Ambar ki ek paak suraahi

Aaaa...
Ambar ki ek paak suraahi
Baadal ka ek jaam uthhaakar
Ambar ki ek paak suraahi
Baadal ka ek jaam uthhaakar
Ghoont chandni pi hai humne
Baat kufr ki ki hai humne
Ambar ki ek paak suraahi
Baadal ka ek jaam uthhaakar

Kaise iska karz chukaaye
Maang ke apni maut ke haathon
Kaise iska karz chukaaye
Maang ke apni maut ke haathon
Umr ki sooli si hai humne
Baat kufr ki ki hai humne
Ambar ki ek paak suraahi
Baadal ka ek jaam uthhaakar

Apna iss mein kuchh bhi nahin hai
Apna iss mein kuchh bhi nahin hai, kuchh bhi nahin hai
Rozj-e-ajl se
Rozj-e-ajl se uski amaanat
Usko wohi toh di hai humne
Baat kufr ki ki hai humne
Ambar ki ek paak suraahi
Baadal ka ek jaam uthhaakar

Movie: Kadambari (1975)
Director: HK Verma
Singer: Asha Bhosle
Lyricist: Amrita Pritam
Music Composer: Ustad Vilayat Khan

Sometimes finding lyricists to feature in weeks without any anniversaries can feel like a chore. However, I have enjoyed the process this week as I chose Amrita Pritam, one of the greats among Punjabi authors and poets. She has over 100 works to her credit and has been awarded many of the highest honors our country has to offer, such as the Sahitya Akademi award, Bharatiya Jnanpith, and Padma Vibhushan.

Amrita was born in Punjab, Pakistan, in 1919. When she was 11, her mother died and her father took her to Lahore. She found solace in writing and published her first anthology of poetry, Amrit Lehran, when she was quite young. She married her fiancé Pritam Singh, an editor and the son of a leading merchant, when she was 16. However, she left him in 1960.

She worked at the Lahore Radio Station. After the Partition of India, Amrita moved to New Delhi and started working with the All India Radio. Her poem, Ajj Akhaan Waris Shah Nu, expresses her anguish over the incidents related to the partition.

Although her poems were in Hindi and Punjabi, they became so popular that they were translated into several languages, including English, French, Danish, Mandarin, and Japanese. Her novels inspired many films, one of which is Kadambari. It is based on her novel Dharti Sagar Te Sippiyan. The music of Kadambari was composed by the famous sitarist Ustad Vilayat Khan.

This song, Ambar ki ek paak suraahi, talks of pure love and is rendered beautifully by Asha Bhosle. Ustad Vilayat Khan and Shujat Husn Khan play the sitar in this song. Other great musicians accompany them. Pandit Shiv Kumar Sharma plays the santoor; Pandit Hariprasad Chaurasia, the flute; Bhupinder Singh, the guitar; and Uttam Singh, the violin.

An apt song to remember the brilliant Amrita Pritam! ~ S