Lesser And Unknown Singers, 1930s-1950s Options

[Faraaj73]

Before Lata, Shamshad or Geeta, and far before Rafi, Mukesh or Talat, the field for singers was wide open. The absence of playback singing certainly played a role which is why poor Ashok Kumar was forced into becoming a ‘singing’ star, and blind Krishna Chandra Dey starred in a few films as a not very dashing leading man.

Some names from the 30’s-40’s are still well remembered – Saigal being at the top of the list, and justifiably so. Other known names include Khurshid Begum, Amirbai Karnatki, Noor Jehan and Kanan Devi.

However, the sheer number of decent singers who sang anywhere between one to a dozen good songs is quite extensive. I’d like to post about three dozen songs by unknown or lesser known singers like Ratanbai, Shanta Aapte, KC Dey (Manna Dey’s guru, inspiration and maternal uncle), Naseem Bano (aka Dilip Kumar’s mother-in-law and a stunning beauty of her age), Vishnupant Pagnis, Sitara Devi, Ishwar Lal, Surendra Nath, Jyoti, Ila Ghosh, Sharda, Vimla, Ramanand Sharma, Snehaprabha Pradhan, Ramdulari, Heera Kumari, Akhtaribai Faizabadi (later reborn as Begum Akhtar), Sitara Devi, Radharani, Parul Ghosh (Anil Biswas’s sister and Pannalal Ghosh’s wife), Hafiz Khan Mastana, Nirmala Devi, Kalyani Gulshan, Manju (wife of Karan Dewan), Zeenat Begum, Sitara Kaunpuri, Zebu, Brijmala, Naseem Akhtar, Binapani Mukherjee, Meena Kumari (yes, the actress), Paro, MS Subbulakshmi (a great singer of South India), Bulo C Rani (better known as a MD), Sushil Sani, Arun Kumar (often the playback voice of Ashok Kumar), Vinoda Chakravarty…

This selection while rare and sung by lesser-known singers, is chosen (according to my personal taste) for the quality of the songs rather than novelty value. HF Members are welcome to point out any additional information or add songs to the post.

A fair few of the songs were obtained through the generous uploads of senior HF Members.

Song: Mein Tere Poojan Ko Bhagwan
Singer: Ratan Bai
Film: Bharat Ki Beti (1935)
Music: Anil Biswas
Format : mp3, 128 kbps ; Duration : 3.16


Song: Suno Suno Ban Ke Praani
Singer: Shanta Aapte
Film: Amar (1936)
Music: Master Krishnarao
Format : mp3, 128 kbps ; Duration : 3.02


Song: Gokul Se Gaye Giridhari
Singer: Krishna Chandra Dey
Film: Vidyapati (1937)
Music: Rai Chand Bhoral
Format : mp3, 128 kbps ; Duration : 3.16


Song: Zindagi Ka Saaz
Singer: Naseem Banu
Film: Pukar (1939)
Music: Mir Saheb
Format : mp3, 128 kbps ; Duration : 3.19


Song: Ban Chale Ram Raghu Rai
Singer: Vishnupant Pagnis
Film: Sant Tulsidas (1939)
Music: Gyan Dutt
Format : mp3, 96 kbps ; Duration : 2.55


Song: Main Bansi Banoo Banshidhar Ki
Singer: Sitara Devi, Ishwar Lal
Film: Achut (1940)
Music: Gyan Dutt
Format : mp3, 128 kbps ; Duration : 3.20


Song: Uth Sajni Khol Kiwaade
Singer: Jyoti, Surendra
Film: Aurat (1940)
Music: Anil Biswas
Format : mp3, 128 kbps ; Duration : 3.12


Song: Apna Jeevan Darpan
Singer: Ila Ghosh
Film: Doctor (1940)
Music: Pankaj Mullick
Format : mp3, 128 kbps ; Duration : 2.42


Song: Aaye Re Pi Ki Nagariya
Singer: Sharda
Film: Prem Nagar (1940)
Music: Naushad Ali
Format : mp3, 128 kbps ; Duration : 2.59


Song: Tum Ho Asha Ka Sansar
Singer: Vimla, Ramanand Sharma
Film: Prem Nagar (1940)
Music: Naushad Ali
Format : mp3, 96 kbps ; Duration : 3.32


Song: Naacho Naacho Pyare Mun Ke Mor
Singer: Arun Kumar, Snehaprabha Pradhan
Film: Punar Milan (1940)
Music: R C Pal
Format : mp3, 128 kbps ; Duration : 3.05


Song: Tum Jao Jao Bhagwan
Singer: Ramdulari
Film: Chitralekha (1941)
Music: Ustad Jhande Khan
Format : mp3, 128 kbps ; Duration : 2.41


Song: Bharat Mein Phir Aao
Singer: Heera Kumari
Film: Mala (1941)
Music: Naushad Ali
Format : mp3, 128 kbps ; Duration : 3.26


Song: Rahne Lagaa Hai
Singer: Akhtaribai Faizabadi
Film: Roti (1942)
Music: Anil Biswas
Format : mp3, 192 kbps ; Duration : 3.12


Song: Sajna Sanjh Bhaye
Singer: Sitara Devi
Film: Roti (1942)
Music: Anil Biswas
Format : mp3, 128 kbps ; Duration : 2.33


Song: Manmohan Mukhda Mod Gaye
Singer: Radharani
Film: Kashinath (1943)
Music: Pankaj Mullick
Format : mp3, 128 kbps ; Duration : 3.30


Song: Dil Na Lage
Singer: Parul Ghosh
Film: Namaste (1943)
Music: Naushad Ali
Format : mp3, 96 kbps ; Duration : 3.01


Song: O Insaan Bade Insaan
Singer: Hafeez Khan Mastana
Film: Naya Tarana (1943)
Music: Ameer Ali
Format : mp3, 128 kbps ; Duration : 3.20


Song: Bolo Bolo Re Sajanwa
Singer: Nirmala Devi
Film: Qanoon (1943)
Music: Naushad Ali
Format : mp3, 96 kbps ; Duration : 3.17


This post has been edited by Faraaj73: Nov 16 2008, 12:14 PM