Jyoti Kalash Chhalke

Jyoti kalash chhalke
Jyoti kalash chhalke
Jyoti kalash chhalke
Jyoti kalash chhalke
Huve gulabi lal sunehare
Rang dal badal ke
Jyoti kalash chhalke

Ghar aangan van upvan upvan
Karti jyoti amrit ke seenchan
Mangal ghat dhal ke
Mangal ghat dhal ke
Jyoti kalash chhalke

Ambar kumkum kan barsaaye
Phool pankhudiyon par muskaaye
Bindu tuhin jal ke
Bindu tuhin jal ke
Jyoti kalash chhalke

Jyoti kalash chhalke
Jyoti kalash chhalke

Paat paat birva hariyaala
Dharti ka mukh huva ujaala
Sach sapne kal ke
Sach sapne kal ke
Jyoti kalash chhalke

Usha ne aanchal phailaya
Phaili sukh ki sheetal chhaya
Neeche aanchal ke
Neeche aanchal ke
Jyoti kalash chhalke

Jyoti kalash chhalke
Jyoti kalash chhalke

Jyoti yashoda dharti gaiyya
Neel gagan gopal kanhaiyya
Jyoti yashoda dharti gaiyya
Neel gagan gopal kanhaiyya
Shyamal chhavi jhalke
Shyamal chhavi jhalke
Jyoti kalash chhalke

Jyoti kalash chhalke
Jyoti kalash chhalke

Movie: Bhabhi Ki Chudiyan (1961)
Director: Sadashiv J. Row Kavi
Singer: Lata Mangeshkar
Lyricist: Pandit Narendra Sharma
Music Composer: Sudhir Phadke

Pandit Narendra Sharma was a Hindi and Urdu scholar and a great writer. Born in 1913, Sharma completed his MA in English literature from Allahabad University and taught poetry at the Banaras Hindu University.

Then he joined the All India Congress Committee at Allahabad as Hindi Secretary to Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru and later as Hindi Adhikari in Feb 1955. During AICC work, he was imprisoned and jailed without trial. He started a fast, was force fed and released early.

In 1942, Bhagwati Charan Varma, the author of 'Chitralekha', brought Sharma to Bombay to work as a lyricist with Bombay Talkies. His first film as a lyricist was Hamaari Baat in 1943, starring Raj Kapoor and Devika Rani.

Sharma's next film was the debut of a young man named Yusuf Khan, who wanted to work under a different name. Sharma suggested the name 'Dilip Kumar', which went on to become one of Indian cinema's most famous names.

Sharma wrote some unforgettable songs, such as Satyam shivam sundaram, Yashomati mayya se, Raat andhiyari hai maat dukhiyari hai, and Naach mayura. In them, he effortlessly combined the Kabir-Meera bhakti tradition with the beauty of ghazals and Urdu poetry.

He was also well-versed in astrology, Ayurveda, and Indian history. Apart from his contributions to the film industry, Sharma’s accomplishments are many and varied. To name a few, he published the newspaper Abhyudhay, established the popular radio channel Vividh Bharati, and was conceptual adviser to Ramanand Sagar on his TV series Mahabharat.

I chose this song to commemorate his birthday, February 28, because it is sung beautifully by Lata Mangeshkar, is picturized on Meena Kumari, and some of it reminds me of my mother. ~ S