Songs in the praise of Nature

Mother Nature is an integral part of our day to day life. We can not survive without it. The rains, the cool breeze, colourful and fragrant flowers, beautiful butterflies, the moon, the twinkling stars, the twilight and so on………………………………….

Kalidas and other Sanskrit poets were heavily influenced by nature. Kalidas,in his epic ‘Meghdoot’ portrays heavenly shades of nature such as mountain ranges and clouds. The film Kavi Kalidas (1959), Directed by S N Tripathi, who also composed for it, has a beautiful song based on Meghdoot. “O Aashadh Ke Pehle Baadal” by Lata Mangeshkar, Manna Dey & Chorus. A similar song was composed way back in 1944, for the movie, Meghdoot and was sung by Jagmohan sursagar, ‘O Varsha Ke Pehle Baadal‘. I love the latter more for its tune and subtle but intelligent orchestration. It creates such a magical atmosphere.

The green twigs of trees shining in the sun and a melodious sound of water flowing in the springs create a soothing atmosphere and relax the mind. The occasional chirping of birds further adds a different dimension to the otherwise still silence of the nature.

The flowing rivers, the boatman singing a folk song, instantly puts us into a trance, and we experience peace of mind, otherwise difficult in modern life.The full moon, the stars are always associated  with the romance between a couple. The comparison of face of a woman to shining full moon is something that we commonly come across in poems. The full moon is also believed to be an ideal night for a romantic date.

Today’s post is a bit different. Usually we think of romantic songs, songs having a particular word or phrase. But today, I present a list of Hindi film songs that praise the beauty of Nature.

We do not come across such songs every now and then. Not that all the songs are only about nature. Few songs depict romantic connections actually or metaphorically. So I have included the songs that mainly describe the beauty of nature, and also some may describe its connection to the character singing the song. But the song should be about nature in major extent (at least one stanza devoted to it)

1. Ye Kaun Chitrakar Hai – Boond Jo Ban Gayi Moti (1967) Mukesh / Satish Bhatia – Bharat Vyas

This was the first song that I remembered when I thought of this theme. What a ‘picturesque’ description (though the word may not be used in that sense) of Nature! The green colour itself stands for Nature. The mere mention of it makes us think of luscious green vallies. And what’s more,it’s full of colourful flowers! Well, that’s what this song is all about. The comparison of Mountain tops to recluse sitting in penance, the beautiful rose beds, tall cedar trees, really amazing! Jitendra plays a school teacher, and he asks in completely mesmerized way ‘Yeh Kaun Chitrakar Hai?’ as if he really wonders whose creation is it? Such a beautiful lyrics, each and every word is a gem. Is the tune western styled? Or is it the guitar that makes me think so? Still it appears purely Indian!

2. Jyoti Kalsh Chhalake – Bhabhi Ki Chudiyan (1961) Lata Mangeshkar / Sudhir Phadke – Pandit Narendra Sharma

Where else would we get such a glorious image of a beautiful sunrise and a lovely morning. For me, the song is a sacred one. I see pleasant and bright cheerful sunrise in front of my eyes, as I listen to it. The early sun rays turning everything golden yellow, dewdrops shining on buds & flowers, warmth of the early sunlight, all create such a lively picture! All the things make us feel positive about our dreams.

Paat Paat Birva Hariyala
Dharati Ka Mukh Hua Ujala
Sach Sapne Kal Ke

A wonderfully written poem ( I won’t call it a song), it’s one of the best songs of Lata Mangeshkar for Sudhir Phadke.

3. Suhana Safar Aur Yeh Mausam – Madhumati (1958) Mukesh / Salil Choudhari – Shailendra

A memorable song from the movie. Glorious song once again by Mukesh. Anand (Dilip Kumar) is visiting the countryside for the first time and is enchanted by Nature there. He is wandering cheerfully along the paths,admiring trees, waterfalls and rivers. He compares the flowing river to a young woman who is returning after a date, he admires floating clouds almost touching  the mountain tops. Enjoy this wonderful song. I at times think of the song in colour, but BnW songs have their own charm.

4. Hari Hari Dharti Hai – Mahabharat (1965) Lata Mangeshkar / Chitragupt – Bharat Vyas

The video for the song is not available, but you can imagine it very well. The colours in very first line of the song take us directly to a beautiful scene with green trees and the clear blue sky, the lingering fragrance of  the flowers, make the scene more beautiful. Yellow, blue flowers falling from the trees, climbers surrounding the tree branches, bumble bees buzzing over the flowers, all complete the picture. Here again, Bharat Vyas describes the beauty of Nature with enchanting words. Chitragupt, as always, creates magic with Lata Mangeshkar with this simple but sweet melody .

5. Sharabi Sharabi Yeh Sawan Ka Mausam – Noor Jahan (1967) Suman Kalyanpur / Roshan – Shakil Badayuni

The song talks about monsoon, the transformation of the nature in front of our eyes . The cuckoo (koel) starts singing, clouds start gathering in the sky, the blossoming flowers turn pink, drops of early rains get sprinkled on the flowers, oh what magical turns it brings about ! She thinks the colour of love gets spread everywhere with the monsoon and that makes the season so lovable and appealing. Suman Kalyanpur’s expressive voice enhances the charm of the song.

6. Umad Ghumad Kar Aayi Re Ghata – Do Aamkhen Barah Haath (1957) Lata Mangeshkar & Manna Dey / Vasant Desai – Bharat Vyas

A beautiful rain song, a feast for ears. The song very effectively and melodiously describes the rains and the prosperity, happiness and wealth it brings with it. There are green farms, greener trees and the rain from drizzle to showers. The wind whizzing through the farms, the thundering black clouds, rains emulating sweetly smiling bride and the monsoon as groom, all forms a beautiful picture of greenery. In the song, we can see  farming, right from ploughing, to sowing and harvesting. Such a picturesque description of nature! as if a beautiful picture is being painted right in front of our eyes. Even if the film is not in colour, our mind imagines the mother Nature wrapping a green shawl.

7. Parbaton Ke Pedon Par – Shagun (1964) Rafi & Suman Kalyanpur / Khayyam – Sahir

How beautifully can one describe a sunset? Here’s the answer! We have a song depicting a beautiful and melodious sunset. The song has some uncommon words like ‘Champai Andhera’ and ‘Surmai Ujala’. But these words fit so well in the song that we can visualise a beautiful mountain with trees, where the setting sun creates shadows of the trees as well as makes the green leaves appear silvery in its orange red light. The waves in the lake, the cool fragrant breeze all add to the impressive picture of a romantic evening. In last stanza the couple says what more could they ask for when they both are together and committed to each other.

8. Pighla Hai Sona – Jaal (1952) Lata Mangeshkar & Chorus / S D Burman – Sahir

This may be a lesser known song from the movie. It is about beautiful sunset. Sahir shows his talent in this genre as well. The comparison of the yellow-orange colour of sunset to melting gold is a unique in itself! The silence of the evening, drooping branches as if bowing to the god, birds returning to nests, hazy but attractive far away objects, clouds roaming around in the sky, all compliment to the sunset. No one knows the secret of this phenomenon, The God is remembered for his wonderful creations and everyone is worshiping him for the magical Nature. The picturisation is somewhat disappointing! But after all it’s a 1952 movie, may be outdoor shooting was still restricted to a few shots, that too long shots perhaps. The same shot of sunset with a boat sailing in the sea appear often.

9. Naye Naye Rangon Se Likhati – Kavi Kalidas (1959) Manna Dey / S N Tripathi – Bharat Vyas

The song is based on ‘Ritusanhar’ by Kalidas. It summarizes the use of various colours to portray every season on the mother Earth, that signifies the different patterns of a season and their influence on our mind and mood. Grishma (Summer) makes us uncomfortable, we use sandal for its cooling effects. The trees get dried up, rivers turn dry, the cool breeze has disappeared, birds sit silent on trees. The picture changes with the arrival of rains (Barkha) and earth turns green magically. So does our mood! Sharad (Winter) and Spring (Autumn) follow monsoon and the nature rediscovers itself after a short season of Fall. The flowers blossom and bumblebees starts buzzing. What a through knowledge of seasons our ancestors had! To underline the diversity of seasons, Tripathi uses a suitable Raag for a particular season. A thoroughly enjoyable song!

10. Mausam Hai Jawan – Tower House (1962) Asha Bhosle / Ravi – Asad Bhopali

Beautiful Shakila enjoying alone in the valley of flowers, waterfall, lake around a picturesque landscape. She finds everything very beautiful and admirable, but she is badly missing her love. There are no dramatic descriptions but subtle mentions of the beauty of Nature, yet very adorable. Enjoy the less commonly heard song.

Do you want add a song?

Disclaimer – Mehfil Mein Meri, claims no credit for any image, screenshots or songs posted on this site. Images on this blog are posted to make the text interesting. The images and screenshots are the copyright of their original owners. The song links are shared from YouTube, only for the listening convenience of music lovers. The copyright of these songs rests with the respective owners, producers and music companies.