OP Nayyar’s Non-Film Songs | Songs Of Yore

Guest article by Ravindra Kelkar continuing the series on OP Nayyar’s centenary celebrations (b. 16 January 1926 – d. 28 January 2007)

(Seeing the grand centenary celebration of Rafi on SOY in 2024, a known OP Nayyar fan Ravindra Kelkar proposed to celebrate his centenary, too, appropriately. Coincidentally, his centenary was still a few months away (b. 16 January 1926 – d. 28 January 2007), so I readily agreed. He had already contributed a series of articles on him a few years ago, but he offered to write fresh articles in the present series also. He has already contributed two articles in 2025. This is his third article in OP Nayar’s centenary celebrations.

We all know that the celebrated song ‘Preetam aan milo’ was first recorded as an NFS in the voice of CH Atma, composed by OP Nayyar many years before he debuted in film music. However, Mr Kelkar shows that OP Nayyar composed several non-film songs of incredible beauty, worthy of an independent post. Thank you Mr Kelkar for another excellent article in the series.

As I have mentioned earlier, Mr Kelkar has done Masters in Statistics and Computer Science. Now retired, he is based out of Pune. – AK)      

Before getting into the topic, I would like to share my views about proliferation of YouTube channels related to Hindi Film Music World in the last five or so years. Increasingly, I have seen a trend to come up with content based upon imagination and having no concrete basis. I will quote here a few examples.

1. OP-Rafi break up happened when ‘Dil ki awaz bhi sun’ was to be recorded for the film ‘Humsaya’. After this, Rafi prevailed upon OP to record the song so that the producer Joy Mukherjee does not suffer financial loss. The YouTuber has ensured that all persons involved in the episode are dead.

2. ‘Savere ka suraj’ from ‘EK Baar Muskura Do’ was dubbed by Kishore Kumar and later on it was to be re-recorded in the Rafi’s voice. Again, pure fictional story with no possibility of verification.

3. During the recording of ‘Main pyar ka rahi hoon’ from ‘EK Musafir Ek Haseena’, the rhythm section went on strike and OP still went ahead and recorded the song without them.

4. There are a few more such fictional stories, the best I came across was about the song ‘Main zindagi ka saath nibhata chala gaya’ from the film ‘Hum Dono’. The YouTuber claimed that it was SD Burman’s tune and SD Burman asked his son RD Burman to go to Jaidev and give this tune to him.

Amazing, isn’t it? If anybody asks me about these stories, my standard answer is that I am waiting for the development of ‘Time Machine’. Once it is available, I will travel back in time and verify and then conclude. I feel we need to use our judgment so that we don’t get misled by such stories.

Now let’s come to the subject of the post.

As the title indicates, in this write-up, we will go through OP’s selected non-film songs.  OP composed 41 non-film Hindi songs. This is a good number. In comparison, SD Burman has 25 and Hemant Kumar has around 35 non-film Hindi songs, though both of them have composed more than 100 non-film Bengali songs. Two other Hindi Film music directors who have composed a fair number of non-film Hindi songs are Khayyam and Jaidev. Though I don’t know the exact number, I like their non-film songs. I think, Pt. Hridaynath Mangeshkar has composed a few non-film Hindi songs, the most famous being ‘Nis din barasat nain hamare’ sung by his sister Lata Mangeshkar. About other major MDs, I have no idea whether they have composed non-film Hindi songs. (Kamal Dasgupta is a very prominent name in NFS. Some of his compositions in the voice of Jagmohan and Talat Mahmood have acquired iconic status. – AK)

On this blog, we already have posts about non-film songs composed by SD Burman and Hemant Kumar. I feel it’s appropriate that the third MD to have a post on non-film Hindi songs should be OP Nayyar. This is because OP as well as SD and Hemant Kumar started their career as a composer by composing non-film songs before getting a break in Hindi Films. Another similarity is that OP was also a singer in his own right, though he didn’t pursue it with the required seriousness. This is where the similarity ends. OP had zero support from his family about his passion from music and suffered great hardships. SD Burman and Hemant Kumar were fortunate in that they had unwavering family support. Another major difference was that OP didn’t have any formal training in classical singing, which SD Burman and Hemant Kumar had.

OP’s first song

OP was born in Lahore in 1926. Lahore was a prominent cultural centre in North India. It had a thriving film industry and all the prominent classical singers as well as instrumentalists used to perform there regularly. Right from his childhood days, OP was passionate about music and attended many concerts of classical music as well as light classical music, in spite of strong opposition from his family. OP also was fascinated with New Theatres films and music. He adored the singers KL Saigal and Kananbala. Another influence was that of Master Gulam Haider. All these things shaped the musical character of OP.

OP was fond of singing and was quite good at it. He was God-gifted, a musical prodigy. At the age of eleven, he got an opportunity to perform in the Children’s program at All India Radio, Lahore. His association with Radio as a singer started from that time and continued till the partition. From the age of 15, OP started singing regularly on Lahore Radio. He would get two programs of 15 minutes each per month.

Below is the sample of program schedule of Thursday, April 5, 1945 of Lahore Radio. You can read that OP is scheduled to sing in two slots of 5 mins and 10 mins respectively.

These interesting Radio program schedules are available on internet. The magazine was called ‘Indian Listener’.

In these programs, OP would sometimes sing the popular songs of that time. But most of the times OP would select lyrics from many prominent poets, set them to tune and sing them in the radio program. Some of the names of the poets that OP would recall later were Badruddin Badar, Akhtar Hashmi, Shamim Hashmi, Chand Pandit and Maulana Tajdar Nizamabadi. At the age of 12, he sang as a chorus singer, in a Punjabi film ‘Dulha Bhatti’, a song composed by Pandit Govindram.  Later on, when he was 17, he sang two more Punjabi songs composed by Master Inayat Hussain and Master Dhaniram.  He would fondly remember these three composers and the kind way in which they treated him. He learned a lot by observing them going about the different aspects involved in the recording of the song. All this indicates that he had the talent to become a competent singer. Guru Dutt loved OP’s singing whenever they had their musical sittings in finalizing a tune. Kishore Kumar in an interview had commented that the way OP explained the tune with the nuances was extraordinary. Asha Bhosle corroborated with this when she wrote, “OP was amongst the few music directors who were good singers as well. In fact, he used to be an outstanding singer and would explain the tune brilliantly by singing it. Neither Rafi nor I could do more than 80 percent justice to the way OP composed and sang his songs.” In fact, when OP was struggling to get a break in the films as a composer, he gave a screen test as well as audition test at the Filmistan Studio.

In 1945, HMV asked him to compose and sing Sant Kabir’s ‘Kabir Vaani’. That was his first recorded composition. This recording is available on the internet.

OP’s Non-film songs career

Here we have two distinct time periods in which OP composed non-film Hindi songs. The first period was from 1945 to 1951. In this period OP composed 13 songs. OP sang two of them, CH Atma sang 5 songs, Manmohan Krishna, NL Puri and Kamal Roy sang two each. All the songs of this period have a distinct influence of New Theatre’s musical style. The singing by all these singers also resembles that of KL Saigal. Once OP got break in Hindi Films, he stopped composing non-film songs for more than 30 years. After he had been sidelined in Hindi Film Music world, he again returned to non-film songs and composed three albums, one each for Runa Laila, Ashok Khosla and Peenaz Masani, totaling 28 songs. In these 41 numbers we get a good variety, it includes ghazals, geets, bhajans and dohas.

Let us now listen to some of these excellent songs.

1. Kabir Vaani

As explained above this was OP’s first song. Just two instruments, sarangi and piano are used. OP in his inimitable style has poured in all the required expressions as per his interpretation of the words of Kabir. Though his voice was quite different, he has sung these dohas in KL Saigal’s style. OP held Sant Kabir in a very high esteem. He always referred to Kabir as Sat Kabir and not Sant Kabir, insisting that Kabir spoke/wrote only truth (सत्‌). He had an original Kabir Vaani book (it was in Urdu). Every morning, without fail he would read it for half an hour.

https://youtu.be/dScpStMCK20

2. Preetam aan milo by CH Atma – Lyrics by Saroj Mohini Nayyar

Within a few months after recording Kabir Vaani, OP got an opportunity to record two more songs to be sung by CH Atma. One of these songs was ‘Preetam aan milo’. When OP recorded this song, I am sure he never imagined that he was creating his own destiny. This song turned out to be the foundation stone of OP’s successful musical career. Not many people took notice of OP’s Kabir Vaani record. But this song was OP’s first hit song. It is said that it became more popular after the partition in 1947. HMV offered two options to OP and CH Atma, royalty or cash. CH Atma opted for royalty while OP opted for cash. OP regretted this decision for the rest of his life. OP was paid 80 rupees for the lyrics and composition of the two songs. On the other hand, CH Atma over the years, earned lakhs of rupees as a royalty. OP has recounted another touching story about this song. OP came to India in November 1947, after the partition. He came to Mumbai in search of work. There was a hotel named ‘Persian Dairy’ at Churchgate which was a popular place for young crowd. One day, OP had gone there. There was a Juke Box in the hotel. Juke Box was a very popular music player in those days. Juke Box stored a limited stack of 78 RPM records and you had an option to select your favorite song and put a coin in the slot. Then the Juke Box would play the selected song. OP recalled that every 5/10 minutes someone would play ‘Preetam Aan Milo’ on the Juke Box and people were going gaga over it. This went on for hours. OP was stunned by this spectacle. He was happy as well as sad at the same time. Happy because people had appreciated his composition and sad because nobody knew that he had composed the song. Ironically, OP had not even bothered to ensure that his name was printed on the record. So there was no way in which people would have believed OP, if he had claimed that he was the composer of this song. Later on, after OP had established himself as a composer, HMV printed his name on republished records of the song. However, as destiny would have it, OP got his first break in Hindi films from the producer DS Pancholi (like OP he also had to flee Lahore and come to India), who loved this song. Personally, this song retains its magic to me even though almost 80 years have elapsed since the recording of the song. This song has the unique honor of being included in two films. Firstly, Guru Dutt used this song in the film ‘Mr. and Mrs. 55’. OP re-recorded this song with one stanza in the voice of Geeta Dutt. The song was used as a background score in the climax of the film, possibly because the name of the hero in the film was “Preetam”. This song was then used again by Gulzar in the film ‘Angoor’ (1982). It was sung by Sapan Chakravarty and composed by RD Burman. This was used as a parody song, hence, though appreciated by the audience in the film; it didn’t have the magical quality of the original song.

3. Main ghee ka diya jalaoon re by CH Atma – Lyrics by Saroj Mohini Nayyar. This is another popular song loved by CH Atma fans.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-t0BsvNyVuo

4. Soojhat naahin kinara by Kamal Roy – Lyrics by Saroj Mohini Nayyar. I love this song. On one of his birthdays when this song was played, he was surprised and commended us for getting hold of the song. We asked him who this singer Kamal Roy is, immediately. OP told us that his real name was Habib Wali Muhammad. After partition he settled in Pakistan and achieved good fame as a ghazal singer.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=904u9n6prfM

Out of the 13 non-film songs that OP recorded before getting break in the Hindi film world, 10 are attributed to OP’s wife Saroj Mohini Nayyaras the lyricist, though in reality those songs were penned by OP Nayyar himself. The remarkable thing is that all the lyrics are in chaste Hindi, though OP was quite knowledgeable about Urdu poetry. This is corroborated by Asha Bhosle also in her write up on OP. She writes, ‘OP’s understanding of Urdu poetry and shairi often prompted him to write verses himself.  Many a times, while playing harmonium, words, phrases or even a whole ‘mukhada’ would come to him. In the beginning of his career his own lyrics Main ghee ka diya jalaoon re, and Preetam aan milo were made into very successful non-film songs. I feel Jan Nisar Akhtar and SH Bihari worked very well with OP. It’s a fact that even in their lyrics OP would contribute his thoughts. He would argue about the right words that went with the song, often writing full verses, or, even suggesting the structure of the main ‘mukhada’ or refrain.’ – Reference page 26 of the book ‘The Legendary O.P. Nayyar’ by Vishwas Nerurkar.

As stated above, after getting sidelined in Hindi Film Music after his break-up with Asha Bhosle, he returned back to compose non-film songs. The first album he cut was with Runa Laila and the name of the album was “The Loves of Runa Laila”. It was double album consisting of 16 songs. OP composed 12 songs. Four, already famous songs of Runa Laila were added to make the album more attractive for the consumer. This was first published in 1984. It was extremely well received and sold quite well.

Let us listen to some wonderful songs from this album.

5. Aaj chaahe honth ko see lo – Lyrics by Noor Devasi

A wonderful song, full of OP ingredients of happiness and energy. The interlude piece of accordion and the use of ‘Thaap’ lifts your spirits. The surprising element  is the accordion piece which integrates the stanza into mukhada in a seamless manner.  Excellent singing by Runa Laila.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9MRx2aeQqJ4

6. Aaja piya baanhon mein – Lyrics by Madhuri Jogalekar –  A typical OP number. A breezy intro piece, mukhada in western beats, stanza in Punjabi beats with optimal orchestration. The tune of mukhada is same as that of the song ‘Chanda chale jhoom ke’ from the film Mr. Qartoon M.A.(1958).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tSaLRsFJWrQ

7. Meri dilbar haseena – Lyrics by Madhuri Jogalekar

When this album was released, disco songs were the ‘in’ thing. Hence OP also tried his hand by creating this composition and succeeded for sure.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SX0a2QfVm-s

8. Wadiyan wadiyan raaste raaste – Lyrics by Noor Dewasi

This is a beautiful, melodiously haunting song. Vibraphone is used excellently. Typical use of Dholak in OP style. Runa Laila has rendered it with appropriate emotions. Each and every instrument used in the orchestration grabs your attention, including the flute in the end piece.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lMzD1RHDzaw

9. Allah re is dil ne – Lyrics by Noor Dewasi

Another melodious song. The surprise element is the use of claps. Orchestration consists of just two instruments, accordion and sitar along with rhythm instruments.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m1FzxkyX51M

10. Katate hain din kaise – Lyrics by Bimla Krishna

This is a superb bhajan. In my view, OP’s best bhajan. The surprise element is the effective use of chorus in ending part of the song. Very well sung by Runa Laila.

The next album was with the singer Ashok Khosla. This was published in 1988.

Ashok Khosla’s voice reminds me that of Talat Mehmood. This album consisted of eight numbers, mostly ghazals. The quality of the songs is top class and is a proof of OP’s versatility as a composer. Ashok Khosla told a very interesting tale about this album. It had been agreed to do this album and OP was on the look out to select the ghazals. Ashok Khosla met OP and gave him a book of Nasir Kazmi’s Urdu shayari saying that it’s good. On the book there was Nasir Kazmi’s photo. OP took a look at the book and threw it away, saying he didn’t like the face of Nasir Kazmi. Sometime after Ashok Khosla had left, OP decided to have a look at the contents of the book before finally discarding it. He liked it and selected some of the poems. At that time OP had also committed to do an album with Peenaz Masani. For both the albums put together, OP selected eight ghazals and composed them. He used five of them in Ashok Khosla’s album and three in Peenaz Masani’s album. This episode is quite believable because OP had been known to not work with a producer if he didn’t like his face or manners. He was quite impulsive in these matters and went by his gut feeling.

Let us now listen to five songs from the album. The orchestration used by OP is superb and enhances the beauty of the composition. He has made a very effective use of a handful of instruments, which include piano, sitar, flute, accordion, sarangi and tabla. Another striking feature is that every song has a beautiful opening sher. Ashok Khosla has sung all the songs wonderfully well, doing full justice to the composition. The most impressive aspect of his singing is the ease with which he has sung; at no point does he sound stretched. Many a times, OP’s tunes stretch the limits of the singer in a very subtle manner and Ashok Khosla has passed the test in flying colors.

11. Bulaunga na milunga – Lyrics by Nasir Kazmi

The use of piano in the orchestration is quite outstanding.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=95NpqXfISS0&list=OLAK5uy_lDQlHcwkRKFRWYS5LZkR2Fn4ezb7Uyax0&index=1

12. Naye kapade badalkar jaaun kahan – Lyrics by Nasir Kazmi

This is a very popular nazm sung by many other singers in different compositions. Listen to them and listen to OP’s composition and judge for yourself! OP’s musical genius becomes evident.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1i5xu-LTlfA&list=OLAK5uy_lDQlHcwkRKFRWYS5LZkR2Fn4ezb7Uyax0&index=7

13. Musalsal bekalee dil ko rahi hai – Lyrics by Nasir Kazmi

I recall that on OP’s birthday on 16^th January 1987, we had the privilege of meeting Ashok Khosla, who visited OP’s home to wish him on his birthday. I also remember that on that occasion, he sang the song ‘Hai duniya usi ki’ from the film ‘Kashmir Ki Kali’ very well. OP also complimented him for that.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NQ38orjOjOw&list=OLAK5uy_lDQlHcwkRKFRWYS5LZkR2Fn4ezb7Uyax0&index=3

14. Tere ssanson ki mahak – Lyrics by Noor Dewasi

This is a very romantic ghazal. Ashok Khosla has told a very interesting story about this song. In the second stanza, we have the words ‘Wo tere lab jo gulabon se jyada naazuk hain, Ji ye chahta hai unhein choomein aur phir choomein’. When the song was being rehearsed, Ashok Khosla requested the writer Noor Dewasi to change the words ‘Ji chahata hai unhein choomein aur phir choomein’, complaining that they are too provocative and he will find it embarrassing to sing the song in his ghazal programs in front of the female audience. Noor Dewasi was very evasive and told him that we will see later about it. However, after the song was recorded, Ashok Khosla again got hold of Noor Dewasi and complained about it. Noor Dewasi took him aside and told him that these words were specifically suggested to him by Nayyar Saab himself, so it was out of question to make any changes! Another proof of OP’s romantic nature!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DXzzSTbLsX4&list=OLAK5uy_lDQlHcwkRKFRWYS5LZkR2Fn4ezb7Uyax0&index=2

15. Din dhala raat phir aa gayi – Lyrics by Nasir Kazmi

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s5H6wN6fa3s&list=OLAK5uy_lDQlHcwkRKFRWYS5LZkR2Fn4ezb7Uyax0&index=4

This is a superb composition, enhanced manifold by the orchestration, you really feel that it’s night time and the stars are twinkling in the sky. OP always gave enormous importance to the lyrics. Before getting ready to compose, he would ensure that he has soaked in the full poem in his soul. Then, he would sit on the harmonium and within minutes he would get the tune! This composition is a prime example of that.

Within a few months after Ashok Khosla album, Peenaz Masani’s album with OP titled ‘Tu Hi Mera Dil Tu Hi Meri Jaan’ was released. It also had eight compositions.  My observation is that this was the first time that OP used keyboard in the orchestration.

Let us listen to some of the songs from this album.

16. Dilbar dil bhi ajeeb hota hai – Lyrics by Noor Dewasi

The OP surprise here is the change of rhythm for the words Mohabbat Khuda ka sahi kaam hai’. Another striking feature is use of Bass (or Baritone?)  Saxophone in the second interlude which is very rare.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ys-vii7h-jU

17. Raat jab khil ke muskuraati hai – Lyrics by Nasir Kazmi and Noor Dewasi

This song has a typical opening sher in OP mould.  A very sweet song.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cOM1jxmYsDU&list=OLAK5uy_l6EH4YsCk_7ShUlrDiCLlOLNMYqBscHtU&index=2

18. Jaane do pichhali baatein – Lyrics by Noor Dewasi

A classical based song with throw of words in OP style. In typical OP fashion, in the stanza the rhythm is changed from tabla to dholak . Wonderfully sung by Penaz.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EK51sUt-zSU&list=OLAK5uy_l6EH4YsCk_7ShUlrDiCLlOLNMYqBscHtU&index=3

19. Dil ke shikari – Lyrics by Noor Dewasi

A typical OP song having OP stamp all over it. Usual OP rhythm changes keep you engrossed, ensuring there is no dullness in the song. Castanet makes an appearance after a gap in OP’s music in a striking manner.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5NzZIpRmRIY&list=OLAK5uy_l6EH4YsCk_7ShUlrDiCLlOLNMYqBscHtU&index=5

20. Dekh mohabbat ka dastoor – Lyrics by Nasir Kazmi

A superb opening sher. And surprise of surprises, it turns out to be a ‘tonga’ song of vintage OP quality. OP’s favorite instrument clarinet being used after a gap and you can’t fail to notice it. Sheer nostalgia. Excellent lyrics by Nasir Kazmi. This was a wonderful gift from OP to his die-hard fans. Only OP could have thought of having an opening sher in a tonga song and carried out the experiment so successfully.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R5FImIle4vo&list=OLAK5uy_l6EH4YsCk_7ShUlrDiCLlOLNMYqBscHtU&index=1

After this OP didn’t venture into non-film songs, though he presented his disciple Captain Arvind Dhurandhar’s album titled ‘Nasha Mohabbat Ka’ in 1992. We were fortunate to attend two recordings from the album. At that time, OP played for us earlier recorded songs. He told us that he has composed one ghazal and gifted it to Arvind Dhurandhar as a goodwill gesture. Probably, this was the last OP composition that was recorded, as I think he didn’t compose any more songs after this. So, listen to this last OP song.

21. Dil dhadakne ka sabab – Singer Ranjana Jogalekar  – Lyrics by Nasir Kazmi

Such a beautiful composition, very well sung by Ranjana Jogalekar. This also is a very popular nazm and sung by many singers including Jagjit Singh, Asha Bhosle, Noorjehan, Pankaj Udhas, etc. with different tunes.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WF4Iez0hSSM

I hope you enjoy the songs, so do listen to them.