कहे रैदास

'Kahe Raidas' is sung by Paresh Banerjee as the saint in Bhakta Raidas (1943), Keshavrao Dhaiber's biopic of the Bhakti poet. The title echoes the bhanita — the poet's signature line 'kahe Raidas' (so says Raidas) — with which the historical saint closed his pads, making the film song a direct evocation of the form and voice of Raidas's own poetry. Music is by Saraswati Devi, lyrics by Safdar Aah.

Saraswati Devi keeps the setting austere and slow, in keeping with the reflective bhanita verse — Paresh Banerjee's solo carried on a spare line of harmonium and tabla, the restraint itself a statement of devotional seriousness in a saint-biopic score.