A Linearity Of Excellence
I have always believed in the fact that a country is not just a landmass, or a boundary, or a piece of geography, rather, it is a constellation of people, a collection of culture, and a slice of history. Likewise, a golden era is not just a spell of time, rather, it is a record of excellent acts created by excellent individuals. If an era is not a golden one, it is due to the fact that mediocrity ruled during that era. This also means that those who arrived and flourished in a golden era had to be excellent! If the period from 1950 over to 1980 be called the golden period of Indian film music, name after name will start to show up here and memories after memories will start to align with us. Among those names comes the name of a composer who was a bit unique. Unique in the sense that he could compose, he could sing his own compositions and he could write soulful poetry to fit his unparalleled compositions.
Ravindra Jain has been a role model for many talented artists suffering from physical constraints. He had been the chief architect in bringing talents like Yesudas, Jaspal Singh, Arati Mukherjee to the fore. He had been some sort of connecting link between the opulence of Naushad, S.D. Burman, O.P.Nayyar, Shankar Jaikishen, Madan Mohan and the charm of R.D.Burman, Laxmikant Pyarelal, Kalyanji Anandji and Khayyam. He had to be supremely good, for he had to enter a a prestigious club and carry its legacy forward. He had been the one to give some great tunes to Kishore Kumar, he had been the prized selection of Raj Kapoor, he had been the charioteer of many Rajshri Productions' films, he had been the musical framework of several spiritual and mythological productions for Indian TV - he had been one of those that stood the vehemence of mediocrity and came out with a wide range of excellence.
After this long introduction, let us take a look at two of his very famous creations. Two songs from his long and illustrious career are absolutely insufficient to do a meaningful research on his body of work. But I have a reason to select these as these reflect the same excellence in two different contexts, two different movie situations and two different set of poetic words. Ravindra Jain wrote both the tune and the words and he did it with aplomb.
The first song is from the film Geet Gaata Chal (1975) and the song is "Shyam Teri Bansi Pukare Radha Naam......". If we look carefully at the words, the intellect behind the thought becomes very visible. The poet wants us to feel native to the flute (Bansi) of Lord Krishna. The metaphor is simple - the metaphor is adulation. The adulation comes from the tune of the flute and the adulation breezes through the heart of Radha and Meera. Lord Krishna plays the flute, the harmony is aimless. The harmony is directed to Radha - at least that is what Meera feels. Two kinds of worshiping is expressed through the words, one through direct cognizance, the other through indirect aspiration.
Shyam Teri Bansi Pukare Radha Naam
The second song is from the film Ram Teri Ganga Maili (1985). Exactly ten years after the last song was this one written. The same poet expresses same devotion, same admiration but through some different words. A span of ten years could not do much change to him except that he is more direct now. He does not need a metaphor anymore. He spells out loud and clear - "Ek Raadha Ek Meera, Dono Ne Shyam Ko Chaha...". The assertions and preaching of the last piece are turned into questions and inquests. One is Radha who ornaments herself for Lord Krishna, the other is Meera who vanishes in wilderness in search of Lord Krishna. While Radha is searching for her soulmate in mazes and webs of devotion, Meera is searching inside her own soul. Two kinds of commitments, two forms of dedication come through - once again through this piece.
Ek Raadha Ek Meera....
Understanding Ravindra Jain's genius is not easy. It cannot be a particularly instantaneous process either. He was one of the last of the stalwarts, studying whom could be a life-long exercise. However, a small glimpse into his work, my earnest attempt to open up two chapters from his creative milieu, often having seen him create words and compose music summarily in a TV show (my memory takes me to some old Sa Re Ga Ma episodes hosted by Sonu Nigam), and listening to him singing with tears running down his eyes all show an unending linearity. The linearity had it roots in the golden era of Indian film music and had weathered several disturbing threats in the recent years. He was one of the lone man standing and wanting to continue the said linearity of excellence.
Ravindra Jain has been a role model for many talented artists suffering from physical constraints. He had been the chief architect in bringing talents like Yesudas, Jaspal Singh, Arati Mukherjee to the fore. He had been some sort of connecting link between the opulence of Naushad, S.D. Burman, O.P.Nayyar, Shankar Jaikishen, Madan Mohan and the charm of R.D.Burman, Laxmikant Pyarelal, Kalyanji Anandji and Khayyam. He had to be supremely good, for he had to enter a a prestigious club and carry its legacy forward. He had been the one to give some great tunes to Kishore Kumar, he had been the prized selection of Raj Kapoor, he had been the charioteer of many Rajshri Productions' films, he had been the musical framework of several spiritual and mythological productions for Indian TV - he had been one of those that stood the vehemence of mediocrity and came out with a wide range of excellence.
After this long introduction, let us take a look at two of his very famous creations. Two songs from his long and illustrious career are absolutely insufficient to do a meaningful research on his body of work. But I have a reason to select these as these reflect the same excellence in two different contexts, two different movie situations and two different set of poetic words. Ravindra Jain wrote both the tune and the words and he did it with aplomb.
The first song is from the film Geet Gaata Chal (1975) and the song is "Shyam Teri Bansi Pukare Radha Naam......". If we look carefully at the words, the intellect behind the thought becomes very visible. The poet wants us to feel native to the flute (Bansi) of Lord Krishna. The metaphor is simple - the metaphor is adulation. The adulation comes from the tune of the flute and the adulation breezes through the heart of Radha and Meera. Lord Krishna plays the flute, the harmony is aimless. The harmony is directed to Radha - at least that is what Meera feels. Two kinds of worshiping is expressed through the words, one through direct cognizance, the other through indirect aspiration.
Shyam Teri Bansi Pukare Radha Naam
The second song is from the film Ram Teri Ganga Maili (1985). Exactly ten years after the last song was this one written. The same poet expresses same devotion, same admiration but through some different words. A span of ten years could not do much change to him except that he is more direct now. He does not need a metaphor anymore. He spells out loud and clear - "Ek Raadha Ek Meera, Dono Ne Shyam Ko Chaha...". The assertions and preaching of the last piece are turned into questions and inquests. One is Radha who ornaments herself for Lord Krishna, the other is Meera who vanishes in wilderness in search of Lord Krishna. While Radha is searching for her soulmate in mazes and webs of devotion, Meera is searching inside her own soul. Two kinds of commitments, two forms of dedication come through - once again through this piece.
Ek Raadha Ek Meera....
Understanding Ravindra Jain's genius is not easy. It cannot be a particularly instantaneous process either. He was one of the last of the stalwarts, studying whom could be a life-long exercise. However, a small glimpse into his work, my earnest attempt to open up two chapters from his creative milieu, often having seen him create words and compose music summarily in a TV show (my memory takes me to some old Sa Re Ga Ma episodes hosted by Sonu Nigam), and listening to him singing with tears running down his eyes all show an unending linearity. The linearity had it roots in the golden era of Indian film music and had weathered several disturbing threats in the recent years. He was one of the lone man standing and wanting to continue the said linearity of excellence.
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