Jeevan Ek Path Hai - Janwar Aur Insaan by Kishore Kumar, Lata Mangeshkar

The Janwar Aur Insaan album has several strong tracks, but Jeevan Ek Path Hai - Janwar Aur Insaan is the one most listeners come back to first. Credit goes to Kalyanji, Anandji for a score that understands exactly what the song needs and nothing more.

Kishore Kumar, Lata Mangeshkar's vocal here has a quality that is difficult to describe but impossible to miss — it simply feels true. Hearing Jeevan Ek Path Hai - Janwar Aur Insaan without thinking of Shashi Kapoor, Rakhee Gulzar is almost impossible for anyone who has seen Janwar Aur Insaan.

1972 was a strong year for Hindi music, and Jeevan Ek Path Hai - Janwar Aur Insaan was among the reasons why. It fits the playlist for almost any occasion, which is rare — most songs have a narrow emotional window. This one does not.

The concision of Jeevan Ek Path Hai - Janwar Aur Insaan — just 4:59 — is part of what makes it work. There is nothing here that should not be. It is, simply, one of the better songs to come from Hindi in recent memory — and the numbers agree.