This article is written by Sudhir, a fellow enthusiast of Hindi movie music and a 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.
As I am musing to start this write up, the two special things that come to mind are auspiciousness and unity.
Samajhne waale samajh gaye hain
Naa samjhe. . .
:) :)
But it is not so that only these two thoughts are flowing in the mind. Another thought that enters the mind is flee, escape, take flight etc. etc. Haan, wo bhi hota hai.
I hope you are still with me. :) :)
Yes, you are right. I am trying to start the writing of the post for the very very special occasion of today. We have touched the next Massive milestone after THE MASSIVE milestone that we hit in July of 2014. It has taken us eight months and eleven days to reach here. . . . .Ooooops, I said it, when I was not even intending to say it. But then the calendar is a calendar and if it has taken eight months and ELEVEN days to reach here, then that is what it is – it HAS taken ELEVEN days + eight months to get to today’s milestone.
I hope you are still with me. :) :)
Haan bhai haan, today’s post is all about ELEVEN. And for those who are still trying to figure out what I am talking about, well, the blog has arrived at the ELEVEN THOUSANDTH milestone with this post. By all accounts, a very major event. And a round of very jovial congratulations to all.
For those of us who were involved with the 10K celebration that hit the online connections on 20th July last year (2014), that event is a memory that can possibly not be surpassed. The intensity of the buildup, the exhilaration of execution, and the satisfaction and delight of the follow up, which included various get together sessions of the team members – it is all there. Partially in the emails that flowed across continents that day, partially in the write ups that helped chronicle the MEGA event, and most of all, in the minds and memories of the team members involved.
After having crossed that MEGA milestone, I dare say that the fun and anticipation of arriving at the century landmarks, was probably not that big an event any more. Some folks even commented that the next great-big-dot-point on this up and up curve is going to be a kilo-jump. (Note:’kilo’ is the prefix for ‘thousand’ in the metric measurement system.)
So here we are, celebrating the ELEVEN THOUSANDTH song to be posted on this blog. The movement up and ahead is exhilarating as we are continuing to research, unearth, ferret out and bring to this blog on a daily basis, songs that are familiar, that are unfamiliar, that are rare, that are endearing, and above all they add to this remarkable treasure of Hindi film music, that is most definitely, just one of its kind anywhere in this world, and on the internet.
And so, coming to the thoughts that I had touched upon at the start of this write up.
‘Gyaarah’ is a number very prevalent in the Indian context and has quite a few flavors and uses and idioms associated with it. The first thought that comes to mind is the auspiciousness. The tradition in our culture is that anything that is good, we will do more of it, and anything that is not good, we will try to reduce it. I am sure many of us will be familiar with this tradition. I can speak from the north India and the Punjabi context. As we say – “kuchh khushi ka kaam hai, to badhaa ke; kuchh gham ka kaam hai to ghataa ke” (if there is a good and happy occasion, let it be extended and let there be more of it, if there is an unhappy occasion, shorten it and be done with it.)
That is where ‘Gyaarah’ assumes its significance. When we are preparing to gift something – money or other gift items, generally we round it off to the figure we are comfortable with. And then we add something to it. We would like to give ‘ten’, so we increase it to ‘eleven’; we would like to give five hundred, so we increase it to ‘five hundred and one’ or ‘five hundred eleven’. And thus, eleven, which is one more than ten, becomes a number that represents happiness and auspiciousness. Today’s milestone is happier and more auspicious as compared to the 10K milestone from July last year.
Maybe that is the thought behind having eleven players in a cricket team. The enthusiasts can comment on it. :)
Coming to the second thought that is triggered by ELEVEN. This thought tells of strength that comes from unity. And this strength is so well manifest on our blog. Working together, this team has accomplished something that is completely unique and incomparable. It all comes from working together. We have an age old idiom that says – ‘ek aur ek gyaarah’ – when two individuals come together, they are not only a pair, but together they can wield the strength of eleven. The number itself consists of two ‘ones’ and that is possibly the origin of this idiom.
The best song representing this sentiment, that I can recall is the one from the film 1957 ‘Naya Daur’ – “Saathi Haath Badhaana Saathi Re”. One of the antaraa has the following words
ek se ek mile to katraa ban jaataa hai dariyaa
ek se ek mile to zarraa ban jaataa hai sehraa
ek se ek mile to raayi ban sakti hai parbat
ek se ek mile to insaan bas mein kar le kismet
When two drops of water meet, they make a swirling river
When two motes of dust meet, they grow a sprawling desert
When two seeds of mustard meet, they raise a mighty mountain
When two humans meet, they can can command the destiny
This one is such a emphatic representation of the idiom ‘one and one makes eleven’.
On the lighter side, I also recall another song from the 1972 film ‘Savera’ which goes something like this. Alternate lines are by the lady and the gentleman, with the lady going first.
Ek Do
Oon Hoon
Teen Chaar
Oon Hoon
To Gyaarah. . . O, Baaba. . .
Ho Gyaarah Honge Saare
Tere Mere Jeewan Ke Nanhein Nanhein Taare. . .
Now this gives a totally new dimension to ‘one and one makes eleven’. :D :D
And coming in 1972, I am sure the bureaucrats and the politicians pushing the family planning programs in those years would have fainted on listening to this one.
And now, coming to the third thought that comes when ‘Gyaarah’ is encountered. Once again, another age old idiom – ‘Nau Do Gyaarah’ (literally nine and two make eleven). Something to do with disappearing, running away, fleeing etc. etc. Another link that comes to mind is walking or running. I don’t know about other parts of the subcontinent, but in the north, the act of ‘walking’ is also called as ‘traveling in bus no. 11’, where the ‘11’ represents the two legs. So if you do not have any transport available, this ‘bus no. 11’ is always available, and can be utilized free of any charge or fare. So may be, this idiom that puts together three numbers and says ‘Nau Do Gyaraah’ probably points towards making use of one’s legs and to move away. The idiom has appeared as the title of two films ‘Nau Do Gyaarah’ in 1957 and later ‘Taxi No. 9-2-11’ in 2006. This phrase is part of the dialogue in many a hilarious situations, or even some threatening ones. Quite so.
I am sure by this time you must be wondering when I will ‘9-2-11’ from writing more and letting in some discussion about this special song.
Ah yes, the song. The song that Atul ji and I have been saving from many centuries – I mean the blog centuries. ;)
Of course the film is ‘Gyaarah Hazaar Ladkiaan’ from 1962, and yes of course, this is the title song of this film. Once in a life time opportunity maybe. Where else is it possible to find a song that has a theme that is so very well fitting into the milestone song. I have tried and tried but have not been able to come up with another song that will fit so well into another century milestone of this blog. And then some. Eleven – auspicious, strong and united, and yes, lots of fun too.
I had latched on to this song more than a year ago, and had discussed with Atul ji. We were waiting for this ELEVEN THOUSANDTH station to come. Just yesterday, as we were exchanging emails, Atul ji mentioned that this particular trip of the latest 100 songs, that is from 10,901 to 11,000 is the slowest to date – snail paced passage. We have never spent as many as 38 days in between two century milestones. ‘Extenuating Circumstances’ – as Anthony Gonsalves (‘Amar, Akbar, Anthony’) would have commented. But well, all that is now behind us, and we are on to the next wave of one hundred songs.
The lyrics of this song are from the pen of Kaifi Azmi. Music is by N Datta. And the singing voice is that of Mahendra Kapoor. With due deferment to Bharat ji – I hope you will read the post, even if you do not listen to the song. :) :)
The song appears as the title song of the film. The film starts in a court room. Mala Sinha has been brought in as an accused in a murder trial. She does not have a lawyer. Bharat Bhushan makes a dramatic entry, announcing that he is representing the accused. The judge asks him whether he is prepared, how will he present his case, and whether he will be bringing in any witnesses. To the last query, Bharat Bhushan replies that yes, he will be brining in witnesses, lots of witnesses. In fact “. . .Gyaarah Hazaar. . . Ladkiaan”. At this point the credits of the films start to roll and this song starts to play in background.
I have not seen the full movie, and so I am not aware of the connection of the number ‘Gyaarah Hazaar’, the story line and the working women of the city of Bombay. That is what this song tells about, extolling the contributions of the ladies to the professional work forces.
Three songs of this film have already been showcased here. As I browsed through, I see two notables. Firstly, the statement that Atul ji made in the very first post of a song from this film “Dil Ki Tamanna Thi Masti Mein”, published way back on 26th December, 2009. He said, and I quote – “Believe it or not, there was a movie called “Gyaarah hazaar ladkiyaan” (eleven thousand girls).” :D :D
Secondly, all the three posts are short and do not present any details about the film.
But yes, there is information and discussion in the comments area, by our very own in house encyclopedia, our dear Arun ji. So in the second song posted, “Gham Gaya To Gham Na Kar”, which had lyrics and translations by yours truly, Arun ji had initiated the discussion on this film, with the following synopsis.
GYARA HAZAR LADKIYAN is a misleading title, suggesting that it is about Arabian Night stories or some fantasy film. Far from it, the film was produced by Film Friends, a group of socialistic, left leaning writers and poets, affiliated to IPTA (Indian People Theatre Association), as an attempt to draw attention of the world to the exploitation and tribulations of working women. The film was co-written and produced by Ali Sardar Jafri and KA Abbas, and was directed by Abbas himself.
Puran (Bharat Bhushan), son of a millionaire, rebels against his capitalist father, leaves home and joins a progressive journal. He writes a series on working girls. In this connection, he meets Asha (Mala Sinha) who is working as a clerk in the rationing office. They meet few times and dutifully fall in love.
Meanwhile, his father pressurises the editor to sack Puran and forces him to return home. Puran refuses and starts his own journal. The Govt. closes Rationing Offices after the war, and Asha loses the job. Her younger sister Uma (Helen) does a job of Dancer in a night club. The owner of the night club tries to take undue advantage of Uma and in the melee, Uma kills him and runs away, to home. To save her sister, Asha takes the blame and is promptly arrested by the police. Puran, with the help of his reporter friends, finds out the truth and defends Asha in the court. Puran gives very long speeches in the court, throwing light on the exploitation of working women of the world in general, and Bombay in particular and the nightclubs specifically. Asha is set free ” ba izzat ” and the lovers unite under the Red Flag.
The audience who came there looking for entertainment, got a dose of socialism thru lengthy speeches, obviously to their disapproval and the film flopped. The makers of the film, I am sure, must have felt a sense of achievement that they did their duty of teaching the society something important !
To this synopsis, I had put a query to Arun ji, asking him about the significance of the title of the film. Arun ji responded with the following.
If I remember right, in my childhood, the phrase ‘Gyara Hazar xxxxx’ was being used to express plurality of anything, e.g. gyara hazar bachhe aisa karte hain, Gyara hazar kutte bhonk rahe the etc. May be, like that this phrase was used to express plurality of working girls – may be. I lived in a Muslim-Urdu dominated state of Hyderabad where this was commonly used in conversations. Since the producers, director and the story writers were urdu speaking, it is very much possible that the title was used in that context.
This is my take on your query.
So we have an explanation. Of course, if there are any additional thoughts and information about this film and its title, the readers are welcome to add more.
I am sure by now you ready to say “ye article kuchh gyaarah hazaar . . . . . ho gaya hai” and must be wondering that I promised to be ‘9-2-11’ about five paragraphs ago, and I am still hanging on. OK, I take the silent hints your are passing my way, and close this write up.
Congratulations to Atul ji, and the entire team. Today’s milestone is a big one, and we are here, because we are together as a team. Many more frontiers still to cross. Let us be ‘ek aur ek gyaarah’ and continue this journey.
PS: Maybe it was actually ‘9-2-10.5’ in the previous paragraph. I just recalled a recent comment from Mahesh ji, which I must include here. On January 14th, when we had scaled the 10,700 mark, Mahesh had pointed out towards two very important and interesting milestones coming up. The first one he mentioned is 11,000th, which is today. But it is the second one that is more interesting. He says that he is also waiting for the 11,111th song – that should be made very special for the unique number. So we are now 110 songs away from that ‘interesting’ milestone pointed out by Mahesh ji. I am sure it will be another very special milestone, and a very special song.
Now, truly, I will ‘9-2-11’.
;) :)
Video (3rd Stanza Short Ending, Complete Chorus)
Audio (3 Stanzas Complete, Partial Chorus)
Song – Kaam Ki Dhun Mein Hain Rawaan (Gyaarah Hazaar Ladkiaan) (1962) Singer – Mahendra Kapoor, Lyrics – Kaifi Azmi, MD – N Datta
Female Chorus
Male Chorus
Male + Female Chorus
Lyrics
kaam ki dhun mein hain rawaan
mast magan haseen jawaan
gyaarah hazaar ladkiyaan
gyaarah hazaar ladkiyaan
gyaarah hazaar ladkiyaan
gyaarah hazaar ladkiyaan
gyaarah hazaar ladkiyaan
gyaarah hazaar ladkiyaan
aati hain daftaron mein ye
fasl e bahaar ki taraah
padhti hain khushk faailen
naama e yaar ki tarah
aati hain daftaron mein ye
fasl e bahaar ki taraah
padhti hain khushk faailen
naama e yaar ki tarah
naach rahi hain ungliyaan
bol rahi hain choodiyaan
gyaarah hazaar ladkiyaan
gyaarah hazaar ladkiyaan
gyaarah hazaar ladkiyaan
gyaarah hazaar ladkiyaan
gyaarah hazaar ladkiyaan
gyaarah hazaar ladkiyaan
ye jo kareeb aa gayin
door dilon ka gham gaya
pyaar se haath rakh diya
dard ka zor tham gayaa
ye jo kareeb aa gayin
door dilon ka gham gaya
pyaar se haath rakh diya
dard ka zor tham gayaa
mehr o wafaa ki deviyaan
sharm o hayaa ki putliyaan
gyaarah hazaar ladkiyaan
gyaarah hazaar ladkiyaan
gyaarah hazaar ladkiyaan
gyaarah hazaar ladkiyaan
gyaarah hazaar ladkiyaan
gyaarah hazaar ladkiyaan
apne chaman ka rang o boo
qaum ki apne aabroo
desh ke dil ki aarzoo
saare jahaan mein surkh-roo
apne chaman ka rang o boo
qaum ki apne aabroo
desh ke dil ki aarzoo
saare jahaan mein surkh-roo
apne gharon ki raaniyan
apne watan ki paasbaan
gyaarah hazaar ladkiyaan
gyaarah hazaar ladkiyaan
gyaarah hazaar ladkiyaan
gyaarah hazaar ladkiyaan
gyaarah hazaar ladkiyaan
gyaarah hazaar ladkiyaan
——————————————
Hindi script lyrics (Provided by Sudhir)
——————————————
काम की धुन में हैं रवां
मस्त मगन हसीं जवां
ग्यारह हज़ार लड़कियां
ग्यारह हज़ार लड़कियां
ग्यारह हज़ार लड़कियां
ग्यारह हज़ार लड़कियां
ग्यारह हज़ार लड़कियां
ग्यारह हज़ार लड़कियां
आती हैं दफ्तरों में
फस्ले बहार की तरह
पढ़ती हैं खुश्क फाइलें
नाम ए यार की तरह
आती हैं दफ्तरों में
फस्ले बहार की तरह
पढ़ती हैं खुश्क फाइलें
नाम ए यार की तरह
नाच रही हैं उँगलियाँ
बोल रही हैं चूड़ियाँ
ग्यारह हज़ार लड़कियां
ग्यारह हज़ार लड़कियां
ग्यारह हज़ार लड़कियां
ग्यारह हज़ार लड़कियां
ग्यारह हज़ार लड़कियां
ग्यारह हज़ार लड़कियां
ये जो करीब आ गईं
दूर दिलों का ग़म गया
प्यार से हाथ रख दिया
दर्द का ज़ोर थम गया
ये जो करीब आ गईं
दूर दिलों का ग़म गया
प्यार से हाथ रख दिया
दर्द का ज़ोर थम गया
मेहर ओ वफा की देवियाँ
शर्म ओ हया की पुतलियाँ
ग्यारह हज़ार लड़कियां
ग्यारह हज़ार लड़कियां
ग्यारह हज़ार लड़कियां
ग्यारह हज़ार लड़कियां
ग्यारह हज़ार लड़कियां
ग्यारह हज़ार लड़कियां
अपने चमन का रंग ओ बू
क़ौम की अपने आबरू
देश के दिल की आरज़ू
सारे जहां में सुर्ख-रू
अपने चमन का रंग ओ बू
क़ौम की अपने आबरू
देश के दिल की आरज़ू
सारे जहां में सुर्ख-रू
अपने घरों की रानियाँ
अपने वतन की पासबाँ
ग्यारह हज़ार लड़कियां
ग्यारह हज़ार लड़कियां
ग्यारह हज़ार लड़कियां
ग्यारह हज़ार लड़कियां
ग्यारह हज़ार लड़कियां
ग्यारह हज़ार लड़कियां
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