Chhaayaageet #256 - "Makhdoom saheb ke alfaaz bahut wazandar hain, inhein badla nahi ja sakta."
"Makhdoom saheb’s words are heavy and cannot be changed."
The halls of the NCPA are not bustling today. It is late in the evening. The singer is sitting with her friend in one of the empty classes, practicing their scales and listening to each other. Sometimes they have their eyes closed and their hands moving with the scale of the song. She is just a student who finished her college degree in Botany, but something was missing. The bug was still there. She had taken up a job with All India Radio and enrolled at NCPA to learn music from the experts.
One of her music teachers happens to walk by. He specializes in playing the Sarangi, but a maestro overall when it comes to music. And next to him is another gentleman.
The teacher stops and points at the singer. “Aao mein tumhe mere kuch students se milata hoon.” Come, let me introduce you to my students. Both of them walk closer to where the girls are sitting.
“Inse miliye. Ye film industry ke bahut bade sangeetkar hain. Aur ye humare NCPA ki students hain aur dono bahut accha gaana gaati hain.” Meet with him. He is a big composer in the film industry. And these are our NCPA students, and both of them sing very well. The teacher drives the introductions.
The girls almost blush at hearing this. Of course, they know him. He is one of the great composers in the industry. The composer is eager to hear a singing voice.
The composer turns to the singer. “Kuch sunaiye aap.” Sing something.
She sings a few lines. Her voice is plain, deep, and carries a strange kind of sadness. The composer doesn’t say much, just nods and leaves.
A few months later, the singer is at her desk at the radio station when the phone rings. It’s the same composer on the other side. He wants her to come and see him at the music studio.
When she arrives, she sees the composer is sitting with another gentleman. He is introduced as the filmmaker. They are both working on his upcoming film. The film is about a man struggling to survive as a taxi driver in the bustle of Bombay, and his wife is left behind in their quiet village to endure a long and lonely wait.
“Ek gaana hai jisme humein gaon ki khamoshi chahiye. Ye gaana sheher ke shor ko pukaar raha hai.“ This song is about the quietness of the village. This song is speaking to the noise of the city. The filmmaker sets the context of the song.
The composer goes through the song for the singer on his harmonium. The music is thin and delicate, while the vocals are front and center. The singer is really excited since this song will position her voice and tonal quality. But she needs work. They all agree to a schedule. Every day, the filmmaker will drive to the singer’s house, pick her up, and take her to the studio for rehearsals.
The rehearsals begin. The initial meetings are quite difficult. The lyrics have been written by a poet from Hyderabad who is a Marxist revolutionary. There are hardcore Urdu words used in the song that the composer has issues with. He took it up himself with the lyricist, but how do you argue with an idealist who does not write for money. He refuses to change even a single word.
The singer, though born in Bombay, comes from a traditional Bengali family. Urdu words are not something she has learnt to speak. She has come across a few of them in film songs. A few Urdu words have a heavy sound that requires the singer to blow air out of her mouth using her tongue or with her lips. Every time that happens, the microphone makes a loud thumping sound. This happens a few times. The entire music crew watching this is confused. They are not used to this.
The composer is also frustrated but stays patient. “Makhdoom saheb ke alfaaz bahut wazandar hain, inhein badla nahi ja sakta.” Makhdoom saheb’s words are heavy and cannot be changed. He says, shaking his head.
The composer comes up with a plan. He stands next to the singer and shows her how to move. “Jab yeh bhari alfaaz aayein, toh mic se thoda peeche hatt jaana,” When these heavy words come, just move back from the mic a little, he tells her.
She practices this over several days, leaning in for the soft parts and swaying away whenever the heavy air needs to escape her lips. It felt more like a dance than a recording.
Finally, it is the day of the recording. The studio is small and crowded. In the corner sits the lead actress.
When the singer finishes, the room is completely still. The lead actress gets up from her chair. Her eyes are wet. She walks straight to the singer and wraps her in a big hug.
“Aapne kitne acche expression ke saath gaaya hai!” You have sung this with such incredible expression! The lead actress says to her, holding her shoulders. The singer offers a light smile.
Chhaya Ganguly sang her debut song Aap ki Yaad Aati Rahi for the film Gaman (1978). The song is composed by Jaidev, and the lyrics are written by Makhdoom Mohiuddin. The film is produced and directed by Muzaffar Ali. In the film, the song plays in the background and is filmed on Farooq Shaikh and Smita Patil.
Chhaya Ganguly got her break for the film Gaman while she was at NCPA (National Centre for the Performing Arts). She joined there after finishing college and also worked at All India Radio. She was good friends with Kavita Krishnamurthy over at the NCPA. That’s where their teacher, Pandit Ram Narayan, introduced her to his friend, Jaidev. On hearing her voice, Jaidev knew that her tonal quality would really fit the song that he had recently composed for Gaman.
The song lyrics are part of an earlier collection that Makhdoom Mohiuddin had published in 1966. The collection is very well received and is popular in the Urdu circles. Makhdoom was a Marxist idealist and had also received the Sahitya Akademi award for this collection. He was adamant and refused to change even a single word to tone down the use of Urdu words that are not suitable for playback. No amount of money could persuade him to change his poetry.
The lyrics had several words that had the “Pa”, “Pha”, or “Tha” sounds that require the speaker to blow air as they are pronounced. For example, “thar tharathi rahi” in the song. Chhaya had a lot of problems initially due to lack of playback experience. Jaidev taught her to manage the distance from the mic to minimize the sound made by the released breath.
Smita Patil, the film’s lead actress, was there during the recording of the song. She was very pleased to hear Chhaya’s voice and showered her with compliments.
Chhaya Ganguly won the National Film Award for Best Female Playback Singer and was nominated for the Filmfare Award for Best Female Playback Singer. Jaidev won the National Film Award for Best Music Director, and Muzaffar Ali won the National Film Award – Special Mention (feature film) for Gaman.
Chhaya Ganguly’s career did not progress further despite winning the National Award for her debut song. After a long break, she returned in 1990 and sang the title track for Amol Palekar’s film Thodasa Roomani Ho Jayen. During this time, she went back to her full-time job at All India Radio and retired in 2012.
This is Chhaya Ganguly singing the song in a live performance.
Singer: Chhaya Ganguly
Music: Jaidev
Lyrics: Makhdoom Mohiuddin
*ing: Farooq Shaikh, Smita Patil
Director: Muzaffar Ali
Film: Gaman (1978)