Geetmala Ki Chhaon Mein

“Kya gaane hua karte they uss zamane mein”... often you might have heard your parents and grandparents commenting this and more commonly in contrast with the present generation music.
If you are the youth of today oblivious to the melody of yesteryear cinema, you just have to give this album a try with an open mind. For once you would consent with your elders and believe that they meant what they said.Such was the magic of music of Hindi cinema in its early years that it instantly strikes a cord and, to people of the era, could rekindle fond memories. Much like India’s most respected and recognized radio jockey Ameen Sayani does in taking you back to the golden era of 50s and replaying the top songs from the musical countdown of the year in the album ‘Geetmala Ki Chhaon Mein’.
What started as a half hour radio show in December 1952 in India and graduated to a hour-long hit parade two years later continued to be a cult-classic countdown show on radio for 45 successful years in the name of the show ‘Geetmala’. Ameen Sayani brought back memories of the initial years of the radio program in the first set of ‘Geetmala Ki Chhaon Mein’ – a 5 CD pack which sold out like hot cakes. Now he comes up with the second CD pack from Volume 6 to 10 which comprehensively cover the yearly musical countdowns from the year 1956 to 1958.
The details on the CD inlay card cannot give you half the idea of what this set has to offer since the album is packed not just with immortal songs but also with amusing anecdotes, heart-warming nostalgia and some very interesting interview bytes of music and movie personalities from the era. What adds as the icing on the cake or rather is the USP of the album is Ameen Sayani who continues to play your ‘radio dost’ and guide you through the countdowns in his crisp and expressive voice. More than half a century later, the crispness in Ameen bhai’s voice continues to be as refreshing as it was then. The album is re-recorded in Ameen Sayani’s voice, is reprogrammed to contemporary relevance and the songs are digitally re-mastered to enhance the beauty of the original without any dilution – no remixes, no rigging.
Vol. 6 comprises of songs from the year 1956, Vol. 7 and Vol. 8 from year 1957 and Vol. 9 and Vol. 10 cover 1958. At no point does Ameen attempt to rush through the countdowns, going at a pace to justify every year and give it comprehensive coverage. Each song is preceded by its complete credit list from the composer, lyricist to singer – a standard norm on radio till a decade back and so much missing in today’s random song selection.
Just to give you a slice of sound from the album, listening to love-soaked numbers like ‘Nakhrewali’ (New Delhi), emotive tracks like ‘Kaun Aaya Mere Mann Ke Dware’ (Dekh Kabira Roya), romantic classics like ‘Nain Mile Chain Kahan’ (Basant Bahar), fun numbers like ‘Chod Do Anchal’ (Paying Guest), ‘Ina Mina Dika’ (Asha) or ‘Main Bambai Ka Babu’ (Naya Daur) is an audio treat and an experience in itself. This is just a small glimpse from the many majestic hits that the album has to offer. A lazy evening in your balcony, a long drive, a rainy afternoon – just any setting is perfect for this album.
Ameen Sayani is liberal in his appreciation towards every track but his hosting is not sugar-coated all through. Wherever applicable he very justly mentions which Hindi song was inspired from a trumpet note of an English tune, or which chartbuster was derived from an international rock-n-roll number that set a trend in India. At one point Ameen Sayani also clears a huge controversy regarding the very recent Oscar winner film Slumdog Millionaire clarifying how the answer to one of the questions on the game show in the film was wrong. The song ‘Darshan Do Ghansham’ as stated in the film is not written by Surdas, neither by Gujarati saint Narsi Mehta (as is the popular belief) but by Gopal Singh Nepali in the 1957 film Narsi Bhagat.
At several occasions he plays the less popular songs in full version and the chartbusters in common knowledge to shorter lengths. Perhaps this is intentional for he puts an extra effort towards giving more prominence to the less-known but decently-composed numbers – particularly the numbers that trailed somewhat behind the chart-toppers.
Some interview excerpts on the album are invaluable. Amongst the most noteworthy is one Raj Kapoor byte where he speaks about Nargis, the costar with whom he had the best chemistry and maximum controversy. Asha Bhosle speaks about how SD Burman was a taskmaster and the best one is a Kishore Kumar extract where he is at his funniest best singing songs in voices of K L Saigal and elder brother Dadamuni.
There are some dull moments towards the latter part of Vol. 8 where Ameen reads out some blatant fan mails which don’t add much value to the album. But he makes up for the loss in Vol. 9 through an interesting narrative of his own love story, linked through the songs of the countdown.
All in all ‘Geetmala Ki Chhaon Mein’ is an absolute treat for music lovers of any era. A must-hear!
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