*He who reigns within himself, and rules passions, desires, and
fears, is more than a king.
- Milton *
As they say, if you do not have one sense out of the five, your remaining four will be stronger.
This is indeed true for Ravindra Jain. He was born in the house of a noted’Vaidya’ Pt. Indramani Jain in Aligarh U.P. Due to his inability to see things, he was confined to his room playing Harmonium, singing songs and writing poetry. He achieved a degree in Music from Prayaag Sangeet Samiti Allahabad. Those days, this university was said to be the toughest as far as Hindustani Classical music is concerned.
I will not write about his 20 songs as MS has suggested, instead I will capture his 10 best songs. So the list goes as -
1. Bedardi Tere Pyar Ne - Henna
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Singer - Lata Mangeshkar
This beautiful song got lost among the other hits of henna but it still remains my favourite. The voice of Lataji is soothing and all the song talks about is Love, love and love. It expresses the feelings of a girl towards the guy she loves. A must listen.
2. Gori Tera Gaon Bada - Chitchor
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Singer - K. J. Yesudas
If I say that Yesudas came into Bollywood all because of Ravindra Jain, it will not be an over ambitious statement. This pair has given many a lot great songs to our music industry this one being the best. The lyrics are also given by Ravindra Jain and the song describes the beauty of the landscapes of the village where our Singer’s beloved live.
3. Ghunghru ki tarah - Chor Machaaye Shor
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Singer - Kishore Kumar
One of the gems in Kishore Kumar’s treasure, this song was earlier composed for Ravindra Jain’s movie - Silsila hai Pyar Ka which unfortunately could not be completed. The best thing about this song is that the composition is perfectly dull, which compliments the pain this song has to portray. A really good song indeed.
4. Mangal Bhawan Amangal Haari - MegaSerial Ramayan
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Singer - Ravindra Jain
Surprised na. It’s okay I will not mind. This is not a song actually, it is the recitation of Ramayan in Ravindra Jain’s coarse voice. It came out good and I believe it contains a lot of bhakti in it. The composition, the arrangement is all set to touch your innerself and create a divine atmosphere of closeness with god around you.
5. Fakira Chal Chala Chal - Fakira
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Singer(s) - Mahendra Kapoor, Hemlata
The song which has inspiration in it. You need not listen to any inspirational song if you have a heartbreak. The voice of Mahendra Kapoor is enough to do the trick for you. The song has lyrics by Ravindra Jain himself which say
Jisne liya sankalp sabhi ke dukh aur dard mitaane ka
Uspe hansa jag, usne kabhi na paaya saath zamaane ka
Le le auron ka bhaar
Ho le le auron ka bhaar, koyi jinka nahin hai unka jiwan sanwaar
Himmat na haar, chal chala chal akela chal chala chal
Akela chal chala chal fakeera chal chala chal
6.Sajna Hai Mujhe Sajna - Saudagar(Old)
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Singer - Asha Bhosle
Many songs do not impress the audience when they are released. They catch the interest of the audience after sometime. Unfortunately this song got it after nearly 20 years when the remix was released. With Asha Bhosle rendering vocals for this song, this song is a masterpiece from Ravindra Jain’s catelogue. It is about self reliance. A girl is thinking how she will seduce her lover. Vocals carry the feelings which are tried to be revealed by this song.
7. Shyam Teri Bansi Pukaare - Geet Gaata Chal
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Singers - Aarti Mukherjee and Jaspal Singh
A bhajan by its genre, this song has been sung by Aarti Mukherjee and Jaspal Singh. These two also sung the other songs of the movie. The song has turned out to be one of the greatest bhajans of all times. The thing which I like most about this song is the use of flute in the song. The interludes are a treat for music lovers and they should listen to this song at least once.
8. Thande Thande Paani Se - Pati Patni aur Woh
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Singers - Mahendra Kapoor, Asha Bhosle, Sushma Shreshtha
Now who would have thought that someone will write a song on taking bath. Ravindra Jain composed and the song turned out to be one of the best comic songs of all times. It also proved that Ravindra Jain can also compose light music.
9. O Goriya Re - Naiyya
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Singer - K. J. Yesudas
Another great song by Yesudas. This song is sung by a Majhi who is partly expressing his joy because a goriya is in his boat and partly he is praising the greatness of his boat who feeds him. Now these feelings are diagonally opposite but the composition has made them work together.
10. Chaahe Jis Naam Se - Mohini
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Singer - Kavita Krishnamurthy
I always wanted to include his newer songs also in the list. This is the opening song of the album from his movie for ZEE Telefilms. It was released in television in 1995. The music was classy. This song in particular is a completely classical song with excellent vocals by Kavita Krishnamurthy. This song proves that only big budget movies have good music score.
So guyz that was my top 10. Actually I always wanted to write a top 10 and not top 20 for Ravindra Jain. I have taken enough time to compile data, arrange for the songs, rate them and write a review. I purchased nearly 25 odd cassettes and CDs for this compilation. Hope it pays.
Aur haan comments dena mat bhoolna.