2017

Forgotten Composers Unforgettable Melodies: S Mohinder

S Mohinder September 8, 2017

Wishing S Mohinder (b. 8 September 1925?) a very happy 92nd birth anniversary (and wishing Asha Bhosle a very happy 84th birth anniversary) Guzra hua zamana aata nahi dubara, hafiz khuda tumhara. This one song is enough to make S Mohinder immortal. But he also composed many more memorable and extremely sweet as well as […]

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OP Nayyar’s influence on other Music Directors

OP Nayyar August 31, 2017

Guest article by Ravindra Kelkar (OP Nayyar was a craze for some years from the mid-50s. Every music director was imitating his style, composing OP-type songs from time to time. If you thought it was simply a bandwagon effect, our OP Nayyar-expert Ravindra Kelkar unravels several factors that were at play. Some did it voluntarily, […]

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Asymmetric Duets

Asymmetric Duets August 21, 2017

Guest article by Subodh Agrawal (I have often mentioned that duets, though far less in number than solo songs, present a fascinating variety of music. One variety is on account of the lesser known female singers getting a chance to sing with major playback singers like Rafi and Mukesh, and we are richer for that […]

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The first duo Husnlal-Bhagatram (2): Their songs for ‘other’ singers

Husnlal-Bhagatram August 11, 2017

(While I had already scheduled the first part and was working on the draft for this part on Husnlal-Bhagatram, I was also in touch with Pt Husnlal’s US-based son, Dinesh Kumar Prabhakar, and Pt Bhagtram’s Mumbai-based son, Ashok Bhagatram Sharma. Communication with Ashokji was difficult as he has kept himself outside the digital word, but […]

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MEENA KUMARI: An enigma

Meena Kumari August 1, 2017

A tribute to Meena Kumari on her 85th birth anniversary (1 August 1932 – 31 March 1972) by guest author DP Rangan (SoY readers are now familiar with DP Rangan’s prolific guest posts. So far, he has focused on themes. He now forays into film personalities. Several readers have suggested that I write on songs […]

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OP Nayyar-Geeta Dutt: A peerless combination

OP Nayyar-Geeta Dutt July 20, 2017

A tribute to Geeta Dutt on her 45th death anniversary (23 November 1930 – 20 July 1972) by guest author Ravindra Kelkar (A general grievance against SoY is that Geeta Dutt has not been given her due place on the blog. There has been one exclusive post on her best songs by SD Burman which, […]

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The first duo Husnlal-Bhagatram (1): Their songs for Suraiya, Lata Mangeshkar and Rafi

Husnlal-Bhagatram July 11, 2017

I have signed off the series on Shankar-Jaikishan recently. Before that I had done series on Anil Biswas, Naushad, C Ramchandra and SD Burman. As the readers now expect the next famous music directors in line, there are some yesteryears stalwarts who shone like meteor for a short while, or who gave great music consistently over […]

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One hundred years of Sarat Chandra’s ‘Devdas’

Devdas June 30, 2017

Some time back,  there was an interesting discussion between Ashok Kumar Tyagi and Hans about the story of Devdas and as to why Sanjay Leela Bhansali took so much liberties with it. I doubt if they realised that it was the centenary year of the publication of Sarat Chandra’s eponymous novel. Such coincidences have often happened […]

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Cycle trails of Bollywood

Cycle song June 19, 2017

Guest article by DP Rangan (It is ironic that while bicycle is being crowded out by scooters, motorcycles and cars in the developing world, it is the developed world where bicycle riding is being promoted in a big way as a means of transport to commute to work or pleasure. A time may come when […]

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Songs of Yore completes seven years

Songs of Yore Seventh Aniversary June 7, 2017

Celebrating with some newly discovered gems and a tribute to Master Madan When I wrote on the sixth anniversary, I had been concerned by Gaddeswarupji’s ominous statistics that many promising blogs start losing steam in the sixth year. Seven years is ripe age for a blog. This is the stage when, I guess, a blogger […]

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