City songs

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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‘Mere piya gaye Rangoon’ and some more Indo-Burmese links

Thumbnail image for ‘Mere piya gaye Rangoon’ and some more Indo-Burmese links April 14, 2013

Wishing Happy Baisakhi, Happy Indian and Myanmar’s traditional New Year, and Happy Birthday to a legend When you think of Rangoon you think of Mere piya gaye Rangoon. Naturally this was what was uppermost in my mind when I visited Rangoon and some other places in Burma last December.

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