2022

Best songs of 1943: Wrap Up 1

KL Saigal & GM Durrani May 26, 2022

The SOY Award for the Best Male Singer goes to? There are years when a competition becomes a one-horse race. That is the case with the best male singer for the year 1943. On the one hand we have the landmark film Tansen starring KL Saigal and Khursheed, on the other we have Kismet and […]

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Vasant Desai Part 1: A Multifaceted Talent

Vasant Desai May 14, 2022

If a new visitor looks up Songs Of Yore, she would notice some names conspicuously missing in the right-hand scroll of music directors. There is no design in it, it has just happened. Yet I have to thank our regular reader Shachindra Prasad for drawing my attention to the omission of Vasant Desai so far […]

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Nathli se toota moti re: Manna Dey’s Non-film Hindi Gems

Manna Dey May 1, 2022

Guest article by Ashok M Vaishnav as a tribute t0 Manna Dey on his 103rd birth anniversary (1 May 1919 – 24 October 2013) (Manna Dey has been described by some as an enigma among singers. That was a reference to his apparent defensiveness about his place among the contemporary playback singers, despite having the […]

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Best songs of 1943: And the winners are?

Thumbnail image for Best songs of 1943: And the winners are? April 15, 2022

If 1944 was the year of Naushad’s Jewel in the Crown, Rattan, 1943 was the year of Kismet which became a cult film on the back of its music by Anil Biswas. The Master Khemchad Prakash was at the peak of his craft, and so were KL Saigal and Khursheed in the film Tansen which […]

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Book Review: “The Unforgettable Music of HEMANT KUMAR”

Hemant Kumar March 31, 2022

The Unforgettable Music of HEMANT KUMAR By Manek Premchand Pages: 441 First Edition: 2020 Blue Pencil, New Delhi (With study of his Bengali repertoire by Antara Nanda Mondal and Sounak Gupta) Salil Chowdhury once said if God wanted to sing, he would do it in the voice of Hemant Kumar. Lata Mangeshkar said about him, […]

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Impossible Songs

Dil le ke bhaga daga de ke bhaga March 18, 2022

Wishing the readers a very Happy Holi The regular readers of SOY are aware that on Holi, when everyone is out throwing coloured water on each other, I often reflect on some serious issues. Not on things like “What is the Ultimate Reality”, or the nature of Brahma (ब्रह्म) and Jeev (जीव) – Are they […]

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हेतुहेतुमद्भूत songs

Koi hota jisko apna March 4, 2022

If you have not studied Hindi in school or forgotten your grammar, the word hetu-hetu-mad-bhoot would leave you quite flummoxed. SOY readers are from different linguistic backgrounds, and I don’t intend to write a primer on Hindi grammar. The only reason I am writing on this unusual topic is that this word came in for […]

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The Teary-eyed Songs

Meena Kumari crying in Yahudi February 18, 2022

Guest article by Anita Rupavataram (Mukesh once famously sang, ‘Hazaaron tarah ke ye hote hain aansoo’ (song #5 in this post). There are literally thousands of types of tears.  Of joy, of sorrow. Of victory, of defeat. Of success, of failure. Of love, of break-up. Of parting, of union. Involuntary tears caused by music, painting, […]

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Lata Mangeshkar Lives Forever

Lata Mangeshkar February 6, 2022

The story of my deep romance for Lata Mangeshkar (28.9.1929 – 6.2.2022) Lata Mangeshkar is no more – her mortal body that is. She was over 92, she had been in and out of hospital in recent days, and had been on ventilator support for her last couple of days. This was bound to happen […]

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Book Review: “Majrooh Sultanpuri: The Poet For All Reasons”

Majrooh Sultanpuri January 25, 2022

Majrooh Sultanpuri: The Poet For All Reasons By Manek Premchand Pages: 534 First Edition: 2021 Blue Pencil, New Delhi Among the four markers of a film song – the film in which it appeared, the singer, the music director and the lyricist – the last generally gets a raw deal. The music lovers identify a […]

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