2012

Songs of Jigar

Songs of Jigar September 7, 2012

In my last post on Mukesh and his ‘dil’ songs, there was a song, Ae jaan-e-jigar dil mein samane aa ja. Urdu poetry gives the same status to jigar as to dil as a metaphor for something very vital and very dear. There are also other examples of ‘dil’ and ‘jigar’ being used together and […]

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Mukesh and his romance with ‘Dil’

Thumbnail image for Mukesh and his romance with ‘Dil’ August 27, 2012

A tribute on his death anniversary August 27 Everyone is born with a heart, but that does not make everyone a romantic. There was something special about Mukesh and ‘dil’, not only his romantic heart but his romancing the heart. Mukesh started his journey with ‘dil’. As a young lad, while singing at his sister’s […]

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Film songs based on classical ragas (4): The romantic quartet

Chhayanat, Gaud Sarang, Gaud Malhar, Kamod August 13, 2012

Guest article by Subodh Agrawal (Rains bring in romance in the air with their musical sound of raindrops, greenery and chirping of a variety of species which were, as if, only waiting for the monsoon.  Pankaj Mullick sang in his famous ‘Ye raatein ye mausam’ thus – Ki do garm saanson ka ek saath ana/ […]

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Best songs of Rafi by Roshan

Thumbnail image for Best songs of Rafi by Roshan July 31, 2012

Double tribute to two geniuses Who composed the best songs for Mohammad Rafi cannot be conclusively answered. But there is no doubt that Roshan would figure in the top four or five for this honour. That is significant considering that Roshan did not have the advantage of a big banner nor big stars like Dev […]

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Songs of Naiya

Boat songs July 16, 2012

When I was writing my last post on the Songs of River, I remembered Harvey had done some time back majhi (boatman) songs. Naav or naiya is the link between the two.  As a matter of fact there cannot be a majhi without a naav, whereas a naav can by itself be propelled by the […]

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Songs of River

Thumbnail image for Songs of River July 1, 2012

In an interesting coincidence when this site carried Subodh’s article on music from the mountains, Harvey was doing songs of clouds. Mountains and clouds share a very intimate relationship. Their union gives rise to rivers. With this pedigree, it is no wonder some of the most beautiful songs are based on river, though no Raga […]

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Film songs based on classical ragas (3) – Music from the mountains

Thumbnail image for Film songs based on classical ragas (3) – Music from the mountains June 17, 2012

Guest article by Subodh Agrawal (When I wrote my last post acknowledging the second anniversary of Songs of Yore, I mentioned Subodh Agrawal’s guest series on classical ragas and hoped he wrote more often. Soon after in a very sweet gesture, he sent me his article on Raga Pahadi as his gift to mark the […]

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Songs of Yore completes two years

Thumbnail image for Songs of Yore completes two years June 7, 2012

Today Songs of Yore completes two years. While the first year was somewhat tentative and kind of groping its way around, it has become surer of its steps in the second year. I have generally maintained a frequency of a post every two weeks. SoY has also become more interactive. The readers’ comments, views and […]

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Forgotten Composers Unforgettable Melodies (6): Pardesi

Thumbnail image for Forgotten Composers Unforgettable Melodies (6): Pardesi May 22, 2012

Since I started this series, readers have been suggesting names of various composers. Some have been covered; others would follow in due course. But no one has mentioned the name of Pardesi so far. I am not surprised; no one fits the theme Forgotten Composers Unforgettable Melodies better than Pardesi. Pardesi who? I do not […]

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Best songs of 1955: Wrap Up 1

Thumbnail image for Best songs of 1955: Wrap Up 1 May 9, 2012

Songs of Yore Award for the best male playback singer goes to? My survey article on the Best songs of 1955 attracted a good deal of response. Some readers gave not only their shortlist of favourite five in different categories but also a detailed analytical, musical and emotional reasoning for their choice. As this exercise […]

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