A tribute to old Hindi film music. Songs of the 30s through the 60s.

Subodh Agrawal

Classical Songs of Mohammad Rafi, With Some Thoughts on Gara

January 25, 2025

Guest article by Subodh C Agrawal (My friend Subodh Agrawal is a great lover of music, he wields a fluent pen, and knows a good deal about classical music. Being among the earliest ones to be a part of SOY journey, he had accepted my request to write a series on film songs based on […]

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Film Songs Based on Classical Ragas (14) – The Melodious Trio: Bageshri, Rageshri and Malgunji

January 26, 2021

Greeting the readers on the 71st anniversary of our Republic Day with guest article by Subodh Agrawal (Subodh Agrawal last wrote his guest article in the series on film songs based on classical music about a year ago. That was on Bhimpalasi and her sisters Dhani, Multani and Patdeep. He again writes on a set […]

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Film Songs Based on Classical Ragas (13) – An afternoon with ragas: Bhimpalasi and her Sisters

February 15, 2020

Guest article by Subodh Agrawal (Subodh Agrawal, a well-known name with SoY regulars for his series on film songs based on classical ragas, is resuming his series after a break of about three years. This was primarily due to logistic issues he faced regarding proper Internet connection and computer. But as he has shown before, […]

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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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Film Songs Based on Classical Ragas (12) – A morning with Asavari/Jaunpuri

May 27, 2017

Guest article by Subodh Agrawal (I had once hesitantly asked Subodh whether he would be writing on Asavari and Jaunpuri in his series on articles on film songs based on classical ragas. The reason for my hesitation was that these ragas might be too light for a connoisseur like him. Therefore, I was extremely happy […]

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Film songs in classical ragas (11) – The evocative duo: Mand and Shivranjani

Rajasthani flute player: Mand and Shivranjani

February 28, 2017

Guest article by Subodh Agrawal (When Subodh came back after a long hiatus with his post on Bihag, he had promised us that he would now be more regular. He keeps his promise with another excellent piece on Mand and Shivranjani. ‘Kesariya balam’ has made everyone familiar with Mand. As for Shivranjani, the readers may […]

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Film Songs Based on Classical Ragas (10) – Bihag and its family

January 19, 2017

Guest article by Subodh Agrawal (Subodh makes an appearance as a guest author after about two years, of which I am responsible for a few months in scheduling his article. He makes up for it by presenting a selection of film songs and classical pieces which best represent Bihag and its variants. As he explains, […]

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Film Songs Based on Classical Ragas (9) – Pilu

February 15, 2015

Guest article by Subodh Agrawal (Pilu is one of the most popular Ragas in Hindi film music. Naturally, many songs based on Pilu have appeared on SoY, and some interesting discussion has taken place about KL Saigal being mesmerised by SD Burman’s ‘Ami chhinu eka’, and speculating which of his song it was similar to. […]

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Film songs based on classical ragas (8) – In the royal presence of Darbari

January 21, 2014

Guest article by Subodh Agrawal (It has now become routine for Subodh to surpass the outstanding. He is coming back after a long gap. But if the outcome is this superb piece, we don’t mind his prolonged preparations. It is interesting to note that while the raga itself has gravitas, the word ‘Darbari’ meaning a […]

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Film Songs Based on Classical Ragas (7) – Desh and Tilak Kamod

March 16, 2013

Guest article by Subodh Agrawal (Subodh returns, after some gap, with an outstanding article on Desh and its close variant, Tilak Kamod. Some of the most iconic songs, such as ‘Dukh ke ab din beetat nahi’, ‘Vande Mataram’ and ‘Baje sargam har taraf se goonj bankar Desh Raga’ are in Desh. He also includes the […]

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