Jhulo Jhulo Re Jhulana Jhulaaun
Film: Ekadashi
Year: 1955
Composer: Avinash Vyas
Raaga: Gaud Sarang

Raag Gaud Sarang is an enchanting melody of the midday. The name is quite misleading, since there is no Sarang raag-anga in it. It is in fact closer to the Kalyan group of raags as well as to another sweet morning group Bilawal. The melodic intent of this raag must have been playful, demonstrated by the vakra chalan. N S G R m G establishes this raag right away. There is also a very special P R S movement, distinct from a similar phrasing of the Kalyan anga, that is often used to return to shadja.

My first active recollection of Gaud Sarang is through Pt. D.V. Paluskar’s rendition of the canonical cheez ‘piyu pala na laagi mori akhiyaa.N’. It is a text-book Gaud Sarang, especially the vakra taans that capture the essence of the raag beautifully. It remains a personal favorite of mine. (Watch on Youtube)

Zohrabai of Agra, one of the finest representatives of her gharana ever recorded, sings the vilambit khayal ‘kajarare gori tore naina’ in this early record  (Watch on Youtube)  and Pt. Ravi Shankar is at his melodic best as he plays a gat in the 14-beat ada-chautaal (Watch on Youtube)

There are many other iconic recordings by Faiyaz Khan sahab, Bhimsen Joshi and other Kirana stalwarts, Kishori Amonkar, and so on. There is a lovely tarana sung stirringly by Krishnarao Shankar Pandit of Gwalior, but the version sung by the Jaipur gharana singer Azam Bai is quite arresting (Watch on Youtube).

One of the landmark bhajans of Hindi filmdom ‘allah tero naam’ is based on Gaud Sarang. It is not an overtly classical composition. It is to Jaidev’s credit that he took the structure of the raag and melded it beautifully with the mood of the poetry. The outcome is a sensitive, dignified tune. Lata’s pristine and restrained interpretation of the tune adds great value to the song. (Watch on Youtube).

Gaud Sarang has been the focus of, or perhaps the reason for, two attribution mistakes in Hindi film songs. The first one is once again in the Hamdard raagmala. The flagship quarter of the song, ‘ritu aaye ritu jaaye’ is pegged as ‘Sarang’ (specifically on discs) but is obviously based on Gaud Sarang, which is not a Sarang at all. It is very nice to hear some nearly perfect sapaat taans in this piece. In Baiju Bawra, during the sequence where Baiju is being tutored by Swami Haridas on various raags, the piece that is called Gaud Malhar, ‘rum jhum badariya barase’ is actually a Gaud Sarang piece. Both of these are of course very nice examples of the (mis)use of Gaud Sarang in films!

There is no obvious equivalent of Gaud Sarang in Carnatic music, but it is understood that Shankarabharanam shares melodic space with it. Anil-da seized upon this idea to reprise a Shankarabharanam Thillana to compose the Pardesi song ‘na dir dim’, which can be pegged to Gaud Sarang. It’s a very familiar and well-loved song of course (Watch on Youtube).

Jhulo Jhulo Re Jhulana Jhulaaun, the main song of this episode is from the film Ekadashi (1955). The music director Avinash Vyas must have been inspired by ‘piyu pala na laagi’, or a similar bandish, since the mukhada of the song closely follows the asthayi of the bandish. It is a sweet, brisk paced song. The natural brightness of Gaud Sarang helps convey the happy, perhaps even festive, mood of the song very well. On first hearing the mukhada you almost expect a rush of taans to come later, but Avinash-bhai - perhaps keeping in mind the situational requirements or other contexts - did well to round off the song without such flourishes, barring a very brief sargam piece in the last antara. 1955 is smack in the middle of Lata’s midas years, so her singing is flawless. She stays true to the melody and mood, and the effect is very satisfying.

 

 

(Audio of this upload courtesy the ever-gracious and generous Girdharilal Vishwakarma-ji)