The other day, with a storm in full force, I could hear the crash and rumble of thunder, the pitter-patter of raindrops (and, as it grew more stormy, huge splashes of water against the windows)—and the wind, gusting and whooshing all around. It struck me then that nature, even when it’s not living nature—not birds and animals, but water and wind and clouds—makes its own music.
Wind, in my opinion, wins when it comes to ‘natural music’. From the soft swoosh of the breeze blowing through the leaves of a tree, to the howling, gooseflesh-inducing gusts that can be well mistaken for a banshee: the wind has a life all its own. Appropriate, then, that at least two types of musical instruments—wind chimes and Aeolian harps—are played by the wind.
And the wind, of course, has long been an important motif in Hindi film songs. There have been songs addressed to the wind, songs about the wind. Here are ten of my favourites, in no particular order. The only restrictions I’ve imposed on myself are:
(a) As always, the song should be from a film I’ve seen, from before the 1970s
And (b) the song should have a word synonymous with wind (hawa, saba, pawan, etc) in the first line of the song.
Here we go, then.
1. Ae saba unse keh zara (Ali Baba aur Chalees Chor, 1954): I love this song, even though it’s probably not as well-known as many of the other songs on this list. Mahipal doesn’t float my boat, but the lovely Shakila is enough to make me forget about him, and the music (by SN Tripathi) is simple but lovely, with a faintly Middle Eastern lilt to it, throbbing and thrumming like the wind. And the lyrics, of course, which (ostensibly, at least) address the wind, telling it to ask the beloved why one’s heart is all aflutter. Sweet.
2. Thandi hawaayein lehraake aayein (Naujawan, 1951): Sahir Ludhianvi’s romantic lyrics were often distinctive in that they juxtaposed romance against nature: Yeh raat yeh chaandni phir kahaan, Phaili hui hain sapnon ki baahein and Parbaton ke pedon par are examples. So is Thandi hawaayein lehraake aayein. Our heroine’s sweetheart is not present, but the cooling breezes are. And, combined with the chaand aur taare, hanste nazaare—they are enough of a reason for her to wish for him, too, to be there.
One of Sahir’s earliest works in Hindi cinema, and a beautifully melodious song, vintage SD Burman.
3. San-san-san woh chali hawa (Kaagaz ke Phool, 1959): The wind is a very important part of this song. It is, of course—as in the previous songs—an integral part of a romance (or, in this case, two romances: the proudly proclaimed-to-the-world love of the singers themselves; and the forbidden, as yet unexpressed love of the two people who sit in the car in front, listening to the song). Besides that, however, the wind is present in other ways: in the onomatopoeic ‘San-san-san’ that begins the song, and in the very visible way the wind shows up in the picturisation, blowing the women’s hair about, and sending a sheaf of papers flying all across the road.
4. Saba se yeh keh do ke kaliyaan bichhaaye (Bank Manager, 1959): Diametrically opposite to San-san-san woh chali hawa, at least as far as picturisation goes, is this song (which, coincidentally, features Minoo Mumtaz, sister of Mehmood, who appeared in San-san-san woh chali hawa). Here, the singer—a poetess reciting in a mushaira—enlists the help of the wind her in praising her beloved: by laying blossoms in his path. An exquisite song, sung flawlessly by Asha, whose voice is showcased by the relative lack of instrumentation in the accompanying music (Madan Mohan’s).
5. Dheere chal dheere chal ae bheegi hawa (Boyfriend, 1961): A complete change of pace and rhythm, but the motif of love and the breeze remains. Here, in Boyfriend (a remake of Kismet), is a song that is also an obvious reboot—as far as lyrics go—of the hit Dheere-dheere aa re baadal dheere. Shammi Kapoor’s character, instead of beseeching the clouds to be silent, asks the wind to be quiet and still, so that his beloved may not wake. [That she might wake because he’s singing louder than the wind does not seem to matter]. Very Western in its tone, romantic, and well-picturised (Madhubala? Shammi Kapoor? Can it get better?!)
6. Yeh hawa yeh fiza (Gumraah, 1963): Gumraah had an interesting trio of songs, all with the word hawa in them. Two were versions of the same song: In hawaaon mein in fizaaon mein: a happy version (which was a duet) and a sad one (a male version). Linked to these is a song I like more than In hawaaon mein: the haunting, echoing Yeh hawa yeh fiza.
Its basic premise (superficially, at least) is the same as that of In hawaaon mein: a lover calls to his beloved, begging her to come to him. Whereas the happy version of In hawaaon mein is a self-confident anticipation—he knows she will come to him—Yeh hawa yeh fiza is a cry of pain, a longing that he knows deep down is wrong (she is now married to another man; this rendezvous, if it happens, will be illicit). Yet, because the wind is so soothing (and so disturbing?) and the atmosphere so conducive to romance—he does cry out, asking her to come to him.
Not just lovely lyrics, but beautiful music too, by Ravi. And Mahendra Kapoor at his best, his voice full of yearning and heartbreak.
7. Thandi hawa kaali ghata aa hi gayi (Mr and Mrs 55, 1955): Like Thandi hawaayein lehraake aayein, this song too is about how the cool breeze makes our heroine yearn for the man she loves (actually, in this case, ‘is merely infatuated with‘; the real love of her life is waiting in the wings). Unlike Thandi hawaayein, however, this song isn’t sung wistfully in the solitude of the night; it’s made into a big song and dance, with friends joining in around a swimming pool. Vibrant and peppy.
8. Thandi hawa yeh chaandni suhaani (Jhumroo, 1961): An unusual wind song in that it isn’t about romance—in fact, it’s not even about any sort of love. Thandi hawa yeh chaandni suhaani is, instead, a song about the beauty of the night, and about walking through the night—a metaphor for the long walk through life? There’s more than a hint of philosophy here, even more pronounced in the female version of the song, which has a sad loneliness to its rendition.
9. Jhukti ghata gaati hawa (Dhool ka Phool, 1959): The looming clouds and cool breeze of Thandi hawa kaali ghata return in this song, a fine example of Sahir Ludhianvi’s penchant for setting a romantic song against a backdrop of nature. Here, the newlywed hero and his lovely young bride celebrate their love in idyllic surroundings: a lake with a boat bobbing gently on it, grassy banks, trees, the wind whipping the woman’s hair and sari about. There’s something sweetly infectious about this tune, by N Dutta, and the lyrics have an unusual—for 50s Hindi cinema—touch of the erotic about them in the last verse.
10. O basanti pawan paagal (Jis Desh Mein Ganga Behti Hai, 1960): Throughout this list, the wind seems to have been used as an accessory to romance—let there be a hint of a breeze, and someone or the other begins to wish their beloved were near. Or if the beloved is near, so much the better to enjoy the breeze. O basanti pawan paagal takes a slightly different path: that of heartbreak. The heroine Kammo’s lover, disillusioned and anguished, has left her, and she goes running after him, begging him to return.
O basanti pawan paagal is itself not about the pawan; I’m not even absolutely certain why those first few words are in the song. My guess, however, is that it draws on the poetic premise of the spring wind being a fickle, always-wandering, nomadic breeze. Kammo’s Raju is to her like the basanti pawan: come from nowhere, off again who knows where. And can she stop him with her song?
Even if the wind is only used as a metaphor here, this song fits right into this list, because the basanti pawan—rustling the leaves on the peepal outside my window—is what inspired this post in the first place.
What are your favourite songs featuring the wind?
Dustedoff 
My favourite hawa song is from Hum dil de chuke sanam – Jhonka hawa ka aaj bhi :)
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I have to admit I’d forgotten about that song; all I remembered about Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam and jhonka hawa ka was in relation to a pretty lame (and disgusting) joke in the film. But yes, it’s a lovely song. Thanks!
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Oh Dustedoff, loved the list, and your writing on the wind. I missed the playlist though, at the end. :)
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I was in such a hurry to publish this post before the basanti hawa disappeared from Delhi, I completely forgot to create a playlist! Will do, if I get the time for it. That, though, is more a standard on Anu’s blog, not mine. ;-)
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Zabardast! Very nice list, Madhulika. I hadn’t heard many of the songs here. I’m listening to them now. They are great! Good job! :-)
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Thank you so much, Hansda! So glad you’re liking them. Some of the songs aren’t too well-known, but deserve to be, I think. :-)
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Surprisingly, the song that comes to mind immediately after the much beloved Sahir songs from Naujawan and Gumraah is this very evocative epistle to the wind written by a young Gulzar for the 1968 film Do Dooni Char (produced by Bimal Roy and directed by Debu Roy), sung with such quiet beauty by Kishore Kumar: ‘Yahaan subah se khela karti hai shaam.”
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Hawaaon pe likh do hawaaon ke naam is a lovely song, isn’t it? (I didn’t know – or didn’t bother to check – who’d written it. Not at all surprised that it was Gulzar). This was on my shortlist, and would certainly have been on this list if I’d seen the movie. Very much about the breeze, not about this and that or romance and fluff. The quintessential hawa song, really. Thank you for adding it, Karthika. :-)
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It is a real tribute to the breeze, isn’t it? The wind as wind, like you said, not an instrument or a metaphor for something else. Gulzar’s appropriation of nature is replete with such mastery and ingenuity, my admiration goes up by a notch each time.
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Talking about songs about nature, one that is particularly vivid in its description is this lovely one, written by Bharat Vyas. Yeh kaun chitrakaar hai only has a mention of pawan in the second line, so it doesn’t qualify for my list, but as an out-and-out ode to nature, it’s pretty good. I think.
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The descriptions are grand and the whole composition is quite wondrously solemn, as befits a paean, doesn’t it? (Is it the whole rhythm structure, so wonderfully underscored by the chorus? Though I don’t care too much for the later aha-ha-ha refrain.) I didn’t know it was written by Bharat Vyas. You know, I heard this last as a child, and remember being intrigued by the unusually sober mien of Jeetendra. But the song is beautiful.
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The entire film – or what I remember of it, since I too saw it way back in the golden days of Doordarshan – had Jeetendra in a rather uncharacteristically solemn mien. Rather sanctimonious, too, if I remember correctly. But it also had Mumtaz, and I can forgive films a lot when there’s Mumtaz in them!
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He did look sanctimonious! I think that’s why I steered clear of the film, contenting myself – yes, in the old Doordarshan days – with the song whenever it played on Chitrahhar. But, ah! It had Mumtaz as well? Oh, yes, that would compensate for swathes of sanctimony, and other ills too!
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Mumtaz, if I remember correctly, was the only good thing – along with the music – about the film. It’s really pretty melodramatic; Jeetendra plays a village school teacher whose younger brother is a bit of a rake, and absconds after getting a girl pregnant, despite all of big brother’s blatherings.
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Excellent list, I like all the songs.
I scanned it several times from top to bottom and also did a word search – any reason for leaving out ‘Pawan diwani‘ from ‘Dr Vidya?’
Another song that captures the mood quite well, but fails the criterion of a synonym in the first line is ‘Bheegi bheegi fiza‘ from ‘Anupama’ – the word comes at the end of the second line.
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Thank you!
And I’m wishing I’d remembered Pawan deewaani – it’s a gorgeous song, and I’ve seen Dr Vidya, so it would have fitted right in. Don’t know how it slipped my mind. I’m so glad you suggested it. Thank you. :-)
Bheegi-bheegi fazaan is also a lovely song, though yes – the reference to the hawa comes too late in the refrain to let it qualify for this list.
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Just saw this one on TV in ‘Bhule bisre geet’. ‘Khuli hawa mein dole re’ from ‘Champakali’. Reminds me a lot of some other song – possibly a duet with Hemant. Can’t put my finger on it.
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I am pretty sure I’ve never heard Khuli hawa mein dole re before, but yes, it does sound very familiar. I wouldn’t be so specific as to say it reminds me of a Hemant duet, but you’re possibly right – I can well imagine that.
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Oh, and one of the many lovely songs from Kal aur Aaj (and I am back with Sahir Ludhiavi – oh dear, is this incurable, doctor?). Yeh waadiyan, yeh fizaayein bula rahi hain tumhein/ khamoshiyon ki sazaayein bula rahi hain tumhein – nature exhorting the heroine to join them in their celebration.
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“(and I am back with Sahir Ludhiavi – oh dear, is this incurable, doctor?)”
I fear it is. :-) And I ask doctor the same thing. Somehow, even without attempting to, a very large number of the songs I end up putting into lists tend to be Sahir’s. Yeh waadiyaan yeh fizaayein is a wonderful song, yes, but as you point out, the reference to the hawa appears too late in the song to let it actually get past my restrictions.
Maybe I should do a Sunil Dutt list sometime. Lots of opportunities for good Sahir songs there.
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Oooh, yes, yes, yes, to the Sunil Dutt list! It would have a bushel of remarkable songs -including one of my favourites from Sahir’s pen: Tum mujhe bhool bhi jao from Didi, where he only appears as a reflection, an imagined reflection in the water to a grieving, yet stoic and understanding Shuba Khote. I think we’ve spoken about this song, the lines he gives SK are so full of depth and generosity (Sunil Dutt’s replies have a strong Faizian undertone):
But I digress, oh, I digress.
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Tum mujhe bhool bhi jaao is such an unforgettable song. There’s something so very real, very easy to relate to, in the words…
I can’t imagine how I’ve never done a Sunil Dutt list, considering he had some really wonderful songs picturised on him. Anyway, hopefully, come June I’ll commemorate his birthday with a list.
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It is, isn’t it? There is such real grief, and a transcendent love that will survive the grief. It’s just inexpressibly beautiful.
Fantastic! So we have a Sunil Dutt list to look forward to – great music, and such visual appeal :-) at least in the B&W years!
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I’m already beginning to mentally compile the Sunil Dutt list. And yes, in the B/W years, real eye candy too. :-)
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PS: But hawaayein comes later than I thought, in fact in the fourth or fifth couplet – so I guess that disqualifies it!
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What about “Jab Chali Thandi Hawa” from DO BADAN. Love the lyrics….so evocative n full of yearning.
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Absolutely. :-) Jab chali thandi hawa is one of my favourites too, and was on the shortlist for this post. I eventually left it out because I’ve already put it on too many lists. But thank you for adding it in the comments. Besides the fact that the lyrics and the music are wonderful, the picturisation uses the effect of the wind very well – amidst the flowers, blowing Asha Parekh’s hair about, making the dupattas flutter and billow. Perfect.
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o re pawan.. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UJF588JMZXc
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Ae ri pawan is a beautiful song. Thank you!
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Actess singer Salma Aga song which I likeunfortunate she did not get apportunity to sing or act more.. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YgG0JNLt-dc
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I have never been much of a fan of Salma Agha, either as an actress or as a singer, though I do remember Fazaan bhi hai jawaan-jawaan being a huge hit when Nikaah was released. Certainly much better than Dil ke armaan aansoowon mein beh gaye!
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I love your list. I like most of the songs on the list. I am particularly thrilled to see O Basanti pawan pagal on this list. It is a beautiful song. It means you actually SAW Jis Des Me Ganga Behti Hai! Wow.
Here is one more Pawan song, from Sampoorn Ramayan.
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Glad you liked the songs, Ava! And thank you for San sanan jaa re o pawan – I don’t think I’ve ever heard that one before.
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Amazing list indeed….
I miss ‘Hawa mein udta jaye…’ by Lataji, from Barsaat, in the list.
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Yes, well. That’s because this was my favourites list, and I don’t particularly like Hawa mein udtaa jaaye. ;-) But there is a nod to the song in the post – the first screen cap is from the song, as you can see.
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Who is the girl/actress in this famous song from Barsaat? Any idea?
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Bimla Kumari. Anu had identified her in the ‘Who’s that lip-synching?’ list.
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A very melodious list DO. The first song ae saba unse… set the mood completely. I listened to it two times before moving on. :-)
And of course how could the next not be included.
Here is one of my all time favourites. (I think yours too :-) )
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Ae saba unse keh zara is very addictive, isn’t it? So melodious and lovely. I must confess I’ve listened to it again ever since I posted this list too.
And Thandi-thandi hawa poochhe unka pata is definitely a favourite! If I’d watched the film, this one would’ve been on the list, no question about it.
Actually, now that I think of it, one can probably make a list only of thandi hawa songs. There seem to be so many of them!
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I like this song.
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Another hawa song that I love.
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And one more well loved song.
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Oh, I love Yeh hawa yeh nadi ka kinara! I’ve never seen this video before (and, obviously, haven’t seen Ghar Sansar, which was why I wasn’t able to include this in my list), but there was a time when I knew all the lyrics of this song. Mmm. :-)
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One more “hawa” song came to my mind which would set happy mood.
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One more related song from neeli ankhen-1962(shakeela’s earlier movie)
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Ye hawa ye mastana mausam.. from Akeli mat jaio-1963
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And listen to this one from Beganna-1963
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I like the way this is song “madbhari ye hawayen”..sung by lataji from film Anokha daan-1972. Actress was zahira.
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Pawan jakora… song from film Meri bhabhi -1969.
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Another song that was new to me. I’d never heard Pawan jhakora sang mere gaaye. Nice. And Waheeda Rehman is a favourite with me. :-)
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Thanks.
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I don’t think I’d ever heard Madbhari yeh hawaayein before. Thank you for mentioning it; I liked it.
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This is sung differently. Especially in all 3 antrals, whole portion is sung continuously without halting. I like 2nd one most.
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Bulaati hai bahaar was new to me – and it’s a lovely, lovely song. But where’s the hawa (or pawan, or whatever) reference?
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Yes a nice song indeed. May be I would consider pawan, a synonym of bahaar when pronounced with joy.
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But they mean two different things, don’t they? And, frankly, when a completely different list can be compiled of basant and bahaar songs (which I should have done, actually, considering it’s spring), why mix them up?
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In that sense you are right. Bulati hay bahar can be compiled in a different set of list.
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Oddly, the only song that I remember from this film is Thodi der ke liye mere ho jaao. I tend to blank out on the other songs, even though they were mostly quite nice.
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Yes, someone posted the Neeli Aankhen song in the comments too. Along with the video from the film – it’s really nice, and Shakila looks very sweet with short hair.
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Your initial list of wind song is surely nice.
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Thank you! Glad you like it. :-)
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I don’t remember having heard Bheegi-bheegi hawa, shokh dhaara before. What a lovely, peppy song. Thank you! Loved this one. :-)
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Yes, someone else also mentioned Bheegi hawaon mein. This one was on my longlist.
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Jhoomti chali hawa. :-) Shall I admit something rather silly? I actually went all over the web, trying to find if this film was available anywhere online, so that I could watch it and then, with a free conscience (and conforming to my own rules) put this song on the list. Couldn’t find it anywhere, sadly. But I’m glad you posted it. Am listening to it all over again.
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Sigh. Talk about crazy coincidences, I’d planned a list of wind songs, and it should come as no surprise to you that seven of the songs on your list were on mine as well. :) But I loved your description of the storm and the wind at the beginning of the post.
Of your list, my favourites are: Ae saba unse keh zara, Thandi hawaaiyein lehraake aaye, Dheere chal dheere chal ae bheegi hawa, Ye hawa ye fiza, Thandi hawa ye chaandni suhani, Thandi hawa kaali ghata, and O basanti pawan paagal. (I’m so glad to see that last song in the list. *grin* But Padmini dances up a storm in that one, doesn’t she?)
Here are a few that were on my shortlist:
Ye hawa ye raat ye chandni from Sangdil.
Ye hawa ye nadi ka kinara from Ghar Sansar.
Ye hawa ye fiza from Ek Jhalak/i>
and Fiza chup hai hawa chup hai from Madhur Milan
This was on my long list: Madhosh hawa matwali fiza from Prince
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Anu, I think we should just stop being surprised when we run into crazy coincidences! This happens too often to make it surprising any more. :-D
But seven? Seven songs that were common? That’s some sort of record, I think. (Oh, and by the way, O basanti pawan paagal featuring on this list – yes, it means I finally watched Jis Desh Mein Ganga Behti Hai. Will review it someday).
Yeh hawa yeh nadi ka kinara and Yeh hawa yeh raat yeh chaandni are both utterly lovely songs; I’d have happily included them in my list if I’d seen either film. I’d never heard the song from Ek Jhalak: beautiful. It’s so lovely, it makes me wonder what the picturisation was like.
Madhosh hawa matwali fiza, despite being a Shammi Kapoor song, isn’t one of my favourites. Actually, Prince is one of those films of his the music of which I tend to invariably forget – offhand, the only songs from that that stick in my mind are Badan pe sitaare lapete hue and Muqabla humse na karna – and neither features in my list of Shammi songs I can listen to over and over again!
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Madhosh hawa matwali fiza, despite being a Shammi Kapoor song, isn’t one of my favourites. Neither is it one of mine; that is why it was on the longlist. :)
But there is a song from Shama that I used in my Shamshad post.
Dil thandi hawa mein
Another lovely number from Bhai-Behan
and Lata, this time:
Thandi thandi chale re hawa from Guest House
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Ah, I like Thandi-thandi chale re hawa. I’d come across this one when I was researching the post, but since I’ve never seen Guest House, I left it out. Beautiful song. The Shamshad Begum ones are new to me: both nice.
Hearing all these songs about the thandi hawa and basanti pawan, I’m reminded of another type of wind that sometimes is encountered in Hindi cinema: the eastern wind, the purvaiyya. I hadn’t come across any instances of the purvaiyya in pre-70s songs, but Chupke-Chupke had Chupke-chupke chal ri purvaiyya:
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You are right. The only other purvaiyya song that I have seen is Purvaiyya leke chali mere naiyya from Do Jasoos.
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Thanks, Anu! Yes, I’d come across that song when I was researching this list. There’s another song about the eastern wind which I knew about and which was on my longlist, but it’s not as good as the other songs. And the film it’s from is one of those I just do not like: Purab aur Pachhim. The song’s Purvaa suhaani aayi re:
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There is another Hawa song from Prince…..Thandi Thandi hawa mein dil lalchaye. I like this song a lot.
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Ah, yes. This one!
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Forgot to add the link to the song from Madhur Milan.
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Fiza chup hai hawa chup hai was another song that was new to me. Beautiful, and I especially like the fact that the music is so subdued, it allows Lata’s voice to really shine through.
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The music director, I think, is Bulo C Rani.
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One of those highly underrated composers…
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Your list is just perfect, and your readers have more or less completed the list, so I have nothing much to do just sit back and enjoy the songs. My fav songs are the two Kishore Kumar songs thandi hawa and hawaon pe likh do
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Thank you, Shilpi! Incidentally, when I first began compiling this list, I hadn’t imposed the restriction about the word hawa (or its synonym) appearing in the first line, and an old favourite from one of your father’s best films was in it. Nanhi kali sone chali, hawa dheere aana:
When I finetuned the rules of the list, that song had to be dropped, of course, but there’s no harm in putting it in here. Especially since it’s actually addressed to the wind!
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I was born a little before Sujata, a few years later when I began to speak, I used to hear this song, after all it was hit song, my mum used to sing it to me as well (mum was a very good singer), I used to imitate and sing,nanhi si soni si. My mum used recall this with a great deal of affection and laughter
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That is so cute! Actually, though, if you were singing in Punjabi, that phrase would have made perfect sense: Nanhi si, sohni si would mean Tiny and pretty – perfect description for a baby girl!
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ae saba is indeed a lilting song! when I read aobut it, I thought, I hadn’t heard it before, but when I clicked on it, I remembered it.
The beard makes Mahipal look sort of okay, better than his usual self.
thandi hawayein…, beautiful! What is not goo din this song? Everything fits in so well.
san-san jo chali hawa, one of the few bright moments in Kaagaz Ke Phool.
Lovely, lovely, lovely! Love saba se ye keh do. but could do without the picturisation though!
Like dheere chal, but prefer the other dheere chal from Love Marriage, which asks the moon to go dheere.
yeh hawa and thandi hawa are sort of okay, not bad.
Like thandi hawa yeh chandani suhani, tend to forget it.
jhukti ghata gaati hawa is sweet.
There is something hypnotic about o basanti pawan pagal. I think I saw it on Chayya Geet when I was seven and since then I am fascinated by this song. The stony ravines might have something to do with it.
Love this song!
I have put my fav thandi hawa songs in
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“san-san jo chali hawa, one of the few bright moments in Kaagaz Ke Phool.”
Hehe. I agree. That film was one of almost unremitting morbidity! The music was the high point of Kaagaz ke Phool, as far as I’m concerned. :-)
I thought you or Anu had also done a post on wind songs, but I deliberately did not go exploring, so as not to influence my own list. But I see that your list is very different from my own. We share only two songs in common, though one of the songs on your list – Jab chali thandi hawa – was on my shortlist too.
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…and your list is on breeezes in general and mine on cool breezes. :)
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Yes, that too, of course. :-)
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So many lovely songs mentioned in this list and in the comments. Had me looking for songs in my collection and playing them as they were mentioned or clicking on the links. DO, I totally love your initial list. The only song that I would have loved to see there but is not (cause you have not seen the film) is the Asha/Geeta duet from “Johnny Walker”. Here are songs that I think are equally lovely and fit this theme, though they may not have met the criteria of you having seen them. But I hope they would have certainly made your shortlist:
a) Geeta Dutt singing “Yeh hawa yeh fiza” in “Coffee House”, Music: Roshan
b) Lata singing “Hawa hai sard sard” in “Shatranj”, Music: C Ramachandra
(Ashok Kumar as usual standing and smoking a cigarette and doing little else)
c) A lovely Asha/Lata duet “Yeh ruki ruki hawaayeN” from “Daaman”, Music: K Datta
d) One that I thought you may have picked though it is not about “hawa” technically
Lata singing “Yeh meri zindagi ek paagal hawa” from “Ziddi”, Music: S D Burman
Somebody already mentioned the songs from “SampoorNa Ramayan”, “Sangeet SamraT Tansen”, Sangdil”, “Ghar Sansaar” and “Ek jhalak”.
And now finally a triplet of hawa related songs dedicated to the triplet BEAUTIFUL Shakeela, Suman Kalyanpur and composer Dattaram.
e) A LOVELY duet with Manna Dey “Yeh nasheeli hawa” in “Neeli aaNkheN”
Hero is Ajit (yes the same one) with Shakeela in short hair
f) “Bheegi hawaaoN me” duet again with Manna Dey in “Shriman Satyavadi”
g) KyooN uDa jaata hai aaNchal solo again from “Shriman Satyavadi”
(technically no hawa, but come on, you cannot have uDta aaNchal without hawa
and the scene bears that out)
ps: Completely echo your sentiment on “Hawa me uDta jaaye” btw :-)
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Sangeetbhakt, thank you so much! For the appreciation, of course, but also for the songs you’ve recommended. I’m listening to Jhoom-jhoom ke right now, and it’s giving me gooseflesh, it’s so good. Vintage Geeta Dutt. I may be mistaken, but it reminds me of some Western tune – can’t remember which one, though.
Yeh meri zindagi ek paagal hawa and Bheegi hawaaon mein were on my shortlist (and I did think of Kyon udaa jaata hai aanchal, but dropped it for obvious reasons).
Okay, the Coffee House song has ended as I write this, and I’m on to the rest of the songs you’ve listed. Hawa sard-sard hai is especially nice, as is Yeh nasheeli hawa, chhaa raha hai nasha (the appreciation of which is, for me, heightened because of Shakila – she looks so cute with short hair!)
Thank you for that. Some absolutely lovely songs there. :-)
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Yes, “Jhoom jhoom ke jaam chhoom ke” – the beginning is based on “Malaguena”, a traditional Spanish melody. Here is a nice rendition.
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No wonder. Thank you for identifying that for me. Wonderful rendition, by the way…. hypnotic.
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Beautiful list! Song #5,#6, #7, #8,#9 and #10 are my favorites.”DheereChal Dheere Chal Ae Bheegi Hawa” is such a lovely song!All the songs that I had in mind fitting the above theme are already mentioned by the readers :)
One of my favorite song about wind song is “Sun ri Pawan” from Anuraag sung by Lata-
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Thank you, coolone160! I’d forgotten about Sun ri pawan (it wouldn’t have been part of my list, of course, because the time frame is different, but it didn’t even occur to me in passing). Thanks for reminding me of it. :-)
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:)
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Slightly misaligned with your time frame I admit, but still, this is one of my favourite Kishore numbers:
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Finally! When I published this post, I’d been hoping someone would mention Hawa ke saath-saath in the comments, because same time frame or no, this is one of the first songs that comes to my mind when I think of hawa songs. Delightful one.
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Then let me cheat
a littleok, not so little either, maybe. This is the other song that the term ‘hawa’ immediately suggests:LikeLike
Heh! Yes, Kehte hain mujhko Hawa-Hawai had come to mind, too, but even if it had been from the 50s or 60s, I wouldn’t have included it because Hawa-Hawai, as I understand it, is just a name – so the song’s not really talking about the wind, per se.
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Precisely! Why do you think I said I’m cheating? :D :D :D
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:-D
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Lovely post… I have been reading your blog since a long time (generally during office hours and hence never had the time to post a comment after reading the post and comments. :))
Hadn’t heard 5 songs in this list… I have to confess I am a VERY BIIIIIIIGGGGGG Shammi fan and the ‘Dheere chal dheere chal’ was the best part of the post (naturally!). Oh and I simply love Madhosh hawa from Jaanwar, the way Shammi emotes, his actions, I can keep going on and on….
The word ‘jhonka’ generally brings to mind the antara of that energetic Shammi number ‘Main hoon woh jhonka’ from the song ‘Tumse achcha kaun hai (Janwar)’
A few songs that came to my mind:
– Yeh raatein yeh mausam nadi ka kinara, yeh chanchal hawa from Dilli Ka Thug
– Megha Re Bole Ghanan Ghanan Pawan Chale Sanan Sanan from ‘Dil deke dekho’
– Chali CHali kaisi hawa yeh from ‘Bluffmaster’ (Shammi in drag)
– Pavan chale toh uthe man mein lehar si from ‘Bambai Ka Babu’
– Sun jaa aa thandi hawa from Haathi Mere Saathi (tthough it’s 1971 and beyond your period)
– Hawa Hawa (pop by Hassan Jahangir, which was a fad during my childhood and still brings back lovely memories).
Sorry for posting beyond the rules…
Keep these posts coming, just enjoy them. :D
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Aditya, thank you for commenting! I’m glad a post finally managed to tease you into saying something. ;-) Anybody who’s a Shammi Kapoor fan is always welcomed with open arms on this blog – Mr Kapoor’s my favourite actor, too. Can’t get enough of that man, really!
I really like a lot of the songs you’ve mentioned (not Hassan Jahangir’s Hawa hawa so much, even though it was a huge hit back then). Yeh raatein yeh mausam nadi ka kinaara and Megha re bole ghanan-ghanan were both on my longlist but had to be dropped because the wind reference comes pretty late – not within the first line of the song.
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http://youtu.be/UerMVXg3jbQ A nice song.
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Sanan-sanan chale pawan was new to me. Hadn’t heard this one before! Thank you.
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http://youtu.be/A-HfiySHeBM A little known song but so nice.
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Oh yes, a lovely song. Thanks for reminding me of it. Been a long time since I heard it. The combo of Lata and composer Sajjad Hussain resulted in a few lovely songs. And this is one of them.
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Thank you.
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Oh, yes. I have heard Hawa mein dil dole before. Yes, a very nice song (and Madhubala is – as always – so beautiful)!
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Yes, a lovely song.
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One of my favourite compositions with the wind in it is this one from Prem Patra. Loosely based on Megh Malhar and oddly enough for Salilda a ten beat rhythm. The use of strings in the interlude to mimic the sound of the rain and the sound effects for the wind (I wonder if that was done on the cellos) is quite realistic. The song is full of Salilda’s little surprises.
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Yes, Saawan ki raaton mein had crossed my mind when I was first thinking of this list. But, while the wind is ever-present in the ‘music’ of the song and in the picturisation of it, I can’t seem to hear the word hawa – or a synonym – in the lyrics themselves. This, however, was on my list of favourite monsoon songs.
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Where is your onomatopoeic gene young DO?
When you write bad pot(e)ry like I do you know..
A horse’s neigh, a bull’s bellow
all these sounds are part of your echoic imagining
the wind is present in the sound of its blowing.
:-)
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LOL!! Brilliant, Sadu. Considering your wife imposes so many restrictions on her own lists, and considering I’m her soul sister, can you be surprised? :D
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Aye true soul sisters are all about laying down boundaries…:-) , but that song is all wind, unlike the other salil composition “Madhbhari ye hawaiyen” where only the flute plays the part so I pushed the boundary wall a bit. Incidentally in your list the song by N Dutta (Dhool ka phool) the mukhda is very similar to “Panchi banoon udke ” ,so is the supporitng orchestration and you can hear the Dattaram theka in the rhythm. Wonder if the two Goans collaborated on that one?
And your Uncle’s guitar in Thandi Hawaiyen…I really like the way, the unobtrusive little percussive arpeggios from the mandolin combine with the longer notes on the guitar. Such delicate phrasing
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That’s an interesting observation about Jhukti ghata gaati hawa and Panchhi banoon udti phiroon – I had noticed the similarity between the two as well, and was wondering if my ears were playing tricks on me.
And yes, I am partial to the guitar in Thandi hawaayein. :-) That song is very close to my heart.
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Another song with my favourite actress. Madan Mohan composed a lovely tune here. Mostly Malkauns based some odd notes dunno if its the recording. This is the clip from the film.
Bad soundtrack but I can see Meena K.
The soundtrack is cleaned up a bit here but still has a few squeaks and biased too much towards the bass end.
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I don’t remember ever having heard Kehti hai yeh thandi hawa before. Lovely song.
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And someone just nudged me about another song that I hadn’t included. A cousin of mine had also reminded me of this a couple of days back, and I’d had to tell him that I somehow don’t like Saawan ka mahina pawan kare sor much, Not enough to put it on my list. But no harm mentioning it in the comments!
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A well known song from Ganga ki lahren -1963
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Thank you for this! I’d completely forgotten about Machalti hui hawa mein. Lovely song, really good.
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Hawa uda kar layi…..I came across this interesting song from Taqdeer -1958 after a long time.
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This suraia’s song reminds me of having seen Suraiya face to face in September-1986 near her “krisna mahal” apts marine drive…
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I envy you!
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Oh, yes. I’ve heard Hawa udaakar laayi before, though it had slipped my mind. Very nice.
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this…the most ethereal ‘hawa’ song..
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Yes, Seeli hawa chhoo gayi is a lovely song. So gentle and flowing and beautiful.
This reminds me – because of the presence of Shabana Azmi – of another song that I love a lot. The reference to the wind (the pawan, in this case) doesn’t come right in the beginning, but it is there. Pal bhar mein yeh kya ho gaya:
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yes i thought of this too..but as you say, pavan too late in the refrain :-)
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Yes, far too late. But such a beautiful song. :-)
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And another RD classic..
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Yes. :-) Someone else posted Ae ri pawan too. Lovely song.
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and frivolously
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Dillagi ne di hawa was a fairly popular song, wasn’t it, back then? And yet, until I actually began listening to it, I couldn’t remember it at all.
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and a peppy one this..
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Oh, yes. I like Chalein jaise hawaayein sanan-sanan! Main Hoon Na had some pretty good songs.
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it did didnt it ! i often wonder about anu malik ! (kal ho na ho is also him !!)
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I know! I was really surprised when I discovered Anu Malik was the composer for Main Hoon Na.
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“Kal ho na ho” (if you are referring to the film) has music by Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy. What an amazing soundtrack that was.
But speaking of Anu Malik, he does show some interesting bursts of creativity like in “Duplicate” and “Border” and of course “Mai hooN na”. But for the most part, I personally find that his music does not stand out in my mind.
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oops yes that was SEL for kal ho na ho..i meant Asoka !!
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Yes, for me too Anu Malik’s music does not really stand out – in fact, I don’t even like the songs of Border, though Duplicate, I agree, had good music. He has the one-odd song that I really like (like Banda yeh bindaas hai), but other than that, I don’t find his work too memorable.
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melodious ..
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Mmm, yes. :-) Very melodious indeed. I’ve seen Daag and I’ve heard Hawa chale kaise often enough, but it didn’t come to my mind.
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i was looking for ‘chale hawa purvai, usha jagmag jagmag aayi’ form 1964 movie Hamara Ghar, lyrics Ali Sardar Jafri ..but could not find it on the internet … a lovely song , with both hawa and purvai in the first line :-)
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and i found this instead !!
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I love Mere desh mein pawan chale purvaai! Jeetendra isn’t a favourite of mine, but the sheer joie de vivre of this song takes some beating. It’s really quite infectious, I think. :-) Thank you for posting this one (and I wish I’d remembered it).
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yes it is jouyous isnt it? more for mohd. rafi than the picturisation is suspect though.
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I don’t think I’ve ever heard that Hamara Ghar song. Doesn’t ring any bells. :-(
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its a lovely song…do hear if you ever get hold of it..sung by children (or picturised on them) …the movie i remember seeing on one of those freak doordarshan telecasts…dont remember much..but do seem to remember faintly that later when i read Lord of the Flies, Hamara Ghar seemed to pop into my mind. Searching on the net, i discovered it was made by Khawaja Ahmed Abbas and as i said lyrics were by Ali Sardar Jafri..that istself makes me want to revisit it.
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Will certainly look out for it. Thanks for the recommendation!
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You totally have me stumped on this song. I don’t have any songs from this film in my collection. And now I am very curious to hear this one. The only “Hamara ghar” that I knew of is from the 50s with music by Chitragupta. Shall look out for it. Thanks for the pointer.
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please do….and share if you do find…thanks
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and will this be counted as having ‘pavan’ in the first line?
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Yes, of course. San-sanan jaa-jaa ri jaa ri pawan certainly is a wind song. The ‘pawan‘ comes pretty early in the song. And, if one uses SSW’s logic, the word is in the sound of the wind blowing! :-D
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This simple yet melodious song is from Milan-1958, based on our reference of hava.
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Another interesting one from Sonal-1973, hava wordings in 2nd antral.
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Interesting fact about this song is that the composer for this film is Manna Dey. Not quite a pavan song as per DO’s definition. Musically, I am not a huge fan of the song.
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I liked the singing in particular.
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Nice song. I’d never heard Yeh mehka mausam before. Thanks.
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“our reference of hava.”
Being? :-)
I would certainly not list this as a hawa song, even though it is a really cute, playful song (and both Ajit and Nalini Jaywant are favourites of mine). But mausam songs are pretty much in a separate category by themselves and shouldn’t be mixed up with hawa songs.
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Thanks for overall integrity. Certainly it is a playful song. There are wordings “aanchal ki hava do” , so I thought of including it.
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Wow, what a long-winded post! :-) Sorry, couldn’t resist. I loved your intro and all the songs on your list except for “O basanti which is too melodramatic for my taste.:-)
Here’s a lovely number from Do Boond Pani that I don’t think anyone has mentioned.
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YES!!! Superb song with the great combo of Asha and Jaidev. Bad DO for having forgotten this song (or maybe you have not seen the film).
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I like this one from do boond pani.
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Heh. :-) Yes, it has literally been (especially if you include all the comments!) a really long-winded post. I don’t think I have ever heard Jaa ri pawaniya piya ke des before. Beautiful song, so gentle and melodious.
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arre ! how did we miss this one !
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Oh, yes. How could no-one have remembered Udke pawan ke sang chaloongi?! (Though I must admit I tend to forget this song from Shagird; the others are far more memorable).
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and this one..
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I like Behti hawa sa tha woh. Nice! And here’s another song from the noughties that features the wind. Kyon chalti hai pawan from Kaho Na Pyaar Hai:
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Diya na bujhe ri from Son of India is an old favourite.
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I’d completely forgotten about Diya na bujhe ri aaj hamaara, even though I’ve seen Son of India and like its songs. Thank you for that, Karthik!
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“Sakala Bana Gagana” from Mamta has reference to purvaayee Madhu! Pre 70s
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I’d forgotten all about this song, Karthik.
…but the pawan purvaayee reference comes so late in the song, it wouldn’t qualify.
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I really enjoyed this post, specially because I discovered quite a few songs here I had not heard before. Thandi Thandi Hawa pooche unka pata is one of them and is lovely. I saw the reference to Hamara Ghar, I have seen the movie but back when it was released. The theme was about people living in these huge roadside pipes in Bombay. I don’t remember the siory. I only remembered one song from it, Saare Jahan se accha.. Would love to hear the song mentioned “chale hawa purvai”. Will be on the lookout.
Thandi hawaayen has been a favourite song, well most SDB songs for that matter.
I really like your choice of songs.
Here is one of my favourites from Geeta Dutt:
Haule haule hawa dole, kaliyon ke ghoonghat khole, aaja mere man ke raja, pihu pihu papihaa bole
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What a lovely song this is! Thank you. :-)
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