Jay Livingston in 1956 and sung by Doris Day and appearing in Alfred Hitchcock’s film The Man Who Knew Too Much) . GR does a superb adaptation, ably assisted by Jikki’s brilliant singing. Those days, even when they took a tune as an inspiration, they did lot of improvisations and made it sometimes even more beautiful! Jikki’s voice literally flows like a river in this song!

19. Yaaradi Nee Mohini-Utthama Putthiran-1958- G. Ramanathan -With T.M. Soundararajan, A.P. Komala & Jamuna Rani-Udumalai Narayanakavi

This song may be repeated many times in future blogs also! I had written in detail about this in my earlier blogs on G Ramanathan and TMS. An epic song that deserves to be permanently etched in our memory. Jikki , along with her co-singers create a magic that is unparalleled!

20. Kannum Kannum Kalanthu Inbam-Vanjokottai Valiban-1958-C Ramachandra-With P Leela-Kothamangalam Subbu

What I wrote for Yaaradi Nee Mohini is applicable for this song also. This one , from the music director C Ramachandra, known for his fabulous scores in Hindi films , can be counted among the top ten songs of Tamil film music. P Leela and Jikki sing brilliantly , with a contrasting tone.

21. Jigu Jigu-Kathavarayan- 1958- G. Ramanathan -With J.P. Chandrababu- -Thanjai .N.Ramiah das

One more peppy number from the team of GR & Jikki!

22. Kannil Vanthu Minnalpol-Nadodi Mannan-1958-T.M. Soundararajan-S.M. Subbaiah Naidu-Suradha

Among the many songs of Jikki, this is a very famous one and appears in any playlist of Jikki.

23. Thullatha Manamum- Kalyana Parisu-1959- A.M. Rajah-Pattukkottai Kalyanasundaram

I can say this could be the most famous song of Jikki-the film Kalyana Parisu was a landmark for the director C V Sridhar as well as AM Rajah as a composer-his first one as composer.

24. Vanamevum Rajakumaraa-Raja Desingu-1960-G Ramanathan- With Seerkazhi Govindarajan , C S Jayaraman & Bhanumathi-Ambikapathi

In the 50’s and 60’s G Ramanathan was reigning supreme with masterpieces after masterpieces coming out from his baton. Jikki & Seerkazhi Govindarajan complement each other in this mesmerizing quartet , in which CSJ & Bhanumati join at the end.

25. Oorengum Thedinaen-Then Nilavu-1961-A M Rajah-Kannadasan

I never understood why AM Rajah gave only one solo in the film Then Nilavu-all the other songs were sung by P Susheela and one by S Janaki. Though an under-rated song , Jikki renders a song that has an under-current of some disturbing even about to happen.

26. Manjalum Thanthaal-Thenum Paalum-1971-MSV-With S Janaki-Kannadasan

One can observe the ten-year gap in my selection. By the early 60’s , Jikki had very few songs may be due to her personal issues but the quality of singing remained intact.

27. Kadal Ennum Kaviyam-Vattathukkul Chathuram-1978-Ilayaraja-Panju Arunachalam

Ilayaraj brought out the reticent Jikki from her hibernation and gave some good songs during her last years. I have posted two such songs here. Even as late as 1989 , her voice and singing remained pristine.

28. Ninaithathu Yaaro-Paattuku Oru Thalaivan- 1989-Ilayaraja-With Mano-Gangai Amaran

I hope I have been able to do some justice to this great singer . If I had missed any of her great songs, it is mainly due to my own lack of knowledge . I was able to listen to many of her songs only during my research for this blog. As always it is a pleasure to keep listening to a variety of artists from the golden era!

Acknowledgements and Disclaimer:

I sincerely thank the publishers of following Internet sources for the information that I could gather for this article:

You Tube
Wikipedia
Ragamalika TV-QFR series

Hindi film songs

Few Non Film Songs of Rafi-An unexplored golden treasure

December 23, 2025 Sivanandam Palamadai Leave a comment

24^th December 1924-31^st July 1980

There are singers who have rendered five to six times the number of songs rendered by Mohammad Rafi during his short life span of less than 56 years , but the sheer variety and quality of those 6000 odd songs he has left behind will always be cherished and talked about for centuries. That is why I never fail to dedicate a blog on his birth anniversary -24th December and death anniversary -31st July . As I keep searching for his songs, I find there are still so many that I have not heard !

On this 101st birth anniversary of Rafi sahab, I am trying to explore some of the great non-film songs, mainly ghazals , that may not be as popular as his film songs , but are definitely well-known to those who are great fans of Rafi. When there is no constraint of Rafi moulding his voice to suit a Dilip Kumar/Shammi Kapoor/ Dev Anand /Dharmendra or so many other actors for whom he sang exceptionally well, then what we get to hear is his voice in its purest form! And what a delight it is to hear his non-film songs. While selecting the songs for this article , I got a feel as if he is just sitting in front of me with a tanpura and harmonium and rendering these gems!

The versatility in Rafi’s singing is truly amazing -at the one end of the spectrum we have his intensely paced fast film songs , honey-laced romantic numbers, soulful pathos , classical gems, stirring patriotic songs , high-energy qawwalis , quirky comedy songs …the list is endless. And at the other end of the spectrum we have these non-film ghazals that have an altogether different charm ; one has to listen to them repeatedly to get immersed in the sweetness of his intoxicating vocals.

I do not have any authentic data as to exactly how many non-film songs he had recorded ; various sources mention anything between 250 to 700!! That is a huge range and so let me not get into the statistics!

I have not covered his non-film devotional songs nor those he had sung in languages like Punjabi, Bengali, Marathi, Gujarati etc in this blog. Maybe one day in future I will try to cover these.

While selecting the 30 songs , I have made three categories: those composed by Khayyam , by Taj Ahmed Khan and other music directors. I was surprised to know Rafi had even composed the music for some non-film ghazals. I have included one such ghazal . The songs listed here are random as I do not know their year of release and so I could not organize them in my usual chronological order. Also I am not writing anything about each song , mainly to keep the blog short -the intoxicating voice of Rafi is enough to keep one engaged, immersed in these 30 gems I have selected and would request readers of this blog to listen to them again and again to get a heavenly experience.

(1) Non-Film songs composed by Khayyam

Mohammed Zahur Khayyam Hashmi, popularly known as Khayyam was a renowned music director known for his soft & melodious tunes, often composed for some of the best lyrics either written for films or taken from famous poems, ghazals etc. In his initial years his music was superb, with Rafi singing great gems like Jane Kya Dhoondti Rehti Hai, Parbaton Ke Pedon Par, Jeet Hi Lenge Baazi , Akele Mein Woh Ghabrate To Honge etc . However he got more fame in the 70’s only, when, in my own personal opinion , his music was not of the same class as that in 50’s and 60’s. In the decade of 60’s , Khayyam worked with Rafi for some beautiful melodious non–film songs , that were mostly the works of the famous poet Mirza Ghalib. He had also worked with Rafi for some of the best non-film bhajans sung by Rafi that could be the topic for a separate blog!

I have selected ten songs composed by Khayyam and sung by Rafi that are purely my personal favourites. In all these songs , one can hear Rafi singing with a voice that touches our soul. Each and every syllable is elaborated and taken to great heights, with most of them being Mirza Ghalib’s ghazals.

Apart from Ghalib’s ghazals, Khayyam and Rafi worked together on many songs written by Madhukar Rajasthani. It is really sad to note that not much information is available about the lyricist Madhukar Rajasthani. I remember that long back in Vividh Bharati there used to be program in the evening in which all non-film songs used to be played and in that I had heard the name Madhukar Rajasthani quite often.

Dard Minnat Kash-E-Dawa- Lyrics: Mirza Ghalib

2. Mere Geeton Ke Singar Ho tum–Lyrics: Madhukar Rajasthani

3. Tum aao rumjhum karti payal–Lyrics: Madhukar Rajasthani

4. Muddat Hui Hai Yaar Ko- Lyrics: Mirza Ghalib

Gulzar had taken inspiration for his famous Dil Dhoondta Hai Phir Wahi song for the film Mausam from this Ghalib’s line: Jee dhoondta hai wohi fursat ke raat din..baithe rahen tasavvuren jaana kiye hue…

5. Shauq Har Rang – Lyrics: Mirza Ghalib

6. Bazeecha-E-Atfal Hai – Lyrics: Mirza Ghalib

7. Pooch Na Mujh Se -Lyrics: Jan Nissar Akhtar–

This song could not be embedded here and so one has to click and go to YouTube to listen to the song

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WR0lN1d-GJs&list=RDWR0lN1d-GJs&start_radio=1

8. Gazab Kiya Tere Wade Pe-Lyrics: Dagh Dehlavi

9. Nukta Chin Hai Gam-E-Dil-Lyrics: Mirza Ghalib

10. Yeh Na Thi Hamari Kismet- Lyrics: Mirza Ghalib

(2) Non-Film songs composed by Taj Ahmed Khan

There is one interesting name that comes up when we look at some of the best non-film songs of Rafi and that is an obscure music composer called Taj Ahmed Khan. Just like Madhukar Rajasthani, the lyricist, it is equally strange and sad to note that there is absolutely no information about this composer!

Most of the songs that I heard of this composer are simply outstanding and I would really try to hunt for some more information about this composer in future; presently my timeline to publish this blog by 24^th Dec may not permit that.

Haye mehaman kahan ye gham-e-jana hoga– Lyrics: Dagh Dehlvi

2. Dil ki baat kahi nahi jaati –Lyrics: Mir Taqi Mir

3. Qad-E-Gesso-Lyrics :Mirza Ghalib

4. Diya ye dil agar usko bashar hai kya kahiye – Lyrics: Mirza Ghalib

5. Ek Hi Baat Zamane Ke Kitabon Mein-Lyrics: Sudarshan Fakir

6. Main Jab Se Tujhe Aye- Lyrics: Sabah Afghani

7. Saqi Ke har Nigah Pe -Lyrics: Jigar Moradabadi

8. Na Shaq-E-Vasl Ka Dawa -Lyrics: Ameer Meenai

9. Talkhi-E-Mai Mein Zara Talkhi-E-Dil- Lyrics: Krishan Adeeb

10. Falsafe Ishq Mein Pesh Aaye – Lyrics: Sudarshan Fakir

(3) Non-Film songs composed by Other music directors

It is to the credit of Rafi that similar to how he had worked with almost 250 + music composers for his film songs, he had also sung for many unknown composers for his non-film ones. Many names here are totally unheard by me till the time I started looking for the songs for this blog. As mentioned in my introduction, a surprise inclusion is a ghazal that has been composed by Rafi himself! Rafi as a composer is rarely talked about!

Is dil se teri yaad bhulai nahni jaati – Music: Hansraj Behl; Lyrics: Rajendra Krishna

2. Hansa gagan beech roye, komal pankhon par ye – Music: Shyam Sharma Lyrics: Shyam Sharma

3. Keh ke bhi na aaye mulaqaat ko – Music: Shyam Sharma; Lyrics: Laxman Shahabadi

4. Mein Kab Gata Mere Sur Mein- Music : Shyam Sharma; Lyrics: Anjaan

5. Chale rahe hain who zulf –Music: Mohammad Rafi; Lyrics: K Mohinder Singh Bedi

6. Main Deep Jalaye Baitha Hoon- Music: Rajeshwar Pal; Naqsh Lyallpuri)

7. Pyale Se Adhar Mile- Music: Sunil Kumar; Lyricist: Harivanshrai Bachhan( ? )..I am not absolutely sure about the lyricist…

8. Jab Tere Pyar Ka Afsana- Music : Maqbool & Iqbal Hussain; Aish Kanwal

9. Tod Do Ahd-E-Mohabbat-Music: Maqbool & Iqbal Hussain; Lyrics: Aish Kanwal

10. Kash Khwabon Mein Hi Aajao -Music: Babul; Lyrics: Nyay Sharma

A small note on my blogsite completing four years:

I started this blogsite exactly four years back , on 24^th Dec 2021, on Rafi’s birth anniversary . Initially I started writing about the legendary singers, music composers, and lyricist from the golden era of Hindi films music and later added a similar section on Tamil film music also.

During the last four years ,I was able to write around 43 articles on Hindi film music, covering twelve music directors individually ( Shankar-Jaikishan covered in two blogs) , eight pairs of music director-lyricist combinations, two lyricists & twelve singers ( Kishore and Lata covered in two each) , and eight exclusive blogs on Rafi on his birth & death anniversaries. I also wrote a theme- based blog on songs with the word “Zindagi”.

I am glad to see that the views on these blogs are increasing year on year and pleasantly surprised to see these coming from countries across the globe. I thank all those who are reading my blogs. I am doing this purely as a passion , with an aim to cover the maximum number of artists who had contributed to the richness of film music.

I am more pleased to find that the views for the blogs on artist from Tamil film music m are much higher than those for the blogs on Hindi film artists. Maybe one day this blogsite can become a unique single source to read about both Hindi & Tamil films songs!

Acknowledgement & Disclaimer

I sincerely thank the publishers of following blogsites & Internet sources for the information that I could gather for this article:

You Tube
Wikipedia

Hindi film songs

Neeraj-the poet & lyricist –who said so much with so less

December 9, 2025 Sivanandam Palamadai 6 Comments

4^th January 1925 – 19^th July 2018

Even during my very young days, I used to be fascinated with one song that normally one may not like at that age. More so, it was in chaste Hindi and I had spent my entire childhood in Chennai and despite being unable to understand the lyrics fully at that age, I used to like that song very much. Of course one reason was that it was sung by my favourite singer – Mohammad Rafi, who had rendered with so much passion that I used to listen spell-bound. It was only much later , when I understood the meaning of the lyrics, I knew it was written by one of the great but relatively less-talked about lyricists -Gopaldas Saxena ‘ Neeraj ’. Few lines from this song that were so innovative :

नींद भी खुली न थी कि हाय धूप ढल गई ( I had not even woke up, alas, the day had passed)

पाँव जब तलक उठे कि ज़िन्दगी फिसल गई (By the time I took my steps, life had slipped away)

उम्र के चढ़ाव का उतार देखते रहे ( I kept watching the decline of rising age)..

These extra-ordinary lines were from the song Swapn Jhare Phool Se, Meet Chube Shool Se …Carvan Guzar Gaya Gubar Dekhte Rahe written by Gopaldas Saxena -known by his nom-de-plume Neeraj.

The year 2025 happens to be Neeraj’s birth centenary year and this is my humble tribute to Neeraj who was poet first and then became a lyricist for films. He had worked for very few films but most of the songs he wrote were great hits , but ironically a majority of them were for films that flopped commercially!

He was born on 4^th January 1925 , in the village of Puravali, near Mahewa in Etawah district of Uttar Pradesh, India. He lost his father when he was just six years old. Though he passed his high school in first class , he had to take care of his family and so could not pursue his education at that time. In 1942 he got a job as a typist in Supplies department of government in Delhi . He also did some odd jobs and somehow completed his M.A degree later. He was initially associated with a college in Meerut , teaching Hindi but later became a Professor of Hindi Literature in Dharma Samaj College, Aligarh

In 1944 his first collection of poems “Sangharsh” was published , which he dedicated to the noted poet Harivanshrai Bachhan . He has said that Harivansh Rai Bachchan was his inspiration to become a poet right from the time he was studying in school. In the year 1960 there was a program in which he had recited his poems in a program in Bombay ( as Mumbai was called then) to celebrate his birthday in the presence of the then chief minister of Maharashtra Y B Chavan. Among the audience was producer R Chandra who had produced the famous film Barsat Ki Raat. R Chandra approached Neeraj to write for his next venture Nai Umar Ki Nai Fasal ( this phrase was also from Neeraj’s poem) . At that time Neeraj was not willing to write for films and instead told Chandra that he can give some of his already published poems.

The immortal song that I mentioned at the beginning of this article was for that film and made him so famous. Apart from this there were two other songs that were taken from his poems for the same film. However since this film Nai Umar Ki Nai Fasal got delayed and was released only in 1966 , the other movie that brought him great recognition , Cha Cha Cha got released in 1964 itself. Subah Na Aayee Shaam Na Aayee and Woh Hum Na Theh from Cha Cha Cha brought him fame.

Many of his songs were written earlier and then set to tune by music directors , but few like Likhe Jo Khat Tujhe were written for the tune by Neeraj. Neeraj’s important songs were mostly till the early 70’s and although he wrote some songs even in the later years , they were not having that special touch like those he wrote in his peak .

After the change in music style in 70’s Neeraj went back to his teaching profession and continued to be active in many Kavi sammelan and breathed his last in 2018 , at the ripe age of 93. He was awarded the Padma Shri in 1991 and Padma Bhushan in 2007 ; he also got the Filmfare award for best lyrics for the song Kal Ka Pahiya Ghoome Bhaiyya in 1970 for the film Chanda Aur Bijli

I heard him saying in one of his interviews that he tried to use completely different words that were usually not used by other lyricists in film songs and that really made his songs stand out. I will try to write about such usage with the very limited knowledge that I have on the Hindi and Urdu languages while listing out the songs.

I have listed out few memorable songs of Neeraj here. Usually I organize them in chronological order , but for this blog , I am categorizing them first into three main groups. Usually Neeraj is associated with S D Burman and Shankar Jaikishan , but one would be surprised to note he had written some great songs for other composers also and so I am starting off with that category first, followed by those with S D Burman and Shankar Jaikishan.

I have mentioned the film , year , song title and singers also.

Neeraj’s songs for Other Music Directors

Cha Cha Cha-1964-Music by Iqbal Quereshi

Neeraj’s Swapn Jhare Phool Se was the first song that was taken from his earlier poem that he had written sometime in 1954-55, but due to the delay in the release of the film Nai Umar Ki Nai Fasal, the songs from Cha Cha Cha gave him his initial fame. Both these songs were composed so beautifully by Iqbal Quereshi and sung in an extra-ordinary manner that was possible only by Rafi.

Woh Hum Na Theh-Mohammad Rafi

It would be a very long blog if I have to provide the lyrics of all the songs listed here , but at the same time I have to convey the uniqueness of his poetry; so I will try to briefly mention the mukhda and maybe one or two antara with their meaning , wherever possible. Only for few iconic songs I am providing the full lyrics. One has to listen to his songs many times and enjoy the lyrical beauty and the way he conveyed his thoughts with his distinctive usage of words.

2. Subah Na Aayee Sham Na Aayee-Mohammad Rafi

Neeraj starts off with these great lines

खुशी जिसने खोजी वो धन लेके लौटा, हंसी जिसने खोजी चमन लेके लौटा

मगर प्यार को खोजने जो चला वो, न तन लेके लौटा न मन लेके लौटा

सुबह ना आई, शाम ना आई, जिस दिन तेरी याद ना आई, याद ना आई

सुबह ना आई, शाम ना आई

Nai Umar Ki Nai Fasal-1966-Music by Roshan

3. Carvan Guzar Gaya-Mohammad Rafi

Epic is the only word that can describe this great poetry by Neeraj—a poem written by him that was later on taken for the film. Knowing the immense power of the poetry, Roshan kept the orchestration and tune to the bare minimum and Rafi infused so much of life into each and every word. There are four stanzas with some 290 words in the entire song. This could be one of the most voluminous songs in Hindi films.

No doubt , Roshan’s immense respect for the lyrics made him compose this so brilliantly and anyone else other than the one and only Rafi could not have put so much emotion into the song, but still when we listen to this song the hero of the song is definitely the lyricist-Neeraj!! This is one of the few songs where the words simply dominate song…who can forget the last lines of each of the four antaraas:

और हम झुके झुके, मोड़ पर रुके रुके, उम्र के चढ़ाव का उतार देखते रहे।

और हम लुटे लुटे,वक्त से पिटे पिटे,साँस की शराब का खुमार देखते रहे।

और हम डरे डरे,नीर नयन में भरे,ओढ़कर कफ़न, पड़े मज़ार देखते रहे।

और हम अजानसे,दूर के मकान से,पालकी लिये हुए कहार देखते रहे।

I am providing the link to the entire lyrics of this epic song- One can say this is truly one-of-a-kind song that ever appeared in Hindi films.

https://geetmanjusha.com/lyrics/10919-karwan-guzar-gaya-gubar-dekhte-rahe

4. Aaj Ki Raat Badi Shok-Mohammad Rafi

It is really unfortunate that songs like this have remained less heard and appreciated. One of the gems rendered by Rafi in his inimitable style, with a voice dripping with romance. Neeraj’s imagination is mind-boggling. I am reproducing the full lyrics here. One has to just immerse oneself into the beauty of this poetry.

आज की रात बड़ी शोख बड़ी नटखट है, आज तो तेरे बिना नींद न आयेगी

अब तो तेरे ही यहाँ आने का ये मौसम है, अब तबीयत न ख़यालों से बहल पायेगी

देख वो छत पे उतर आयी है सावन की घटा, दे रही द्वार पे आवाज़ खड़ी पुरवाई

बिजली रह रह के पहाड़ं पे चमक उठती है, सूनी आँखों में कोई ख़्वाब ले ज्यों अंगड़ाई, कैसे समझाऊँ?, कैसे समझाऊँ कि इस वक़्त का मतलब क्या है

दिल की है बात, हो दिल की है बात न होंठों से कही जायेगी

आज तो तेरे बिना नींद नहीं आयेगी…

ये भटकते हुए जुगुनू ये दिये आवारा, भीगते पेड़ों पे बुझ-बुझ के चमक उठते हैं

तेरे आँचल में टके सलमें सितारे जैसे,मुझ से मिलने को बिना बात दमक उठते हैं

सारा आलम..सारा आलम है गिरफ़्तार तेरे हुस्न में जब

मुझसे ही कैसे..हो, मुझसे ही कैसे ये बरसात सही जायेगी

आज तो तेरे बिना नींद नहीं आयेगी, रात रानी की ये भीनी सी नशीली खुशबू

आ रही है के जो छन छन के घनी डालों से,

ऐसा लगता है किसी ढीठ झखोरे* से लिपट, खेल आयी है तेरे उलझे हुए बालों से

और बेज़ार..और बेज़ार न कर, मेरे तड़पते दिल को

ऐसी रंगीन..हो, ऐसी रंगीन ग़ज़ल रात न फिर गायेगी

आज तो तेरे बिना नींद नहीं आयेगी …

* ढीठ झखोरे -metaphor for obsessive longing-like a partridge for moon

5. Isko Bhi Apnaata Chal-Mohammad Rafi

If “Aaj Ki Raat badi shok” was a lesser heard song, this one is almost unheard-I just came to know about this only while looking for all the songs of Neeraj for this blog. It is a simple tune , almost in a narrative style -once again Rafi weaves a magical rendition around the powerful words of Neeraj, with Roshan, as usual giving full importance to the lyrics and keeping the orchestration embellishment to the bare minimum.

Tu Hi Meri Zindagi-1965-Music by Rono Mukherjee

6. Maayus na ho ai mere vatan-Mohammad Rafi

I have written this in my earlier blogs but would like to keep repeating-my hunt for rare songs for my blogs have always rewarded me very richly! Who would expect that the film that had a peppy, Arabic style Jidhar Bhi Mein Dekhoon Udhar Tu Hi Tu Hai would have such a soulful song with the typical hard-hitting lyrics of Neeraj! Rono Mukherjee was the son of famous film producer Sasadhar Mukherjee and brother of Joy & Deb Mukherjee.

Sati Naari-1965-Music By Shivram

7. Tum Nacho Ras Barse-Mahendra Kapoor

One more surprise-a beautiful classical song by Mahendra Kapoor , tuned by Pt Shivram Krishna who scored mostly for mythology-based films.

8. Chal Re Chal Musafir Chal-Mukesh

When I started categorizing Neeraj’s songs music director-wise I thought at the most I would find Iqbal Quereshi and Roshan for the two films I had listed here. It was a pleasant surprise to note many such gems for relatively lesser-known music directors like Shivram. A delightful Mukesh song.

Reshma Aur Shehra-1971-Music by Jaidev

9. Jabse Lagan Re Lagayi-Asha Bhosle

Jaidev was always known for composing intricate tunes for the poetry already written and so I was just trying to search if there was any song that Neeraj would have written for him. And once again I was surprised to know this song, though familiar to me was written by him. The other two famous songs from this film were written by relatively lesser-known lyricists Balkavi Bairagi ( Tu Chanda Mein Chandini) and Uddhav Kumar ( Ek Meethi Si Chuban) , both sung by Lata.

Majhli Didi-1967-Music by Hemant Kumar

10. Nadiyon Ki Bhari Bhari God Jahan -Sung by Hemant Kumar

Who would have expected a Hemant Kumar song with Neeraj?! Title song of an obscure film directed by the veteran Hrishikesh Mukherjee, Majhli Didi was critically acclaimed but commercially flopped . Hemant Kumar’s voice perfectly fits the song . Neeraj uses very simple words, but describes the village life so succinctly :

बड़ा ह्रदय है छोटा घर है, कपडे मैले साफ़ नज़र है

सरल ज़िन्दगी कठिन सफर है, वो मेरा गाँव है

वो मेरा गांव है वो तेरा गाव है

Neeraj’s songs for Sachin Dev Burman

Neeraj’s association with Sachin Dev Burman was the most successful one followed by that with Shankar Jaikishan. Dev Anand spotted Neeraj in one of the Kavi Sammelan and invited him to write for his directorial venture Prem Pujari. Though Burman da was initially a bit apprehensive, when he got Neeraj’s lyrics for Rangeela Re ( it is said Burman wanted the song to start with Rangeela , maybe his old Bengali Rongeela Rongeela Re song was very close to his heart!). Prem Pujari, Tere Mere Sapne, Gambler , Sharmeelee-all these four films had fantastic songs that need no introduction. Of course many would have enjoyed listening to these songs without knowing the lyricist behind them.

Prem Pujari-1970

Prem Ke Pujari Hum Hai- sung by S D Burman

Although Burman da sang a handful of songs in Hindi films, all were too good. Listen to the title song of Prem Pujari. The small alaap at the beginning of the song sounds like Rafi’s voice-if I am not mistaken.

2. Shokhiyon Mein Ghola Jaye-Kishore Kumar & Lata Mangeshkar

Neeraj had initially written Chandini Mein ghola Jaaye Phoolon Ka Shabab , but when Dev Anand told him the song was being picturized during the day, he changed to Shokiyon Mein.

शोखियों में घोला जाये, फूलों का शबाब

उसमें फिर मिलायी जाये, थोड़ी सी शराब

होगा यूं नशा जो तैयार

हाँ…होगा यूं नशा जो तैयार, वो प्यार है

Listen to Neeraj himself narrating his original poem which was later tweaked for the film!

3. Phoolon Ke Rang Se- Kishore Kumar

One of the best Kishore Kumar -S D Burman songs that I like. Quite a popular song also, picturised in beautiful Switzerland. Neerja always used unusual words and imagination to describe romance:

Saanson Ki Sargam, Dhadkan Ki Beena, Sapnon Ki Geetanjali Tum, Man Ki Gali Mein Mehke Jo Har Dam….

4. Rangeela Re Tere Rang Mein- Lata Mangeshkar

A masterpiece of Neeraj , with S D Burman coming out with an outstanding composition , rendered in a manner that only Lata can, this is among the topmost songs of Hindi films. The orchestration done by Burman da was far ahead of its time.

रंगीला रे, तेरे रँग में, यूँ रँगा है मेरा मन

छलिया रे, न बुझे है, किसी जल से यह जलन

ओ रंगीला रे…दुःख मेरा दुल्हा है बिरहा है डोली, आँसू की सड़ी है आहों की चोली

आग मैं पियूँ रे जैसे हो पानी, नारी दिवानी हूँ पीड़ा की रानी

मनवा यूँ जले है, जग सारा छले है, साँस क्यों चले है पिया

वाह रे प्यार वाह रे वाह, रँगीला रे …

Sharmeelee-1971

5. Khilte Hain Gul Yahan- Kishore Kumar

All the four songs from Sharmeelee are so popular that I do not think I need to write anything about them. My favourite is Megha Chaaye Aadhi Raat and Kaise Kahen Hum Pyar Ne Humko..

6. O Meri Sharmilee- Kishore Kumar

7. Kaise Kahen Ham-Kishore Kumar

8. Megha Chhaye Aadhi Raat- Lata Mangeshkar

S D Burman creates a song based on classical raag but with orchestration in western style. Sung beautifully by Lata. Neeraj , in his typical style uses Megha instead of the usual word Badal, and it is indeed rare to hear the word “ shool”…many such innovative words always embellish Neeraj’s lyrics.

Gambler-1971

9. Dil Aaj Shayar Hai-Kishore Kumar

Personally , I consider this song as one of the best by Kishore Kumar. Though the entire song is written so beautifully by Neeraj, lines like these are simply out-of-the world!

चाहत की महफ़िल में गम तेरा लेकर , क़िस्मत से खेला जुआ

दुनिया से जीते पर तुझसे हारी, यूँ खेल अपना हुआ

हम तो मुसाफिर है कोई सफर हो, हम तो गुज़र जाएगी ही

लेकिन लगाया है, जो दाव हमने, वो जित कर आएगी ही.

10. Choodi Nahin Mera-Kishore Kumar & Lata Mangeshkar

This is one more evergreen duet of Kishore & Lata, with Burman da using the accordion, saxophone, banjos so well in the orchestration. Neeraj comes out with innovative ways , comparing the fragile heart to the glass bangles and goes on to say they are more valuable than gold , silver etc and only love is their price. Simple , catchy words , that would enable us to remember the song !

11. Mera Man Tera Pyasa-Mohammad Rafi

In a film , if all songs are sung by others and Rafi gets just one , he always makes his mark and comes out with a rendition that makes the song so nice. Written almost in a conversational style, it is Rafi’s skill to make it sound so beautiful.

Tere Mere Sapne-1971

12. Hey Maine Kasam Li- Kishore Kumar & Lata Mangeshkar

Shot entirely with Dev Anand and Mumtaz riding a humble bicycle . One can easily detect how Kishore modulated his voice to suit Dev Anand perfectly. I find Neeraj was very fond of the word “ Madir” -used it in many songs” Saans Teri Madir-Madir”…Neeraj used very simple words in this song, but the tune and the very simplicity of the words make this so pleasant to hear again and again.

13. Jeevan Ki Bhagiya Mehkegi- Kishore Kumar & Lata Mangeshkar

Most would have heard the interesting story of how this song was completed with just the flute, played by Hariprasad Chaurasia, Santoor played by Shiv Kumar Sharma table by Maruti Rao. There were heavy rains and due to heavy flooding , most of the musicians couldn’t reach the studio. Burman da did a superb innovation by using three instruments. The superb lyrics by Neeraj describing the happiness of a couple who are expecting their child to come into their life are so nice to hear. One of the melodious duets of Kishore & Lata.

Neeraj’s songs for Shankar-Jaikishan

For Shankar Jaikishan, all through their career, mostly Shailendra and Hasrat Jaipuri wrote their songs. Though it was never openly said by them, it was generally believed that Shankar preferred working with Shailendra and Jaikishan with Hasrat Jaipuri. One major difference between SJ and the other two music director duos-Laxmikant Pyarelal and Kalyanji Anandji was that Shankar and Jaikishan independently composed the songs whereas it was mainly Laxmikant and Kalyanji who were the composers and Pyarelal and Anandji looked after the arrangement and orchestration. Their music was always grand, outstanding, catchy and popular. Somehow many talk only about Neeraj’s association with S D Burman only , ignoring his work with SJ. And if at all anyone mentions his association with SJ, they talk about how after JaIkishan’s death, Neeraj did not work much with SJ. In fact in some of the interviews , Neeraj himself mentions about his working with Shankar. After the demise of Shailendra in 1966, Jaikishan might have continued to work with Hasrat till his own sudden demise in 1971. Shankar worked with many other lyricists in his later solo innings also like Neeraj, M G Hashmat, S H Bihari, Vitthalbhai Patel, Vishweshwar Sharma etc.

Let us look at some of the memorable songs of Neeraj under the baton of the emperors of Hindi film music-Shankar-Jaikishan.

Kanyadan-1968

Likhe Jo Khat Tujhe -Mohammad Rafi

This is not only one of the most popular songs of Neeraj, but is considered among the top songs of Rafi and Shankar Jaikishan also. For many years I was not aware this was written by Neeraj!

The magnificence in SJ’s orchestration, Rafi’s ever-youthful voice and Neeraj’s words dripping with romance-all come together to create a masterpiece.

Chanda Aur Bijli-1969

2. Kal Ka Pahiya Ghoome Bhaiyya-Manna Dey

A superb song that conveys the story of an orphaned child that appears throughout the film , with each stanza placed at appropriate situations and is written by Neeraj with profound meaning. Unfortunately , this song is never talked about much anywhere. For me this is one great rendition by Manna Da, with SJ going all-out in composing a classic number and above all Neeraj conveying in just four stanzas, life’s philosophy with simple but very powerful words. I have reproduced the entire lyrics here.

काल का पहिया घूमे भैया, लाख तरह इन्सान चले

ले के चले बारात कभी तो, कभी बिना सामान चले

राम कृष्ण हरि …

जनक की बेटी अवध की रानी, सीता भटके बन बन में

राह अकेली रात अन्धेरी, मगर रतन हैं दामन में

साथ न जिस के चलता कोई, उस के साथ भगवान चले

राम कृष्ण हरि …

हाय री क़िस्मत कृष्ण कन्हैया, स्वाद न जाने माखन का

हँसी चुराये फूलों की वो, कंस है माली उपवन का

भूल न पापी मगर पाप की, ज्यादा नहीं दुकान चले

राम कृष्ण हरि …

अजब है कैसी प्रभु की माया, माला से बिछुड़ा दाना

ढूँढे जिसे मन सामने है वो, जाये न लेकिन पहचाना

कैसे वो मालिक दिखे तुझे जब, साथ तेरे अभिमान चले

राम कृष्ण हरि …

कर्म अगर अच्छा है तेरा, क़िस्मत तेरी दासी है

दिल है तेरा साफ़ तो प्यारे, घर में मथुरा काशी है

सच्चाई की राह चलो रे, जब तक जीवन प्राण चले

राम कृष्ण हरि …

Mera Naam Joker-1970

Neeraj , somehow got the tag as the “unlucky” lyricist as most of the films that he had written for turned out to be flops even though the songs themselves were so good and if at all the film was remembered , it was only due to his songs! Mera Naam Joker had one of the best ever songs by SJ , but this was one of those rare flops for Raj Kapoor, though the film later became a cult-classic.

Two songs of Neeraj stand out-Kehta Hai Joker in which he describes life from the perspective of a joker and Ae Bhai Zara Dekh Ke Chalo, that compares life to a circus. Just for the sake of Neeraj’s words and SJ’s outstanding music these two songs remain evergreen.

3. Ae Bhai Zara Dekh Ke Chalo-Manna Dey

Initially , Shankar was not able to set a tune for this song as Neeraj had written them in a conversational style. Later Raj Kapoor requested Neeraj himself to recite the poem and it is said that the way he recited gave the cue for Shankar to set the tune!

The full song is worth reproducing , but due to the fact that my blog is already quite lengthy , I am giving the highlight of the song-where Neeraj compares life to a three-part circus.

हाँ बाबू, यह सरकस है शो तीन घंटे का

पहला घंटा बचपन है, दूसरा जवानी है

तीसरा बुढ़ापा है

और उसके बाद – माँ नहीं, बाप नहीं

बेटा नहीं, बेटी नहीं, तू नहीं,

मैं नहीं, कुछ भी नहीं रहता है

रहता है जो कुछ वो – ख़ाली-ख़ाली कुर्सियाँ हैं

ख़ाली-ख़ाली ताम्बू है, ख़ाली-ख़ाली घेरा है

बिना चिड़िया का बसेरा है, न तेरा है, न मेरा है

4. Kehta Hai Joker Sara Zamana-Mukesh

Look at how in just two lines in the mukhda, Neeraj summarizes life!

कहता है जोकर सारा ज़माना, आधी हक़ीकत आधा फ़साना

चश्मा उठाओ, फिर देखो यारो, दुनिया नयी है, चेहरा पुराना

Lal Pathhar-1971

5. Re Man Sur Mein Gaa-Manna Dey & Asha Bhosle

The reason I wrote that it was mostly Shankar who must have worked with Neeraj is that songs with a pure classical base were always Shankar’s forte. Same logic applies to the next song I have selected from the same film-Sooni Sooni Sans Ke Sitar Both these songs are inexplicably not heard much but are definitely top class. Songs from Lal Pathar , in 1971, prove that SJ had never lost their creativity as the myth that is always spread around everywhere.

6. Sooni Sooni Sans ke sitar-Asha Bhosle

Jungle Mein Mangal-1972

7. Tum Kitni Khoobsurat Ho-Kishore Kumar (With Hasrat?)

I could not find out exactly who wrote this song as in most places , it is credited jointly to Hasrat & Neeraj-could not understand how both of them would have contributed to this..yet I have included this just for the sheer beauty of the composition that once again proves SJ’s( rather Shankar’s!) creative juices never dried even in 1972. The vibrato in Kishore’s voice is unique-very rarely we come across this style of singing by him. Once again strangely , even Kishore fans rarely talk about this gem!

Patanga-1971

8. Jhoom Ke Gaa Yun Aaj Mere Dil-Mohammad Rafi

This song is always special to me personally as I started my debut as a blog writer with this song for a blogsite dedicated to Rafi. Many years back I wrote about the use of oxymorons so effusively by Neeraj and the excellent rendition by Rafi , once again, in a superbly orchestrated song by SJ.

I end this article with Neeraj’s own definition of Kavita and Kavi:

Kavita Kya Hai, Kavi Kaun Hai?…

Aatma Ka Soundarya Ka Shabdroop Hai Kavya

( Poetry is the beautiful expression of the soul)

Manav Hona Bhagya Hai, Kavi hona Sowbhagya

( To be born a human is destiny but to be a poet is good fortune!)

Acknowledgements and Disclaimer:

I sincerely thank the publishers of following Internet sources for the information that I could gather for this article:

You Tube
Wikipedia
geetmanjusha.com
HindiLyrics4U.com

Hindi film songs

‘Sangeethayya’ S.M Subbaiha Naidu-A pioneer in Tamil film music

November 26, 2025 Sivanandam Palamadai Leave a comment

15^th March 1914 -26^th May 1979

In the recent past, twice I started writing about this music director who was a pioneer in the Tamil film music world. My own lack of exposure to many of his songs made me procrastinate. A simple, unassuming man, with equally simple music , but many of his songs have a great impact , mainly due to that simplicity! One extra-ordinary aspect of his music was that the powerful lyrics in his songs make them immortal to this day. Who can forget his songs like Ethanai Kalanthan Yematruvar Intha Nattile , Thoongathe Thambi Thoongathe , Kasethan Kadavulappa and many more. Not to forget his one song that would remain etched forever in our memories for its intricate use of the Karakurichi Arunachalam’s Nadaswaram and also giving S Janaki one of her early breaks-Singare Velane Deva in the film Konjum Salangai.

Subburayulu Munuswami Subbaiah Naidu (S M Subbaiah Naidu or just SMS going forward in this article ) was born on 15^th March 1914 in Kadayanallur , Tenkasi District of Tamil Nadu. With a caveat that I had to rely extensively on available information in the Internet and after searching for his songs, I am attempting to write about this great composer. He had mentored the legend Mellisai Mannar M S Vishwanathan , who took care of the childless S M Subbaiah Naidu in his later years like how one would take care of a parent. SMS is credited with having composed the first song of the great Kaviarasar Kannadasan -Kalangathiru Manamey Un Kanavellan Nanavagum Oru Dinamey” for Kanniyin Kathali sung by K. V. Janaki in 1949. He had also pioneered playback singing in Tamil films with Tiruchi Loganathan singing along with K.V Janaki , Kattinile Nangal Vazhvade”, picturized on M. N. Nambiar.

In his young days , SMS was drawn towards music and started working in drama troupes of Jagannatha Iyer and Nawab Rajamanickam Pillai. He learned music from masters such as Rajagopala Iyengar and Subramaniya Bagavathar. When the play Baktha Ramadas was made into a movie, SMS worked on the music for the movie. He initially worked jointly with other composers in few movies in the early 1940s. He got his first independent assignment for the movie Rajakumari in 1947 in which MGR played the hero . His association with MGR would later turn out to be most successful and MGR also supported him in many of his film . The decade of 1950’s was most creative for SMS and films like Ezhai Padum Padu (1950), Malaikkallan (1954) , Nadodi Mannan ( 1958) , Thirumanam ( 1958) , Annayin Aanai ( 1958) helped him to consolidate his place as one of the leading composers of that period.

Those days the studio system prevailed and most of the artists were employed on a monthly salary basis. SMS was associated with the Central Sudios, Pakshiraja Studios and Jupiter Pictures. S M Sriramulu Naidu was initially working with the Central Studios partnering with certain prominent industrialists of Coimbatore and later started his own Pakshiraja Studios .Those days Coimbatore was a major hub for film production. Interestingly the names of Sriramulu and Subbaiah seem to be related but I understand they were not relatives. Some sources in the Net mention them as brothers but that is not correct I believe.

My own observation after listening to some of the famous songs of SMS is that he relied more on simple tunes, that brought out the power of the lyrics, used bare minimum orchestration and generally avoided too much of western influence in his music, and depended on our classical raagas or folk tunes and adapted them into the grammar of a film song that would appeal to the layman. One very striking feature of his music was the very prominent percussion arrangement.

Till the mid 60’s he was very active but as trends changed , he slowly faded away. I could not find any information about his later years , but he was well taken care by MSV and had passed away on 26^th May 1979.

With my limited knowledge I have tried to list out few excellent songs of SMS . Arranged in chronological order of the year of the film , I have given the song , film , year, lyricist and singer(s) in that sequence.

Yauvanamae Aahaa Yauvanamae -Ezhai Padum Padu-1950-V A Gopalakrishnan- M. L. Vasanthakumari

A typical song from the early 50’s , melodious with a tune that has intricate movements , with the great M L Vasanthakumari rendering in her inimitable style.

2. Ethanai Kaalanthaan Emaatruvar- Malaikkallan -1954-Thanjai N Ramaiah Das-T. M. Soundararajan

This was the first song that TMS sang for MGR and what a popular one it turned out to be! Till today used by many to create memes with a satire on the political parties, the lyrics by Thanjai N Ramaiah Das sounds so true even after 70 years!

3. Thoongathey Thambi -Nadodi Mannan-1958-Pattukottai Kalyanasundaram-TMS

Nadodi Mannan was a turning point in the career of MGR and SMS’ music , coupled with the hard-hitting lyrics of Pattukottai Kalyanasundaram helped in the immense success of the film. The simple rhythm used by SMS is typical of his style.

4. Kannil Vanthu Minnal Pol-Nadodi mannan-1958-Suratha-TMS & Jikki

Note the unique percussion arrangement at the beginning of the song-typical SMS style. SMS uses the instruments like mandolin, flute only at those places required , letting TMS & Jikki to take us through the song with their sheer vocal skills.

5. Summa Kidantha-Nadodi Mannan-1958- Pattukottai Kalyanasundaram-TMS & P Bhanumathi

A superb folk style song set in a tremendous pace , enacted brilliantly on screen by MGR and Bhanumati, SMS proves that one needs to keep things as simple as possible to create great music. The entire song consists of questions and answers and Pattukottaiyar conveys the emotions of farmers toiling their entire life time with his typical socialistic message.

6. Yennamellam Or Edathaye -Thirumanam-1958-Suradha-TMS

I was fortunate to know about this song while searching for SMS’ top songs and understood that this was set in the Sahana raagam and is supposed to be a classic example of this raagam. And what a great rendition by TMS, especially at those high octaves that he glides through with a mastery for which he is well-known.

7. Thanga Nilavil – Thirumanam-1958-( With T.G. Lingappa)- Kannadasan-AM Rajah & Jikki

I found both SMS and T G Lingappa are credited for this song. A nice melody , rendered by the legendary husband-wife team of A M Rajah and Jikki.

8. Kanavin Maaya Logathile – Annayin Aanai-1958- Ku Ma Balasubramaniam-T M S & P Susheela

A very popular song that used to be played in radio when I was growing up in Chennai. The fast-paced tabla , use of guitar, flute and clarinet by SMS , coupled with superb singing by the evergreen pair TMS and P Susheela and not to miss the graceful enactment on screen by Sivaji and Savithri-all create an timeless classic.

9. Neeye Gathi Eashwari- Annayin Aanai-1958-A Maruthakasi-P Leela

I had included this song in my blog on P Leela, but would definitely like to repeat it here also . One of the most soulful songs of SMS , rendered so well by Ganamani P Leela Amma, set in Charukesi raagam.

10. Annaiyai Pol Oru Deivamillai -Annaiyin Aanai -1958-Ka Mu Sharif-TMS

In any album or playlist that has songs about Mother, this song will always have a place. Written with passion by Ka Mu Sharif and as usual rendered so soulfully well by TMS , this song would move anyone with the sheer intensity of its emotion.

11. Kunguma Poove – Maragatham- 1959-Ku Ma Balasubramaniam- J. P Chandrababu & Jamuna Rani

There is an interesting story about this song. T G Lingappa was the original composer of this tune for the film Sabash Meena; but due to some reason it was not used in that film. Later the comedian-singer J P Chandrababu ( who was supposed to have originally sung in Sabash Meena) conveyed this tune to SMS while working on the film Maragatham and SMS , who never knew the background agreed and completed the orchestration and recording of this song. It became a super hit and even today , the way Chandrababu and Jamuna Rani rendered this song is appreciated by everyone! Many years later T G Lingappa revealed the story behind this-SMS , obviously was so apologetic , as most of the legendary artists of those days were so humble.

Even if the tune was not his own, SMS did embellish the song with a unique orchestration and could be considered one among his super hit songs .

12. Maalai Mayangukindra Neram -Maragadham-1959-Shuddhananda Bharati- Radha Jayalakshmi

For me songs like this are truly eye-openers as I have not heard this in so many years and only my hunt for songs of a particular artist revealed such gems. I am sure this song must be based on a classical raagam or even a raagamalikai. I am not sure about that but it is definitely a very pleasing melody.

13. Kannukkulle Unnai Paaru -Maragadham -1959-Ra. Balu-TMS & Radha Jayalakshmi

One more hidden gem-a delightful duet by TMS and Radha Jayalakshmi. Actually Jayalakshmi was her name and she used to sing in stage concerts with her cousin Radha and somehow the combined name Radha Jayalakshmi stuck to her! Both were accomplished classical singers and had even trained many students .

14, Thirudathey Paappa – Thirudathe-1961- Pattukottai Kalyanasundaram-TMS

MGR had, on becoming the chief minister of Tamil Nadu , had famously said that one of the four legs on which he was seated in power was the powerful lyrics of Pattukottai Kalyanasundaram. Simple words that a laymen could easily understand with SMS respecting the words, composed many such songs with bare minimum orchestration and maximum emphasis to the words and the singer’s vocal skills.

15. Singaara Velane -Konjum Salangai-1962-Ku Ma Balasubramaniam- S Janaki

One more song that I am repeating, having covered this in my blog on S Janaki. A masterpiece in Tamil film industry, with a recording technique that was innovatively done for those times. The noted Nadaswara vidwan Karakurichi Arunachalam could not travel to Mumbai due to some reason and all the songs of this film were recorded there only. So, S Janaki’s vocal part was recorded separately and the Nadaswaram part was recorded in Chennai . A recording engineer called Raju had brilliantly edited these and made it into the single song that has been evergreen since 1962! The film producer M V Raman did many more innovative things in this film like the first Tamil film in Technicolor, dubbing into multiple languages with sub titles in English as this was shown in many film festivals.

With so many challenges , the basic idea of SMS to create a song that had, for the first time a voice and Nadaswaram together, got completed and what a masterpiece it turned out to be. Sadly many would not be knowing the name of music director of this song , although the song itself is iconic.

Unfortunately I am unable to get the YouTube link that has both visuals and audio of good quality and hence providing the link to the audio version only.

16. Enathu Raja Sabayile – Kalyaniyin Kanavan-1963-Kannadasan-TMS & P Susheela

SMS uses an innovative idea of providing a brief pause after each line in the Pallavi. Not only that, he uses that pause so effectively throughout the song, and with his typical simplicity , creates a lilting tune.

17. Ethanai Selvangal Vandhaalume ( Thayin Madiyil Thalai Vaithirunthal) Thaayin Madiyil-Vaali- 1964- TMS

If the song Annaiyai Pol Oru Deivam Illai was for Sivaji, this one for MGR is an equally soulful one . TMS starts off in a pitch that is his trademark and then renders the entire song with a passion that he is well-known for.

18. Ethanai Periya Manithanukku -Aasai Mugam-1965-Vaali-TMS

One of these days , I have to write about the lyricist Vaali. Many-a-times his songs are mistaken for those written by his illustrious peer-Kaviarasar Kannadasan. As I had mentioned earlier , SMS had the uncanny ability to bring out the best lyrics in his songs . If one can observe closely the interlude music in this song , could have inspired MSV to compose his “ Ranga Rangayya Enge Ponalum” song for the 1980 film Varumayin Niram Sivappu.

19. Kasethan Kadavulappa -Chakkaram-1968-Vaali-TMS

I think SMS may have the record for creating so many songs that have become philosophical statements! I was pleasantly to note this song has around 2.5 crore views !

20. Vennila Vaanil Varum – Mannipu-1969-Vaali-TMS & P Susheela

SMS was not only known for his philosophical songs , but for such light, romantic ones too. TMS, when he sings for Jaishankar, had a different tone as compared to that he used for MGR & Sivaji Ganesan.

21. Nee Engey En Ninaivugalangey from Mannippu -1969- Vaali- TMS

From the same film Mannippu, this is one more famous song of SMS from his later years. Note how SMS has changed his orchestration style with a western touch , but at the same time retaining his core simplicity and melody.

22. Kuyilosayai Vellum – Mannipu-1969-Vaali- P. Suseela & A. P. Komala

I conclude my selection of 22 songs with one more hidden gem that I came across only while searching for the sweet songs of SMS. A very rare duet of Susheela with the yesteryear singer A P Komala who must have sung this after a long gap in Tamil.

Acknowledgements and Disclaimer:

I sincerely thank the publishers of following Internet sources for the information that I could gather for this article:

You Tube
Wikipedia
Ragamalika TV-QFR series

Hindi film songs

Hansraj Behl-A composer who strode along with the giants

November 18, 2025 Sivanandam Palamadai Leave a comment

19 November 1916 – 20 May 1984

Whenever we take a closer look at the music composers who enriched the golden era of Hindi films, we find many such forgotten composers who, despite coming out with superb melodies, mostly remained in the shadows of the other famous legends. One main reason was that such music composers were mostly ignored by the big banners and stars of those times and hence , although their music was of high quality, the films for which they worked were not equally great and so their work, unfortunately, did not get the recognition they deserved.

Even those not very familiar with his name , will know the songs Jahan daal daal par sone ki chidiya, Mohabbat zinda rehti hai , Nain dwar se man mein who aake , Bheega bheega pyaar ka sama etc. This blog is a small tribute to the music composer Hanraj Behl, who had composed these and many more hidden gems like these.

As always I randomly pick up an artist for my blog and it so happens that when I check his birth date or anniversary , it is close to the time of my blog! By the time I finish this blog it would be close to the 109^th birth anniversary of Hansraj Behl!

Born on 19 November 1916 in Sheikhupura, near Rawalpindi then in British Punjab , now in Punjab, Pakistan, Hansraj received his early education in music from Pandit Chunnilal and later from Pandit Acharay Chiranjivilal ‘Jigyasu’. His father, Nihal Chand Behl, was a zamindar in his area.

After composing some non-film songs and starting his own music school in Lahore , like many other artists , he landed in Bombay as Mumbai was known at that time in the year 1944. His brother Gulshan Behl and friend Varma Malik also joined him . He got a break with the film Pujari (1946) directed by Ardesher Irani .

For any music director in the late 40’s and 50’s there was always a tough competition from stalwarts like Naushad, C Ramachandra, Shankar Jiakishan, O P Nayyar , S D Burman in the late 40’s and 50’s , continued by others like Madan Mohan, Roshan , Chitragupta, Ravi, Sajjad Hussain, Vasant Desai, S.N TRipathi etc who were all greatly talented. So , for Hansraj Behl, it was mostly lesser-known banners and within that constraint, he came out with some exceptional songs in films like Raat Ki Raani ( 1949-Jin Raaton Mein Neend Ud Jaati Hai by Rafi), Chengez Khan ( 1957-Mohabbat Zinda Rehti Hai by Rafi) , Milan ( 1958-Haye Jiya Roye by Lata) , Sikandar-E-Azam( 1965- Jahan Daal Daal Par Sone Ki by Rafi) just to name a few. He is credited with introducing Asha Bhonsle in Hindi films , with the song Sawan Aaaya Re that she sang alongwith Geeta Dutt & Zohrabai Ambalewali for the 1948 film Chunariya. He was also instrumental in giving the lyricists Varma Malik & Naqsh Lyallpuri their first film songs in the film Jaggu ( 1953).

Totally , Hansraj Behl might have composed around 500+ songs in around 65-70 films. He had experimented with some unique concepts like having no interludes in the song “ Us Chand Se Pyaare Chand ho tum” in the film Raat Ki Raani or take the song ” Nain Dwar Se Man mein woh aake” in which Mukesh sings at lower notes in a slow pace whereas Lata starts off at very high octaves and at a faster pace. He used the similar technique in the Talat & Lata duet Bhool Ja Sapne Suhane Bhool Ja in the 1956 film Rajdhani .

It is purely my own personal view that music directors like Hansraj Behl could not maintain a consistency in their music and if you take a single film , one or two songs would have been outstanding but rest of them may not have been that good and that aspect differentiated the stalwarts who were more consistent in their quality and an entire film would be embellished with gems. However this , in no way , takes away their talent , and maybe if big banners had supported them and extracted their best talent, they also might have become quite successful.

Hansraj Behl ‘s best was for the film Sikandar-E-Azam in 1965 with the song Jahan Daal Daal Par Sone ki becoming a sort of an anthem and played in all the Republic day and Independence day celebrations . Though he remained active till the end 60’s in Hindi films and even till 80’s in Punjabi films , his best was mostly in the 50’s and 60’s.

He passed away due to liver cancer on 20 May 1984.

Since I am not very familiar with the music of 40’s , I am listing out few memorable songs of HB ( Hansraj Behl) mainly from the 50’s and 60’s. These are , as per my usual practice , sequenced in chronological order with the song, film , year , lyricist, and singer(s) mentioned in that order.

Jin raaton mein neend ud jaati hai-Raat Ki Rani-1949-Arzoo Lucknowi-Mohammad Rafi

One of the early songs of HB and also for Rafi , that was quite popular those days and even now among Rafi fans searching for his rare songs. This is well-remembered even now, almost 75 years later! With minimum orchestration , this ghazal is so simple but the tune by HB is captivating.

2. Us Chand Se Pyaare Chand ho tum-Raat Ki Raani-1949-Darbari Lal-Rafi & Lata

HB does an innovative technique in this song , with no properly defined interludes, and depends only on very brief instrumental bits separating the lines sung so sweetly by young Rafi and Lata.

3. Haye Chanda Gaye Pardes Chakori Yahan-Chakori-1949-Mulkraj Bhakri-Lata

It seems Lata placed this song among her favourites , with HB coming out with an intricate tune . As was the norms in the 40’s the interludes and orchestration were minimal and the strength of the song was in its intricate tune.

4. Raste pe hum khade hain dil-e-beqaraar lekar -Rajput-1951-Kaif Irfani-Suraiya

Suraiya may not have sung many songs for HB ,but as usual she renders a melodious song with her sweet voice . This song is in no way lesser in its melody quotient and orchestration as compared to to those composed by stalwarts of those years like Naushad or Khemchand Prakash or Husanlal Bhagatram .

5. Aye zamane bata do dilon ki khata-Dost-1954-Asad Bhopali-Talat & Madhubala Jhaveri

I knew about the singer Madhubala Jhaveri only while working on my blogs-strangely the good old Vividh Bharati had never played her songs much and so she remained an unknown entity for me. I was also pleasantly surprised to learn that it was HB who gave her maximum number of songs. This is a pleasing duet of Talat and Madhubala Jhaveri. Once again HB relies purely on the strength of his tune and uses minimal orchestration.

6. Bhool Jaa Sapne Suhane Bhool Jaa-Rajdhani-1956-Qamar Jalalabadi-Talat Mehmood and Lata Mangeshkar

One of the excellent compositions of HB , just observe how he comes out with an outstanding beginning in low notes by Talat , followed by higher notes by Lata. The interludes and orchestration are also exceptional, in league with any stalwart music director of the golden era. That is why I used the tag line “ A composer who strode along with the giants”!

7. Mohabbat zinda rehti hai-Changez Khan-1957- Qamar Jalalabadi-Mohammad Rafi

Now we come to that one song that almost every music lover would have definitely heard , but many might not have known this was composed by HB! A masterpiece that can be rendered only by Rafi!

Rafi had that magical power to give a great boost to the careers of many actors and even to many music composers by pouring his heart into the songs. The way he ends the song with the lines “ Chalee Aaa…Chalee Aaa…” would send goosepimples! The link below provides the complete song that must have appeared in many situations in the film and is a bonus which we usually do not hear in the radio version.

8. Jab raat Nahin kat-ti-Chengez Khan–1957- Qamar Jalalabadi-Lata

This song must have been overshadowed by the more popular Rafi’s Mohabbat Zinda Rehti Hai, and I must have heard this Lata’s solo very rarely in the past. HB somehow seems to brought out the best from Lata and it is a surprise to note that his name is never taken when we think of best songs of Lata!

9. Zindagi bhar gam judai ka mujhe-Miss Bombay-1957-Asad Bhopali & Prem Dhawan-Rafi

Normally I avoid repeating the same song in multiple blogs -I had included this in my blog about “ Zindagi”. But I am making an exception as this is too good a song to miss out in a blog on HB. Rafi once again at his best! I am not very familiar with classical raagas , but I think this could be based on Raag Malkauns and is this song in anyway lesser than the more famous Malkauns based-Aadha Hai Chandrama Raat Aadhi?

10. Le chala jidhar ye dil nikal pade-Miss Bombay-1957-Prem Dhawan-Rafi

From the same film Miss Bombay, HB comes out with a lilting light-hearted song

11. Din ho ya raat, hum rahein tere saath- Miss Bombay-1957- Prem Dhawan-Rafi & Suman Kalyanpur

This is one of the most popular songs of HB , that is played in radio even today. This film and many such films were produced by HB along with his brother under the N C Films banner. Miss Bombay was a musical film with many songs becoming famous. Observe how HB has constructed this song at such high notes and a superb pace.

12. Haaye Jiya Roye-Milan -1957-Prem Dhawan-Lata

Now we come to one of HB’s masterpieces that can definitely be placed among the best songs of Lata! What a great song, full of pathos and rendered exceptionally well by the one and only Lata! I understand this is based on Raag Darbari, though may not be in strict classical norms( which is understood for film songs) and can be considered as good as the top Darbari raag based songs composed by other maestros of the golden era . The string arrangements , sarangi , flute used by HB are top-notch!

( The uploader in YouTube has wrongly put a banner of the 1967 Milan instead of the 1957 Milan!)

13. Nain dwar se man mein woh aake-Sawan-1959-Prem Dhawan-Mukesh and Lata

Personally I consider this as one of the best songs of HB and also a very unique song. Mukesh starts off at the lowest notes and a slow pace ( in which he is a true master) and Lata bursts off at highest octaves with a frenetic pace! What an imaginative composition by Masterji HB( in Hindi film world only two composers were called Masterji-HB and Ghulam Haider!).

14. Bheega bheega pyar ka -Saawan-1959- Prem Dhawan- Rafi and Shamshad Begum

It is my view that most songs that have a horse-hoof beat become great hits-maybe something to do with the rhythm of nature! And when we have Rafi & Shamshad to come out with full-throated singing , we get an evergreen duet. HB proves he is no less than the ‘ master of horse-hoof beat rhythm’ O P Nayyar!

15. Meri pasand hai ke mujhko-Ek Din Ek Badshah-1964-Prem Warbartani-Rafi

The films for which HB composed may have been mostly obscure ones , but he scored superb songs for them. This is a rare Rafi gem, with a tune & lyrics intricate , and an equally obscure lyricist!

16. Jahan daal daal par sone-Sikandar-E-Azam-1965-Rajendra Krishan-Mohammad Rafi

I conclude this blog with a song that almost all Indians would have heard in their lifetime, with a majority not knowing who composed this! Just as the patriotic songs like Kar Chale Hum Fida, Apni Azaadi Ko Hum, Mere Desh Ki Dharti , Ae Mere Watan Ke Logon , this one is played on all Independence and Republic day celebrations .Personally I consider the top among the best patiotic songs ever composed in Hindi films, with Rafi starting with a chaste Sanskrit shlok and then puring out his heart into the song that he always does.

A superb composition by the Master Ji and in all probability this was his last major hit song. Though he continued to compose for few years , the power of this song alone would etch his name in the annals of Hindi film music. Not to forget Rajendra Krishan for his immensely powerful lyrics.

Acknowledgements and Disclaimer:

I sincerely thank the publishers of following Internet sources for the information that I could gather for this article:

You Tube
Wikipedia

Hindi film songs

Sulakshana Pandit-a singer we forgot!

November 9, 2025 Sivanandam Palamadai Leave a comment

12^th July 1954 -6^th November 2025

Sometimes we tend to completely forget about an artist who had been quite popular just around 3-4 decades ago. I was shocked to note that I had not even included her name in my long list of artists that I am supposed to cover in my future blogs. Today (7^th Nov’ 2025) when I read about the sad demise of this actor-singer , I thought I should at least prepare a small tribute to her and write about some of the memorable songs she has left behind.

Born in an illustrious musical family , her father was Pratap Narain Pandit and was the elder brother of legendary Pt Jasraj, noted classical vocalist. She had three brothers , Mandheer Pandit, and the famous Jatin-Lalit music composer duo and three sisters-Maya Anderson, Sandhya Singh and the famous actor Vijayta Pandit. Noted music composer Adesh Shrivastava married Vijayta Pandit. It is very rare to come across a family with so many musical artists. But at the same time it is equally poignant to note that except for Pt Jasraj , others had a relatively brief career. Of course Jatin-Lalit were successful as music composer duo before they split up after the film Fanaah. Adesh Shrivastava unfortunately died of cancer just a day after his 51^st birthday.

Sulakshana Pandit was one of the rare artists in the later period of Hindi films , who was an actor and singer , which was more prevalent in the vintage era. She had started singing even at the age of nine ( Pappa Jaldi Aa Jana with the legendary Lata Mangeshkar and other young singers Ila Desai & Meena Patki , for the 1967 film Taqdeer composed by Laxmikant Pyarelal). She accompanied her eldest brother Mandheer Pandit for performing many music shows.

Her father was a great influence in her life and had even tutored her and honed her musical skills. Her first major hit was with the great legend-Kishore Kumar for the film Door Ka Rahi -Bekaraar Dil Tu Gaaye Ja , composed by KK himself. However her next break came after almost four years , but with a bang that fetched her lone Filmfare award for best playback singing with the soulful Tu Hi Sagar Hai Tu Hi Kinara for the film 1975 film Sankalp , with music composed by Khayyam.

In the same year she had her break as an actor in the film Uljhan that had Sanjeev Kumar and Ashok Kumar along with her in the lead. This film was much talked about suspense thriller and also impacted her personal life. She adored Sanjeev Kumar and even proposed to him for marriage but he had refused. It is said this deeply affected her and she remained unmarried throughout her life. It is a strange twist of fate that she passed away of cardiac arrest on 6^th November , 2025 , the same day when forty years back Sanjeev Kumar had passed away on the same date.

I have seen only very few films in which she acted , but as a singer I always liked her voice and she could carve out a niche for herself in the midst of tough competition from legends like Lata , and Asha. Her repertoire might have been limited but she did leave behind few evergreen songs that would be remembered for a long time. Her training in music made her sing quite well and she also had a voice that did not resemble Lata or Asha and hence had a distinct tone. It is truly unfortunate that she did not get the recognition she deserved.

I am listing few of her superb songs that provide a glimpse of her versatility and her strong musical grounding. These are arranged in chronological order , with song, film, year , music director, lyricist and co-singer mentioned in that order.

Bekaraar Dil Tu Gaye Jaa-Door Ka Rahi-1971-Kishore Kumar-A Irshad-Duet with Kishore Kumar

One of the best piano songs, Kishore proved he was a great music composer as well and gave Sulakshana Pandit her first hit song, that remains her all-time best till date. It is interesting to note KK singing for his brother Ashok Kumar .

2. Tu Hi Sagar Hai Tu Hi Sahara-Sankalp-1975-Khayyam-Kaifi Azmi

This song shows what a superbly gifted singer Sulakshana Pandit was and is famous for its meaningful lyrics and soulful tune composed by Khayyam. It is rare to see any singer getting an award for the very early songs in their career.

3. Bandhi Re Kahe Preet-Sankoch-1976-Kalyanji Anandji-M.G Hashmat

Rendered by SP on screen also, this is a song that does not sound like a typical Kalyanji-Anandji tune and is a hidden gem.

4. Jana Kahan Hai Pyaar Yahan-Chalte Chalte-1976-Bappi Lahiri-Amit Khanna-Duet with Bappi Lahiri

Bappi Da as a singer may not be everyone’s liking but he composed some lilting and peppy tunes that were very popular during the 70’s and 80’s. I had heard this song many times but never realised SP had sung this!!

5. Somwar Ko Hum Mile-Apnapan-1977-Laxmikant Pyarelal-Anand Bakshi-Duet with Kishore Kumar

One of the most popular duets of SP , this is a typical L-P & Anand Bakshi style composition that caught the attention of public due to the simplicity and catchy lyrics and tune.

6. Ghadi Milan Ki Aayee Aayee Tu Chutti Lekar-Ek Baap Chhe Bete-1978-Rajesh Roshan-Majrooh Sultanpuri-Duet with Rafi

During those days this song was very popular and was played frequently in radio. SP had many such hit duets with Rafi sahab.

7. Jab Aati Hogi Yaad Meri-Phaansi-1978-Laxmkant Pyarelal-Gulshan Bawra-Duet with Rafi

One more popular duet of Rafi and SP , with SP acting out the song on screen as well.

8. Boliye Surili Boliyaan-Grihapravesh-1978-Kanu Roy-Gulzar-Duet with Bhupendra

Kanu Roy was the famous singer Geeta Dutt’s brother and remained an unsung and unrecognised music director. Most of his songs were too good . This is a classical gem from him and sung very well by Bhupendra and SP. She demonstrates her classical singing ability so nicely and it is unfortunate that she did not get much opportunity to render songs like this.

9. Kajare Ki Baati-Sawan Ko Aane Do-1978-Raj Kamal-Maya Govind-Duet with K J Yesudas

The film Sawan Ko Aane Do was a musical hit with the new comer music composer Raj Kamal scoring many super hit songs like the title song, Chand Jaise Mukhde Pe, Teri Tasveer Ko, Bole To Bansuri, Tujhe Dekh Kar, mostly rendered by the veteran K J Yesudas and few by Jaspal Singh.

This duet of SP with KJY is relatively lesser known but not in any way lesser in quality .

10. Pardesiya Tere Des Mein-Garam Khoon-1980-Shankar Jaikishan-Singhar-Duet with Rafi

It is a common myth , spread by many, that the music of Shankar that he independently composed was mediocre. I could never understand how someone could say that. Just listen to this superbly orchestrated song in the year 1980 that , in my humble opinion, was as good as those masterpieces SJ composed in the 60’s. The string arrangement, solo violin, sitar, accordion, guitar all are vintage SJ! SP has matched Rafi’s versatility throughout the song. One of my all-time favourites of late SJ compositions.

11. Mana Teri Nazar Mein-Ahista Ahista-1981-Khayyam-Naqsh Lyallpuri

One more very soulful ghazal from the team of Khayyam and SP. I find that Khayyam has composed some of the best solo songs for SP.

12. Mausam Mausam Lovely Mausam-Thodisi Bewafaai-1981-Khayyam-Gulzar-Duet with Anwar

Of all the singers who came up after the sad demise of Rafi, trying to sing like him, I find Anwar was the best. Somehow he got very limited chances. This is a peppy number from Khayyam in a film that is otherwise known for the evergreen Kishore-Lata’s Hazar Rahein Mudke Dekhi..

13. Jiske Liye Sab Ko Chhoda-Sajan Ki Saheli-1981-Usha Khanna-Majrooh Sultanpuri-Duet with Rafi

One of the very last films for which the great Rafi sang before he left us, this was a very popular song, probably his last for Usha Khanna and also for Rajendra Kumar. SP’s collaboration with Rafi was a successful one with many of their duets becoming very popular.

14. Prabhu tum antaryami-Non Film Song-Khayyam

Khayyam composed many memorable Non film songs that were mostly bhajans or ghazals. Many of them were rendered by Rafi and this particular bhajan by SP was quite popular those days and somehow totally vanished from everyone’s memory later.

I end this small tribute with this soulful and superb bhajan.

Acknowledgements and Disclaimer:

I sincerely thank the publishers of following Internet sources for the information that I could gather for this article:

You Tube
Wikipedia

Hindi film songs

Paliyath Jayachandran – and his honey-laced vocals

October 28, 2025 Sivanandam Palamadai Leave a comment

3^rd March 1944-9^th January 2025

In the late 70’s and during most of the 80’s , Tamil film music saw a plethora of new music directors, singers, lyricists , with trend-setting music styles that gave listeners a completely new way of experiencing film music. Although the legends TMS, PS , MSV , Kannadasan were still holding out despite strong competition, it was the time of K J Yesudas, S P Balasubrahmanyam, Vani Jayaram, S Janaki , Ilayaraja, Shankar-Ganesh, T Rajendar, Vairamuthu, Gangai Amaran just to name a few. The complete list will be covered in my future blogs! But among the new singers , there was a singer from Kerala , who had the unique ‘ midas’ touch-whatever he sang became a super-hit ! There was not a single day without his song Rasathi Unne Kaanatha Nenju being aired . With a voice that closely resembled his illustrious peer from the same state, K J Yesudas , with a softer tone, Paliyath Jayachandran or P Jayachandran was known for having maximum percentage of hits . His association with Ilayaraja was one of the most successful combinations during the 80’s.

P Jayachandran had a great career in the Malayalam film industry but his repertoire in Tamil is also equally rich. Jayachandran was born in Bhadralayam, Ravipuram, Ernakulam, to Thiripunithura Ravivarma Kochaniyan Thampuran, a member of the Cochin Royal family, and Subhadra Kunjamma . He was the third among the five children his parents had. Jayachandran graduated in Zoology from Christ College, Irinjalakuda. He had his schooling at the Irinjalakuda National High School from where he received many prestigious prizes for playing the Mridangam and light music in the State School Youth Festival. He completed his graduation in Zoology from the Christ Church college , Irinjalakuda.

Music was in his blood, his father Thiripunithura Ravivarma Kochaniyan Thampuran being a learned musician, though not a professional singer. His mother Subhadra Kunjamma was also a great music lover and encouraged him to learn the notes of Mridangam. In a young age , with his mother’s encouragement , he became well-versed with the mridangam.

Although he had not learnt any sort of classical music, his musical insight and his genuine love for music had helped him in winning many music contests he had participated. His elder brother Sudhakaran, was a close friend of Yesudas, and was instrumental in helping Jayachandran become a professional singer. Jayachandran used to sing the songs taught by his brother in school functions.

Jayachandran got married to Lalitha in the year 1973, who was also an ardent lover of music and always encouraged him. They had a daughter named Lakshmi and a son called Dinanath. His daughter and son are also singers .

Jayachandran was also a great lover of Hindi songs in his young days. I have seen some of his interviews in which he has talked about his admiration for the great Mohammad Rafi who had inspired many other great singers of South like SPB, Yesudas .

Like few other singers, in his case also the song he had recorded first was released later ! His song for the 1965 Malayalam film Kunjali Marakkar , Oru Mullappo Malayumai ( music composed by B.A Chidambaranath) got released later and his Manjalayil Mungithorthi song, composed by G. Devarajan in the film Kalithozhan (1966) came earlier. Later on, his song in the 1967 film Udhyogastha , ‘ Anuragaganam pole’ became a famous one followed by some more that fetched him great fame like the M S Vishwanathan composed Neelagiriyude (‘Suprabhaatham’) for the film Panitheeratha Veedu in 1973 for which he got the Kerala State award for best playback singing.

Music composer M B Sreenivasan was well-known for his intricate and off-beat compositions and his song Ragam Sreeragam for the film Bandhanam fetched Jayachandran another Kerala state award . He was the recipient of the national award in the year 1985 for Sivasankara Sarva Saranya Vibho in Sree Narayana Guru composed by G. Devarajan.

Since my blogs are about Tamil and Hindi film songs, let us turn to Jayachandran’s Tamil film career. His first Tamil film song was Thanga Chimizh Pol , composed by the veteran M.S Vishwanathan for the 1973 film Manipayal. However he got noticed first in Tamil films with his song Manthara Malare, Manthara Malare for the film Naan Avan Illai that was composed by MSV. Though this song became popular , his major hit came with the two duets he sang for the 1976 film Moondru Mudichu, Aadi Velli Thedi Unnai and Vasantha Kala Nadigalile , composed by MSV. In the year 1978, Ilayaraja’s songs for Jayachandran started a long & successful association between them , like Vazhkaiye Vesham for Aarilinthu Arubaduvarai and Chitira Chevvanam Sirikkakanden & Oru Vanavil Pole for Kaatrinile Vraum Geetham.

Jayachandran continued his glorious innings with Ilayaraja till 90’s but the peak was in 80’s with many super hits in this decade. Jayachandran had sung some memorable songs with many other music directors also and I have tried to organize my song selection into 3 categories. His songs with MSV, Ilayaraja and Other composers.

Jayachandran won a National Award, five Kerala State Awards and four Tamil Nadu State Awards. In the year 2001, he was honoured with the Swaralaya Kairali Yesudas Award. In 2020, he was awarded the J. C. Daniel Award, the highest award in Malayalam cinema, for his outstanding contributions to Malayalam cinema. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest expression singers in South India.

Jayachandran died from liver cancer in Thrissur, Kerala, on 9 January 2025, at the age of 80. He was cremated with full state honours at his ancestral home in Chendamangalam, North Paravur, Kerala on 11 January 2025.

His songs for MSV

Manthara Malare Manthara Malare- Naan Avan Illai-1974-Kannadasan & Bhaskaran-Duet with L R Eashwari

With a Tamil-Malayalam mix of lyrics, this is a very unique song , with the Tamil lyrics having a Malayalam touch and Malayalam lyrics having a Tamil touch. Jayachandran brings out the expressions so well in his very first major hit song.

2. Adi Velli, Thedi Unnai-Moondru Mudichu-1976-Kannadasan-Duet with Vani Jayaram

I had written about the other famous song from this movie, Vasantha Kaala Nadigalile in my earlier blogs and so included this here. A classic Kannadasan’s anthathi style lyrics, composed so beautifully by MSV and rendered equally well by both, Jayachandran and Vani Jayaram

3. Paalabhishekam Seiyavo-Muthana Muthallavo-1976-Vaali-Duet with P Susheela

I think many would have forgotten this song-a rare , pleasant melody by MSV . Jayachandran’s Tamil diction was a great strength for him, coupled with his melodious voice and a soft, silky rendition.

4. Swing Swing Unathu-Vanakkathukuriya Kathaliye-1978-Vaali-Duet with Vani Jayaram

I have observed that some songs become rare as they are forgotten after the time in which they were released. I heard this sweet melodious duet after a long time. A rare occasion when Jayachandran sang for the Superstar Rajinikant!

5. Kalai Magal Alaimagal-Velli Ratham-1979-Vaali-Duet with P Susheela

That rhythm pattern is trademark MSV…one more song that must have been forgotten . Vaali’s powerful lyrics add so much meaning to the song beautifully rendered by Jayachandran and Susheela.

6. Kavithai Arangerum Neram-Antha Ezhu Naatkal-1981- Kuruvikkarai Shanmugam-Duet with S Janaki

Out of the many songs composed by MSV for Jayachandran, this must be the most popular one. It is said that the lyricist Kuruvikkarai Shanmugam learnt how to play the harmonium in order to do full justice to this song! Jayachandran renders a power-packed song.

7. Neeril Oru Thamarai-Nenjatai Alli Thaa-1984-Vaali

One more rare song that I discovered only while searching for this blog. Usually actor Mohan always had SPB doing the playback for him and had innumerable hits with him, but this is one has Jayachandran singing for him.

His songs for Ilayaraja

Vazhkaiye Vesham-Aarilirinthu Arupathu Varai-1978-Panchu Arunachalam

The long and successful association of Ilayaraja and Jayachandran started off with the song Poonthendrale Nalla Neram from the 1977 film Bhuvana Oru Kelvijuri and they together are said to have worked for around 90+ songs, with a huge percentage of them being super hits. This song , a pathos for Rajinikant in an off-beat role is sung with so much of expression by Jayachandran.

2. Chitarai Chevvanam-Katrinile Varum Geetham-1978- Panchu Arunachalam

Ilayaraja creates a perfect ‘ boat’ song and Jayachandran complements perfectly with his expressive singing.

3. Mancholai Kilithano-Kizhakke Pogum Rail-1978-Muthulingam

One of the most popular , but so-difficult-to-sing songs from the team of Ilayaraja and Jayachandran . The prelude is one of the best ever by IR and not only the prelude, even the interludes are simply outstanding. Jayachandran does full justice to the song that is truly difficult to sing. When this film was released , this song became one of the greatest hits!

4. Manjal Nilavukku Indru-Muthal Iravu-1979-Kannadasan- Duet with P Susheela

It was the time when whatever IR composed turned out to be pure gold! This one with the rhythm of a train is well known for the excellent orchestration

5. Thalattuthe Vaanam-Kadal Meengal-1981-Panchu Arunachalam-Duet with S Janaki

IR used to innovate in each one of his songs with something unique. This song is always remembered for that peculiar percussion. This is also a ‘boat’ song but note the difference between this and Chittira Chevvanam.

Jayachandran comes out with a softer tone for this romantic number and make it so sweet to hear.

6. Poonthendral Kaatre Vaa-Manjal Nila-1982-Gangai Amaran- Duet with P Susheela

It is amazing to note that Jayachandran has sung excellent duets with all the main female playback singers like P Susheela, S Janaki and Vani Jayaram. And added to that some of the superb solos as well!

7. Kalidasan Kannadasan-Soorakottai Singakutti-1983-Vaali-Duet with P Susheela

This was one more song of Jayachandran that was so popular during the 80’s just like Rasathi Unne. Hardly a day passed without hearing this song , those days!

8. Indraiku Yen Intha Ananthame-Vaidehi Kathirunthal-1984-Gangai Amaran-Duet with Vani Jayaram

A superb Aabhogi raagam based composition of IR, this is a true masterpiece from Jayachandran and Vani Jayaram. I personally would rate this among the topmost songs of Jayachandran.

9. Rasathi Unne Kaanatha Nenju- Vaidehi Kathirunthal-1984-Vaali

The song that is immediately identified with Jayachandran. A simple tune that was rendered with full expressions by Jayachandran that remains evergreen to this day. I came across an article that said in a place called Cumbum in Tamil Nadu , a herd of wild elephants used to wait near a theatre in which this film was running and the elephants listened intently to this particular song and would disperse once the song was over!

10. Kathirunthu Kathirunthu- Vaidehi Kathirunthal-1984- Vaali

I was surprised to read about how all the three super hit songs from the film Vaidehi Kathirunthal were recorded in a single day! What a great team IR and Jayachandran were!

11. Kodiyile Mailliaypoo-Kadalora Kavithaigal-1986-Vairamuthu-Duet with S Janaki

One of my all-time favourites and definitely among the outstanding compositions of IR that were the pinnacles of his orchestration skills. The typical multi-layered instrumental arrangement, coupled with an outstanding singing by both Jayachandran and S Janaki…a song that will last forever.

12. Mayanginen Solla Thayanginen-Naane Raja Naane Manthiri-1986-Vaali- Duet with P Susheela

Those vintage flute notes of IR, Jayachandran’s soft romantic touch in his voice, Susheela going strong even in her 50’s -all make this one more evergreen song.

13. Poova Eduthu Oru Maala-Amman Koil Kizhakala-1986-Gangai Amaran-Duet with S Janaki

Vijayakant and Jayachandran were a hit pair and the last few songs and this one are classic examples.

His songs for other music directors

I myself was all along thinking that Jayachandran’s top songs were composed by either MSV or Ilayaraja. So it was a pleasant surprise to note he has rendered some great songs with many other composers . Although a major part of his repertoire in Tamil films consisted of songs composed by Ilayaraja, M S Vishwanathan and Shankar-Ganesh, there were at least some 40 other music directors for whom he has sung. Of course for most of them it could have been just in a single digit.

Pennalla Nee Oru Bommai-Sonthamadi Nee Enakku-1977-V Kumar-Vaali-Duet with P Susheela

I had written about the composer V Kumar in this blogsite-a great composer but was not so lucky in getting the recognition he richly deserved. This is a rare gem from one the early years of Jayachandran.

2. Ennodu Ennenavo Ragasiyam-Thoondil Meen- 1977-V Kumar-Vaali- Duet with Swarna

V Kumar’s wife Swarna was a good singer and it was truly great of him not to impose her in his compositions-he had mostly composed with other leading female playback singers only. This is a superb song, with the unique orchestration style of V Kumar evident throughout.

3. Poovannam Pola Nenjam- Azhiyada Kolangal-1979- Salil Chowdhury-Gangai Amaran-Duet with P Susheela

The great legend from Bengal , who had given some of the most intricate and melodious songs in Bengali, Hindi and in his later years , in Malayalam , Salil Chowdhury worked for a handful of Tamil films also. This one from Azhiyada Kolangal was a super hit and is a lilting , trademark Salil da composition that , at the time of its release , came as a whiff of fresh breeze.

4. Vasantha Kalangal-Rail Payanangalil- 1981-Music & Lyrics-T Rajendar

T Rajendar was known for his unique style and out-of-the-box thinking in terms of tune and lyrics. Among Jayachandran’s top songs , this one will always be featured.

5. Kannil Vanthai Nenjil Nindrai-Lottery Ticket-1982- L Vaidyanathan-Muthulingam

L Vaidyanathan had composed music for few films only and is known for his unconventional tunes. One more song that Jayachandran sang for Mohan .

6. Malaro Nilavo Malai Magalo- Raaga Bandhangal-1982-Kunnakkudi Vaidyanathan-Kannadasan

Kunnakudi Vaidyanathan, a legend in playing the violin , had a successful innings in composing for Tamil films. Many of his songs have been brilliant. This Hindolam based song is somehow forgotten and it is truly sad. Jayachandran has rendered this classical number with so much of expression and perfection.

7. Sangeethame En Deiveegame-Kashmir Kadali-1983- G K Venkatesh-Pulamaipithan-Duet with P Susheela

Mentor of Ilayaraja , G K Venkatesh was a genius , and was a legend in the Kannada film music. He composed for few Tamil films and whatever he composed were great songs. This song deserved much better recognition , but like it happens for many good songs, got into the rarely-heard category.

8. Mounamulla Mayakkam-Azhagu-1984-G K Venkatesh-Vairamuthu- Duet with S Janaki

One more rare gem from the great G K Venkatesh. The string arrangement is something great , for which GKV was well-known. A soft and pleasing romantic duet.

9. Paal Nilavu Kaynthathen-Yaro Azhaikiraragal-1985-Shankar Ganesh-Vaali

Shankar Ganesh came out with some very good songs now and I was surprised to note Jayachnadran had sung a good number of songs for them. Hoiwever I could observe very few were popular or good. This one stands out for excellent guitar and Jayachandran renders a soulful number.

10. Thirunaalum Varumo Swaami-Isaikku Oru Koil-1987-K V Mahadevan-??- Duet with P Susheela

This was a Tamil dubbed version of the Telugu film Shrutilayalu. This could be the only film in which Jayachandran sang for K V Mahadevan. The original Telegu version had K J Yesudas singing the same song. I tried my best to find out the lyricist for this song , but could not find !

Acknowledgement & Disclaimer

I sincerely thank the publishers of following blogsites & Internet sources for the information that I could gather for this article:

You Tube
Wikipedia
http://www.tamil2lyrics.com

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