The trigger.
I got this message forwarded to me in WhatsApp by a friend “Sonu Nigam singing Mohd. Rafi’s famous song “Dil ke jharoke mein” in a concert in London… All instruments are played by foreigners except the singing by Mr Sonu Nigam ! The song is from movie “Brahmachari” released in 1968 composed by the great Shankar Jaikishan! A marvellous song enjoyed even today (after 50 years!) in its full spirit and melody by the mass!”
Sonu Nigam is a contemporary singer in our Hindi films and other programmes. This was obviously aimed at the Indian diaspora in London.
The Original clip from the film showing the song as originally sung by Mohd. Rafi with Shammi Kapoor lipsynching the song.
The memory.
The film Brahmachari was released in 1968 just before our wedding. After our marriage, Urmeela and I had set up home in Delhi in December of 1968, during the midst of the wedding season. In North India, weddings are preceded by the groom arriving on horseback escorted by his family and a brass band. This is called a barat. Since this song was very popular and all about a man declaring his love for a girl, this was the choice song for the brassbands throughout the season. Not a day passed without our being exposed to this noisy band music coming up from the streets till quite late in the nights.
Unfortunately, I am unable to locate a brass band playing the tune but to give you an idea of such music here is a clip showing a barat but, with a different tune.
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