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Showing posts with label begum akhtar. Show all posts
Showing posts with label begum akhtar. Show all posts

Sunday, 19 November 2017

The Story of Babul mora naihar chhooto hi jaye-The Queen of Thomris

November 19, 2017 0 Comments

We all have heard this famous song of K L Sehgal.After close to nearly 80 years of it being released (for the 1938 movie, Street Singer), this still remains a favorite of the discerning listener of vintage Indian film music. This is being one of my favorites of K l Sehgal songs.
A thought came in my mind why not write a blog on this Immortal song.Very few  would know that this Bhairavi thumri, was composed by Wajid Ali Shah,when he was expelled to Calcutta, he wrote the parting song Babul Mora,picturing the mind of a heart broken man. He expressed his pain of parting in the lyrics of ‘Babul mora naihar chhuto jaye’, It has been one of the favorite thumris of many a singers over generations—from Ustad Faiyaz Khan—the most well-known singer of Agra Gharana and arguably one of the best voices on record—to Alisha Chinoy. 
The most famous version of Wajid Ali Khan’s Babul Mora was sung by Kundan Lal Saigal in the movie Street Singer in 1938. The music was composed by Rai Chand Boral, who is considered as a father figure among  cine-music composers.  
The list of luminaries who sang ‘Babul Mora’ includes-  Bhim Sen Joshi, Kesarbai Kerkar, Siddheshwari Devi, Rasoolan Bai, Khadim  Hussain Khan, Mushatq Hussain Khan, Girija Devi, Kishori Amonkar, Jagmohan, Padma Talwalkar, Shanti Vaidyanathan Sharma, Mahender Chopra (son-in-law of K.L.Saigal) and none other than Ghazal queen Begum Akhtar.
Thumri arose in popularity during the 19th century in the Lucknow court of Nawab Wajid Ali Shah. At that time it used to be a sung by courtesans accompanied by dance. It is said that Thumri is a short piece of semi-classical rendition usually sung at the conclusion of a classical music concert. 
The Saigal version is set in Raag Bhairavi – Bhairavi had traditionally been performed in the early morning hours.  However, due to the fact that performances lasted all night, it has now become common to consider Bhairavi to be the finale.
To my readers I have taken the videos of various version of this immortal song sung by the great singers of their time In fact the latest version with modern instruments by Rajesh Panwar at New Jersey in 2015. 

K L Sehgal

Song from Street Singer 1938


Kanan Devi


Song from Street Singer 1938

Kesar Bai Kerkar

                                                 kesarbai kerkar sings 'babul mora' 

MALKA JAAN






                           Babul Mora Naihar Chhooto Jaaye - Beghum Akhtar version


Girija Devi

                                  Jugalbandi babul mora shobha gurtu & girija devi 

Sidheshwari Devi

                                       Babul Mora - Thumri in Bhairavi - Girija Devi

Pandit Bhimsen Joshi

                                 Pt Bhimsen Joshi -Babul Mora Raga Bhairavi, 1960s

Kishori Amonkar

                               Kishori Amonkar - Raag Bhairavi Thumri - Babul Mora Naihar Chhuto Hi Jai


Jagjit Singh and Chitra Singh 

Song from Avishkar




Ruchira Kedar

                                      Ruchira Kedar Live "Babul Mora" Bhairavi Thumri





 Rajesh panwar 



                               Babul mora naihar by Rajesh panwar At New jersey 2015


Saturday, 7 October 2017

Begum Akhtar-The Queen Of Ghazal

October 07, 2017 0 Comments

Begum Akhtar was born Akhtari Bai Faizabadi in Faizabad on 7th Oct 1914.She took the music world by storm with her maiden performance at the tender age of fifteen.She acted in some Hindi movies in the Thirties. She rendered her songs herself in all her films.She disappeared from the Music world for five long years after her marriage.In 1949, she returned to the recording studios, the Lucknow Radio Station and soon after, to stage performances.She was amongst the early female singers to give public concert, and break away from singing in mehfils or private gatherings, and in time came to be known as Mallika-e-Ghazal (Queen of Ghazal)
She was a regular performer on All India Radio. She usually composed her own ghazals and most of her compositions were raag based.She  was the one who brought Thumri and Dadra to the common man through public concerts. Her voice matured with time, adding richness and depth.  She has nearly four hundred songs to her credit.She received the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award for vocal music, and was awarded Padma Shri and Padma Bhushan (posthumously) by Govt. of India.She died on 30 October 1974 in the arms of Nilam Gamadia, her friend, who invited her to Ahmedabad, which has become her final performance.
Some Of Begum Akhtar's Most Popular Ghazal










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