Madhumati (1958)

Madhumati (1958)

Oh , the sting of love !

Bichhua .......

Madhumati and Anand’s  tryst in the forest glade is no longer a secret . Bir Singh and Ugranarayan are in relentless pursuit of the lovers. Madhumati  senses danger – the birds are aflutter. She whispers to Anand that they should move to a different place –  as Ugranarayan on horseback views them from a distance.

She races up the hillside  to secluded terrain – serenity rules the plateaus  where her ancestors lie buried –they were   the tribal kings of the forest.

‘ It’s so peaceful  here’ remarks Anand .

 ‘ I come here when I’m sad and spend some time with myself   – but   I’m never alone  here . I feel close to my ancestors and  and converse with them . Do you know Babuji , nothing in this world really dies .’

Anand tries to veer the conversation to a cheerful zone.

Perched on a  hilltop he  sees lights sparkling on the ground below – fireflies or is the village lit up ?

There’s music and dance there  , lets go, prods Madhumati.

As they enter the arena, a young village girl come to ask Madhumati to join in the dance – of course she doeswith the bicchua song . Oh the sweet bitter  sting of love !

 

Endnotes

*Mozart was the inspiration for this song. The noted critic Kishore Chatterjee the music  intensely Mozartian with perpetual movement but Salil Chowdhury mingled it with folksy melody . Salil Chowdhury’s childhood in tea gardens listening to folk songs and his father’s [ a physician ] collection of western music . In an interview in 1991 , he said that the symphonies had entered his blood .

Kishore Chatterjee writes in the chapter Mozart and Madhumati , ‘ I would urge readers to listen to Mozart’s Haffner serenade and his Jupiter symphonies and then go back and listen to Sali’s  bichhua’

* The music was composed first and Shailendra  wrote  the words later – the sting added  by his use of the word ‘ bicchua’ -  and Lata Mangeshkar’s addition of ‘ oye- oye – oye – oyee ....’

* and the young girl who runs to invite Madhumati to dance before the song begins is none other than Saroj Khan – all of thirteen !