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व्याकरण, उच्चारण और उत्पीड़न

Tags: song music lyrics

Phonetic and grammatical violence in songs

Once Raja Bhoj went around his kingdom to see for himself the condition of his subjects. Seeing a frail woodcutter burdened by the weight of the log on his head, the king asked him solicitously, “किम्‌ ते बाधति भारम्‌?” Does the weight hurt you? The anguished woodcutter replied somewhat sharply: “भारम्‌ न बाधते राजन्‌ यथा ‘बाधति’ बाधते.” I am not hurt so much by the weight on my head as by your use of ‘बाधति’ instead of (the correct form) बाधते. The story is used at two levels. One, to make the political point that Sanskrit was a language of the masses at some point of time. But its practical purpose was to illustrate the point of Sanskrit grammar regarding Aatmenpad and Parasmaipad form of verbs. And the interesting part was the royal being casual in grammar, whereas the commoner was ultra-sensitive to the correct usage to the point of ticking off the king. (Note: Parasmaipad verb follows the commonly known form पठति/ पठतः/ पठन्ति, whereas Aatmnepad goes बाधते/ बाधेते/ बाधन्ते, the difference being somewhat similar to transitive and intransitive verbs.AK)

Many of us are like Raja Bhoj’s woodcutter, getting jolted by the phonetic and grammatical aberrations in songs. In a discussion sometime back on this blog when N Venkataraman posted Zohrabai Ambalewali’s version Song Kis tarah bhoolega dil unka khayal aya hua (originally sung by Noorjehan in the film ‘Village Girl’ (1945), composed by Pt. Shyam Sundar), Pramod Godbole pointed out that while Noorjehan correctly pronounced ‘Kis’, Zohrabai instead pronounced it as ‘Kees’ (कीस). This could be quite jarring even for someone who was not fastidious about grammar or phonetics. Hercules Poirot had a fetish for perfection and symmetry, and he got his clues from the ‘gap in the wall’. He detected one of the murderers on the Orient Express by her stress on the wrong syllable while pronouncing ‘Turin’.

In another discussion, Hans posed a quiz for the readers to detect an error in the song Baadalo barso nayan ki kor se (Sampoorna Ramayan, 1961, Lata Mangeshkar, Bharat Vyas, Vasant Desai). This related to a fine point of grammar and Anup Phadke was able to answer it correctly. But Mumbaikar 8 mentioned a glaring one committed by Geeta Dutt in the Rafi-Geeta Dutt duet, तुम्हीं ने दर्द दिया है तुम्हीं दवा देना (Chhoo Mantar, 1956, lyrics Jan Nisar Akhtar, music OP Nayyar), in which she seemed to be pronouncing दबा for दवा, which could alter the meaning horribly. And Ashwin Bhandarkar posted Pt Bhimsen Joshi’s Badarawa barasan ‘laagi’ in Raga Sur Malhar, in which Panditji seemed to be oblivious that बादरवा being masculine gender, the correct verb should have been लागे instead of लागी.

I am quite riled by the TV anchors asking a guest, Aapne kya kaam kara? Or, Aapne MBBS kab kara? Aapne acting kab shuru kari? Really, has Hindi grammar accepted ‘kara’ for ‘kiya’, and ‘kari’ for ‘ki’? One was supposed to learn correct language and pronunciation from radio and TV – at least that was one of the objectives of public broadcasting anywhere in the world. The butchery of language by Hindi newspapers is another sad phenomenon of the current times. I believe regional language papers are much better, and they act as a bridge to literature.

Some variations occur because of regional accents for certain letters and matras. We used to tease a Punjabi friend, Tu bhai (भाई) ko paai (पाई) kyon bolta hai? And he would protest, Main paai ko paai kahan bolta hun, main to paai ko paai bolta hun. He would quite sportingly accept the joke at his expense when everyone shouted ‘Main paai ko paai kahan bolta hun..’, whenever he was sighted. They also have a problem with joint letters (sanyuktakshar). For example, if you watch Dharmendra’s TV interviews closely, you would notice him involuntarily say ‘filam’ for ‘film’. And as one wit said, Bengali alphabet starts with ‘A’ for ‘Orange’. Talking of Bengali, I remember the film Kahani (2012), not only as a superb suspense thriller, but also as the fondest ever romance with Calcutta, Bengali language and culture. Vidya Bagchi (played by Vidya Balan) finally gives up her attempts to correct the police officer, the guest house caretaker and others that she is विद्या, not बिद्या, when every time she gets the answer, Haan haan wohi, Bidya, Bidya. And she also accepts that सात्यकि is actually शात्योकि. We understand and accept these aberrations.

In the melting pot of the Bombay film world, people coming from different ethnic, regional and linguistic backgrounds, managed to learn to speak Hindi or Hindustani language in a standard accent. The playback singers with distinct regional accents took extra pains to smoothen out their pronunciation. Having taken a solid training in classical music from her father, Lata Mangeshkar, nevertheless, had tutors in voice modulation and Urdu phonetics, as that was essential for film singing.

The aberration that Pramod mentioned has no explanation. Hans, Mumbaikar 8 and Ashwin, too, have been affected like the mythical woodcutter of Ujjain by different songs. These are not rare cases. Over the years many songs have hit me for precisely this reason. Some of these songs are absolutely melodious and have achieved lasting fame, and are not dented by such aberrations. But these blemishes have remained lodged in my memory. As this discussion triggered my memory, here is a list of some songs with flaws ranging from hitting-in-the-face to very subtle.

कीस

1. कीस तरह भूलेगा दिल उनका खयाल आया हुआ by Zohrabai Ambalewali (version song)

Let us start from where it all started. Zohrabai halts at kees endlessly. Was she going to such lengths to avoid any suggestion of kissing?

2. किस तरह भूलेगा दिल by Noorjehan from Village Girl (1945), lyrics Wali Saheb, music Shyam Sundar

Let us refresh our memory of the original to see the difference between ‘kis’ and ‘kees’.

भूलना-भुलाना

If you thought kees was really the extreme, here is an even more jolting example. While Zohrabai took a leisurely siesta at kees, Geeta Dutt is in a tearing hurry to rush with bhool with the speed of rocket, but I can never forget her भुल.

3. Piya laut ke aana भुल (sic) gaye by Geeta Dutt from Do Bhai (1947), lyrics Raja Menhdi Ali Khan, music SD Burman

An outstanding song, marred by Geeta Roy’s (Dutt) भुल instead of भूल. Since it is in the mukhada, this jarring sound occurs at least five times in the song. I don’t think it is a Bengali thing. She was not careful, and no one tried to correct her. Unlike Mumbaikar 8’s example, in which there was some doubt, this one is quite unambiguous, and I am sure I am not making any भूल regarding her भुल.

She did much better four years down the line in this song.

4. Lakh zamaanewale daale dilon pe taale, tum bhi na भूलो बालम हम भी न भूले by Geeta Dutt from Baazi (1951), lyrics Sahir Ludhiyanavi, music SD Burman

But the best song with proper stress on भूलना/भूल is this one:

5. भूलनेवाले याद न आ by Mukesh from Anokhi Ada (1948), lyrics Shakeel Badayuni, music Naushad

However, if instead of involuntary forgetting you make conscious efforts to forget something, the verb becomes भुलाना as in in this song.

6. Teri yaad dil se भुलाने chala hun by Mukesh from Hariyali Aur Raasta (1962), lyrics Shailendra, music Shankar-Jaikishan

Here the short vowel is correct.

Now if one is not very familiar with the language, भूलना-भुलाना can be quite a भूल भुलैया. In the following song the word has been used twice in the mukhada, with long vowel first (wrongly) and the correct short vowel the second time, but this can be excused for the requirement of the meter, and the song is so outstanding that no one notices the minor phonetic deviation.

7. भूला (?) नहीं देना जी भुला नहीं देना by Rafi and Lata Mangeshkar from Baradari (1955), lyrics Qamar Jalalabadi, music Nashad (not Naushad)

खुल्ली सड़क

After getting lost in the bhool-bhulaiya, you would soon like to come out on the open road for some fresh air. But you are struck when you see Raj Kapoor dancing on the khulli sadak. Your first reaction is to ask him to go, do some kulli to clear his throat.

8. Mera joota hai Japani…..Nikal pade hain खुल्ली (?) sadak pe by Mukesh from Shri 420 (1955), lyrics Shailendra, music Shankar-Jaikishan

In the first stanza of Mera joota hai Japani, I always found the खुल्ली instead of खुली jarring and unnecessary, but since it is sung by a tramp, it is excusable.

जमुना का (?) धारा

9. Tu Ganga ki mauj main Jamuna का (?) dhaar by Rafi and Lata Mangeshkar from Baiju Baawara (1952), lyrics Shakeel Badayuni, music Naushad

Whether you take it as जमुना की धारा/धार or तलवार की धार, why did they do ‘ka’ instead of ‘ki’? I am sure we all remember ना कजरे की धार. Shakeel Badayuni-Naushad-Rafi created songs like Man tadpat Hari darshan ko aaj in the same film, and I am surprised that on धार/धारा they should slip like this.

देना (?) होगी हर क़ुर्बानी

10. Karun kya aas niraas bhayi…देना (?) होगी हर क़ुर्बानी by KL Saigal from Dushman (1939), lyrics Arzoo Lakhanavi, music Pankaj Mullick

One can understand the dilemma of the lyricist, singer and the music director. The second stanza starts with Karna hoga khoon ko paani. If they tried to rhyme the second line completely, Dena hoga har qurbani would have been an obvious violence on grammar, but the 50-50 compromise still leaves this oddity. I can’t help remembering this song for Dena hogi har qurbani instead of Deni hogi.

‘इब’ क्या होगा

11. Suno bairi balam sach bol re ‘ib’ kya hoga by Rajkumari from Bawre Nain (1950), lyrics Kedar Sharma, music Roshan

We don’t know whether Kedar Sharma meant to use ‘ib’ for ‘ab’ consciously, but it does enhance Geeta Bali’s impishness. HFGK writes it as ‘अब’ kya hoga. ‘Ib’ might have gone unnoticed.

12. Suno bairi balam sach bol re ‘ib’ kya hoga by Rajkumari (singing live at Sa Re Ga Ma Final)

About 50 years later, the legends Anil Biswas and Rajkumari indulge in some playful banter centred on the word ‘ib’ at this music reality show. Even if it might have gone unnoticed at that time, now you know ‘ib’ in the place of ‘ab’ is the high point of this song.

“शोर नहीं बाबा सोर, सोर”

13. Saawan ka maheena pawan kare sor, Pawan kare shor…Shor nahin baabaa ‘Sor’ by Mukesh and Lata Mangeshkar from Milan (1967), lyrics Anand Bakshi, music Lakshmikant-Pyarelal

Here is a cute song which turns phonetics on its head. The boatman Sunil Dutt trying to teach Nutan a folk song for her college competition, corrects her as she pronounces ‘shor’ (correctly), but for the simpleton rustic boatman it has to be ‘sor’. He cannot proceed further until she falls in line. And they both start singing पवन करे ‘सोर’.

कवीता

14. Main kahin kavi na ban jaaun tre pyar mein ae Kaveeeta (?) by Mohammad Rafi from Pyar Hi Pyar (1969), lyrics Hasrat Jaipuri, music Shankar-Jaikishan

The reason why Mohammad Rafi has to stretch Kaveeeta endlessly is obvious. The meter of the lyrics is shorter than that of the composition, but making कविता into कवीता hardly helps. I would rather this song was scrapped altogether.

निगाहें

I end this post with the most troubling world Nigaahein. There is no doubt that the word is feminine gender – Haye unki wo nigaahein; Teri nigaahon mein teri hi baahon mein; Yaad aa gayi wo nashili nigaahein; Ye jhuki jhuki si nigaah teri; Ye dil aur unki nigaahon ke saaye. But we also have Ho nigaahein mastana. We have become so conditioned to accept this song that the correct form Ho nigaahein mastani would sound odd. A truly bisexual word.

15. Ho nigaahein mastana by Rafi and Asha Bhosle from Paying Guest (1957), lyrics Majrooh Sultanpuri, music SD Burman

What a fabulous song! Majrooh Sultanpuri was never more romantic, and the King of Romance, Dev Anand, would floor any girl with his dreamy eyes. Nutan so melts she can only hum along with him. Superb music by SD Burman, sung equally superbly by Rafi and Asha Bhosle.

ओ निगाहें मस्ताना
देख समाँ है सुहाना
तीर दिल पे चला के
आ, ज़रा झुक जाना
ओ निगाहें मस्ताना …

कोई देखे नशीली आँखें मल मल के
दिल कैसे बने न दीवाना
शम्मा करे है इशारे जब जल जल के
कहो क्या करे परवाना
ओ निगाहें मस्ताना …

बस्ती के दियों को बुझ जाने दे
लहरा के न रुक रुक जाना
चाहत का लबों पे नाम आने दे
यही प्यार का है ज़माना
ओ निगाहें मस्ताना …

दामन न बचाना मेरे हाथों से
शरमा के गले से लग जाना
जले चाँद सितारे जिन बातों से
सुन जा वही अफ़साना
ओ निगाहें मस्ताना …

16. Jhuka jhuka ke निगाहें मिलाये जाते हैं by Mukesh and Asha Bhosle from Miss Coca Cola (1955), lyrics Majrooh Sultanpuri, music OP Nayyar

This is an absolutely melodious song, among the very best of Mukesh-Asha Bhosle duets, and they have sung some awesome songs. This is the first time that OPN used Mukesh’s voice, and I am surprised that even after such an outstanding outcome, he could only give four songs to Mukesh. But the point about the song, which normally no one would notice, is the use of masculine gender for ‘nigaahein’.

Interestingly, the same film also uses ‘nigaah’ correctly in this song:

17. Teri kaafir nigaah kar gayi dil ko tabah by Geeta Dutt from Mss Coca Cola

Coincidentally, Majrooh Sultanpuri is the lyricist of all the ‘nigaah’ songs cited here. Had he been consistent this should have been ‘Tere kafir nigaah kar gaye dil ko tabaah’.

Before I end I should mention here that transliterating Hindi words into Roman is very problematic. To cite just one example, if we want to be a stickler for phonetic exactitude, we should write ‘Mahaatmaa Gaandhee’, or ‘Raajeev Gaandhee’, or ‘Jhaansee Kee Raanee’– this looks horrible; therefore, we write ‘Rajiv Gandhi’ and make the mental adjustment in pronunciation. This is an unsolvable problem, and you might find some inconsistencies on this blog in the way I write names or song titles.

Another interesting point to note is that in Urdu ghazal, it is customary to use male verb for the beloved, even if the context might indicate that it refers to the betrayal by the ‘mashooqa’ (Sochata hun ke वो ‘कितने’ मासूम ‘थे’, kya se kya ho gaye’ dekhate dekhate; Wafa jinse ki bewafa ho ‘gaye’). It is said that this is because of the Persian influence where the verb is genderless. This ambiguity also helps the poet in not limiting himself to male-female love – this could be the love of the individual soul for the supreme being, or as is gaining currency in the modern discourse, same-gender love, or it could be a political message under the surface. An example from a film song, though not very common, is: when Asha Parekh announces, अच्छा तो हम चलते हैं, Rajesh Khanna asks her, फिर कब ‘मिलोगे’. But in the Tapori song, Ai kya ‘bolti’ tu, ‘Aati’ kya Khandala, there is no ambiguity about the gender of the verb.

Disclaimer: The song links have been embedded from the YouTube only for the listening pleasure of the music lovers. This blog does not claim any copyright over these songs, and acknowledges that the copyright vests with respective owners, such as Saregama India Limited and others.



This post first appeared on Songs Of Yore - Old Hindi Film Songs, please read the originial post: here

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