Ravindra Jain was an enormously talented artist. The visually challenged musician was one such composer who understood and always upheld the importance of melody in his songs. He had been a great inspiration for many as he overcame his blindness to make a place for himself in the world of music. Apart from composing music, he also wrote lyrics for many of his famous songs.
Born in Aligarh in 1944 to a Sanskrit scholar, Ravindra Jain started singing bhajans at temples at a very young age. He later received training under Pandit GL Jain, Pandit Janardhan Sharma and Pandit Nathu Ram.
The visually-challenged music composer began his career in 1971 as a composer with the film ‘Lori’. His first song was “Yeh silsila hai pyar ka chalta hi rahega” sung by Mohammed Rafi himself. Unfortunately, this song was never released. His first released film was ‘Kaanch Aur Heera’ a year later, in which Mohammed Rafi sang “Nazar aati nahin manzil”. Later, he went on to compose melodious music for hit films such as Chor Machaye Shor (1974), Geet Gaata Chal (1975), Chitchor (1976), Dulhan Wahi Jo Piya Man Bhaaye (1977), Ankhiyon Ke Jharokhon Se (1978), Sunayana (1979), Nadiya ke Paar (1982), Ram Teri Ganga Maili (1985) and Vivah(2006).
Ravindra jain is known for his dedication to his work. One of the anecdotes referred to the episode when Ravindra Jain’s father died during the recording session of the film Saudagar and Jain is said to have remained in the studio until the recording was completed.
Despite being blind he had a flourishing career composing music for over a hundred and twenty films. He has composed music not only in Hindi but also lent his musical prowess to albums in Malayalam, Haryanvi, Gujarati, Punjabi, Bhojpuri, Telugu, Bengali etc. He has composed songs for popular TV serials including Ramanand Sagar’s “Ramayan” and “Jai Hanuman”. From ghazals to super-hit film songs, mythological numbers and even television serials, Ravindra Jain spread the roots of his music far and wide. His contribution to Indian music has been immense and was recognized with the title of Padma Shri conferred upon him in 2015.
He had given opportunities to a large number of singers and worked with practically every film producer in the country.
Every piece he created for Ramanand Sagar’s Ramayan Aur Krishna felt as if that is the only way it could have been composed. One can’t imagine any other tune to create such an impact. These were serials that remain extremely close to people’s hearts and the music played such an important role there. As for the films, the scores of Ankhiyon Ke Jharokhon Se and Ram Teri Ganga Maili are absolutely iconic. There will be no other Ravindra Jain ever again.
He may have left us but his melodies continue to live on forever.
