2023

The Sculptors of Film Songs (4): Kishore Desai

Kishore Desai with his mandolin May 28, 2023

Guest article by Piyush M Pandya (Gujarati) and Ashok M Vaishnav (English translation) (Our guest authors Piyush M Pandya and Ashok M Vaishnav have been writing an excellent series on the Arrangers and Musicians for the last few months in which they have already covered three of the most celebrated names: Sebastian D’Souza, Anthony Gonsalves […]

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Ballads of Love: Flippant

Thumbnail image for Ballads of Love: Flippant May 18, 2023

Guest article by DP Rangan completing his Trilogy of Love (Our octogenarian guest author, DP Rangan, surely has great experience in ‘Love’. This is an evidence that age is not just a number, but wisdom and knowledge. After his previous two articles on the ‘Ecstasy’ and ‘Agony’ aspects of love, he concludes his trilogy with […]

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Best songs of 1942

Bhakt Surdas-Basant-Bharat Milap-Station Master May 8, 2023

And the winners are? As we go back more and more into vintage years there is a concern whether we would come across some familiar songs. There are indeed some undiscovered gems, but there are also many songs which have become immortal and have been part of us since the radio era. KL Saigal was […]

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Songs of Synecdoche and Onomatopoeia

Hothon pe sachai rahti hai April 28, 2023

The CBSE syllabus for its Board examinations in English includes a topic ‘Poetic Devices’ or ‘Figures of Speech’. The common ones like simile, metaphor, irony, hyperbole  and oxymoron have entered our everyday vocabulary. But two sound very profound and scholarly: Synecdoche and Onomatopoeia. I start with a brief introduction before I come to the songs.

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The Sculptors of Film Songs (3): Enoch Daniels

Enoch Daniels April 16, 2023

Guest article by Piyush M Pandya (Gujarati) and Ashok M Vaishnav (English translation) as a tribute to Enoch Daniels on his 90th birth anniversary (b. 16 April 1933) in the continuing series on Arrangers and Musicians (After their articles on Sebastian D’ Souza and Anthony Gonsalves, the guest authors Piyush M Pandya and Ashok M […]

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Ballads of Love: Agony

Bhoolnewaale yaad na aa April 7, 2023

Guest article by DP Rangan (DP Rangan had written on the ecstasy side of love when the stars shine bright, sky is bluer than ever, flowers are in bloom, and the world smiles tenderly. But joy and sorrow are the two sides of the same coin – खुशी के साथ दुनिया में ह्ज़ारों ग़म भी […]

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SN Tripathi Part 1: The Vintage Years – A Multi-faceted Talent

SN Tripathi March 28, 2023

A tribute to SN Tripathi on the 35th Anniversary of his Remembrance Day (14 March 1913-28 March 1988) Whenever we think of melody, honey-dipped sweetness and beautiful dances to classical/ semi-classical tunes we think of SN Tripathi. We all have many of his immortal songs on our lips: Aa laut ke aaja mere meet, Nain […]

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Ballads of Love: Ecstasy

Dil mein chhupa ke pyar ka March 18, 2023

Guest article by DP Rangan (We celebrated Holi sometime back. This is the season of romance and love, when the flowers bloom, there is music in the stream of rivulets and rustling of leaves, and the hearts of even old people are aflutter with desire. There is a folk proverb to describe this: ‘फागुन में […]

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Kleptomania in Bollywood

Kleptomania March 8, 2023

Wishing the readers and their families a very Happy Holi and International Women’s Day We are all aware of the drug problem in Bollywood, thanks to the media which went into frenzy at some NCB raids at rave parties and the homes of some celebrities. There was a lot of moralising about the decadent lifestyle […]

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The Sculptors of Film Music (2): Anthony Gonsalves

Anthony Gonsalves February 27, 2023

Guest article by Piyush M Pandya (originally in Gujarati) and Ashok M Vaishnav (English translation) as a tribute to Anthony Gonsalves (12 June 1927 – 18 January 2012) (Greg Booth starts his celebrated book on the musicians and arrangers, “Behind the Curtain: Making Music in Mumbai’s Film Studios”, with the introductory chapter titled, “Who Is […]

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