childhood and innocence as well as lost love. The film also had her singing 'kaise rokoge aise toofaan ko', a duet with Talat Mahmood. It starts with a slow rhythm and slowly picks it up. Based on the lyrics of the song, it carries the essence of the theme of the film. This is one of the best songs sung by Geeta ji and Talat Mahmood.

Then Geeta Dutt sang the lovely lullaby 'rangeeli rangeeli chhabili raani nindiya' for Ferry in 1954, an album which is rather rare now. 'na ro ae ronewaale' is a melancholy piece and the distinctive violin pieces in the preludes and interludes set the somber mood of the song.

The more memorable song from this year however remains the lovely 'naa yeh chaand hogaa' from Shart, a sad, poignant piece.

Bahu was released in 1955 and Geeta Dutt and Talat Mahmood created magic in two very melodious numbers. The first was 'dekho dekho jee balam' and Geeta Dutt's enunciation of nanha saa jiyaa is absolutely sweet. The been music in the interludes makes for a pleasant listening experience too. The other piece is 'thandi hawaaon mein taaron ki chhaon mein' where both the singers sing with an abandon borne out of confidence in their loves.

She sang a perfectly frothy and fun number with Balbir in Laalten (1956) called Oh Lily Lily Lily where she expounds on why she loves Johnnie and needs to go meet him in Delhi. This is a rather cutesy and happy song. She also tells Hemant Kumar: 'kabhi akad kar baat naa karna' and that she has given up her 'dil ki Dilli' to him. This is a rather fun song to listen to. The same movie had her singing the foot tapping 'lo aaya Johnnie Karigar'. Two songs from the opposite end of the spectrum are 'Qaraar jisko naa aaye (maine tujhe pukara)', a duet with Hemant Kumar and 'agar pyaar mein muskuraaye naa hote, toh palkon mein aansoo yeh chhupaaye naa hote', a hauntingly sad melody. However, the more popular songs of 1956 came from the movie Arab kaa saudagar where she sang of broken dreams and unrequited love in 'mohabbat kaa nateeja duniya mein humne buraa dekhaa'. An opposite mood was portrayed in 'do ghadi ki yeh bahaar hai karke pyaar dekh le' which is the Geeta Dutt that we have grown more used to now.

The next year gives us an abundance of songs from this collaboration, songs from about seven different films. Most of these come from Yahudi ki ladki where she sailed breezily through 'aa hum se pyaar karle' and 'samara samara kyaa duniya hai' with her usual elan. 'kar le dil kaa sauda dil se' is another fast-paced number executed in her style. The highlight of this album is the duet that she sang with Shamshad Begum 'hum kisi se naa kahenge' where both play off each others voice with great precision and this makes for a great listening experience.

Another lovely album was Bandi where she sang two duets and a solo piece. 'gora badan moraa umariya baali' is a folksy melody and her voice manages to convey the great innocence that the lyrics suggest. Her duet with Kishore Kumar 'ghar ki raunak hai gharwali' is a fun number and Kishore Kumar is up to his usual vocal antics which make this song a great piece. The other duet 'yeh mast nazar shokh adaa kis ke liye hai' has her and Hemant Kumar conversing back and forth in song and their banter endows this song with particular sweetness.

Hill Station had her singing a few happy numbers, a duet with Mohd. Rafi, 'gori gori patli kalaai re balamwa' and two solos, 'o baazigar hey baazigar do pyaar ki baatein kar' and 'yeh maara woh maara'.

In Ek jhalak, she sang 'aaja zaraa mere dil ke sahaare dilruba' and the way she says uff and haay at the end of different stanzas makes this song immediately hers. The sweet notes of 'kis liye maathe pe bal hai' capture the pleading tones of the young woman in love as she tries to ask her lover why he is angry with her.

For Fashion she sang the romantic 'madbhari hai pyaar ki palkein' and 'aayi re ghir ghir pehli pehli badariya' for Miss Mary. However, Kitna badal gaya insaan has her lending her voice to the sorrowful 'jab tum nahin to chaand sitaare' and the plaintive 'kaahe tadpaaye kaahe sataaye', the mood of these two songs in sharp contrast to the other numbers that she sang for Hemant Kumar that year.

It was almost five years later in Sahib Bibi aur Ghulam (1962) that Geeta Dutt finally delivered her best performance for Hemant Kumar. When she sang 'piyaa aiso jiyaa mein samaye gayo rey' paired with Meena Kumari's emoting on screen, the atmosphere created was one of anticipation and hope, so natural that the viewer almost feels like a voyeur, privy to her most secret thoughts and dreams. And her legacy undoubtedly remains the one classic song which blurred the distinction between the actress and the singer, which Geeta Dutt said reflected the pain of her life, 'naa jaao saiyaan chhuraake baiyaan'. This one song managed to convey the complex emotions of the character of Chhoti Bahu, her pain, distress, helplessness, shame, disgust and self-loathing distilled into four minutes of melody; this one song would have been enough to immortalize Geeta Dutt's voice even if she hadn't sung any other song ever