#85 Jhoola: Top 100 Bollywood Albums

Music: Saraswati Devi

Lyrics: Kavi Pradeep

Label: Saregama HMV

Director: Gyan Mukherjee

For music trivia seekers, the greatest significance that Jhoola's music holds is the original Ek Chatur Naar rendition by Ashok Kumar, which R D Burman and Rajendra Krishan adapted (reportedly on Kishore Kumar's suggestion) into the classic Padosan (1968). The soundtrack by Saraswati Devi (née Khorshed Minocher-Homji) – one of the very few female composers in the industry's long history – and Kavi Pradeep was mighty impressive in its own right though, comprised of 11 songs. 

In keeping with the times, most of the songs were sung by the movie's protagonists Ashok Kumar and Leela Chitnis, and though neither was a professional singer, they did a fine job of rendering the songs' classical nuances. The composer's long and fruitful association with the pioneering production company Bombay Talkies would end on a high, with this movie.

Best Song of Jhoola: My favourite from the album is the charming folksy melodic piece called Naa Jaane Kidhar Aaj Meri Naav Chali Re sung by Ashok Kumar. The poor audio quality on YouTube makes it difficult to clearly identify the instruments used, but the percussion section seems to feature the jal tarang, a rarity these days.

1. Na Jane Kidhar Aaj Meri Naav (Singer: Ashok Kumar)    
2. Hindole Kaise Jhooloon Mera Jiya (Singer: Leela Chitnis)                     
3. Humne Kisi Se Suni Kahani (Singer: Ashok Kumar)
4. Aaj Mausam Salona Salona Re (Singers: Ashok Kumar, Rahmat Bano, Arun Kumar)
5. Dekho Keh Doongi (Singers: Leela Chitnis, Ashok Kumar)
6. Jhoole Ke Sang Jhoolo (Singer: Leela Chitnis)            
7. Main To Dilli Se Dulhan Laya (Singers: Rahmat Bano, Arun Kumar)
8. Mujhe Mat Bulana (Singers: Leela Chitnis, Ashok Kumar)
9. Humne Kisi Se Suni Kahani (Singer: Ashok Kumar)
10. Mere Bichde Hue Saathi (Singer: Kavi Pradeep)
11. Ek Baat Batao Humein Gori (Singers: Leela Chitnis, Ashok Kumar)

Listen to Naa Jaane Kidhar Aaj Meri Naav Chali Re from Jhoola here:

(With contributions by Praveen VR, co-founder of musicaloud.com; information partly sourced from myswar.com)

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