UJAALE UNKI YAADON KE
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Omi (of Sonik Omi fame)
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OM: Omi
MS: Mamta Singh
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EPISODE 1 (15/04/2007)
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MS: Omiji, welcome to Vividh Bharati, namaskaar!

OM: I was also waiting eagerly for this day when I would be able to
talk to the listeners and meet you all, namaskaar!

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Song: yun chaal chalo na matwaali (
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OM: I had come to this film industry too early. Omi is my nickname
that I had in my childhood days. Sonik is our surname. In the film
Dil Hi To Hai, we had prepared the background music for Roshan. And
our name had come on screen for the first time as Sonik Omi as
Assistant Music Director for this film. Sonik for Manohar Lal Sonik,
my paternal uncle, and Omi for myself.

MS: So, thus formed the Sonik Omi duo with your uncle. Tell us about
your childhood days.

OM: My childhood days were great. We used to live in West Pakistan in
Sialkot. I had never thought of coming into this film industry. My
grandfather used to sing but not professionally. His name was
Amarnath Sonik. And mu uncle Manohal Lal's father was Diwan Chand
Sonik, who also used to sing.

MS: So, how was your journey from Pakistan to Punjab?

OM: Terrible! My eyes fill up with tears when I think of those
terrible days of partition. I still remember the millitary camp in
Sialkot where we were put into. They used to give us boiled pulses to
eat. My mother refused to eat and started crying. But when the Head
(Chaudhary) of our village took it, we also took it and ate. Then we
came to Jammu after travelling 1996 miles on foot. I can never forget
those days of pain.

MS: We have seen such scenes in the films.

OM: We have experienced this pain. We did not have money for train
tickets, so we travelled by bullock carts.

MS: When did you come to Mumbai?

OM: From Delhi I came to Mumbai in 1948. Sonikji was already a singer
and I was too young that time.

MS: We shall come to Mumbai little later, but now tell us about your
days in Punjab. How were you influenced by Pujab's rich folk music?

OM: At that time, we were all the same. In Pakistan, people just
loved music. Even the fruitsellers would sell fruits by singing. For
example, there was one fruitseller who used to sing (sings) "kele
aane de do, kele chaar aane de". It felt as if the seller is happy at
his heart while selling his fruits.

MS: How did you learnt music? From the fruit-seller's songs?

OM: Music is in my blood. As I told you my grandfather used to sing.
He used to sing at Maata's darbaar. He sang mostly devotional songs,
(sings) "nangi nagi pairi...". I had used this in one of our songs.
Music was there in each and every household. I was brought up in
music in a natural phenomena.

MS: Do you remember any special incident related to partition?

OM: The partition was full of incidents. I still remember that packed
up train. All my family members got down, but I was left in the train
and it started moving. My mother was running with the train like a
mad woman. I jumped down from the train. Then there were no utensils,
we were 30-35 people, there was no food. My maternal grandfather has
some money, he used to buy some food for us. We used to drink daal in
cups made by folding piple leaves.

MS: 'yeh sab sunkar mere rongTe khaDe ho rahe hain'

OM: 'mere saath bhi yahi ho raha hai bataate huye'. Had I not moved
to Mumbai, I would have also ended up sitting at some shop.

MS: Omiji, we have talked a lot, now we would give little halt to our
discussion and would like to listen to one of your songs.

OM: Lets listen to our first song from our first film - Dil Ne Phir
Yaad Kiya.

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Song: dil ne phir yaad kiya (Dil Ne Phir Yaad Kiya)
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MS: Omiji, let us go back to Jammu. You came from Pakistan, entered
India through Jammu. Then where did you go?

OM: From Jammu, we came to Amritsar. One of our relatives was working
there as a police officer. We then came to Delhi with his help.
Sonikji was working in Manik Lal's Theatre group. It was actor Om
Prakash's brother Jung Bahadur's theatre group called Manik Lal's
Theatre. Sonikji was in Mussoorie or Dehradoon, i dont remember
exactly.

MS: Sonikji also came after partition?

OM: No, he came here before partition with this job. You may noy know
this, but I would like to tell you that the heroine Ameeta is none
other than Manik Lal's daughter. Sonikji used to sing in that theatre
and used to play an instrument. The theatre closed down in 1948 and
both of us came down to Mumbai.

MS: But how did you manage to sustain your family, what was your
source of income in Mumbai?

OM: Sonikji also used to sing in Lahore for Pandit Amarnath. Here
also he started singing in films as M L Sonik. He was a filmi
disciple of Shanti Sharma. But they soon got separated on some
differences.

MS: Omiji, we would like to hear about your struggle in detail, but
before that lets listen to one song of your choice.

OM: We were assistants of Roshanji. So, lets listen to "saari saari
raat teri yaad sataaye"

MS: What a lovely song!

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Song: Saari saari raat teri yaad sataaye (Aji Bas Shukriya)
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MS: How were you in studies?

OM: Whatever education I got, it happened in Sialkot. I used to study
Urdu. I was good in accounting, so later on I looked ater the
accounts (laughs).

MS: Your youth period has passed in Punjab. So, I woulde like to
request you to sing few lines from Punjabi folk song that you used to
sing at that time.

OM: (sings) "je rab mil da mandir masjid..."

MS: 'bahut sureelaa gaaya aapne, bahut achchha lagaa humein!'

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Song: dil ne phir yaad kiya (Dil Ne Phir Yaad Kiya)
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END OF EPISODE 1