Sheeshe Ke Gharon Mein

Sheeshe Ke Gharon Mein

Sanam Teri Kasam was the film for which RD Burman got his first Filmfare award. Now let’s start with some background. This movie is about the typical poor boy meets rich girl and they fall in love story. About this song - The hero has been invited in the heroine’s birthday party where he is (predictably) humiliated by her father. Since he is a singer, he sings this song amidst lot of smirks from the villains around him and lovelorn looks from the heroine.

This being a party song with couples dancing around the hero, RD has gone for beats of the Waltz.

What is Waltz? Here is what I had mentioned in one of my previous posts. Waltz is a beat that is typical of a party setup and go something like this

Dhin Chhak Chhak or 1 - 2 - 3

Dhin Chhak Chhak or 1 - 2 - 3

Dhin Chhak Chhak or 1 - 2 - 3

If I can draw a parallel, it is similar to “Dadra” in Indian classical music.

But unlike traditional Waltz beats of Shankar Jaikishan (Jeena Yaha Marna Yaha from Mera Naam Joker or Bhavre Ki Gunjan from Kal Aaj Aur Kal). By the way Jeena Yaha Marna Yaha had beats created by using a super combination of Tabla and Shakers along with SJ’s trademark long pieces on Violins. Here RD has gone for 6/8 pattern. Similar to Jeevan Ke Din Chote Sahi (Bade Dilwala) or Kiska Rasta Dekhe (Joshila) or Tera Mujhse Hai Pehle Ka Naata Koi (Aa Gale Lag Jaa). By twisting the beats, he has been able to increase the tempo of the song to make it fast paced and also fill up the spaces that would have been left in the traditional Waltz beat.

While listening to this song try playing some mental games. Slow down the tempo and lower the scale and you can sense the short piece on Violins & cello from the opening music of Jahan Teri Yeh Nazar Hai from Kaalia (0.08 to 0.28) or even traces of Dilbar Mere Kab Tak Mujhe from Satte Pe Satta.

From what I heard, Basu Chakravarty did the musical arrangement for the strings section and he also played the Cello. The Accordion was played by Kersi Lord. This is a typical 80’s song where the violins are used all the time. Had it not been for Kishore Kumar’s singing, this would have gone down as just another song by RD Burman. Kishore lifts the song by his effortless and flawless rendering.

This song has the tried and tested successful rhyme style of 4-short sentences in the Mukhda. Most popular Hindi songs are like this. In a ghazal there are only 2 sentences in the opening sher thereby making it that much difficult the write shairi. Using 4 sentences gives the lyricist ample scope to build the narrative. The flip side is that the antara (interlude) too has to be large enough to carry the narration. The rhyme scheme could have been AA BB or AB AB. Instead Gulshan Bawra has gone for A B B B. The un-rhyming first sentence makes this song start like text written in a story, “शीशे के घरों में देखो तो, पत्‍थर दिल वाले बसते हैं”. It is only when the next rhyming sentence (जो प्यार को खेल समझते हैं ओर तोड़ के दिल को हँसते हैं) comes up that it becomes a rhyming lyric.

The song starts with the Violins going into a melody abruptly (it also ends abruptly). The suddenness of it all brings out the surprise and anguish of the hero. This is followed by the pickup on drums. The high pitch of the violins is subtly balanced by the bass of the cello playing in the background. Accordions and keyboards lead us to the opening lines of the song.

Kishore Kumar effortlessly gets into the groove and the music leads us to imagine how the song must have been shot. Violins continue in the background matching the vocals and Bass Guitar provides just that much depth as is required when the Kafiya (Yamak as in Marathi) of the Mukhda is reached.

शीशे के घरों में देखो तो            A
पत्‍थर दिल वाले बसते हैं           B
जो प्यार को खेल समझते हैं       B
ओर तोड़ के दिल को हँसते हैं    B
शीशे के घरों में...

Notice how he stretches words in the line rhyming with the first in the Mukhda “… jo pyaSSSr ko khelSSSS samajhteSSS hain….”

The first interlude music (or M1) is a symphonish dialogue between the Violins and Cello. The Cello plays the perfect foil to the high notes on the Violins. Note the small 3 second sympathetic piece on Flute after … कसमों को निभाया जाता था

कभी जान पे खेल के भी जग में   C
कसमों को निभाया जाता था       D
जब वादे भुलाने से पहले            C
खुद को ही भुलाया जाता था       D
अब कसमें कितनी झूठी हैं          B
ओर वादे कितने सस्ते हैं             B
जो प्यार को खेल समझते...

The second interlude music has Accordion in the lime light. It provides tempo as well as tries to lighten the tension in the air.
अजी प्यार सौदा दिलों का है
जो ये व्योपारी क्या जानें
ये प्यार तो अपनी पूजा है
दौलत के पुजारी क्या जानें
अपनी हर बात छुपाते हैं
दीवानों पे फ़ितरे कसते हैं
जो प्यार को खेल समझते...