RMIM Archive Article "373".
From the RMIM Article Archive maintained by Satish Subramanian
#
# RMIM Archives..
# Subject: Vasant Desai - 2
#
# Posted by: Veena S Nayak (vnayak@acsu.buffalo.edu)
# Source: SIRC publications
# Author: Vikas Desai
#
Friends,
Here is the second part of the tribute to Vasant Desai. As
mentioned in Part I, it presents the talk given by Vasant
Desai's nephew, Mr. Vikas Desai, at a listening session in
memory of the composer. The programme was held in Bombay by
the Society of Indian Record Collectors on 26th March
1995. Readers may remember Mr. Vikas Desai as the
co-director (along with Aruna) of films such as 'Shaque' and
'GeherAyee'. Vasant Desai and his nephew used to share a
residence.
I apologise for the long gap between the two parts of the
post: I had severely underestimated the editorial effort
required in producing a cohesive transcript of an informal
listening session.
Veena
PS: The material presented here is not in the same order as
spoken during the program. To maximise readability, I have
grouped together anecdotes and comments based on the idea
they were intended to convey. Wherever necessary,
clarificatory comments have been provided using [* ... *].
#############################################################
The wee hours of the morning - around 3:30-4:00 am. A
four-year old boy sleeps while his mother awakens. Having
bathed, she starts singing her prayers ('ovees'). Her song
filters into his subconscious. It is his introduction to
music, this song in his mother's voice, and it enters his
very soul. Today, one can choose any of Vasant Desai's
compositions and what will strike you immediately is its
quality of love. "My song is hummed even in the kitchens; my
song has entered the home", he used to say. It was because
they embodied 'vAtsalya'.
............................................................
As a boy, he loved the circus and wanted to join it. Many a
late night was spent watching the dashAvatari plays in
neighbouring villages. He even became part of a drama
company, but gave it up when he found that he was expected
to play female roles. Then came the desire to enter films:
he grew his hair and went to Kolhapur to live with his uncle
who introduced him to V. Shantaram. Vasant Desai was made
office-boy at Prabhat Company. On his way home from work in
the evenings, he had to walk past the Deval Club near
Rajaram College in Kolhapur. In those days, Deval Club was
frequented by musical luminaries who did their riyaaz there
at night. Vasantrao (now 14-15 years old) would stand
outside and listen. One evening, Deval invited him in. The
musicians (such as Faiyyaz Khan, Alam Khan, etc) would say
to him: "Kya kar raha hai? Ja paan le aa". Thus, for 2-3
months he fetched paan. Next, they said, "Le yeh tAnpurA
chhed", or "chal sUr lagA". And they taught him how to do
so.
Ghulam Haider used to live and work in the neighborhood. He
was an expert in povAda (*); Vasantrao learnt it from
him. He also learnt from Inayat Khan and the Dagar brothers.
[* PovAda is a traditional folk-music form in Maharashtra *]
The spirit of inquiry remained strong throughout his life;
he never stopped learning. G.D. MaadguLkar once said to him
(on his constant striving), "Vasantrao, you are mad", to
which he repled, "It is this madness which keeps me alive
and fresh". With respect to music, his attitude always was:
I am still young; I have not arrived and am still searching.
..........................................................
He was not paid a salary at Prabhat and hence had no
money. In the first two years, his total income was Rs
7. Shahir Amar Shaikh said to him, "Desai, if you do sit-ups
every morning; we'll give you a free glass of milk daily
from the Company." So, for that free milk, Vasantrao got
into the habit of physical training.
..........................................................*
He was friendly with everyone, but his buddies were
few. Master Vinayak was one of them. When the latter
produced 'Chhaya' (1936) in Bombay, he wanted Vasant Desai
to compose the songs. But Vasantrao was with Shantaram (in
Pune) at that time and under the rules of the studio system
prevalent in those days, could not work for another banner.
So he would take the 6:00 pm train from Pune, reach Bombay
at 9:00, record at HMV, board the 3:00 am train back to Pune
and report for work at Prabhat by 9:00 am. Since he slept
on the train, Vasantrao with a pillow tucked under his arm
became a familiar sight.
Vasant Desai's name does not appear in the credits of
'Chhaya'. The music director was Keshavrao BhoLe, who was
like a guru to Vasant Desai. Hence the latter was careful
never to mention that some songs were actually composed by
himself. Many years later, Keshavrao BhoLe, in his book
'Maazha Sangeet', revealed this fact and also that two songs
from 'Sant GyAneshwar' (1940; official MD was KB) were
composed by Desai.
Thus, while Vasant Desai's first film as a music director
was 'Shobha' (1940), he began composing for films at least
four years earlier.
............................................................
In those days, song recording was in its nascent stages: the
singer, chorus and instrumentalists all had to share one
mike. At Rajkamal Studios (in Parel, Bombay), the film
shooting would take place during the day, the nights being
reserved for recording the music as the surroundings were
quieter. The pervasive feeling among composers of the time
was that they must push for technical progress.
............................................................*
Film composers are different from their non-film
counterparts. The former has a movie, a director, a script,
picturization and a character with a particular emotion. To
all these, he must do justice. Vasantrao firmly believed
that a music director composes not for himself, but for the
film. He would constantly say to me, "You, as an individual,
are not important". I would argue and point out, "Look where
you are today (due to your attitude) and look where
S.D. Burman, Shankar-Jaikishan, etc. are". He would merely
smile in response.
......................................................
Music is an aural art form but its effect is visual: it
creates a picture in the mind's eye. The mark of a true
composer is that he weaves an image with his music and
effectively conveys the emotions embodied in the words. We
have had very few of such music directors; nowadays, there
are barely a couple of them. To be sure, there are many who
make a lot of money and have scaled the heights of success,
but they are mostly tunesmiths. The genuine article is a
rarity.
Vasantrao used to be extremely conscious of the visuals for
which he was providing music. I used to accompany him to the
background-music sessions. He would give me a detailed
narration about the instruments that he would use for each
scene and action of the characters and why he chose them. I
remember how he agonized over the title credits of "ShyAmchi
Aayee": the choice of instruments for the moment when
"Katha: SAne Guruji" appeared on screen was a source of
great anxiety to him.
[* SAne Guruji was leading educationist and social reformer
in Maharashtra; he was held in high esteem for his qualities
of service and simple living *]
"How can I play a violin or a tabla for his name; that would
drag him down". For a while he toyed with the idea of
displaying the name sans music, but then he felt that even
that would be an injustice to SAne Guruji. Eventually, he
hit upon a novel idea: when his name flashed on the screen,
one hears only the mooing of a cow.
Vasantrao was adept at composing in a manner that brought
out the meaning of the lyrics. For example, in the song
'Tere sur aur mere geet' from 'Goonj Uthi ShehenAyi',
consider how he has dragged the word 'khee.nchke':
Mujhko agar bhool jAoge tum
mujhse agar door jAoge tum
meri mohobbat mein tAsir hai
to khee.nchke~ mere pas aaoge tum.
He would frequently ask me, 'Which comes first: shabd or
sUr?' The latter comes first for the tunesmiths, but for the
sangeetkAr, the words come first.
..........................................................
Vasantrao used to constantly experiment with music. To an
extent, this was necessitated by the fact that almost every
film from Prabhat and Rajkamal banners dealt with a novel
theme or story. Accordingly, Vasantrao had to come up with
something new in their music. In 'Parbat Pe Apna Dera'
(1946), the echo effect was used for the first time in a
song, and it was done without the use of technological aids.
'Dr. Kotnis Ki Amar Kahani' was a film with a Chinese
setting; so Vasantrao studied Chinese music for two
years. The song, 'Nai Dulhan' from this movie is based on a
Chinese folk song. For 'Jhanak Jhanak Paayal Baaje', he
travelled for almost two months: in Kashi, he met a santoor
player, Shiv Kumar Sharma and invited him to Bombay. In
Banaras, he did the same with tabla player Shanta Prasad who
agreed to come to Bombay but insisted that he would stay for
only one day. When the rehearsal for 'Ab to saajan ghar aa
ja' began, Shata Prasad realised the amount of effort that
would be needed for the project; he ended up staying for two
and a half months.
............................................................*
An appreciation of Vasant Desai's ouevre is incomplete if
one does not listen to the songs he composed for the 'Ek sUr
ek taal' venture. During the war, he would teach those
chorus songs in the mills (in Bombay) at night, despite the
curfews. Such was his enthusiasm and spirit that within 30
minutes, he could teach 2000 children to sing a mukhdA in
unison.
............................................................*
Another of his favourite posers was, "Which comes first: the
song or the visuals?" Vasantrao had worked on almost all
aspects of filmmaking. As an office boy for V.Shantaram, he
was assigned tasks such as holding light relectors, loading
cameras, etc. For 'DharmAtmA', he performed eight functions;
in all other films, he fulfilled at least three or four
roles on the sets. At nights, V. Shantaram would ask him to
help with the editing. Vasantrao used to aver: "I may be a
music director, but basically I am a filmmaker as I am fully
involved in the film, its script, lyrics, etc."
..............................................................
The accompanying orchestra was the most distinguishing
feature of Vasantrao's songs: recall any of them and you
will, without fail, also recollect its orchestrisation. The
introduction, mukhdA, iterludes and antarAs were one
integrated whole and not separate pieces glued together.
His songs are not merely songs; each one has Vasant Desai's
soul poured into it. "My song belongs to the film. I do not
compose for Binaca Geetmala, I compose for my director, for
my film".
..............................................................
Vasantrao was an excellent poet and singer too. He has
written many songs in Marathi. He used to sing regularly in
baithaks held at Sialkot and Lahore. Nazakat and Salamat Ali
would perform, followed by Vasantrao; Kumar Gandharva sang
later in the day. Of course, Vasantrao never mentioned this
to me; I came to know of it through Kumar Gandharva and
Nazakat and Salamat Ali.
..........................................................*
When Hitchcock's films were released, his viewers were very
impressed with the murder scenes; a young boy watching those
scenes today will declare with bored deprecation, "I have
seen this before!". Similarly in "Do Aankhen Barah Haath",
there is a scene where the heroine breaks her bangles in
anguish over her beloved's death. It was a novel idea at
that time; since then every other movie has had the heroine
perform that action. These examples explain why the songs
composed by Vasant Desai in the 1940s, especially those
beginning with 'Sheesh Mahal', sound so familiar when you
listen to them today: it is because they were frequently
imitated by others in the 50s and 60s.
It is, therefore, extremely important to trace the
chronological development of an artist's body of work; to
know *when* he produced what he produced.
............................................................
In 1947, Rajkamal produced a film based on the life of the
famous folk-poet of Maharashtra, Ram Joshi. It was
originally a play written in by G.D. MaadguLkar who read it
to Lahiri Haider (a poet from Kolhapur). Haider liked it and
suggested to Baburao PendhArkar that it would make a good
subject for a movie. PendhArkar gave it to V. Shantaram who
decided to produce it. The script was written by MaadguLkar
and Sitaram Laad. Vasantrao expended a lot of effort for the
music. He travelled all over Maharashtra; forty tamAsha [*
tamAsha = lAvani *] artists were selected and invited to
sing at Rajkamal. Their work provided the basis for the
songs in the film.
Of the songs in 'Ram Joshi', the one that became most famous
is 'HatA tatAne patA'. It does not sound like a film song as
it deviated from the typical framework of introductory
music, mukhdA, interlude music, antarA and so on. The lyrics
are rattled off in an uninterrupted sequence. Vasantrao gave
prime importance to two factors while composing: the scene
and the singer. 'HatA tatAne paTa' was to be sung by Jairam
Shiledar, a forceful singer from Marathi theatre. Moreoever,
the film situation has the protagonist Ram Joshi engaged in
a fight with someone; so the song is not musical expression,
but rather a vehement challenge where he could not pause for
the music. Hence there was neither introductory nor
interlude music. A complicating factor was that in those
days there were no cut-and-join techniques in recording; the
entire song had to be recorded in one go. The lack of
interludes meant that Shiledar would have no room to breathe
in between lines. Vasantrao solved that problem by having a
chorus repeating key phrases after the main singer.
............................................................*
The films 'Ram Joshi' and 'Amar BhoopaLi' must be viewed on
the same canvas. Both had the same theme: a respected and
talented poet [* Amar BhoopaLi was about HonAji BaLa *]
joins the tamAsha, is regarded with contempt by society, but
gains redemption by means of an honourable act. Both were
set in rural Maharashtra and both dealt with lAvaNi. But
the music scored by Vasantrao for the two films is TOTALLY
different.
He was passionate about searching for the right music: "I
must find the right pitch for the character" was his
constant refrain. For Ram Joshi, the sUr fell into place
immediately with the following lines penned by the poet;
they gave him insight into the character of Ram Joshi:
hatA tatAne patA
rangvoon jatA dharishi ka shiri
maTHAchi uTHA THev kA tari.
'Ram Joshi' and its songs became highly popular. When
Vasantrao was assigned 'Amar BhoopaLi', he felt that he
faced a tremendous responsibility: he had to do equal
justice to HonAji BaLa. Six to eight months were spent in
research, but he still could not find "HonAji's sUr"; "I
have not understood HonAji, I have not seen him." He became
quite distressed and worried and did not know what to do
next. Finally he went to Poona and sat by HonAji's samAdhi
for a long time. He visited HonAji's house and was told by
the family that the poet's tAnpurA was still lying upstairs.
From that tAnpurA, Vasantrao finally put his finger on
HonAji's pitch and all songs got composed after that day:
'GhansyAm sundarA', 'sAngA mukund kuNi haa pAhilA', 'Latpat
latpat', 'Ghadi ghadi manmohanA' and so on. One can hear the
shAnt ras that flows in these songs.
.............................................................*
We used to tease him often: "Vasantrao, is hafte bhi aapka
geet choti par nahin aaya". He would retort: arre harkat
nAhi re; mee gelyA nantar pannAs varsHan.ni gaaNi laava,
maajhi lAgteel ki nAhi bagha!" ("It does not matter; fifty
years after I am gone and you are listening to songs, see
whether mine get played or not!")
Today, it has been twenty years.
............................................................*
It is said that every song of Vasant Desai is a bandish
based on some classical raga. I say, leave the raga aside;
it matters more that his songs make an impression on our
innermost selves. He took pride in that fact: "My songs have
entered the kitchen, they are not on Binaca Geetmala. I am
not at the top, but my songs will endure".
............................................................*
I had a huge stack of 78 RPM records of Vasantrao's music.
About twelve years ago, HMV persistently requested me to
lend them to the company as they were interested in
"bringing back Vasantrao's music". As per their
instructions, I meticulously cleaned the records with
linseed oil, turpentine, etc and handed them over to HMV. I
never saw them again. Every three months or so, I call them
to pursue the matter: nobody even knows where those records
are.
............................................................*
Vasantrao greatly admired Pankaj Mallick as a composer. He
would frequently make me listen to 'Ab main kaah karoon, kit
jaaon': "look how well the emotions, lyrics and music come
together", he would say. About ten days ago, Tushar Bhatia
(MD of Andaz Apna Apna) narrated the following incident
which brought tears to my eyes: Bhatia had gone to Pankaj
Mallick's house and requested his daughter to let him make
copies of Mallick's music. After he had gone through the
entire stack, he noticed about 6-7 records stored separately
in a corner. When Bhatia enquired about them, his daughter
replied, "Woh Dada ke nahin hain"; they were Pankaj
Mallick's favourite songs. Bhatia looked through them:
nestled among records of Rabindra Sangeet and some other
songs was an EP of 'GhanashyAm sundarA'.
............................................................
-------------------
There were a couple of errors in the first post made by me
on Vasant Desai. Thanks to Aruna Donde for bringing them to
my attention.
The article said:
> Through his manifold compositions, Vasantrao provided
> music in the field of Marathi stage as well. He has
> composed for almost ten Marathi dramas and twenty Marathi
> films. The titles which immediately come to mind are the
> plays 'Panditrao Jagannath', 'Jai Jai Gaurishankar', 'Dev
> Deenaghari DhAvala', 'Saubhadra' and the films
> 'SaakharpuDa', 'Hee Maajhi Lakshmi', 'Kanchanganga' and
> 'Shyaamchi Aayi'. ]
I am reproducing the relevant part of Aruna's email:
1. The play Saubhadra was written by Annasaheb Kirloskar
and was first performed on stage in 1886. As far as I know,
there has not been any other play by that name in Marathi
theatre. Incredible music BTW. There was also a movie made,
perhaps in early 60's on the Saubhadra theme, starring
Chandrakant, Seema etc., Vasantrao may have composed the
music for the movie but not for the play.
2. The name of the Vidyadhar Gokhale play is PanditRaj
Jagannath, a story of Sanskrit poet Jagannath, who composed
Ganga Lahari during Akbar's period and was awarded the title
PanditRaj. Bhalchandra Pendharkar was in the Jagannath role
and Mama Pendse in the Badshah role. Faboulous music. Songs:
Nayan Tuze Jadugar, Madanachi Manjiri, Jaya Gange Bhagirathi
etc.
Aruna.
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From the RMIM Article Archive maintained by Satish Subramanian