Elevenses: Train Songs

Recently I was listening to the song “Mere sapnon ki rani…” from ‘Aradhana’, the film which catapulted Rajesh Khanna to superstardom and made him the very first (and the only) “Phenomenon” in the Hindi film industry. The song shows Sharmila Tagore, at a window seat of a coach of the Darjeeling Himalayan Railway “Toy Train” reading, trying to, or pretending to read, Alistair Maclean’s “When Eight Bells Toll” and Rajesh Khanna crooning away, in a Jeep driven by Sujit Kumar, running parallel to the train. Those who know this place say the locale for the song was the Batasia Loop near Darjeeling in the Kurseong-Darjeeling section.

The music in this song, of the shrill flute mimicking a steam engine’s whistle and the rhythmic "hiss hiss hiss" in the background reminding you of the pistons pumping away and the steam escaping in little puffs, the accordion emphasizing the rhythm … one doesn’t have to have seen the film to visualize the train chugging along. Totally romantic, I should say. One almost forgets the Jeep (in itself a vehicle much favoured by the Hindi film industry for picturising songs in) which rolls along parallel to the train. A composition made for the train, this song.

Another equally romantic song and one which also became a superhit is "Hum dono do premi duniya chhod chalein" from the Rajesh Khanna-Zeenat Aman starrer ‘Ajnabi’. The duo is on bales of hay stacked on the flatbed wagon of a goods train (the easier to hop on and off), singing away with abandon. I don’t remember whether they were running away, escaping or just going for a ride. Rahul Dev Burman, the composer, has paced this song so beautifully that the melody and the beat create the mood effortlessly.

My thoughts now go to another song, “Gaadi bula rahi hai …” (from ‘Dost’), where the train, as it chugs along, becomes the exemplar for the singer to dole out the philosophy of life. The train is adviser personified and every movement is a piece of advice. This song, featuring Dharmendra, was picturised on the then Simla Toy Train running from Kalka to Simla (now called Shimla) This has become an iconic song.

And no doubt you have heard the song "Rail gaadi" sung for children by Dada Moni Ashok Kumar in the film ‘Ashirwad’ which remains a firm favourite in that category even today. The way he reels off rhyming names of places in pairs in that breathless style of his is simply captivating. This is “rapping” of the highest order! The song was written by the irrepressible Harindranath Chattopadhyay and the music was scored by Vasant Desai.

Two Rahul Dev Burman creations are among my favourites; "Dhanno ki ankhon mein raat ka surma..." from ‘Kitaab’ and "Hoga tumse pyara kaun..." from ‘Zamane Ko Dijkhana Hai’. In the first one, the locoman (or engine driver, in my childhood parlance) romanticises about Dhanno which is the name of his girlfriend who lives in a village along the train's route. But to me, as I listen to the song, the engine takes on a life of its own and could very well be the Dhanno in the song. In the second song, Rishi Kapoor tries to pacify an angry Padmini Kolhapure, both sitting atop a railway carriage as the train chugs along. As the track meanders through the scenic countryside, so does the tune, transporting the listener to an idyllic land far, far away.

Then there is the Sachin Dev Burman composition from the film ‘Kala Bazaar’ in the voice of the inimitable Mohammad Rafi: "Apni to har aah ek toofan hai...". What a melodious song this is, and how beautifully picturised! There is only the barest hint that this song is picturised in a train but that is more than enough to make you go along for the melodious ride!

There is a certain something about the chugging sound made by a steam engine which cannot be replicated by any other. The modern day diesel engines and electric locomotives may have awesome pulling power but they cannot hold a candle to the romanticism of yesteryear’s steam engine.

Indeed, I think any composer would be proud to have a train song in his repertoire.

(Disclaimer: All the links to the “train songs” given below are taken from youtube. All rights to these songs vest with the respective Copyright owners and no copyright infringement is intended. These links / songs are posted here purely for personal entertainment and not for any commercial purpose.)

1. Mere sapnon ki rani

– ARADHANA – Kishore Kumar / Anand Bakshi / Sachin Dev Burman

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vo1MykK4u8U

2. Hum dono do premi duniya chhod chalein

– AJNABI – Kishore Kumar, Lata Mangeshkar / Anand Bakshi / Rahul Dev Burman
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d7ABnmJETxE

3. Gaadi bula rahi hai

– DOST – Kishore Kumar / Anand Bakshi / Laxmikant-Pyarelal

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i46jlVrrwdQ

4. Rail gaadi

– ASHIRWAAD – Ashok Kumar / Harindranath Chattopadhyay / Vasant Desai
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D8IJKI0vmQE

5. Dhanno ki aankhon mein

– KITAAB – Rahul Dev Burman / Gulzar / Rahul Dev Burman