This article is written by Arunkumar Deshmukh, a fellow enthusiast of Hindi movie music and a regular contributor to this blog. This article is meant to be posted in atulsongaday.me. If this article appears in sites like lyricstrans.com and ibollywoodsongs.com etc then it is piracy of the copyright content of atulsongaday.me and is a punishable offence under the existing laws.
THE JOY OF NFS (Song No. 10) Last song of the series
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In the early 40s through the mid 60s, Radio was the only common entertainer for every household. Of course the choice of Gramophone was also there, but only few people could afford to own a gramophone. I remember, our every morning used to open with melodious Bhajans from the Radio. Those days’ Mumbai Radio Station’ ( from the beginning, it was called Mumbai Radio station only-not Bombay anytime. For Hindi service it was Bambai) used to start early at 5.30 a.m. It first played Shehnai and then very sweet Bhajans, for an hour or so. That is how Juthika Roy and D.V.Paluskar’s names were etched on the memory card for ever. To listen to their bhajans was a divine experience.
After the News headlines at 7 am, the Radio was tuned to Radio Ceylon by common approval of all family members. 7 to 7.15 it was ‘Vadya Sangeet’,7.15 to 7.30 it was ‘ Ek hi film ke geet’ and from 7.30 onwards till 8 a.m. it was raining ‘Purane filmon ke geet’. I was not much interested in ‘Aap hi ke geet’ listener choice programme from 8 a.m. onwards, as either the school or college preparations were on by that time. In the evening again Radio Ceylon was on from 7pm onwards.
First time when I heard the names of V.D.Paluskar and D.V.Paluskar on the Radio, I was very much confused. I did not understand who was the father and who was the son. Again, I thought that V.D. means Vishnu Dattatray and D.V. means Dattatraya Vishnu Paluskar. It was much later that I came to know that the grandfather was Digambar Gopal Paluskar- the father was Vishnu Digambar Paluskar and the son was Dattatraya Vishnu Paluskar.
Pandit Dattatreya Vishnu Paluskar (May 28, 1921 – October 25, 1955), was a Hindustani Classical Vocalist. He was considered a child prodigy. D.V. Paluskar was born in Nashik, Maharashtra, to well-known Hindustani musician Vishnu Digambar Paluskar. His original surname was Gadgil, but as they hailed from the village Palus (near Sangli), they came to be known as the “Paluskar” family.
He was only ten years old when his father died, and was subsequently trained by Pandit Vinayak rao Patwardhan and Pandit Narayan rao Vyas. He was also trained by Pandit Chintaman Rao Paluskar and Pandit Mirashi Buwa.
D.V. Paluskar gave his debut performance at the Harvallabh Sangeet Sammelan in Punjab at the age of fourteen. He inherited the Gwalior Gharana and the Gandharva Mahavidyalaya, but he was always open to adopting aesthetic features of other gharanas and styles.
He had a very sweet and melodious voice. His alaap clearly outlined the raga he sang; this was followed by the bandish embellished by beautiful taans in an effortless enchanting style. He was a master at presenting an attractive and comprehensive picture of a raga in a very short duration. Besides pure classical music, he was also a great bhajan singer. He cut his first disc in 1944 and visited China as a member of the Indian cultural delegation in 1955.
He is also famous for an unforgettable duet with Amir Khan in the film Baiju Bawra. The only other film he sang for was a Bengali film called Shaap Mochan.
He died from encephalitis on 26 October 1955.
he had a very short lifespan, but his records are many-especially in Classical music….Thanks to stalwart G.N.Joshi,who did the mammoth work of getting unwilling but famous classical singers to the recording rooms of HMV and getting their songs recorded. Prof. G.N.Joshi,who retired after 38 years of service in HMV,wrote an autobiography ‘ Down melody lanes’. In this he has recorded his meeting details of many famous classical singers. here is an extract from his book ,about his first meeting with D.V.Paluskar,in his own words…
” I first saw Pandit D. V. Palukar as a little boy in the Shree Ram Mandir at Panchavati, Nasik in the year 1925. He was then about 5 or 6 years old and had come with his father, Sangeet Bhaskar Vishnu Digambar Paluskar. Vishnu Digambar was singing the bhajan Raghupati Raghav Rajaram. The atmosphere all around was intensely devotional.
Looking at the boy who was staring at his father with rapt attention, I wondered whether the lad had inherited any of his father’s gifts, and whether he would carry on the tradition of Vishnu Digambar. In due course he did become a very brilliant and accomplished singer in his own right; a worthy successor to his most illustrious father.
At the time of his father’s death, D.V. was only 10 years old. He had studied music under the guidance of Pandit Vinayakrao Patwardhan and Pandit Narayanrao Vyas but he did not adopt or copy the peculiar gayaki of the Gandhrava Mahavidhyalaya. Instead he evolved and developed his own style. He had a clear and melodious voice, admirably suited to the type of music he favoured. His alap clearly outlined the raga he sang; then followed the bandish embellished by beautiful taans in an effortless enchanting style. Both Pandit Vinayakrao Patwardhan and Pandit Narayan Vyas probably connived at his spirit of independence because he was the son of their guru. This was a blessing in disguise as it encouraged the young D.V. to develop his own independent style.
D.V. Paluskar was very, very modest. He was known to his intimates as ‘Bapurao’. He was fully aware of his talents but never boastful about them. He never spoke ill of anyone, was of a quiet disposition and completely free from any vice.
He arrived for recordings punctually and fully prepared. Recording sessions with him were therefore most enjoyable and not in the least bothersome. He had complete mastery over his art and sang with perfection, ease and confidence, while we captured his magic artistry on our discs.
He cut his first disc in 1944. Like Pandit Narayanrao Vyas, Bapurao mastered the technique of presenting an attractive and complete picture of any raga in just 3 minutes and 15 seconds, for recording. For his first recording he chose to sing four khayals in the ragas Bahar, Tilak Kamod, Kedar and Bilaskhani Todi. He also rendered his father’s favourite bhajan Raghupati Raghav Rajaram along with another one by Sant Surdas.
I got him for recording again in 1947 when he recorded ragas Gaud Malhar, Ramkali, Hans Kinkini and Marwa. This time also he recorded two bhajans – Chalo mana Ganga Jamuna tir and Lachiman dhire chalo. At my request he recorded two Marathi songs also but unfortunately they failed to click commercially. On account of his melodious voice, chaste style and attractive renderings, all the recordings of his classical music became immensely popular and still continue to sell in large numbers.
In 1952 Bapurao introduced me to a fair and handsome teenage boy who was his close relative and who played well on the violin. Bapurao requested me to take him on our music staff. Fortunately we needed a hand just then, so I got him the job. In our studio, recordings were made in different languages and styles. Ghazals and qawalis in Urdu, bhavgeets in Marathi, garba and ras in Gujarati, and Hindustani classical music – all these were often recorded in our studios.
It was therefore the job of this youngster to provide accompaniment to all these types of music. This helped him extend his knowledge and constant practice brought polish to his play. I suggested to him that he should also learn and practise writing music. Within a short period he assiduosly mastered this too. It helped him very much later in life. Soon after he was offered a better job in the Films Division and I readily relieved him. The new job had better prospects – both financial and artistic. This young boy is now a man – the famous violinist D.K. Datar, popular all over India for his chaste and entertaining violin recitals.
A scene in jugalbandi form between Tansen and Baiju is enacted in the film Baiju Bawra. My friend Naushad Ali who wrote the music for this picture had requested me to suggest classical singers for this duet. I suggested the names of Bapurao Paluskar and Ustad Amir Khan. Bapurao had to be cajoled into accepting the assignment. He was afraid that by singing in films he would spoil his style. I however reasoned with him that he would have absolute freedom to expound and present the composition in his own style without any interference. Thus assured, he sang in the jugalbandi form with Ustad Amir Khan. The two great artists matched in every respect and therefore this jugalbandi performance proved to be the most interesting and the highlight of the film. “
(with Thanks to RMIC and Shri Rajan Parrikar.)
D.V.Paluskar’s Meera and other Bhajans, like ‘Payo ji maine raam ratan dhan paayo’, ‘Thumak chalat Ramchandra’, ‘Chalo man Ganga Jamna teer’ ‘ Raghupati Raghav rajaram’ etc are so mesmerising that one gets lost in their melody. Though these bhajans are based on classical raagas,yet even the common man can enjoy them without the knowledge of Raagas etc.
With this song, we come to the end of this series. The field of NF songs is very wide and I still had about 10 songs ready with me,but then it would become tiresome-for the readers and the writer too. May be we will come out with some other interesting subject for a new Series….may be….
Till then, let us enjoy today, this melodious Bhajan from D.V.Paluskar.
Song-Jab jaankinaath sahaay karen (D V Paluskar NFS) Singer-D V Paluskar, Lyrics-Goswami Tulsidas, MD-G N Joshi
Lyrics
aa aa aa aa aa
jab jankinath sahaay karen
jab jankinath sahaay karen
tab kaun bigaad kare nar tero
jankinath sahaay karen
jab jankinath sahaay karen
tab kaun bigaad kare nar tero
jankinath sahaay sahaay
aa aa aa aa
aa aa haaye
jankinath sahaay
aa aa aa
jab jankinath sahaay karen
tab kaun bigaad kare nar tero
jankinath sahaay karen
jab jankinath sahaay
aa aa aa
jankinath sahaay karen
jab suraj mangal som bhrigu sudh
suraj mangal som bhrigu
sudh
budh aur guruwardaayak tero
budh aur guruwardaayak tero
rahu ketu ke naahin gamyata aa
rahu ketu ke naahin gamyata aa
rahu ketu ke naahin gamyata aa aa aa
rahu ketu ke naahin gamyata
sang shaneechar hot ho tero
jankinath sahaay karen
jab jankinath sahaay aa aaa aa aa
jankinath sahaay aay aay karen
jab jankinath sahaay
