“CHHORR KAR TERAY PYAAR KA DAAMAN -YEH BATAA DE KI HUM KIDHAR JAAYEIN ”………RAJA MEHDI ALI KHAN ( 1915-1966 )
Raja
Mehdi Ali Khan belonged to Janjua family of Darpur in Jhelum District of
undivided Punjab. His father , Raja Ghalib Mehdi Khan was a Chief Minister of
Bhawalpur State of undivided India . Raja had good education and he graduated
from Aitcheson college , Lahore .,Poetry passed on to Raja Mehdi Ali Khan from
umbilical cord as his mother Hebay Saheba, was an established poet of her
time. She was the sister of Maulana Zafar Ali Khan. A collection of her
poetry, titled Nava-i-Haram was published under her penname Hebay .
ARRIVAL IN BOLLYWOOD
Prior to the partition of the country ,Raja and Saadat Hasan Manto worked together at the All India Radio, New Delhi . They were close friends for many reasons ; both were Punjabis , both liked humour ,both shared love for literature , both were voracious readers and finally both loved the Bottle .
Manto left AIR and moved to Bombay. He had been looking for some opportunity to bring Raja to Mumbai’s film world where he felt friendless. In Mumbai ,though Manto enjoyed the company of some close friends like Shyam ( well known hero Sunder Shyam Chadda real name ) , Pran , Ashok Kumar and many more , he still felt companionless as most of them had nothing to do with literature or poetry. So when Filmistan Studio's partner, S Mukherjee was in lookout for a song writer , Manto recommended Raja . In came Raja and wrote songs for Filmistan’s “Do Bhai” ( 1946 super hit movie .music S D Burman starring Ulhaas , Noorjahaan and Rajan Haksar ) and two songs “Mera sunder sapna beet gaya ”and “Yaad karoge – Ik din hum ko yaad karoge “ both sung by Geeta Dutt ( Roy ) turned instant hits . Raja was established .In Mumbai ,Raja , actor Shyam and Manto shared accommodation during those troubled days of 1947. About that period Manto writes:-
“ A Few months before partition , Shyam moved to my place . Those were karki times in Bombaiya language . We were extremely hard up but there was no let up in our drinking which continued unabated .Raja Mehdi Ali Khan was also around . Raja could not sleep on spring mattress beds . Then shyam would fix a huge measure of Brandy in keeping with Raja’s ample proportions and suggest ‘ drink this and you will sleep like a log’ .One day Shyam had burnt his mattress from a cigarette bit that he had thrown on his bed . The flat was full of smoke and a deep stink too spread all over. When I entered their room, I found Shyam sleeping on the floor and Raja snoring on the other bed in the room. I woke up Raja , which was not an easy job as he had no intention of getting up. When he got up , he said , ‘ This shyam is like Hanuman Maharaj . I knew what had happened during night when I saw Shyam getting up from his bed with his tail on fire. I had even tried to wake you up Manto. You did not get up but you opened your eyes when I said that a full crate of scotch whiskey had arrived. But you went to your sleep again. And then Shyam had doused the flame . How did it start again’ ."
And then one day , Manto decided to move to Lahore ( Pakistan ) leaving Shyam and Raja lonely. They missed him a lot. At that critical juncture , Raja decided to stay put in Mumbai and focused on his work. He was averse to the ‘ Two Nation Theory’ and like Sahir Ludhiavi, would also say to all that the new country would be ultimately ruled by Mullas .
In the film world , many composers took notice of his sweet and sensitive songs that became quite popular during those days. He got offers from some well known music directors with whom he associated which include Madan Mohan , O P Nayyar , Iqbal Qureshi , Bulo C Rani , Khemchand Prakash, S N Tripathi , Shyam Sunder, Gulam Hyder, Nisar Bazmi , Robin Benerjee ,N Dutta , Dhani Ram Prem, Anil Biswas , Roshan Lal ,S D Burman, Ravi, Roshan, Chitrgupta , C Ramchandra , Allah Rakha Qureshi , Bipin Babul, Hemant Kumar , Sardar Malik , Usha Khanna , Vanraj Bhatia and Laxmikant Pyarelal .
WORKING WITH COMPOSER MADAN MOHAN
Working with Madan Mohan was a great experience and achievement for both . When Madan Moan heard his first song , he told him, “ Tu har velay meray naal hi rah yaara . Or Friend , be always close by . ”
Started in 1950 , this friendship continued till Raja’s death in 1966. This duo
created some memorable songs . Apart
from Madan Mohan , Lata Mangeshkar also became
an admirer of the magical poetry of Raja. Raja would be
personally present on Lata Ji’s recordings of his songs making her understand
the nuances and finer sentiments behind each line that he wrote. These
songs are still amongst the best compositions in the film music .The popularity
of Raja’s songs sung by Lata ji broke all previous records . No music
lover in the Indian subcontinent has
forgotten the evergreen songs of 'Woh Kaun Thi' especially
songs like:-
(1) Naina barse rim jhim rim jhim
(2) Jo hum ne dastaan apni sunaayi aap kyon roye
(3) Lag jaa gale ki phir
On Raksha Bandhan day ,Lata Ji would tie a Rakhi to Raja and fondly call him “ Raja Bhaiya “. In an interview Lata ji once said :-
“
Raja’s songs have purity of thought and they reflect the core of
human feelings "
I need to make mention of one particular recording session of Raja's song " Naino Mein Badra Chhaye." The story goes as under :-
In 1966, when Raj Khosla started his new project " Mera saaya " , he signed the Karachi born Sindhi actress Sadhana ( born 2nd September, 1941 ) . Unusual for Sadhana ‘s image, he wanted a classical song to be picturised on her. He put forth this idea to music maestro Madan Mohan and requested him to go ahead with a classical composition . Madan Ji called Raja Mehdi Ali Khan and Lata Ji to his house, Raja was unwell and down with high temperature.. He did not have a pen or his diary with him. But then Raja was Raja .Closing his eyes for ten minutes Raja said , “ Madan Bhai … ‘Naino mein badraa chhaye ,bijli si chamke haaye’.......Chalegaa “
“ Array Bhai … Kyaa baat keh di … Aagay chalo…..”, said Madan Mohan.
Once the song was completed by Raja ,Madan Mohan sang it playing the harmonium himself. Lata Ji sought Raja's assistance in understanding the emotional and sentimental content of the lines . Though unwell , Raja sat for the full day till the song was completed to perfection. That is how the master piece was created . Raja Mehdi Ali Khan's other master pieces for this movie like ‘Jumka gira re ‘ and 'Tu jahaan jahaan chalega mera saaya saath hoga ‘ touched new heights of popularity. In an interview , noted urdu poet Akhtar ul Imaan, who wrote dialogues for "Mera Saaya' said :-
“ Yeh Raja Kheil Kheil mein hi kyaa gazab likh deta thha . Hamein jagah chhaahiye , Tanhaai chaahiye aur soch ke liye waqt chaahiye. Raja ka zehan insaani tajrubaat ka vassi samandhar thha."
Some other songs that Raja wrote for Madan Mohan also turned popular . A few can be listed as under :-
(1 (1)
Meri yaad mein tum na aansso bahaana
(2) Hai issi mein pyaar ki aabroo
(3) Rang birangi raakhi le ke aayi behna
(4) Jiya le gayo ri mora saanvariya
(5) Aapki nazron ne samjha pyaar ke qaabil mujhe
(6) Woh dekho jalaa Ghar Kissi Ka
(7) Agar Mujh Se Mohabbat hai Mujhe sab apne gham de do
(8) Mein Nigaahein Teray Chehray se hataaon kaise
(9) Jo Hum ne dastaan Apni Sunaayi Aap Kyon Roye
(10) Lag ja gale ke phir yeh haseen Raat Ho Na ho
(11) Chorr kar teray pyaar ka daaman
(12) Naina barse rim Jhim Rim Jhim Piyaa Tore Awwan ki aas
(13) Teray pass aa Ke Mera waqt Guzar Jaata hai
(14) Ek Haseen Shaam Ko Dil Mera kho Gayaa
(15) Kayee din Se jee hai Bekal
(16) Maine Rang Li Aaj Chunariya sajna Tore Rang Mein
(17) Jhumka Gira re Bareily ke Bazaar mein
(18) Tu Jahaan Jahaan Chalega mera saaya saath hoga
(19) Aap ke pehlu mein Aa kar ro diye
(20) Naino Mein Badra chhaye
(21) Teray Bin saawan kaise beeta
Some popular songs that Raja wrote for other music directors that come to my mind at the moment are..
(1)
Mein Pyaar ka Raahi Huun
(2) Aap Yuun Hi Agar Hum Se Miltay rahe
(3) Gardish mein hon Taaray na Ghabrana Pyaare
(4) Phir Teri Yaad Naye Geet Sunaane aayi
(5) Mein Dekhuun Jis Aur Sakhi Ri saamne Meray saanwariya
(6) Gore Gore Chaand ke Mukh Par kaali Kaali aankhein Hain
(7) Desh Ka Pyaara Sab Ka Sahaara Kaun Baneja Hum Didi
(8) Phir Tere Shehr Mein Lutne Ko Chala Aaya Hun
(9) Pichhwaare Buddha Khansta
(10) Qareeb Aa Yeh Nazar Phir Mile Mile Na Mile
(11) Tum Bin Jeevan Kaise Beeta Poochho Mere Dil Se Poochho Mere
(12) Sikandhar Ne Porous se ki Thhi Larrai To Mein Kyaa karuun
(13) Poochho na hamein Hum Unn Ke liye
As a tribute to the genius of Raja , In 1997, SAREGAMA INDIA LTD. brought a special audio CD that had 19 of the most popular songs penned by Raja.. This CD remained in demand world over .
RAJA’S SERVICE TO URDU LITERATURE
Raja left behind a great treasure of poetry that he published in his books “ Andaaz e Bayaan Aur" and Mizraab “. I have also come across a book titled Raja Mehdi Ali Khan kI Adabi Khidmat by Abdul Qadeer Muqaddar. Apart from being a successful film lyricist , Raja wrote for some popular Urdu magazines like Beeswin Sadi and Shama . In Lahore and Delhi , he was associated with prestigious Urdu literary journals like Aalamgir , Phool and Khayyam . In some poems , Raja combines humour and satire in his distinct style to expose the hypocrisies of the society that he lived in. His poems like “Khud Kushi” , “Ek Chehlum Par” , “ Chor Ki Dua “or “Aji Pehle Aap “ fall in this category .
I
quote some lines from his popular poem Aji Pehle Aap ( After you ,Sir ! )
“Aaj
rakhiye jannat ke dhar mein qadam”
“ Aaj pehle aap “
“ Aaj wah ! pehle na jaayeingay hum “
" Bhai pehle aap “
Aji baat iss mein takaluff ki kya ,
Qadoom e mubarak barraiye zaraa ,
Aji chaliye rukk jaayegi sab jagah “
“Pehle aap “
Aji barrh bhi chukiye khuda ke liye ,
Sabhi ab to jannat mein hain ja chukke,
Na ab mujh se kahiye khuda ke liye ,
Aji pehle aap “
(Move
into gates of heaven “
“ after you sir “
“How can I precede , You ever ?
Till You lead , I shall not stir ”
“ Don’t stand on ceremony please ,
Grace the place with your feet .
Hurry Please , make haste ,
Lest they fill up the space .
“ After you, After You! ”
For God’s sake act with speed ,Everyone has had his seat ,
Don’t be formal , waver not ,
Forget this “After you ,” ,my pal.)
Raja was deeply hurt by the brutal killings during partition of the country . In an article , he wrote:-
“ It looked as if man had changed to a wild animal forgetting compassion , sympathy and brotherhood . Hindus and Muslims soaked their hands deep into the blood of so many innocents.”
A
touching Urdu poem “ Partition “ that he wrote in his own
style goes as under :-
(Partition)
“Langhaa”
“Sanghaa” kalma Parr
“ La-ilaha “ “Aagay parr
“ Aagay aap bataa deejiye “
“ Aagay agar mujhe aataa”
Tum se me kyon padvaata “
“ Soch na ab bekaar Rahim
Baar isse talwaar Rahim
Duur hon iss ke sab dukhday
Kar de iss ke do tukday “
Actor comedian Mehmood once worked as his personal Chauffer .Raja lived like a Raja in real sense ; Good food , mannerism , soft spoken and generous to his friends .
( Avtar Mota)
Based on a work at http:\\autarmota.blogspot.com\.
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