Learn and Sing 1 Bollywood Classic Hindi Song per day for 300 days, that is what I did. 300 PLUS songs recorded.
Thanks to COVID to be able to do this from home in Nashville TN.
Born & raised in India, I mostly listened to western rock, blues, punk, reggae & jazz.
I challenged myself to learn & sing old Hindi songs which, as a child, I used to hear at home on classic radio or TV.
Recorded live, one take, no edits, with backing track, or with an acoustic guitar.
It is day 406 of 300, and today's song is Ae Dil Mujhe Aisi Jagah Le Chalsung by Talat Mahmood from the 1950movieArzoo directed by Shaheed Latif and produced by Hiten Chowdhary. Music composed by Anil Biswas, and lyrics written by Majrooh Sultanpuri.
Here is my rendition of the song with backing tracks and lyrical video (posted on Apr 26, 2024):
It is day 48, and today's song is Do Dil Mil Rahe Hain (दो दिल मिल रहे हैं) sung by Kumar Sanu from the 1997 Bollywood movie Pardes. Music composed by Nadeem-Shravan, and lyrics written by Anand Bakshi.
This is my first post of a Kumar Sanu song. I really know only very few Kumar Sanu songs. But thanks to smule.com, I get to hear songs I do not know. This is one such song which I heard for the first time in about a year ago on smule.com. I liked the song so I learned it.
Here is a rendition of the song with lyrical video (posted on April 14, 2024):
Here is an older rendition of the song (posted on March 16, 2021):
Day#3, this is my third song of the series, 1 song per day for 300 days, and I am thinking, what was I thinking and what did I get myself into. Why am I singing and posting these classic Bollywood songs when the original recording as sung by the original singer, and as recorded by the original music director and his musicians are still available for anybody to listen to on popular streaming sites like spotify, youtube, pandora, etc. 🤷
I guess I have found a liking to singing these old Hindi songs. Songs that radio played and I would listen to as a boy growing up in India.
Yeh Nayan Dare Dare, meaning frightened eyes, is the title of this smooth song sung by Hemant Kumar. The song is from the movie Kohra. A thriller mystery movie from 1964 directed by Biren Nag. Hemant Kumar is the music director, and lyrics written by Kaifi Azmi. Jhoom Jhoom Dhalti Raat by Lata Mangeskar is another hit song from this movie Kohra.
I must say, I do not remember listening to this song on the radio much. It perhaps was on the greatest hits tape of Hemant Kumar which we had at home. One from my father's song tape collections. In the last few months I have heard a few people sing this song on karaoke apps like Smule.com and Starmaker.com. I learned a lot from them. Quite fun apps too. But it has been a good avenue and experience for me to recollect and learn and sing these classic Bollywood songs. Many of these songs I have never sung before in my life. But thanks to Corona, I am having this opportunity to recollect and learn and sing these songs.
I must say, the pitch or key of the song is half a tone lower than what I would have preferred. Some apps like starmaker do give the option to lower or raise the pitch, but I feel the music quality is compromised. The app I used to record this song does not give me the option to change the pitch. So I went with what was there. So here it, my rendition of Yeh Nayan Dare Dare.
Here is a version with lyrics (posted on April 07 2024):
Here is a solo with acoustic guitar version (posted on April 11, 2023):
Here is a version with backing tracks (posted on Jan 30, 2021):
Day 3, and 297 more to go...Let's see how many songs I can do. Fingers crossed.
It's 11:11pm here, and I think I am going to go now and watch this movie Kohra. Kohra was made in 1964, a Bollywood masala adaption version of Alfred Hitchcock's Rebecca, which in turn was an adaptation from Daphne du Maurier's 1938 novel Rebecca, only with a different end.
Hope I like it. Hope you like it too. Good night!
Tomorrow is another day, another song....1 song per day for 300 days....
Ye Nayan Dare Dare Ye Jaam Bhare Bhare Zara Pine Do Kal Ki Kisako Khabar Ik Raat Hoke Nidar Mujhe Jine Do Ye Nayan Dare Dare Raat Hasi Ye Cahand Hasi To Sabase Hasi Mere Dilabar Raat Hasi Ye Chaand Hasi To Sabase Hasi Mere Dilabar Aur Tujhase Hasi Aur Tujhase Hasi
Tera Pyaar Tu Jaane Na
Ye Nayan Dare Dare Ye Jaam Bhare Bhare Zara Pine Do Ye Nayan Dare Dare
Pyaar Me Hai Jivan Ki Khushi Deti Hai Khushi Kai Gam Bhi Pyaar Me Hai Jivan Ki Khushi Deti Hai Khushi Kai Gam Bhi Mai Maan Bhi Lun Mai Maan Bhi Lun Kabhi Haar Tu Maane Na
Ye Nayan Dare Dare Ye Jaam Bhare Bhare Zara Pine Do Kal Ki Kisako Khabar Ik Raat Hoke Nidar Mujhe Jine Do Ye Nayan Dare Dare
Jan 27 2021...wow is it really 2021? Time is flying it feels.
I was watching the Nora Ephron movie Julie & Julia on Jan 27 2021. Awesome movie narrating an interwoven story of Julia Child, a cooking professional, and Julie Powell a blogger. Both went on to publish cook books. This movie and Julie Powell inspired me to do something I have never done anything like it before. I cook occasionally on need basis, but I am no cook. But I do sing and write music. I have mostly sung and written English rock songs, but I have been learning Hindi songs in the last few months, thanks to the Corona pandemic lockdown.
Inspired by Julia Powell’s story, I decided I will sing one Bollywood classic Hindi song per day for the next 300 days and post it on my YouTube channel called Puraane Gaane पुराने गाने, meaning old songs.
The next day, Jan 28, I came across an awesome classic Hindi song titled Raah Pe Rehte Hain from a 1982 movie Namkeen. Awesome movie and equally awesome song. The lyrics of this song is written by none other than the awesome Mr. Gulzar, my all time favorite Indian song writer and poet. He also directed the movie. Music director is none other than the great Mr. R.D.Burman. He too is one of my favorite Indian music directors, but I am a bigger fan of his father’s work, legendary Mr. S.D.Burman. The song was originally sung by the great Mr. Kishore Kumar.
I am no expert in Indian classical music, so I am not sure what raaga this song is based on (if you do, please put in the comments section). I am not a trained singer, so this is actually a learning experience for me. Last I sang a few Hindi songs was during my childhood days in India, and that has been quite a while.
I hope I can keep the steam and momentum going to sing and post one Bollywood classic song per day for the next 300 days, and this is day 1.
Raah pe rahte hai Yaadon pe basar karte hai Khush raho ehale watan
Ho... hum to safar karte hai
Jal gaye jo dhoonp mein to Saayaa ho gaye Jal gaye jo dhoonp mein to Saayaa ho gaye Samaan kaa koi konaa O Dhaa sogaye Jo gujar jaatee hai bas Ho... us pe gujar karate hai
Raah pe rahte hai Yaadon pe basar karte hai Khush raho ehale watan Ho... hum to safar karte hai
Ho... udte pairon ke tale jab Bahatee hain zameen Ho... Mood ke hum ne koi manzil Dekhee hee nahee Raat din raahon pe hum Ho... shaam-o-asahar karate hai
Raah pe rahte hai Yaadon pe basar karte hai Khush raho ehale watan Ho... hum to safar karte hai
"Saamma, Samma" ...
"Samma, Samma"
Aise ujade aashiyaane Tinake udd gaye Ho...
Aise ujade aashiyane Tinake udd gaye Bastiyon tak aate aate Raste mood gaye
Humm thhahar jaaye jahaaan Usako shahar karate hai
Raah pe rahte hai Yaadon pe basar karte hai Khush raho ehale watan Ho... hum to safar karte hai
It is day 405 of 300, and today's song is Yeh Zindagi Ke Melesung by Mohammed Rafi from the 1948movieMela directed and produced by S.U. Sunny. Music composed by Naushad, and lyrics written by Shakeel Badayuni.
Here is my rendition of the song with backing tracks (posted on Mar 18, 2024):
It is day 404 of 300, my LAST SONG, and today's song is O Mehboobasung by Mukesh from the 1964movieSangam directed and produced by Raj Kapoor. Music composed by Shankar Jaikishan, and lyrics written by Hasrat Jaipuri.
I started this journey thinking I will sing 300 songs, and here I am on song 404. My last song.
I started this journey as a very below average singer. but I learnt a lot. I have become a better singer and a musician. Granted the quality of recording is average as I used karaoke tracks on apps like Smule and all songs are in a single take. No room to fix errors.
Here is a rendition with backing tracks (posted on Feb 14, 2024):
It is day 403 of 300, and today's song is Badal Jaye Agar Malisung by Mahendra Kapoor from the 1966movieBaharan Phir Bhi Aayengi directed by Shaheed Latif and produced by Guru Dutt. Music composed by O.P. Nayyar, and lyrics written by Kaifi Azmi.
Here is a rendition with backing tracks (posted on Feb 12, 2024):
Chords: ?
Lyrics:
badal jaye agar mali chaman hota nahi khali
bahare phir bhi ati hai bahare phir bhi ayegi
badal jaye agar mali chaman hota nahi khali
thakan kaisi ghutan kaisi chal apani dhun me diwane
thakan kaisi ghutan kaisi chal apani dhun me diwane
It is day 402 of 300, and today's song is Zindagi Payar Ka Geet Haisung by Kishore Kumar from the 1983movieSouten directed and produced by Sawan Kumar. Music composed by Usha Khanna, and lyrics written by Sawan Kumar.
Here is a rendition with backing tracks (posted on Feb 08, 2024):
It is day 401 of 300, and today's song is Aaj Phir Jeene Ki Tamanna Haisung by Lata Mangeshkar from the 1965movieGuide directed by Vijay Anand and produced by Dev Anand. Music composed by S.D. Burman, and lyrics written by Shailendra.
Today is Feb 06, 2nd death anniversary of Lata Mangeshkar. I was in India when she died in 2022.
Here is a humble homage to the great voice of #bollywood. There will never be another like her.
Here is my rendition of the song with backing tracks (posted on Feb 06, 2024):
It is day 400 of 300, and today's song is Ye Zindagi Usiki Haisung by Lata Mangeshkar from the 1953movieAnarkali directed by Nandlal Jaswantlal and produced by Filmistan Ltd. Music composed by C. Ramachandra, and lyrics written by Rajinder Krishan.
Tomorrow is Feb 06, 2nd death anniversary of Lata Mangeshkar. I was in India when she died in 2022.
Here is a humble homage to the great voice of #bollywood. There will never be another like her.
Here is my rendition of the song with backing tracks (posted on Feb 05, 2024):
Chords: ?
Lyrics:
yeh zindagi usiki hai jo kisi ka ho gaya
pyar hi me kho gaya
yeh zindagi usiki hai jo kisi ka ho gaya
pyar hi me kho gaya
yeh zindagi usi ki hai
yeh bahar yeh sama keh raha pyar kar
kisiki arzoo me apne dil ko beqarar kar
zindagi hai bewfa
zindagi hai bewfa loot pyar ka maza
yeh zindagi usiki hai jo kisi ka ho gaya
pyar hi me kho gaya
yeh zindagi usi ki hai
dhadak raha hain dil toh kya dil ki dhadkane na gin
dhadak raha hain dil toh kya dil ki dhadkane na gin
It is day 399 of 300, and today's song is Pal Pal Dil Ke Paassung by Kishore Kumar from the 1973movieBlackmail directed by Vijay Anand and produced by Vinod Doshi. Music composed by Kalyanji Anandji, and lyrics written by Rajinder Krishan.
Here is my rendition of the song with backing tracks (posted on Feb 03, 2024):
It is day 398 of 300 and today's song is Tere Naam Ka Diwanasung by Mohammed Rafi from the 1973movieSuraj Aur Chanda, directed by T. Madhava Rao, and produced by A.V. Subramaniam. Music composed by Laxmikant Pyarelal, and lyrics written by Anand Bakshi.
Here it is, my rendition of the song with backing tracks (posted on Feb 02, 2024):
On day 397 of my planned 300 songs for the pandemic, I've surpassed expectations. Initially aiming for 300, I'm now nearing 400. Contemplating stopping, I've found tremendous personal growth in my singing. Undertaken for myself and my parents' joy, this musical journey has significantly enhanced my skills. I am content and fulfilled approaching this remarkable milestone.
Thank you all who have read this blog or listened to my recordings.
These were just home recordings on apps like Smule or StarMaker, nothing fancy.
So, it is day 397 of 300 and today's song is Jo Baat Tujh Mein Haisung by Mohammed Rafi from the 1963movieTaj Mahal, driected by M. Sadiq, and produced by A.K. Nadiawala. Music composed by Roshan, and lyrics written by Sahir Ludhianvi.
Here it is, my rendition of the song with backing tracks (posted on Jan 30, 2024):
It is day 396 of 300, and today's song is Ajnabi Tum Jane Pehchane Sesung by Kishore Kumar from the 1965movieHum Sab Ustad Hain directed and written by Maruti Rao. Music composed by Laxmikant Pyarelal, and lyrics written by Asad Bhopali.
Here is a rendition with backing tracks (posted on Jan 29, 2024):
It is day 395 of 300, and today's song is Dil Kya Karesung by Kishore Kumar from the 1975movieJulie directed by K.S. Sethumadhavan and produced by B. Nagi Reddi. Music composed by Rajesh Roshan, and lyrics written by Anand Bakshi.
Here is my rendition of the song with backing tracks (posted on Jan 27, 2024):
It is day 394 of 300, and today's song is Naam Abdul Hai Merasung by Mohammed Rafi from the 1980movieShaan directed by Ramesh Sippy and produced by G.P. Sippy. Music composed by R.D. Burman, and lyrics written by Anand Bakshi.
This song is one of the last recordings by the great Mohammed Rafi. I used to love this song as a child.
Keep your eyes peeled and ears open and you will see, at the end of the day, No one is any one's.
Here is my rendition of the song with backing tracks (posted on Jan 26, 2024):
Chords: ?
Lyrics:
ya ali
aate jaate huye mai sab pe nazar rakhta hu
aate jaate huye mai sab pe nazar rakhta hu
naam abdul hai mera, kya, ho
naam abdul hai mera, sab ki khabar rakhta hu
aate jaate huye mai sab pe nazar rakhta hu
aate jaate huye mai sab pe nazar rakhta hu
naam abdul hai mera, sab ki khabar rakhta hu
naam abdul hai mera, sab ki khabar rakhta hu
sar kisike samne jhuk jaaye mera, ye mujhe manzur nahi
aa pade vaqt to maut aaye sahi, par mai majbur nahi
sar kisike samne jhuk jaaye mera, ye mujhe manzur nahi
aa pade vaqt to maut aaye sahi, par mai majbur nahi
jaan par khel jaau, mai vo jigar rakhta hu
jaan par khel jaau, mai vo jigar rakhta hu
naam abdul hai mera, kya, ha
naam abdul hai mera, sab ki khabar rakhta hu
aate jaate huye mai sab pe nazar rakhta hu
aate jaate huye mai sab pe nazar rakhta hu
naam abdul hai mera, sab ki khabar rakhta hu
naam abdul hai mera, sab ki khabar rakhta hu
kisne liya kisne diya, kisne kaha maal chhupa rakha hai
maine is dil me saari duniya ka, hal chhupa rakha hai
kisne liya kisne diya, kisne kaha maal chhupa rakha hai
maine is dil me saari duniya ka, hal chhupa rakha hai
It is day 393 of 300, and today's song is Kayi Sadiyon Se Kai Janmon Sesung by Mukesh from the 1972movieMilap directed by B.R. Ishara. Music composed by Brij Bhushan, and lyrics written by Naqsh Lyallpuri.
Here is my rendition of the song with backing tracks (posted on Jan 24, 2024):
It is day 392 of 300, and today's song is Jana Tumhare Pyar Meinsung by Mukesh from the 1961movieSasural directed by T. Prakash Rao and produced by L.V. Prasad. Music composed by Shankar Jaikishan, and lyrics written by Hasrat Jaipuri.
Here is my rendition of the song with backing tracks (posted on Jan 23, 2024):
It is day 391 of 300, and today's song is Sar Jo Tera Chakrayesung by Mohammed Rafi from the 1957 hit moviePyaasa directed and produced by Guru Dutt. Music composed by S.D. Burman, and lyrics written by Sahir Ludhianvi.
This song was actually composed by R.D. Burman. How would have been 17 years old. He was not credited for it, but I am sure he is credited as assistant music director since that is the role he played to his father (lucky chap) back then.
For what it's worth, here is my rendition of the song with backing tracks (posted on Jan 19, 2024):
It is day 390 of 300, and today's song is Roshan Tumhi Se Duniyasung by Mohammed Rafi from the 1963 hit movieParasmani directed by Babubhai Mistry. Music composed by Laxmikant Pyarelal, their first official release movie, and lyrics written by Asad Bhopali.
In the original recording of this song, Tabla was played by Ustad Zakhir Hussain.
I know I don't have a great voice, nor am I a trained singer, but for what it's worth, here is my rendition of the song with backing tracks (posted on Jan 17, 2024):
