My ten favourite insomnia songs
Spending the night in bed tossing around has happened to each and everybody of us. One would like to sleep, but the stream of thoughts just don’t end. The body is tired, but the mind wide awake. You tell yourself, that you have so many things to do the next day and the most appropriate thing to do now would be to sleep. You get irritated over it, which make matters only worse. And then in the wee hours of the morning, when you are supposed to be soon getting up, you fall asleep in sweet, sweet slumber! A dear friend of mine, Raja, was in this situation a few days back. This unfortunate incident made me come up with this list.
But the songs below don’t sing about the situation described above, but are rather moans of separated lovers or are freshly-fallen-in-love pairs. For this list, I have chosen songs with neend(iyaa) na aaye in the mukhdaa (refrain). I hope you like them as much as I do.
Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: Aji Bas Shukriya [1958], Amar Prem [1974], Amirbai Karnataki, Amrita Singh, Anand Bakshi, Anil Biswas, Anita Guha, bairan neend na aaye mohe, bairan nindiya kyun nahin aayi, beimaan tore nainawaa neendiya na aaye, Chachaa Zindabad [1959], D. N. Madhok, Dhun [1953], Dilip Kumar, Faroque Kaiser, geeta bali, Hansraj Bahl, Hemant Kumar, insomnia, jaane kyaa baat hai, Kaifi Irani, Kalyanji-Anandji, Lata Mangeshkar, Madan Mohan, Madhubala, Meena Kumari, Miss Mary [1957], Munimji [1955], my ten favourite insomnia songs, Nalini Jaywant, Nargis, neend na aaye, neendiya na aaye, o neend na mujhko aaye, Post Box 999 [1958], Pujaari [1946], R. D. Burman, raina beeti jaaye, Rajesh Khanna, Rajinder Krishan, Roshan, S. D. Burman, saajan bin neend na aave, saari saari raat teri yaad sataye, Sahir Ludhianvi, Shakila, Sharmila Tagore, so gaya saara zamana, Sunil Dutt, Sunny Deol, Sunny [1984], Tarana [1951], tum bin piya nindiya na aaye, Wali Sahab
My ten favourite songs on clouds and separation
Mid-June, the rains used to arrive in Bombay when I was a kid. The black clouds would hold the promise of change. This would mean relief from the heat and dust of the preceding summer months and a burst of new life. The dreary plain near our house would promise to turn into a pond with lots of small streams arising and emptying in it. These small streams would then become alive with small and big crabs and tadpoles! Coinciding with the arrival of the black clouds, the new school year would also arrive. This would mean new textbooks! The dark messenger would also bring the hope, that I would share the class room with my friends from last year, but at the same time also the anxiety if I would again have to spend this new school year with class bully.
These dark water-bearers of sky, who brought so many emotions in my being were and are also the bearers of hope over the centuries in India for separated lovers. The earliest mention is found in Meghduta (the cloud messenger) by Kalidasa (most probably 4th century CE). It tells the story, how a yakṣha (a supernatural being), after being exiled, asks a passing cloud to take a message to his wife. In Hindi cinema though, we find mostly women singing to the clouds. They call upon them to be their messengers, to take a message to their far-off beloveds, asking them to return back.
Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: Ameeta, Anil Biswas, Asha Bhosle, Azaad [1955], Bahana [1960], Bharat Vyas, C Ramchandra, Chashm-e-Baddoor [1981], Chhote Nawab [1961], clouds, D. N. Madhok, Dar Laage Garaje Badariyaa, Deepti Naval, Dharti Kahe Pukar Ke [1969], Dilip Kumar, Gaban [1966], Ghar Aaja Ghir Aaye Badaraa Sanvariyaa, Gulzar, Haimanti Shukla, Indu Jain, Ja Re Kare Badra, Jaa Re Badara Bairi Jaa Re, Jaa Ri Jaa Ri O Kaari Badariya, Jab Kaari Badariyaa Chhaayegi, Jeetendra, Kahan Se Aaye Badaraa, Kalidasa, Karan Deewan, Lajawab [1950], Lata Mangeshkar, Laxmikant-Pyarelal, Madan Mohan, Majrooh Sultanpuri, Meena Kapoor, Meena Kumari, Meghduta, Mehmood, Mohammed Rafi, monsoon, My ten favourite songs on clouds and separation, Namkeen [1982], Nanda, Naushad, Of Clouds and Separation, Phir Se Aiyo Badaraa Bidesi, Prem Dhawan, R. D. Burman, rain, Rajinder Krishan, Rajkamal, Ram Rajya [1967], Rattan [1944], Sadhana, Sawan Ke Badalon Unse Yeh Jaa Kaho, Shabana Azmi, Shailendra, Shankar-Jaikishan, Sheila Vaz, Sunil Dutt, Swarnlata, the cloud messenger, Tum Bin Sajan Barase Nayan, Vasant Desai, yakṣha, Yesudas, Zohra Bai
Spending the night in bed tossing around has happened to each and everybody of us. One would like to sleep, but the stream of thoughts just don’t end. The body is tired, but the mind wide awake. You tell yourself, that you have so many things to do the next day and the most appropriate thing to do now would be to sleep. You get irritated over it, which make matters only worse. And then in the wee hours of the morning, when you are supposed to be soon getting up, you fall asleep in sweet, sweet slumber! A dear friend of mine, Raja, was in this situation a few days back. This unfortunate incident made me come up with this list.
Harveypam's Blog 