In Which Lily White Turns Emerald Green

William Barnes was a 19^th century English writer, poet, Church of England minister and philologist. He wrote more than 800 poems on a variety of subjects. One of his well-known poems is A Mother’s Dream (Mater Dolorosa), written around 1867. It is a poignant first person description of a mother’s dream about her lost son.

Allama Iqbal must’ve been touched by this poem, as he translated it in Urdu and included in his collection Baang-e-Dara (1924). The translation, called ‘Maan Ka Khwaab’ is extremely faithful to the source. The 24 lines of the original lead to 15 couplets (30 lines) in the adaptation. The extra lines by Iqbal, especially the ones corresponding to the last stanza of the original, add more emotion and poignancy to the mother’s lament. And the build up to the ending of the Urdu version packs a wallop that I find much more effective.

A Mother’s Dream (Mater Dolorosa) William Barnes

Maa.N Ka Khwaab Allama Iqbal

I'd a dream to-night As I fell asleep, O! the touching sight Makes me still to weep: Of my little lad, Gone to leave me sad, Ay, the child I had, But was not to keep. As in heaven high, I my child did seek, There in train came by Children fair and meek, Each in lily white, With a lamp alight; Each was clear to sight, But they did not speak. Then, a little sad, Came my child in turn, But the lamp he had, O it did not burn! He, to clear my doubt, Said, half turn'd about, 'Your tears put it out; Mother, never mourn.'

मैं सोई जो इक शब तो देखा ये ख़्वाब बढ़ा और जिससे मेरा इज़्तिराब ये देखा कि मैं जा रही हूँ कहीं अँधेरा है और राह मिलती नहीं लरज़ता था डर से मेरा बाल बाल क़दम का था दहशत से उठना मुहाल जो कुछ हौसला पा के आगे बढ़ी तो देखा क़तार एक लड़कों की थी ज़मुर्रद सी पोशाक पहने हुए दिये सब के हाथों में जलते हुए वो चुप चाप थे आगे पीछे रवाँ ख़ुदा जाने जाना था उनको कहाँ इसी सोच में थी कि मेरा पिसर मुझे उस जमा'अत में आया नज़र वो पीछे था और तेज़ चलता न था दिया उसके हाथों में जलता न था कहा मैंने पहचान कर मेरी जाँ मुझे छोड़ कर आ गए तुम कहाँ जुदाई में रहती हूँ मैं बेक़रार पिरोती हूँ हर रोज़ अश्कों के हार न परवा हमारी ज़रा तुमने की गए छोड़ अच्छी वफ़ा तुमने की जो बच्चे ने देखा मेरा पेच-ओ-ताब दिया उसने मुँह फेर कर यूँ जवाब रुलाती है तुझको जुदाई मेरी नहीं उस में कुछ भी भलाई मेरी ये कह कर वो कुछ देर तक चुप रहा दिया फिर दिखा कर ये कहने लगा ‘समझती है तू हो गया क्या इसे तेरे आँसुओं ने बुझाया इसे’

In one of the stanzas above, William Barnes describes that the mother in her dream sees a number of children dressed in ‘lily white’. But in Allama’s vision their apparel is emerald green. Just a seemingly simple change in the colour of the apparel, makes the poem resonate with cultural specificity. Given that both William Barnes and Allama Iqbal was religiously inclined, it would be safe to say that they chose the colour according to their faiths. In Christianity, white signifies purity, innocence and holiness; whereas the green occupies similar significance in Islam.

Another notable aspect of the Urdu version is that it is written in an extremely simple language, which I find quite uncharacteristic of Iqbal. However, the depth of expression is not compromised one bit. At the surface it can simply be taken as a mother’s lament for a dead child, and the dream providing her a sign for closure. It can also be about a son coming on his own and starting on a new life (symbolized by green), but who is unable to find his way (symbolized by the lamp which does not burn) as the attachments keep pulling him back. Following the path shown by others (other children with burning lamps) is the only thing he can do in such circumstances, and that makes him a laggard in the journey of life. In order for him to find his own identity and direction and not be left behind in the journey, he has to be assured that the mother is not mourning his absence.

Listen to this poem here:

Maa.N Ka Khwaab - Allama Iqbal (adapted from William Barnes)

Shamsul Huda Bihari - A Forgotten Lyricist of Popular Songs

This article was written as part of the ‘Guzra Hua Zamana’ series on Sangeet Ke Sitare, a music group on Facebook.

Lyricists are the least remembered among all the contributors to film songs. You could find reams of paper written about composers, and terabytes of online space devoted to singers, but when it comes to appreciating the value of a lyricist, the world suddenly turns miserly. The situation assumes tragic proportions when one realizes that there are a few lyricists who have written some of the most popular songs of all time, but they are rarely discussed or even remembered. One such forgotten lyricist of popular songs is Shamsul Huda Bihari (S. H Bihari).

S. H Bihari was born in the Arrah district of Bihar in 1922. He obtained his Bachelor of Arts degree from one the most prestigious colleges in the country of the time – Presidency College, Kolkata. It was in Kolkata that he developed an interest in sports and even played football for Mohun Bagan. However, his real passion was poetry and that brought him to his brother in Mumbai around 1947. In his initial Mumbai years, he worked as an assistant manager in a rubber factory.

It is said that S. H Bihari got his first break in films when Anil Biswas, who had a keen ear for fine poetry, heard one of his ghazals and took him on to write two songs for Laadli (1949). Around the same time he got a few more assignments to write a few songs for films like Aaiye (1949) and Duniya (1949). This trend continued for the next few years as he wrote one or two songs in some more films. While quantity remained elusive, this was the period when he got a chance to work with established great composers like Anil Biswas, Gyan Dutt, C. Ramchandra and Shyam Sundar. In some of his earlier films, he was credited as ‘H. S Huda’ or simply ‘Huda’.

Main Ik Chhoti Si Chingari _ Laadli (1949) - Meena Kapoor - Anil Biswas

The first film where he got to write most of the songs was Bhagwan’s Rangeela (1953). Nine of the eleven songs of this Jamal Sen composed film were written by him. One of the songs from the film went –

dil aaj mera gaane laga geet pyaar ke
lo dheere dheere aa hi gaye din bahaar ke

Dil Aaj Mera Gaane Laga - Rangeela (1953) - Mohd. Rafi & Asha Bhosle - Jamal Sen

This proved prescient, as he would soon get his first major break that would take him on the path of success and make him known in the industry for his romantic songs. The film that brought in the sweet smell of success was S. Mukherjee’s Shart (1954). Sharing credits with Rajinder Krishan in this film, S. H Bihari wrote nine songs, including the two most romantic and well-remembered songs – ‘na ye chaand hoga na tare rahenge’, and ‘dekho wo chaand chhup ke karta hai kya ishaare’.

Na Ye Chaand Hoga - Shart (1954) - Geeta Dutt - Hemant Kumar

How he landed up with the Shart assignment has an interesting tale. At a time when he hardly had any work and daily sustenance itself was a huge challenge, he used to make the rounds of Filmistan just to get to meet S. Mukherjee once. Luck was not on his side, though. He would wait from morning till evening, but chances of meeting the doyen of Filmistan seemed remote. Once, by chance, he bumped into S. Mukherjee, who did not acknowledge his greetings but asked him casually, “kya bechte ho?” S. H Bihari was prompt in his response, “… dil ke tukde, magar wo nahin jinki tareef filmi geeton mein is tarah ki jaati hai – ‘ek dil ke tukde hazaar hue, koi yahan gira koi wahan gira’”. S. Mukherjee was suitably impressed and S. H Bihari got the assignment.

Vividh Bharti Interview - S. H Bihari

Shart established a partnership between Hemant Kumar & S. H Bihari that would result in almost 80 songs in 12 films, all in a brief period of 3 years. Barring a handful of exceptions, S. H Bihari worked almost exclusively with Hemant Kumar during this period. While this partnership could not repeat the success of the first film, it resulted in numerous gems like ‘chaand se poochho sitaaron se poochho’ (Daaku Ki Ladki, 1954), ‘chhupa le daagh-e-jigar’ (Bahu, 1955), ‘tum jo mile o sanam (Hamara Watan, 1956), ‘mohabbat ka nateeja’ (Arab Ka Saudagar, 1956), ‘dil chhed koi aisa naghma’ (Inspector, 1956), ‘ye hansta hua karvaan’ (Ek Jhalak, 1957), ‘nayi manzil nayi raahen’ (Hill Station, 1957), etc. It was around the same time that he also penned two Hindi songs for Hemant Kumar in the Marathi film, Nayikinicha Sajja (1957). The Hemant Kumar – S. H Bihari partnership came to an abrupt end in 1957. However, the two collaborated once again many years later in Bees Saal Pehle (1972), which came at a time when Hemant Kumar’s career in Hindi films was on its last leg, and S. H Bihari was again going through a rough patchy professionally thanks to a lower demand for romantic songs and better established partnerships of other lyricists with the successful composers in the 70s.

Dil Chhed Koi Aisa Naghma - Inspector (1956) - Lata Mangeshkar - Hemant Kumar

Interestingly, for S. H Bihari the next important partnership came about with Ravi, who probably worked closely with him while working as an assistant with Hemant Kumar. Together, Ravi and S. H Bihari produced 38 songs in 11 films. Again, this partnership lasted just a few years – from Ghar Sansar in 1958 to Isi Ka Naam Duniya Hai in 1962, before appearing one more time in Sindbad Alibaba Aladdin in 1965. The combination resulted in some diverse genre of songs like the preachy ‘bhala karne wale bhalaai kiye ja’ (Ghar Sansar, 1958), the philosophical ‘isi ka naam duniya hai’ (Isi Ka Naam Duniya Hai, 1962), the tipsy ‘ye mehfil ye botal ye rangeen paani’ (Isi Na Naam Duniya Hai, 1962), or even a comic song like ‘mooliram aur bhindimal ka nikal gaya hai diwala’ (Dulhan, 1958).

Mooliram Aur Bhindimal Ka - Dulhan (1958) - Mohd. Rafi - Ravi

That brings us to S. H Bihari’s most successful pairing with any music director – O. P Nayyar. After testing the waters with a song each in Basant (1960), Mitti Mein Sona (1960) and Hong Kong (1962), the collaboration gained steam with Ek Musafir Ek Haseena (1962) and continued through thick and thin till Bin Maa Ke Bachche (1980). This heady journey resulted in classics like ‘bahut shukriya badi mehrbaani’ (Ek Musafir Ek Haseena, 1962), ‘deewana hua baadal’ (Kashmir Ki Kali, 1964), ‘raaton ko chori chori’ (Mohabbat Zindagi Hai, 1966), ‘zulfon ko hata de chehre se’ (Sawan Ki Ghata, 1966), ‘yehi wo jagah hai’ (Ye Raat Phir Na Aayegi, 1966) ‘kajra mohabbat wala’ (Kismat, 1968), and ‘chain se humko kabhi’ (Pran Jaye Par Vachan Na Jaye, 1974), along with a host of other popular as well as relatively lesser celebrated songs. In all, O. P Nayyar and S. H Bihari collaborated on 89 songs in 24 films.

Phir Miloge Kabhi - Ye Raat Phir Na Aayegi (1966) - Mohd. Rafi & Asha Bhosle - O. P Nayyar

In a radio interview, S. H Bihari narrated an interesting incident when, while writing for O. P Nayyar’s Mohabbat Zindagi Hai, he encountered an extreme case of writer’s block that prevented him for coming up with the appropriate words for Rafi’s ‘tumhari mulaqat se mujhko’. The situation was so bad that it started a bout of self-doubt and his confidence took a severe beating. Seeing his predicament, Asha Bhosle took him out for tea and assured him that writing songs was his ‘baayen haath ka khel’. These seemingly simple words worked wonders for his self-confidence and he felt rejuvenated to write the song to perfection.

Tumhari Mulaqat Se - Mohabbat Zindagi Hai (1966) - Mohd. Rafi - O. P Nayyar

S. H Bihari was never a very prolific lyricist, but after 1972 his output declined significantly. A man who averaged around 14 songs a year in the twenty years from 1952-1972, wrote less than 5 songs per year for the next ten. But his career would soon see a revival, although for a very short period.

S. H Bihari’s last successful partnership came in the 1980s with Laxmikant Pyarelal. K. C Bokadia roped him in to write the story, dialogues and lyrics of Pyar Jhukta Nahin (1985). The film was a runaway success, both at the box-office and musically. Once again, after a long time, songs written by S. H Bihari were playing everywhere. This led to a brief but substantial partnership with Laxmikant Pyarelal, arguably the most successful composers of that period. Although they had an already existing, very strong partnership with Anand Bakshi, Laxmikant Pyarelal worked with S. H Bihari in as many as 16 films over a short span of 3 years, many of which released after his untimely death on February 25, 1987.

Tumse Mil Kar - Pyar JHukta Nahin (1985) - Lata Mangeshkar & Shabbir Kumar - Laxmikant Pyarelal

In his career of close to 40 years, S. H Bihari wrote more than 420 songs for 32 composers in 114 films. He worked at least once with almost all the major composers of his era, with the notable exception of Naushad, S. D Burman and Salil Chowdhury.

If one quickly glances over the list of songs written by S. H Bihari, it is very obvious that love and romance was the predominant theme. While he did write songs of other genres, he was at his best while writing on themes of love. Whether it was an expression of unbridled joy at the realization of love in ‘ang ang mein umang’ (Bahu, 1955) or ‘mera akele jiya kaise laage re piya’ (Inspector, 1956); an expression of a man’s jealousy at the very prospects of an imaginary rival in ‘tumhara chahnewala’ (Kahin Din Kahin Raat, 1968); a description of the beloved’s beauty in ‘ye chaand sa roshan chehra’ (Kashmir Ki Kali, 1964); the very thought of probable separation in ‘zindagi kaise kategi’ (Meri Biwi Ki Shaadi, 1979); sadness of actual separation in ‘kabhi aansoo bahaate hain’ (Madhur Milan, 1955); or the bitterness following a messy break-up in ‘chain se humko kabhi’ (Pran Jaye Par Vacan Na Jaye, 1974); all moods and flavours of love and romance are evident in S. H Bihari’s songs.

Zindagi Kaise Kategi - Meri Biwi Ki Shadi (1979) - Lata Mangeshkar - Usha Khanna

Although lyric writing was his primary vocation, he also dabbled in other areas of film writing. Some of the films where he was involved with story, screenplay, and/or dialogue writing were Isi Ka Naam Duniya Hai (1962), Karate (1983), and Pyar Jhukta Nahin (1985).

At the time of his death, S. H Bihari was at the second peak of his career. Had it not been for his untimely death, it is very likely that would have enjoyed success for some more time. But who knows what compromises he would have had to make during this period when Hindi film music had reached its nadir and the scope of good lyrics was dwindling. It is best that we remember him for his limited, but good work.

List of Composers who Worked with S. H Bihari

1. Anil Biswas
2. Aziz Nazan
3. B. N Bali
4. Bappi Lahiri
5. Basant Prakash
6. Bulo C. Rani
7. C. Arjun
8. C. Ramchandra
9. Chitragupta
10. Ganesh
11. Gyan Dutt
12. Hemant Kumar
13. Iqbal Qureishi
14. Jagjit Singh
15. Jamal Sen
16. Kalyanji Anandji
17. Laxmikant Pyarelal
18. Madan Mohan
19. Mohd. Shafi
20. N. Dutta
21. O. P Nayyar
22. R. D Burman
23. Ram Ganguly
24. Ramchandra Pal
25. Ravi
26. Roshan
27. Shankar Jaikishan
28. Shaukat Haidari
29. Shyam Sundar
30. Snehal Bhatkar
31. Sonik Omi
32. Usha Khanna

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References

• Hindi Filmon Ke Geetkaar by Anil Bhargava
• Radio interview with S. H Bihari
• S. H Bihari website
• Myswar
• Songs shared by collectors on YT and other public fora