2014

Songs of Atariya

Romeo and Juliet on Atariya February 12, 2014

With a tribute to Begum Akhtar in her Centenary Year I had thought songs of atariya are one of the things – like lori, bidaai songs, bhajan, piano songs etc. – that have been irredeemably lost from our films. Loosely translated as ‘balcony’, atariya was the place where the heroine would go stealthily from the […]

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Door Papiha Bola: Suraiya by Anil Biswas

Anil Biswas and Suraiya January 31, 2014

A tribute to Anil Biswas in his centenary year and to Suraiya on her 10th death anniversary For many years after getting deeply attached to the vintage songs, I regarded Anil Biswas as peripheral to the music career of Suraiya. When I thought of Suraiya, the composers who came to mind most prominently were Naushad, […]

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

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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KC Dey: The divine singer with inner vision

KC Dey January 11, 2014

When I wrote on KC Dey’s songs in Devdas (1935), it just gave a glimpse to the readers of how great a singer he was if he could be so moving in the songs which are relatively unknown. Long before that post, I had planned to present my top favourite songs of KC Dey which […]

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Anil Biswas: The Maestro and My Father

Anil Biswas January 1, 2014

SoY heralds 2014 as the Year of Anil Biswas with guest article by Shikha Biswas Vohra (Anil Biswas is described as the ‘Bhishm Pitamah’ of Hindi film music, though he used to describe RC Boral as the Father, and himself, somewhat jocularly, as the Uncle (Chacha) of film music. Yet, did he get his due, […]

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