I am personally quite vague about those 40s period- Anil da's most prolific decade. Vague with reference to the movies he composed for- the songs are unforgettable. In the decade where untrained voices- actors and actresses- were made to sing, Anil da brought out any melody that might be present there.

Some Unforgettable Melodies of the 1940s

Take the classic case of Ashok Kumar- listen to his early compositions in "Achut Kanya", "jhoola" etc. and then listen to the lullaby of "Kismet". We can see the amount of rehearsals that must have gone into the song. Anil da is much amused when asked of this - "No...Ashok was no singer. And I think that this was the only song he sang fully in tune". And "Kismet " became the craze of the decade- the songs are now part of folklore. What an entire range of emotions Anilda covered here. It might be an abject lesson to budding composeres. The fiery "Aaj himalay ki choti se fir humne lalkara hai" , the above lullaby "Dheere dheere aa re badal, mera bulbul so raha hai", the bhajan "Ab tere siva kaun mera krishn kanhaiya" (the finest bhajan ever), the pathos filled "Ghar ghar me diwali hai mere ghar me andhera"- and of course, that most precious melody of all "Papiha re, mere piya se kahiyo ja". The last mentioned is my personal favorite - a haunting number beautifully rendered by his sister Paru Ghosh, a most talented singer. Another gorgeous Parul melody that moved me no end was "Jisne bajadi bansuri geet usi ke gaye ja". This song I heard during a superb series called "Rashikeshu" on AIR Vividh Bharati some couple of years back. This was a 30 part series of 15 mins each where a young composer (cant recall his name) chats with Anilda on his musical styles. Was very engaging- and during the course of this program, I heard many hitherto unheard melodies. "Suhani milan beet jaye" is another very beautiful melody.

Anil da on Mukesh

In 1946, Motilal introduced him to his cousin, Mukeshchand Mathur, saying that he was a great Saigal fan and would like to sing in films. Anil da recounts "I heard him out and was not greatly impressed with his voice but Motilal was a close friend and so I complied and made a song for him much in the Saigal mould. On the recording day, there was no sign of Mukesh. Furious, I got into my car and went to look for him in his favourite haunts- finally finding him in one of them a few pegs high. Dragging him into the car, I took him to the studio loo first . Opened the tap water and kept his head under that for a minute or so. Sobered a little, he very quietly told me that he had forgotten all about the recording. I gave him a resounding slap and told him that that was not to forget such a thing in the future. I think whatever pain Mukesh felt then he poured out into the song. And it was then that I realized the enormous gift that this man had- his magnificent timbre which is unsurpassed. He became an instant hit- but I wanted him to be Mukesh-I rather than Saigal-II. And slowly drew him out of the Saigal shadow. He was never out of it fully- but he certainly carved a niche for himself." And what a whole host of unforgettable melodies this cobo gave us - this song which Mukesh first sang was of course the evergreen "Dil jalta hai to jalne de" , then that lovely duet with Lata in Anokha pyar "Ab yaad na kar", "Dum bhar ka tha daur khushi ka", "Jeevan sapna toot gaya" , a masterpiece of a pianomelody in "Aaram" "Ae jaane jigar dil me samane aaja" and just to finish, two of the greatest duets ever heard in our films -a lajawab duet from "Lajawab" "Zamane ka dastoor hai yeh purana" and that, oh undescribably beautiful "Zindagi ka ajab fasana hai" from his last film "Choti choti baatein".

Anil da and Talat Mahmood

I have expanded on the discovery of The Voice on my page on Talat saab. So all that remains here is a look at the unforgettable melodies that these two gave us. Their first effort was an instant success "Ae dil mujhe aisi jagah le chal" from "Arzoo", "Shukriya ae pyar tera" in Aaram, another one-of-the-greatest-duets "Seene me sulagte hain arman" and that pathos filled "Ek main hoon ek meri bebasi ki raat hai"- both brilliantly delievred by Talat saab, another blue gem "Mohobbat turk ki maine" from "Do Raha", and in "Waris", the ever popular foot tapper "Rahi matwale" and the philosophical "Kabhi hai gham kabhi khushiyan". In 1957, the two recorded a few ghazals and geets together - a couple of which have been released recently by HMV. One is the fairly popular "Phir pyar kiya phir roya" (loosely based on the Lata melody in "Baiju Bawra" "Mohe bhool gaye sanwaria"). But it is the other less-heard numebr that caugth my imagination. Its a terrifically composed number superbly sung by Talat "Sitaron tum gawah rehna, main unko kya kabhi bhoola".

The Anil da- Lata Gems

In recent years there has been much hype over the Lata-Madan Mohan combo. I find it rather.how to put it, rather disappointing. It is my firm opinion Lata's best came with C.Ramchandra followed by her songs with Anil da. Anil da was responsible for recognizing that spark in her voice and for teaching her the techniques of breath control and mike positioning during singing. The two gave us an awesome range of songs in a period of just above half a decade. Melodies that rage with each other for supremacy. Their first song I heard is that sweet piano number from "Ladli" "Tumhare bulane ko ji chahta hai". There has been no better user of the piano (with due respect to Naushad saab) tha Anil da- and this song stresses this fact. Then followed a whole set of precious melodies - "Jana na dil se door", "Yaad rakhna chand taron", "Ek dil ka lagana baki tha", "Woh din kahan gaye bata", "Beimaan tore nainwa", "Wapas lele yeh jawani", "Bol papihe bol re", "Kahan tak hum uthaye gham", "Tumhi kaho mera man kyon rahe udas", "Badli teri nazar to nazare badal gaye", "Rooth ek tum to chal diye", "Allah bhi hai", "O mere ranjha", "Ja main tose nahi bolun", "Intezar aur abhi" and two of my greatest Lata favourites - "Katati hai ab to zindagi marne ke intezar me" and "So gayi hai chandni". These are a few of the 200+ solos that they did together. And also apart from the many super duets they gave us.

What more is there to say of Anil da? He lives in his songs - which we shall ever cherish and love. He is a much-respected musician, respected by all renowned exponents of the Classical Music genre and the ligh music like. He was a pioneer in the field of our film music - a musical phenomenon, the likes of which we will never see again.

Kuch aur zamana kehta hai, kuch aur hai zid mere dil ki ; Main baat zamane ki manu ya baat sunoon apne dil ki....

My 10 All-Time Favorite Anil da Songs

1. Aa mohobbat ki basti basayenge hum(Kishore & Lata)	2. So gayi hai chandni(Lata)
3. Man me kisiki preet basale(Lata)	4. Zamane ka dastoorhaiyeh purana(Mukesh & Lata)
5. Seene me sulagte hain arman(Talat & Lata)	6. Katati hai ab to zindagi(Lata)
7. Sitaron tum gawah rehna main unko(Talat)	8. Papiha re mere piya(Parul Ghosh)
9. Tum meet mere tum pran mere(Suraiya)	10. Pee bin soonaji(Manna Dey & Lata)

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