Pray, what's this new tune?

Radhika Oberoi / TNN / Apr 27, 2008, 02:05 IST

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Bollywood-ishtyle 'item' bhajans are the new rage at jagratas. Enthused devotees may be rocking but purists wonder whether piety should go pop.

Trekking up 13 km from Katra (Jammu) to Mata Vaishno Devi, 15-year-old Raghav couldn't help but break into a dance. For, through the incessant chanting of Jai Mata Di by devotees trudging up to the cave-shrine, he heard the strains of his favourite Bollywood number, Mauja Hi Mauja, appropriately changed to Ma Ke Dar Pe Mauja Hi Mauja.
That popular culture, represented by a flamboyant Bollywood, has seeped into the realms of devotion and mysticism is not a new phenomenon.In fact, Hindi films first popularized bhajans with the eternal Om Jai Jagadish Hare, Swami Jai Jagadish Hare, from the film Purab Aur Paschim (1970). And no jagrata, a devotional festival dedicated to the Mother Goddess that lasts through the night, reaches its culmination without an enthused crowd singing Tune Mujhe Bulaya Sherawaliye, Mein Aaya Mein Aaya Sherawaliye, from Aasha (1980) as well as Chalo Bulawa Aaya Hai, Mata Ne Bulaya Hai from Avtaar (1983). But with the advent of scorching item numbers, world music trends and club remixes, the bhajan, too, has undergone a makeover.
Apart from Mata or the Mother Goddess in her many avatars, several other gods from the Indian pantheon have jazzy compositions devoted to them. The title track of Bhool Bhulaiyaa (2007), Hare Krishna Hare Ram (a racy bhajan in its own right) has been adapted into a Hanuman bhajan: Hanuman Hanuman, Ram Ke Pyare Hanuman.
The song is a rage in Salasar Balaji, a popular pilgrimage spot in Churu district of Rajasthan which is dedicated to Lord Hanuman. The same track also lends its tune to a Shiv bhajan: Oghad Dani Hein, Bhole Sab Ke Swami Hein.

And not everyone thinks it's a sacrilege. "These popular tunes do help the young connect to God," agrees Gauri Yadwadkar, artistes and repertoire head at Times Music. The trend is but a reflection of the devotional fervour of a country that finds expression in ecstatic, almost trance-like song and dance. And while Times Music has only well-researched bhajans and Vedic chants set to an eclectic mix of new age music, says Gauri, one needs to be broad-minded enough to accept what is really popular.

Having sung both original compositions and bhajans set to Bollywood tunes, Narendra Chanchal says the latter, though popular, have short-lived appeal. "Like the fashion of the day, their popularity changes with the latest blockbuster. They are mere gimmicks," says Chanchal who has been composing and singing Mata bhajans for over 40 years. However, his very own adaptation of the bhang-drenched Rang Barse from Silsila (1981), into Ras Barse Tere Bhavan Mein Ma, Ras Barse, was an attempt to appeal to younger devotees. While performing for NRI audiences in New York and Los Angeles, he even tried his hand at fusion: 'O Mother, O Mother, if you are with us, phir kaisa fear'.
However, Chanchal, who has done playback for both Aasha and Avtaar, affirms, "Even the young love my original compositions the most. Songs like Mera Kisse NaPuchiya Haal Ma have outlived the generation gap." Old devotional songs, he insists, have the fragrance of this land: "In bhenthon se zameen ki khushbu aati hai."
Defying the traditionalists, young artistes are quick to defend hybrid bhajans. 28-year-old Soham Chakrabarty, who sang devotional songs to popular Mohammed Rafi tracks when he first set foot in Mumbai, believes that bhajans trained him for an industry chock-a-block with newcomers trying their luck. "I learnt how to face a mike, how to avoid blurs while singing and other useful technical details." The preparation came in very handy when he got a chance to sing In Dino for Anurag Basu's Life in a Metro (2007).
Bollywood does enliven doddering lyrics and gets the youth in touch with their spiritual side, agrees Pandit Jasraj, a prime exponent of Hindustani classical music. However, he warns against calling such songs bhajans. "The youth need an anthem, like Hare Krishna Hare Ram, aur is bahane woh Bhagwan ka naam to lete hein (at least these songs make them take the name of the Lord)." But, he jokes, if one were to take an item number like Kajra Re Kajra Re and change the lyrics to Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Tere Sundar Sundar Naina, it would amount to sacrilege. For the thought the original song evokes is anything but pious.
The playback singer of sizzling Kajra Re Kajra Re, Javed Ali, voices the same sentiment. "In ganon se Ishwar ke prati shraddha nahin badhti; log dhun mein mast ho jate hein (These songs don't evoke devout feelings; people are too busy enjoying the music to think about God)." However, he defends his own adaptation of the hit song Dil Chahta Hai (2001) into Bum Bum Bole by saying that he was merely doing his job. "Even for these songs I do the best I can, because they are in the name of the Almighty."
Anup Jalota, perhaps the country's most well-known bhajan singer, vehemently criticizes the use of Bollywood tunes for devotional songs. "Have people lost the capacity to compose new tunes? Where is the talent?" He believes that the jagrata is nothing but a rock show with pretensions to spirituality. "Nobody is really listening to the lyrics and the music is blaring to help the crowd stay awake." He firmly advocates classical ragas as the finest expression of the pure poetry of our saints.
Originality is often elusive and requires a lot of hard work, believes singer and composer Sukhwinder Singh, but it is the only thing that excites the young. His simple composition for the Shabad Gurbani in Rajkumar Santoshi's Halla Bol (2008), was such a hit up north that many people used it as a ring tone. He still hopes that some day, traditional lyrics will get the original musical landscape they deserve.
But for now, pristine words are set to the tune of hit tracks. Gopal Yadav, a 27-year-old devotee, makes an interesting observation on the recent jagrata in his locality. "All the aunties in the colony danced like crazy to a peppy Bollywood tune because the lyrics were in praise of Sherawali Ma. They would never have shaken a foot otherwise." One can debate endlessly on whether Bollywood-ishtyle bhajans rouse sentiments that are devout or not, but there's no denying that their irrepressible appeal does prompt many to lose their inhibitions.
radhika.oberoi@timesgroup.com

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