Shobhit Mahajan: The ties that bind religion, popular culture

By Dilip -

The bhajan had a very familiar tune but the words and the off-key singing made it difficult to recognise at first. Then it came like a flash — the tune was that of “Allah, yeh ada kaisi hai in haseenon mein, roothe pal men na mane mahinon men,” a song from the forgettable 1968 Dharmendra-Sharmila Tagore starrer, Mere Hamdam Mere Dost. The film and its songs, written by Majrooh Sultanpuri and composed by Laxmikant-Pyarelal, had been a huge hit.

The bhajan was being sung in the temple which I pass during my morning and evening walk. At the time of my walks, the temple is usually empty except for the priests. And yet, I hear a lone voice singing bhajans set to film songs. The harmonium playing seems to be tolerable, but the singing is not anything to write home about. The singer, Pandit Vinod Tiwari is one of the priests in the temple. Apparently, he learnt to play the harmonium in Ayodhya where he got his religious education. He sings religiously in the morning and evening. When I asked him who he is singing for when there is no one around, his reply was quite matter of fact: “For Thakur ji (Krishna), of course!”

Using tunes from film songs to render devotional songs is of course not new or novel. I recall in the 1970s, when the concept of all-night mata jaagrans (before these were replaced in the 2000s by mata chowkis which somewhat more conveniently ended at 10 pm) was still prevalent, the songs or bhents would invariably be set to tunes from popular Hindi film songs….

https://www.tribuneindia.com/news/comment/the-ties-that-bind-religion-popular-culture-351540


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