#424

         Song:   kaisa jaadu daala re balmaa na jaane
                 ghadi ghadi machle re jiya nahiin maane

         Film:   Footpath (1953)
         Singer: Asha Bhosle
         Music:  Khaiyyaam
         Lyrics: Majrooh Sultanpuri
         *ing:   Dilip Kumar, Meena Kumari
 

 Meena Kumari's twenty-seventh death anniversary falls today (March 31). I'll
 spend the next few posts on some of her songs, and resume the pacific duets
 thereafter.

 This rather dark social statement from Zia Sarhadi is a largely unrecognized
 showcase for Asha Bhosle ; it features no less than four lovely songs by her,
 all unfortunately eclipsed by "shaam-e-gham ki qasam".In addition to today's
 selection, two other gems that come to mind are "piya aaja re, dil mera
 pukaare piya aaja re" and the lovely lori "soja mere pyaare soja soja,
 ankhiyon ke taare soja soja", two of the finest Asha songs I've heard.

 The early, fresh voice of Asha is a positive delight to listen to in this
 airy, chirpy tune- dulcet, demure and mischievous at once, draped in a warm
 timbre, but with the unmistakable edge that became, and continues to be, her
 hallmark. Needless to say, the vision of an angelic young Meena Kumari
 (taking a bath, as it happens) serves only to enhance the charm of the song.