#319
        Song:   Diya jalaakar aap bujhaaya
                Tere kaam niraale
                Dil tod ke jaane waale

        Film:   Badi Maa (1945)
        Music:  K Datta (Datta Koregaonkar)
        Lyrics: Zia Sarhadi
        Singer: Noor Jehan
        *ing:   Noor Jehan, ?


Last  weekend,  on  a  random  impulse  I  bought  3  Noor  Jehan
compilations  released by EMI. And it proved to be one of my best
impulses ever ! First of all, I was amazed to  see  that  in  the
65-odd  songs  (altogether  on the 3 CDs), there was not a single
repetition-  a  truly  rare  occurrence.   Secondly,   and   most
importantly,  this was an eye-opener- I had always been very fond
of her lovely voice, but had only listened to a  handful  of  her
really popular numbers. Listening to the tracks from these CDs, I
realized what a monumental talent she has. Every  single  one  of
these is a piece of gold. I picked one which totally blew me over
for today's ATMJH.

This song, apparently, IS counted among  her  greatest  hits-  an
extremely  melodious  and  rather  intricate  composition, with a
strong classical  undercurrent.  Noor  Jehan  has  rendered  this
delicately  nuanced piece to impeccable perfection, which is even
more remarkable considering the fact that she was just  about  14
or  15 when she sang it. The song has to be heard to be believed-
it is a _diamond_. Anyone who feels I'm exaggerating when  I  wax
eloquent about this, just go ahead and experience it. Hats off to
the Mallika-e-Tarrannum !

A must-buy for all Noor Jehan fans and fan-wannabes : the EMI  CD
"Magic Moments- Noor Jehan" (#CDF 1.32082)





Guest Author: Hrishi Dixit