Guest article by DP Rangan

(A lesser mortal, when asked to write on songs on ‘tasveer’, would have made some general observations about pictures, and mentioned some songs which contained the word ‘tasveer’. Not DP Rangan, as we know well by now. Mr Rangan takes us to pre-historic days when mankind would have started making some pictorial representations by sketching on rocks and caves. Thank you Mr Rangan for another article, in a long series of guest articles, loaded with information . – AK)

Living beings emerged from the primordial chemical bath some three billion years ago on Earth and human beings seem to be the latest in the ladder of life. Unlike other living entities who were solely concerned with their day to day survival and perpetuation of their species, humans, because of their extra sensory perception and intellect, sought to understand the surroundings in which they evolved. They are the only species not to live in harmony with nature, but try to twist it to suit their living conditions with disastrous consequences for all. They seem to have developed a sense of ego and creativity all along and exhibit it in some form or another. They developed the art of drawing on rocks leaving behind memories of the environment in which they evolved. Thus was born the art of sketches and drawing and tasveer was a by-product of this trait.

San or Bushmen were the original native inhabitants of South Africa with a history of more than 30000 years of continuous existence. Migration of tribes from north as Hottentot, Masai, Zulus pushed them down. After 16^th century, Dutch settlers arrived in huge numbers in the southern tip (Cape of Good Hope) and started spreading into the interior of South Africa. Hemmed in from all sides, today they live in the remote Kalahari desert and Botswana and their numbers are quite low and their ancient way of life is under threat. They were a perfect species of humans who lived in complete harmony in the deserts, where civilized human beings would perish. They were one of the greatest rock artists who left behind a plethora of pictures in rock shelters and caves. In Drakensberg mountain (Natal), Namibia and Lesotho a lot of San cave art can be found. They used to record their surroundings and paint the animals they used to hunt as eland, antelope, giraffe etc. Using brushes made from animal hair their paintings were very realistic and could easily hold their own against current paintings. They used powdered rock with fat as painting material and these have withstood the ravages of time and weather and are well preserved. A few of the San paintings are shown below.

Europe also abounds in rock art. They are Altamira cave paintings of Spain, Lascaux and Chauvet Cave in France to name a few. Similar cave paintings have also been discovered in American Southwest, Patagonia and Australia.

(Lions portrait from Chauvet)

Coming over to recent times, there is no dearth of paintings, be it scenery, biblical theme or portraits. The most famous painting of all is ‘Mona Lisa’ by Leonardo da Vinci, a multi-faceted gem from Italy. The portrait done between 1504 and 1519 was that of a woman named Lisa Gherardini, wife of a noted silk merchant Francesco del Giocondo. This was the most studied work of art since its discovery and is now lodged in Louvre, Paris.

There were other painters of note, such as Van Gogh, Rembrandt, Goya, Paul Gaugin, Constable, George Turner to name a few in Europe. Their works were praised and many of them adorn the private galleries of billionaires bitten by the art bug. In the 20^th century, a notable artist was Pablo Picasso. A Picasso painting would be worth its weight in gold.

Asia also did not lag behind. China and India had a long history of paintings. Many cave rock art were discovered in Sulawesi island of Indonesia dating back to more than 35000 years.

I will now say a few words on Indian paintings.

The earliest were prehistoric rock paintings like the petroglyphs from ‘Bhimbetka’ rock shelters of Madhya Pradesh which are more than 30000 years old.

Ajanta caves are well known for their cave paintings by Buddhist monks. These are classified as murals. There are 28 caves spread over the area and many of them are full of paintings representing Buddhist philosophy. Mural paintings were also executed on other places like Chittannavasal (Tamil Nadu) during the reign of Pallavas and Kailasanath temple of Ellora caves.

(All pictures courtesy Wikipedia.)

Miniature paintings were another branch and they reached a zenith during the Moghul period. Several schools of painting carried forward this tradition in Rajasthan. Other schools of painting were Madhubani, Kangra, Mysore, and Tanjore.

Literature on the subject is very vast. This is a musical blog and hence I will now start describing a few songs on the theme of tasveer. Some of the songs will actually depict the hero engaged in painting while crooning.

1. Dil ko haye dil ko teri tasveer from Dastan (1950) by Rafi & Suraiya, lyrics Shakeel Badayuni, music Naushad

Raj Kapoor and Suraiya are the main starrers. A well-known film with many songs of repute. This is sweet but slow tempered, typical of its days. Naushad has composed some of his best tunes for this film.

2. Apni tasveer se kah do from Sabzbag (1951) by Rafi and Asha Bhonsle, lyrics Aziz Kashmiri, music Ghulshan Soofi

No information is available about the film and there is no live video. The duet sounds sweet.

3. Aa teri tasveer bana lun from Nadaan (1951) by Talat Mahmood, lyrics PL Santoshi, music Chic Chocolate

A Dev Anand and Madhubala starrer, the picture is a copy of the Hollywood movie It Happened One Night”which I have seen in USA a few years back. There are two versions and both are available in this video. Music direction is by Chic Chocolate, assistant to C. Ramchandra and the style is distinctly that of the master. One of the best crooners from Talat Mahmood that has not lost its appeal even after such a long time.

4. Tasveer banata hun teri from Deewana (1952) by Rafi, lyrics Sahir Ludyanvi, music Naushad

Some of the major actors are Suraiya, Sumitra Devi, Suresh, Madan Puri. An evergreen tune by Naushad. Habib Wali Mohammad has sung a version song which is equally good to hear.  The link below gives both the versions.

5. Duniya tasveer hai from Aulad (1954) by Talat Mahmood, lyrics Raja Mehdi Ali Khan, music Sardar Mullick

Balraj Sahni, Usha Kiran and Nirupa Roy are the leading actors. A delectable tune composed by Sardar Mullick and Talat Mahmood has rendered full justice.

6. Tasveer banata hun tasveer nahi banti from Baradari (1955) by Talat Mahmood, lyrics Kumar Barabanqvi, music Shaukat Dehlvi Nashad

Ajit, Pran and Geeta Bali are the main actors. This is a story of Rajasthan chivalry. A prince tries to come between two lovers and ultimately realizes his folly and allows them to reunite. Nashad has given a nice tune and Talat Mahmood as usual shines with his crooner voice. Bhula nahin dena is a sweet duet by Rafi and Lata Mangeshkar from this film.

7. Tasveer nayan mein from Raaj Kanya (1955) by Rafi and Asha Bhosle, lyrics GS Nepali, music Chitragupt

Manohar Desai and Nalini Jaywant are the main actors. The duet is presented as it is for listeners’ pleasure.

8. Aanewale kal ki tum tasveer ho from Chhote Babu (1957), by Lata Mangeshkar, lyrics Indeevar, music Madan Mohan

A B-grade film with actors like Shekhar, Nimmi, Agha, Kanhaiya Lal, Helen, uplifted to some extent by the excellent music by Madan Mohan. This is a typical tune from him and looks like an adaptation from the earlier song from the film Railway Platform – Basti basti parbat by Rafi. I can also see resemblance to another song – Is Duniyan me sub chor chor by Lata Mangeshkar from the film Bhai Bhai.

9. Tasveer teri dil mein from Maya (1961) by Lata Mangeshkar & Rafi, lyrics Majrooh Sultanpuri, music Salil Chowdhury

Dev Anand, Mala Sinha, Lalitaa Pawar and Amjad Khan are some of actors. Salilda has given a moving duet.

10. Meri tasveer lekar from Kala Samundar (1962) by Rafi & Asha Bhonsle, lyrics Anand Bakshi, music N Datta

A B grade film with cast as Jairaj, Chitra, Maruti, Hira Lal and Tun Tun. A qawwali style song nicely rendered by Mohammad Rafi and Asha Bhosle.

11. Teri tasveer bhi tujhse from Kinare Kinare (1963) by Rafi, lyrics Nyay Sharma, music Jaidev

Dev Anand and Meena Kumari play lead roles. The song based on classical raga has been rendered very well by Rafi. Chale ja rahein hai kinare kinare by Manna Dey is also worth listening to.

12. Jo baat tujh me hai teri tasveer mein nahi from Taj Mahal (1963) by Rafi, lyrics Shakeel Badayuni, music Roshan

A great movie released in 1963, the main actors are Pradeep Kumar and Bina Roy. Roshan had given great and enduring songs for this film embellishing the lyrics of Shakeel Badayuni. Each and every song is a hit and will be heard in posterity. This one by Rafi is exquisite to say the least.

13. Dil ke aaine mein tasveer teri rahti hai from Aao Pyar Karen (1964) by Rafi, lyrics Rajendra Krishna, music Usha Khanna

Saira Banu, Joy Mukherjee, Rajendra are the main actors. An average tune by the M.D., and Rafi has gone through the motions.

14. Humne jag ki ajab tasveer dekhi from Shankar Seeta Anasuya (1965) by Pradeep, lyrics Kavi Pradeep, music Shivram

A classic film based on Sati Anasuya and the song is very poignant and full of philosophical value about life. Mahipal, Nirupa Roy, Anita Guha, Madhumitha, Sulochana are some of the stars. Pradeep has the right intonation to convey deep feelings by his rendering.

15. Jidhar dekhun teri tasveer from Mahaan (1983) by Kishore Kumar, lyrics Anjaan , music R.D. Burman

I now transgress the laid down tradition of confining to the classic period and post one nice song sung by Kishore Kumar. Amitabh Bachan, Waheeda Rehman, Zeenat Aman, Parveen Babhi are some of the major actors. The hilly terrain in the background is quite enchanting. Amitabh Bachan is singing his heart out to touch the inner chord of Waheeda Rehman. It is a typical tune from R D Burman.

16. Tasveer teri dil mera behla na sakegi (non-film 1944) by Talat Mahmood, lyrics Faiyyaz Hashmi, music Kamal Dasgupta

An iconic song set to a delectable tune by the great music director Kamal Dasgupta, Talat Mahmood rose to great heights in rendering this. It was a radio era song under HMV release and was responsible for his rapid ascent in his singing career thereafter. For sheer sweetness and timelessness, I include this as the last piece.

I now leave it to the experts of the blog to dissect my post and offer their opinion about it and also bring out more gems which I had missed.