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megalony · 4 years

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Hotel of horror- Part 2

This is the follow-up part of my Ben Hardy imagine based on the movie Hotel Mumbai. It has taken me a while to write this part but it is finally finished and I hope everyone will like it.

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Part 1

Summary: Ben and (Y/n) are on holiday with their baby girl, but things take a turn for the worst when an attack happens in the hotel and they are forced to hide until help arrives.

Enjoy.

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"Be quiet, if they find us we will all be killed."

It felt as if a bolt of lightning had suddenly sparked through (Y/n)'s body when the middle aged lady's words hit her ears. She couldn't control her baby's cries, (Y/n) couldn't tell her six month old baby to be quiet because she was scared and she had no understanding of the world around her or what was happening. Crying was a natural response to fear and being unsettled and that was what Charlie was doing.

But nevertheless, (Y/n) cradled her baby girl that much closer to her shoulder in hopes of trying to either smother her cries of terror or soothing her so she would calm down and settle. Her trembling hand pressed to the back of Charlie's head to reassure her as she leaned forward like she was trying to press her head into her knees. Every muscle in (Y/n)'s body was shaking and jerking like she was having some sort of seizure and her tongue was bleeding from how badly she was biting down on it to stop any cries or sounds from leaving her lips.

"If they come up to this floor and check this room we will all be killed. You think they will just miss this room completely when they go scouting for people to shoot? She's a baby, don't put the blame on her." Ben hissed the words back at the lady like a venomous snake, swatting his hand out as he pointed at the woman who had no decency.

If this floor got checked and the shooters came rushing into this room, not everyone would be able to get out alive, someone will die. They wouldn't just overlook this room once they found out where the door was, Charlie crying wouldn't make much of a difference in this situation and Ben wasn't having that lady blame Charlie for being scared.

Turning his head back to look at (Y/n), Ben gently cupped her face in his hands and pressed his forehead against her own so her eyes were focused on him and no one else. His knees were pressing against her legs as he was crouched down in front of her, trying his best to calm her down but his anxiety was flying through the roof. Each bullet that got fired made him feel closer and closer to death and that was something he never thought he would experience in his life. Ben didn't want to die, it was one of his worst fears in life but his fear for his wife and daughter was much more consuming and it wouldn't leave him alone.

The gunshots ceased yet again but (Y/n) didn't dare move a muscle or make a sound other than trying to breathe as silently as humanly possible. It felt like if she moved she would give away where they were. If she moved her foot one inch to the left the doors would suddenly burst open and everyone would die just like the hundreds of other people in this hotel that hadn't been lucky enough to hide. They had heard the screams and the bullets to know that not everyone was as lucky as the other people trapped in this room.

When Ben ever so slowly pulled away from (Y/n) and stood up, she didn't have the energy or the will to try and see what he was doing or where he was going. The two entrances into this room were locked and bolted, Ben wasn't going to just walk out of this room but (Y/n) couldn't try and worry what he was trying to do. All she could do was count each breath she took and rock the baby in her arms back and forth.

Ben kept his footsteps light and his breaths paced and as even as he could as he slowly walked around the perimeter of the room they were confined into which looked more like a posh club than anything else. When he circled the room, he went back over to (Y/n) and crouched down in front of her again.

"Baby, we need to go." His words caused (Y/n)'s eyes to narrow and her head to shake but she didn't understand what he was saying.

They were safe in here, the doors were locked and had barriers in front of them to form a blockade. They were safe in here and that was what they needed, somewhere to sit and feel safe until the emergency services and the police could get to them and get them out of this hotel. Trying to get out of this room and find a way out of the hotel could get them killed, (Y/n) would rather sit here and be safe than take a chance and risk dying.

"Go where? W-we're safe in here-"

"No baby, no we're not. No room is safe because they're roaming all over this hotel, we've heard them and they're getting closer. Our only chance of getting out is to move around and try to find a safe way out, what if they're on this floor right now? I need to keep you safe and I can't do that if we're sitting ducks waiting for them in here."

This room was only safe until it was discovered and Ben would stake a guess that those shooters wouldn't leave this room until they got inside and killed everyone who was hiding behind the doors. If they moved around they would be safe because it made them harder to find and if they stayed in a room that had already been gunned down, the shooters were less likely to go back to the area they had already been to. Ben knew the shooters were close by and the lack of gunshots could mean they were getting closer instead of moving further away.

(Y/n) started to shake her head but another gunshot made her jump with how loud it sounded in her ears like it had gone off right next to her. When her eyes locked with Ben's, he knew she was agreeing with him.

When Ben stood to his full height again, he reached his arms out and slowly helped (Y/n) to her feet, his heart lurching into his throat because she looked like she was going to collapse or faint with how pale she was and how badly she was shaking. He kept an arm secured around her waist before he started walking them both over to the other side of the room, away from where he guessed the gunshots were coming from.

When the couple reached the door on the other side of the room that (Y/n) guessed was a servant's entrance, one of the staff who was hiding away with them rushed out to stand in front of them. He started to shake his head, whispering at them furiously to move away.

"Unlock the door." Ben kept his voice low but his demand was clear and his expression showed he wasn't trying to debate here. He wanted out of this room and he wanted to get out now so he could find a way to get his family out of this hotel for good. He wanted to be somewhere safe and he never wanted to see this god forsaken hotel again.

"Sir, please sit back down. We are safe in here I can assure you, help is on the way-"

"The shooters are on the other side of that wall, no one is safe in this place and I won't sit and wait to be shot. We've been in here for three hours and no one is here to get us out. No one is coming to save us so I'm getting my family out on my own. Now open that fucking door and let us out because we have a better chance running that sitting." Ben kept the man's gaze until he seemed to cave when a few other guests started to quietly voice that they wanted to leave.

They had been sat in here for just over three hours and in that time they had heard people knocking on the door and they heard people dying and attackers shooting others dead. Sitting in here for much longer would send every one of them insane and it was starting to do that to Ben already. He was going to get his family out because no one else was going to do that for him. If the police were here they were doing hardly anything to help and no evacuation or rescue team had arrived in the three and a half hours that this attack had been happening.

They had to save themselves from this mess.

The member of staff looked like he was about to burst into tears as he very quietly placed the key into the lock and slowly turned it until the door chimed and the lock was undone. He undid the bolts on the top and bottom of the door and moved a few chairs out of the way before holding the door open for everyone who wanted to leave. More than half of the room wanted to stay but Ben, (Y/n) and about ten other guests quickly but quietly left their confinement of three hours.

Ben kept his hands on (Y/n)'s shoulders, not daring to let go of her for even one second as they started their descent down the stairwell. When they got down one flight of stairs, (Y/n) held her breath and froze in place when voices could be heard from the next floor below. Not waiting to hear the voices getting louder, (Y/n) hurried over to the right where there was a door leading out into the corridor. They couldn't head down the next level when it definitely sounded like the shooters were down there. The voices were calm and rational and not in a language that anyone seemed to understand. No one would be talking calmly or in their normal volume if they were scared of getting shot.

(Y/n) didn't know what she was looking for when her eyes roamed the corridor three times over. Maybe she was looking for an open door, maybe she was looking for the police to tell her to follow them, or maybe she was just looking for a shooter to point a gun her way.

As they stumbled down the corridor, the only sound being their feet hitting the carpet, Ben dared to turn his head to see if any of the other guests were following them down this way. Ben would hate to be leading everyone and have them think he knew a way out when in fact he and (Y/n) were both running blind. But as he looked behind him and saw no one, his body shuddered and leaned forward when a bullet hit the wall at the end of the corridor behind them.

Reaching his hand out, Ben pushed open a side door that led into a smaller corridor which showed another set of rooms.

"Someone's shooting, go, go!" His words were rushed but they were full of panic as his hand moved to the base of (Y/n)'s spine, trying not to push her but needing to keep her in front of him and keep her moving quickly. The moment they were in the next corridor, gunshots could be heard that were evidently getting closer to them.

(Y/n) ducked her head down and concentrated on looking at the detailed pattern of the carpet as she held Charlie as tight as she could to her chest, needing to stop their baby from crying and alerting people they were there. In an act of desperation, Ben turned to the right and started hitting his fist against any doors he could, trying to be quiet but loud enough for someone to hear and (Y/n) started to do the same on the left side.

"Open the door, open the door!"

Turning her head, (Y/n) felt her eyes going wide like she was a deer in the headlights when she could hear footsteps down the end of the corridor she was very close to. She could see the corridor curving round a corner to the right and she could begin to see the barrel of a gun becoming visible. Latching her hand to the back of Charlie's head, (Y/n)'s eyes locked with Ben's the moment she bolted across to his side of the corridor where there was a wall to cover them from the sight of the shooter rounding the corner into their corridor.

Wrapping his arms around (Y/n), Ben spun them around so (Y/n)'s back was pressed against the wall and his body was shielding her own with Charlie pressed tightly between them. One of Ben's hands cradled the back of (Y/n)'s neck as his other hand placed firmly to the wall to steady himself. His eyes fell closed and almost silent murmurs started to leave his lips under his breath but (Y/n) couldn't work out what he was saying.

Ben leaned his head against (Y/n)'s as he could feel tears welling in his eyes, he sincerely doubted that there was a chance the shooter would spare them or keep them as hostages. He didn't even think they would spare Charlie, despite her being a baby.

Daring to open her eyes for a last ditched attempt at trying to see if anyone had opened their doors to give them shelter, (Y/n) reached up and tugged on Ben's shirt sleeve. His eyes opened and he turned his head to follow her line of sight, his heart jumping into his throat when he realised where she was looking.

A utility cupboard.

Keeping one arm around (Y/n), Ben shuffled across the carpet and reached a cautious hand out to the cupboard door. It opened without a sound, much to their relief and Ben was quick to push (Y/n) inside before he squashed himself into the tight space with her and closed the door. There were small patterns in the wood which allowed small visible holes to see out of without it being clear that someone was hiding int he cupboard.

Lowering his head so his line of sight was clear through one of the gaps in the wood, Ben watched with utter panic and terror flowing through his body. He almost jumped when he saw the shooter slowly walk into his line of sight, a handgun stuffed into a holster on his waist and what Ben guessed was a rifle held loosely in his hands like it was just a prop or some toy he was lounging around with. Every so often he would knock on the doors to see if someone would open up so he could use them as target practise.

But Ben quickly turned his head from staring out of the gap to look at (Y/n) who was leaning against the wall beside the door, her front pressed against his own. He shook his head when he felt how her breaths were becoming shallow and hitching higher and higher in her throat. She sounded like she was about to cry or gasp for air like she was drowning.

"Sshh." Ben mouthed the motion as a small breath of air escaped his lips before he reached out and covered (Y/n)'s mouth with the palm of his hand when she couldn't help how her breaths hitched in her throat.

Ben's eyes were wide with caution which (Y/n) could clearly see despite the dim light coming into the cupboard from the corridor. His other arm was wrapped around her waist to keep her and Charlie tightly held against him for comfort and reassurance as his palm was shaking against her lips. He didn't want to try and smother her but if (Y/n) made one audible sound then they would be found.

Both their eyes very slowly cast downwards until they locked on Charlie when the tiniest whimper left her lips. As if they were both thinking the same thing, (Y/n) shakily pressed Charlie closer into her shoulder and chest as Ben tensed his arm around (Y/n), pulling her closer so his chest was moulded over Charlie's frame and her head. Both of them tried to smother her whimpers and keep her as silent as she could be. The thought of them smothering her made them both want to be sick but it was better to try and smother her than have them be found and shot.

(Y/n) pressed her eyes closed as tight as she could manage until the muscles in her eyelids physically ached and felt like they were tearing in two. Her neck started to shake from how tense she was keeping her head and how her throat was almost closing up from the need to suppress and swallow her screams and her cries of horror.

She could feel Ben's hand tensing, trying so hard not to press any harder against her mouth in case he hurt her and he was refraining from applying too much pressure onto Charlie and hurting her since he was cocooned around Charlie's whole frame and around (Y/n)'s chest. When Ben's lips pressed to her the top of her head and her hair, (Y/n) wanted to cry.

What if this was the last time she would feel Ben's touch? What if it was the last time she would hold Charlie in her arms?

(Y/n) didn't want to die.

The moment Ben's hand slowly slipped from her lips, (Y/n)'s eyes bolted open and she saw the look on his face. The corridor was clear, at least for now. He quickly added a small air of space between them so he wasn't crushing Charlie anymore and when (Y/n) pulled her a little from her shoulder, the little girl started to cough and whimper.

Torrents of tears flushed down (Y/n)'s cheeks that were already stained with tears. Her head tilted up when Ben pressed his hands to her face, smoothing his thumbs over her cheeks before he pressed a deep but shaken kiss to her lips.

"Sshh, I love you, I love you so much. I'm gonna get you both out of here, I promise."

(Y/n) barely managed to nod her head in response to his words before she watched Ben take another look through the patterns to make sure there was no one else coming down the corridor so they could have a clear escape from this corridor. They couldn't head down the corridor like they would have before because the shooter had just gone in that direction and following after someone with a rifle wasn't the best option.

"We need to go back the way we came into the other corridor and try to get to the stairs at the back. If we get downstairs to the ground floor then we can try and get out." Ben knew that being anywhere than the ground floor meant they couldn't get out, lest they wanted to risk their chances with jumping down to safety. If they went down some servant stairs or down a quiet stairwell somewhere then they could try and get out through some back door or even out the front entrance.

A lot of shooters were now in the upper levels, the ground floor might be less protected giving them a better chance of escape.

(Y/n) didn't trust her voice so she simply nodded her head in agreement whilst she bounced Charlie in her arms who was still gurgling and whimpering. Quietly shushing the little girl, (Y/n) pressed her lips to the top of Charlie's head as Ben slowly opened the door and stepped out. (Y/n)'s arms were beginning to ache from how tightly she was holding Charlie against her but the dull ache was overwhelmed by the fear that was causing (Y/n) to hold her daughter so tightly against her.

Part of (Y/n) felt the desperate need to stay huddled up in the utility cupboard because at least that way they could see who was passing down the corridor and they would be virtually invisible and safe. But it would be the same as sitting in that club they had been in for three hours. They wouldn't be safe if a shooter decided to check in the cupboard and they would be no closer to getting outside to freedom and out of danger. Moving was their only chance.

(Y/n) kept herself tightly pressed into Ben's side when they backtracked down the corridor with quick but light footsteps. Neither of them were ever ones for panic or suspense, simply watching a thriller movie made them fret and jump in surprise, being in this type of situation was their worst nightmare. (Y/n) couldn't control her heartbeat or her breathing or how badly she was shaking, her body wasn't under her control and that felt horrid. And Ben didn't like how he had no control over the situation, being in charge and in control made him feel safer but right now he wasn't safe and he wasn't in charge.

Reaching his hand out, Ben opened the door that would lead them into the corridor they had been in before and he leaned his head out before reeling back in. His arm reached out and pressed over (Y/n)'s front to keep them both leaning back against the wall, out of anyone's sight.

Ben pointed to signal the left side of the corridor there was someone walking down before he pressed his finger to his lips. (Y/n) nodded and pressed her head into his bicep, closing her eyes to try and keep herself calm and imagine that she was somewhere else. But her eyes opened again when Ben gently tugged on her arm before he started to move. He kept his arm reached out behind him so he could hold onto (Y/n) as they headed into the corridor and turned right.

They made their way down the corridor that seemed so eerily quiet for a hotel in turmoil, it felt like they were just trying to get back to their room after midnight without waking any of the other guests up. Rather than trying to find a way to escape a hotel that felt like a maze that was trying to trap them.

Tipping her head down against Charlie's, (Y/n) felt tears beginning to fall from her eyes again when a sudden wail escaped the little girl's lips. They didn't know how far away any of the shooters were, they might still be able to hear them and right now they needed to be deadly quiet to get away.

Ben slowly turned his head to look at (Y/n) over his shoulder as they continued to head down the corridor, unsure where they were going or where the stairs would be from here.

"She never settles for me." (Y/n)'s words were as quiet as she could make them which caused a few syllables to disappear but Ben heard her all the same. Charlie was a daddy's girl, when she was in Ben's arms she was calm and although she did settle for (Y/n), it was always Ben who Charlie wanted and right now she didn't want (Y/n).

Ben's teeth gritted together, he didn't want to take Charlie right now because he wanted to stay in front and try to keep the girls behind him. If they stayed behind him he felt like he could protect them in case any shooters came from in front. If he had Charlie in his arms he wasn't protecting her like he wanted to. But when Charlie's wails hit the air again, Ben turned around and gently reached down for the little girl. He tried his best to shush her and keep her calm as he settled her against the middle of his chest, moving his shirt out of the way so she was resting on his bare chest.

His fingers gently brushed over her small tufts of hair as he started to walk forwards again, feeling (Y/n)'s hands on his hips so she didn't lose him or become parted in any way. He could feel her breaths fanning against his shoulder but it was oddly calming, it let him know that she was right behind him and right now, (Y/n) was okay and safe.

Charlie felt like a comfort to Ben when he could feel her small hand brushing against his chest and her breaths and whimpers against his skin. She was calming down his erratic heartbeat as he reached the end of the corridor.

Looking left and right at the end of the corridor, Ben noticed a small opening across from them and he guessed it was a servant's stairs. The doors to those stairs were always hidden and made to look like they blended into the walls so no one could see them coming and going. (Y/n) dared to peek over Ben's shoulder before she pressed her face into his skin like she had done earlier in the evening. Allowing him to guide her over to the stairs as she stayed silent and clinging to him for dear life.

When they got into the stairwell, both of them shuddered and (Y/n) pushed her face into Ben's shirt to stop herself from gasping or squeaking when raised voices in a different language could be heard from up the stairs. When very loud footsteps started to crash against the metal, Ben reached behind him and grabbed (Y/n)'s hand before he bolted down the stairs, pulling her along with him. They seemed to be heading in the right direction but they had to be quick before they were spotted.

(Y/n) latched her free hand around Ben's arm, clinging to the limb that she was pulling into her chest as if Ben's arm was a rope that she had to hold onto to save herself. Her feet caught on the steps but it didn't slow her down or trip her up, despite how her feet were flailing around to try and hurry. (Y/n) didn't quite know how Ben managed to hurry down the stairs with Charlie in one arm and (Y/n) clinging to the other, but he managed very well.

When they reached the bottom of the stairs, (Y/n) pulled on Ben's arm to start running in the direction she guessed they should be going. But the moment they pushed through the door, (Y/n) stumbled back and bumped into Ben's side as a strangled breath escaped her lips.

Ben's hand latched around (Y/n)'s arm to keep her against him when someone bolted past them quicker than lightning, almost bashing into them when he skidded to turn round the corner. (Y/n) turned her head to watch where the man was going, wondering if he knew where the quickest way out of here would be but her eyes snapped to look ahead when more panicked voices flooded the air along with bullets splitting through the atmosphere.

"Through the kitchen." Ben's voice was rushed and panicked and (Y/n) needed no more convincing than that to follow where everyone else was running. Her feet skidded against the polished floor but (Y/n) kept herself upright until she leaned over out of instinct when the bullets got louder and closer.

Everyone was bumping shoulders or tripping over one another and kicking those who had fallen or been gunned down, but no one stopped running. Despite bashing into kitchen worktops or skidding on pots and pans and grabbing knives for protection that would do nothing against a bullet.

A flood of panic swelled in (Y/n)'s chest when Ben's hand suddenly slipped from her own but when she whipped her head around to look for him, he was right behind her. He retracted his hand from hers so he could keep Charlie more secure against his chest, he couldn't have anyone bumping into him and lose his grip on Charlie. He had to keep her safe. To make sure she didn't lose Ben and Charlie anywhere in the ruckus, (Y/n) grabbed his upper arm and slowed just a little until she was running beside him instead of in front of him. If (Y/n) lost Ben for even a second she wouldn't be able to breathe from the panic that would consume her fully.

(Y/n) didn't bother to hide the cries and screams pent up in her lungs anymore because no one was bothering to be silent anymore. Her body shuddered and lurched to the right, pushing Ben along with her when the woman running on her left was suddenly gunned down. (Y/n) attempted to turn her head, her eyes focused on the woman who was now dead because that could just have easily have been (Y/n). But Ben's arm moved and his hand was suddenly gripping the back of her neck, turning her head so she was looking forwards instead of looking back. Committing that image to memory was not something Ben thought (Y/n) should do.

"We're almost out, just keep running."

The kitchen felt like it was never-ending and when it tunnelled into a passage that turned to the right and then swiftly manoeuvred to the left, everyone seemed packed together like sardines.

It was dark.

The night sky was black but there were streams of smoke and beacons of golden orange and burning red from fires split up over the city that could be seen over the rooftops in the distance. (Y/n) didn't know what time it was, she lost track of time the moment the first gunshot had sounded, but running out into the darkness of the street seemed more real and down to earth than running into the bright sunlight would have.

There were fences put up and guards with barriers, blocking off the reporters and the public trying to get closer, clearly not knowing what kind of terrors would await them if they dared step inside.

Everyone running out seemed to tunnel straight through the barriers and then they all dispersed into different ways. Some went straight ahead, some were pulled to the side and taken to ambulances or police cars, others just ran off into the street or into the night, desperate to disappear.

(Y/n) felt her feet slowing down when she didn't know which way she was meant to run. She didn't know what she was supposed to do now because she was out. She was in the safety of the police and the public, out in the fresh air that posed so much safety than the inside of the hotel did. (Y/n) didn't think she would have reached this point, she thought her body would only get out of the hotel laid on a stretcher or in a body bag. But she had come out running, now where was she supposed to run to when she had reached the finish line already?

Her sudden questions were answered when Ben's hand was on her shoulder, pulling her backwards into a quiet corner out of the way of all the others still running to their freedom.

Spinning around on her heels, (Y/n) tipped her head down so she could try and catch back all the air that she had lost. When she felt like she wasn't going to collapse or faint, her head slowly picked up until she was looking at Charlie who was bundled up in Ben's shirt curled against his chest as her cries were now free to roam the air.

No words passed between the couple, only silent tears fell from their eyes before Ben reached out and pulled (Y/n) into his chest. His hand tangled into her hair, his fingers stroking the back of her head as he turned his head to press his lips against the side of her temple.

They made it out.

#ben hardy #ben x reader #ben hardy imagine #imagine #BoRhap #dad! ben #hotel of horror

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shankerjaikishen-the-unbeatables · 6 years

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Happy birthday to Jaikishan Dahyabhai Panchal of the famous Shankar Jaikishan duo

This feature is by

Mumbai :

Hanste gaate yahaan se guzar

Duniya ki tu parvah na kar

Muskurate hue din bitaana

Yahaan kal kya ho kisne jaana

If you thought the Kishore song fit like “T” on a carefree Rajesh Khanna in the 1971 hit Andaaz, you are doing injustice to the handsome Prince Charming who not only conceived it but also carried off this philosophy on his ebullient shoulders with the grace that was uniquely his own.Jaikishan, of the famous composer duo Shankar-Jaikishan, who set the catchy Andaaz tune, was the Prince Charming of the Hindi film music, both in looks and the royal compositions that he dished out with unfailing regularity to regale millions of cine fans.Born as Jaikishan Dahyabhai Panchal in a family with a humble background in Valsad, a quiet Gujarat town, he died an untimely death at 42. But in the short span of life that he lived, he packed enough musical punch in those songs to hook an entire generation of music lovers. A statue erected in his memory near his home town is just one small testimony to the phenomenal equation he enjoyed with the masses.Andaaz set Rajesh Khanna speeding on the popularity highway even as Shammi Kapoor’s days as hero were nearing the end. By a natural corollary, Kishore Kumar too had taken off at the expense of our most durable Mohammed Rafi.Barely seven years before Jaikishan, as always, eminently in tune and sync with senior partner Shankar (Singh Raghuvanshi), was working on Raj Kapoor’s Magnum Opus Sangam. Shankar himself had danced his fingers on the piano to bolster Mukesh -- RK’s established voice -- to produce a gem in “Dost dost na rahaa”.Always equal to the task, Jaikishan employed the 100-piece orchestra with a stunning prelude for Rafi’s “Ye mera prem patra padhkar” to go on with Rajendra Kumar. Rafi turned out to be more than match to Mukesh, and by the same corollary, Raj Kapoor, who had started bloating then, was edged past by Kumar. Andaaz and Sangam were telling examples of how fickle commercial success could be while good music could stand the test of time.Few know that while working as a team, S-J usually composed their songs separately. Shankar would usually arrange the orchestra, even for Jaikishan's songs. There was a gentleman's agreement between them for not identifying the actual composer of the song.This often triggered a popular pastime for S-J admirers to try to tell a Shankar song from a Jaikishan song. But where Jaikishan left his imprint was in composing background score, a genre that still doesn’t have a peer. Mera Naam Joker and Sangam are considered as benchmarks even today for their background score.It is said that Jaikishan would count some numbers on his fingers before coming up with the background score for a particular scene on the spot! Such was his genius. The beneficiary of this tandem was the RK camp that drew from their bank right from 1948 days of Barsaat to the mid-seventies of Sanyasi when Shankar had become sort of rudderless after the death of his illustrious partner in 1971.Though Jaikishan used to work majorly on background scores of SJ movies, it may be an over-simplification to presume that whatever went in background scores was solely Jaikishan's creation.Since SJ had a common pool of tunes in their stock, made by either of them or by both of them jointly during their numerous music sessions/sittings, it would have been perfectly legitimate and natural for Jaikishan to have used tunes created by either or both partners wherever needed.It is understood that in RK films, Shankar and Jaikishan both used to work on the background scores. On the other hand, both Shankar and Jaikishan were equally proficient in scoring western music based songs.Despite their distinct working styles and preferences, it is very difficult, if not altogether impossible, to ascribe most of their songs to only one of them. In most of the songs, they invariably contributed to one another's creation, either in the form of improvisation of tune or of orchestration, thus, making their compositions truly a joint effort. Furthermore, each of the two could compose in other's style now and then thereby making the identification still more difficult.Either dressed in white trousers and white shirt or a black suit, Jaikishan, who could leave fellow musicians hypnotised with his skills on harmonium and accordion, was quite a character outside the recording room.His handsome looks and airy swagger often got to people, but deep within throbbed a kind and gentle heart that drowned all its triumphs and sorrows in alcohol. Recall his little cameo in Shree 420 as Nadira’s drunkard husband and the way he hugs Shankar and Raj Kapoor during the “Mud mud ke na dekh” song. It showed how RK and S-J were born to keep an entire generation spellbound.

I recall how as an unabashed fan I would stand outside Churchgate’s (Mumbai) Hotel Gaylord to catch his debonair frame. This was where he would meet friends, conceive tunes and hang out. He was a big draw not only for his looks but for his kind ways. In my two freewheeling sessions with him, he spoke honestly about himself, his music, the RK banner and his times.Never once did he spoke in terms of “I”. It was always Shankar-Jaikishan. “Jism do sahi magar, dilo mein faasla nahi,” he told me about his pairing. The only time I detected a faint disillusionment was when he referred to the phase when an affected Shankar had started using the vocals of a lady singer more out of personal than professional discretion.Unlike the musicians of today, Jaikishan was highly appreciative of his contemporaries. He never tired of going gaga over Burman’s “Jaane kya tune kahi”. More often than not, he would brush the discussion on S-J songs aside and compare every song with often the Pyaasa classic.“Look at the rhythm, look at the languid pace of the song and the way it has been sung,” Jaikishan would gush.He was generous to a fault. It was a common sight to watch Jaikishan fish his hands in his pockets and give whatever money he could to beggars, needy musicians and waiters. Stories did round of how out of the way he went to help people without even doubting their credentials. Little wonder, his popularity would turn even heroes green with envy.If anybody finds that an exaggeration, one just needs to visit Hotel Gaylord where a corner table still says “Reserved for Jaikishan”!RK/KR📷

Raju Korti (The author is a Mumbai-based senior journalist and a passionate music-lover and cine-buff. In this column, he draws upon his own numerous personal encounters with great composers, musicians and lyricists who strode the Hindi film music's golden era (1950s & 1960s), and provides the readers with fascinating vignettes.)

#Jaikishan Dahyabhai Panchal #Rajo Korti #Shankar Jaikishan #Shanker Jaikishan #Gaylord #birthday #lata #shankar #jaikishan #shankar singh raghuvanshi

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