Tarif karun kya us ki

The Moon in Hindi songs does it again!

The quintessential Mohammed Rafi

All that talk of the moon as a metaphor in Hindi songs has generated many comments, and some more song titles where the moon does its mischief. In the imagery of Hindi songwriters, the moon does much more than Cupid. Cupid may shoot an arrow and retreat to other business, but the moon watches over you, covers you with a gentle glow, and apparently listens to the pleas and complaints of lovers. Shailendra wrote Ruk ja raat, teher ja re chanda for Dil Ek Mandir so that the heroine could beseech the moon to linger, for the night was not long enough. In Paying Guest, Nutan bewails, chand phir nikla, magar tum na aaye. 

Predictably, the moon is not content to linger and watch the lovers, it eggs them on, sending signals that only they can hear. In 1954, Lata and Hemant Kumar sang Dekho, woh chand chhupke karta hai kya ishare - look, the moon is making eyes at us. In the same movie, Hemant Da sings Na yeh chand hoga - the moon and the stars may cease to exist, but I will still be yours, forever. Hemant Kumar seems to have taken advantage of the moon previously in Jaal (1952), by singing Yeh raat yeh chaandni phir kahan - this night and the moonlight will soon be gone, stay and hear about my love for you. In Aradhna a mother (Sharmila Tagore) sings to her young son, chanda hai tu, suraj hai tu.

While heroines sigh when stricken with loneliness and sing their hearts out to the moon, the hero often sees it as a yardstick for the beauty of his beloved. Madhubala's face earns the praise from Sunil Dutt in Insaan Jag Utha (1959) as he sings Chand sa mukhada kyun sharmaya. We all know and love Chaudhvin ka chand ho, and who can forget Tu mera chand, main teri chandni  from the 1949 classic Dillagi?

One memorable song which starts with Yeh chand ends up taking us to a very different place. The mastery of Mohammed Rafi and the antics of Shammi Kapoor were a deadly combination in the 60's and 70's. If you ever saw any of the Shammi Kapoor movies from the early 50's, you might have wondered if the Kapoor family fame would stop with Raj Kapoor. But in in 1957, his luck changed. Filmistan's Nassir Hussain made a new image for him with Tumsa nahin dekha. Fortunately, that is the image we all remember today. The debonair, somewhat kooky playboy and Casanova suited him well, and no one could imitate his new persona. 

The immortal Mohammed Rafi,
God's gift to India

In the 40's, it was common for the heroes to sing for themselves on screen, and playback singing became much more popular in the 50's. The great Mohammed Rafi brought a unique talent to this genre. All playback artists were adept at conveying different moods in their voices, but Rafi Saheb took it to a new level. He was able to create a new persona in his voice according to the character on whom it was picturised, and went further to stamp each actor with a distinct voice when singing for them. The most notable was the voice he created for Shammi Kapoor. This special talent that Rafi brought with him was never duplicated by any other singer.

It has been said that this special voice and style that Mohammed Rafi created was the voice that made Shammi Kapoor's fame in Bollywood.  I do not think that anyone would seriously contest this claim. Mr. Kapoor did, indeed, possess very good acting talent, but the brand that Rafi Saheb made for him was the icing on the cake. The masterpiece that instantly reminds all Bollywood fans of this fact is the brainchild of O.P. Nayyar in Kashmir ki Kali. As mentioned above, the lyrics do start with our moon, yeh chand, but the public remembers it better for the refrain, Tarif karun kya us ki.

Sharmila Tagore in her maiden role
as the flower girl in Kashmir ki kali

For all of us who love Mohammed Rafi, and I believe there could be almost a billion of us, this song holds a very special place in our minds. He brought out the character in the movie so vividly with his voice in this song that the movie became an instant success, and the song played on hit parades for years. The note that goes with every repetition of the word Tarif was an explosive announcement that the playboy was here, after his girl, and is not about to let go. In her first movie role, Sharmila shines as a shy flower girl, at first smiling at the praise being showered on her, then getting annoyed at the serenade, finally succumbing when Shammi Kapoor steps off the boat into the water when dancing his heart out. 

Watch the scene, listen to the song, and re-live those moments here.  

Lyrics in Hindi:

ये चाँद सा रोशन चहरा, ज़ुल्फ़ों का रँग सुनहरा

ये झील सी नीली आँखें, कोई राज़ है इन में गहरा,

तारीफ़ करूँ क्या उस की, जिस नें तुम्हे बनाया

एक चीज़ क़यामत भी है, लोगों से सुना करते थे,

तुम्हे देख के मैं नें माना, वो ठीक कहा करते थे

वो ठीक कहा करते थे

है चाल में तेरी ज़ालिम, कुछ ऐसी बला का जादू

सौ बार सम्भाला दिल को,पर हो के रहा बेक़ाबू,

तारीफ़ करूँ क्या उस की, जिस नें तुम्हे बनाया

  हर सुबह किरन की लाली, है रँग तेरे गालों का

हर शाम की चादर काली, साया है तेरे बालों का

 साया है तेरे बालों का

तू बलखाती एक नदिया, हर मौज तेरी अँगडाई

जो इन मौजों में डूबा, उस नें ही दुनिया पाई

तारीफ़ करूँ क्या उस की, जिस नें तुम्हे बनाया

मैं खोज में हूँ मंज़िल के, और मंज़िल पास है मेरे

मुखडे से हटा दो आँचल, हो जाएँ दूर अंधेरे,

हो जाएँ दूर अंधेरे,

माना के ये जलवे तेरे, कर देंगे मुझे दीवाना

जी भर के ज़रा मैं देखूँ, अंदाज़ तेरा मस्ताना,

तारीफ़ करूँ क्या उस की, जिस नें तुम्हे बनाया

When Shammi Kapoor repeats the refrain several times at the end and dances on the boat, it is a scene to remember.

In English script:

Ye chand sa roshan chahraa, zulfon ka rang sunahara,

Ye jheel si nili aankhen, koi raaz hai in me gahraa

Tarif karun kya us ki, jis ne tumhe banaya 

Ek cheez qayamat bhi hai, logon se suna karte the

Tumhe dekh ke main ne maanaa, wo Teek kaha karte the

Wo Teek kaha karte the

Hai chaal men teri zaalim, kuchh aisi bala ka jadoo,

Sau bar sambhala dil ko, par ho ke raha beqaboo,

Tarif karun kya us ki, jis ne tumhe banaya

Har ek subah ki laali, hai rang tere gaalon ka

Har shaam ki chaadar kaali, saya hai tere baalon ka

Saya hai tere baalon ka

Tu balkhati ek nadiya, har mauj teri angadayi

Jo in maujon me dooba, us ne hi duniya payi

Tarif karun kya us ki, jis ne tumhe banaya

Main khoj me hoon manzil ke, aur manzil pas hai mere

Mukhde se hata do aanchal, ho jayen door andhere

Ho jayen door andhere

Maana ke ye jalve tere, kar denge mujhe deevana

Ji bhar ke zara main dekhoon, andaz tera mastana

Tarif karun kya us ki, jis ne tumhe banaya

Translation:

The face, aglow like the moon, the golden tresses,

Eyes blue as the lake, surely they hide some secret

He, who has created you, how can I praise Him enough?

I have heard many speak of the apocalypse*,

Now that I have laid eyes on you, I know they must have been right

There is a special magic in your gait

A hundred times I managed my heart, 

But still ended up out of control

He, who has created you, how can I praise Him enough?

The blush of every dawn is the color of your cheeks

The blanket of every night is the color of your hair

You are a flowing river, and when you stretch, the waves roll

He who has drowned in these waves, he alone has reaped the world

He, who has created you, how can I praise Him enough?

I am in search of my destination, but it is right here at hand

Move the veil aside from your face, let the darkness vanish

Granted the splendor will drive me mad, 

Yet let me drink in the beauty as my heart desires

He, who has created you, how can I praise Him enough?

(Her tresses are golden in the first verse, and dark as the night in the third. That is either poetic license, or another subtle way to show how confused someone can be when falling in love.)

* The word qayamat represents the apocalypse of the religions of the Book. It is when everything comes to an end. In love poems, this word often appears, to express that feeling of falling in love, when nothing else matters, nothing else exists, you have arrived where you want to be, now let Time stop if it wants. There simply is no other word which can describe that moment.

Hope you enjoyed the lyrics and the song. It was wonderful to re-live the scene in the movie and the beautiful composition of O.P. Nayyar and the magic of Mohammed Rafi as I was writing this.

You will notice that I have changed the wallpaper on this blog. The one I chose first turned out to be very busy and difficult to view on mobile phones. I hope this one works better. Please send me feedback on this.

Please do remember to share with your friends, and send me your requests for your favorite songs in the comment box. Thank you.

Venkat