Tanuja ji turns 79 today. Reams have been written about her talent, vivacity, spirit and spontaneity, her illustrious family, and her career – what more can I possibly add? Born on September 23, 1943 to Shobhana Samarth and Kumarsen Samarth, Tanuja was the second of four children (Nutan, Chatura and Jaideep being the other three; … More Happy birthday, Tanuja ji
There is something charming about train journeys. As the locomotives whizz past different landscapes, routes and places, towards their destination, taking a whole set of travellers with them, they become a bit more than just a convenient mode of transportation. Accidental meetings take place – people meet, connect and go their separate ways. Long journeys … More Of train journeys….a song list
This blog has been dormant now for 8 months: real life and sheer laziness had come in the way and I kept putting off updating it. Rains in my city, which forced me to stay home from work today proved to be the catalyst. I decided to post something – just anything at all. So that this becomes … More Asha sings for Ravi
This blog had been much neglected over the past two months and I had been planning to revive it before the year ends. A list of 10 of my favourite songs picturised on Sadhana, one of the best actresses of the 60s, had been lying incomplete in the drafts folder for many weeks now and I did not … More My Favourite Songs of Sadhana
I spend a couple of hours in a car daily as I commute from Gurgaon to my work place in New Delhi. Last week, as I was on my way, I started thinking about how so many songs have been picturised in modes of transport – cars, cycles, jeeps, boats, trucks, lorries, trains, bullock carts, horse carts … More My favourite ‘car’ songs
I must have been around 12 years old when I got hooked to old Hindi songs. I had begun to recognise different voices and started forming distinct preferences during this discovery phase. Asha Bhosle was and is my favourite female playback singer. Among the male voices, while Rafi was and is my favourite, I was also fond of Manna Dey … More My favourite Hemant Kumar Songs
Here is another song list, quick on the heels of the previous one. This one features a legendary actress who worked extensively with Mr. Sunil Dutt, mostly in the melodramatic Madras productions of the mid-late sixties; though this was not her only claim to fame! Nutan, of the speaking eyes and quiet, elegant dignity, would … More My favourite Nutan songs
On March 3, 2015, the legendary music director who is surprisingly not that well-known, Ravi, would have turned 89. And March 7, 2015 marked his third death anniversary. Surprising because so many of his songs are popular to this date – used in jingles, remixes and what not. For example – Ae meri zohra jabeen or Baar Baar Dekho. … More My favourite Sahir Ludhianvi – Ravi songs
Mahendra Kapoor is one of Hindi cinema’s most underrated singers. Known to be a poor man’s Rafi, Mahendra Kapoor drew varied critical reaction despite singing approximately 25,000 songs (in languages as varied as Hindi, Punjabi, Gujarati and even English) in his career. While growing up, I did not like him much, simply because I am a … More My favourite Mahendra Kapoor songs
As I was surfing looking for pictures of Mohd Rafi, I was struck by the fact that he is smiling in all the pictures. Not one, where that kind smile has not lit his face and sparkled through his eyes. There is something gentle and loveable about the man. Thirty four years after his death, … More A Tribute to Mohd Rafi – Part 2
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