Master of melody

Anyone who’s a Lata-bhakt is bound to be eternally attached to Madan Mohan’s vast repertoire of compositions for her. From Saawri surat man bhaye in Adaa in 1951 to Jaaiyiye humse khafa ho jaiyiye from Chaalbaz released posthumously after the melodist’s untimely death in 1980 - Madan Mohan created a repertoire of songs for the Nightingale that get more fragrant with every passing year.

The term “timeless” seems to have been invented for Madan Mohan, specially his melodies for Lata Mangeshkar which acquire a new scintillating life on every hearing. I have lost count of how many times I have listened to Lata singing her Madan Bhaiyya’s Lag jaa gale se (Woh Kaun Thi), Mushquil Hai Jeena(Sahib Bahadur), Duniya Banaane Wale and Hai Tere Saath Meri Wafaa(Hindustan Ki Kasam) and all the three masterpieces from Dastak, Maai Ri, Baiyyan Na Dharo Balma and Hum Hain Mataaye Kucha-o-Bazaar Ki Terah. Let’s not make this an exercise in song listing, that could go on forever.

I still can’t figure out how Madan Mohan did it! The melodies are like shimmering streams of water, you can see right through them but you still don’t know how they work. There were other composing geniuses who wove their own magic around the Nightingale’s throat. Sachin Dev Burman and his son RD, Roshan and his son Rajesh, Shankar-Jaikishan and Laxmikant-Pyarelal were some composing juggernauts who were spurred into out-composing themselves because of the magical throat at their disposal. With each one of them the Nightingale went through periods of professional dispute resulting in bleak bouts of boycott.

Not Madan Mohan. From the day they met at his father Rai Bahadur Chunilal’s Filmistan studio to the day he died, he remained the Nightingale’s Madan Bhaiyya. As much a part of his family as his music. Her relationship with the composer continues through his son Sanjeev Kohli who’s almost like a surrogate-son to the Nightingale.

Sanjeev’s roomy reminiscences about his father reveal a genius whose selfworth was unflinching. Madan Mohan never sought out assignments. They came to him on their own. Lamentably, with the exception of Chetan Anand and Raj Khosla, no prestigious banners availed of his illimitable talents. There were talks once of Raj Kapoor signing Madan Mohan. But nothing happened. Resultantly, songs after immortal song by Madan Mohan figured in B and C-grade family socials and costume dramas like Sanjog, Anpadh, Manmauji, Jahan Ara, Ghazal and Suhagan.

The absence of big banners bothered the brilliant composer. In his unguarded moments he would wonder what he was doing wrong. And when during family outings his own children would hum Shankar-Jaikishan’s Baharon phool barsaao instead of Naina barse rim jhim he would be hurt beyond consolation.

Some learned critics are of the opinion that Madan Mohan’s songs lack populist appeal. This is pure nonsense, perpetrated to justify the great disservice done to the composer during his lifetime. What was Jhumka gira re(Mera Saaya), Milo na tum to hum ghabrayen(HeerRanjha), Tum jo mil gaye ho(Hanste Zakhm), Simti si sharamayee si(Parwana) and Husn haazir hai(Laila Majnu) if not populist? Ironically, Husn haazir hai and the other tracks in Laila Majnu became the biggest successes of Madan Mohan’s career only months after his death.

His last months were painful for the composer as well as those close to him. Unable to comprehend the logistics and definitions of populism, frustrated and embittered by the lack of commercial success, Madan Mohan passed away on 14 July in 1975. He was only 51 years old.

Today the world and its favourite musicologist are busy rediscovering the magic of Madan Mohan. I wish they had done so during his lifetime. Unfortunately, music minded movie makers worked in insulated camps which Madan Mohan neither had the inclination nor the immodesty to penetrate. Hrishikesh Mukherjee recently regretted working with Madan Mohan so late in his career in Bawarchi. Hrishida described the score as the best in his cinema. That, coming from a filmmaker whose songs in Abhimaan, Anari and Anand are worth dying for, comes as surprise. When I asked Hrishida why he didn’t work more often with Mohan Mohan, he replied, “You know how it is. When you work constantly with the same group of people you are influenced into believing they are the best.”

But Madan Mohan was better than the best. His compositions stand in a class apart. There’s no question of over-stressing the Lata-factor in Madan Mohan’s creative ambit. Her voice was to his songs what the Taj Mahal is to Agra. There are numerous incidents to cite the composer’s complete faith in his melodious muse. Once Asha Bhosle asked Madan Mohan why she can’t sing his songs. And if you’ve heard Ashabai doing the rare stray Madan Mohan melody like Jane kya haal ho sheeshe ka paiyamane ka in Maa Ka Aanchal, that came her way, you’d know how much she desired the opportunity.

But Madan Mohan smiled and replied, Jab tak Lata hai tab tak nahin. The Nightingale has always shared a special rapport with all her composers from Master Sajjad Husain to Vishal Bharadwaj. But her melody bond with Madan Mohan was extra-special. Almost celestially blessed. How else do we rationalize the bliss-quantity that they generated together in melody after melody created in Madan Mohan’s flat in central Mumbai. Madan Mohan could extract the exact elixir required for his enchanting tunes from the singer chosen to put it across.

Besides Lata, Talat Mahmood who in many ways embodied the filmy ghazal, suited Madan Mohan’s compositions to perfection. Singers were envious of his tuning with the Nightingale. Once Manna Dey who sang one of his career’s best songs Sur na saje for Madan Mohan was reportedly heard grumbling. “He only has time and attention for Lata.”

Those flawless melodies flow into our senses,irrigate our hearts and souls and remind us that Madan Mohan was not only the King Of The Ghazal, he was the king in exile whose kingdom was snatched away by fate. Anyone who could compose Main to tum sang nain milake haar gayi sajna deserved to be anointed for posterity. Madan Mohan didn’t compose songs. He created kingdoms. Dozens and dozens of them.

Subhash K Jha