When I say ‘Romancing The Wheels’, I mean it in many ways. Sometimes it’s the wind in your hair, the power under your accelerator, the speed you drive on, the trees passing by silently, the river flowing with a gush, currents gurgling with laughter full of energy making noise as if no one is listening to them.
Sometimes it’s romance that you see with your eyes while you drive on long unwinding beautiful country roads. Many a times it’s the freshness of the rain or falling leaves which fall on your windscreen while you pass by. Oh… the changing colours of the mountains and the hills we leave behind when we drive on for days and nights.
On the other side, it’s the music which plays in our head when we hear the gurgle of the river flowing, the whistling of the falling leaves, the wroom of the car, the cassettes and the discs we carry along.
The songs we hear and sing on full volume while driving, as we know no one can hear us. That I think is the best time we have.
I always wonder how people used to travel when they did not have music players in their vehicles! How could they enjoy their drive without any music? May be they used to sing and make music along the way.
When it comes to music we hear while we are on the road there’s nothing to beat Bollywood songs which are growing with us since decades. There are travel songs on bicycles like the one in Annadata – Guzar gaya din; and Sanware salone aaye din bahar ke from Ek Hi Raasta in which Sunil Dutt and Meena Kumari are riding a double bike and there’s Hemant Kumar, Majrooh Sultanpuri’s magic.
Then there is the magic of the great O.P.Nayyar and the famous Tik-Tok…..Tik-Tok trotting of the horse. This we see in Naya Daur – the melodious Asha and Rafi song Maang ke saath tumhara. A very handsome Dilip Kumar and a beauty called Vaijayanti Mala in a horse carriage, singing. There is happiness in the hoofs of the horse and love is in the air.
Another similar song is from Jaali Note – Sach kehta hun bahut haseen ho, with Dev Anand and Madhubala. Then, the Nayyar magic is endless. From Sun sun sun zalima in Aar-paar, Jawaniyan yeh mast mast bin piye in Tumsa Nahin Dekha, Zara haule haule chalo in Sawan Ki Ghata to Yun toh hum ne laakh haseen in Tumsa Nahin Dekha – all these are amazing melodies.
Two more songs on the tik-tok of the horse are from the movie Phir Wohi Dil Laya Hun – Lakhon hain nigaah mein and Banda parwar tham lo jigar.
And how can we forget Chod do anchal from Paying Guest, Hai apna dil toh aawara and Piya piya piya from Baap Re Baap.
Many a songs just have the wordings which indicate travel in many forms but there’re no visuals connecting to that. In this category I would say are Chalte chalte mere yeh geet, Chal chal chal mere haathi, Nadiya chale chale re dhara…. songs like these which indicate travel.
Then, we have songs in and on the train like Bombay se baroda tak in Rafoo-Chakkar, Kanchi re kanchi re and Chal chhaiya chhaiya. There’s one in a passenger train too in Ajnabee – Hum dono do premi, in which Rajesh Khanna and Zeenat Aman hide in hay stacks and run away from the hands of the cruel society for love.
There are also songs that I would like to mention here, especially for they being personal favourites:
– A dashing Shashi Kapoor on a motorcycle riding down the road along the river on muddy tracks with panghats and bathing damsels singing Ek raasta hai zindagi in Kala Patthar.
– Then there is Jo tumko ho pasand in Safar a 1970 movie which has a slow beat with echoing birds flying along with Feroz Khan and Sharmila Tagore along with Mukesh and Indeevar.
– The evergreen Mere sapno ki raani kab aayegi tu from Aradhana and Kaun hai jo sapno mein aaya from Jhuk Gaya Asmaan with Rajendra Kumar and Saira Banu.
– Also, Kya khoob lagti ho from Dharmatma with Feroz Khan and Hema Malani in a blue jeep drive into desserts and hills. Don’t miss the beats in this song.
– And the best is when Rajesh Khanna in his orange automobile blue scarf, pink shirt, blue pants and a pumping beat sings Milan ki masti bhari ankhon mein ……Chala jaata hun kisi ki dhun mein in the movie Mere Jeevan Saathi; the yoodlling in the ghaats makes even the car fly on two wheels.
Don’t you then feel that some songs are romancing on the wheels while some are romancing the wheel itself?
This last one I love the most as it says – Tum bhi chalo, Hum bhi chalen, Chalti rahe zindagi.
SOME EVERGREEN TRAVEL SONGS
- Zindagi ek safar hai suhana (Andaaz – 1971);
- Mere sapno ki rani (Aradhana – 1969);
- Chala jaata hun kisi ki dhun mein (Mere Jeevan Saathi -1972);
- Guzar jaaye din (Annadata – 1972);
- Sanware salone aaye din bahar ke (Ek Hi Raasta – 1956);
- Maang ke saath tumhara (Naya Daur – 1957);
- Sach kehta hun bahut haseen ho (Jaali Note – 1960);
- Sun sun sun zalima (Aar Paar – 1954);
- Jawaniyan yeh mast mast bin piye (Tum Sa Nahin Dekha – 1957);
- Zara haule haule chalo (Saawan Ki Ghata – 1966);
- Yun toh hum ne laakh haseen (Tum Sa Nahin Dekha – 1957);
- Lakhon hain nigaah mein (Phir Wo Hi Dil Laya Hoon – 1963);
- Banda parwar tham lo jigar (Phir Wo Hi Dil Laya Hoon – 1963);
- Chhod do anchal (Paying Guest – 1957);
- Hai apna dil toh aawara (Solvan Saal – 1958);
- Piya piya piya mera jiya pukaare (Baap Re Baap – 1955);
- Chalte chalte mere yeh geet (Chalte Chalte – 1976);
- Chal chal chal mere haathi (Haathi Mere Saathi – 1971);
- Nadiya chale chale re dhara (Safar – 1970);
- Bombay se baroda tak (Rafoo Chakkar – 1975)
- Kanchi re kanchi re (Hare Ram Hare Krishna – 1971);
- Chal chhaiya chhaiya (Dil Se – 1998)
- Hum dono do premi (Ajnabee – 1974)
- Ek raasta hai zindagi (Kala Patthar – 1979)
- Jo tumko ho pasand (Safar – 1970)
- Kaun hai jo sapno mein aaya (Jhuk Gaya Aasmaan – 1968)
- Kya khoob lagti ho (Dharmatma – 1975)
- Tum bhi chalo hum bhi chalen chalti rahe zindagi (Zameer – 1974)
- Kaisi pehli ye zindagani (Parineeta – 2005)
- Kahin karti hogi wo mera intezaar (Phir Kab Milogi – 1974)
