Chhaa Rahii Kaalii Ghataa - Akhtaribai Options

[abhayp]

[This is being posted as a fresh topic because I am having a lot of trouble accessing the original post by Faraaj with responses by Prabhakar. My apologies for creating this new topic; I wanted to post it before starting travel tomorrow where I might not have easy Net access.]

I had written about this 'saawan' on RMIM on Akhtaribai's death anniversary in 2003. Am posting that here (with only the link edited as that link is no longer valid). The three pieces I refer to are posted below. I have subsequently acquired a fourth version that was released on an album called "Legends": that too is reproduced below. All the songs are encoded in mp3; duration and bit-rate is stated with each song.

Prabhakar: The version you have posted is not the 1930s version. I have not been able to download it (have been having consistent problems with the board today) but the duration is a giveaway: the 1930s version is a 78 rpm recording and is just over 3 minutes long. Going by the duration alone, my suspicion is that you have posted the version that appeared in the album "Farmaaish" (that has been subsequently re-released by Sony Nad as part of a 3-CD album - I cannot immediately recall the name). Also, I am intrigued by your reference to six versions. Which are the two missing from my list above? Please do upload those!

The recordings first:

The 1930s recording (re-released by Megaphone on the 4-CD set of BA's 78 rpm recordings)
3:06 minutes; 160 kbps




The 1957 concert recording released on the CD "Farmaaish"
10:08 minutes; 128 kbps




The 1960s AIR recording
8:53 minutes; 160 kbps




The recording released on the album "Legends"; the year is not stated, but - going by the voice - I would guess this is late 1960s
14:46 minutes; 160 kbps




The write-up follows below.

Thanks and warm regards,
Abhay

[Warning: What follows is loooooong!]


----------------Posting from RMIM reproduced below----------------------

Today is the 29th death anniversary of Akhtaribai Faizabad, better known as Begum Akhtar.

Akhtaribai was called 'malikaa-e-Gazal', and with good reason: she was indeed the empress of ghazal singing. What this description does not convey, however, is that she was also one of the great exponents of semi-classical music, spoken of in the same breath as people like Siddheshwari Devi and Rasoolan Bai. This posting is about one of her most famous semi-classical pieces: the saawan, 'chhaa rahii kaalii ghaTaa'.

As BA recordings go, this saawan is a rarity in that there are three versions of it that are available: each different from the others, each a gem in its own right. The three renditions span three decades of a remarkable singing career. The styles differ, the words differ, even the _mood_ differs - what stays constant is musicality of a very high order. I have tried here to capture the differences in these renditions and, to make
it more meaningful, have also put up digitized version of the three renditions.

Let's start at the beginning: the 78 rpm rendition. We have here a 20-something Akhtari who was already an established ghazal singer, whose records sold like hot cakes. This particular rendition is indeed that of arrogant youth: the words, the tone, the style of singing reflect this arrogance. There is also an element here of anger , of impatience. The sarcasm at the end of the second antaraa says it all: after wondering whether the love-stricken one will recover or will die of the malady, she asks: "ai masiihaa kuchh to bolo kyaa tumhaarii raay hai"! (The full lyrics of all three versions are given at the end of this post.) This is not the lament of a lovelorn woman; this is the taunt of a young girl who supposes herself to be immune to the pain she sees others going through. The singing is raw, vivacious, giddy, and spontaneous: the music cannot be contained; it
spills over in delicious waves.

Shortly afterwards, Akhtari married and gave up singing for 5 years (1944 to 1949). When she came back, there was a distinct change in her persona AND in her music. Her music was more refined, more 'classical'; less spontaneous, less carefree. In this 'Second Coming' too, she was successful beyond measure. She was in great demand as a concert artiste, both for public concerts and for smaller private mehfils. One such private mehfil took place in Bombay on 16 January 1957. Mercifully for us, this was one of her few mehfils that were recorded and this one, at least, has subsequently been make available as a commercial recording (details with the lyrics below).

Among the pieces she sang at the concert (at least three hours long, going by the parts of it that are available to us) was this saawan. The fire of
the 1930s has been toned down; in this avataar, the saawan assumes its more traditional mood of 'viraha'; the words and the singing reflect this change completely. This is not a young know-all talking about love as a disease that affects someone else: this is a woman who has been in love, has known joy, and knows today the pangs of separation. In this version, the song truly becomes a plea: "ai papiihaa! chup Kudaa ke vaaste tuu ho zaraa...terii pii pii se papiihaa pii mujhe yaad aaye hai". And Begum Akhtar, as usual, stays true to the words: her singing becomes a plea, too.

By the late 1960s, Begum Akhtar was a household name. She was recognised as one of the foremost semi-classical performers of the century;
her ghazal concerts were sell-outs at a time when the ghazal was nowhere near the mass craze it became in the late 1970s and the 1980s. A regular performer on AIR, she recorded this saawan again for a radio concert. This rendition - chronologically the last of the three - is, IMO, also the best of the three. Indeed, it must count among the best renditions of her music available to us today. The person singing this has matured as a singer, is anchored in her art, has nothing to prove to the world any more: in Mallikarjun Mansur's words, "She sings because she has a song". There is an effortlessness in her art now that is awesome to behold. This rendition is exquisite: mellow, evocative, conveying emotion with great subtlety. The vivacity of the 1930s is missing; the fluidity of the 1950s is diminished; what remains is musical virtuosity, pure and simple.

The lyrics of the three versions, and the availability of each, are given
below. [The digitized versions are given above.]

Warm regards,
Abhay


Version I: 78 rpm recording - late 1930s
Available on cassette of BA's 78 rpm recordings
released by Megaphone, Calcutta
================================
jiyaa moraa laharaa_e hai
chhaa rahii kaalii ghaTaa jiyaa moraa laharaa_e hai
sun rii koyal baawarii tuu kyuu.N malhaar gaa_e hai
saare aazaaro.n se ba.Dhakar ishq kaa aazaar hai
aafato.n me.n jaan\-o\-dil kaa Daalanaa bekaar hai
bewafaa se dil lagaakar kyaa ko_ii phal paa_e hai
kyaa ye biimar\-e\-alam is dard se bach jaa_egaa
kyaa yuu.N hii khaa khaa ke Gam ye aaKirat mar jaa_egaa
ai masiihaa kuchh to bolo kyaa tumhaarii raay hai
---------------------------------------------------------------


Version II: Private concert - 16 January 1957
Available on the HMV album "Farmaaish - Ghazals and Geet"
(CD and cassette)
(Full concert available spread over three albums:
the other two are "Phir Wohi Farmaaish" and "Khazana")
===========================================
chhaa rahii kaalii ghaTaa jiyaa moraa laharaa_e hai
sun rii koyal baawarii tuu kyuu.N malhaar gaa_e hai
ai papihaa idhar mai.n bhii saraapaa dard huu.N
aam par kyuu.N jam rahaa mai.n bhii to aisii zard huu.N
farq itanaa hai ki us me.n ras hai mujh me.n haa_e hai
ai papiihaa chup Kudaa ke waaste tuu ho zaraa
raat aadhii ho chukii hai ab tujhe kyaa ho gayaa
terii pii pii se papiihaa pii mujhe yaad aa_e hai
muddato.n Dhuu.NDhaa piyaa ko mai.n ne kar jogan kaa bhes
na to mai.n ne unako paayaa aur na paayaa unakaa des
log kahate hai.n ki Dhuu.NDhe se Kudaa mil jaa_e hai
-------------------------------------------------------------------


Version III: All India Radio recording - mid-1960s
Available on MIL cassette
"Begum Akhtar: Thumris-Saawan-Ghazals"
===================================
jiyaa moraa \-3
chhaa rahii kaalii ghaTaa jiyaa moraa laharaa_e hai
sun rii koyal baawarii tuu kyuu.N malhaar gaa_e hai
kaale baadal ghir rahe laharaaye hai moraa jiyaa
mai.n akelii sej par kyuu.N kar guzaaruu.N ai piyaa
us pe bijalii kii chamak aafat pe aafat Dhaa_e hai
muddato.n Dhuu.NDhaa piyaa ko mai.n ne kar jogan kaa bhes
na to mai.n ne unako paayaa aur na paayaa unakaa des
log kahate hai.n ki Dhuu.NDhe se Kudaa mil jaa_e hai

This post has been edited by abhayp: Jan 5 2010, 11:51 PM

[abhayp]

Prabhakar: The version you have posted is not the 1930s version. I have not been able to download it (have been having consistent problems with the board today) but the duration is a giveaway: the 1930s version is a 78 rpm recording and is just over 3 minutes long. Going by the duration alone, my suspicion is that you have posted the version that appeared in the album "Farmaaish" (that has been subsequently re-released by Sony Nad as part of a 3-CD album - I cannot immediately recall the name).

Prabhakar: my apologies. I was confusing the duration mentioned by Dhall-saahib with the recording uploaded by you. I have downloaded the version you put up and it *is* indeed the 1930s version. Have struck out the relevant lines in my post above.

Am still retaining my upload of the 1930s version above because it is from the Megaphone CD version and is of a slightly longer duration (to my ears, the version you have uploaded seems to be at a slightly fast speed).

Warm regards,
Abhay

[Prabhakar]

Thank you, Abhay. I have downloaded the songs and will listen soon.

Prabhakar

Prabhakar: my apologies. I was confusing the duration mentioned by Dhall-saahib with the recording uploaded by you. I have downloaded the version you put up and it *is* indeed the 1930s version. Have struck out the relevant lines in my post above.

Am still retaining my upload of the 1930s version above because it is from the Megaphone CD version and is of a slightly longer duration (to my ears, the version you have uploaded seems to be at a slightly fast speed).

Warm regards,
Abhay
[/quote]

[Faraaj73]

[This is being posted as a fresh topic because I am having a lot of trouble accessing the original post by Faraaj with responses by Prabhakar. My apologies for creating this new topic; I wanted to post it before starting travel tomorrow where I might not have easy Net access.]

I had written about this 'saawan' on RMIM on Akhtaribai's death anniversary in 2003. Am posting that here (with only the link edited as that link is no longer valid). The three pieces I refer to are posted below. I have subsequently acquired a fourth version that was released on an album called "Legends": that too is reproduced below. All the songs are encoded in mp3; duration and bit-rate is stated with each song.

Abhay

Thanks for the 3 versions and especially the wonderful write-up. You're something of an Akhtaribai fan!

I wasn't aware this ghazal was so well known. I have heard the later versions, which are very good, but the earliest version remains my favourite largely due to the memories it invokes. I thik I'm also partial to Akhtaribai's youthful arrogance and exuberance.

From the 30s, the good Akhtaribai that come to mind are Tune But e Harjaee, Koyaliya Mat Kar Pukar and Jhoote Jag Ki Jhoote Preet. I'd request that if you have a good recording of Tu Ne But e Harjaee and any other 30s Akhtaribai piece(s) you feel are very special, I'd appreciate your sharing them here.

Kind Regards
Faraaj

[rpnawani]

Thanks Abhay for sharing 3 versions of the ghazal and the wonderful write-up with it.

rpnawani

[abhayp]

From the 30s, the good Akhtaribai that come to mind are Tune But e Harjaee, Koyaliya Mat Kar Pukar and Jhoote Jag Ki Jhoote Preet. I'd request that if you have a good recording of Tu Ne But e Harjaee and any other 30s Akhtaribai piece(s) you feel are very special, I'd appreciate your sharing them here.

I am travelling currently and have restricted and uncertain Net access. Will upload these once I am back home next week.

Warm regards,
Abhay

[Inaam]

I am travelling currently and have restricted and uncertain Net access. Will upload these once I am back home next week.

Warm regards,
Abhay

Abhay, Aik meri bhi request hai .. I am looking for 'Suna Karo Meri Jaan..' by Aklharibai, any chance?

BTW thank you very much for the informative post rare recordings.

Regards

[abhayp]

Abhay, Aik meri bhi request hai .. I am looking for 'Suna Karo Meri Jaan..' by Aklharibai, any chance?

BTW thank you very much for the informative post rare recordings.

Inaam, my apologies for the huge delay in responding: I got back home almost a week later than expected. Also, I have been facing consistent problems accessing HF of late, with "server not responding" messages coming up very frequently.

I am afraid I too am looking for the BA rendition of the Kaifi Azmi ghazal you mention! If I do find it, will definitely share it here; requesting anyone else who might have/find it to do the same, PLEASE!

Warm regards,
Abhay

[Inaam]

Inaam, my apologies for the huge delay in responding: I got back home almost a week later than expected. Also, I have been facing consistent problems accessing HF of late, with "server not responding" messages coming up very frequently.

I am afraid I too am looking for the BA rendition of the Kaifi Azmi ghazal you mention! If I do find it, will definitely share it here; requesting anyone else who might have/find it to do the same, PLEASE!

Warm regards,
Abhay

Thanks for the reply, Abhay.

[shoukatpm]

good work