The songs Mahatma Gandhi's words inspired
Every person in the room was teary-eyed. Shanti Mathur, the playback singer, had just finished singing her song "Nanha munna rahi hoon" at my uncle’s place. The sentiments it roused, the emotional fervor, the pride and hope, the love of country are still fresh in my mind even after fifty years. That this song still retains its original sheen came as a pleasant surprise when my daughter told me it was one of her favourite songs.
Violence
What about songs on Gandhi? Do they inspire and motivate people? What was Gandhi’s influence on the music industry? "Bande mein tha dum, Vande Mataram" sung by Sonu Nigam, Shreya Ghoshal and Pranab Biswas, and its film – "Lage Raho Munna Bhai" – brought back Gandhi, firmly into mainstream cinema and national consciousness. The attention to Gandhi’s theories revived an interest in Gandhism under the term Gandhigiri.
This song was, however, not the only one to be based on the life and teachings of Gandhi. One such song was a private song released in 1948, a few months after Gandhi’s assassination – "Suno suno ae duniya waalon Bapu ki ye amar kahani".
The death of Gandhi came as a jolt to the film industry as well. As a mark of tribute, this song was conceived. It required the composing genius of Husnlal Bhagatram, the lyrical brilliance of Rajendra Krishan and the soulful appeal of a young Rafi to make people rededicate themselves to Gandhi’s ideals. Days leading up to and following Independence had seen horrific violence that killed millions and Gandhi himself. The song underscores the futility of the madness which had convulsed the nation.
The lyrics recount Gandhi’s life from his education in London, his work in South Africa, to the independence and social movements in India. In the last verse, the music slows dramatically and Rafi recounts Gandhi’s last day, singing "ahimsa ke seene par himsa ne goli barsayi".
On Independence Day, 1948, Rafi was invited to sing this song at Nehru’s house. The song had such an effect on Nehru that tears rolled down his cheeks! The song reportedly sold a million copies in the first month of its release. Two years later Nehru invited Rafi to sing "Lehrao tiranga lehrao" on India’s first Republic Day. The next song is "De di hamen azadi bina khadg bina dhal, Sabarmati ke sant tune kar diya kamaal" from Jagriti in 1954. The song was written by Kavi Pradeep, composed by Hemant Kumar and sung by Asha Bhosle. Mourning the tragic loss, Pradeep reaffirmed the greatness of Gandhi. "Jagriti" was a children’s movie replete with high ideals. All the songs were full of patriotic fervor and have remained classics till date.
Disillusionment
Interestingly, "Jagriti" as well as all its songs were copied by the Pakistani film "Bedari" released three years later in 1957. This song became "Aye Quaid-e-Azam tera ehsan hai ehsan". The other songs were "Hum laye hain toofan se kashti nikal ke, Aao bachon sair karain tum ko Pakistan ki", and "Chalo chalen ma". Child actor Ratan Kumar (Nazir Rizvi) was the common link. After "Boot Polish" and "Jagriti", he moved to Pakistan, where he played the same role in "Bedari".
Then there was "Mere Bapu se ye kehna" from "Matlabi Duniya" in 1961 sung by Talat Mehmood. With disillusionment having set in, Mehmood sings to Gandhi that his country still weeps over his loss – "Mere Bapu se yeh kehna, ki tumhara desh rota hai, tumhari kalpnao ka, yahan par khun hota hai". Finally, a song from the movie "Bharat Ke Shaheed" in 1972 – "Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi param pujari ahinsa ke" – sung by Mahendra Kapoor and composed by Prem Dhawan. The song traces Gandhi’s history and ends with: "San bayaalis me gunja inka naara, chhodo Hindustan aakhir sach ki jeet huyee, aur chal diye gore inglistan".
Promoting
Interestingly, there are two songs composed on lyrics penned by Gandhi. One is Namrata ke Samrat. Sardar Patel’s daughter Maniben had written to Gandhi asking him questions about God. Gandhi had answered in the form of a prayer. This letter was found in 1968 by Madhukar Rao Chaudhari – a minister in the Maharashtra Government and President of Gandhi Centenary Committee. Chaudhari requested Vasant Desai to compose a tune on the said letter and make a record for the Centenary celebrations. It was sung by Manna Dey.
The other is "Namrata ke Sagar". The bhajan was said to have been written by Gandhi during his stay with the Birlas. No one knew such a bhajan existed until the Birlas stumbled upon it accidentally. This song is sung by Pt. Ajay Chakraborty with music by Ilayaraja. The final words are by Pt. Bhimsen Joshi, where after Amitabh Bachchan recites some lines.
In the late 1930s, Gandhi was used for promoting films. Large size photographs of Gandhi adorned the film advertisements along with smaller photographs of the hero and heroine. Films were advertised as "helper to the cause of Mahatma Gandhi", or portraying "the ideals of Mahatma Gandhi", or claiming that "Mahatma Gandhi’s immortal words inspire a picture".
Gandhi didn’t think highly of the film medium. There are only two films he saw: "Mission to Moscow", and the mythological movie, "Ram Rajya" at a special screening in 1944. He, didn’t sit through the film but did pat the maker Vijay Bhatt on his way out.
"The light that has illumined this country for these many years will illumine this country for many more years," cried Nehru when Gandhi died. The songs on Gandhi have made a humble contribution in keeping the light alive. Whenever the light dims, lyrics such as "bhoole hum raahein humein raah dikha de, aa ja re ab raah dikha de" are a timely clarion call to the nation to re-dedicate itself "to carry out the mandate that our great teacher and our great leader had given us".