Songs For All Occasions

Bollywood has a unique distinction. Not just that it has songs, but that there is a song for any occasion.

You can think of anything at all, starting from a simple romance with the couple running around trees in Kashmir or Switzerland or Amsterdam (Neele gagan ke tale), to a lady just waiting for her lover to return from work (Na, jiya lage na, from Anand or Kis liye maine pyaar kiya from The Train), to a group of people on a picnic (O Manchali kahaan chali), to a dad bidding goodbye to his daughter after her wedding (Babul ki duaaen leti jaa, ja tujhko sukhi sansaar mile), a dad raising a child (Tujhe suraj kahoon ya chanda, tujhe deep kahoon ya taara)  to a ghost calling her boyfriend from a past life (like in Woh kaun thi, or Bees Saal Baad- kahin deep jale kahin dil), you have a song for every occasion. Creativity must have been at an all-time high among lyricists who had to write for all these situations. Hats off to them.  Aap logon ka jawaab nahin.

Some more situations- song of liberation (Aaj phir jeene ki tamanna hai), Folk song at a rural party (Chunri sambhal gori udi chali jaaye re), celebration of a festival (Govinda aala re aala), decrying a lost friendship (Dost dost na raha, pyaar pyaar na raha),  club songs (Laila main laila), Lullabies (Nanhi pari sone chali), Kids having fun (Lakdi ki kaathi kaathi pe ghoda, or Re mama re mama re),  cabaret songs (Piya tu ab to aaja), college students having fun (Mannubhai motor chali pump um pum), reflections about life (Zindagi ka safar, Yeh jeevan hai, Zindagi ek safar hai suhana, Zindagi ke safar mein guzar jaate hain jo makaam), the celebration of the present (Aane wala pal, jaanewala hai, ho sake to isme zindagi bita do), teasing (Hamaare siwa tumhaare aur kitne deewaane hain), dance competitons (made famous by Nasir Husain in Hum Kisise Kum Nahin in a series of four songs- Mil gaya, humko saathi mil gaya..etc.).

More categories? Lost and found songs that unite siblings (Yaadon ki baaraat knikli hai aaj dilke dwaare), lovers complaining about lost chances (Hazaar raahen mudke dekhi , kahin se koi sadaa na aai), protagonist describing  the state of his heart (Dil aaj shaayar hai, or Dil kya kare jab kisise kisiko pyaar ho jaaye), kids singing about parents’ romance (Papa ko mummy se, mummy ko papa se pyaar hai), angst (Har koi chaahta hai ek mutthi aasmaan), the wedding song (Aaj mere yaar ki shaadi hai), the disco song (I am a disco dancer, Hari om hari), the birthday song (Baar baar din yeh aaye, baar baar dil yeh gaye tum jiyo hazaaron saal), mujra (Inhi logon ne, or Jab pyaar kiya to darna kya, or Salaame ishq meri jaan zara qubool karlo),  qawwali (Hum kisise kam nahin),  songs about the river or sea (O maajhi re), the seduction song (Main kya karoon ram mujhe Buddha mil gaya), Bhajan or arti (Om jay jagdeesh hare), teaching each other (Saawan ka mahina, pawan kare sor).

Patriotism (Mere Desh ki dharti, or Nanha munna rahi hoon desh ka sipahi hoon), distracting a crying child (Rona kabhi nahin rona chahe toot jaaye koi khilona), madness  in an asylum(Mere bhains ko danda kyun maara), brooding over lost love (Din dhal jaaye haaye raat na jaaye), enjoying a tonga (horse carriage) ride (many OP Nayyar compositions with hoof-beats in the music),are some more situations that are amenable to songs in Hindi movies. Disguises in the villain’s den are also another common category of songs (Duniya mein, logon ko from Apna Desh, for instance).

Maybe I have missed a few, but you get the point…