This article is written by Sudhir, 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 one voice in the Hindi cinema world that is so different from any others. The one voice that can only be characterized as soulful and naturally so. The sound of this soft voice seems to be coming from great depth. t not a deep bass, or a booming sound. Just a soft voice, moving very easily and comfortably, rising from deep caverns. Unassuming and soothing as it reaches out to the listeners, it is one voice that caresses, soothes and comforts in a way that no other voice can. No matter what the song be, when sung by Mukesh, it seems to get an unexpected ambience and comes alive, as no other voice can make happen. There is a touch of melancholy that rings even in the songs of zest and happiness, that is the hallmark of his singing. Many more such voices have come and will come. But none will be able to connect the sound with the heart as Mukesh could.
Today, we are celebrating the 91st anniversary of birth of this peerless singer. It is always a wonder in discussions, how come there are not more songs sung by him, than are available. If we take a look at the list of his songs, my conjecture is that no other singer may be able to profess having sung so many songs that became popular, in terms of percentage of the total songs sung. When one hears ten, twenty, fifty, two hundred popular and famous songs of a singer, one expects that surely there will be more that the singer has sung. And it turns out to be true for most other singers. It seems only Mukesh has to his credit that practically every song that he has sung, has become famous and well known. And then after going through that list, the mind asks – OK so these are his famous songs, tell me what else he has sung. And there is very little that can be presented as an answer to that question. His popular and well known songs are everywhere, his lesser known songs are very few. And that is all what Mukesh is.
Having completed the posting (barring maybe one or two) of Mukesh songs till the year 1950 in my ‘Voice Of Mukesh’ series, as I search for songs from subsequent years, I find, not surprisingly, practically everything from the decade of 1950s already posted here on this blog. With maybe one or two exceptions in between, I had to reach down all the way to 1957, to find a song that was not posted.
The film is ‘Sharda’, a tragic social drama that has a complex plot, one that provided grand opportunities to the actors to display the eminence of their histrionic capabilities. The performances put in by Meena Kumari and Raj Kapoor as young hearts in love, by Raj Mehra as father of Raj Kapoor and later the husband of Meena Kumari by a quirk of fate, and by Shyama the new wife of Raj Kapoor who is troubled by the discovery of the shared past of her husband and now his step mother. The drama in this film is touching and deep, and as expected, can only end in tragedy.
Here is a wonderful song from early on in the film, when the young Raj Kapoor and Meena Kumari meet. The place is an out of way ashram, where Raj Kapoor has brought Om Prakash, his friend, for treatment. He falls for Meena Kumari, who is part of the ashram household. And realizes that the way to her heart is only through chanting on the mala. And hence this song comes about. The performance by Raj Kapoor in this song is one of his best comic interludes. But the more enamoring part is all the things that Meena Kumar does not say in words, but expresses through minute inflexions of her face and lips, and her mannerism. The smiles that she almost gets to, have to be more imagined by the viewer, such micro is the movement of her lips. A veritable treat to watch.
Coming from the house of the famous Prasad Productions of Madras, the film is directed by LV Prasad. Besides the ones listed above, the cast of actors also includes Anita Guha, Agha, Gope, Randheer, Rajan Haksar, Sheila Vaz, WM Khan, Mirajkar, Nazir Kashmiri etc. amongst others. Music is by C Ramchandra and the lyrics are from the pen of Rajinder Krishan.
Wonderful memories, wonderful song. Listen and enjoy.
Song-Jap jap jap jap jap re (Saadhana)(1957) Singer-Mukesh, Lyrics-Rajinder Krishan, MD-C Ramchandra
Lyrics
jap jap jap jap jap re
jap jap jap jap jap re
jap jap jap jap mere manwa
jap re preet ki maala
hoye jap re preet ki maala
jap jap jap jap jap re
preet hai devi
preet hai devi
preet shivaala
jap re preet ki maala
jap jap jap jap jap re
hoye jap re
hoye jap re
jap re
jap re. . .
preet se badh kar meet na koi ee
preet se aage reet na koi
preet se badh kar meet na koi ee
preet se aage reet na koi
chhod jagat ko jogi ban jaa aa
chhod jagat ko jogi ban jaa
odh ke preet dushaala
haan jap re preet ki maala
jap jap jap jap jap re
jap jap jap jap jap jap jap jap jap jap jap jap jap re
jap jap jap jap jap jap jap jap jap jap jap jap jap re
jap jap jap jap jap jap jap jap jap jap jap jap
prem nagar ka baasi ho jaa
doob ke is saagar mein kho jaa
prem nagar ka baasi ho jaa
doob ke is saagar mein kho jaa
agar lagan hai teri saanchi
darshan degi baala
ho darshan degi baala
jap re preet ki maala
jap jap jap jap jap re
jap jap jap jap jap jap jap jap jap jap jap jap jap re
jap jap jap jap jap jap jap jap jap jap jap jap jap re
jap jap jap jap jap jap jap jap jap jap jap jap
ang bhabhoot ramaa le jogi
jogan kyon naa teri hogi
ang bhabhoot ramaa le jogi
jogan kyon naa teri hogi
preet ke ras se bharegi ik din
preet ke ras se bharegi ik din
tera khaali pyaala
jap re preet ki maala
jap jap jap jap jap re
jap jap jap jap jap jap jap jap jap jap jap jap jap re
jap jap jap jap jap jap jap jap jap jap jap jap jap re
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Hindi script lyrics (Provided by Sudhir)
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जप जप जप जप जप रे
जप जप जप जप जप रे
जप जप जप जप मेरे मनवा
जप रे प्रीत की माला
होय जप रे प्रीत की माला
जप जप जप जप जप रे
प्रीत है देवी
प्रीत है देवी
प्रीत शिवाला
जप रे प्रीत की माला
जप जप जप जप जप रे
होय जप रे
होय जप रे
जप रे
जप रे ॰ ॰ ॰
प्रीत से बड़ कर मीत ना कोई
प्रीत से आगे रीत ना कोई
प्रीत से बड़ कर मीत ना कोई
प्रीत से आगे रीत ना कोई
छोड़ जगत को जोगी बन जा
छोड़ जगत को जोगी बन जा
ओढ़ के प्रीत दुशाला
हाँ जप रे प्रीत की माला
जप जप जप जप जप रे
जप जप जप जप जप जप जप जप जप जप जप जप जप रे
जप जप जप जप जप जप जप जप जप जप जप जप जप रे
जप जप जप जप जप जप जप जप जप जप जप जप जप रे
प्रेम नगर का बासी हो जा
डूब के इस सागर में खो जा
प्रेम नगर का बासी हो जा
डूब के इस सागर में खो जा
अगर लगन है तेरी सांची
दर्शन देगी बाला
हो दर्शन देगी बाला
जप रे प्रीत की माला
जप जप जप जप जप रे
जप जप जप जप जप जप जप जप जप जप जप जप जप रे
जप जप जप जप जप जप जप जप जप जप जप जप जप रे
जप जप जप जप जप जप जप जप जप जप जप जप जप रे
अंग भभूत रमा ले जोगी
जोगन क्यों ना तेरी होगी
अंग भभूत रमा ले जोगी
जोगन क्यों ना तेरी होगी
प्रीत के रस से भरेगी इक दिन
प्रीत के रस से भरेगी इक दिन
तेरा खाली प्याला
जप रे प्रीत की माला
जप जप जप जप जप रे
जप जप जप जप जप जप जप जप जप जप जप जप जप रे
जप जप जप जप जप जप जप जप जप जप जप जप जप रे
