Note: The complete version of this song is now in the consolidated ISB. The original FITB article is retained here for archival purposes.

An RMIM thread about missing stanzas got me thinking again about a series I thought of beginning on RMIM but never got around to doing. The idea is to take songs in the ITRANS book and provide the missing words or stanzas. For lack of a better (i.e., more musical) name for the series, I decided to name it "Fill In The Blanks." If someone could come up with a more fitting name, please let me know....suggestions invited.

I will post as often as I can, but don't want to commit myself to a fixed schedule. Also, I hope other RMIMers will participate in the series by writing up the missing stanzas that they may know to any songs in the ISB and posting them as part of the series. I'm hoping that the missing stanzas will make their way into the ISB eventually. Meanwhile, let me take the opportunity to say that all of us on RMIM are really grateful to those who have set up and continue to maintain the ISB. It is a time consuming and thankless task, and yet provides the rest of us with an invaluable resource. This series is dedicated to them in gratitude.

So here goes: installment 1 of a new series. This is one of Suman Kalyanpur's best-known songs, but complete recordings are AFAIK currently unavailable from HMV. From my radio days I remember the song as having five stanzas, but only four show up on the HMV "Film Hits of Suman Kalyanpur" CD, only two on the Music India "Best of Suman Kalyanpur" CD. These four stanzas are in the ISB:

Film: Noor Mahal (1965)
Singer: Suman Kalyanpur
Music: Jani Babu Qawwal
Lyrics: Saba Afghani
ISB Contributor: C. S. Sudarshana Bhat

mere mahabuub naa jaa, naa jaa naa jaa
mere mahabuub na jaa, aaj kii raat na jaa
honevaalii hai sahar, tho.Dii der aur Thahar
mere mahabuub na jaa ...

dekh kitanaa hasiin mausam hai
har taraf ik ajiib aalam hai
zarre is taraha aaj nikhare hai.n
jaise taare zamii.n pe bikhare hai.n, mere mahabuub ...

mai.nne kaaTe hai.n intazaar ke din
tab kahii.n aa_e hai.n bahaar ke din
yuu.N naa jaa dil kii shamaa Gul karake
abhii dekhaa nahii.n hai jii bharake, mere mahabuub ...

jab se zulafo.n kii chhaa.Nv paaii hai
beqaraarii ko nii.nd aaii hai
is qayaamat ko yuu.Nhii sone de
raat Dhalane de subaha hone de, mere mahabuub ...

is tarah pher kar nazar mujh se
duur jaaegaa tuu agar mujhase
chaa.Ndanii se bhii aag barasegii
shamaa bhii raushanii ko tarasegii, mere mahabuub ...

The missing stanza is the fifth. It goes:

dha.Dkano.n me.n yahii taraane hai.n
tere rukane ke sau bahaane hai.n
mere dil kii zaraa sadaa sun le
pyaasii nazaro.n kii iltajaa sun le, mere mahabuub ...