Republic Day 2023: From Ek Tu Hi Bharosa to Mere Desh Ki Dharti, five most moving patriotic songs

Songs about the love for one’s country seldom fail to move. You may or may not be a fan of  Manoj Kumar or Mahendra Kapoor. But Mere desh ki dharti from Upkaar is bound to move you.

Speaking on the genesis of this song Manoj Kumar said, “Meri desh ki dharti happened when lyricist Gulshan Bawra and I had gone to a shrine to pay our respects. When we returned from the shrine in the car, Gulshan was singing Mere desh ki dharti sona ugley… jawanon bhar bhar lo jholiyan… khushi se bolo boliyan? I kept quiet as he hummed these lyrics.Two-three years later when I made Upkar, I went to music composer Kalyanji and narrated the script. I called Gulshan home and told him the situation. I recalled the lyrics I had heard him hum near the shrine It had stayed in my mind. I saw it as a great idea that needed to be improvised.”

But Manoj Kumar didn’t like the lines Jawanon bhar lo jholiyan, khushi se bolo boliyan  “I removed it from my Upkaar song. Instead we had Meri desh ki dharti sona ugley ugle heere-moti. Both Kalyanji and Gulshan were hesitant. They said the ‘mukhda’ of a song couldn’t be of one line. But I was adamant. An hour later Gulshan, who was sitting in the next room jumped and said, ‘This is great’. Every filmmaker while writing a screenplay comes to a landmark point in the plot where he thinks a scene can be narrated musically. That situation is given to the lyricist and explained. That was how ‘Mere desh ki dharti’ happened. Gulshan  Bawra  alive in every word of Mere desh ki dharti. That song is imperishable. When Mahendra Kapoor-ji, who sang Mere desh ki dharti, expired our former  prime minister Manmohan Singh said he would always be remembered for Mere desh ki dharti. It hurts to know so many people connected with that song, Kalyanji, Mahendra Kapoor and Gulshan Bawra ,are no more,"

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While the well-known patriotic songs have blared  and  embedded themselves into our subconscious  what about the  patriotic songs  that  got left behind. Every Indian knows Lataji’s Ae mere watan ke logon. How many know the equally  beautiful  peerless paean  to patriotism Jo samar mein ho gaye amar composed by the great and underrated Jaidev?

Jo samar mein ho gaye  amar, written by Narendra Sharma, one of the most favourite poet-lyricists  of Lataji, is a profoundly moving tribute to our soldiers who give up their lived to  keep us safe. Narendra Sharma writes, “Laut kar na aayenge vijay dilane wale veer/Mere geet anjali mein unke  liye  nayan neer..” Lataji sings the words with emotions that cannot be  gauged  in words. In my opinion, this is a superior  patriotic number than the rightly celebrated Ae mere watan ke logon. Why? Because the words are sharper and more expressive. The tune to this non-film song is exceptionally elegant. And Lataji is at her tonal acme.

Interestingly this imperishable ode to Bharat Mata has also been sung by Asha Bhosle. That version of Jo samar mein ho gaye amar is equally beautiful.

We  celebrate AR Rahman’s  composition Vande mataram. But the truth is, it would have been a far superior  piece of art if Hariharan and not Rahman had sung it. Never mind. Rahman did a neglected patriotic song  for Hariharan  in Roja.Hariharan’s rendition of Bharat humko jaan se pyar hai is not overdone. There is no effort in this sober composition to impress us, no desperate attempt to win the Padma Shri by parading his patriotism. A true  classic.

The pinnacle of patriotic passion is projected in Rafi Saab’s Kar chale hum fida jaan-o-tan Saathiyo in Chetan Anand’s Haqeeqat. Composer Madan Mohan and  poet-lyricist Kaifi Azmi imbued that  number with immortality. However there is a hidden gem Meri awaaz suno, a  spark in the dark if you will, in a  1960s’  failed  film Naunihal where the same Rafi-Mohan Mohan- Kaif Azmi team unfurled the profound feelings behind the flag. This somber   number was created on the death of Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru. It is meant to be  Nehruji’s voice addressing the nation after his death.

Produced and directed by Sawan Kumar Tak, Naunihal is about a child obsessed with Nehru Chacha  who  runs away from boarding school, finds his way to Delhi , only to reach on the day that the funeral procession is in progress. This song played in finale of film with  shots of Pandit Nehru’s real  funeral… permission for which could only be granted by Indira Gandhi , who insisted on hearing the song first .The great  composer Madan  Mohan  accompanied the producer with the tape , played the song personally to her and  she loved it. She also  told the composer she  loved  his songs  .

The A  R Rahman  composed  Ek tu hi bharosa ek tu hi sahara in Rajkumar Santoshi’s  Pukar is a hugely  underrated song pleading for world peace. It  is  a masterclass  in mellow musicianship.Lataji’s  most celebrated song with A R Rahman is  Jiya jale from Dil Se when in  fact it is  this composition in Pukar that cries out for its beloved  country  and  melts your heart like an icecream in the sun. Not only is the number special in its evocative images  of worldpeace, it is  extra-special because producer Boney Kapoor cajoled Lataji to sing the song on screen. The children’s choir as her chorus is an extra bonus. To my mind this is Rahman’s best Hindi composition to date.

Subhash K Jha is a Patna-based journalist. He has been writing about Bollywood for long enough to know the industry inside out. Read all the  Latest News,  Trending News,  Cricket News,  Bollywood News,  India News and  Entertainment News here. Follow us on  Facebook,  Twitter and Instagram.