2022

Khayyam at the Mountain Peak (2): Songs sans Pahadi

Khayyam September 8, 2022

Second part of my two-part tribute to Khayyam (18.2.1927–19.8.2019) on his third Remembrance Day Once the omission of Khayyam was brought to my notice by a reader, I realised any tribute to him could not be limited to one part. One can divide his work by the period, or by the singers, both are sensible […]

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Book Review: ‘Hindi Cine Raag Encyclopaedia’ Vol. 3, 4 & 5

Hindi Cine Raag Encyclopaedia August 30, 2022

Hindi Cine Raag Encyclopaedia (Reference Edition Raagwise: Vol. 3, 4 & 5) Author: KL Pandey Sangeet Shilp Prakashan, Lucknow First edition 2022 Hardcover ₹4800 on Amazon A passionate lover of Hindi film music, who has deep interest in classical music too, asks two different types of questions: One, which raag(s) this favourite song is based […]

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Khayyam at the Mountain Peak (1): Songs on Pahadi

Khayyam August 19, 2022

A tribute to Khayyam (18.2.1927–19.8.2019) on his third Remembrance Day A reader mentioned some time ago that Khayyam has not been covered on SOY. Then I realised that the only post I have included under his name in the side-roll is devoted to his wife, Jagjit Kaur who sang most of her songs under his […]

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Songs of Sarcasm

Ek chatur naar August 13, 2022

If the world only comprised narcissists at one extreme, and the most polite and courteous who profusely praise others at the other end, it would be a very boring place. Things are never black and white. There are various shades of grey in life. In our interactions we often cannot resist the temptation of putting-down […]

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Rafi’s songs with some unrecognised composers

Rafi July 31, 2022

Guest article by Sivanandam Palamadai as a tribute to Rafi on his 42nd Remembrance Day (24 December 1924 – 31 July 1980) (Rafi was the most dominant male playback singer of the Golden Era of film music. Yet he remained an unassuming, simple-hearted person with malice to none. The stories of his kindness and support […]

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Duets (+) of Mukesh: With Male Singers

Mukesh with male singers July 22, 2022

Guest article by Ahok M Vaishnav as a tribute to Mukesh on his 99th Birth Anniversary (b. July 22, 1923 – d. August 27, 1976) (Once SOY-veteran N Venkataraman remarked that there has been a post on Mukesh every year. If it was there, I or a guest author must have had something new to […]

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Vasant Desai Part 2 (post-1950s): His male singers

Vasant Desai July 10, 2022

In Vasant Desai Part 1 pertaining to the vintage years (1930s and 40s), we were introduced to his multifaceted talents, including his acting and singing. As per N Venkataraman he had sung a total of 37 songs in Hindi and Marathi. We all agreed that he was an outstanding singer, but surprisingly his singing career […]

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In praise of a woman’s beauty

Chaudahvin ka chaand ho June 29, 2022

A keen reader S. Joseph often suggests some themes to write on. He once wrote to me that there were many songs of a man praising the beauty of a woman, and also, somewhat less, of a woman praising a man, and it might be a nice theme for the blog. I felt diffident precisely […]

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Songs of Narcissists

Narcissus June 18, 2022

Narcissism is seen as some kind of personality disorder denoting an exaggerated sense of self-importance, arrogant, self-centred behaviour and need for excessive attention and admiration. Narcissus in the Greek mythology was cursed by the gods to fall in love with his own reflection in a pool of water. When he saw his reflection he became […]

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Songs of Yore completes twelve years

Songs Of Yore completes 12 years June 7, 2022

In normal times, completing twelve years of blogging would have been a matter of joy, and possibly a bit of crowing. That would look quite out of place in these unusual times. We thought that we would be getting some respite from Covid. But now there is a scare of the fourth wave hitting the […]

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