Pulse Of Patriotism – Kavi Pradeep

By Deepa | February 6, 2018

Ae mere watan ke logon, tum khoob lagaa lo naara
Yeh shubh din hai hum sab kaa, lehra lo tiranga pyara
Par mat bhulo seema par, viron ne hai pran gavae
Kuchh yaad unhe bhi kar lo
Kuchh yaad unhe bhi kar lo
Jo laut ke ghar na aaye
Ae mere watan ke logon, zara aankh me bhar lo paani,
Jo shaheed hue hain unki, zara yaad karo qurbaani
Tum bhool na jao unko, isliye suno ye kahaani
Jo shaheed hue hain unki, zara yaad karo qurbaani
Jab ghayal hua himalaya, khatre me padi azaadi
Jab tak thi saans lade woh, phir apni laash bichha di,
Sangeen pe dhar kar maatha, so gaye amar balidaani
Jo shaheed hue hain unki, zara yaad karo qurbaani

He imbued perception of nationalism through this song. The song which commemorates Indian soldiers who died during the Sino-Indian War in 1962. The song was first performed live by Lata Mangeshkar on 27 January 1963 at the National Stadium in New Delhi in the presence of President Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan and Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru, on account of Republic Day 26 January 1963, which was just two months after the end of the war. The song also inspired soldiers to withstand the difficult situations they were in. He fathomed the pulse of the Indian hearts and his patriotic fervour won him the epithet of Rashtrakavi.
Born as Ramchandra Narayanji Dwivedi on 6th February 1915, he wrote under the pseudonym Pradeep during his college days. He mesmerised the audience through the poems since his younger days in kavi sammelans. During one such kavi sammelans in Mumbai, he was invited by Himanshu Rai of Bombay Talkies to write lyrics for his film Kangan (1939). He wrote lyrics for 4 songs and also sang 3 songs from the film.

His participation in the Quit India Movement helped him express his love for the country later during his career as a lyricist. Whether it was singing the valour tales of the heroes of the nation or a vehement about difference between poor and the rich or revolution, Kavi Pradeep always brought out the reality through his words. His wasn’t what we call blind patriotism. But along with patriotic numbers he also wrote lyrics for romantic and devotional songs. Here’s a mixed bag of his songs –

1. Bandhan (1940) – The song which took the entire nation by storm. Composed by Saraswati Devi and rendered by Leela Chitnis and Ashok Kumar. It boosts the spirit of freedom struggle.

2. Jhoola (1941) – The song which we all know as the show stopper from Padosan (1968), was originally from Jhoola, written by Kavi Pradeep, composed by Saraswati Devi and rendered by Ashok Kumar.

3. Kismet (1943) – The film which was the first big hit in the history of Hindi cinema and the first blockbuster in Indian cinema. A quintessential Anil Biswas soundtrack. Which had the famous soothing lullaby Dheere dheere aa re badal, also had the patriotic hit Duur hato ae duniya waalon Hindustan hamara hai…... Kavi Pradeep had to go underground to avoid arrest since the lyrics suggested negative references against Japan and Germany, in a hidden way.

4. Mashaal (1950) – This film brought Kavi Pradeep and S D Burman together. This particular song should be the first which Manna Dey sang for Ashok Kumar.

5. Nastik (1954) – Describing the poor situation of the mankind, the lyrics still stand true in today’s situation.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1_5LLtxAB4I

6. Jagriti (1954) – Kavi Pradeep at his creative best form. With songs like Aao baccchon tumhein dikhayein, Hum laaye hain toofan ke kashti nikal ke and the ultimate tribute to Mahatma Gandhi – Sabarmati ke sant tune kar diya kamaal.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PIKLTEtntI8

7. Paigham (1959) – The first film to star Dilip Kumar and Raaj Kumar together, music by C. Ramchandra.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0rcAHnhZl9A

8. Harishchandra Taramati (1963) – One of the early works of the duo Laxmikant Pyarelal, this number is rendered by Hemant Kumar,

9. Sambandh (1969) – A cynical story of father and son, starring Pradeep Kumar and Deb Mukherjee. This particular number gives the essence of Rabindranath Tagore’s Ekla cholo re.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1HsLqPcayh4

10. Jai Santoshi Maa (1975) – Proving his best even in the 70s, Kavi Pradeep won the hearts of cine goers with songs from this low budget film.