The first time I was acquainted with the name of Bharat Vyas was not as a lyricist but as a singer.That was in my childhood. Bharat Vyas had the genius to be compared with Mahadevi Verma. Singer Asha Bhosle Lyrics Bharat Vyas.’ They were all stunned.One thing was clear. I went in and brought out the Columbia disc and showed them the names mentioned therein. There was a chorus of protests.’No, the lyricist is Mahadevi’.
I told them, ‘It is not written by Mahadevi Verma’. I had taken my gramophone to Naini Tal along with several discs including the Asha record.
I was sitting among a group of young intellectuals in Naini Tal including a budding poetess when she commended this song and said, ‘Mahadevi Verma has written it beautifully’. Kal sunaaoon gi madhur kuchch aj rone do mujhe Saaz dhone do nayan ke ashra rone do mujhe Nachtin theen ungliyan, aur kanpta har taar thaaĪj kumhalaya kusum mere adhik barsaat se, ‘Ro rahi thhi been aur sun kar sukhi sansar tha This haunting song of hers is still my most favorite among her sad numbers. And it would be no exaggeration to say that Asha Bhosle’s sad voice in this song, emanating from the Nayyar-dominated era of the 1950s, floored many when they heard her croon a non-film pathos-loaded number, ‘Geet kitne gaa chuki hoon is dukhi jag ke liye, aj rone do mujhe pal ek apne bhi liye’. But today I will first refer to a non-film song that he wrote for Asha Bhosle. Some of the memorable songs of Lata, Mukesh, Mohammad Rafi, Manna Dey and others were composed by him.
In this gvery movie he composed lyrics for six songs that were rendered by Shanta Apte who was a rage in those days. He even had the proud privilege of composing two songs for Noor Jehan in film Duhai but which were recorded only for the film. WHEN INTELLECTUALS MISTOOK HIS SONG TO BE MAHADEVI VERMA’S POEMīharat Vyas has written some of the classic numbers of various films.