The legendary Bollywood composer O.P. Nayyar would have turned 99 on 16 January this year. It has been 18 years since he passed away on 28 January 2007. Since for me this is  'O.P. Nayyar Month', it’s a good time to remember and to celebrate his contributions as I try to do every year.

During his professional career, Nayyar worked with about 40 lyricists, but only a few were able to weave the kind of sentiments in the lyrics that he wanted. Many of his hit songs are based on the poetry of greats like Majrooh Sultanpuri, Qamar Jalalabadi, Janisar Akhtar, Aziz Kashmiri, Hasrat Jaipuri and Sahir Ludhianvi. Towards the end of his career, lyricists like Noor Dewasi and Ahmed Wasi too came on board.

However, it was his musical partnership with lyricist S.H. Bihari that became an integral part of his music, in importance not too far behind Nayyar’s romantic partnership with Asha Bhosle.

Born in Bihar, 1922, the lyricist was about four years older than Nayyar and had worked with several composers, with a fair amount of success, but without attaining any serious visibility. That changed quickly, when Nayyar entered his life. The film Basant (1960) had 14 songs, 10 of which were duets sung by Mohammed Rafi and Asha Bhonsle — a record in itself.

Of these, Bihari wrote just one, his first for Nayyar -- Nainon Mein Suraj Ki Kirnein (The Sun in Your Eyes), picturized on Shammi Kapoor and Nutan. It was no chartbuster, but it was the start of a relationship between Nayyar and Bihari, which continued until the poet’s death in 1987. The legacy they created together, collaborating in 94 iconic songs in 25 films, remains long after both have departed this world.

What follows is a selection of their joint creations in which Bihari’s lyrics are particularly compelling. These are nuggets selected from a treasure chest of Urdu/Hindi poetry, with rough translations that may not do justice to their poetic brilliance but convey an idea to those unfamiliar with the language.

1. Yeh duniya rahe na rahe kya pata (Whether the world stays or not, who knows)

A mother has these words for her son in the film Mitti Mein Sona (1960):

Paseena bhi tera gire ga jahan, baha doongi mein khoon apna wahan
Dikha doongi kia maa ki hai maamta, mera pyar tujh se rahe ga sada

(Wherever your sweat falls, I will let my blood flow
The world will know how far a mother’s love can go)

2. Bohat shukriya badi meherbani (Truly grateful to you)

Leading lady Sadhana responds to her man in the last stanza in Ek Musafir Ek Haseena (1962):

Mujhe darr hai mujh mein ghuroor aa na jaye
Lagoon jhoomne mein suroor aa na jaye,
Kaheen dil na mera ye tareef sun kar
Tumhara banay aur mujhe bhool jaye

(I fear that I will become so proud
That I start whirling in ecstacy
What if hearing your words of praise
My heart becomes yours and forgets me)

3. Isharon isharon mein dil lene wale (Glances that take my heart away)

Bihari had this to say about the expression of unspoken love in Kashmir ki Kali (1964):

Mohabbat jo karte hen wo mohabbat jatate nahi
Dhadkane apne dil ki kabhi kisi ko sunate nahi,
Maza kya raha jab ke khud kar diya ho
Mohabbat ka izhar apni zubaan se

(Those in love have to prove nothing
Their heartbeat does not have to be heard
What is the point of love
If you must use words to convey love to your beloved)

4. Woh hans ke mile hamse, hum pyar samajh baithe (He smiled and i took it as love)

A gem from filmmaker Guru Dutt’s last production, Baharein Phir Bhi Ayengi (1966). He died when the film was only 10% done. It was eventually completed with Dharmendra and Mala Sinha in the lead. Mala Sinha expresses regret and pain with these words:

Aisee to na thi qismat apna bhi koi hota
Kyun khud ko mohabbat ka haqdaar samajh baithay

(It was not destiny to have someone of my own
How did I imagine I was entitled to love)

5. Na jaane kyun hamare dilko tumne dil nahi samjha (Why did you never consider my heart as a heart)

It is said that love is blind, but often the mind becomes blind too. Though presented in a light-hearted mode, the message in this Rafi song from the film Mohabbat Zindagi Hai (1966), is quite profound:

Hamara pyar dekho aur hamara hausla dekho
Mohabbat ka junoon humko kahan tak le chala dekho,
Tumhi ne jaan le li aur tumhein qatil nahi samjha

(Look at the my love and look at my capacity
See where my passion has taken me
You have taken my life and I do not consider you my killer)

6. Phil miloge kabhi is baat ka wada karlo (Promise that you will meet me again)

The beauty of the incomplete and the imperfect is reflected in Bihari’s lyrical poetry in this duet from Yeh Raat Phir Na Ayegi (1966).

Dil ki har baat adhoori hai, adhoori hai abhi
Apni ik aur mulaqaat zaroori hai abhi

(Everything I had to say remains incomplete, unspoken
Another meeting of ours remains essential) 

7. One Two Three Baby Ya Ya Ya

Who would expect a gem of a couplet embedded in a random situational song in Kismat (1968), the poetry easily coming from the top drawer. Sadly, lead actor Biswajeet failed to do it justice on the big screen.

Zara ched do aisa naghma koi ke saari fiza gungunane lagay
Woh dil jo ke ulfat se anjan hai wafa ke tarane sunane lagay

(Sing such a song that has the everything around us humming
That even a heart stranger to affection starting sing anthems of love)

8. Mera pyar woh hai ke (My love is such…)

When love becomes overly possessive, it can overflow and influence your very faith. Mahendra Kapoor sings for Ye Raat Phir Na Ayegi (1966)

Tumhara badan chandni aake chhu le, mere dil ko ye bhi gavara nahin hai
Khuda bhi agar tumse aake mile to, tumhari qasam hai mera dil jalega

(My heart cannot even bear even the moonlight touching your body
Even if God were to come down to meet you, my heart would burn) 

9. Hai duniya usi ki zamana usi ka (The world belongs to those whose time it is)

It is only when you lose yourself that you find true love. Some of the most effervescent words of sentiments found their way into film poetry through Bihari. Rafi singing in Kashmir ki Kali.

Hai sajde ke qabil har wo deewana,
Ke jo ban gaya ho tasweer e janaan
Karo ehtraam uski deewangi ka,
Mohabbat me jo ho gaya ho kisi ka

(Any such lover deserves a bow
Who becomes a picture of his beloved
Respect the insanity of the one
Who submits so completely to his love)

10. Kahan se lai ho janeman ye kitabi chehra (Where did you get such a face and eyes from)

The film Dil aur Mohabbat (1968), includes a gem of a duet sung by Asha and Mahendra Kapoor.

Yunhi guzaroon mein zindagi ke tamaan din aur tamaam raatein,
Kabhi bhi jinka nasha na utre, yahi to hein woh sharabi ankhein

(Let me spend all my days and nights like this
That my inebriation never sobers, such are your intoxicating eyes)

11. Chein se humko kabhi aap ne jeene na diya  (You never let me live in peace)

By the time Bihari’s song for the film Pran Jaye Par Vachan Na Jaye (1973) was recorded, both the singer Asha Bhosle and the composer O.P. Nayyar knew that it was all over between them. This was their swan song. Things became so bad that it was even removed from the film. Yet it brought a Filmfare Award for Asha Bhosle.

Aapka gham jo is dil mein din raat agar hoga,
Soch ke ye dam ghut-ta hai, phir kaise guzar hoga
Kaash na aati apni judai, maut hi aa jaati,
Koi bahaane chein hamari rooh to paa jaati
Ik pal hansna kabhi dil ki lagi ne na diya,
Zehr bhi chaha agar, peena to peene na diya

(How I will survive the days and nights
Endure the pain of your absence
Better than this separation would be death
This would at least give some solace to my soul
Not even for a minute did my restless soul allow me even a smile
Even if I wanted to drink poison, I was deprived of it.)

Fast forward 50 years and something amazing happened. S.H. Bihari’s daughter Shaheda, took the bold step of compiling and publishing her father’s work, now available for the first time in the public domain. The book Isharon Isharon Mein was launched in November at the Patna Cultural Fest 2024 and also presented to acclaimed poet Javed Akhtar in Mumbai.

At a musical show in New Jersey last November to honour O.P. Nayyar, I mentioned it on stage as a 'soft' release. A formal book launch is expected later this year.

Much earlier Nayyar himself had already placed an invisible crown on Bihari by giving him the unique title of Shayer-e-Azam (The Great Poet). To date, no other Bollywood songwriter has been elevated to this level by a prime composer.

It is unlikely that Bollywood will witness such a musical partnership again. We must keep their lamps alight.

(The author is a Boston-based Pakistani finance professional and a music connoisseur who runs the O.P. Nayyar Memorial Trust and is recognized for his work in girls' education, youth development, and arts-based bridge-building particularly between India and Pakistan. He is a founder member of the Southasia Peace Action Network. By special arrangement with Sapan)