Romance Through The Rain Ballad – Rimjhim Ke Tarane – Kala Bazar

Come monsoon and the marquee of nature brightens up. Evocative and vivid. Fresh smell of the earth, the thunder of the clouds, the rejoicing fields, the cool breeze. Thick black clouds heralding rains. Monsoon knocking on the doors and windows. Fragrance of romance. Monsoon plays cupid and there’s a downpour of sweet soft memories. Splashes here, puddles there. Intimacy shared under that umbrella! Drawing water parallel with fire!!

Rimjhim ke tarane leke aayi barsaat – the iconic romancing in the rain, under an umbrella song from Kala Bazaar (1960), a timeless classic. The film starring all the 3 Anand brothers – Chetan, Dev and Vijay. With no dull moment to spare in this film, enthralling and pure entertainer, it creates magic. Debonair Dev who takes to black marketing cinema tickets to make quick money is transformed when he meets the very beautiful Alka (Waheeda Rehman). Together they share a fascinating chemistry onscreen. Though Raghuvir (Dev) is aware that Alka is in love with Nand, he manipulates the situations to make her fall in love with him. It is incredible how the film shows that a girl is capable of falling in love twice. Very maturely handled by Vijay Anand indeed.

Romance brought in by this rain ballad which is about to drizzle. The first meeting with your beloved, the memories, the candy floss moment of the first glance, the memories come in with the gathering of the clouds and they start the downpour on your mind with the first drizzle. S D Burman always made music that created mood. His compositions were nor purely classical nor completely devotional but they were always full of nectar. Using minimum instruments, he created maximum melody. There’s a drizzle of instruments at the beginning of the song, just as the memories of love come drizzling to Alka and Raghuvir. As the steady, smooth voice of Rafi is joined by the honey dipped voice of Geeta Dutt, you can experience the heavy downpour of memories now. The sitar strings nudges the heart to go in those thoughts much deeper. In comes the lyrical genius of Shailendra – Bheege tan man pade ras ki fuhaar, pyar ka sandesa laayi barkha bahar – Ras ki fuhaar – rains outside and the nectar of love inside, it has just brought in the message of love. Main na bolun, ankhein kare ankhiyon se baat – the messages are not verbal, it is spoken through the eyes, there’s an exchange of words between them. Rafi’s voice is so soft, at times you feel it merely caresses you!!!

Sun ke matwaale kaale baadalon ka shor, jhoom jhoom ghoom ghoom naache mann ka mor – It is a characteristic of a peacock to dance at the sight of the opulent black clouds. But when in love the heart does the same (Only Shailendra can come up with these lines) Can you hear your heart echo with each “Ghoom” pronounced by Geeta Dutt? It is the first declaration of their love for each other, shy and sweet. Shailendra aptly writes – Jab milte ho tum kyun chhidte hain dil ke taar, milne ko tumse main kyun tha beqaraar, reh jaati hai kyun hothon tak aake dil ki baat – the new found love is evoking pleasant feelings. It tugs at the heartstrings, whenever they meet. It is still on the threshold of declaration, cherishing the sweet nervousness!!

The visuals of rain lashed esplanade of old Bombay, the ephemeral images of their flashback, their muted feelings for each other under the shared umbrella, makes it one of the best picturised songs in Hindi cinema (thanks to Vijay Anand). Keeping the song in the background is his way of showing that the couple hasn’t expressed the feeling to each other. It is all still in their heart and mind. Izhaar of love is yet to take place!!
It is raining romance through this timeless ballad!!!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ReZ0mMQuhBM