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 […]
A couple of mornings back, the skies of Delhi were overcast with dark, grey clouds. Coupled with cool winds, a light drizzle and very pleasant weather, the monsoons were here, a day earlier than expected. Now that was then! Since then all is well with the world. Delhi is back the way it is meant to be – swelteringly and […]
Some years back, the vibrant city of Amsterdam with winding canals and narrow houses and steep staircases was the place I used to call home. A singular aspect of life in Amsterdam is cycling. The entire city has a cycling path of nearly 400 kms. It is the preferred mode of travel for most residents. You aren’t […]
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 […]
Today is the 43rd death anniversary of one of the most iconic stars of Hindi cinema. The Tragedy Queen, as she was dubbed, thanks to the number of weepy roles that she played, Meena Kumari is one of the best-known actresses of her generations till date. She starred in approximately ninety films in a career […]
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. […]
When I was growing up, I remember my grandmother often commenting that girls should not be too beautiful. She firmly believed that beautiful women had the toughest and saddest of lives. It did not make much sense to me back then but was reminded of it today when I sat to write this post. One of the most […]
( Today is the 77th birthday of one of Hindi cinema’s finest actresses, Waheeda Rehman. Born on 3rd February, 1938 in Chengalpattu, Tamil Nadu and blessed in abundance with immense talent and beauty, Waheeda Rehman is synonymous today with grace and charm. Active in Indian cinema since the 50s, she made her debut in a Telugu film, Jayasimha (1955). […]
Today is the 50th death anniversary of Geeta Bali, the lovely, versatile, natural, spontaneous but underrated actress of the fifties. Born in Sargodha, Punjab in 1930 as Harkirtan Kaur, she lived with her parents and a sister in Amritsar. Her father was a Sikh scholar and a singer and he encouraged both his daughters to […]
It is an irony that one of the finest music composers in Hindi cinema is known today more for the one thing he did not do, rather than what he did! Omkar Prasad Nayyar is the only composer from the golden age of Hindi film music who did not record a song with Lata Mangeshkar. […]
Ramble on and on...blah blah blah
From the Author of Abhaya
Great film music and great music directors
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A Brief History of the saree blouse and Indian fashion before 1960 with an occasional excursion after. All images are credited but if they are here by accident please do let me know and I will take it down. All posts also on vintageindianclothing.tumblr.com
by arunava sinha [arunava@gmail.com]
swalpa sihi, swalpa spicy
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