2018

Around the World in Songs

An evening in Paris February 18, 2018

Today everyone has a nephew into software who works on-site in the US or Europe. But there was a time when ‘people like us’ did not travel to foreign lands. Today, there is hardly a film which does not have some song-dance sequence, if not most of the film, shot abroad. Bollywood is an important […]

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Bharat Darshan in Songs (2): Metros

Ei hai Bambai nagariya February 6, 2018

In the first part of our Bharat Darshan in songs, we journeyed through small towns for which I have a special liking. But, ‘progress’ means progression from villages to small towns to big cities. If you live in small towns, you are a lesser mortal. There are practical aspects of jobs, infrastructure, access to education, […]

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Bharat Darshan in Songs (1): Small towns

Bikaner January 26, 2018

Greeting the readers on the 68th Republic Day When I joined service, an important part of our training was to go on a 30-days’ Bharat Darshan by train. This had been sanctified by Mahatma Gandhi at the inspiration of his mentor and political guru, Gokhale, and romanticised by Richard Attenborough. In between, Abhi Bhattacharya showed […]

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Nuptials in Bollywood

Thumbnail image for Nuptials in Bollywood January 14, 2018

Guest article by DP Rangan (With Makar Sankranti and Pongal, as the month-long ‘inauspicious period’ comes to an end and the wedding season is set to resume with full vigour, our indefatigablete  DP Rangan comes up with a very nicely-timed post on nuptial songs from our films. In his characteristic style, Mr Rangan packs in a […]

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It’s prose, It’s recitation, It’s a song

Thumbnail image for It’s prose, It’s recitation, It’s a song January 1, 2018

Wishing the readers a very Happy New Year Long ago there used to be a popular game show on the American TV titled: ‘It’s a Bird, It’s a Plane, It’s Superman’. The host would invite the participants in pairs, one of whom would be given a clue, which could be a famous proverb, or a […]

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