A conditional
clause is one in which one situation depends on another being fulfilled. A
sentence with a conditional clause always has two parts – one, the conditional
clause which states the condition, and two, the main clause, which results from
that condition being fulfilled. For example, If it rains, then the event
will be cancelled. The probability of the second part – the event being
cancelled – depends on the condition – If it rains – being met. Think of
it as an ‘if/then’ sentence.
Songs that don’t
fit the theme, despite having a [seeming] conditional clause, include: Tum agar
mujhko nahin chahogi toh koi baat nahin… [“It’s okay if you don’t love me]
or Ye duniya agar mil bhi jaaye toh kya hai? [What does it matter if the
world accepts me?] That is because the ‘condition’ – ‘If you don’t love me’ or ‘If
the world accepts me’ is not followed by a corresponding action. There’s
nothing in the lyrics to indicate that if she doesn’t love him {in the first scenario) he will do
anything about it, or if the world doesn’t accept him (as in the latter
scenario), there will be consequences to follow.
I came across many
of these conditional clauses in old Hindi film songs; at the first instance, my
reaction was, “Hmm, that’s interesting.” Then, I began noticing patterns –
there were plenty of songs which set conditions, and the results could be
plausible or implausible. So why not make a list of songs that fit this theme?
Aap yunhi agar mujhse milte rahe
Ek Musafir
Ek Hasina (1962)
Singers:
Mohammed Rafi, Asha Bhosle
Music: OP
Nayyar
Lyrics: Raja Mehdi Ali Khan
This is the song
that first piqued my interest in this theme.
Aap yunhi agar
mujhse milti rahe
Dekhiye ek din
pyaar ho jaayega… sings
the hero. (If we keep meeting like this/we will fall in love one day).
The ‘falling in love’ depends on them meeting frequently. It is an interesting
song because the lyrics speak of love and attraction – but in the film, at this
point, the hero and heroine are not yet in love. She’s married (or thinks she
is) and he’s an army officer who has amnesia. She’s trying to get him to a
hospital so he can be treated; he has no clue who this beautiful woman
is, but is not loath to be in her company. Why she’s so coquettish when she
seems to spend half her time keeping him at a distance is anyone guess. The plot
had more holes than Swiss cheese, but if OP Nayyar’s lovely songs (ten of them),
a beautiful Sadhana, a handsome Joy Mukherjee are enough, then Ek Musafir Ek
Hasina is worth a watch.
Tum agar saath dena ka vaada karo
Humraaz (1967)
Singer:
Mahendra Kapoor
Music: Ravi
Lyrics: Sahir Ludhianvi
Tum agar saath
dene ka vaada karo
Main yunhi mast
naghme lutaatha rahoon
Once again, it’s
the hero setting the condition – if she would only promise to support him, he
will continue to sing. Does she want him to? That, apparently, is not something
that crosses his mind as he continues:
Tum mujhe
dekhkar muskuraati raho
Main tumhe
dekhkar geet gaata rahoon
While the woman
looks on, stone-faced. It’s hard to decipher what she wants; she certainly
doesn’t say a word.
Tu kahe agar
Andaz (1949)
Singer: Mukesh
Music: Naushad
Lyrics: Shakeel
Badayuni
What’s with men
wanting to continuously sing songs to women? Thankfully, here, he’s actually
asking her consent:
Tu kahe agar
jeevan bhar
Main geet
sunaata jaaoon
Dilip Kumar plays the
piano with a little more verisimilitude than most heroes, Nargis drapes herself
over the piano, while Cuckoo dances. He is making his feelings very clear, and
one can’t blame him for thinking the lady reciprocates. Not when she’s smiling
so prettily at him.
Agar pyaar mein muskuraaye na hote
Lalten (1956)
Singer: Geeta
Dutt
Music: Hemant
Kumar
Lyrics: Kaif
Irfani
It is strange – or
perhaps not, after all – that when it is the lady who’s setting the condition,
it is to sing a maudlin song of heartbreak. If I hadn’t smiled in love, she
cries, I wouldn’t be hiding my tears now.
Agar pyaar mein
muskuraaye na hote
Toh palkon mein
aansoo chhupaaye na hote
This is a
conditional clause known as the past hypothetical. Because the deed is already
done – she had smiled when she was in love – and there’s no way she can
undo that action – due to which she’s crying in the present. If she could back
in time to change one action?
Tu hai chanda toh main hoon chakor
Aaghosh (1953)
Singers:
Kishore Kumar, Lata Mangeshkar
Music: Roshan
Lyrics:
Indeevar
This is a
conditional clause known as the second conditional. It sets unreal/improbable conditions
– If you are the moon, I am the chakor partridge (in folklore,
the bird yearns for the moon. But since that’s literally impossible – she’s not
the moon – he’s talking of an unreal situation, one that is not about what will
happen but what could happen in an alternate reality.
The video link cuts short the song by a good minute. Here’s the full audio.
Agar babu dil hai qaboo
Musafirkhana (1955)
Singer: Asha
Bhosle
Music: OP
Nayyar
Lyrics: Majrooh
Sultanpuri
This is a ‘zero
conditional’, or in simple terms, it’s stating an obvious truth. It is used to
express facts/ truths.
Agar babu, agar
babu dil hai qaboo
Toh dar nahin tu
mohabbat kar
“If your heart is
in your control, dear sir,” she sings, “then don’t be frightened to fall in
love.“ This always holds true – if you are brave then you can fall in love
without being afraid of the world.
Agar saaz chheda taraane banenge
Jawani
Diwani (1972)
Singers:
Kishore Kumar, Asha Bhosle
Music: RD
Burman
Lyrics: Anand
Bakshi
This song is
another example of a ‘zero conditional’ sentence – it states a very simple
truth:
Agar saaz chheda
taraane banenge
Taraane banenge
taraane banenge
Taraane bane
toh?
Taraane bane
toh fasaane banenge
If you play a
musical instrument, a melody will be produced. [You could argue that if played
badly, a melody is not what will ensue.] The song then follows a series
of conditional clauses:
Fasaane bane
toh?
Fasaane bane
toh sunegi ye mehfil
Sunegi ye
mehfil toh badi hogi mushkil… and
so it goes.
Ae jaan-e-jigar chilman se agar
Qawwali ki
Raat (1964)
Singers:
Mohammed Rafi, Mubarak Begum
Music: Iqbal
Qureshu
Lyrics: Shehzan
Rizwi
A song with a ‘first
conditional’ clause:
Ae jaane-e-jigar, chilman se agar
Halka sa
ishaara ho jaaye
Paigham-e-mohabbat
mil jaaye
Jeene ka sahaara
ho jaaye
“My beloved, if
only you would
Send me a gentle
signal from behind the curtains
If I could get a sign
of your love
Then I would be
able to live”
It’s a simple statement
of possibilities – that if his beloved would only signal to him, it would give
him the strength to live on. And from the context, this is not a hypothetical,
but a real possibility. A ‘first conditional’ is about what might happen
in the future.
Rani
Roopmati (1957)
Singer: Usha
Mangeshkar
Music: SN
Tripathi
Lyrics: Bharat
Vyas
This song is an
example of an ‘inverted conditional’. The consequence is state first, the
condition comes in the second part of the sentence.
Itihaas agar
likhna chaaho
Aazaadi ke mazmuun
se
Toh seencho apni
dharti ko
Veeron tum apne
khoon se
“If you want to write
history under the pen name, ‘Freedom’
Then soak your
land, my brave men, with your blood”
History will only
be written if their blood is spilt in defending their land.
From Rani
Roopmati, where the eponymous Rani (Nirupa Roy) is exhorting her subjects
and her soldiers to battle the invaders.
Main koi aisa geet gaaoon
Yes, Boss! (1997)
Singers:
Abhijeet Bhattacharya, Alka Yagnik
Music:
Jatin-Lalit
Lyrics: Javed
Akhtar
This is yet
another example of the ‘inverted conditional’. He speaks of all the things he
will do for her – sing her a song that will arouse her desire, call her and welcome
her with the utmost respect wherever she treads, call the earth the sky, decorate
it with stars – if only she will ask it of him.
Main koi aisa
geet gaaoon
Ke aarzoo
jagaaoon
Agar tum kaho
Tum ko bulaaoon,
palke bichhaaoon
Qadam tum
jahaan jahaan rakho
Zameen ko
aasmaan bulaaoo
Sitaaron se
saja doon
Agar tum kaho
It is also a ‘mixed
conditional’ in that most of what he claims he will do for her is impossible.
It’s all very romantic, nevertheless, and a very pretty song picturised on a
very pretty heroine (Juhi Chawla).
Agar mujhse mohabbat hai
Aap ki
Parchhaiyan (1964)
Singer: Lata
Mangeshkar
Music: Madan
Mohan
Lyrics: Raja
Medi Ali Khan
This song falls under
the ‘first conditional’ category that states a real possibility as the condition,
and offers a real consequence if that condition is met.
Agar mujh se
muhobbat hai
Mujhe sab apna
gham de do
In aankhon ka
har ik aansoo
Mujhe meri
kasam de do
“If you love me,
then give me all your sorrows
Give me the tears
that spring into your eyes
I beg you, upon
that love, give them to me”
The film, starring
Dharmendra, Supriya and Shashikala, verged on the old trope of a heartless
daughter-in-law who illtreats her in-laws. This song was the saving grace in a
family (melo)drama.
Badal jaaye agar maali
Bahaarein
Phir Bhi Aayengi (1966)
Singer: Mahendra Kapoor
Music: OP
Nayyar
Lyrics: Kaifi
Azmi
On the face of
it, this is an example of a ‘zero conditional’ clause, stating an obvious
truth.
Badal jaaye
agar maali
Chaman hota
nahin khaali
Bahaaren phir
bhi aati hain
Bahaaren phir
bhi aayegi
That if the gardener
changes/goes away, the garden does not destruct; Spring comes as is its wont,
Spring will continue to come…
But as gardeners
know – much to their chagrin – if they leave their garden untended, Spring might
come along, but their garden will not yield much, if anything.
Judaaii ki khabar hoti deedar se pehle
Aansoo (1953)
Singer: Lata
Mangeshkar
Music:
Husnlal-Bhagatram
Lyrics: Qamar
Jalalabadi
This is a song
that fulfils the ‘third conditional’, that of past hypotheticals. ‘Had this
happened/not happened in the past, then this wouldn’t be occurring now… ‘ Or in this case, even the consequence is
rooted in the past. The problem with this kind of situation is that one cannot
travel back in time to erase what happened then, but at least this singer is
very self-aware: nothing can change now.
Judaaii ki
khabar hoti deedar se pehle
Toh marne ki
dua karte tumhaare pyaar se pehle
‘If I’d known we
would separate before I even met you
I would have
begged for death before falling in love with you”
There are too many
conditions here that are difficult to meet for a satisfying conclusion. If she
had known that they would have to separate, if she had known that she would be
left to weep alone, she would have thought a thousand times before admitting her
love.
It’s not a very
reassuring statement for the man to hear, but assuming they are separating due
to circumstances, he probably feels the same way.
Hum bhi agar bachche hote
Door ki
Aawaaz (1964)
Singer:
Mohammed Rafi, Asha Bhosle
Music: Ravi
Lyrics: Shakeel
Badayuni
Here’s a fun song
that fulfils the ‘second conditional’ of impossible situations. ‘If I were a
child too,” he sings, “my name would be Gaploo or Babloo, and I would get to
eat laddus”.
Hum bhi agar
bachche hote
Naam hamaara
hoga Gaploo, Babloo
Khaane ko milte
laddu
Happy Birthday
to you
This song is a
light-hearted take on an improbable situation – if he were a child. The
interesting part of this situation is that he would obviously have been a child
once, but that past hypothetical is not what he’s singing about. He’s wishing
he were a child in the present, so he can eat sweets, and receive presents on
his birthday, much like a child would.
Ab agar humse khudaaii bhi khafa ho jaaye
Laila Majnu (1976)
Singers:
Mohammed Rafi, Lata Mangeshkar
Music: Madan
Mohan
Lyrics: Sahir
Ludhianvi
This can be either
a ‘first conditional’ or a ‘second conditional’ depending on your perspective. Because
the lovers are adamant that even if the universe is upset with them, it
is impossible that they will be separated from each other, that they will
sacrifice their lives…
Ab agar hum se
khudaaii bhi agar khafa ho jaaye
Gair mumkin hai
ke dil dil se judaa ho jaaye
Jism mit jaayen
ke ab jaan fanaa ho jaaye
Gair mumkin hai
But reality
intervenes… one is not sure if the universe was upset with them, but alas, the
lovers are separated. [This follows one of the tropes of Hindi cinema, where no
sooner do lovers sing of never being parted are they torn asunder by
circumstances or even death.]
What songs do you
remember that fit this theme?