Reflections on "hope": Emily Bronte, Lata Mangeshkar and Noor Jehan

The theme of my second blog is hope and anticipation: a feeling that is so invaluable at all stages of life. It does not matter if hope leads to success or failure. Hope sustains the journey of life and this nurturing emotion is reflected in two outstanding songs, once again in the voices of Lata Mangeshkar and Noor Jehan, the most celebrated female singers of the Indian sub-continent. Before sampling the songs, here is a short poem, titled "HOPE", by Emily Bronte (1818 - 1848), another famous English novelist and poet.

HOPE (By Emily Brontë)

HOPE was but a timid friend;
She sat without the grated den,
Watching how my fate would tend,
Even as selfish-hearted men.

She was cruel in her fear;
Through the bars one dreary day,
I looked out to see her there,
And she turned her face away!

Like a false guard, false watch keeping,
Still, in strife, she whispered peace;
She would sing while I was weeping;
If I listened, she would cease.

False she was, and unrelenting;
When my last joys strewed the ground,
Even Sorrow saw, repenting,
Those sad relics scattered round;

Hope, whose whisper would have given
Balm to all my frenzied pain,
Stretched her wings, and soared to heaven,
Went, and ne'er returned again!



*****************************



I choose one of the most famous songs of Lata Mangeshkar to reflect the theme of "Hope". The song is "Aayega, aayega, aanewala aayega" from the classic movie Mahal(1949) starring Ashok Kumar and Madhubala. The lyrics were by Nakshab and the music was composed by Khemchand Prakash. The movie was directed by Kamal Amrohi who had ultimate faith in the music composer's talent that he insisted on Khemchand Prakash being the composer of the film even when the Producer wanted someone else knowing that Khemchand was very sick and hospitalized at that time. It was a tragic end for Khemchand Prakash who died before the unprecedented success of both the film and the song were realized.

Lata Mangeshkar, aayega aayega aanewala aayega, Mahal (1949)


A video link to the song is given below:







I choose for the same theme, a Noor Jehan song from the film Intezaar, which was the first film in Pakistan to display the genius of Khawaja Khurshid Anwar's talents as the ultimate composer's composer. This film was produced by Khurshid Anwar and its story and screenplay were also his own. A rare feat for an individual to excel in so many fields in addition to its musical mastery.

A video link to this classic can be found here:




Please enjoy and feel free to suggest songs, poems that you think can be similarly linked. Thank you.