A three-day weekend in which to pay tribute to three supreme beings in Hindi film music
1. Remembering Madam Noor Jehan (today and every day!)… She left us on Deember 23, 2000, but, of course, her voice and image remain immortal.
2. Mohammed Rafi. His birthday is December 24.
3. I just found this one out recently… The supreme artist who composed the two songs above was born on December 25. Naushad was the best! For my third Naushad selection today, I thought I’d post an instrumental, one of a kind that we don’t normally associate with Naushad – a snake dance. And it is one of my favorite snake dances, especially for the music.
(BTW, this video was prepared by Tom Daniel – one of close to three dozen of his on my channel that have not disappeared due to some suspension…yet.)
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December 23, 2011 at 10:13 am
That’s really really special, Richard. The three greats, with their birthdays lined up!!
Trust you to have observed this. :-)
The snake dance is beautifully choreographed especially when one thinks of the standard of choreography of that time.
I couldn’t think of a song combining the three. Perhaps an extensive research of youtube is required here unless someone already knows.
I do know of a duet though sung by Mohammad Rafi and Noor Jehan for the 1946 film Jugnu.
December 23, 2011 at 10:15 am
Re: the song by Mohd. Rafi ‘suhano raat dhal chuki’ – I hope it doesn’t drive harvey away LOL!!
I love it though. Especially the tune. It’s melodious and flowing.
December 23, 2011 at 3:43 pm
Very nice selection of songs for your tribute. Richard. I really like Naushad’s snake dance video. I can see why it’s one of your favorite snake dances. The lively music by Naushad which accompanies the dance is quite good. And I especially love the mesmerizing sound of the Pungi, which, of course, is the predominant instrument in all snake dances. Eerie, yet beautiful at the same time.
December 23, 2011 at 5:03 pm
Thank you for combining these three maestros…a special weekend indeed.
@pacifist: my Mum & Dad sang this duet (quite decently) for a fund-raiser in the 70s: after that, we could sometimes wiggle it out of them on special occasions :)
December 24, 2011 at 7:03 am
Pacifist, thanks once again for the nice words. I wasn’t recalling three birthdays, though – that’s two birthdays and a death anniversary. I don’t think that there is a song that combines Rafi, Noor Jehan and Naushad. (Though now that I think about it, there is at least one film that includes all three – Anmol Ghadi!) I think that Jugnu contains the only Rafi-Noor Jehan duet in films, period, and I did cite that film to pay tribute to both greats at once in 2009 (though, if you follow that link…sorry the post is such a mess; I need to replace a lot of clips; Tom apparently is far from the only one who’s been kicked off YouTube in the past two years). And not to be nit-picky, but according to most sources, the release date for Jugnu was 1947. (I have read/heard that the film was a current rage in both new countries right after Partition. :) ) It was actually Noor Jehan’s second-last Bollywood film; the last one was Mirza Sahiban.
Regarding “Suhani Raat Dhal Chuki” (which was from a movie made two years later called Dulari)… Yes, I recall that Harvey had some problem with it and misinterpreted the lyrics in some odd way, but I see that you appreciate it and I recall it being Ava’s favorite, and it’s one of my favorites, too!
Mister Naidu, thanks, and I agree about the pungi – which is just another word for been, right? It is the predominant instrument in most snake dances – except for maybe the most famous of them all, from Nagin (1954), which actually was dominated by a clavioline, making it, if I’m not mistaken, the first Hindi film song ever to feature a kind of synthesizer.
Bawa, I actually remember you saying sometime back that your parents liked to sing that song from Jugnu. :)
December 25, 2011 at 10:30 am
A very sweet post. I was aware Naushad of Rafi’s birth anniversaries clsoe to each other, but did not connect Noorjehan’s death anniversary. The snake dance was fntastic.
December 28, 2011 at 8:16 pm
Suhani raat dhal chuki brings back memories!
The snake dance from Dastan was completely new for me. Thanks for that!
A nice tribute!
December 30, 2011 at 12:41 pm
*blush* *blush* *blush*
Yes, of course it’s two birthdays and a death anniversary.
It was a mistake made in haste. *blushing furiously*