The moon in melody

The moon has for ages been symbolic of love, in poetry and song. Be it a description of the face of the beloved or a message of romantic sadness flung at the heavens by a nearly disoriented lover, the celestial orb to which man travelled in July 1969 continues to be a fascinating study in music and dialogue.

Think of Manna Dey's very well-known chand dekhte giye aami / tomaye dekhe felechhi. It is a song we have been singing since it first brushed against our auditory systems. And how many of you remember that other moon-related song from Manna Dey --- chand-er aashaye nibhaye chhilam je deep apono haathe / ondho poran khunjichhe tahare jiboner angina te? And, yes, Tagore's chand-er haashi baadh bhengechhe remains a melody of huge transcendent quality.
In Urdu and Hindi songs, the pre-eminent position of the moon has never been shaken by mundane realities. If you remember Ahmed Rushdi, you will have reason to remember too his rather lilting chand sa mukhra gora badan / jal mein lagai gori agan. It was a song we heard in our pre-teenage years; and we sing it in our late fifties. Years later, Habib Wali Mohammad came along with raaten theen chandni jo ban pe thi bahar for the movie Baazi.
In Talat Mahmood's repertoire of music, the moon makes an appearance in ghuumer-o chhaya chander-o chokhe / ei modhu raat nahi baki. If you now go to Mukesh, there is the hugely passionate chand aahen bhare ga phool dil thaam lenge / husn ki baat chali to sab tera naam lenge. In pre-1971 Bangladesh, there was this beautiful number, probably from Khondokar Nurul Alam, ogo raat tumi bolo ogo chand tumi bolo / jibon shaathi roope jaare protikhone aami pete chai / bolo ki kore aaj tare bhule jai. Noor Jehan and Chitalkar sang, all those decades ago, tu mera chand main teri chandni / main tera raag tu meri raagini. It remains a near perfect expression of love between man and woman.

Remember that unforgettable Lata-Mukesh number, dum bhar jo idhar muun phere / o chanda / main un se pyar kar loongi / baaten hazar kar loongi? And Nazrul's chand herichhey chand much-o taar? And why forget that sad number from Lata and Rafi, o raat ke musafir chanda zara bata de / mera qusoor kya hai tu faisla suna de? Geeta Dutt's nishi raat baanka chand is even today a defining point in subcontinental melody. Hemant Kumar's famous na ye chand hoga na tare rahenge / magar hum hamesha tumhare rahenge has always been an inspiration for lovers in our part of the world.
In this season of remembering, you cannot but recall that song of pain flowing from Shwadhin Bangla Betar Kendra in 1971 --- chand tumi phirey jao . dekho manusher khoone khoone roktim Bangla. We waited for our long dark night to make way for a luminous dawn. #
The writer is Executive Editor, 
The Daily Star