'तितली उड़ी उड़ जो चली, फूल ने कहा आजा मेरे पास, तितली कहे मैं चली आकाश'
The legendary playback singer and
music director Sharda Rajan Iyengar 'The butterfly’ flew far away, from where
nobody ever returns. Millions of her fans are inconsolable, as if they are crying
'Don’t go away, stay my love: चले जाना, ज़रा ठहरो (Around the World).
Sharda had done playback singing
for many superhit Bollywood films in her vivacious, youthful and melodious
voice like the tinkling of temple bells. Her musical journey began with
Rajendra Kumar-Vyjayanthimala starrer golden-jubilee "Suraj" (1966)
and continued till her end, be it playback singing/music-direction, pop
music/ghazals/bhajan albums or grand musical events etc.
Sharda's full name was Sharda Rajan Iyengar and she was born on 25 October 1933 in a Vaishnava Iyengar family of Kumbakonam (Thanjavur district), Tamil Nadu. The family first shifted to Chennai and then to Mumbai. She received training in Sanskrit and Vedic culture from her grandfather. Sharda was inclined towards music since childhood. But watching movies and listening to radio was forbidden in her house. So, whenever she stepped out of the house, she used to listen intently her favourite Hindi film songs being broadcast on the radio. She would write these down in Tamil and hum while being alone. One day her mother was surprised to listen her singing in the bathroom. Keeping in her passion for music, she made arrangements for Sharada’s training in Carnatic music. Gradually, Sharda got the opportunity to showcase her singing talent in her school and college.
Sharda was a big 'fan' of melody
singtress Noorjehan and used to go to any extent of obsession to listen to her
songs. Once, she heard the song ‘Yahan Badla Wafa Ka Bewafai Hai (Jugnu) sung
by Noorjehan and Mohammed Rafi, being played on the radio of a tea-stall just behind
her house. She left her meals in the middle and hurried to the roof of her
house to listen the song. She came down only after listening to the full song.
After receiving her bachelor's degree in Arts, Sharda moved to Iran with her family. Fortunately, she got an opportunity to sing at a function organized to celebrate the visit of matinee idol Raj Kapoor, by Srichand Hinduja, a famous film-distributor. Raj Kapoor fell in love with Sharda's mesmerizing voice and invited her to come to Mumbai. On her arrival in Mumbai, Raj Kapoor introduced Sharda to the music composers Shankar-Jaikishan. After Sharda's voice audition, Shankar suggested for her training in music, so as to hone her voice and make it suitable for playback singing. Sharda learnt the nuances of classical music from great musicians like Pandit Jagannath Prasad and Pandit Laxman Prasad, while Nirmala Devi gave her lessons in light music. She was a trained Taanpura player.
With the strenuous training and
regular Riyaz, Sharda was transformed into a seasoned playback singer and the Caterpillar
having grown into a butterfly (तितली उड़ने को तैयार थी). Composer Shankar
Jaikishan launched Sharda Rajan as a playback singer with solo song 'Titli Udi
Ud Jo Chali' in the film "Suraj" (1966). The song proved a chartbuster
of the year and Sharda became a singing-star overnight. However, her another
movie "Gumnaam", with a duet 'Jaane Chaman Shola Badan, Pehlu Mein Aa
Jao' was released prior to “Suraj”.
Her another hit song 'Dekho Mera Dil Machal Gaya' (Suraj) was originally supposed to be sung by Suman Kalyanpur, but this song went into her lap. Mohammed Rafi for his rendering "Baharon Phool Barsao" and Sharda Rajan for "Titli Udi" for the same movie “Suraj” scored equal votes for the Filmfare Best Playback Singer Award. In the event of tie, the main award went to Mohammed Rafi while new entrant Sharda got a special award.
After the roaring successes of ‘Suraj’
and ‘Gumnaam’, Shankar used Sharda's distinctive voice in many more of his compositions
such as "Around the World", "Shatranj", "An Evening in
Paris", "Sapno Ka Saudagar", etc. In the film "Around the
World" Sharda's magical voice again worked wonders and its song 'Chale Jaana
Zara Thehro Kisi Ka Dum Nikalta Hai Yeh Manzar Dekhte Jaana' was a smashing hit.
There was a mysterious melodious element present in her voice, which made it captivating. Despite having a limited vocal range, Sharda did much justice to some of the songs that those became memorable. Her melodious and popular songs include: Leja Leja Mera Dil (An Evening in Paris); Bakkamma Bakkamma (Shatranj); Humko To Barbad Kiya Hai Aur Kise Barbad Karoge' (Gunahon Ka Devta); Woh Pari Kahan Se Laaun (Pehchan); 'Baat Zara Hai Aapas Ki' (Jahan Pyar Miley); 'Aapki Mere Bare Mein Kya Rai Hai? (Elaan) etc.
Rafi's song 'Jab Bhi Yeh Dil Udas
Hota Hai' (Seema-1970) had Sharda's tingling voice adding a wonderful touch of
'humming'. This experiment was very successful. Shankar recorded a song
"Ek Chehra Jo Dil Ke Karib" in the voice of Lata Mangeshkar for the
film "Garam Khoon" (1980), written by Sharda under the pseudonym 'Singaar',
which was picturized on Sulakshana Pandit. A strange but pleasant coincidence,
where three singers contributed distinctively in three stages of the song.
Sharda Rajan did playback-singing
for famous contemporary heroines such as Vyjayanthimala, Waheeda Rehman,
Sharmila Tagore, Sadhna, Saira Banu, Hema Malini, Mumtaz, Rekha and many more.
Music composer Shankar raised
Sarada as his most lovable disciple to create a new idiom in Hindi film music. Sharda
also eulogised Shankar as her mentor and she sang in almost all of his films.
Sharda was also favourite of music directors Usha Khanna and Ravi. Apart from
these, Dattaram, Iqbal Qureshi, N. Dutta, Khayyam, Babul and Avinash Vyas also gave
ample opportunities to Sharda.
As time passed, pressure mounted on the filmmakers/directors to oust Sharda from their movies. The songs even if recorded in Sharda’s voice, were got removed from the films subsequently. Sharda recorded 3 songs in N.C. Sippy film "Deewana” (1967), but these songs disappeared mysteriously from the final prints of the movie. The scrolling credits mention Mukesh sings for ‘Pyare’ (the character played Raj Kapoor). This was not an isolated incident, there were many.
Sharda had told in an interview
that she had sung a long duration ‘dream sequence’ song in three parts for the
film "Mera Naam Joker". Many musicians and All India press were
invitees at the time of recording of this mega-budget song. But the 'shooting'
of this song never happened. In this way, her songs were getting deleted from the
films. It was an irony that Sharda became a victim of nepotism in Bollywood. Her
last film as playback singer was "Kaanch Ki Deewar" (1986).
As the singing opportunities dwindled, she turned to the arena of music direction in the mid-1970s. Her unique album of Pop songs, kicked offers of music direction from the producers of low-budget films. Sharda Rajan emerged as an independent music director with the film “Maa Bahen Aur Biwi” (1974). Mohammed Rafi was nominated for the Filmfare Best Male Playback Singer Award for its soulful song 'Accha Hi Hua Dil Toot Gaya'. It was sheer pity that Sharda got only ‘B’ grade films like Mandir Masjid, Tu Meri Main Tera, Garibi Hatao, Maila Aanchal and Kshitij etc. in her kitty.
Her distinctive voice had heavy
bass and fluidity that helped her sing pop-music with western beats perfectly. Sharda
Rajan spread her wings and at the peak of her film career, she came out with an
eight-song pop-album "Sizzlers", launched by HMV. She was the first
Indian female singer to record and produce her own pop-album. Her new
experiment had many takers but she did not garner the much-deserved fame.
Her next album "Andaz-e-Bayan
Aur", based on Arabic, Persian and other folk music styles was released on
21 July 2007. She herself composed the tunes of 24 selected ghazals written by Shayar-e-Azam
Mirza Ghalib and she sang these from the core of her heart. She created ripples
in the music world, as it was the first time that any singer had recorded such
a number of ghazals of Mirza Ghalib. Sharda founded "Kid Music Zone",
a special fun cum educational musical activities program for children in India.
Apart from Hindi language, Sharda had also rendered compositions in Marathi, Gujarati, Tamil, Telugu, Punjabi and English languages. She rendered a very sweet bhajan 'Jag Vich Ek Hoy Do Naam, Gori Radhe Kala Shyam' in the Punjabi film "Kade Dhupp Kade Chhaan" (1967). Her live performances abroad, especially in USA were much appreciated and New Jersey used to be her second home.
She was nominated for the Filmfare
Award for four consecutive years. Finally, she was awarded the Filmfare Black lady
being the Best Female Playback Singer for the cabaret song 'Baat Zara Hai Aapas
Ki' (Jahan Pyar Miley). She was given Lifetime Achievement Award by Bollywood
Pulse Entertainment in 2023.
चले जाना, ज़रा ठहरो, किसी का दम निकलता है, यह मंजर देख कर जाना
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